Friday, September 1, 1919
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Boris Smolar's
`Between You
. . . and Me'
Editor-in-Chief
Emeritus, JTA
' (Copyright 1979, JTA, Inc.)
ZIONIST FRICTION: During the weeks of my vaca-
tion a number of very important developments concerning
Israel took place on the American scene. They found their
reverberations in the Jewish community and brought fric-
tion into the ranks of the American Zionist movement.
The latest was the resignation of Andrew Young from
his post as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, precipi-
tated by his unauthorized talk with Zehadi Labib Terzi, the
observer of the Palestine Liberation Organization at the
nited Nations.
National Jewish organizations — including the
American Zionist groups — while criticizing Young, did not
demand his resignation. They abstained from such a move
in order to avoid antagonizing leaders of the black commu-
nity which takes great pride in Young. Nor did the Israel
government demand Young's resignation.
However, despite this approach of all the leading
groups in the American Jewish community — and of Israel
— the president of the American Zionist Federation, Rabbi
Joseph Sternstein, had seen fit to come out publicly with a
personal statement requesting the President to "fire"
Young. Jewish leaders, including Zionists, were irritated.
They consider his request not only poor judgment, but also
harmful.
Another development in the ranks of the American
Zionist movement is the conflict that broke out between the
Zionist Organization of America and the American Zionist
labor movement over the-issue of the establishment of new
settlements by Israel in the West Bank of the Jordan River
— in Judea and Samaria.
In the ranks of the American Zionist movement there
is similarly a cautious approach toward discussing the
issue publicly. There are Zionist leaders in this country
who are of the opinion — which they do not state openly —
that it would have been much better for Israel to concen-
trate on the establishment of new settlements in Galilee,
an area which has the best-known Jewish collective and
cooperative villages.
The American Labor Zionist groups — including the
Labor Zionist Alliance, Pioneer Women and the youth
groups — are among those who believe in giving priority to
strengthening the Galilee district.
It
COLLISION OF VIEWS: The collision between the
Zionist Organization of America and the American Zionist
labor leadership was precipitated by a statement made by
Israel's Agriculture Minister Ariel Sharon — which ap-
peared in the American press — calling for intensive
Jewish settlement efforts in the West Bank and in the Gaza
Strip during the next 20 or 30 years.
Prof. Allen Pollack, the youthful president of the Labor
Zionist Alliance — who is active also in other fields of
Jewish communal interests — sent a letter to the Israeli
minister sharply rebuking him. He called Sharon's state-
ment "politically inappropriate" in this sensitive period at
the beginning of negotiations between Israel and Egypt orr
the autonomy plan for the West Bank and Gaza:
In his letter, Pollack also called upon the Israeli gov-
ernment "to be especially aware of the need to maintain a
united Jewish community in support of Israel" and "not to
take action that may be divisive in the Jewish community
as well as exacerbate relations with Egypt and the United
States." He urged that settlements be established only in
those areas on the West Bank and Gaza which are neces-
sary to the security, and defense of the State of Israel.
Although the letter of the American Zionist labor
leader to the Israeli Minister was private, it was widely
distributed. The president of the Zionist Organization of
America, Ivan J. Novick, lost no time to sharply rebuke
Pollack in a personal letter which was also widely distrib-
uted.
The ZOA president minced no words. In his six-point
Letter he told Pollack that his communication to the Israeli
minister represents distortions of fact; that his warning to
Israel not to take action that may be divisive in the Jewish
community is "objectionable and self-serving;" and that
Pollack, as an American, is not in a position to decide
whether the statement by the Israeli Minister of Agricul-
ture was "politically inappropriate." He hinted that Pol-
lack's letter may be misread by Israel's detractors.
I admit that I never heard of Novick prior to his becom-
ing ZOA president. To me he is a newcomer into top Jewish
leadership. I understand from others that he is a very
amiable person. He is seeking to put more life into the
dormant ZOA. I fail to understand the wisdom of the Israeli
Agricultural Minister to speak publicly of the "intense
efforts" to establish Jewish settlements in the West Bank
and Gaza "during the next 20 to 30 years." Under the
present circumstances such a public statement can only
help to antagonize public opinion against Israel.
Concentration
Aided by Use
of the Talit
By RABBI SAMUEL J. FOX
(Copyright 1979, JTA, Inc.)
The act of prayer requires
a spirit of concentration.
One is supposed to consider
himself in close contact with
the Almighty when praying
without indulging in other
subjects of thought.
Thus, when one sur-
rounds one's head with the
talit, he is shut off from
other ideas and free to con-
centrate on his prayers to
the Almighty. Some mysti-
cal sources explain that the
Almighty Himself serves as
a model for this type of be-
havior.
Lubavitcher Leader Sees 'TM' as Cult
NEW YORK — "Tran-
scendental Meditation, as it
is practiced in many coun-
tries, • including the United
States, with certain rites
and rituals, should be re-
garded as a cult bordering
f
•
. /
f ■ -
.firt
ing to Jewish law," said
Rabbi Menachem M.
Schneerson, the
Lubavitcher Rebbe.
PARTY-WEDDING-BRIDESMAID-BAR MITZVA
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'
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.t)„,c
on idolatry. It is, therefore,
imperative that, before
using it, an Orthodox rabbi
familiar with TM be con-
sulted as to whether the
particular type is com-
pletely devoid of idolatry
and is permissable accord-
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