2 Friday, June 22, 1919 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS • Purely Commentary Could a Million Jews Have Been Rescued Had Jewish Leadership Been Visionary? Marvin Tokayer, one-time rabbi, now an author with a message, came here to enlighten large audiences on an historic Japanese occurrence and he emerged a challenger. He had messages for several radio and television audi- ences and will be quoted in interviews by newspaper re- porters primarily in relation to an interesting book which is beginning to gain best seller status under the mysterious title of "Fugu." The complete title of his book is "The Fugu Plan." It was published by Paddington Press and the review of the book appears elsewhere in this issue. The term Fugu is given this definition: "The deadly blowfish of Japan, 200,000 more lethal than strychnine — and yet when expertly prepared the most tantalizing of gourmet delicacies." Tokayer (whose book was co-authored with Mary Swartz) revives an occur- rence which has been both forgotten and ignored. It is documented and substan- tiated in all of Tokayer's ac- counts and therefore cannot be erased from history. It re- MARVIN TOKAYER lates to a decision by the Japanese pre-war cabinet, reached on Dec., 5, 1938, providing for the establishment of an open door policy - for refugees from Nazi Germany. Had this decision been given proper acceptance "The Fugu Plan" author maintains, a million Jews could have been rescued. He concedes that under war conditions the plan would have been abandoned, that the threats that accompanied the emerging Japanese warring patterns would have in- creased the suspicions that related to everything that ema- nated from Japan. What, therefore, is the lesson provided by "The Vugu Plan"? Tokayer makes a serious charge. He maintains that the Japanese plan was treated with derision because Ja- pan's word was not trusted. But he also maintains that Jewish leaders were "duped" in the same manner as they were "duped" by American and British statesmen when it was necessary to protest the Nazi crimes. Because "The Fugu Plan" dated prior to Auschwitz, Tokayer believes it failed to receive the attention it should have been given. The challenge attributable to the Tokayer revelations may be applicable to current situations. It calls for probing into the courage or the lack of it when it becomes necessary for Jewish leaders to speak out, in defense of or in protest against emerging situations, those affecting neo-Nazism and those related to the peace negotiations in the Middle East. The Tokayer story retraces history. He pays glorious tribute to the activities of the religious movement for the relief and rescue of German Jews under the direction of the Vaad HaHatzala. He makes a point of an interesting fact— that the only Yeshiva saved intact was the Mirer Yeshiva, all of whose 280 students were, because Japan was coopera- tive, brought to Kobe, Japan. They went to Shanghai when the war threat became imminent, and from there they moved on to Brooklyn, N.Y. Because Japan became a threat, the Tokayer claim may be negated in great measure. Nevertheless his chal- lenge to leaders who permit themselves to be "duped" stands out bluntly. Since the question is now posed and is being repeated, "Why wasn't Auschwitz bombed by the Allies?" and similar challenging queries, the Tokayer reve- lation cannot be ignored. The author of "The Fugu Plan" mastered Japanese and wrote a dozen books in that language, including one on the Talmud. He is going on aliya to Israel and will be working on a book on the Jews in Far Eastern countries. He de- served encouragement in this undertaking. Indestructibility of the Jews: Sydney Harris' Truism and the More Positive Factor in Jewish Existence ... U.S. Delegation Confirms Israel's Right to Settlements American Jewish Leaders and Settlements Issue State Department spokesmen also go to Israel to study the settlements issue and they return with condemnations. In contrast, an American Jewish delegation, headed by Theodore Mann, head of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, has endorsed the policies of the government presided over by Menahem Begin. There is much to be studied in this developing conflict. U.S. government spokesmen believe they will be appeasing Anwar Sadat as well as the Arab states that are aligned against the Egyptian president by being critical of Israel. Israelis, on the other hand, must adhere to a policy of self-protection. Even the former Israel Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin, while assailing his political opponent Menahem Begin, conceded that settlements in Judea and Samaria are a necessity for Israel. Theodore Mann and his associates would have yielded to pressures intended to panic Israelis and their supporters had they acted other than in support of the right of the Begin government to pursue means of assuring a defensive position for Israel. More Than Persecution Needed for Jewish People to Survive Sydney Harris added to his popularity as a philosophically-oriented columnist with his comments on persecution as a survivalist factor in Jewish existence. It is among the very interesting essays by the noted analyst of human factors and it is especially expressive as an admonition to non-Jews who hate Jews that if they seek the destruction of the Jewish people they can go farther to encourage assimilation and abandonment of Jewish loyal- ties with honey rather than with hatred. Harris' views are interesting enough for quotation: What has kept the Jewish people alive through- out the centuries has-been the awesome paradox of persecution. Left alone to live their lives and practice their beliefs, they inevitably tend to dwindle in numbers to disperse and dilute their ethnic identification. Then, every so often in history there comes along a devastating persecution that has the very opposite effect of its intention. It militates and mobilizes these people, reminds them of their unique heritage that is regarded as both a bless- ing and a burden, and re-animates their faith and their sense of identity. This is what Gabriel Marcel long ago termed "the mystery of Israel" — its flaccidity in times of tolerance and its fervor when challenged by bigotry. If the anti-Semites had any sense (which, by definition, they lack), they would conceive a long-term program to -diminish or eliminate Jewry by the very opposite tactics they normally adopt — by making it as easy as possible for Jews to forget their Jewishness, and eventually blend- ing into the native landscape. This had nearly happened in Germany before the rise of Hitler, where the Jews imagined they had been "amalgamated" in the Teutonic cul- By Philip Slomovitz ture, and even men like Sigmund Freud defended the Fatherland in the first World War. Many of them looked with scorn upon their co-religionists who emigrated to Germany from Eastern Europe, and felt they were the "troublemakers" who fomented anti-Semitic feelings. But as Nazism burst into full bloom German Jews were soon disabused of this notion, recog- nizing that no amount of personal patriotism could erase the age-old stigma. And this was the great impetus for political Zionism, which had faltered weakly until then. What a tragic irony that the people who hate Jews solidify them and keep them going, wr tolerance and assimilation threaten to redl.. their ranks to a negligible proportion of the world's population. Hitler held the "final solution" by the wrong end of the stick — not persecution, or liquidation, will ever accomplish what he wanted, but the shrug of indifference seems to be the fatal weapon against this unique people. What Sydney Harris has said represents an old truism. That's how Jews have been lured into conversion, mixed marriages, assimilation, atheism and agnosticism. There is another side to the story. Jews could not have survived if they did not have the great heritage embodied in the ethical teachings that have been embraced by all man- kind. Ahad HaAm, the eminent philosopher, may have best described it when he wrote: More than Israel preserved the Sabbath, the Sabbath preserved Israel." It is by adherence to basic ideals taught in Judaism, the loyalties To the legacies that have elevated Jewish humanism to the highest rungs of concern for man's basic rights, that have made Jewry, Israel, indestructible. The Torah element in survivalism must not be taken for granted. As the Psalmist proclaimed it is "%tree of life," and this it has been as an enrichment for the Jew. There are other reasons for the survival. Three basic loyalties have been attributed to it: observance of the Sab- bath as a day of rest and as a lesson for mankind against submission to slavery, observance of kashrut regulations and the love of Zion imbedded in the hopesfor and the belief in the redemption of Israel. Who will challenge these truths while observing how these truths have become undeniable in the ranks of the loyalists? Perhaps it is a small minority that holds fast to the three basic reasons for Jewish survi- val. But this remnant has always defied indifference, mixed marriages, desecration of the Sabbath, abandon- ment of the dietary laws and unresponsiveness to Israel. Sydney Harris judged conditions properly. Yet, Jewish communities have vanished under oppression, resulting from inhumanities under Islam and Christianity as well as when victimized under Comminism. Otherwise Jew. might have numbered in the hundreds of millions rather than the 18,000,000 before Hitlerism and 14,000,000 now. But the indestructibility continues as a spiritual factor, even if it is for a minority. There is truism in what Sydney Harris wrote: there is realism in the fact of life of the spiritual force that is Judaism and Israel. Reconstructionists OK Conversion Guide By BEN GALLOB (Copyright 1979, JTA, Inc.) The Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association has approved a formal set of guidelines on conversion following debate during the last three annual conven- tions of the association. The guidelines represent "the consensus" of the Re- constructionist rabbis and are not considered as bind- ing. The fact that the conver- sion guidelines are not Appropriate Synagogue mandatory for Reconstruc- tionist rabbis also was Tribute to Nate Goldstick by Rabbi Ludwig It is most appropriate that Nate Goldstick should be stressed Nadelmann, executive vice honored at a Sabbath service, and Judge Nathan Kaufman president of the Jewish Re- merits thanks for having organized it. In the honor to be accorded Nate Goldstick at the constructionist Foundation. Downtown Synagogue Saturday, the emphasis will be on He said the guidelines "af- the Goldstick role in the Detroit city government, his firmed and refined" existing interest in the Jewish community and his leadership in conversion practices among notable projects. He is recognized for his wit, the courage Reconstructionist rabbis. with which he confronted Detroit's many problems when he He added that he estimated that around 100 non-Jews served as city attorney. The heartening fact is that Nate Goldstick is not for- were converted annually to gotten. Those who remember give validity to the human Judaism under Reconstruc- tionist auspices, stressing spark. that the figure was no more than an estimate. The guidelines de- clared that the rabbis felt it was "the responsibility of Jewish congregations and of the community at large to welcome into their midst, and involve in all their activities, per- sons who have converted to Judaism." Many con- verts have complained of being rejected by born Jews. The Reconstructionist rabbis agreed that marriage to a Jew was "a justifiable and commendable reason for conversion," adding that it must be "evident" that, after proper instruction and counseling, the candidate "freely chooses to become a Jew." The guidelines de- clared that "a significant number of converts, through marriage, have be- come truly dedicated Jews." The guidelines said the duration of the preparation of the converts should last between six months and a year and include "both group instruction" and "in- dividual tutorials and coun- seling." The candidate should be encouraged to attend services and partici- pate in other areas of Jewish communal, religious and cultural life, the guidelines declared. The rabbis endorsed ritual immersion for both men and women proselytes and declared that non- circumcized males should be circumcized `"if there is no extraordinary physical or emotional hazard." Sym- bolic circumcision of an al- ready circumcized male is "at the discretion of the sponsoring rabbi." A Beit Din (rabbinical court), consisting of three adult Jews, of whom one should be a rabbi and with court membership open to men and women alike, must examine the . candidate "to elicit from him/her thoughts and feelings, to discuss areas of concern and interest, offer encouragement and counsel and reiterate the responsibilities of in- volvement with the Jewish people Judaism." of A religious cereml acceptance of Judaism should be celebrated after completior of ritual re- quirements. The guidelines declared that if one parent is Jewish, either mother or father, the offspring are to be regarded as Jewish and should undergo "the rites prescribed by our tradition — Brit Mila for boys or a convenantal naming cere- mony for girls — but no spe- cial conversion procedure is required" for such children. All other branches of Judaism require the mother to be Jewish for the children to be considered Jewish.