64 Friday, October 26, 1919
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Clergyman Praises Rabbi Davis' Latest Works
By CARL VOSS
(Copyright 1979, JTA, Inc.)
(Editor's note: Dr. Carl
Hermann Voss, a Protes-
tant minister and the
author of eight books, is
ecumenical scholar-in-
residence on behalf of the
National Conference of
Christians and Jews in
Jacksonville, Fla., Ox-
ford, England, and
Jerusalem. He was a
founder of the American
Christian Palestine
Committee in 1942-1943 -
and served as its first
executive director, later
as chairman of its execu-
tive council, and was
editor of its house organ
and journal of opinion,
"Land Reborn.")
I never cease to marvel at
Moshe Davis. The man is so
able, versatile, and mobile.
Abilities? He is a skilled
writer, editor and critic, a
devout rabbi and dedicated
teacher, a patriotic Ameri-
can and an equally patriotic
Israeli, an indefatigable
world traveler but also a
homebody, always the gra-
cious host at his and Lottie's
charming apartment at 14
Balfour St. in one of the
loveliest residential areas of
Jerusalem.
Versatility? He has been,
successively, registrar,
dean of the Teachers' Insti-
tute, professor of American
_ Jewish history and director
of the American Jewish
History Center, as well as
research professor and pro-
vost for many years at the
Jewish Theological Semi-
nary of America in New
York City; but, in these lat-
ter years, he has been a
founder and the head of the
Institute for Contemporary
Jewry, as well as the
Stephen S. Wise professor of
American Jewish history
and institutions, at the He-
brew University of
Jerusalem.
And mobility? He
President Avraham
Harman of Hebrew Uni-
versity, left, is shown
presenting Dr. Carl Voss
with an honorary fellow-
ship this year.
commutes constantly be-
tween Israel and the U.S.,
it would seem, and most
recently has been travel-
ing on the North and
South American conti-
nents and in Western
Europe as President Kat-
zir's (now Navon's) spe-
cial emissary to assess
the teaching of Judaism
and study the status of
the Jewish people in the
universities of the lands
he is visiting.
Prof. Davis's ability, ver-
satility and mobility are in-
deed awesome.
Not satisfied with the
lasting contributions of
such scholarly books as
The Shaping of American
Judaism," "The Emergence
of Conservative Judaism"
and From Dependence to
Mutuality: The American
Jewish Community and
World Jewry," as well as the
superb editing of "Israel: Its
Role in World Civilization"
and "The Yom Kippur War
-- Israel and the Jewish
People," he has edited and
published within a single
year (1977) these two re-
markable volumes, "With•
Eyes Toward Zion: Scholars
Colloquium on Ameircan
Holy Land Studies" and
Dr. Carl Voss, at right, is shown receiving the
National Conference of Christians and Jews'
Brotherhood Medal from Dr. David Hyatt, NCCJ
president.
CD
"World Jewry and the State
of Israel," and served as
advisory editor and super-
vising genius of an extraor-
dinary series of 72 books on
the general subject of
"America and the Holy
Land," all under the im-
print of the Arno Press, a
New York Times company.
Due to sheer good fortune
I was in on the ground floor,
so to speak, of both the first
book in the series, "With
Eyes Toward Zion," for I
attended the Scholars' Col-
loquium on America-Holy
Land Studies at the Na-
tional Archives in Wash-
ington, D.C. (in observance
of the Bicentennial of the
United States in the
autumn of 1975) of which
this book is an outgrowth;
and I was a guest at the
President's Residence in
Jerusalem when the entire
series of 72 , books,
encompassing reprints of
studies and travel narra-
tives by famous Christian
and Jewish writers — histo-
rians, scientists, ar-
cheologists, Bible scholars,
missionaries, American
consular officials, Zionist
builders of Eretz Yisrael —
in freshly bound and attrac-
tively designed editions,
was first exhibited to the
public in October of 1977.
These were thrilling
occasions in each in-
stance, and I am grateful
for the fate that was mine
in having been able to be
present in Washington in
1975 and Jerusalem in
1977.
The series, "America and
the Holy Land," deserves a
separate review, for the
editorial board — Dr.
Robert T. Handy, professor
of church history at Union
Theological Seminary in
New York City, Dr. Jules
Davids, professor of Ameri-
can history and diplomacy
at Georgetown University
in Washington, D.C., and
Dr. Nathan M. Kaganoff,
librarian and editor of the
American Jewish Historical
Society in Waltham, Mass.
— aided by Dr. Davis, chose
magnificently.
They revived classics as
varied as Harry Emerson
Fosdick's "A Pilgrimage to
Palestine" and John
Haynes Holmes's "Pales-
tine Today and Tomorrow:
A Gentile's View of
Zionism," Horace M. Kal-
len's "Frontiers of Hope"
and Louis I. Lipsky's
"Thirty Years of American
Zionism," Henrietta Szold's
"Recent Jewish Progress in
Palestine" (1915) and Be-
rtha Spafford Vester's "Our
Jerusalem: An American
Family in the Holy City,
1881-1949," Edward Robin-
son's "Biblical Researches
in Palestine, Mount Sinai
and Arabia Petraea: A
Journey of Travels in the
Year 1838" and his 1856
sequel, "Later Biblical Re-
searches in Palestine and in
Ancient Regoins."
Also, Simon Rifkind's
1947 brief for the Anglo-
American Commission of
Inquiry on Palestine, "The
Basic Equities of the Pales-
tine Problem," Richard
Crossman's "Palestine Mis-
sion," Adolf A. Berle, Sr.'s
"The World Significance of
a Jewish State" (1918) (as
one in "an original Arno
Press anthology," "Chris-
tian Protagonists for Jewish
Restoration"), and 61 more.
Dr. Davis explains that
"the purpose of the present
collection is to engage the
contemporary reader,in the
wonder of the rediscovery of
the Holy Land by the west-
ern world." The series does
exactly that; and for that
reason "With Eyes Toward
Zion," as the first and only
contemporary book in the
lot, serves as an excellent
introducer for the remain-
ing 71.
The colloquium of 1975
in Washington, which ul-
timately led to the publi-
cation of "With Eyes
Toward Zion," brought
together a host of emi-
nent scholars who pre-
sented fascinating pap-
ers and exhibited ex-
traordinary documents
they had unearthed in
their research on Ameri-
can interest, both Chris-
tian and Jewish, in the
Holy Land.
Some of us feared this un-
usual material would be lost
forever after the conference
adjourned and the partici-
pants returned to their
homes but we were happily
in error. The best of the ad-
dresses and discussions,
plus pictures of many ex-
hibits, have been preserved
in this engrossing book,
"With Eyes Toward Zion."
It is not possible in a brief
review to do more than
point to some high points in
the presentation. I realize I
do an injustice to many a
delegate to the meetings
when I note only such excel-
lent papers as Dr. Robert T.
Handy's "Sources for
Understanding American
Christiain Attitudes
Toward the Holy Land,
1800-1950," Moshe Ma'oz's
"America and the Holy
Land Durina the Ottoman
M.
Period," 6 Nathan
Kaganoff's "Observations
on America-Holy Land Re-
lations in the Period Before
World War I," Milton O.
Gustafson's "Records in the
National Archives Relating
to America and the Holy
Land," and W.D. Blank's
"Herbert Hoover and the
Holy Land: A Preliminary
Study."
Equally provocative in
thought and seminal in
influence is Dr. Davis's
splendid compendium of
lectures given by outstand-
ing Jews from Israel and
abroad, the result of which
is found in "World Jewry
and the State of Israel." It is
the second book to issue
Tsur, Jack J. Cohen, Salo
Baron, Marie Syrkin,
Michael Meyer, David
Sidorsky, Alfred
Gottschalk, Ezra Spicehan-
dler, Simon Greenberg, Av-
raham Harman, Marvin
Fox, Benjamin Akzin, and
Arye Leon Dulzin.
Quite properly and pow-
erfull, Davis presents an i
terscript in which the van'
views are cogently summea
up and carefully appraised.
Davis then concludes:
What has transpired in
our generation is yet to be
apprehended. The
MOSHE DAVIS
Jewish People is at the
from the famous Seminar on very beginning of a na-
World Jewry and the State tional transformation.
of Israel which Professor Because of the urgency of
Davis led at the invitation the hour, the impossible
of the then President of Is- is attempted, namely, to
rael, Prof. Ephraim Katzir. define the nature of the
(The first book to emerge convulsive force even as
from the meetings was "The we are being forged anew
Yom Kippur War: Israel by its impact. This ex-
and the Jewish People," plains, in the greatest
published in 1974 and measure, the differences
and dissonances among
edited by Davis.)
In this newest book, the writers of the papers
"World Jewry and the in the 'centrality' section
State of Israel" (to be fol- of this book and even
lowed by a third volume within the papers."
Read the book and you
which is now in prepara-
tion, "Zionism Today"), will find sentences that ring
men as renowned as with truth, ideas that chal-
Shlomo Avineri, Emil L. lenge the contented, lazy
Fackenheim, and Moshe mind, words that awaken.
Ma'oz discuss "Current Here are some of the finest
Manifestations of Anti- minds in Jewry from around
the world.
Jewishness."
Albert Memmi, Simon
I wish I could find among
Herman and Peter Y. Med- the estimated 800 million
ding present "Variant Pat- Christians of the world a
terns of Jewish Identifica- similar ratio of sensitivity
tion," and still others like and creativity, of clear
Gerson D. Cohen, Irving thinking and courageous
Greenberg; Immanuel appraising as are to be
Jakobovits, Nathan found among these foremost
Rotenstreich, and Zev Katz Jewish thinkers. But I can-
devote their attention to not, and I am saddened.
"The Centrality of Israel
However, when I think of
and Interaction Among Israel as a land and as a -
World Jewish Corn- state and as a people, I re-
munities."
call the men and women
In all three areas of who speak in this book,
thought the discussants "World Jewry and the State
quoted briefly but sagely of Israel," and I am hear-
such luminaries as Jacob tened.
Jewish Congressmen Favor
Black Issues, Report Says
By JOSEPH POLAKOFF
WASHINGTON tjTA) —
Jewish members of the U.S.
House of Representatives
overwhelmingly as a group
favor legislative measures
selected by the Congres-
sional Black Caucus as of
"concern to black and
lower-income persons," the
latest detailed report of vot-
ing in the House by the pub-
lishers of America's black
press has disclosed. The re-
port did not deal with the
Senate since there is no
black caucus in that body.
The report by the Na-
tional Newspaper Pub-
lishers Association on "18
key issues" in the current
session of Congress from
January through August
compares the voting records
of the 435 House members
with the standard of the
caucus which the publishers
said they believe "repre-
sents the position of the
black community."
The publishers reported
the selected issues ranged
from the six budget resolu-
tions on funding for lower-
income persons, the
Rhodesia policy, school de-
segregation, fuel assistance
for the poor, and amend-
ments to restrict affirma-
tive action for upliftillik
minorities in employm eW
.
and education.
Of the 23 Jewish Con-
gressmen, nine had per-
fect records of support
for the position of the
Black Caucus. Of the 15
black Congressmen, two
failed to achieve 100 per-
cent records in this re-
spect. Of the remaining
397 members of the
House, only 12 achieved
perfect records.
Thus, Jewish Con-
gressmen, numbering less
than six percent of the
House membership, repre-
sented 42 percent of the per-
fectionists by Caucus
standards, more than eight
times their numerical total
apart from the Black
Caucus members.