THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Friday, March 6, 1981
22
Author Analyzes Resurgent Anti-Semitism
By MURRAY ZUCKOFF
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NEW YORK (JTA) —
Samuel Pisar is convinced
that the resurgence of per-
nicious anti-Semitism is a
worldwide reality and that
no country is immune to
this barbarism. It is, in his
opinion, a danger not only to
Jews but to the very essence
of civilization.
The
internationally
famous lawyer is the author
of the best seller, "Of Blood
and Hope," which has been
published in France, the
United States, Brazil and
England and is soon due to
be published in Israel. Pisar
is a Holocaust survivor who
had his Bar Mitzva in
Maidanek and was interned
at Auschwitz and other
Nazi death camps and lib-
erated at the age of 16 by
American troops.
According to Pisar, anti-
Semitism and its pernicious
form, Nazism, is not an
aberration of history, the
result of some fortuitous de-
velopment. It is aTorm of so-
cial gangrene that results
from economic dislocations,
political convulsions and
society on the verge of col-
lapse.
"The seeds of collapse
are sprouting
everywhere," Pisar said.
Those seeds, he ob-
served, are "unemploy-
ment, inflation, economic
uncertainty, the energy
crisis, the uncertainty of
oil supply, terrorism, vio-
lence in the streets and
politicians who cannot
cope, economicsts who
cannot cope and dip-
lomats who cannot
cope."
Pisar is neither an alar-
mist not a pessimist. There
are .counter-forces to anti-
Semitism but for those
forces to extirpate this so-
cial disease, the origin and
nature of anti-Semitism
must be understood. Born in
Poland and made a citizen of
the United States by a spe-
cial act of Congress, Pisar is
starkly realistic about the
condition of modern society
and particularly about the
Jewish condition within
this society.
"We are living in
apocalyptical times," he ob-
served. "To me, we are fac-
ing quite possibly the ther-
monuclear gas chamber of
the future — a kind of global
Auschwitz.
"I do not only mean that I
am afraid of another
Holocaust. Auschwitz is
also the symbol of a very
long and cowardly abdica-
tion as the Jewish people
were being abandoned in
Europe. And Auschwitz is
the symbol of the Calvary
that followed it and
engulfed the world. This
kind of terminology is es-
sential if we are to sound a
warning to others and to es-
tablish some protection for
ourselves."
Anti-Semitism is a uni-
versal issue, Pisar contin-
ued, because, while Jews
are the first targets and vic-
tims of this outrage, "it can
engulf everyone." Anti-
Semitism is the litmus test
of democracy — whether it
can withstand the
onslaught or capitulate to
it, whether forces can unite
to combat both its causes
and effects or whether there
will be an "abdication of re-
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sponsibility," Pisar em-
phasized.
Given the social unrest
and turmoil in many coun-
tries, a situation develops
psychologically where
someone has to be blamed,
he said, noting at the same
time that the United States
is not to be left out of this
scenario. "It becomes a sea-
son for demagogues. It's al-
ways the fault of someone
when things go badly, and
usually it's the fault of 'the
others' and first and
foremost of 'the others' are
always the Jews."
But understanding the
causes and consequences of
anti-Semitism is only the
first step toward combat-
ting it. To assure its eradi-
cation, to make certain that
another Holocaust does not
happen again, it is neces-
sary to forge alliances with
various segments of the
population.
Alliances can and must be
forged with blacks and
other minorities, with trade
unionists, with segments of
the left and segments of the
right, Pisar said, especially
in the United States where
a pluralistic society makes
it more feasible to do.
Asked if the Jewish lead-
ership is capable of organiz-
ing, of mobilizing, of creat-
ing the kind of conscious-
ness and cohesiveness
necessary to combat resur-
gent Nazism, Pisar stated:
"My impression is that
the Jewish leadership — ex-
cellent men as they may be
— is confused, is groping, is
not finding the answers, is
at cross purposes on all
kinds of issues. There is no
strategic thinking and
"What is needed is think-
ing that is strategic; think-
ing that projects not only for
a year but five years, 10
years. This is the survival.
What we have to learn is
how to make this a central
issue."
Bar-Ilan Prof.
Reaching Out
for Immigrants
RAMAT GAN — Efforts
to reach Jews in various
regions of Russia with in-
formation concerning em-
migration are being under-
taken by groups in Israel .
under the leadership of
Prof. Moshe Gitterman of
Bar-Ilan University. Prof.
Gitterman has taught
physics at Bar-Ilan since his
aliya in September 1973.
One of 17 professors who
conducted a hunger strike
in Moscow to demand exit
permits from the Soviet
authorities, he is convinced
that continued- material
now reaching Russia about
the successful absorption of
tens of thousands of Soviet
Jewish families during the
past decade will help direct
a wider flow of immigrants
.to Israel.
Aid for Atlanta
NEW YORK — The
Synagogue Council of
America has sent a tele-
gram to President Ronald
Reagan urging that he take
every action necessary to
halt the slayings of black
children in Atlanta.
pipe most
Cannot Prevent Interdating
take to prevent such
marriages among Jewish
(Copyright 1981, JTA, Inc.)
A Hillel rabbi has a mes- children "is to create the
sage for Jewish parents feel- most interesting, impor-
ing guilty because a son or tant and appealing com-
daughter married a non- munity vise can."
Citing the deliberately
Jew: If you did your best,
chosen and strongly
don't feel guilty because
enforced separation from
there are no guaranteed
the outside world that very
methods to prevent such
Orthodox parents create for
marriages in an open
their children, Israel de-
society.
clared, "I want more than
Rabbi Richard Israel, di-
that for my children. I want
rector of the Hillel Council
both Torah and the world"
of Greater Boston, spelled
and, as a result, "I take
out his.views on the impact
some large risks."
of the American open
One of the biggest is that
society on interdating and
"my children will inter-
mixed-marriage in the Jan.
date," adding that the evi-
29 issue of the Journal of the
dence was that "the highest
North Shore Jewish Feder-
rate" of mixed marriage is
ation, published in Salem,
in families where parents
Mass.
approve interdating.
Asking how a Jewish par-
Rabbi Israel said that
ent can "positively guaran-
about "the only way" a
tee" a child will not marry a
Jewish parent can be cer-
non Jew, Israel wryly re
tain there will be no
plied: "It's simple. Live in
mixed-marriages in his
the year 1200. Short of that,
family "is to be certain there
there is little certainty."
is no interdating" among
Arguing that mixed
his children.
marriage "is one of the
He added that if he had
higher prices" Jews pay
his "druthers," he would
for living in an open
ban interdating, but, he
society, Israel contended
said, very few Jewish par-
that most American Jews
ents "have the power to tell
do not want to live "in the
our adolescents what they
closed, hostile world of
may or may not do, and
the past." He suggested
make it stick," when the
that about "the only sig-
children "are not within the
nificant" action the
confines of our home. -
Jewish community can
planning in terms of Jewish
survival. Everything is tac-
tical and from day to day.
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