THE JEWISH NEWS
SPS 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 \V. 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.
CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
Business Manager
Editor and Publisher
ALAN HITSKY
News Editor
HEIDI PRESS .
Associate News Editor
DREW LIEBERWITZ
Advertising Manager
Sabbath Scriptural Selections
This Sabbath. the sixth day of Adar, 5740. the following scriptural selections will be read in our synagogues:
Pentateuchal portion, Exodus 25:1-27:19. Prophetical portion I Kings 5:26-6:13.
Thursday. Fast of Esther
Prophetical portion Exodus 32:11-14. 34:1-10. Prophetical portion (afternoon only), Isaiah 55:6-56:8.
Candle lighting, Friday. Feb. 22, 5:55 p.m.
VOL. LXXVI, No. 25
Page Four
Friday, February 22, 1980
BRAINWASHING AND TERROR
Fears of an impending backlash that may
harm Israel and fears that the Administration
in Washington now seeking retention of power
for another four years may turn its back on
Israel may prove unfounded. Nevertheless,
there is an accumulation of evidence that the
concern over the future of the Egyptian-Israeli
peace agreement may face serious obstacles,
with spokesmen for the Carter Administration
lending comfort to rumors of an impending
threat to Israel's position in the Middle East and
the Jewish state's security.
Adding distress to the concerns over an im-
pending change in U.S. policies affecting the
Middle East and the future relations with Israel
is the Presidential campaign. While there is a
certainty that all candidates of both major par-
ties will pledge- suppport for Israel,- there are
voices from Arab quarters that predict a
threatening abandonment of priorities for Is-
rael in the growing power of her Arab enemies.
Thus, the Near East Report of the America Is-
rael Public Affairs Committee points to these
growing sentiments:
"In an interview last month -with the
Lebanese daily As Safir, Saudi Arabia's Crown
Prince Fand said, 'President Carter told me he
was prepared . . . to recognize the PLO if it ac-
cepted Resolution 242 after omission of the last
part which describes or refers to the Palesti-
nians as refugees. He affirmed to me that if the
PLO accepted an amended Resolution 242, the
United States would recognize it.'
"In another interview last month, this one
with the London-based Al Hawadess, Fand
added, 'My understanding was that the
President agreed that Israel should withdraw
from the lands occupied in 1967.'
"Libya's leader, Col. Muammar Qaddafi, said
in December that he had assurances of a U.S.
policy change after Carter's 're-election.' Qad-
dafi told a New York Times reporter that he
expected U.S. Middle East policy to shift to 'a
more neutral posture' if the President is re-
elected.
"The latest Arab ruler to speak out on U.S.
policy and the Presidential elections was Hus-
sein. According to Beirut's An Nahar, -•-He
stressed that the re-election of President Carter
provides the best opportunity for expecting the
U.S. to press Israel to grant Palestinian rights.
Not only is President Carter aware of the nature
of the issues in the Middle East, but once he is
installed for a second term, he will not worry
about group pressures in the Presidential elec-
tion and could, therefore, bring about a Palesti-
nian homeland.'
"President Carter is not necessarily responsi-
ble for what Arab leaders claim he has promised
or for unsolicited endorsements. In addition,
some of the remarks on Carter's 'assurances,'
particularly those from Qaddafi, come from
sources that are low on credibility. Thd signifi-
cance lies in the fact that-the statements from
the three leaders of such varied countries came
so close to each other, and in the evidence that
they reflect a broader sentiment in much of the
Arab world."
Meanwhile, there is the growing danger that
out of the tragedy of the hostages in Iran there
may develop the menace that usually relates to
Israel and Jewry becoming the scapegoats in
the world crisis.
Several occurrences point to the danger of
brainwashing. An arch criminal, Hillarion
Capucci, who as Archbishop of Jerusalem
smuggled guns for the terrorist PLO, was por-
trayed as one of the religious leaders who was
permitted to confer with the hostages. The im-
pression gleaned from his visit was that an Arab
notable had come to comfort the imprisoned
while others were shunning them. This could
lead to brainwashing. How could the hostages
possibly know that the man who came to them
as a man of faith had propagated and continues
to advocate terrorism against innocent people?
Similarly, the posing as a peace-maker by
PLO leader Yasir Arafat is another indication
of the capitalizing by terrorists on a tragic situ-
ation, with the foxy aim of misleading public
opinion. The many hours accorded to Arafat by
the Iranian President Abolhassan Bani-Sadr
should serve as another warning that the anti-
Israel sentiments they share and express pub-
licly must be treated with great caution. The
PLO has gained notoriety in the claim of its
efforts to secure the liberation of the -hostages
and Arafat is acclaimed as the leader in such a
movement.
It is in this connection that Barbara Walters
had posed the question: "Will the PLO ever dis-
avow its stated objective of destroying the state
of Israel?" Here is the Arafat reply: "Where did
you ever read such a thing?" So that no one
should ever be misled by this reply let the PLO
Covenant be recalled:
Article 10: "The liberation of Palestine is a
national duty to repulse the Zionist, imperialist
invasion from the great Arab homeland and to
purge the Zionist presence from Palestine."
Article 19: "The establishment of Israel is
fundamentally null and void. The claim of a
historical or spiritual tie between Jews and
Palestine does not tally with historical
realities."
Article 20: "The Palestinian Arab people re-
jects every solution that is a substitute for a
complete liberation of Palestine .. ."
It's a pity that there must be constant remin-
der of the recorded PLO position aiming at Is-
rael's destruction. The greater danger is in the
threatened brainwashing of the hostages and
their families and therefore also of a large por-
tion of the American people who may be led to
believe that Arafat, Capucci and their ilk are
liberators, while they are in reality a mere
breed of terrorists.
While hope is retained for President Carter,
who has such a good record as one of the chief
engineers of the Egyptian-Israeli peace accord,
there is need for caution and the warnings of an
impending claim for "even-handedness" in the
Middle East may really be the beginning of an
undermining of the U.S.-Israel friendship. To
prevent such a calamity it is necessary to be on
guard and to prepare for action now, not after
the November elections.
`Art of Judaic Needlework'
Focuses on Ceremonials
History gains an important ally in artcrafts and is impressively
defined in "The Art of Judaic Needlework: Traditional and Contem-
porary Designs," by Ita Aber (Scribners).
The dedication to the idea of interpreting the Jewish arts in
needlework makes this a most fascinating story of ceremonial objects,
traditional Jewish projects and related matters.
In this extensively-illustrated book, Mrs. Aber shows in em-
broidery such objects as Torah mantles, Sabbath scenes and objects
relating to all the holidays as well as the Sabbath.
The Hebrew alphabet is utilized for embroidery purposes and the
results must prove thrilling because of the author's interpretive skill.
Expressing the hope that her work will inspire her readers "to
rediscover and participate in the rich tradition of Judaic needlework,"
Mrs. Aber offers a vast amount of material to prove her point.
Here are some of the objects illustrated and defined in "The Art of
Judaic Needlework": Prayer shawls, Sabbath table center pieces and
bread covers, the Ark curtain and Torah mantle, Torah breast shield,
the marriage canopy (hupa), Passover pillow and matza bag, Shavuot
themes, Sukkot and Simhat Torah ceremonial themes, the Shofar,
Purim masks, Hanuka wall hangings, embroidered alphabets,
Mezuzot, bridal ornaments and scores more.
Interesting sources that encouraged Mrs. Aber's creative efforts
are listed in a lengthy bibliography.
In its totality, this book, so definitively narrated, gives emphasis
to an art related to the past and assured of continuity in modern times.
It truly inspires an interest in the ceremonial arts and in devotion to
attaining expertness in needlework.
`Death Camp of Treblinka':
Its Tragedies Documented
Alexander Donat, as author of a series of works dealing with the
Holocaust, includes among his contributions to the subject the
documentary "The Death Camp Treblinka" (Schocken Books).
Now available as a Schocken paperback, a number of con-
tributors to the volume include sufferers from Nazism, survivors from
the death camps, leaders in the resistance forces.
Abraham Krzepicki describes "Eighteen Days in Treblinka."
"A Year in Treblinka" is the subject covered by Jankiel Wienik
The manner in which "I Survived" is the topic of Samuel
Willenberg.
There was a revolt in Treblinka and it is recalled and annotated
by Tanhum Grinberg and described by Shalom Kohn in "The Treb-
linka Revolt."
Samuel Rajzman depicts the end of Treblinka and the triumph
over Nazism in that place of horror.
Additionally, this volume contains a photographic chronicle of
Treblinka, the Dramatis Personae depicts the hangmen, the rebels.
the survivors, the fighters against the tyrannies of Nazism.
Listing the SS ranks and providing an important bibliography.
there is also a special section dealing with the excerpts of judgments of
the two Treblinka trials.
Thus, the Alexander Donat-edited book is a complete history of
one of the horror camps established by the Germans and the resis-
tance to it by the heroic suffe-rs from the Nazi plague. It is unquestion-
ably an outstanding work on one portion of the Holocaust.
.