THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Author Forsees Jewish People's Survival
By SHARYN PERLMAN
(Copyright 1980, JTA, Inc.)
Samuel Pisar is con-
vinced that the Jewish
people will survive until
eternity because they have
developed a sense of inven-
tion." He offers two histori-
cal examples in his "Of
Bloode and Hope (Little,
Brown): Joseph's inventing
the need for a dream in-
terpreter while enslaved in
Egypt and Daniel's in-
vented ability to read the
writing on the wall.
As he speaks, Pisar con-
veys the distinct impression
that none can be more cer-
tain of his words than
Samuel Pisar.
A noted international
lawyer and holder of docto-
rates from Harvard and the
Sorbonne, Pisar believes it
was this sense of invention
and creativity which enable
him today to be counted
among the living rather
than one of the Six Million
Jews who perished at the
hands of the Nazis.
After a short-lived,
comfortable childhood in
Bialystock, the Nazis who
invaded Poland sepa-
rated young Pisar from
his parents and sister at
the age of 12 and sent him
off to the death camps
completely alone. There
he formed what would
become life-long friend-
ships with two camp in-
mates, Ben and Niko —
friendships which
cemented his will to sur-
vive.
Retrospectively, Pisar
says of the Jewish people,
"the adrenaline of survival
is in our blood." Jewish his-
tory is full of threats to
Jewish existence, but the
Jewish people have re-
sponded to those threats —
an "experience which cuts
across time and space."
Pisar continues, "My
identity as a Jew is the
closeness I feel with the
Jews of all the ages . . . what
ties me to the Jewish people
is a common bond of suffer-
ing . . . a tremendous source
of strength . . . the greatest
strength is found in being
part of the Jewish destiny."
For Pisar, the Holocaust re-
newed that strength. Man's
natural energy manifested
itself under the extreme
conditions of the death
camps.
His Bar Mitzva in
Maidanek, and thousands of
others celebrated through-
out Jewish history under
the horrendous conditions,
proves the resourcefulness
of the Jewish people, he ob-
serves. The infinite capacity
to invent and create is what
reeds survival. The Jewish
people, in wanting to
preserve their Jewish iden-
tity, resorted to this basic
human tendency.
After the war, Pisar
lived in Australia where
his uncle had settled be-
fore .' Hitler's rise to
power. The Australian
family sensed this same
need to preserve the
Jewish people — "even if
only in the form of re-
habilitating one teen-age
kid," says Pisar. For
them, it was a question of
saving the Jewish people,
of undoing a bit of Hit-
ler's work.
Pisar stresses the impor-
tance of a secure Israel. The
Jewish people must know
that they have the land now
because no one can guaran-
tee them sanctuary or secu-
rity. "We know this from
previous holocausts' in his-
tory," he exclaims. "You
have to be crazy to think
they cannot do it to us
again."
For him, this is a healthy
paranoia because "if you are
not prepared for disaster,
you are inviting it." The
preparation can only come
through education —
Jewish youth must be edu-
cated and made to feel this most enlightened nations
paranoia. For Pisar, "survi- on earth, the nation that
val is something that gave the world Gutenberg,
everyone must be part of," Goethe and Beethoven,
without necessarily ex- willingly had laid at his feet
periencing a personal Au- an unlimited mandate to
schwitz.
govern.
Australia was the site of
"He was the progeny of
Pisar's transformation from economic depression, of
a physical to an intellectual deep unemployment, and of
being. The war years had rampant inflation. Au-
taught him survival in the schwitz was the logical out-
basest sense. A year in Mel- come of these upheavals and
bourne spent convalescing of the venomous hatreds
from tuberculosis taught they inevitably engender."
him there must have been a The seeds of uncertainty
reason why his life was . and unrest are what caused
spared — a life which now the German people to accept
had a new focus.
Hitler's schemes. Europe
"Hitler had come to pow'er fell into indifference — an
through the normal demo- attutide to be feared above
cratic process. One of the all others.
Friday, September 12, 1980 21
Nobody,
diamo
for les§.,f;-h,
-
Shop around and compare. Then bring us your best
price. We'll beat it You will soon discover who has the
lowest price and the largest- selection of diamonds anywhere.
• Hundreds of settings to choose from •
HOWARD S. NISKAR • GIA ACCREDITED DIAMOND APPRAISER
You'll Need Us — To Be Sure!!
VISA'
SE
CARTIER WATCHES AND FINE JEWELRY
Expert Watch &
Jewelry Repair
PIANO.
"THE DIAMOND PEOPLE
FOR OVER 50 YEARS"
30555 Southfield Rd. • Congress Bldg., Suite 100
Southfield, Mi. • 1 block south of 13 Mile Rd. • 645-9200
WE GIVE
ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS
A FIGHTING CHANCE.
Many savings plans offer high
interest. But with most you need to
invest a sizable amount of money
to collect it.
With a First Federal 30-Month
Money Market Certificate, you can
earn an especially high rate of ,
interest on a deposit of only $100
or more. Check the box for
additional details.
This interest rate is guaran-
teed to remain at this high level for
a full two and one-half years
regardless of what happens in the
money market. Equally important,
your savings are insured to
$100,000 by the Federal Savings
and Loan Insurance Corporation.
We have other certificate
plans that also pay high interest. All
pay the highest rates you can get
at any bank or savings association
in Michigan.
If you have funds invested
somewhere else, bring in your
passbook and we'll be happy to
transfer your money for you to the
First Federal account of your
choice.
Whatever you do, don't take
the current economic situation
lying down. Fight back. With high
interest from First Federal.
30-Month
Money Market Certificate
ANNUAL RATE
11.500%
12.367%
ANNUAL YIELD
Effective Thursday, Sept. 4, 1980
thru Wednesday Sept. 17, 1980.
Deposits of $100 or more are
continuously compounded to give you
an even higher effective annual yield.
Federal regulations require a substantial
penalty for early withdrawal from certificate
savings accounts.
Call our hot line, (313) 965-2020,
24 hours a day for our current rate.
Wparsr&eyaarirg,z,afia'
yaw- 41mr9a-g/i25(i.-e.ifo gymetv
11191
FEDERAL
"
Purchase American products, protect American jobs.
FIRST FEDERAL SAVINGS OF DETROIT
Main Office: 1001 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, Michigan 48226. Phone: ( 313) 965-1400.
Branch offices throughout the Detroit Metropolitan Area.