THE JEWISH NEWS i CSPS 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 W. 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. PHILIP SLOMOVITZ Editor and Publisher ALAN HITSKY News Editor ,h CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ Business Manager HEIDI PRESS Associate News Editor DREW LIEBERWITZ Advertising Manager Sabbath Scriptural Selections Thiss Sabbath, the first day of Heshvan, 5741, the following scriptural selections will be read in our synagogues: Pentateuchal portion, Genesis 6:9-11:32, Numbers 28:9-9:15. Prophetical portion, Isaiah 66:1-24. Candle lighting, Friday, Oct. 10, 6:41 p.m. VOL. LXXVIII, No. 6 Page Four Friday, October 10, 1980 AN ANTI-SEMITIC COVER-UP The shocking experience of an avowed sup- porter of terrorism being permitted to portray the role of a Jewish survivor from the Nazi ter- ror has even more serious implications. It has permitted the enemies of Israel, and of the Jewish people, to permit anti-Semites to adopt a pose of sanctity under a cloak of kindness for Jews and only of opposing Zionism. It is a kind of cover-up that is even more damaging than the most virulent anti-Semitism and it demands clarification rooted in warnings to all not to fall into a trap of condoning a Genocide under false pretenses. What has happened in modern times is that the excoriation by Pope Pius XI of Jew-baiting, in his warning against the sin of anti- Semitism," has caused the vilest of haters to seek recourse elsewhere in spreading their venom. They found an escape by attaching their hatreds to Zionism, by giving the impression they are not anti-Jewish but only anti-Zionist. This crude insult has crept into some of the quarters of the media and in the circles of televi- sion operators. Seeking to justify the Vanessa Redgrave role, some have approached Jewish representatives with the defensive, She is not an anti-Semite, she is only an anti-Zionist." It is on this score that the battle for truth must be fought and the Jewish position clarified anew. The search for a "Zionist stigma" is an at- tempt by the Russian and Arab blocs to cover up their hatred of Jews, with Israel as the chief medium for such prejudices, by making the Zionist the goat. The honest Christian has sensed this trick, the knowledgeable historian understands it, and it is important that the av- erage human should not fall prey to such vile distortions. Any attempt to delude people into believing there is something shady in Zionism will learn from truth that Zionism relates to Jewish his- tory, to Prophecy, to libertarianism. An erasing of Zionism from Jewish identity would mean an abandonment of Scripture, a negation of the aspirations and dedications of Jews to their his- tory and traditions. The Christian Zionist knows it as well. The haters have not hidden even with the cover-up provided for them by Vanessa who waved a .gun at PLO meetings to demonstrate a desire to destroy Israel. She can- not hide truth from fact. The obligation is to end the misrepresenta- tion of truth, to emphasize that Zionism cannot be separated from Judaism, to declare as loudly as truth-seeking demands that a complete Jew glorifies the Zionist ideal and goal. Jews especially must adhere to this principle of Zionism as an ideal inseparable from Jewish identification. Let there be a total refutation of the anti-Zionist cover-up in an adherence to the Zionist principles with pride and dignity. JPS AS A PRIORITY Book Fair activities, now in progress, have many meritorious aspects. They introduce noted authors to the community and they in- spire purchase and reading of important liter- ary works. They serve to encourage discussions of the many topics emphasized in the volumes to be reviewed during the Book Fair sessions. This year's Book Fair sponsored by the Jewish Community Center together with a large number of cooperating groups has an additional contributing purpose. The special attention to be given to the Jewish Publication Society of America shoUld assist in fulfilling an urgent need — that of enrolling larger numbers as sponsors of the important movement aimed at producing scholarly works dealing with his- torical, religious and social matters. As a major factor in Jewish publishing tasks, the large bookshelf containing the JPS products perpetuates the major Jewish classics in every field of endeavor. To enumerate the many of the JPS publica- tions would in itself require an entire volume. The record established by the JPS is most cre- ditable and invites most dedicated cooperation. In this respect there is cause for concern. That the total JPS membership from Michigan should be not more than 300 is cause for disap- pointment. The need for informative reading in Jewish homes is such an urgent necessity that at least 10 times that number would not be an underestimated aspiration for the major Jewish publishing movement in this country. It is commendable that the sponsors of this year's Jewish Book Fair should have dedicated 'a special evening to the Jewish Publication Society of America. This should provide the necessary acquaintance with the JPS that could well vastly increase enrollment in the society's membership. This should be a major aim of this year's Book Fair. ISRAEL MDA AND RED CROSS Inviting, and accepting, the emblem of the Magen David Adorn for display in its building, the Southeastern Michigan Red Cross authorities indicated anew that they favored inclusion of its Israel counterpart into the In- ternational League of the Red Cross. This retains for this community's Red Cross leadership the dignity of rejecting the political prejudices which have failed to make Israel's Red Magen David an equal of the Red Cross on a par with the Moslem Red Lion and Sun and Red Crescent organizations. The injustice of rejecting the MDA still is on the record. The Michigan Red Cross authorities are among the adherents of fair play and of practical realization that the services MDA re- nders are on a par with other similar move- ments in the world. It is hoped that the forthcoming Red Cross international deliberations will correct the in- justice. Meanwhile there is a continuing sense of gratitude to the Michigan leaders for adher- ing to their fair play policies. It -is the American spirit of fair play that guides the actions of the Southeastern Michi- gan Chapter associates of the Red Cross. Schocken Paperback Crystal Night Documented, Tracing World Reactions How the world reacted to the horrors of the Nazi crimes and the burning of synagogues on Nov. 9, 1938, is related in "Crystal Night," which first appeared in 1972 and is now reissued as a paperback by Schocken Books. "Crystal Night" by Rita Thalmann and Emmanuel Feinermann, translated from the French by Gilles Cremonesi, provides a full ac- count of the horrors, at the same time listing the countries which collaborated with the Nazis, while indicating the assistance to the sufferers from the liberal nations where some of the sufferers were given refuge. The occurrences on Crystal Night are thoroughly reviewed by the two authoritative authors. Material drawn from Nazi sources and accounts provided by the victims of that night of ten-or are utilized to document the indictment of the brutalities committed. This volume is the completest account of the night of terror which initiated the Holocaust. Miss Thalmann, a graduate of the Sorbonne of France, a spe- cialist in the history of World War II, is now director of the Institute for German Studies at the University of Tours. Feinermann lives in Paris where he is preparing a doctoral thesis on history and physics. Sobibor Death Camp's Tragedies Another Schocken paperback that exposes the death camp hor- rors is "Sobibor: Martyrdom and Revolt" by Miriam Novitch. This volume provides the detailed account of the Sobibor death camp. Miss Novitch draws upon the experiences of 30 survivors of the Sobibor camp. An introduction to this volume by Leon Poliakov describes Miss Novitch's 35 years of study and research which resulted in the publi- cation of this documentary of one of the horror stories of the Nazi brutalities. Poliakov expresses the hope "that these tragic pages will serve as a warning to mankind that the day will come when discrimination, genocide and war will disappear and that peace — Shalom — the dream of our prophets will be established in the whole world." Miss Novitch's deeply moving account enumerates the many Nazi crimes, including Crystal Nacht and her introduction em- phasizes these facts: • "The Commission for the Investigation of Nazi Crimes in Poland gives the following figures: "Belzec: 600,000 victims. "Sobibor: 250,000 victims. "Treblinka: 800,000 victims. "In regard to Belzec, there is nb remaining eyewitness to confirm exactly the number of victims. Calculations are based on the number of Jewish residents in the neighboring towns who were deported to Belzec. Based on investigations made in Poland, it is estimated that 800,000 Jews perished in Treblinka. This figure is probably correct and it is engraved on the mausoleum which was built on the site of the camp in 1964. "As for Sobibor, the figure of 250,000 dead is less than accurate. All we know are the exact dates of the arrival of the convoys from Holland. As in Treblinka, many groups of Gypsies were also mur- dered in Sobibor. It is estimated by historians that over 500,000 Gypsies were murdered by the Nazis."