THE JEWISH NEWS
USPS 275 020
Incorporating The Detroit Jewish Chronicle commencing with the issue of July 20, 1951
Copyright © The Jewish News Publishing Co.
Member of American Association of English-Jewish Newspapers, National Editorial Association and
National Newspaper Association and its Capital Club.
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
CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ
Business Manager
HEIDI PRESS
Associate News Editor
DREW LIEBERWITZ
Advertising Manager
Sabbath Scriptural Selections
This Sabbath, the 12th day of lyar, 5741, the following scriptural selections will be read in our synagogues:
Pentateuchal portion, Leviticus 25:1-26:2. Prophetical portion, Jeremiah 32:6-27.
Friday, May 22, Lag b'Omer
Candle lighting, Friday, May 15, 8:27 p.m.
VOL. LXXIX, No. 11
Page Four
Friday, May 15, 1981
CAMP DAVIE, OPTIMISM
Pessimism often expressed over the fate of the
Camp David agreements for an approach to
peace in the Middle East are primarily at-
tributable to the failure of Arab states to join in
the process.
Frequent expressions of despair over the
slowness of the agreements to assure fulfill-
ment of the peace hopes are heard again and
again. They echo in Israel and receive some
emphasis in diplomatic quarters.
When, therefore, there are the positive
.emphases on the Camp David introductory
plans for a peace between Arabs and Jews, they
must not be minimized.
It is encouraging to hear the optimistic com-
ments from top leadership, especially those ut-
tered by Egypt's President_Anwar Sadat. In his
important message to his nation, on May 2,
Sadat said, inter alia, that because of his actions
at Camp David, where the peace program was
forged, he had become the whipping boy for the
"mistakes and blunders" of the Arab world.
_ Camp David, he said, was the antitheseis of the
havoc in Lebanon.
Was it Camp David that occupied Lebanon_
with a Syrian Army? he asked, his voice rising.
Is it Camp David that is the cause of the mas-
sacres in Lebanon?"
These are the views of one of the three chief
architects of the Camp David peace plan. There
has never been cause to fear that either Israel
Prime Minister Menahem Begin and former
U.S. President Jimmy Carter would underrate
the decision they helped formulate, and there is
reason to believe that President Ronald Reagan
will labor towards acceleration of efforts in sup-
port of the peace moves.
The tragedy is that the Arab states are not
cooperating, and this has caused the bitterness
with which Sadat has spoken of the instructions
by the Arab states, none having joined* him in
the process.
These experiences should be lessons for those
who would place blame on the slowness of the
peace process on Israel. Israel and Egypt must
have other nations to collaborate with them,
else the realization of the peace hopes will con-
tinue to meet with regrettable delays. Those
who offer agendas that sound as if Arab-Israel
agreements could be reached if,the Israelis only
wished them fail to admit that while Israel
pleads for cooperation Egypt remains the only
Arab entity thus far to have responded posi-
tively.
Peacemaking in all their aspects, taking into
consideration the mounting obstacles, occupies
the major obligation of students of foreign af-
fairs, yet they have not gone very far — for the
very onesidedness which makes it so difficult for
Israel to secure Arab cooperation. One very ex-
tensive study of the peacemaking needs, ap-
pearing in the current issue of Foreign Affairs
magazine, is proof of the inadequacies. Study-
ing the many problems, Shai Feldman, research
associate at the -Center for Strategic Studies at
Tel Aviv University, offers a basis for negotia-
tions in these conclusions to his essay in Foreign
Affairs:
"The Israeli-American strategic dialogue
should consist of a thorough analysis of the fun-
damental interests of both nations, and of the
ways in which they may be accommodated. A
mutual understanding should be reached on
three central issues. First, on the construction
of the new national security package allowing
for Israel's withdrawal from the West Bank.
This should also include a discussion of the
measures needed to gain European and pro-
Western Arab support of the package.
"Second, a common understanding with re-
gard to the political steps to be taken _toward a
more comprehensive Middle East accord. In this
framework, a common approach should be
adopted regarding the ways of eliciting a Pales-
tinian or Jordanian-Palestinian partner to the
settlement, under either of the aforementioned
options.
"Third, a mutual understanding should be
reached on the general principles for a solution
to the problem of Jerusalem. The solution
should provide for the city's continued unity,
while allowing a measure of Arab jurisdiction
over some of its parts. In this context, the fun-
damental religious concerns of parties as di-
verse as Saudi Arabia and the Vatican could be
accommodated.
"Only after Israel has gained the support of
her staunchest ally, the United States, on all
three issues, will she be able to initiate the
difficult steps toward a comprehensive Middle
East settlement."
These may not be effective as a basis for Is-
raelis' consent to final action, but they basically
offer an approach to deliberations. Here, too,
however, it is questionable whether the partici-
pation of responsible Arabs, on an official basis,
is possible.
A threat to the peace and to the Camp David
decisions remains from the hawks of Egypt.
They have threatened to join Syria in the event
of a war with Israel. Hopefully this will not
materialize. It is in the best interests of world
peace and the U.S. involvements in the area
that the Camp David agreements should not be
obliterated. It is to that end that all must labor.
It was hoped that Sadat would get some sort of
Arab collaboration. It is slow in coming. Ex-
tremists say it may never come. Nevertheless,
as long as the triumvirate holds forth its convic-
tion of the Camp David applicability, hope per-
sists. Sadat encourages that hope and Israel and
the United States are in the planning stage for
the program's realization. That's why optimism
has a role in peacemaking.
CONGRESSMEN WITH
A SENSE OF JUSTICE
In his address to the celebrants of Israel's
33rd anniversary, at the Civic Center in South-
field, Congressman William Brodhead had a
message of cheer. He spoke for a majority of the
Michigan MEMBERS OF Congress who are op-
posing all efforts to arm Israel's enemies and are
supporting the aid needed for Israel's security.
Rep. Brodhead fortunately represents a sense
of justice, an encouragement to the Israel-U.S.
friendship and rejection of whatever is inhuman
in international relations.
Dr. Raphael Patai's Classic
Volume of Jewish Legends
Wayne State University Press enriches its Judaica bookshelf
with a most impressive work that is certain to be classified among the
modern classics in Jewish anthological writings. "Gates to the Old
City: A Book of Jewish Legends" by Dr. Raphael Patai is an
_encyclopedic work on the vast variety of subjects covered under the
general title of legends.
As one of the most note0. Bible scholars and anthropologists, Prof.
Patai has assembled for this volume legends from the Bible, Apoc-
rypha, Talmud, Midrash, Kabala, Hasidism and the vast field of
Jewish folklore.
Utilizing the sources provided by the Agada, Dr. Patai covers
every conceivable subject in the 800-page volume. The seven parts of
the volume denoting the sources for this immense work are preceded
by background notes. The first portion, devoted to the Bible, com-
mences with an essay that defines the Scriptures, indicating that the
Bible comprises works dating from some 12 centuries, the 13th to the
Second BCE. He explains: "It is written in Hebrew except for parts of
Ezra and most of Daniel which are in Aramaic."
The portion of the Patai volume de-
voted to Bible sources deals with
legendary selections from the narra-
tive parts of the Bible.
The same procedure is followed with
other sections of the book, and the
reader is provided with knowledge
about the rich storehouse of Jewish
folklore. -
Because Dr. Patai had already dealt
with the subject of the Messiah in his
"The Messiah Text," published earlier
by Avon, this is one subject to a limited
degree.
Because he had made it a point to
compile only legends that have not
RAPHAEL PATAI
been published previously, all the
stories he utilized were translated anew by him from the 'original
Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, Yiddish or German sources.
The only exception is the story "The Six Days and the Seven
Gates" by Yitzhak Navon, president of Israel. This appears as a
prologue to Dr. Patai's "Gates to the Old City."
Not only the legends, but the informative introduction as well as
the explanatory notes to each section of the book assist in making this
encyclopedic work a genuine classic in Jewish literature.
The very definitive comment on the origin of the legend, derived
from the Latin Legendus, and its modern application, is additionally
interesting in Dr. Patai's treatment of his subject. He shows that it iF
now utilized as a traditional narrative handed down for generations _
and popularly believed to be true, although not always verifiable.
The subjects included in the rich heritage of Jewish legendary
writings deal with myths, magic, theosophy, mysticism, demonology,
medicine, and practically every aspect of human experience.
Some of the legends deal with the miracle worker, a theme ex-
pressive of experiences in Jewish life during periods of oppressive
suffering. Dr. Patai points out in his introduction that the legends
present "a curious mixture of self-pity and self-conceit, of full cogni-
zance of the Jew's physical defenselessness and the unshakable con-
viction that their protection against the Gentiles and their onslaught
is the prime concern of God acting through his elect, the Tzaddik or
the saint."
Dr. Patai's anthology of Jewish legends will fascinate the reader.
The immense volume is informative and is replete with historic data,
adding to its importance as a literary enrichment.