THE JEWISH NEWS (USPS 275-520) 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. CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ Business Manager PHILIP SLOMOVITZ Editor and Publisher DREW LI EBERWITZ Advertising Manager HEIDI PRESS Associate News Editor ALAN HITSKY News Editor Sabbath Scriptural Selections This Sabbath, the 26th day of lyar, 5741, the following scriptural selections will be read in our synagogues: Pentateuchal portion, Numbers 1:1-4:20. Prophetical portion, Hosea 2:1-22. Wednesday, Rosh Hodesh Sivan, Numbers 28:1-15. Candle lighting, Friday, May 29, 8:40 p.m. Friday, May 29, 1981 Page Four VOL. LXXIX, No. 13 ISRAEL'S JERUSALEM of liberation and of emphatically declaring the glory of an undivided Holy City. In spite of the realities, of the facts histori- cally recorded as Jerusalem's undisputed role in Jewish history, the Holy City has become a mat- ter of discord, of war threats by Israel's neighbors, of talk by Saudi Arabia about a Jihad, a Holy War against Israel. The facts nevertheless keep affirming the freedoms now enjoyed in Jerusalem, the right of all to worship unmolested as they choose, the privileges ac- corded to Arabs even to publicly criticize the state, the Jewish sovereign state, in which they live, censorship being imposed only when there is incitement to murder. It is for the benefit of these recalcitrants that it becomes necessary to reassert Jerusalem's Jewish roots over the past 130 years for which census figures are available: Liberation of Jerusalem from an oppressive dictatorial domination gave the Holy City, its meaning in Hebrew being the City of Peace, a renewed role as the capital of the redeemed Jewish state. For 14 years there has been an aura of freedom in that city, Jews are un- molested, contrary to the many years of Jorda- nian domination when they could not even wor- ship or reach the Kotel, the Western Wall sur- viving as a relic of the ancient Temple; and Christians and Moslems are no longer subjected to the strife which was the saddest of experi- ences in an undivided city. Jerusalem Day, to be observed on Monday, the 28th of Iyar, is therefore a libertarian occa- sion. Unprejudiced Christians have recognized the manner in which Jews emphasize the right of all faiths to worship unmolested. For Jews, of course, it was and remains a day Year Jews Moslems Christians 1844 7,120 5,000 3,390 1876 12,000 7,560 5,470 1896 28,112 8,560 8,748 1922 33, 971 13,413 14,699 1931 51,222 19,894 19,335 1948 100,000 40,000 25,000 1967 195,700 54,963 12,646 1970 1975 1979 215,000 250,000 275,000 61,600 85,000 95,000 11,500 15,000 15,000 The emphasis remains on the indivisibility of Jerusalem, on its status as the capital of Israel. It remains the City of Peace as a Jewish aspira- tion and as an assurance to all faiths that they will never be molested under Israeli rule. Source Encyclopedia Britannica Quot- ing Turkish census. The Living Guide Indicator de la Terre-Sainte. (France - 1876). Calendar of Palestine (1895- 1896). Report and General Abstracts of the Census of 1922 by British Mandate (Jerusalem, Govern- ment Printer, 1922). E. Mills, Census of Palestine 1931 (Jerusalem, 1932). Z. Vilnay, Jerusalem — The Old City (1962). • Israel Central Bureau of Statis- tics. Jerusalem Municipality. Jerusalem Municipality. Estimated. In this spirit Jerusalem Day is the time to celebrate and to acclaim religious freedom. This is how Jerusalem will ever be as the undivided, undisputed, libertarian center whence must come peace as a guideline for all mankind. SOVIET INTRUDING Already a virtual powder keg, the Middle East could well be on the verge of a most dangerous conflagration as a consequence of the Soviet threat to the area. Smarting from the defeat the Kremlin suf- fered in 1977, when a proposed Geneva confer- ence to include the Russians was flatly rejected, and the ejection of the Russians from Egypt, the Soviet Union keeps plotting for a role. There are new demands from the Kremlin, the latest being a proposal that an international commission deal with the Lebanese situation in which Israel is seriously involved. Whatever the consequences of such demands, it is to be hoped that responsible international leadership will not ignore the role the USSR has played. Russia continues to arm Israel's enemies and the military arsenals in Syria and Libya are from Russia. It trains the PLO terrorists, in addition to keeping them fully armed. While Saudi Arabia is the Kremlin's most outspoken critic in the Middle East, the tactics of both countries are alike — both are leaders in efforts to destroy Israel, from both of these countries stem the distribution of the forged Protocols of the Elders of Zion. While Russia does not use the term it practices what the Saudis advocate: a Jihad, a holy war, against Israel. It is against such enemies that Israel and world Jewry must be on guard. Fortunately Is- rael's collaborator in peace plans, President Anwar Sadat of Egypt, shares the anti-Kremlin view. It is necessary that whatever steps Russia may take to intrude into the Middle East negotiations should be fought vehemently. This demands also being on guard against lending credibility to Sauid Arabia being keynoted as a major element in the struggle against Krem- linism. The two, USSR and the Saudis, are alike in venom and anti-Israel plotting. Israel and the Middle East Defined in Ben-Meir Essays Alon Ben-Meir, a native of Baghdad who was brought to Israel by his parents as a child and who served in the Israel army before coming to this country recently, is brutally frank in his analyses of world events as they affect Israel. In the ultimate, he expresses faith in Israel's struggle for self-protection. His views are contained in a series of essays published in his new book, "In Defiance of Time" (Herald Publishing Co., Houston, Tex.) His faith becomes evident in a lengthy poem, "Jerusalem and I," with which he concludes his interpretations of events of the past couple of years. Ben-Meir also analyzes the role of the Zionist movement and the leadership in Jewry, as well as the reactions to the threats to Israel's existence. He admonishes the Zionist movement "to avoid complacency" and not to yield to fear. He urges extending Zionist educational programming. He warns against duplication of efforts and defines the Zionist role: "Through massive educational programs, the Zionist movement must crystallize our existence, to translate our ideals into daily and simple terms, instill a new sense of values, reach for the dispossessed, help the disinherited and disenfranchised, assert Israel's position, give meaning to the legacy of Judaism, promote the brotherhood of man, and oppose inequality and injustice. "These are the basic tenets of the Zionist movement, and these are the values of Judaism. For Zionism to render an historic service to both humanity and to Judaism, it need not search for a new mission; that mission is already there. What is needed is not another organiza- tion or a refurbished one, trumpeting its "mission" to the world, but a true movement whose very existence proclaims its mission. "If it fails to make the change, both the movement and its mission will become irrelevant, and the community will lose what could be- come one of the most significant forces for its moral and spiritual rejuvenation." The Joy That Is Jerusalem Echoes in Poetic Work Jerusalem has inspired prophets and poets. It is the therne of emphatic caliber for historians. A small but very attractive pamphlet of poems has just been issued by Shefa Press of Jerusalem under the title "The Joy That Is Jerusalem." It includes impressive poems by Asenath Petrie. Especially expressive in this brief but deeply moving set of poems is this one titled "Holy in Thy Sight": You taught our father Abraham that his son need not be sacrificed. Teach us also. We bound each one of our children to this people, to this land. It is all Your altar. Teach us so that their willingness and ours, leaves them unmanned. As whole as was Isaac and holy in Thy sight. Lending added significance to this poetic collection are the draw- ings by Shmuel Katz, showing scenes of Jerusalem. Thus, collectively, the spirit of Jerusalem pervades this attrac- tive work that is properly titled "The Joy That Is Jerusalem."