.
•
:
2 Friday, December 1, 1919
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Purely Commentary
Lethargy and Selfishness, the Obstacles to
International Action to Stop the Khomeini
Atrocities ... Deluded Citizen Pleads for KKK
By Philip
Slomovitz
The 'International Selfishness' of Each Nation for Itself That Prevented Solution in Iran
Any wonder that so little attention is paid to the United Nations General Assembly
in general and in particular to the lunacy of having voted to reject the Egyptian-Israeli
peace agreement?
Imagine the depth of the anti-Israel bigotry that 75 nations should have voted to
declare an historic peace plan as invalid and only 33 countries opposed such a vote! The
fact that 37 other nations did not have the courage to declare themselves and that the
Third World alliance with the Societ bloc should have gone to such extremes is an
indication of the inanities which have made the General Assembly a hollow instrument.
Unfortunately, it retains its role as a public platform for rabblerousers. That's why
Arafat was able to attain a claim to status with the support of the dominant Third
World-Soviet bloc.
The mystery of it all, that a movement that was created for peace-making should
have become a means for hatemongering becomes even more puzzling in view of the roles
of countries like Iran and Libya under their present leadership. The tragedy for mankind
lies in the rifts created in the process of power-seeking. Oil gave power to bigotry and the
vastness of the danger to the world dependent on oil for the energy now necessary to
assure an uninterrupted industrial development and comfort for the peoples involved is
the influence of the Soviet Union. Underneath many of the plots that have encouraged
the possessors of the oil wells and the Third World peoples is the encouragement the
Kremlin has given to the destructive devises that have instigated hatreds caused as
means of splitting sentiments and causing suspicions among peoples who could live on
friendly terms.
This needs — it merits — repetition: that the editorial headline "International
Lethargy" could — should — have been branded "International Selfishness." Tom
Wicker shared the view in a column "The Allies and Iran" in the New York Times,
stating:
WASHINGTON — It may seem only a sidelight to the Iranian crisis that the
West German government has criticized an American bank that took legal action
Elias Rex Jacobs: Raconteur,
Humorist, Dedicated Journalist
for Buffalo, American Jewry
to attach a 25 percent Iranian investment in Krupp, the German steelmaker.
It may also be that the action by Morgan Guaranty Trust was premature and
uncoordinated with the Bonn government, as its officials allege. But it's clear
that these German officials are less concerned about that than they are that
Morgan's actions will jeopardize their relations with Iran, which supplies more
than 10 percent of West Germany's oil.
About 1,600 West Germans live and work in Iran, Bonn has about $300 million
invested there, and Iranian investment in West Germany is believed to total
about $800 million,
All these are substantial interests and the Germans can hardly be blamed for
not wanting them threatened by an American bank seeking to cover its share of a
loan to Iran. Yet Bonn's attitude seems to confirm a remark attributed here to a
high official of the Carter Administration. To help free the 50 American hostages
now being held in Iran, he said, the nation's allies have done everything they
could "except to hurt themselves."
This is how it is: for oil the Allies will resort to lip service but won't sacrifice available
energy products. That's the selfishness that blocks the action that might have speedily
solved the problem that created so much horror for the U.S.
That's how it is that each nation is for itself. Only Israel gave up oil for peace!
While the firmness of American policy - making is in the process, all nations must
judge the issue as if they were themselves affected. No one is immune from the terrorism
that has developed globally. Had a number of nations withdrawn their embassies from
Teheran it is reasonable to believe the situation might have been resolved.
Meanwhile, Egypt again emerged the courageous nation, with its insistence that
Islamic terms of justice demand an end to the Khomeini tactics. Kuwait mildly rejected
the current Iranian abuses of basic diplomatic regulations and only when all the Moslem
nations concur in such an expression of Islamic sentiment will there be an end to the
tyrannical from one of them.
New Method in Arafat's
Threats: Resort to Arms
Until now, Yasir Arafat has been boasting about his
terrorist acts against Israel, Israelis and Jews who visit
Israel or travel on Israel's airline. Now he threatens resort
to arms. In a report from London to the Jerusalem Post, its
correspondent Hyman Conley tells of the PLO leader's
schemes, thus:
Yasir Arafat has claimed that his "armies" will
"liberate" Jerusalem. He was speaking in an
interview with "8 Days," the Arab-financed
weekly magazine which began publishing here
some six months ago.
The PLO leader was asked what he saw as the
solution to the "big problem" of Jerusalem. "I
don't see it as a big problem," he replied. "Zionist
propaganda portrays this as a big problem.
He loved to tell a Jewish story and he relished the
Jerusalem is an Arab city. It was an Arab city and
humor of his people. His friends, his audiences were under
will remain an Arab city. Its occupation will not
his spell. It was to his credit that his greatest admirer was
last long." Asked "who is going to liberate it?" he
his wife, Ida. She was with him wherever he went and the
replied: "My armies. Sooner or later, together we
cheers that went to Eli were reflected in Ida's approval and
will enter Jerusalem."
cooperation.
The interviewer, Colin Chapman, editor-in-
When the American Association of English-Jewish
chief of "8 Days," asked whether Arafat thought
Newspapers, now functioning under the name of the Amer-
that the Jews in Israel could accept living in a
can Jewish Press Association, was founded, Elias Jacobs
secular Palestinian state.
became one of its most active leaders. He served as the
"I don't care what they think," he replied. "We
national secretary of the journalists' association for 15
have two solutions. One of them is to live together.
years and he became sort of a journalistic archiver. He was
We in our PNC (Palestine National. Council) have
a blessing for his adopted profession and for the Jewish
said that we will accept that all the Jews, all of
community.
them, can live in our secular state. That is one
solution. The second is that we would establish
There was something
our state on any part of territory which is liber-
very remarkable about
ated or from which the Israelis withdraw. But
Elias Jacobs and his long
they are offering nothing but slavery and misery
career of services to the
to my people."
Jewish people. He was a
He said that he had begun to feel that there was
New York City College and
a change in Israeli society. "Some of the Israeli
Columbia University Law
people have joined in our struggle."
School graduate and he
Except for his contention that he'll use an army "to free
practiced law for a few years
Jerusalem," there isn't much that is new in the Arafat
in New York. Then he came
schemes. Nevertheless, the direct quotation of his attitudes
to Detroit to do Jewish jour-
is important for general knowledge, so that he should be on
nalistic work, he acquired
the record with his ideal of forcing Israel into annihilation.
the Kansas City Jewish
It is clear that the constancy of exposing the Arafat
Chronicle, then went to Buf-
plans aimed at Israel's destruction must not be relaxed. At
falo to be associated with
the
same
time, the firmness in public opinion declarations
the Jewish Review there.
that Jerusalem is not to be divided again must not be
The Review was a sheet
abandoned.
nearing bankruptcy. It was
American recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of
ELIAS JACOBS
anti-Zionist. It followed the
Israel remains one of the major tasks in support for Israel
old, stupid ways of ignoring Jewish needs and of catering to by Jews everywhere and the non-Jewish friends of"Israel.
the few who wanted the social gossip. Elias and his wife Ida When this is attained it should be a contributing factor
struggled but they saved the paper, paid off all the depth towards speeding peace in the Middle East.
and grew into a society that admired and loved them.
Elias Rex Jacobs was a personality who justifiably
invited admiration.
He abandoned law practice for Jewish journalism. It
was less than lucrative by comparison, but he loved his
people and the medium he could use to be of service to the
Zionist cause, to Jewish educational programs, to the com-
munal tasks for aiding Jews wherever they may be.
It was as editor and publisher of the Buffalo Jewish
Review that he was able to express himself. And he did it
well because he mastered several languages. While he
wrote in English, he spoke Yiddish fluently, knew Hebrew
and related his linguistic abilities to his chosen profession.
It was thanks to Elias Jacobs that the new spirit of
Zionist idealism and of a love for learning developed in the
Jewish community. He knew how to battle for what was
right and he succeeded. It was because of his personal
devotion and his dedication to the sacred Jewish legacies
that he led his community into a revival of Jewish identifi-
cation and loyalty to the people and its culture that is now
the basis for Jewish dignity in Buffalo.
KKK Gains a Defender;
Horse Sense Needs an Injector
It has happened at last: a Jewish lad wrote to a local
newspaper and had his bile published, condemning the
Anti-Defamation League for exposing the Ku Klux Klan.
Why not? Isn't the Jewish community entitled to even
one bigotry-backer?
But the lad has support from the truly idealistic
American Civil Liberties Union whose policies give free-
dom of action to Nazis, Fascists, perhaps also the KKK.
What these idealists would do if and when KKK
burned a cross on their lawn remains to be tested.
What has already been tested is that sheer horse sense
is not for these guys. Who will perfect a horse-sense injector
for them?
A Hanuka Beneficence from
the Old Newsboys Goodfellow Fund
An annual fellowship act for the least affluent in the
community, provided during the winter holiday season by
the Old Newsboys Goodfellow Fund, gained a new rank in
charity this year. Hanuka has been taken into considera-
tion and a group of children of Russian immigrants now
residing in Detroit will receive gifts on a par with the
Christian children who are remembered at Christmas
time.
The Jewish Family Service, together with a group of
active workers in the Old Newsboys ranks, are making this
gesture for interreligious good will. Cooperating in this
effort are Judge Benjamin Friedman of Oak Park, Coun-
cilman Robert Naftaly, Fred Mann, Alan Ackerman,
Michael Binder and many others..
It wilkbe recalled that some of the most distinguished
Jewish leaders for half-a-century participated in the Old
Newsboys Goodfellow movement by turning into newsboys
for a day. This continued in Jewish and other ranks. Now
Hanuka is the means for kindnesses for a number of Jewish
children. It is an act that will further educate the recipients
of the good-will that predominates in this country.
The Land of Milk and Honey