( 64 Friday, July 24, 1981 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Dr. Jacob Rader Marcus' Two Volumes of Evaluation of U.S. Jewish Women a Notable Archival Endeavor Jewish women played important roles in history. In all spheres of endeavor, they have matched the men in many skills. Dr. Jacob Rader Marcus makes a notable contribu- tion towards the retention of that record in two histori- cally valuable books, The American Jewish Woman, 1654-1980" and The American Jewish Woman: A Documentary History." Co-published by the American Jewish Archives, the important documenta- tion center of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, and Ktav Publishers, these volumes enrich the exten- sive series of works on American Jewish historical subjects by Dr. Marcus. ERA advocates have much to learn from the Marcus approach to the element in dealing with his- tory and with human aspi- rations. The Equal Rights Amendment might have a better chance of success if judged in the totality of na- tional experiences, as Dr. Marcus treats the subject of Jewish identifications in this country. Thus, he does not eliminate the masculine in treating the feminine. He summarizes the totality of Jewish contributions and defines the American Jew: "As there is a national community, there is also an international one; it is dominated by American Jewry. It is a Pax Americana Judaica. The only rival the Americans have is Israel, and this in the area of Hebraic studies. Overtly, American Jews with few exceptions passionately and emotion- ally acknowledge the spiritual primacy of the Third Jewish Common- wealth, but actually hegemony over World Jewish life in the 1970s is exercised by American Jewry. "It is very doubtful whether Israel could con- tinue as a sovereign entity without American Jewish economic and political sup- port. Israel lives through the breath of the American Jew. American Jews, politi- cally a reflection of the Im- perium Americanum, are overwhelmingly predomin- ant over the World Jewish scene because of their num- bers, their advanced secular culture, their burgeoning Hebraic and Judaic studies, their political power, their wealth, their generosity, and their total commitment to Israel. DR. JACOB R. MARCUS "Who then is this Ameri- can Jew, this man of the on- coming 21st Century? He is completely and utterly Americanistic; he is com- pletely and utterly Jewish in his sympathies. All told there are less than 6,000,000 Jews in the United States; this body of men and women constitutes less than three percent of the country's population, yet they are one of the most productive, most respected American religio-ethnic- cultural groups." While the historical analysis is a volume of only 230 pages, compared with 1,047 in the documentary, the much smaller volume is in itself encyclopedic, listing the hundreds of women who have triumphed in many fields of endeavor. Dr. Marcus declares that his work is "not a hearts and flowers panegyric of the Jewish housewife; it is an attempt to recapture the past as it actually was." Deploring the limited consideration that had been given to woman's role in American Jewish history, Dr. Marcus emphasizes that the distaff achievements demand due accreditation and he emphasizes that the story of American Jewry is "neither his story nor her story but their story." He points to some records to show the shortcomings: "In the 1888 'Hebrews in America' of Isaac Markens, there are about 20 entries referring to women out of a total of about 400. In the 1972 edition of Rufus Lear- si's 'The Jews in America,' women are mentioned in the index less than 40 times; here there are about 2,400 entries. "Why is this? Why is it that women are so invisi- ble? Did they do nothing to merit notice? This omission of women was unwitting, for it is patent that if American Jewish history is the record of its communities, its institu- tions, and its achieve- ments, it owes almost ev- erything to the family, and the family is the wife, as well as the husband and children. Without the American Jewess there is very little American Jewish historical experi- ence." Scores of episodes are re- corded in the Marcus ac- count of the woman in U.S. Jewry's history. Notable among them is the following about one of the heroines in this story: "Abigail Minis, ran into trouble during the (Ameri- can Revolutionary) war. She had a great deal to lose, for though a widow she had managed to salvage her husband's estate and to in- crease it. She ran a small plantation, owned 15 or 20 slaves, and operated a tavern and a shop. "When the Whigs occu- pied Savannah she supplied them with goods; but after the town was captured by the British this remarkable. woman went into exile, tak- ing her five daughters with her. "None of her daughters married during her lifetime, and even her son Philip, a businessman and Revolutionary com- missary officer, did not take a wife until he was 40. Despite the fact that he was a warden of the city and president of the local congregation, his late marriage would seem to indicate that, like his sisters, he was under mama's thumb. She lived to be over 90. She was indeed a "mother in Israel" and a virago in the best Italian tradition." The lists of notable women in many fields of endeavor is a veritable Who's Who in the Marcus compilation. There is an emphasis, for example, on Jewish women in literature. He resurrects an interest in the poet Minna Cohen Kleeberg (1841-1878), as an indica- tion that she and Octavia Harby Moses (1824-1904), whose poems were pub- lished posthumously, were prominent women writers. Dr. Marcus also gives special emphasis to the achievements of Emma Lazarus (1849-1887), as an indication that there were noted women writers before Edna Ferber, Fanny Hurst, Rosa Sonneschein, Ger- trude Stein and a score of others. Women in social work and welfare are promi- nently listed, including Rebecca Gratz, Ernestine Rose,Lillian Wald, Han- nah Solomon and many, many more. Women in education, in the judiciary, in all profes- sions, received due consid- eration and cheer in this volume. Listing "notable contem- poraries," Dr. Marcus takes into account women in poli- tics, Bella Abzug and Elizabeth Holtzman. He commends the efforts of women like Lucy Dawidowicz who have made deep studies of the Holocaust. The immense volume de- voted to documentaries is a compilation of historical re- cords. At the same time it is a biographical compilation serving every conceivable need — for students of Jewish history, for classrooms and researchers. The 177 items listed in the book are of such a variety that they stagger the imaginations of readers delving into the massive material gathered by the eminent historian. There is an interesting example in the sketch about Henrietta Szold, the foun- der of Hadassah. Linked with her story is a letter she had written to Mrs. Julius Rosenwald about the early Hadassah activities in Palestine. This documen- tary reveals an experience during World War I, in the early years of women's Zionist activities. It is illus- trative of perpetuation of historic facts which other- wise would have been hid- den from researchers look- ing into the record of the Zionist movement. interesting Another example of anthological judgment is the inclusion of a Responsum on religio-legal status of Jewess who had been ra The Responsum is by the well-known Reform Jewish authority on Jewish law, Dr. Solomon B. Freehof. This indicates the educa- tional value of the Marcus works on Jewish women. The reader learns about many notable women and their families. The con- tinuity in many instances might have remained hid- den without the reminders contained in the Marcus volume. A notable example is the text of "The Bat Mitzva Address of Susan Brandeis Popkin," deliv- ered June 11, 1977, at Washington (D.C.) Hebrew Congregation. Thus, the reader learns that there is a legacy and a heritage, the granddaughter of Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis affirming her Jewish identification. So numerous are the inci- dents related to distin- guished Jewish women per- sonalities incorporated in the Marcus volumes that only the complete texts can be recommended for appre- ciation of their worth. Therefore, the simple acclaim that Dr. Jacob Rader Marcus, in two vol- umes on the contributions of American Jewish women and their roles in history, has made one of his greatest contributions as an Ameri- can Jewish historian and as an archivist of great distinc- tion. — P.S. Israel Election: Who Can Create a Stable Majority? By CARL ALPERT Special Correspondent to The Jewish News HAIFA — Whatever analysis may be made of the election results in Israel, the grand total is what counts, and the ability of one bloc to set up a coalition which can command a stable majority in the Knes- set. The results are in, but it is both interesting and il- luminating to take a close look at some of the elements which went into the crea- tion of the voters' surprise. Though Likud had all the advantages of the party in power, it was faced by an almost unanimously hostile of the government. front of the media of com- As public opinion polls munications. There was not began to reflect a growing one newspaper in Israel swing back to Begin, the which supported the Likud; Labor bloc launched a spe- most were virulently an- cial assault on the Likud. tagonistic, and even those The public was warned that which leaned to it ever so a Likud victory would spell slightly afforded liberal the end of democracy, and space to consistently vicious the old label of "fascism" attacks by its regular col- which had been tagged on umnists. Jabotinsky and the Re- Both radio and television, visionists years ago, was though government agen- again trotted out in an effort cies, operated under a cloak to arouse public fear. of pseudo-freedom of the Few stopped to think that press, and the various com- mentators and editors four years ago the same shamelessly distorted the charges had been made news into constant criticism against Menahem Begin: that he would become a dic- tator. If there was one weakness of the Likud gov- ernment it was precisely Begin's lack of strong and authoritative control! There were times in the past six months when Is- rael's government was engaged in struggles on the international scene — struggles in the UN, and in relations with foreign pow- ers. Elementary patriotic duty should have dicated that the Labor opposition make common cause with Likud in such circum- stances, for the national welfare. Instead, Peres and his cohorts seized on every opportunity to embar- rass Israel's government and to make political cap- ital out of national crises. Its attitude toward the bombing of the Iraqi reactor was indefensible from a Zionist point of 'view. The last moment projec- tion of Yitzhak Rabin as Labor's Minister of Defense, despite all Peres's pledges to Bar-Lev, and despite the open animosity between Peres and Rabin, was seen by most of the electorate as a cynical bit of politicking which simply proved how little Peres could be de- pended on. During the weeks of elec- tioneering a dangerous Pandora's Box was opened when ethnic issues (Ashkenazi versus Sephardi) were introduced. For 30 years every one in Israel has been laboring to eliminate artificial dif- ferences, to bridge cultural and social gaps, and to bring about a spirit of national unity. Tremendous progress was being made. More than 20 percent of all marriages in Israel today cross this historical community difference, and in time this alone will eliminate the conflicts. And then along came some politicians who sought to capitalize on the differences and to seek votes based on hostility to the other group. The intelligent voters for- tunately rejected these ap- peals, but the cause of com- munal unity has in the meantime been set back. The large crowds C turned out for Per. Labor rallies were hailed as indicative of basic democracy. But when even larger crowds gathered to cheer Begin ecstatically, they were openly and repeatedly termed "rabble" by Labor spokesmen. This very reaction was in itself anti-democratic. But as we said at the out- set, it is the final total that counts. When the results are so close, any coalition set up must inevitably be unsteady.