THE JEWISH NEWS
incorporating The Detroit Jewish Chronic- commencing with the issrie-of July 20. 1951
Menih•r .1rnerican Association of English-Jewtsh Newspapers. Michigan Press Asstnlat ion. National Editorial As,ociat ion
Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publishing Co., 17515 W. Nine Mile, Suite 865. Southfield. Mich. 48075
Secund-Clao: Postage Rod at Southfield. Michigan and Additional Mailing
Subscription 312 a year.
PHIUP SLOMOVITZ
Editor and Publisher
CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ
Business Manager
DREW LIEBERWITZ
Advertising Manager
ALAN HITSKY. News Editor...HEIDI PRESS. Assistant News Editor
Sabbath Scriptural selections
This Sabbath, the first day of Nisan, 5738, the following scriptural selections will be read in our synagogues:
Pentateuclud portion, Leviticus 12:143.759; Numbers 28:7-15; Exodus 12:1-20. Prophetical portion, Ezekiel 45:16-46:18.
Candle lighting, Friday. April 7, &48 p.m.
VOL. LXXIII, No 5
Page Four
Friday, April 7, 1978
Timely Holocaust Reminder
Much more than the 16 national Jewish or- only add to a revival of Nazism.
ganizations who are planning educational prog-
Presentation of the program on the Holocaust
rams around the four-night, nine-hour program is a vital need in the general community. The
on the Holocaust, April 16-19, relates to the Six Million Jewish victims of Nazism were not
importance and the timeliness of this presenta- the only martyrs of Hitler. An equal number of
tion. The concern shown by NBC which is in- non-Jews perished at the hands of the mass
eluding the program in its schedule and the murderers who were the products of the Ger-
growing interest in it in the non-Jewish corn- man evil of the 1930s and 1940s. The tragedy
munity add evidence that Genocide will not be therefore was one of universal suffering.
tolerated and the Holocaust will not be forgot-
In this present era the Holocaust has a special
ten.
message for world Jewry. Its poison has not
While the emphasis given to this immense
been removed totally and there are its in-
undertaking seems to underline the retention of
heritors in many lands. It is a poison that has
memories of the greatest crime in history, the
seeped
into the Middle East where the hatred of
fact is that without the program soon to be seen
oil-rich magnates threatens the very existence
for four successive nights forgetfulness is a
of Israel. The enemies of the Jewish state are
great danger. In many respects the horrors not
only have been erased from the memory of suffering from the venom that would re-
introduce
Genocide and would revive a
many, but there is the added danger that the
Holocaust.
great crime may be totally forgotten. This cer-
It is because of these dangers that the prog-
tainly is the wish in growing neo-Nazi ranks
ram on the Holocaust will serve as reminders of
and it is for this reason that the introduction of
a past that must not be repeated.
studies on the Holocaust has become such an
important request for cooperation from This is, indeed, the major significance of the
educators and educational institutions. It is Holocaust programs: that they serve as remin-
especially urgent that the subject should be ders of a past not to be forgotten, its evils not to
taught in higher public school grades, in high be ignored, the watchfulness not to repeat its
schools and colleges. The progress recorded in recurrence, to be vigilant. For sponsoring it,
that direction is most heartening, yet there are NBC and the cooperating organizations have
the Nazi-minded who are battling it and they earned the gratitude of all peoples, of all faiths
must be thwarted because their success would and all nations, especially Jewry and Israel:
The Menacing M.E. 'Arms Package
In a matter of weeks, the proposal by the
Carter Administration for a merged military
arms package to include Saudi Arabia as well as
Israel will be up for Congressional decision.
The movement afoot to prevent the linking of
the Arab states with Israel in such a package
deal and the objections to the Carter plan on the
grounds of its being menacing to Israel is a
subject that compels-evaluation and the even-
tual need for action to assure a reversal of the
intended new American policy.
What are the objections to the plan? In a
sense, they were summarized in a letter to Pres-
ident Carter signed by 21 members of the U.S.
House of Representatives International Rela-
tions Committee. The letter to the President,
sent on March 10, raises these objections:
•
1. The legislation providing for Congressional
review of arms sales stipulates that each sale is
to be considered separately.
2. In conjunction with the Sinai II Agreement
of 1975, the United States, in exchange for sig-
nificant Israeli territorial concessions, made a
number of commitments to Israel including the
"supply of advanced types of equipment, such as
the F-16 aircraft." At that time, no mention was
made of this commitment being dependent upon
U.S. arms sales to other states in the region.
3. U.S. Foreign Military Sales to Saudi
Arabia through September, 1977 have totalled
more than $15 billion. Since the Yom Kippur
War in 1973 Egypt has received more than $4
billion in economic assistance and substantial
non-lethal military equipment from our coun-
try. We believe the United States does have an
interest in constructive relationships with both
these countries. However, a major shift in arms
sales policy could have an adverse impact on the
peace negotiations during this delicate period.
4. The sale to Saudi Arabia of the most ad-
vanced fighter-bomber will have a destabilizing
impact on the military balance in the Middle
East and Persian Gulf regions. The long-range
capability of the F-15 would, for the first time,
place Saudi-Arabia on Israel's strategic map,
raising tensions and increasing the likelihood of
Saudi involvement in any future Arab-Israel
conflict.
5. Israel had requested 150 F-16s and 25
F-15s from the United States in order to replace
aging aircraft in its inventory. Israel, unlike the
Arab states, can rely only on the United States
to maintain its defense capability. The 50 per-
cent reduction in the Israeli request weakens
the long-standing U.S. commitment to main-
tain the military balance in light of massive
Soviet and Western European arms sales to Is-
rael's potential adversaries.
•
The request for a re-evaluation of the issue on
the basis of these points will, hopefully, bring
some results. But it is doubtful at present
whether the Administration and State Depart-
ment policy can be altered and it is therefore
urgent that public opinion be aroused in opposi-
tion to the plan. The time for action is now and it
will be unfair for anyone to charge that a lobby
is in operation as a pro-Israel instrument in
opposition to the new, joint warplane sale plan.
The proposal must be viewed as menacing to the
security of Israel and therfore to the peace of the
Middle East and must be opposed on these
grounds.
A Fascinating Pictorial Story
of NY East Side Synagogues
A remarkable story of synagogues on New York's East Side, their
beginnings some decades ago, their photographs, are included in "The
Synagogues of New York's Lower East Side." Jo Renee Fine collected
the photographs. The text, describing the history of the synagogues
and their many interesting features, is by Gerard R. Wolf.
To give it an observer's impression, based on experience of a per-
sonal nature, there is an introduction to "The Synagogues of New
York's Lower East Side" (New York University Press) by Harry
Golden.
Actually, there is nothing left of the area where these synagogues
functioned. There are some older people who remain on the East Side
of New York. But they are few and they often lack the minyan
necessary for services. But much of the glory of the past, of the glamor
that made the synagogues important for residents and attractive for
tourists, - remains. There still are some of the synagogues which are
deservedly attractive for visitors.
Those who hold on to them are battling against the vandalism that
has set in. But the history remains, the significance of the past has not
been fully erased, and photographer and essayist who produced this
important book have rendered a service that provides a magnificently
illustrated volume as a remembrance of the past.
There are 300 active congregations and 70 synagogues to which this
volume is devoted. This 172-page book contains 165 photographs,
each with a message worthy of retention as historic recollections of a
nearly-forgotten rich past.
It is merely as a glimpse that the photographs reproduced here give
some idea of the photographic importance of this volUme dealing with
old synagogues in a once vital Jewish area. In its totality the book has
significance for historians and lay people who have an interest in
developments in American Jewish history.
Cong. Kahal Adas Jes-
hrun with Anshe Lubzat,
14 Eldridge.
Sanctuary of Cong. Anshe
Slonim at 172 Norfolk.