2 Friday, January 30, 1981

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Purely Commentary

Truman's 'Off the Record'
Now on the Record in His
Published 'Private Papers'

Historic facts of American and world interest are
brought to light in a documentary work that is certain to
arouse deep interest in the U.S. and abroad.
"Off the Record.: The Private Papers of Harry S. Tru-
man," edited by Robert H. Ferrell (Harper and Row) will
fascinate the readers with the late President's personal
memoranda about himself, his attitudes on his contem-
poraries and on the major issues that affected the fate of
mankind, especially during World War II and its after-
math.
President Truman's role
as the first world leader to
have recognized the state of
Israel has several annota-
tions in this important
documentary.
Especially noteworthy is
the brief period of proposals
for the introduction of a
Palestine trusteeship, when
the State Department acted
without contacting him, his
resentment and his charge
in his personal notes that he
had felt betrayed. Here is
the reference to that occur-
rence as noted in the private
papers, letters and notes
HARRY TRUMAN
annotated by Prof. Ferrell:
In 1947, the British government had dumped the
Palestine issue in the lap of the United Nations. The
result was a UN investigation and then a vote in the
General Assembly in November in favor of a virtual
partition between Arabs and Jews.
President Truman became much annoyed with the
pressure tactics used by some American Jews to obtain
passage of the UN resolution and for several months

President Harry Truman in a Delightful, Revealing
Series of Recollections in His Assembled Letters ...
His Views on Israel and the Chosen People Aspect

refused to see almost anyone on the Palestine issue.
When the possibility arose that the American govern-
ment would send troops somehow or, more likely, find
a diplomatic solution to the Palestine issue less satis-
factory to the Zionists, Tru-
man's old haberdashery-_
partner, Edward Jacobson,
succeeded in obtaining an
interview for the head of the
Jewish Agency, Chaim
Weizmann, then in New York
City. Truman privately as-
sured Weizmann, who
entered the White House by
the side entrance, that he
would go ahead with the UN
solution for Palestine. Then,
most unfortunately, the day
Eddie Jacobson
after the Weizmann interview, March 19, the Atheri-
can representative on the Security Council, Senator
Warren Austin, announced a new proposition for
Palestine, a temporary tripartite trusteeship by Great
Britain, France, and the United States. The proposal
was the State Department's fail-safe policy in case the
UN resolution did not promise to work. The depart-
ment advanced it without advising the President who
probably had agreed generally to such a proposal but
then forgotten it and in any event expected to be in-
formed in case of a change. The trusteeship proposal
gave the appearance that the President had broken
faith with Weizmann.
DIARY
March 20, 1948
This morning I find that the State Dept. has
reversed my Palestine policy. The first I know
about it is what I see in the papers! Isn't that hell?
I'm now in the position of a liar and a double
crosser. I've never felt so in my life.
There are people on the 3rd and 4th levels of the
State Dept. who have always wanted to cut my
throat. They've succeed in doing it .. .
Under the date of June 1, 1945, Prof. Ferrell quotes the

By Philip
Slomovitz

Truman view on the Chosen People appellation for Jews.
Truman- expressed' this view:

DIARY
June 1, 1945
Church was rather dull. But I had a chance to do
some thinking and the time wasn't wasted. A lot of
the world's troubles have been caused by the in-
terpretation of the Gospels and the controversies
between sects and creeds. It is all so silly and
comes of the prima donna complex again.
The Jews claim God Almighty picked 'em out
for special privilege. Well I'm sure He had better
judgment. Fact is I never thought God picked an
favorites. It is my studied opinion that any race,
creed or color can be God's favorites if they act
the part — and very few of 'em do that.
Appalled by anti-Semitism, President Truman often
rebuked bigots who maligned people they had chosen for
hatred. Some anti-Semites sought to pin Jewish affiliation
on him by denoting his middle initial as standing for Sol-
omon. The S. background is explained in the following from
the Ferrell-edited Truman letters:
. The President's middle initial, which, legally, stood
for nothing, caused endless confusion. For example,
when Truman was being sworn in as President on the
evening of April 12, 1945, Chief Justice Stone began,
"I, Harry Shippe Truman . . ." and the new President
° responded, "I, Harry S. Truman . . ." In the senator-
ial election of 1940, his opponents listed his middle
name as Solomon, trying to make it appear he was
Jewish.
President Truman was always the outspoken, fearless
leader. This is especially evident in the collected letters of
the man who pulled no punches.
Much light, therefore, is thrown on the events that
marked the exciting years of Truman's Presidency in this
interestingly-assembled view of Mr. Truman. He showed
courage in statesmanship and in his daily life, and the
comments and recollections of his attitudes in life and
people are truly a delight.

Black Hebrews Steeped in Faith, But According to Own Rules

By J.A. LEWIN

From World Zionist
Press Service

The Black Hebrews of
Dimona have young chil-
dren who are Hebrew-
speaking Sabras educated
in English, Hebrew and
Arabic at the group's own
Kingdom School of Holi-
ness.
A tightly cohesive corn-
=nifty sharing fundamen-
tal beliefs in Divine Provi-
dence and their own part in
the redemption of human-
ity, having extricated
themselves from the de-
gradations of ghetto life —
and never forgetting they
are descendants of slaves —
the group came to settle as
free men in the Promised
Land.
No external or so-called
practical considerations can
apparently shake their
inner-determination to re-
main. Some see their dedi-
cation to the Land of Israel
as reminiscent of the first
Jewish pioneers who settled
the land against all odds.
And their mystical belief in
their own special destiny is
characteristic of religious
Jews throughout history.
Thus, in certain respects,
the Black Hebrews are typi-
cally Jewish.
However, most new
immigrants, especially
settlers in Israel from the
U.S. and other western
countries, have not made
the sacrifices or faced the
hardships of the esti-
mated 2,000 persons who
constitute the community
in Dimona.
With none of the usual
benefits provided by the
Ministry of Absorption td

new immigrants, the blacks
of Dimona have persisted in
their efforts to settle in Is-
rael despite living at a level
of bare subsistence with as
many as 20 people in one
apartment.
Distinctively dressed in
colorful daishikis for the
men and ankle length dres-
ses for the women, their
high morale is reflected in
their fastidious cleanliness
and the purity of shining
faces. Organized among
families in the big U.S.
ghettoes of the late 1960s —
then in turmoil with a scent
of revolution in the air —
the core of the group's exist-
ence is their blind faith that
salvation is at hand. .

Before coming to Israel, a
small group of the original
members spent 2 1/2 years in
Liberia, living in tents
through the tropical rains
so thick, one man recalled,
you couldn't see 10 feet
away. The sect members see
the Liberian experience as a
parallel to the trials of the
Children of Israel after fol-
lowing Moses into the
wilderness, preparing them
for the entry into the Prom-
ised Land.
In fact, Israel, has
hardly opened its arms to
the newcomers. They
have been received with
suspicion and skepti-
cism, and until recently
have not been granted
any legal status as resi-
dents, let alone citizens,
of the state.
Part of the reason for not
recognizing the group is
that according to strict Or-
thodox standards, they are
not Jews either by birth or

conversion. Rather, like the
"mixed multitudes" who fol-
lowed the Children of Israel
out of Egypt, they are indi-
viduals whp have been mys-
tically inspired by the God
of Israel and who identify
themselves, on the basis of
their own personal criteria,
with the Jews.
A Knesset committee
headed by National Reli-
gious Party member David
Glass, has recommended
that the group be granted
legal status and be permit-
ted to establish a commu-
nity settlement south of
Beersheva. However, no one
in the group was contacted
immediately, concerning
the Glass Committee
recommendations and
group members are fearful
that once again they may be
shunted aside.
Nevertheless, there is no
doubt in their minds that
they are here in Israel to
stay and they have proved
their determination by 10
years of persistence despite
neglect by the government.
Until now, the men
have been working in
local industry., on con-
struction projects in the
Negev and in the salt
mines of Sodom. Partly
with the sale of handic-
rafts and mainly through
their musical group, the
Soul Messengers, who
have been extremely
popular in all parts of Is-
rael, they have been able
so far to make ends meet.

They are all devoted fol-
lowers of their spiritual
leader, Carter Ben-Ammi,
the charismatic shepherd of
the flock, and believe fer-

vently in the fulfillment in
our own time of ancient
Messianic prophecies.
Waiting to interview the
leader was something like
waiting for the redemption
— he arrived about 3 1/2
hours late for the appoint-
ment. As soon as Carter
Ben-Ammi entered the
room, an awed hush fell on
everyone present. The
leader sat on a leopard-skin
throne and answered ques-
tions with an expression_ of
long-suffering forbearance
as he insisted that prev-
iously published reports of
his groups' opposition to the
state of Israel were a com-
plete misunderstanding.
What role does he see his
community playing in the

rebirth of Israel as a nation
in the modern world? "Our
community is an embryo of
the Kingdom of God. It is a
sign of the End of Days and,
I feel that we are in the Mes-
sianic Days at the present
time."
And what does this
mean, more specifically,
for us? It means we will
have to understand God's
purpose for Israel. Israel
must become the
spiritual center for man,
not the industrial center,
not the place where the
nations can buy their
weapons, but where they
come to learn about God.
You go to Great Britain to
see Big Ben. You go to
France to see the Eiffel

Tower, but you come to
Israel to learn about the
God of Creation.
"We were chosen to be a
light unto the nations and
we must understand and
fulfill that role. Other than
that, man will never be
saved. We, the children of
Israel, who are here in this
land, must be the light on
the very dark pathway that
man has paved for himself."

The followers of Carter
Ben-Ammi do not take their
religion from -accepted Or-
thodox tradition, rather'
they return to the sources of
that tradition, the 'Holy
Scriptures, the Holy Land
and the word of their own
living prophet.

Israeli Tourists Welcome in Egypt

By HADASSAH
BAT HAIM

World Zionist Press Service

Israeli tourists are still
enough of a novelty to be
remarkable in Egypt.
Everyone is happy to coop-
erate and cheerfully, po-
litely and patiently make
great efforts to be helpful.
Our new friends are very
demonstrative. On every
occasion they embrace us
and swear eternal amity
even when they are trying
to rip us off; for everything
is negotiable. Market men
in Cairo are beginning to be
wary about discussing the
visitors among themselves.
Many have been taken by
surprise on being addressed
in Arabic as good as their
own by their Israeli clients.
Israelis have an almost
proprietary claim to the

pyramids, as legends persist
about ancestral participa-
tion in their building) de-
spite Egyptian assertions
that the work was done by
farmers in the slack season.
All around buses and
taxis are disgorging in-
creasing hordes, many
from Germany, and
Scandinavia, multitudes
from Japan, clicking and
whirring, squinting and
focusing, necks craning,
eyes bulging, the Israelis
among them arousing
almost as much interest
as the antiquities.
The relics of Egypt are all
colossal. Pillars rise 30
meters to carved ceilings.
Ancient kings, 20 meters
high, gaze on us indiffer-
ently. Our heads reel with
the thousands of illustrated
stories decorating the tern-

pies and tombs. In the ruins
of the palace of the
Pharaoh Shishak we look at
carvings of Jewish pris-
oners brought as slaves
3,500 years ago. They are
labelled with the names of
the home towns. One is from
Hebron.
At sunset we sail down
the Nile in a fellucca.
The sun sets, dying the
sails orange. Their reflec-
tion glides along with us in
the darkening water. Even
the ebullient Israelis are
awed into silence for the
moment.
Inclined to grumble about
the dirty streets, the dubi-
ous hygiene, the crowded
transpoft and the poverty at
home, Israelis hold their
tongues in the face of simi-
lar but gargantuan prob-
lems in Cairo.

