18 Friday, May 15, 1981 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS The Jacobo Timerman Drama: Notable Libertarian Document Cites Argentine Anti-Semitic Inhumanities One day last month, 100 women marched in Buenos Aires to protest the disap- pearance of children in Argentina. The fear is that they were murdered. The next day, 1,000 women par- ticipated in a silent march in Buenos Aires. Their con- cern is for the 6,000 people missing. They demand that the government explain why and where they van- ished. Since the charge is that they were killed, the question is who killed- them and why. This became an even more distressing demon- stration with the publica- tion of "Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a. Number" (Knopf) by Jacobo Timerman. The book was translated from the Spanish by Toby Talbot. Jacobo Timerman is the eminent editor of La Opin- ion who was a prisoner for 30 months, who was tor- tured, who finally was per- mittE to go to Israel where he is 1.ow again active as a journalist. Timerman's is a re- markable story. It is an indictment of Nazism and the tortures he and the victims of the Argenti- nian persecution suffer from methods akin to Nazism. Jacobo intro- duces himself as Jacob ben Nathan, his father having been Nathan ben Jacob. He is a Zionist and he has fulfilled his mis- sion in Israel. After relat- ing the experiences of being a prisoner without a name in a cell without a number, he defines the fulfillment: "I have survived to give - i0" utile st Urr liso CO op!, LOIS o inaugurate it s Women's Division Freshman T Program. the Allan/Touro College is offering full tuition scholarships to qualified students enrolling for the Fall term 1981. The Allan/Touro College. an affiliate of Touro College (New York), is similarly committed to the tradition of excellence in education and features: • 4-year Baccalaureate Degree Programs • Intensive Judaic Studies • Small Classes and Individualized Programs of Study • Supervised Housing Accommodations. Seirill° , FOR INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Mintzi Schramm; Dean TH E A LL AN LE 11.1[ 21550 West Twelve Ti- Mile • Southfield, Mic h 48076 • Telephone: (313) 357-2968 . testimony. And I am doing so at age 57, in the land of Israel, where I am be gin- ning this book a few days after the birth of the first Israeli Timerman, whose name is Nahum ben Nathan ben Jacob. That is, Nahum (he wlio brings solace), son of Nathan, who is the son of Jacob, who is the son of that other Nathan of Bar, who was the son of Jacob whose grave he left when depart- ing for Argentina. We have completed our voyage." It is the beginning that gives emphasis to the entire story: Timerman tells of his ancestors who escaped the Spanish Inquisition and settled in the town of Bar in the Ukraine. This town was destroyed, the Jews mas-, sacred, by Chmielnicki in 1648-1649. After the Cos- sack chief massacred the Jews, "the community re- covered, however, and as- sumed that something as brutal as the existence of Cossack murders could only be God's final test before the coming of the Messiah. So staunch was theft- convic- tion that in 1717 they con- structed their great synagogue, receiving per- mission beforehand from the Bishop. attended that Synagogue with my father, his six brothers, and all my cousins, and bear within me still a vague longing for those tall, bearded, unsmil- ing men. In 1941, when the Nazis New York Merchandise Exchange the "INFLATION-FIGHTER" yi s V E u R E E no 23° 4 ).83% EVERY D e AY! NEW ITEMS .. . ARRIVE DAILY ! PAPERBACK & HARD COVER BOOKS "ErNiSwTiEs ALL BEST SELLERS AT LEAST . . . four-- COUPON "BONUS-COUPONS" OFF! COUPON GENUINE CELLULOSE SPONGES 23% COUPON -----• FREE! CHILDREN'S SUNGLASSES 79c VALUE ADULTS ONLY IN TIME FOR COLD SEASON PKG. 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"My father, happily, had left Bar for Argentina in 1928. In 1977, in Argen- tina, the same- ideological conviction that impelled Chmielnicki and the Nazis reverberated in the ques- tions posed by my inter- rogators inside the army's cl4ndestine prisons." This is so valuable as a history that it overshadows even the dramatically per- sonal in the Timerman story. There was suffering and persecution. His ac- count symbolizes Argenti- nian oppression through the tortures he suffered. That gives his volume the sub- stance of a great historical document, a massive Zionist testament and a deep expression of human dignity. Timerman's story is an indictment of the Argenti- nian persecutors, a revela- tion of the extent of anti- Semitic and anti-Zionist ac- tivities by the dictatorial military, and is, at the same time, a criticism of those who cringed, of the frightened Jewish leader- ship and its hesitation to act and protest against the in- dignities and threats to human life. Arrested on April; 15, 1977 without reason, he was tortured, blindfolded, subjected to electric shock. The soldiers who arrested him said they were acting on orders of the First Army Corps. When Mrs. Timerman called the Army Corps they claimed not to know anything. It was a struggle for his release, which finally was ordered by the Supreme Court. It dragged and there was an attempt to thwart the ruling. After the months of tortures he was released from prison to be placed under house arrest. The Supreme Court decision in "At the federal security offices I'm informed that I have been stripped of my citizenship and expelled from the country, and will be transported at once to the airport. I argue that this de- cision is illegal since only a judge can take such a meas- ure, and that in order for it to be valid, 60 days must elapse during which I have the right to appeal. "Appeal from Israel," I'm told by the Assistant to the Minister of the Interior. So I learn that I'm to go to Israel. I'm handed a passport, which is valid for only two days. Then the Israeli charge d'affaires comes into the room and at- taches the visa to my passport. He insists on accompanying me. A brief argument ensues, during which he states that he won't let me go alone, that he wishes to accompany me to the plane. "We all leave the building together. They keep argu- ing. Israeli security men are waiting on the ground floor, where two automobiles are parked. The atmosphere is extremely tense. A police of- ficial indicates that we'll be going to a heliport since a helicopter will be taking me to the airport, which is 30 kilometers from the city, and that the Israeli official can follow us in his own car. "Once in the heliport, the Israeli security men again insist on accompanying me to the plane. Then a high- ranking official says that no one can join the individuals on my helicopter, but a sec- ond helicopter will be es- corting us in the event of an attack from land, and the charge d'affaires can go in that one. "We reach the airport, where an Aerolineas Argentinas plane destined for Rome is waiting. We get into the plane along with the airport commander, a patrol of air force soldiers, and the Israeli official — my companions. The individu- als escorting me leave, the Israeli diplomat going last, so as to be certain that the door is closed and I remain on the plane. The plane takes off. "Some time later, I learned from my wife that the U.S. Embassy had passage prepared for me on an American plane and a group of security officers ready to transfer me to Washington. I also found out that during the airplane stops — at Rio de Janeiro, Madrid, Rome — police from var- ious countries observed (Continued on Page 20)