THE JEWISH NEWS ,USPS 275 520) Incorporating The Detroit Jewish Chronicle commencing with the issue of July 20, 1951 Member American Association of English-Jewish Newspapers, Michigan Press Association, National Editorial Association Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publishing Co., 17515 W. Nine Mile, Suite 865, Southfield, Mich. 48075 Postmaster: Send address changes to The Jewish News,-17515 W. Nine Mile, Suite 865, Southfield, Mich. 48075 Second-Class Postage Paid at Southfield, Michigan and Additional Mailing Offices. Subscription $15 a year. PHILIP SLOMOVITZ Editor and Publisher ALAN HITSKY News Editor CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ Business Manager HEIDI PRESS Associate News Editor DREW LIEBERWITZ Advertising Manager Sabbath Scriptural Selections This Sabbath, the 13th day of Heshvan, 5740, the f011owing scriptural selections will be read in our synagogues: Pentateuchal portion, Genesis 12:1-17:27. Prophetical portion, Isaiah 40:27-21:16. Candle lighting, Friday, Nov. 2, 5:07 p.m. VOL. LXXVI, No. 9 Page Four Friday, November 2, 1979 LEADERSHIP FOR YOUTH Much has happened — is happening — in a world so obsessed with uncertainties to compel an increased interest in the value of leadership and to ask who is to be assigned to it. It is a problem that invades all areas, affects all concerns, the socially minded and the politi- cally oriented. Is it any wonder that the choice of a President during the 1980 national election has become a matter of so much dispute? The question of leadership is of the utmost urgency for the Jew in his domestic affairs as an American citizen who is dedicated to a contin- ued cultural-spiritual role as well as an advo- cate of most dedicated means of supporting and defending Israel. This becomes an involvement also for all friends of Israel who know the impor- tance of that state's identification with the United States in assuring an American position of honor in the Middle East. Consideration of proper leadership in Jewish ranks becomes vital for the retention of the ideals that are imbued in the outlined aims. Under conditions of stress the strength of direc- tion is of the utmost importance, and there is an obligation to assure drawing upon knowl- edgeable and determined young people to be- come involved in leadership. Knowledgeability is understandable._If there is to be firmness, those assuming leadership must be able to confront anomalous approaches, to reject distortions, to be qualified to outline to antagonists as well as to friends how and why such issues as that of the Palestinians have been dragged into such confusions as to create dangers to international friendships and to peace among nations. Palestinians are the Arabs to be dealt with, to be negotiated with for a solution to problems of territory and neighborliness. That does not permit participation of terrorists in such' dis- cussions. This is only one of the issues confronting leadership. Perhaps it is time to recognize that perhaps the present leadership of elders is get- ting tired, and tiresome thinking can affect ac- tion and might cause either indifference or cynicism. Isn't it logical to urge, now, that encourage- ment of youth to assume leadership is both timely and a necessity? Therefore, the urge for youth to study and be prepared for higher tasks in communal identifi- cation, to accept leadership responsibilities, to train and be ready for it. Assumption of leadership by the younger set is vital. It should be given encouragement and cooperation. What may have been missed by the elders now must be sought and adapted by the youth in their assumption of leadership. In the recent crisis involving a flirting by irresponsible Americans with the anti-Israel and anti-Jewish terrorists, headquartered in Beirut, some Jews in leadership positions defined their attitude as that of "puzzlement." The challenges confront- ing Jewry and Israel defy ineptitudes. When one attacks he cannot be treated as a puzzle. He needs an answer, a refutation,• a rejection. Youth must learn to be truly vigilant. That's when leadership will be effective. NOBEIAISTS AND MERIT Nobel Prizes awarded currently affirm adherence to the view that merit continues to dominate in academia and in recognition of achievements. It is not the color of a person's skin that counts. It is the skill, the brain, the desire to achieve and to serve. It is not the country one comes from. It is the desire to learn, to search, to do research to im- prove man's lot on earth. That is why in the current list of Nobelists there are whites and blacks, people of all faiths. Recognizably, Jews continue to be Nobel Prize winners out of proportion to their num- bers on earth. Here another element enters into the achievements. In many cases it is the need to overcome obstacles. Minorities have that urge — to overcome difficulties to gain status in a society where one has to battle for equality. Therefore, for Jews who were told thatwhen there is discrimination one has to be twice as good as the competition in order to be recognized as half as good as the opponent, it is necessary to strive for the highest goals. These are the lessons in the Nobel Prize competitions. The glories attained by blacks and whites are the results of human skills striv- ing to create new ideas and develop skills that make civilization and humanity the gteat goals for comfort and peace for mankind. A SYMBOL. CA LLE D BEGIN In the sensations that have captured and often captivated news headlines, punctuated with the names of Jackson, Arafat and their ilk, the aggravating references were to Menahem Begin. Every reference to the brutalities per- petrated on orders from Yasit Arafat contained, in his defense, the claim that the PLO mass murderer was no different from Begin. This is the distortion, the libel that must be refuted with all the available facts. Begin was the leader in the revolt of the Yishuv, the Jewish settlement in Palestine, against the pledge-breaking British. He con- ducted a military and political war. He battled against Perfidious Albion. He warned that in- nocent people should not be harmed. He would not touch the hair of a child or a woman shop- ping in a supermarket. He warned the British in advance that he was readying to bomb the King David Hotel. When an Arab village was in-. vaded, his forces were drawn into the fray with white flags and were then shot upon, thus caus- ing the counterattack at Deir Yassin that re- sulted in tragic deaths. Arafat fights children, orders the throwing of bombs into supermarkets, shoots at innocent people on buses and planes. He does not fight a war militarily. He conducts mass murder. Yet he and his cohorts, including the misled Ameri- can blacks, would equate him with Begin. A Publisher's Compilation An Encyclopedic Anthology of 100 Outstanding Jews Is Printed by Doubleday David C. Gross had a distinguished career in editorial capacities. He supervised numerous noteworthy publishing projects. He served as executive vice president of the Jewish Publication Society of America and had similar roles with the EncyClopedia Judaica, Keter Publishing Co. and Sabra Books. He is eminently qualified for anthological writing and biographi- cal studies, as evidenced in "Pride of Our People" (Doubleday). It is a history of 100 outstanding Jews. His selection is an excellent one. Some inclusions will surprise the readers who have knowledge of Jewish events. Some omissions will be equally puzzling. Doubts could be raised about some of the notables included in this collection of Jewish celebrities. Some are among the converts: But if Benjamin Disraeli can be claimed as a Jew, so can many others. Gross dealt with many categories. There are the scholars and rabbis and the artists, statesmen and politicians, Hasidim and secularists, artists and authors, scientists, judges, people from many lands. The presidents of Israel are included in this volume and the only omission, that of Shneur Zalman Shazar, is puzzling. Highly commendable in the Gross an- thology is the inclusion of the heroes of the resistance to Nazism, the survivors and those who carried on a struggle for life and liberty. Heading the list is the Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal. In list belong the following who are a the great Jews selected for inclusion in DAVID GROSS "Pride of Our People": Leo Baeck, Ruth Kluger, Tzivia Lubetkin, and the martyred, including Anne Frank and Janusz Korczack. There are the heroes who died in the battles for Israel's freedom and to defend the Palestine Yishuv, as well as those who died in the battles of the ghettoes: Joseph Trumpeldor, Mordechai Anilewicz, Hanna Senesch. The most effective review of this volume would be to include the 100 names, as an indication of the great contributions to Jewry and mankind. Taken at random, here are some of those illustrious figures: Stephen S. Wise, Nathan Straus, Solomon Schechter, Golda Meir, Bernard Baruch, Artur Rubenstein, Theodor Herzl, Rebecca Gratz, Gerard Swope, Ernest Bloch, Emma Lazarus, Moses Mon- tefiore, Albert Einstein, Haym Nahman Bialik, Vladimir Jabotinsky, S.Y. Agnon, Shalom Aleichem. The eminent in Israel are in the book and so are the patriarchal figures in Jewish history, like Hillel. There are the merchant barons and the women who helped up- hold the spiritual values of Jewish life and inspire learning. The value of this book lies in its being so effectively encyclopedic. It will be valued by all who seek' information about the most noted personalities in Jewish history.