3Zfl ;NI -11 1 1 2 Friday, May 9, 1980 ' , THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Purely Commentary Detroit News"Student? Hah!' Calls the Bluff With Facts From the earliest days of the barbarian terrorism per- petrated in Iran with the incarceration of the Americans in the U.S. embassy in Teheran, there were the revelations in fact that the PLO as well as Soviet agents were responsible for the revival of medievalism in modern times. In its editorial "Students? Hah!," the Detroit News called a spade a spade, presented the facts, called for aban- donment of glorifying the terrorist gangsters as students. The Detroit News editorial stated: A large number of captors who hold the 50 American hostages in Tehran are not what they say they area The language of Iran is Farsi (Persian). Gun- toting guards in khaki fatigues at the American embassy speak Arabic. Although they call them- selves students, it's unlikely they have ever seen a campus. Who are all those sinister-looking creeps? In a recent MacNeil/Lehrer Report television program, Arthur Meyerhoff, a petroleum con- sultant with solid connections in the Middle East, said "a large number of these so-called students . . . are actually Syrian militants." Three diverse intelligence sources in Washing- ton confirm that statement and take it a step further. The Syrian militants, these sources tell us, are actually Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) operatives, mainly from Damascus, who carry Soviet-made weapons and are trained and other- wise aided by the USSR. The PLO people, capitalizing on Iran's up- heaval, quickly joined the bizarre coalition of Muslim fanatics and leftist radicals who are now pitted against the political moderates. Thus, there's a direct Soviet connection with, and a direct Soviet responsibility for, the captiv- ity of American diplomatic personnel. _ So please let's not have any more of this "milit- ant" or "student" business. The jailers who man the iron gates of the U.S. Embassy are, for the most part, PLO terrorists who are being aided and abetted by Russia. It is important that these facts be known. It is also vital to truth and the tackling of the many issues involving the bestialities that are spreading because of the comfort often given to would-be murderers that the truth be established. Nevertheless, while acting on U.S. orders to veto a dastardly resolution aimed against Israel at the UN Secu- rity Council, U.S. chief delegate to the UN Donald McHenry was somewhat apologetic. Why the apologies when it is necessary to expose diplomatic crimes? The Genius of Ernest Bloch: Jewish Spirit in His Music, Oh, Those Students! — The Hugely Tragic Joke Exposed Editorially in the Detroit News . . . The Regrettable Blunders in Black-Jewish Relations in the U.S. scores like the "Three Jewish Poems," "Schelomo," "A Voice in the Wilderness" and the "Sacred Service," where the Hebraic nationalism was given free rein. Was there a Jewish nationalist before Bloch? Or, indeed, has there been one with his kind of vision after him? Writers of a previous generation used to,,refer to Bloch's Old Testament qualities, and he did create a kind of biblical music that nobody has ever even thought of duplicating. It is interesting to note that even with his extensive teaching and important pupils, Bloch never created a school. None of his pupils wrote in his manner. Now could they have done so even had they wanted to. For in Bloch's makeup was the sweep of Jewish tradition with its individual melisma, its chants and Orientalisms, its combination of melancholy and wry humor, its evocation of something so ancient it goes to the roots of his- tory. He forged his own style. It was a free, rhap- sodic style, in which the ancient elements were expressed irk tonal language considered very ad- vanced at the time. That is why the anniversary of Bloch's birth retains great interest in the composer. That is why the Jewish celebrants of the anniversary rejoice when paying honor to his name and the music he produced. Illogical Injection of Bias in Black-Jewish Relations Yassar Askari, Syrian minister of foreign affairs and director of the Arab Information Center, was quoted re- cently, in an interview, with Thomas Morgan, published in the Washington Post: "We are seeking support on the Palestinian issue, we are orienting blacks objectively about Arab life, and we are exploring those interests that we have in common." This is part of a campaign that must not be treated lightly. Here is another example of what is occurring in this respect: The April 5 issue of the Michigan Chronicle, the important organ of the Detroit black community, an excellently-edited newspaper whose editors have treated the issues affecting relations with Israel with a great measure of respect, reported: Rev. Jesse Jackson called upon black and Arab Americans to unite Friday (April 4) as he spoke before a crowd of 600 from Detroit's Arab com- munity gathered at Cobo Hall. He said that by fighting for the Arabs, blacks are also fighting for themselves. "We who have grown up under slavery and col- onialism must be consistent in regards to human rights to all people," he said, as he called for this unification. Rev. Jackson was speaking at a dinner spon- sored by the United Holy Land Fund, a non-profit organization created to aid people in the war-torn region of the Middle East. Rev. Jackson said he understood the plight of the Arabs of the world. "As a black American, I grew up on the West Bank, I have lived my life in the refugee camp," he said. He called upon the Arab community to form alliances with black Americans. He said that black Americans, as a group, can help lead Arab Americans to freedom. Regarding the Palestinian question, Rev. Jackson said; "No one has the right to choose the leadership of the Palestinian people but the Palestinian people." The 100th anniversary of the birth of Ernest Bloch is a welcome occasion for music lovers to review his enormous gifts to mankind. For the world Jewish community it is a time to express gratitude for his Jewish devotions as he expressed them in several of his noteworthy compositions. In a special feature in the New York Times, Harold C. Schonberg paid a glowing tribute-to Bloch who was born &Lily 24, 1880, in Geneva. (He died in 1959.) Schonberg points out that Bloch's "Schelomo" "will be around as long as there are cellists to play it." The NYTimes writer adds that "violinists still put :Baal Shern' on their programs." Bloch's "America" often graces many programs, and so does his "Helvetia." Schonberg emphasizes Bloch's Jewish role, stating: Ernest Bloch did bring something new to music. If nothing else, he was the first great Jewish BCE nationalist and most likely the only one of real 1000 King David captured the city and made it the importance. He was a nationalist in the sense that capital of his kingdom Ives, Smetana, Mussorgsky were nationalists. 970 King Solomon built the First Temple He did not have to quote Hebraic material; his Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, captured 586 music was Hebraic. He did compose a great deal the city, burnt the Temple, and exiled many of of non-Hebraic works, but it is as a Jewish its inhabitants to Babylon nationalist that he will be remembered. He repre- 515 Dedication of the Second Temple sented, he once wrote, "the Jewish soul, the com- 169 Antiochus desecrated the Second Temple plex, glowing, agitated soul that I feel vibrating 167-141 Hasmonean revolt through the Bible." 37 Herod's rule Here is an additional Schonberg tribute to Bloch worth quoting as an appreciation of Bloch's Jewish devotion: CE It has been many years since "America" was 66-70 Revolt against the Romans 70 last played in New York, and the chances are that Roman General Titus destroyed the city and it will remain unplayed (though the curious can burnt the Second Temple consult the Vanguard recording conducted by 132-135 Jerusalem freed in the Bar-Kochba revolt Stokowski). 135 Emperor Hadrian destroyed Jerusalem, rebuilt Works like this do not represent the real Bloch. it as Aelia Capitolina, and forbade Jews to "America" is sincere, it was written from the enter it heart, but it is a curiously childlike pastiche to 362 Emperor Julian permitted Jews to settle in the come from a composer of Bloch's sophistication. city Much more representative and meaningful are 614 Persians, with the help of the Jews. captured By Philip Slomovitz There is something rather depressing in a column by Aretha Watkins in the Michigan Chronicle, one of the leading black newspapers in the country, under the title, "History Repeating Itself?" Her column suggests a rift between Israel Prime Minister Menahem Begin and the U.S. ambassador to the UN, Donald, McHenry. She wrote, quoting Karl Evans, Washington correspondent for the St. Louis Argus: Evans reported in a recent story that Begin has an "intense dislike" of McHenry and called him "arrogant" after the two met earlier this year. What first drew Begin's ire was McHenry's re- fusal to lay a wreath at the burial site of victims of the German Holocaust during a visit to Israel According to Evans, "McHenry reportedly e: plained to Begin that he could not do so becaust the gesture could hinder U.S. efforts to reach a just and peaceful settlement of the Mideast crisis, since it might be misinterpreted by Arabs and Palestinians." Evans reports that covert maneuvering by Is- raeli officials and lobbyists at the UN to have McHenry removed from his post intensified when the ambassador cast the U.S. vote against Israeli settlement policy. Even though Secretary of State Cyrus Vance took full responsibility for the "vot- ing foul-up," Begin and other Israeli officials blame McHenry for the alleged error, Evans said. Asked to explain his actions, McHenry replied, "I follow instructions to the letter," adding that his instructions on the vote came directly from Vance via a telephone call. "Nevertheless, Israeli lobbyists have continued their efforts to have the highly respected ambas- sador suffer the same fate as his predecessor (Young)," Evans reports. There is something sinister in this. Jews did not seek the resignation of Andrew Young. It came as a result of his having betrayed a trust at the UN. Neither Jews in the Diaspora nor the Israelis bear a grudge against McHenry. He was rude to Begin on one occa- sion. That did not last as an_ irritation. The aim should be to cement- friendships, for blacks and whites, blacks and Jews, to labor together for the advancement of human dignity. Why do some seek to destroy such much-needed friendships? David Schwartz's Role as Columnist, Humorist, Historian David Schwartz will be missed in the Jewish press, and tens of thousands of his readers will be deprived of his humor and historical essays. Long before he began to write his column for the Jewish Telegraphic AgenCy, he gained recognition as an authority on American historical data. He qualified for the rabbinate, although he never com- pleted his theological studies. As a student of American Jewish history he excelled in many respects and his readers in the English-Jewish press were provided with many laughs upon reading the anec- dotes with which he dotted his writings. He will be miswl. in these columns and those of more than three score other newspapers. David Schwartz could share his humor with his tens of thousands of admirers because he could laugh at his own jokes. His several books provide a vast amount of Jewish and American historical knowledge. His memory will re- main in Jewish newspaper ranks where he was blessed and where his memory will be blessed. Important Dates in the History of Jerusalem the city, and its government passed into the hands of the Jews for three years 638 Caliph Omar Ibn al-Khattab captured the cit and 70 Jewish families were permitted to settle in a quarter adjoining the Western Wall 1099 Crusaders captured the city and destroyed its 'Jewish community 1187 Saladin,, Kurdish Sultan of Egypt and Syria, - drove out the Crusaders 1259 Tartar invaders ransacked the city 1267 Nahmanides and his disciples- coming from Spain laid the foundations for a newly or- ganized Jewish community 1488 Rabbi Obadiah of Bertinoro settled in the city centuries of rule (except for .a short Egyptian period) 1917 British army captured the city 1948 State of Israel declared 1948-49 War of Independence, and the division of Jerusalem into Israeli and Jordanian sectors 1967 Re-unification of Jerusalem after the Six-Day Wni-