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2 Friday, May 16, 1980
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Purely Commentary
The John Anderson 'Christ
Crusade': Noteworthy Frankness
In his speech to the Conference of Presidents of Major
American Jewish Organizations, last week, Congressman
John Anderson, independent candidate for President, men-
tioned his sponsorship, in the 1960s, of a Constitutional
amendment to recognize Jesus Christ as an inspiration for
the American government. He called it "ill-advised, wrong,
a mistake on my part."
It is to the credit of the candidate who is gaining so
much attention that he introduced the matter himself,
without permitting it to become a subject for challenge.
Much has already been
said regarding his resolu-
tion and it is proper to let it
be more thoroughly
analyzed. The best coverage
on it, letting it be known
that Congressman Ander-
son offered his resolution
three times, was by Stewart
Ain in the Long Island
Jewish World. The writer
had gone into such detail
and had made contacts of
spokesmen of prominence,
thereby completely cover-
ing what might be a cam-
paign issue. Therefore, Ain
JOHN ANDERSON
is worth quoting.
One of the men interterviewed by Ain was Abe Foxman
of the ADL who told him that although he did not believe
other candidates for President would make an issue of the
matter, it is reported that Carter campaigners are already
circulating copies of the Anderson amendment. Here is the
story as unveiled by Ain in the Long Island Jewish World:
Foxman pointed out that the proposed amend-
ment was changed each year it was submitted.
The first time, it only called for Christianity to be
considered the national religion. But the third
time it was proposed it carried two other pro-
visions. One stated that the amendment was not to
be constrded as abridging anyone's freedom of
religion, the press or assembly. And the second
gave Congress the right to allow those with differ-
ent religious beliefs to swear qualified allegiance
to the law of the land, and not to a state religion.
Those changes, Foxman said, indicated that
Anderson was changing his position on the issue.
He also said that Anderson later voted against
school prayer in public schools, an indication
that he had "really changed his mind" on the is-
sue.
But Hyman Bookbinder, the Washington repre-
sentative of the American Jewish Committee, told
the Long Island Jewish World that he disagrees.
In an interview from his Washington office,
Bookbinder said he finds the whole thing "really
quite distressing.
"For a political leader even to toy with the idea
that this is appropriate legislation for the Con-
stitution of the United States is mind boggling,"
Bookbinder said. "I am glad that he has re-
pudiated it. It is gratifying that he is man enough
to say that he made a mistake, but certain mis-
takes remain disturbing. It's a bad mistake."
Adding that the language of the proposed
amendment was "just plain horrible," Bookbin-
der read the following portion of Anderson's pro-
posal: "This nation devoutly recognizes the
authority and law of Jesus Christ, Savior and
Ruler of nations, through whom are bestowed the
blessings of Almighty God."
Had that proposal been included in the Con-
stitution, Bookbinder said, it would have
explicitly identified those Americans who could
not accept it as being a minority, and a group that
couldn't swear allegiance to the Constitution.
"It is very difficult to forgive him for this mis-
take. This was done in the year 1965. It was not the
period of McCarthyism. It's absolutely shocking."
Many related issues are certain to be introduced in
campaign rhetoric. The commendable Anderson position is
his frankness. That reduces much of the criticism that
could be leveled at him. But his views will nevertheless be
subjected to scrutiny on religious matters, and that's of his
own making.
Honors for Emma Schaver Recall
Role of Lamed Vav Tsadikim
The announcement just issued by the Hebrew Univer-
sity in Jerusalem that its Harry S Truman Research Insti-
tute for the Advancement of Peace is embarking on a pro-
gram of promoting peace in the Middle East lends special
significance to the activities in this area to be expanded at
the leadership conference this week-end.
There is a reminder of the commencement of this proj-
By Philip
The John Anderson Background as a Propagator
of Religious Assignations for This Country ...
When Muskie Was a 'Salesman' for Israel Bonds
ect when 36 American Jews combined their efforts in behalf
of this peace project to honor the late President Truman.
Mr. Truman personally welcomed the establishment
of the Truman Center for Peace when he welcomed the 36
contributors of $100,000 each in his home, and included in
the gathering was Emma Lazaroff Schaver and the late Al
Borman, the two Detroiters who helped engineer the
movement.
The 36 became known as the modern Lamed Vavnicks,
Lamed Vav being the Hebrew equivalent for the numerals
36.
In "A Book of Jewish Concepts," Dr. Philip Birnbaum
provided the definition for the traditional Lamed Vav
Tsadikim, the 36 Righteous, thus:
LAMED-VAV TSADIKIM
The 36 hidden saints (1:171 1",), described by
legend as being extremely modest and upright,
concealing their identity behind a mask of ignor-
ance and poverty and earning their livelihood by
the sweat of their brow, are generally referred to
as lamedvovniks. This widely-held belief among
pious Jews is based on a talmudic statement to the
effect that there are in the world no fewer than 36
righteous men in every generation who "greet the
Shekhinah," the Divine Presence (Sanhedrin 97b;
'Din Intux
Sukkah 45b). The biblical verse
(Isaiah 30:18), meaning "blessed are all those who
wait for him," is used as proof-text alluding to this
idea, since the numerical value of the word 1`, is
36.
The lamed-vav tsadikim are also called nistarim
(concealed). In the folk tales, they emerge from
their self-imposed concealment and, by the mystic
powers which they possess they succeed in avert-
ing the threatened disasters from a people perse-
cuted by surrounding enemies. They return to
their anonymity as soon as their task is accom-
plished, "concealing" themselves in a Jewish
community where they are unknown. The lamed-
vovniks, scattered as they are throughout the
Diaspora, have no acquaintance with one an-
other. On very rare occasions is one of them "dis-
covered" by accident, in which case the secret
must not be disclosed. The continued existence of
the world depends on their righteousness, it was
popularly believed.
There will be a communal recollection of the services
rendered by the 36 Righteous who included Emma Schaver
when she receives the Hebrew University's Scopus Award
at a luncheon Sunday sponsored by the Michigan Chap-
ter of American Friends of the Hebrew University.
The Truman Project and its initiators merit recognition.
The honor for Emma Schaver is rendered especially im-
pressive because of her role in that objective. The Lamed
Vavnicks were traditionally men. Now a share in academic
glories is accorded a woman of many qualities, the honoree
Emma Schaver.
Drinan Goes Back to Church;
Recalling Wise and Holmes
On orders from the Pope, Robert F. Drinan, one of the
most courageous liberals in the U.S. House of Representa-
tives, is abandoning a career in politics. Drinan will not be
a candidate for re-election to the U.S. House of Representa-
tives, the Vatican having ruled that church and state are
not to intermingle and that priests are not to be involved in
politics.
Drinan's absence from Congress will be a loss for the
people he now represents and for the country at large. He is
a fearless man. He is among those who speak out in Israel's
defense and he wrote a book on the subject.
The Drinan experience is a reminder of earlier years
when the right of a man of the cloth to be active in politics
was questioned. -
Now, also, there are frequent challenges to rabbis and
priests to speak out often on political matters and to be
fearless in tackling political as well as social problems.
Stephen S. Wise and John Haynes Holmes are the
names to recall in the early pulpits in this country who
never hesitated to demand justice for the oppressed, to
condemn indecency in public life. Dr. Carl Hermann Voss'
"Rabbi and Minister" recounts many of these experiences.
Drinan's withdrawal from political life encourages re-
newed interest in the Wise-Holmes record when rabbi and
minister fought courageously for decency in politics.
Recalling Role of Moshe Pijade,
Marshal Tito's Right-Hand Man
The death of Yugoslavia's President Josip Broz Tito
recalls the role of his Jewish right-hand man for many
years, Moshe Pijade (1883-1955), an artist and a journalist
of note.
In "The Jews of Yugoslavia" by Harriet Pass Freiden-
reich, published by the Jewish Publication Society this
month, the following reference is made to Pijade:
The most important and best known Jewish
representative in the history of Yugoslav Com-
SIOMOVitZ
munism was Moshe Pijade, who was born in Bel-
grade's Dorcol. An artist and a journalist, he be-
came the chief ideologist of the movement, trans-
lating Marx into Serbo-Croatian while spending
most of the interwar years in prison. During and
after the war, Pijade was Tito's right-hand man.
Designated a National Hero, the highest possible
honor granted by the socialist state, he served as
vice president of Yugoslavia until his death in
1955.
Apparently Pijade had abandoned all interest in
Jewish life, but the Freidenreich history points out that a
Moshe Pijade Choir was formed by the Jewish community
of Zagreb. -
In the latter years of his life, Pijade played a po
role in his country. Pijade may have been influentia n
assuring the just rights the Jewish community enjoyed
under Tito.
Secretary of State Muskie
as an Israel Bonds Salesman
Secretary of State Edmund Muskie made it clear at his
swearing-in ceremony for the leading diplomatic post that
he is not an expert on foreign affairs but that he speaks his
mind freely.
The new Secretary of State is among the tried and
proven friends of Israel. He appeared on Zionist platforms
and supported the Israel Bonds programs.
On Dec. 13, 1970, in Kan-
sas City, Mo., he made this
statement:
How fruitful the in-
vestment in peace
could be, compared to
the price of war.
Amidst the constant
hazard of battle, Israel
has continued work-
ing to fulfill a dream of
redemption.
Your support— both
moral and financial
through the sale of
Isarel Bonds — has
been indispensable to
the survival of that
EDMUND MUSKIE
dream.
The record is factual. Muskie speaks his mind. As head
of the State Department it'll be interesting to observe how
emphatically he affirms the friendship for Israel. Based on
the obstructive that was in evidence, especially at the UN,
over whose U.S. delegate he has the power of control, how
he guides their actions will be watched. The blessings that
greeted his appointment in Israeli quarters proves the effi-
cacy of diplomacy and protocol.
U. of Minnesota Research
Many Holocaust Survivors
Well-Adjusted: New Study
MINNEAPOLIS — Many
Holocaust survivors and
children of survivors have
not experienced the serious
psychological problems
commonly associated with
those who underwent the
tragic ordeal, according to a
new study by the psychol-
ogy department at the Uni-
versity of Minnesota.
The study, which was
presented by Gloria Leon, a
professor of psychology at
the university during a re-
cent conference in San Di-
ego, differs from previous
research in that it takes into
account those survivors who
have not sought psychiatric
help as well as those who
have.
The survivors we studied
are without significant
psychological disturbance,"
Prof. Leon said. She studied
a group of 144 European
Jews and their children,
and found the survivors of
the Holocaust to be quite
similar psychologically to a
control group.
Of the total group of 144
Jews and their' children
studied by Prof. Leon, 33
were survivors of the
camps, 38 were children
of this group, 19 were
German Jews who hid
from the Nazis, and nine
were children of this
group.
Some 29 German and
other European Jews of the
same age who came to the
United States before World
War II and 16 of their chil-
dren were used as a com-
parison group, matched in
cultural background l
other factors to the
vivors.
The survivors and the
comparison group v
given the Minnesota
tiphasic Personality Inven-
tory exam (MMPI) and two
psychological question-
naires designed by Prof.
Leon. The MMPI is an ex-
tensive psychological test
that has been given to
groups throughout the
world since the early 1940s.
"These people underwent
unspeakable, unimaginable
stress over a very long
period of time," Prof. Leon
said. "Yet they overcame it
and are leading productive
lives with healthy chil-
dren."