y, September 19, 1980

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

iurely Commentary

Israel's Historic Right to Jerusalem• Defies the Many
Critical Approaches . . . Tribute to A Saintly Christian
Defender of Israel . . . The Many Predominating Negatives

By Philip
Slomovitz

Yom Kippur: The Message of Totality in Humanism

Yom Kippur's message to mankind is a source of pride in Jewish tradition. The
holiest day on the Jewish calendar is an acclaim of the totality of the humanism in the
highest levels of mankind's experience.
In an explanatory note about Yom Kippur, Dr. Irving Greenberg, who heads the
National Jewish Conference Center, offers a definition of the supreme humanism of this
holy day:
Yom HaKippurim is liberation day. In the jubilee year, the sounding of
the shofar at day's end "proclaimed liberty throughout the land for all its
inhabitants" (Leviticus 25:10). Slaves went free and land was restored to its
original owners, the families of Israel. Similarly, every year the Day of
Atonement brings freedom — from the crushing isolation of guilt. "For on
this day, He atones for you, to purify you; you will be purified from all your
sins, before God" (Leviticus 16:30).
Yom Kippur does more than lift the burden of evil. Forgiveness alone

The Facts About Jerusalem's
Status as Israel's Legitimate
Capital: Criticism and Reality

Jerusalem as an issue in American and world affairs,
the near-unanimous world alliance against Israel on the
subject, the hesitancy of the United States to act in fullest
accord with Israel, these and many other factors combine to
keep the issue alive and to make it one of the most serious
affecting the peace in the Middle East.
Therefore, all that can be gathered to define Israel's
role must be presented to the media, to the Jewish commu-
nity, to the world.
Arnold Forster, general counsel of the Anti-
Defamation League of Bnai Brith, is critical of Israel. He
states his criticisms in a letter published in the New York
Times. But he also presents the basic facts defining Israel's
just right to calling the Holy City its capital. His letter:
Now that the Egyptian-Israeli peace talks are
once again resuming, it is worthwhile to examine
what caused the most recent interruption.
Prime Minister Begin sometimes takes actions
regarded as unnecessary, controversial and ir-
ritating. It was upsetting to many people and
counterproductive for him to allow a bill to reach
the floor of Israel's Parliament that declares that
all Jerusalem, is, as a matter of law, the capital of
Israel; it has been so in fact since 1967. And for Mr.
Begin now to announce the long-planned removal
of his offices from West to East Jerusalem seems
to be thumbing his nose at the world.
The world reacted in the expected fashion —
angry, critical, vengeful. But who is to blame for
the present conflict over Jerusalem?
For a very long time, the Arabs have waged an
intensive international campaign challenging Is-
raeli sovereignty over Jerusalem. An array of UN
resolutions have been spread on the record,
thanks to the pro-Arab clique that controls the
UN, admonishing Israel for trespassing on what
Israel regards as its own most sacred city.
Typically, last March the Security Council
adopted a resolution requiring the dismantling of
Israeli settlements, including Jerusalem. And the
Arab League met just before the present donnyb-
rook and threatened to crush Israel unless it sur-
rendered the Holy City and the West Bank. Unfor-
tunately, our own government long ago joined
this Arab effort with respect to Jerusalem.
At Camp David two years ago, President Carter
told Mr. Begin that the U.S. did not recognize Is-
rael's claim to East Jerusalem. A month later,
then Assistant Secretary of State Harold Saun-
ders violated Camp David accords in assuring
East Jerusalem residents of partid.pation in the
proposed West Bank autonomy plan. This was
followed by countless U.S. announcements and
symbolic actions to show again and again its re-
jection of Israel's 13-year de facto governance of
the eastern side of its Eternal City.
When, as a result, Israel defiantly proclaimed
all Jerusalem its capital, the Security Council
immediately adopted a resolution ordering em-
bassies out of the city. Secretary of State Muskie
bitterly condemned the resolution — but refused
to vote against it.
Crown Prince Fand followed with an invitation
to all Arab nations to join Saudi Arabia in a holy
war to sweep Israel out of Jerusalem. President
Sadat was compelled to go along with all this in
his effort to break Egypt out of its isolation. And
the world took up the cry, blaming Mr. Begin for
again throwing roadblocks in the path of peace.
The simple truth is that Mr. Begin's "provoca-
tions" are Arab masks for their never-changing,
basic purpose: the elimination of Israel.
During the 18 years that Jordan occupied East
Jerusalem and the West Bank, the Arabs never-
theless wanted the Jewish state driven into the
sea. In the 32 years before the Knesset declared all

.

would leave the individual still alienated. This is a day of atonement.
Atonement means restoration to the wholeness of community and roots. It
means a new reconciliation and a new unification — of impulse and values,
of individual and community, of the human and God.
Anything that might relate to divisiveness among people is rejected in a time when
those especially related to the holy period are expected to atone for shortcomings.
Simultaneously, if there is to be atonement, all who have a function in the universe are
obligated to atone.
In the highest principles of ethical living, atonement is not a limitation to'a singe
day. Sinning calls for atoning and atoning could therefore also be a daily duty. On Yom
Kippur, however, the good that is in the human being acclaims superiority over the evil
which so often affects the mind of man.
Therefore this holy day reigns supremely in the conscience of the human who rises to
the highest levels aimed at making mankind supreme in the civilized spheres.

Jerusalem de jure its capital, the Arabs refused to
recognize Israel's right to any part of the city.
Long before Mr. Begin's announced removal of
his office to East Jerusalem, the Arabs demanded
all of Israel, including Jerusalem, for themselves.
Obviously, then, the so-called obstructionist
tactics of the Israeli Prime Minister are only Arab
excuses, not the real reasons, for continuing the
jihad against Israel. Yet it is true that when Mr.
Begin - reacts to Arab actions deliberately de-
signed to challenge his government's positions, he
creates the desired grist for Arab propaganda
mills.
In short, Mr. Begin can be faulted for providing
Israel's enemies with spurious pretexts for their
unending struggle against his country. But he
cannot be blamed for their basic attitude toward
the Jewish state or their efforts to destroy it. Let
us recognize the difference.
One thing is certain. Israel is united on the subject of
Jerusalem as her capital. Yet the issue now is becoming a
matter of such grave concern that defending Jerusalem as
Israel's capital becomes a Jewish battle cry in Israel's be-
half. It will undoubtedly be a matter of concern in the
debates by candidates for President. It is important that the
facts should not be ignored and the Forster statement
therefore is valuable in defining the issue.

The Late Rev. Douglas Young,
A Christian Defender of Israel
Whose Courage Is Unforgettable

One of Israel's most eminent supporters and defenders
passed away in Jerusalem last month. His memory must
not be forgotten. His services remain unforgettable.
The Rev. G. Douglas
Young found "the roots
of his life in the Bible,"
a Jerusalem radio
commentator said in
tribute to him. The
commentator's recogni-
tion of his services con-
tinued: He was a
Christian who believed
that the Bible con-
, tained promises to
God's ancient people
which were being fulfil-
led in this generation."
As founder. of the In-
stitute of Holy Land
Studies on Jerusalem's
Mount Zion, who de-
voted himself to
"Bridges for Peace," as
one of his books was ti-
REV. YOUNG
tied, he labored
towards encouraging Christian awareness and concern for
Israel. On Dec. 24, 1969, he stated in an article defining his
views on the subject of Christian-Jewish relations and sup-
port for israel:
As a Christian I testify to the joys, privileges and
freedom in Israel for me, my institution, my stu-
dents and faculty, the other Christian people,
churches and institutions in this dynamically ex-
citing part of the world, where at long last once
again, Jewish energy, creativity, and "follow-
through" are makirig the wastes a garden, the
desert to blossom, the crooked places straight.
I thrill to see so many of my own faith coming on
pilgrimmage to see and experience for themselves
all that is taking place here. I could only wish that
the pilgrim could find the way to stay a little
longer to let the real Israel seep into his consci-
ousness and expel the hate, the myths, the false
reporting that seems to be getting through the
mass media in other parts of the world, both in the
secular and in the church press .. .
That is why the pilgrim should come and stay a
while, to see what really is taking place here —

what God and people are doing together .. .
He was never silent when it was necessary to come to
Israel's aid. Therefore, his memory is being blessed as one
of the true Hasidei umot ha-aolam, the truly -righteous
among the peoples of the world.

The Predominating Negatives
That Add to Anti-Israelism

Would Newsweek have published an article as damag-
ing to Jewry and Israel if "Is It Good for Jews?" in its
current issue had been authored by a non-Jew? The editors
might have thought twice before giving a platform to the
negativism of Joseph Eger, music director of the Symphony
for the United Nations.
He- must have absorbed the UN hatred in the vehe-
mence with which he condemned Menahem Begin when he
declared, outright, in answer to the question "Is Menahem
Begin good for the Jews?" he replies: "The answer must be
No."
He doesn't explain. He merely compares him to his
father who sat shiva when his sister intermarried.
What the uninspired musician deals with is the
elementary set of complaints against Israel by the Arabs
and the PLO. He suggests negotiations with the latter,
supports a Palestinian state and 'assumes a defensive role
and becomes an adviser for submission which he calls a
matter that is good for Israel because it is good for the
world.
There is something amazingly depressing about the
notoriety given to such an article. It does not study the
facts. It assumes that Begin is the evil spirit to be rejected.
It fails to recognize the qualities that compel a wish for
protection, and the ridiculing of the hope for security, as if
the insecurity were exaggerated. This links this type of
advocacy of appeasement with the destructive in the
negotiating processes.
The communications media are not helpful when they
give a platform to such one-sided propaganda. The Camp
David accord is constantly being harmed by negativism,
and support for it vanishes with like comments by Eger.
There is a prejudice in anti-Israelism that grows when
a headline like the one in the Detroit Free Press reads
"Israel Lures Egypt . . Corrupts the facts.
That's how Israel's difficulties grow, and an an-
tagonism from a Jew doesn't help a bit.

Turkish Jews Beginning
to Feel Islamic Pressure

NEW YORK — The
Jewish population of Tur-
key has decreased by nearly
50 percent since 1965 and,
according to an article in
the New York Times, the
population figure may be
even lower since the Tur-
kish census no longer men-
tions religion.
There are approximately
25,000 Jews now living in
Turkey, according to the re-
port by Times correspon-
dent Marvin Howe. Jews
and Moslems are leaving
the country because of in-
creasing political violence
according to a leading lay
figure among the Jews of Is-
tanbul.
Although Jewish lead-
ers generally emphasize
that there has been no
tradition of anti-
Semitism either in Otto-
man times or in modern
Turkey, some do express
concern over the growing
zeal of Islamic militants.

"The principal reason for
concern is not any direct
threat to the community but
rather the fact that Turkey
lies in the Middle East of
1980, which continues to
feel the impact of the
Ayatollah Khomeini and
his Islamic revolution,"
Turkish Chief Rabbi David
Aseo said
In recent weeks, sevei___
developments have dis-
turbed Turkish Jews: a
bomb explosion in front of
the grand rabbinate in Is-
tanbul, which caused minor
damage but no casualties; a
raid in which Moslerr
student
theological
threatened and insulte
women bathers on an islai
where wealthy Turki
Jews swim;,p.nd a virul
anti-Zionist declaration
Necmettin Erbakan,
leader of the main
Islamic party, who v
Turkey to break rely
with Israel.