0 1 2 ! • c'e Friday, January 12, 1979 t! • 1 :! t r THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Purely Commentary U.S. Friendship for Israel Officially Re-affirmed in Brzezinski Declaration Concern over American interests in the Middle East and the friendship for Israel can not — must not! — be minimized. The frequent negative references to Israel Prime Minister Menahem Begin, occasionally accom- panied by commendations for Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, caused resentment. President Jimmy Carter was not, is not, immune from criticism. Columnists on occasion add to the contradictions with interpretations that sound as if the American-Israel amity was nearing collapse. There are prophets of doom who encourage a view that sounds like an end to a traditional American dedication to efforts assuring Israel's security. The views of an important member of the Carter offi- cial circle become especially significant at this time. Na- tional Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski was ques- tioned on issues affecting U.S. foreign policies for the New York Times by James Reston and the American position on Israel was presented by him in the following: Reston: Well, this gets to the larger question in - the Middle East. What is the future there? For example, there is, I think, a strong feeling on the part of our Israeli friends that there was a basic change in this Administration in the sense that the special relationship was broken, that the United States' looking to its global responsibilities changed that special relationship. Brzezinski: I would categorically deny that. The relationship between the United States and Israel is genuinely organic and moral in its character. I put that above any formal ties of alliance or treaties. There are such direct personal links be- tween America and Israel, and there is such a sense of moral identification with Israel because of what has happened in the last 40 years that this relationship is as strong as ever and as enduring as ever. I can say this with some fervor because of my own awareness, very personal aware- ness, of what has hap- pened in recent his- tory, and because I know how deeply the President feels. How- ever, what is impor- tant to stress is that this Administration is very conscious of the fact that, unless there is a rapid and wider resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict, then the continuation ZBIGNIEW BRZEZINSKI of this conflict will it- self act as a catalyst for the more rapid radicaliza- tion and for the wider penetration of the region by Soviet influence. Peace is in the interest of the United States, and, as an official of the U.S. government, I have no embarrassment in listing that first. But it is also in the interest of Israel, of the moderate Arab coun- tries and of the Palestinian people — who cannot be ignored — that there develops a pattern of regional cooperation ranging from Iran even all the way to Morocco and from southern Arabia to the shores of the Mediterranean with the West. If there is such peace in the region, not only will the Arab countries be able to modernize rapidly but I have not the slightest doubt that Israel will be- come the Switzerland or the Singapore of the region, and, therefore, there is a real opportunity for Israel to flourish the way its founders dreamed. The alternative is a beleaguered state in a sea of radical hostility, with the inevitable cultural con- sequences as well as rampant inflation and major vulnerabilities. It is not an attractive alternative, ■ and this is why President Carter, Prime Minister Begin, President Sadat and others have been working, I believe, with great sincerity and dedi- cation to bring about peace. This must be interpreted as an official declaration on ene of the most vital issues involving the U.S. — the Middle East. Perhaps it should serve as encouragement that a position of friendship for the. Jewish role in the Middle East, dating back to the earliest times of Jewish life under Tur- kish rule, continuing with the Zionist aspiration under the British Mandate and in the developing stages of the re- emergence'of Jewish statehood as the state of Israel, is not to be abrogated. This does not mean that the Jewish voice is to be By Philip Brzezinski Outlines Policy With Hope's for Continuity . of the American-Israel Friendship ... Intermarriage, Parental Permissiveness' and a Christian Attitude SiOMOVitZ -, silenced, that any and every expression of antagonism is to be ignored. The need for vigilance, for assertion of Jewish concerns in Israel's security and existence, remains intact. Nevertheless, the Brzezinski statement is important in this period of striving for realization of peaceful accords and for the fulfillment of the aims incorporated in a peace treaty. It is good to be able to speak with very heartening tones under conditions that caused so much strife and anxiety. The entire issue reverts to the factor of home influence, its decline in Jewish as well as other ranks. That's how the problem has grown. Is the problem too difficult to solve? Billy Graham Advises Against Mixed Marriages In the interest of strengthening Jewish ranks there is the natural opposition to mixed marriages. Jews are not Mixed Marriages and alone in such an attitude of retaining group harmony. Billy `Parental Permissiveness' Graham expressed his opposition to marriages out of the If the data gathered is correct, that one in every three faith in the interest of keeping the religious affiliations intact by couples who are planning to merge their famil Jewish marriages is with a non-Jew, then the intermar- interests. riage problem is becoming increasingly more disturbing. In a recent column in the Detroit Free Press, Bill The problem of mixed marriages if discussed in a vol- Graham offered his views: ume to be published this year, "Issues in the Jewish Ex- QUESTION — I know you have said several perience" by Bernard Rosenberg and Steven Martin Cohen. times that a Christian should not marry a non- In a chapter printed in advance of publication in the Jewish Christian. But I believe my boyfriend will change Digest, the authors state, inter alia:_ his ways once we get married and I love him Still other traits more typical of those who in- enough to take the risk. Don't you think that's termarry appear to characterize an increasing reasonable? — B.C.O. number of Jews. And as more Jews acquire these ANSWER —I cannot traits, we may expect an increasing number of agree. For one thing, intermarriages. For example, aside from the more the Bible is clear on advanced generational status of American Jewry this: "Be ye not un- and its consequently greater parental permis- equally yoked to- siveness, we also note the geographic distribution gether with unbeliev- of American Jewry and its migration patterns. ers: for what fellow- Most critically, Jews in the Far West have ship hath righteous- shown about twice the intermarrriage frequency ness with unright- of other regions of the country. Why this should be eousness? and what so is not at all clear, but the West is different from communion hath light other regions in at least one crucial respect. Other with darkness?" (II parts of the country maintain subcultures which Corinthians 6:14). Why place greater emphasis on religious ties (as in the do you suppose God says this? It is because BILLY GRAHAM South) or ethnic origins (as in the Northeast or marriage — which He North Central United States) .. . IfAmerican society becomes less ethnic and less gave us-- is a wonderful gift in which two people concerned with religious attachment (two very become one. problematic "ifs"), we might expect Jewish in- If there is not spiritual unity, however, then termarriage and consequent assimilation to con- God's purposes for marriage cannot be fulfilled. tinue to rise. But if this is a trend, the national Also, God knows that it is much more likely that counter-trend is probably more pronounced. you will compromise your faith and adopt the Another characteristic of people who inter- standards of your husband if you marry someone marry is a strong intellectual and academic orien- who has little interest in spiritual things. The Old tation. Intellectuals and professors are more Testament repeatedly shows us what happened in likely to espouse anti-traditional views, to be the history of God's people when they intermar- especially critical of commitment and to ethnicity ried with unbelievers. Usually God's people be- or religious communities since analogous com- came unbelievers themselves, instead of convert- munities are often provided by their professions. ing their unbelieving wives or husbands. God's way is best. He loves you, and He wants It is evident that the religious aspect is vital, and there the best for you. Be patient and wait for the per- is great significance in the warning about "parental per- son of God's choice. missiveness." For Jews, retention of family unity within the faith is Sociologists will assert that there is permissiveness in many spheres. It is doubtful whether they are as effective even more vital. As a minority in the general society, mixed marriage threatens disappearance from Jewish ranks. elsewhere as they are in the marriage problem. Isn't it a fact that the parent now says, "If my son or Only the conversion of the non-Jewish entrant into the daughter is happy, I accept . . ."? Isn't this the concession to marital state can offer a solution to the threat of the Jewish partner being swallowed into the majority. mixed marriages that emphasizes permissiveness? . By 'Holocaust' Author Gerald Green Volume Collects The Artists of Terezin' By ELAINE TREISMAN Most of us saw the tele- vised production of "The Holocaust," or read the book. In it there is a poig- nant scene concerning several concentration camp artists. It portrayed these inmates at Terezin, sketch- ing the Nazi atrocities. In secret they witnessed and recorded, in spite of the knowledge of inhuman re- prisals that would be visited on them were they caught. Still they drew. Gerald Green, the author of "The Holocaust," now gives a book presenting the facts behind these scenes — "The Artists of Terezin" (Schocken). The place is Terezin. It was the model ghetto. It was a propoganda front, which visiting dignitaries, the Red Cross, or the press, could come to see how well Jews were treated. It was the camp for the priviledged. The formerly wealthy, stripped of their pos- sessions, were herded into these barracks. There were former Ger- man colonels, generals, doctors, musicians — the elite. All with one thing in common — they were Jews. Terezin was the main concentration camp in Czechoslovakia. Behind the facade of cafes, markets, bakeries, concerts and plays were torture, agony and death. Terezin was the false hope of the Jews, the final swindle. The author tells of Dr. Weinberg, chairman of the consulting board of I.G. Farben. Weinberg, an im- portant executive, had given his full approval to the Nazi party. Dr. Wein- berg was a Jew — and still not quite convinced of the Nazi brutality and inhu- manity, died at Terezin. Some 112,000 Jews that passed through that camp perished. Out of 15,000 youth only 150 children survived. The artists were gathered at Terezin to draw charts and propaganda posters for the Nazis. These artists also secretly recorded the suffer- ing, starvation, agony, tor- ture, and death around them. In "The Holocaust," the artists caught were brutally dealt with. This was based on fact. Mr. Green tells us something of these artists and shows us examples of their works. Otto Ungar, caught, and put into "The Little Fortress," an isolation prison for hard cases at Terezin — had his hand mutilated and crushed before he died. Bedrich Fritta and Felix Block . died as a result of beat- ings. Dr. Karel Fleishman was gassed. The list goes on. Leo Haas, incredibly, survived. The artists had to expose the lies and monstrous fraud that they knew Tere- zin to be. Their wo . screams for the world to see. To describe the sketches, drawings, watercolors and poetry presented in this book, one might use the term "haunting." The importance of this remarkable book is that it is a first-hand, graphic record of the painful truth of the Holocaust. Hidden in walls and buried in the ground, these works survived. Through the talent and sacrifice of a handful of ar- tists, the lesson of history survives. Lest we forget! Lest we begin to think this never happened or could not happen again.