n 2 Friday, February 22, 1980 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Purely Commentary Leonard Bernstein: Adherence to Principle of Retaining Name Name changing is not a crime. There are occasions, however, when such practices depict cowardice. Leonard Bernstein provided a counterpart in an interesting experi- ence in his life which he has just revealed in relating his life's experiences. Serg Koussevitzky, who was Bernstein's idol, had ad- vised him to change his name in order to attain success. In the "60 Minutes" TV inter- view last week, Bernstein re- ported that Koussevitzky, who was then conductor of the Boston Symphony, ex- pressed worry that the Berns- tein name would be a hand- icap for the young genius in the musical world. He suggested that his name should be changed to "Leonard S. Burns. Berns- _ tein said: "I lost a night's LEONARD BERNSTEIN sleep over it, and came back and told him I had decided to make it as Leonard Bernstein or not at all." Leonard Bernstein may not know it, but he had fol- lowed a tradition of self-respect, and of adherence to tradi- tion. In his commentaries on the Passover Hagada, the very, eminent Bible and Talmud scholar, Rabbi Menahem M. Kasher, included this interesting statement: When God liberated Israel from Egypt, He pro- claimed, "Whosoever loves My children, let him come and take part in their joy." At that moment the righteous among the Egyptians came and celebrated the Passover with Israel; later they joined them in leaving the land, as it is written, "And a mixed multitude also went up with them." Beloved, indeed, are the strangers who join the Congregation of Israel. "And he became a nation there." From this we learn that the Israelites retained their uniqueness in Egypt, they did not change their names, their 'faith, or their language during all the years that they dwelt there, and they were always a nation apart. When the Israelites entered Egypt, they entered as Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah. When they de- parted from Egypt, they went forth as Reuben, Simeon, and so on. They did not call Reuben — "Rufus," and Judah — Luliani, and Joseph — Lis- tis. As it is said: their genealogy was as follows: "These are the families of Reuben." Nor did the Israelites change their language; they remained ever faithful to the holy tongue — Hebrew. Because of all these merits, Israel was re- deemed from Egypt. Is it any wonder that Cohen and Levi afe surnames, and the many names recorded in Holy Scriptures were adopted by the Pilgrims, by the lovers of the Bible, by people of faith? There is something uniquely proud in Rabbi Kasher's emphasis on loyalty to family nomenclature as well as language. Leonard Bernstein helped to give it added em- phasis. On the Political Scene: When There Is Talk Out of Turn Here is a brief excerpt from a statement by Israel Prime Minister Menahem Begin that has reference to a political dispute of uninterrupted interest: The government of Israel does not and will not inter- fere in the Democratic process of electing the President of the United States. The citizens of the United States should elect their president. We have always enjoyed, and will enjoy, the friend- ship of both parties, the Democrats and the Republi- cans. Without mentioning his name, it is clear that the reference was to Ezer Weizman, who went far afield to endorse the candidacy of Jimmy Carter for re-electiori as President of the United States. In a sense, the dispute is an old story. It will be recalled that when Richard Nixon ran for re-election in 1972 there were accusations that Israel, semi-officially, of course, was "backing" him and that some mistrusted George McGovern. (See Purely Commentary, Jewish News, Feb. 1, 1980). As Israel ambassador to the U.S. Yitzhak Rabin created a stir with his compliments for Nixon, he was accused of injecting his nation, Israel, into American poli- tics, and he defended himself in his autobiography, "The Name-Changing: Leonard Bernstein's Refusal to Abandon His Family Nomenclature and the Success in Adhering to . Israeli Temptations to Play American Politics Heritage Rabin Memoirs" (Little, Brown & Co.) Perhaps the real heat over Israelis as foreigners inject- ing themselves in American politics will escalate a bit later in the campaign. Meanwhile, there is speculation that Ezer Weizman's intrusion into the American political schemes are harming Israel. He had come to the U.S. to ask for a $400 million increase in American allocations of aid to Israel and failed. Here is how Eliahu Salpeter, the re- prespected Israel correspondent, described it in an article in the New Leader: At the White House ... Weizman emerged from a meeting with President Carter feeling optimis- tic. He even, rather undiplomatically, voiced the hope that Carter would be returned to the Oval Office for another four years. But no sooner did he arrive back in Jerusalem than the State Depart- ment informed the Israeli embassy that the aid figure for 1981-would increase by only $200 mil- lion in military credits. Weizman's critics and political opponents hurried to accuse him of having failed in his mis- sion, and of having made a fool of himself to boot. His friends, on the other hand, hinted that he had fallen into a trap laid by Begin, who is said to dislike the widespread speculation that he will sooner or later be succeeded by his defense minis- ter. According to this view, Begin knew be- forehand that there was no hope of increasing the aid figure and only wanted to damage Weizman's image as the successful optimist. EZER WEIZMAN YITZHAK RABIN There is a political campaign coming up in Israel as well and to link the two, as Salpeter did, is a veritable calamity. It is uncalled for and perhaps unwise. Neverthe- less, there are the human factors that cause an interest by Israelis in the American political campaign as Israelis are concerned with the outcome of events come next November in this country. The latter is much more vital. There has emerged a suspicion, which is growing, that the policies of President Carter are geared towards a delineation of American com- mitment to Israel. It is said and it is widely broadcast that a re-elected Jimmy Carter will be tough on Israel. This is where the American people come in. The neces- sity for a better public relations program in Zionist and Jewish ranks is all-too-evident. The American people must be advised of the realities of the Middle East — that only Israel, and to a large degree not also Egypt, are the only friends the U.S. has in the Middle East. Fair play for which Americans are famous cannot permit abandonment of Is- rael to the political dogs of prey. Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Fandis among foreigners who expressed a preference for President Carter. Such endorsements only add heat to the international interest in the current American campaign. They do not even heat it up and in no sense provide a kasher label for the President's re-election bid. But Saudi Prince Fand's declaration evi- dences a general interest and eliminates any suspicion that Israelis are alone among the intruders into the American political feuds. Keep Reminding: The PLO's Record of Mass Murders Yasir Arafat keeps gaining entrance into accreditation from the fomenters of trouble in many parts of the world. The report that he has been supplied with Russian tanks to conduct the war against Israel and Lebanon must not be treated lightly. His meeting with President Abolhassan Bani-Sadr of Iran, after he had cemented a pact with Ayall.ah Khomeini is another cause for concern. It is in the process of such "diplomatic" pact-making that the PLO often gains credibility, even in the high quar- ters of the most democratic nations. That is why it is so vital that the PLO record should not be hidden, that it should be recalled every time Arafat and his cohorts raise their ugly voices. Here is the expose which the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations was compelled to By Philip Slomovitz issue in order that the facts should remain on the tragically inerasable record: - Is it possible to fix a date when lawlessness and terror became the accepted norm in international relations? With American hostages still being held in captivity in Teheran, the question is worth pursuing. For if our country can do nothing to free the prisoners except wait for the Iranians to let them go, there may be some value in examining just how we got into the predicament — and how our nation's leaders might prevent future attacks. It is more than five years since the nations of the world publicly declared their willingness to ac- cept international terror as a way of life and the taking of hostages as an acceptable method of international conduct. The date was Nov. 13,1974. The place: New York. The site: the United Nations General Assembly- The event: an address by Yasir Arafat, the chief of Al Fatah, largest terrorist gang in the federation of terrorists known as the PLO. The delegates rose to give Arafat (a holster on his hip) a rousing welcome when he entered the hall and a standing ovation when he ended his speech. A grinning Arafat accepted the applause of the nations of the world and returned home in triumph. A week later PLO terrorists attacked the Israeli town of Beit Shean, killing and wounding eight persons. Indeed, every public manifestation of support for the PLO encourages more attacks. Two days after Arafat's meeting in Moscow with Leonid Brezhnev in March of 1978,34 Israeli men, women and children were massacred in an attack by PLO terrorists on a busload of vacationers returning home along Israel's coastal highway. While the Kreisky-Brandt-Arafat talks were taking place in Vienna last year, a PLO terror-squad was inter- cepted on its way to committing still another murder mission in Israel. Last September, five days after Arafat had been received by Spanish Premier Suarez in Madrid, a PLO'bomb exploded in downtown Jerusalem killing two and wound- ing 49. There is a direct line between Arafat's speech at the UN to the Zionism-is-racism resolution a year later to the seizure of Israel's — and then Ameri- embassy in Teheran. In inviting Arafat to ca's address them and in hailing his words, the nations of the world signaled the decriminalization of ter- rorism, including the seizure of embassies and the taking of hostages. It should have been no surprise that the PLO of Yasir Arafat provided training and weapons to the insurgents of the Ayatollah Khomeini as they prepared to take over Iran. It was equally to be expected that the PLO should seize Israel's em- bassy in Teheran immediately after Khomeini came to power. (Israel had prudently evacuated its personnel before the PLO invaded the build- ing.) That assault went unremarked; neither the United States nor any other country protested this attack on international law and the conven- tions of diplomacy. Now, alas, did our country see the capture of the Israel embassy as an omen of what might happen to our own building the same city. What a pity that the facts must be recalled for the benefit of humanity's forgetfulness, that when a menacing horde of terrorists pose as peace-makers they must be ex- posed! But in the search for truth and decency this must be done. — George F. Pierrot: A Tribute George F. Pierrot symbolized the most dynamic in journalism, the skill to observe and to enchant audiences in travelogues, the skill of storytelling, as possessor of a genuine sense of humor. As editor of American Boy he appealed to youth; as director of the World Adventure lecture series at the Art Institute he brought to this community the most knowl- edgeable interpreters of world-wide events by means of introducing them to the most progressive countries as well as the backward. He had an interesting role in the Christian Zionist movement. He was among the pioneers in the formation of the Michigan Chapter of the American Christian Palestine Committee and he presided at some of the chapter's func- tions. He was unmatched as a storyteller, and was especially skilled in the writing of limericks. If they are not published it will be a loss to those who relish humor. From all ranks come deserving tributes to the memory of George F. Pierrot.