2 Friday, laidly 11:
News
Purely Commentary
So Many Devils on the Scene,
While the World Fails Seeing
Jewry as the Testing Barometer
Long ago it was said that the Jew is the barometer of
world occurrences.
The way a country treats the Jew is the manner in
which the punishment will come for the evil-doer.
When there is anti-Semitism, there will always be a
reaction and the oppressor will rue the day.
If a country starts its cruelties with the Jews, others in
the land of suppression of just rights will soon share in the
agonies of the persecutors.
Such are the barometric factors in the Jew's role in the
world.
For decades, Jews warned of the evils of the two-
headed Russian eagle, one looking toward Constantinople
and the other towards the Russian capital, in the Russian
bear's aspiration for domination. Now it is recognized that
the energy crises are becoming aggravated with the Rus-
sian aspirations for access to the Persian Gulf and domina-
tion over the oil fields of the Middle East.
Is it getting late for the United States and the Western
powers to retain a sense of international security against
these aims?
In the United Nations, Israel has been the scapegoat
for nearly three decades. Lately, under Third World domi-
nation, Israel was the target of the world's hatemongers.
The secretary general was seldom helpful in matters in-
volving Israel's just rights. Now he is tasting the fruits of
injustice on a trip of fruitlessness to one of the world's most
treacherous spots in the world. Israel and Jewry failed to
serve as a warning and as a barometer to the man at the
helm in the UN who has never shown compassion for Is-
rael's needs.
A challenging test for action is in the Olympics. Now
many countries are debating whether to boycott the games
in Russia. Now the 1936 blunders are recalled. Then, as
now, there was a dispute over injecting politics in sports.
Hitler won the test at that time. Will the Kremlin similarly
prove the victor while the world is debating over the mean-
ing of politics at a time when sportsmanship is dragged into
the gutter?
The American Olympic Committee's actions in 1936
remain to this day the most despicable for having given
credibility to Hitler. Now the same test may be relating to
Moscow. Once again, as in the 1936 test, the Jew is the
barometer because he was the most abused by Hitler.
There is much to be learned and the Jewish experi-
ences are the guides. But they are seldom utilized, except in
the gravest of crises. Will time once again be the healer?
A Unique Journalistic Incident:
Can It Lead to Demand That
Correspondents Adhere to Truth?
Something very unique may have just occurred on the
way to the Letter Box of a great newspaper.
So much venom creeps into the public letter columns of
American newspapers. So much hatred is thereby distrib-
uted, so many falsehoods are disseminated, that the
suggestion of a way of preventing such abuses would add
glory to the American press.
First, it is necessary to describe the man who may
become the medium for such new tactics in the press. He is
Norman Gourse, a retired 77-year-old Manhattan con-
cerned citizen who has dedicated his life to refuting anti-
Jewish propaganda and to defending Israel. Norman
Gourse studies the facts, compiles them, submits them to
American newspapers and scores upon scores of his letters
have appeared in many periodicals.
He submitted much of his copy as advertising and has
spent a fortune paying for these insertions.
Many of his paid advertisements in the New York
Times were picked up by organizations and individuals in
campaigns in defense of Israel and they served a valuable
purpose in presenting the facts in refutations of libelous
untruths.
Readers of The Detroit Jewish News should be well
informed about him. He has been mentioned in these col-
umns numerous times.
He wrote one letter recently to the NYTimes which
elicited a query from none other than Anthony Lewis. The
Lewis name is well known. It appears frequently on the
NYTimes Op-Ed Page over signed articles, many of which
have been assailed as unfairly critical of Israel. His articles
appear in newspapers which subscribe to the NYTimes
feature service. Acknowledging arrival of a letter in the
NYTimes editorial office from Norman Gourse, Anthony
Lewis wrote to him:
The editors have shown me your recent letter. I
do not know whether they will have space for it,
but I wanted to ask you a question.
You say that the mayor of Nablus "actually con-
spired 's) encourage activity by terrorists." Could
you please tell me the evidence for that statement?
I mean evidence, not McCarthyite charges by
The Jew as Barometer in Mankind's Experiences ... As the
Jew Is Tested, So Must His Fellow Man Anticipate
the Consequences of Failing to Act Against Tyranny
people who have never been near the Mayor, and
not vague words used during a private conversa-
tion with a general of the occupying forces.
Norman Gourse was angry. Perhaps he was overly
angry. Yet, if what has occurred will help bring an end to
the spread of untruth under the guise of "public opinion,"
some good will have been accomplished. Gourse has the
facts. He replied to Anthony Lewis:
I am astonished that such an erudite journalist
as Anthony Lewis, an expert on Mideast, should
question my charge that al-Shaka conspired to
encourage activity by terrorists. I did not say he
taught the science of bomb-throwing. But this
man does endanger the peace for which Israel
strives so hard (and for which, I believe, you
rarely give credit).
I will not reveal my private sources of informa-
tion for fear of jeopardizing those who aid Israel's
intelligence service. But a well-documented re-
cord on Shaka follows:
August 1977: Shaka, interviewed by an Italian
newspaper; deplored Israeli presence in West
Bank, charging falsely that Israel was throwing
many young Arabs into prison.
December 1977: His visit to Jordan, then to
Libya where he met PLO officials and deplored
Sadat as a traitor, a threat to Palestinians.
January 1978: In Kuwait, he pledged that West
Bank mayors would jeopardize Begin's plan for
autonomy.
January 1979: He led an organization in violent
action concerning the Cave of Machpela in Heb-
ron.
May 22, 1979: Met the American consul, de-
plored the Camp David accord and emphasized
he would persuade Palestinians to frustrate all
attempts at autonomy (even though it offers far
more freedoms than ever before Israeli occupa-
tion — and despite his election in a truly demo-
cratic process unprecedented in Mideast).
June 1979: He organized, initiated a strike in
Nablus, heading the procession, distributing leaf-
lets warning shop-keepers to close up. A mayor
inciting the populace — flouting the law! Shake
was an activist sentenced to four years in prison
by Jordan when as head of BATH ( Socialist
party) he pledged aid to Syria.
You are doubtful "if the editors have space" for
my letter. All I am good for are the many
thousands spent for 15 ads in the Times. Scores of
my letters fail to meet Times standards — al-
though good enough for Chicago Tribune, San
Francisco Examiner, Miami, St. Louis, Provi-
dence, etc. Over 200 letters published in U.S. and
Canada over nine years. Conscience dictates as-
sistance to a gallant democracy, loyal to U.S. I am
not sanguine that my comments will be published
by The Times.
This could be viewed as a mere exchange of letters, as
an insignificant incident in journalistic experience. But it
is much more. The question may well be posed: What if
every attempt at spreading hatred in letters to editors were
treated with a request for facts: could not a grave evil be
eliminated from the press?
It is not an easy thing to propose to editors. It is not as
simple as it sounds. Yet, there are so many occasions when
the vilest propaganda gets space in important newspapers
that it would be well for editors to emulate what Anthony
Lewis did to Norman Gourse.
Meanwhile, Norman Gourse remains the conscience of
his fellow men. He is a concerned citizen who is devoted to
the task of defending his people. More power to him.
Refusal by the Washington Post to publish an adver-
tisement submitted by the Iranian government which con-
tains abusive attacks on the United States has some rele-
vance to this entire problem. It is true that in this instance
the abuses were so direct and insulting, so untrue, that the
rejection of the ad was easily understandable. But many
Arab anti-Israel ads which were accepted and published
were equally untrue and explosive. How much leeway must
a publisher or an editor have to judge the untrue and to be
able to give emphasis to the factual and the undeniable? It
is not a matter of censorship. It is a question of an obligation
to protect people against misrepresentaitons, and such
policies should be sought with dedication.
By Philip
Slomovitz
was challenging the Arab author. In fact, without merely
reviewing the Said arguments, he gave him comfort.
It was a prejudicial review and it proved the point that
unless one really seeks the truth he does not serve his
calling well.
The fact is that Prof. Said was not discussing the Mid-
dle East and Israel and the Arabs; he was not concerned
with peace-making that has elevated Anwar Sadat to polit-
ical genius. He was concerned with Palestine as the preju-
dicial factor among elements aiming at Israel's destruction.
And HaupiKlid not see through such devilry.
A Bright Spot in a World Marked
by Cruelties: The Exchange of
Israel-Egyptian Ambassadors
In a world marked by so many cruelties it is heartening
that in one trouble spot there is sunshine.
The exchange of ambassadors between Egypt and Is-
rael is such a markedly historic event that it justifies rejoic-
ing•
It calls for added encomia for the courageous Egyptian
president, Anwar el-Sadat.
He isn't cowed by the venomous in his area. He defies
those who threaten destruction. He has reached an agree-
ment with Israel and he adheres to it. He has a pact with
Israel's prime minister, Menahem Begin, and he protects it.
Blessed be this important event in the history of Israel
and Egypt, in the chronicles of mankind.
In the Public Forum: Significant
Comments on Two Subjects
The immense value of a public forum, of readers' ex-
pressions on vital matters, is emphasized in the readers'
forum in this issue.
One of the letters recalls the support that was given by
China to the Balfour Declaration and the Zionist cause.
As a reminder of the more cheerful experience between
a world power and the dream of redemption by the oldest of
nations, perhaps it will encourage closer and friendliest
Chinese-Israel relations.
Then there is the agonizing description of how at least
one university graduate with a doctoral degree suffers from
a newly-imposed quota system in education. Will it awaken
the American community to a new consideration of the
effects of affirmative action? Will there be recognition that
it is discrimination in reverse?
The two messages are worth studying. They emphasize
the importance of the letter box in newspapers, the public
forum.
Rabbi Isaac Stollman's Role
as a Zionist, Orthodox Leader
Rabbi Isaac Stollman fulfilled a life's ambition: his
final resting place is in Jerusalem. He had a devoted career
in leadership and his chief appeal to American Jewry was
for Aliya. He showed a personal example by settling in
Jerusalem whence he kept inspiring his followers in Or-
thodox tenets, in the Zionism to which he devoted his life. to
the traditions in which he emerged as an avowed interpre-
ter.
He had the good fortune of participating in the ad-
vancement of a great university, Bar-Ilan, which counts his
brothers Max and Phillip and sister-in-law Frieda (Mrs.
Max) among its chief supporters. He had the great satisfac-
tion of attending ceremonies at which the latter three were
awarded honorary doctorates.
He has written his name indelibly in the history of
Detroit Jewry and in the records of the Mizrachi Orthodox
Zionist movement, and this is a distinction of great merit.
Israel's Liber . ty Bell Garden
A Sample of Attempt at
`Evenness' That Proves Prejudicial
Anthony Lewis was not alone in committing the error
of not aiming at even-handedness while going off on a
tangent that resulted in prejudice.
Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, reviewing Prof. Edward
Said's "The Question of Palestine," in the Jan. 4 New York
Times, perhaps inadvertently gave Israel's enemies a plat-
form with too few attepts at probing the entire truth. Haupt
made a couple of comments to give the impression that he
Shown is a portion of the Liberty Bell Garden in
Jerusalem. The $2 million park is an outgrowth of
America's Bicentennial celebration in 1976 and is
symbolic of the friendship linking Israel and the
United States.