2 Friday, December 12, 1980
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Purely Commentary
A Post-Hanuka Definition
of the Reason for Latkes
Many inquired: why latkes as a specified delicacy for
Hanuka?
Encyclopedia Judaica provides the answer in the fol-
lowing definitive explanation:
For Hanuka, Jews of all communities eat pastry
and potato preparations fried in oil as a reminder
of the miracle of the cruse of oil at the rededica-
tion of the Temple. Ashkenazim called them
latkes, or fasputshes, or pontshkes. They are
called zalaviyye (Yemen), dushpire (Bakhara),
ata-if (Iraq), spanzes (Tripoli), and by Sephardim
in general birmenailes. Hence the Israel suf-
ganiyyot — doughnuts — of Hanuka and the
levivot (latkes — potato cakes) have a long tradi-
tion.
A popular East European salad of this festival is
the retekh salat of radish, turnip, olives, and on-
ions fried in goose fat with gribenes or grivn
(cracklings), all the ingredients being popular in
the Maccabean era. As fat for Hanuka is rendered
from the goose used for Passover, this poultry
(and related game like the Dutch ganzebord) is a
popular Hanuka dish, and grivn are often served
with the latkes.
In Czechoslovakia, a shortbread cookie is made
of goose cracklings (grameln) for this holiday.
Yemen Jews eat lahis gizar on Hanuka, a sort of
carrot stew, carrots being the vegetable in season.
There could be a more realistic definition, contained in
a popular Yiddish song:
Zuntig bulbes, Montig bulbes, Dinstig bulbes, etc.,
Freitig un Shabbos a bulbe kugele or its equivalent: Sun-
day, Monday, Tuesday, etc., potatoes (the kartofel), Friday
and Saturday specially prepared pancakes and/or pud-
dings. The reason is the impoverishment of the ghetto that
limited the households to the lowest priced foods, and the
potato was it.
It is reminiscent of the Irish and the spud.
This generation is blessed: the potato is available in all
forms, even wrapped and baked. On Hanuka it is glorified
as the Latke. Blessed the Hanuka delicacy!
Israel as a Testing Ground
in Parliamentary Procedures
Israel's parliamentary government is a legacy from the
British Mandatory Power in pre-Israel Palestine. The
Knesset— Parliament — is composed on the basis of par-
ties. As long as the party rule predominates, even if it is a
coalition like all the Israeli governments in the country's
existence, in the instance of a non-confidence vote the gov-
ernment falls. It cannot be perpetuated as in the American
form of government. Canada and Great Britain, and other
Western European governments, function on the same
basis.
. The government of Menahem Begin nearly fell last
week. There are threats for repetitive no-confidence pro-
posals, and the latest move on the part of the opposition is to
strive for dissolution of the Knesset.
Interestingly, now there are rumors that because of the
closeness of the last vote Prime Minister Begin may resign.
This is a matter for conjecture, since the Likud Party mem-
bers are so anxious to retain portfolios until next Novem-
ber. Should the government fall, elections could be held
between March and May rather than in November of 1981.
Meanwhile, the parliamentary government systein
remains intact in Israel and the threats to it continue to be
manifold. The New York Times editorially described the
procedure as "Transition, Israeli Style," enumerating the
problems that affect the Jewish state:
Some Americans look with misplaced envy at
the parliamentary system. They see in it a method
for assuring that a discredited and unpopular
government can be dissolved expeditiously by a
no-confidence vote. In reality, the reverse is more
often the case. The weaker a parliamentary gov-
ernment becomes, the more tenaciously it clings
to office. As, for example, in Israel, where a di-
vided government staggers on precisely because
it has lost the confidence and support of the coun-
try.
Twenty times this year, Prime Minister Begin's
coalition has survived no-confidence votes in the
Knesset, most recently by a narrow 57-to-54 mar-
gin. Israel's inflation now rages at an alarming
130 percent, provoking 10,000 union members to
picket the Knesset. Key former Begin allies — like
Messrs. Dayan and Weizman — are in angry op-
position. The beleaguered government seems un-
able to do anything right, not even disperse a stu-
dent demonstration on the West Bank without
needlessly shooting teen-agers. The peace talks
with Egypt are bogged in confusion and delay.
Nonetheless, Mr. Begin continues in office and
will probably survive until next June or Novem-
Issue Emanating from Black Hebrews Problems
Needs Factual Considerations . . . Testing Ground
Provided by Israel's Parliamentary Procedures
ber, the deadline for the next election. What un-
ifies his fragmented coalition is the almost certain
knowledge that the opposition Labor Party will
win that vote. With a tenacity worthy of a better
purpose, Mr. Begin and his partners cling to office
and the semblance of authority.
But to what end? Israelis have an obvious con-
cern with the costs of one more year of palsied
government. Elsewhere, the agonizing Israeli
transition poses a practical dilemma for dip-
lomacy. No one can be certain who speaks
authoritatively for the present government, or
whether any arrangement made now can bind a
future government. Assuming that Mr. Begin and
his supporters hold firm, there's nothing to be
done but wait until the constitution takes its
course. Even so, warts and all, it is a Middle East
problem unique to Israel. No other government in
the region has to worry about being punished at
the polls.
Logical as this may sound, Israelis may differ on the
many subjects. Exemplary is the comparison in the cost of
bread which, although the price rose more than 110 percent
in one week, is still cheaper than in the United States.
The fact is that the present government, and any other
party in power would be similarly affected, suffers from the
pending negotiations on autonomy for the Arabs, the issue
over Jerusalem, the settlements.
Therefore the anticipation that whoever is in power,
Israel's problems will be immense and agonizing. Shimon
Peres, who is viewed as Begin's possible successor, said
territory will be yielded to the Arabs if and when he attains
power. The manner in which this will be formulated re-
mains to be seen. Israel's security will always remain the
chief cause for concern. Jerusalem will not be abandoned no
matter who is in power. The settlements in existence may
remain intact. A more practical settlements policy will
surely be adopted as a taunt for peacemaking. How will it
be achieved?
Fortunately, Israel has a rational man to deal with —
Egypt's President Anwar Sadat. But it is to him that the
many concessions have been made and territory ceded. This
remains a cause for anger. How to overcome bitterness will
be a chief concern for Israel's statesmanship.
Role of 'Black Hebrews':
Expose of a Great Fake
Concern over the arrogance of a group frequently re-
ferred to as the "Black Hebrews" is spreading from Israel to
the United States. The arrogance of this "sect," the trouble
it is causing Israel, has gone beyond bounds.
Surely unwittingly, lack of knowledge about this
trouble-making group that claims Israel is • its property,
that Jews are interlopers, is creating unnecessary trouble.
It's becoming tragic that the problem cannot be solved
because any act to assure that their malevolence will not
add horror to Israel's problems will only arouse unjustified
hatred from blacks in the United States.
It is therefore urgent that the expose by Leonard
Davis, in Near East Report, should not be overlooked. In his
factual statement Davis reveals the true facts:
Israel is damned if it does and damned if it
doesn't. At least that's the attitude of columnist
William Raspberry, who has attacked Israel for
its treatment of American blacks visiting Israel
and the Black Hebrew sect which has settled il-
legally in Israel's Negev cities.
Raspberry shot from the hip last month when
he accused Israel of racism for denying entry to
five blacks planning to visit Israel. He lamely
transmitted an Israeli explanation that the five
may have been connected with the Black He-
brews. Finally last week the columnist estab-
lished that some of those barred were indeed affil-
iated with the Black Hebrew sect despite their
denials.
"Clearly, at least some of the members of that
group were not as innocent of knowledge of the
sect as they led me to believe," Raspberry admit-
ted, but he was still unsatisfied. "Who are the
Black Hebrews? Why, if their presence in Israel is
illegal, have they been permitted to remain there
for 10 or 11 years?"
In a subsequent Raspberry column, an Israeli
spokesman told the history of the Black Hebrew
controversy. The first group of 200 entered the
country legally and settled in Dimona. Then their
numbers started to swell, the spokesman ex-
plained. "They no longer came as legal immig-
rants but as tourists. After they arrived, they
would destroy their papers and claim the right to
live in Israel." They now number more than 1,000.
"They bring in a lot of drugs," the Israeli ex-
plained, "and they are involved in a lot of crime,
including drugs, robberies, prostitution and
murder; they support themselves this way."
Raspberry asked, "So why doesn't Israel deport
them?"
.
By Philip
Slomovitz
"Legally, we could," the spokesman responded,
"but there was the fear that this would lead to an
outcry among blacks in America."
The columnist did not accept the explanation,
however, complaining that other blacks visiting
Israel were subject to searches and delays.
Raspberry also objected to Israel's characteriza-
tion of the Black Hebrews as criminals and
charged that the sect was subject to Israeli dis-
crimination.
Unfortunately, Raspberry did not read an in-
vestigatory series in The Jerusalem Post last
month before he wrote his columns. The report,
prepared by Joan Borsten, found cases of disillu-
sionment, illiteracy, malnutrition and even mys-
terious deaths among the Black Hebrews.
The horrors experienced by some of the sect
members are reminiscent of the Jonestowi
Guyana terrors. One defector from the sect,
Tommy Whitfield, will soon reveal what he and
his family have been through in his forthcoming
autobiography, "From Night to Sunlight." Ac-
cording to Borsten, the book will tell of "death
from malnutrition of two of (Whitefield's) nine
children, traveling in and out of Israel on some-
one else's passport, bodies carried out of cult
headquarters late at night."
The group's leader and self-proclaimed Mes-
siah is Ben-Ami Carter, a former Chicago resi-
dent, who claims, This land belongs to us, the
true Israelites. The Jews have no right to be here."
Carter, according to sect defectors, confiscates
property, money and passports of his followers
and maintains internal discipline by imprison-
ment and corporal punishment.
In July, the Jewish Chronicle of London re-
ported that the sect was under FBI investigation
in Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta and Washington "for
suspected bank fraud, theft of airline tickets, cre-
dit card fraud and embezzlement." Whenever sect
members feared discovery they fled to Israel.
With its fear of Arab terrorist infiltration,
watching for illegal immigrants from the Black
Hebrew sect is all Israel needs. But Israeli
authorities are determined to keep them out. Un-
fortunately, other black Americans may be forced
to undergo the necessary screening at Israel's
port of entry.
How unfortunate that responsible black leaders, col-
umnists of great repute, do not realize the menace inherent
in a group that does not have honorable social status and is
seeking to create trouble in what could be a friendly society!
But the facts cannot be ignored. Perhaps a future expose
will put the irresponsible Black Hebrews in the spot truly
revealing their venom. Meanwhile, it is necessary that
false claims should not be given credence and a sect calling
itself saintly should be known for the arrogance it exerts
and the crimes it commits.
Tom Lantos, Personality
of Note in New Congress
An interesting new cast of characters will be legislat-
ing for this country starting in 1981.
Tom Lantos, a new member of the U.S. House of Repre-
sentatives from California, is an especially notable addi-
tion to the notables who have earned political recognition.
As a teenager he fought against the Nazis in the under-
ground forces in Hungary.
With his wife, Annette Lantos, he helps the campaign
to demand the release from a Soviet prison of Raoul Wal-
lenberg, the Swedish Christian rescuer of tens of thousands
of Jews in the apartments he established in Budapest.
Rep. and Mrs. Lantos continue to insist that Wallen-
berg is alive and is held incommunicado by the Russians.
Notably, also, the U.S. Senate has a survivor from
Nazism. Minnesota's U.S. Senator Rudolph Boschwitz was
brought to this country from Germany as a youth. The
Boschwitz family managed to escape the terror and settled
in this country. Rudy Boschwitz was successful in his Se --
torial campaign against the Humphrey-Mondale De
cratic forces two years ago and was elected as a Republican.
Legislators like Boschwitz and Lantos mean a great
deal to this country as human rights defenders.
In Memoriam: Yitzhak Shargil
An important, always authoritative and popular By-
Line will henceforth be missed in these columns.
The untimely passing, in Tel Aviv, of Yitzhak Shargil
saddens the Israeli journalistic community. It creates a
void in the Jewish press in Israel as well as in the Diaspora.
For some 20 years Mr. Shargil covered the Israeli and
Middle East scenes for this newspaper and for scores more.
He was an able and perceptive journalist. A scholar and a
researcher, his writings filled a great need in news cover-
age. At the same time he authored many scholarly works.
His name will long be remembered in records of Jewish
journalism.