2 Friday, December 8, 1978
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Purely Commentary
A Salute to an Eminent Authority on Russia and the
Mideast, ZOA Leader Beinish Epstein, Whose Warnings
on the USSR Meddling Demand International Attention
Arab Propagandist's Views
Challenged by Beinish Epstein
Three Men of Distinction
Lost to World Jewry
In its July 1978 issue, the prestigious Foreign Affairs
published an article by Prof. Waldi Khalidi under the title
"A Palestinian State?" It represented the Arab viewpoint
and it was challenged by Beinish Epstein, the able analyst
of world affairs, in a letter which Foreign Affairs published
in its Fall 1978 issue.
Epstein, who has the reputation of one of the ablest
interpreters of developments affecting Israel-Arab con-
flicts in the international arena, is known especially for his
expose of the Soviet intentions to divide the rule in the
Middle East. In his letter published by Foreign Affairs,
Epstein lays stress on the historic facts of Arabs never
having striven for the creation of a Palestinian state. Here
are the facts as he has outlined them in disputing the
Khalidi contentions:
The Arabs never claimed Palestine as a sepa-
rate Arab entity. It was always described as
southern Syria. Damascus always considered
Palestine as a province, which it sought to rule.
From 1949 to 1967, when the West Bank of the
Jordan was annexed by the Hashemite kingdom,
none of the Arab states recognized this annexa-
tion. The fact that the West Bank and Gaza Strip
were in Arab hands prior to the 1967 War was not
adequate to their purposes, which were in conflict
with each other. Each of the Arab states — Syria,
Iraq, Jordan, and Egypt — aspired to possession
of the territory called Palestine and wanted to
keep the others from acquiring it. Each one of the
Arab states had a political and a strategic reason
for wanting to possess Palestine.
The motive for fostering the idea of Palestinian
statehood, once it emerged, was to use'the popu-
lar principle of self-determination to create a
strong Arab public relations position against Is-
rael. The Arab states and the PLO did not call for
self-determimation for the West Bank and Gaza
Strip population when these areas were occupied
by Jordan and Egypt. The Arab world rejects the
concept of self-determination for minorities in
their midst. The Kurds in Iraq, the Copts in Egypt
and the blacks in Sudan are denied autonomy and
equal rights with Islamic Arab majorities. The
case of Lebanon, where Islamic Arabs seek to
eradicate the Christian population, is a striking
example of the Islamic attitude toward the prin-
ciple of self-determination.
The Arabs of the West Bank and in Gaza do not
possess the geopolitical requirements and qual-
ifications for a viable nation. As such, a state
made up of these two noncontiguous entities
would be an artificial. creation; and . useful,
chiefly, as a pawn in the political and strategic
games of its neighbors and of big power rivalry,
and as a threat to the peace of the area.
Prof. Khalidi pleads for an independent Arab
state on the West Bank and in Gaza as an instru-
ment of peace. However, he agrees that such a
state will be a PLO state. He assures us that it will
be independent from the Soviet Union and will
not serve as a base for the expansion of Soviet
power in the area. Blessed are the believers; only
the very naive or the cynical can be expected to
accept this.
Prof. Khalidi is certain that the establishment of
this independent Arab state will solve the prob-
lem of the Arab refugees. He does not explain,
however, how this thickly populated territory can
absorb "the millions," whom the Arabs claim as
Palestinian refugees. Why should we believe that
the Arabs on the West Bank and in Gaza will be
more compassionate toward their brothers than
the Arabs in other states, who refused to absorb
their brothers from Palestine, notwithstanding
their wide spaces and ample resources? Unlike
other nations in Europe and Asia — West Ger-
many, France, Italy and India — who absorbed
- millions of compatriots after the Second World
War, the Arab states dealt cruelly with the Pales-
tinian refugees, for whose fate they bore respon-
sibility.
The many problems involved in the unfortunate conflicts
could be resolved if Jews and Arabs could rationalize, if
Israel could have an accord with Egypt and then meet with
all of the Arab states separately. There would be no need
for threats of warfare if the question of self-rule, whatever
the connotations, could be discussed and negotiated by Is-
rael with the Arabs in the area under concern.
The pity is that these negotiations are obstacled, that
academicians like Prof. Khalidi will not concede to them,
that they insist on mass action by Arabs in dealing with
Israel. That would mean Israel's destruction. That Israel
cannot and will not adhere to. Therefore, the trouble is a
continuity of miseries.
World Jewry literary, philanthropic and political ranks
are impoverished with the loss of three eminent per-
sonalities.
Because of his famous family lineage, Lord Edwin Her-
bert Samuel may have been the best known of the trio. He
was the son of the First. British High Commissioner to
Palestine, Sir, later Lord, Herbert Samuel.
Lord Edwin remained in Palestine after his father's re-
tirement from the high Palestinian rank. He divided his
time between England and Israel, went to his native land
for meetings of the House of Lords, traveled a great deal,
wrote delightful stories about Jews and Arabs in Palestine,
afterward Israel, and charmed his audiences on his lecture
tours. •
He was typically British, but his stories, with the Jewish
favor, didn't need a few minutes waiting time to be un-
derstood. ---
is a hemshekh, a continuity, to the Samuel Fam-
ily story. Lord Herbert's son is Prof. David Herbert Samuel
of the. Weizmann Institute. He is now the third in line in his
family to inherit the title to the Viscountancy. And he will
retain his academic role in Israel. His intention is to be in
England three months of the year to attend House of Lord
meetings. -
That's the story of unending British-Israel attachments
by one of the world's famous Jewish families.
Dr. Arthur Raymond Goodheart was a man so eminent as
a spokesman for Jewish rights that he may well be consid-
ered among the giants in the ranks of civil libertarians. He
was fearless in his approach and decisively factual and
convincing
Regrettably, his works were not as well known in the
U.S. as they were in Great Britain where he made his home,
despite his having retained American citizenship.
It was through the efforts and with the advice of the late
Bernard G. Richards that The Detroit Jewish News was
By_ Philip
Slomovitz
privileged to publish his articles during periods of stress for"
Jewry. His works remain among the most effective in re,
pudiation of bigotry.
(The late Bernard G. Richards, who was known in all
Jewish ranks as BGR, was the organizer and director of the
Jewish Information Bureau which is still operating under
the partial direction of his son, Judah. The Jewish Informa-
tion Bureau gained the distinction of being one of the most
valuable collections of Americana and Judaica, the most
intimate memorabilia and documentation on American
Jewish history).
A third loss is that of Isadore Breslau who died in W
ington last week. He was ordained at the Jewish Ins
of Religion during the presidency of Dr. Stephen S. Wise
who founded that reform theological school which has since
merged with Hebrew Union College.
Rabbi Breslau became active in the Zionist movement,
working in the ranks of the Zionist Organization of
America with the late Simon Shetzer, who was then execu-
tive secretary of the ZOA. He left the public services to
successfully enter private business, and his independence
enabled him to become a full-time volunteer worker in
major causes, primarily the United Jewish Appeal, in
which held high posts and in behalf of which he traveled
widely. ,.
This commentator had an interesting experience with
Rabbi Breslau. He took a long walk with him, while in
Cracow, Poland, at about 6 a.m. and witnessed the devotion
of the women who went from outdoor chapel to chapel,
throwing coins into the Church collection boxes. It was a
demonstration of church loyalty in spite of Communist
domination of the country. Rabbi Breslau and this .writer
became- convinced that the Church could, as it did, with- \
stand the pressures of Communism.
I The three losses markedly reduce the ranks of leader-
ship. Fortunately, their children follow in their footsteps,
Lord Samuel being the British example, and Breslau's son
making himself felt in UJA activities in this country. These
are blessings.
a
New Biography Describes Benjamin Disraeli
Disraeli's
Benjamin
colorful career in politics,
his rise to the premiership
of Great. Britain, his
triumph over many oppo-
nents and his deep friend-
ship for Queen Victoria are
outlined in a new biog-
raphy, "Disraeli and His
World" (Scribner's) by
Christopher Hibbert.
BENJAMIN P ISRAELI
The reader is introduced
to the affectations of having
set hifnself apart "in a style
of dress that was considered
striking even in those early
years of the reign of George
IV."
He was despised and
ridiculed, yet he succeded in
his ambitions politically.
The biographer traces
his Jewish heritage, his
having studied in a He-
brew school until his
father, Isaac D'Israeli,
had him converted, al-
though the father him-
self, in spite of his con-
troversy with his congre-
gation, the Sephardic
Bevis Marks, did not
th he no
abandon the fai
longer adhered to.
There were the Jewish
aspects, the resentments
against him, and these are
briefly alluded to.
Disraeli's biographer
deals briefly with his tour-
age in joining the plea for
the admission to the House
of Commons of Lionel
Rothschild. Until the
triumph in behalf of
Rothschild's being seated in
Parliament, no one could be
admitted unless he took an
oath as a Christian.
This biography deals with
the Disraeli novels, with
special reference to
"Tancred" "which contains
a passionate vindication of
the claims of the Jewish
race in the celebration of its
destiny."
The concluding and
summarizing pages of "Dis-
raeli and His World" con-
tain interesting allusion to
the statesman's attitudes
and the successes he at-
tained, as well as the de-
rogatory allusions to him by
his opponents. Christopher
Hibbert states:
"Sir Robert Ensor also
wrote of the enigmatic
nature of Disraeli: 'His
party came to trust him,
to idolize, and even to
love; but they never un-
derstood him. And he,
with his passion for
England, remained de-
eply un-English.
" 'Idealist and cynic, pro-
phet and tactician, genius
and charlatan in one, men
took him for a flaunting
melodramatist until they
experienced him as a deadly
fighter.
" 'A radical by origin and
instinct, Ile remade the con-
servative party; but though
he ruled its counsels so long,
it was only warily and
within limits that he ever
shaped them to his ideas.
Disputes over his career
have turned less on facts
than on moral values. More
than half a century after his
death there is still argu-
ment about them.'
"Yet, if Disraeli's origins
were by no means obscure
and his family never poor,
he was undoubtedly an out-
sider in the hierarchy of his
party. Not only his race and
tastes and manner but even
his education separated him
from his colleagues: a part
from the Irish Lords Naas
and Cairns, he was the only
member of both his first and
second Cabinets who had
not attended a famous pub-
lic school; most had been to
Eton.
"There is no doubt, too,
that in the earlier years of
his influence he constantly
had to struggle against both
a degree of dislike and prej-
udice which would have
overborne a less deter-
mined, brave and resilient
man, and a fierce resent-
ment occasioned by the fact
that the Conservatives
could not manage without
his great talents — as many
of them would have liked to
have done — since he was
the only man who possessed
them in such multiplicity,
on his side of the House."
Jewish Experience In Photos
PHILADELPHIA — A the reunion, after 39 years,
magnificent collection of of a Russian immigrant and
350 black and white photo- her brother at Lod airport.
graphs that capture the di- In "Partnership," among
versity of the Jewish ex- the subjects treated are
perience in America, Weddings, Entering the
Europe and the Holy Land Covenant, Bar/Bat Mitzva,
has been published by the Synagogue, Torah, Shabat,
Jewish Publication Society and Holidays. The joy of the
of America. bride and groom, the glow of
The book is arranged in the Hanuka lights, Purim
three thematic groupings — merrymaking, Sukkot
"In His Image," "Partner- preparations, Simhat Torah
ship," and "Israel, The rejoicing, the Sabbath holi-
Land." "In His Image" con- ness — all these and more
tains photographic se- are displayed in the images
quences grouped around recording Jewish rounds
such subjects as Faces, and rituals.
Children, Elderly, Hasidim,
The final section, "Is-
Demonstrations. A particu- rael, the Land" is, in ef-
larly moving series depicts feet, a visual rendering of
the Psalmist's injunction:
"Walk around Zion, cir-
cle it." There are scenes
of worshippers at the
Wall, bathers on the Tel
Aviv beach, soldiers on
leave, strollers, shoppers,
celebrants, mourners — a
panoply of life in the
old-new homeland.
"Behold A Great Image"
(whose title derives from
Daniel 2:31) is a true effort
of collective Jewish creativ-
ity, the result of a photog-
raphy contest on the theme
of the contemporary Jewish
experience, sponsored by a
group of American Jewish
havurot (religious fellow-
ships).