2 Friday, April 16, 1982
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Purely Commentary
Passover and the Approach
Of Israel's 34th Anniversary
Test Historian's Linkage
Application of the meaning of freedom to Passover
assumes special aspects on the eve of the observance of the
34th anniversary of Israel's statehood.
It has been contended
that Israel owes its rebirth
to the Holocaust. An emi-
nent authority on the sub-
ject, Prof. Yehuda Bauer of
the Hebrew University, dif-
fers on such claims. In one of
the most important books
dealing withe the Jewish
tragedies resulting from
Nazism, "A History of the
Holocskst" (Franklin Watts
Inc.) he offers an interesting
interpretation linking the
aftermath and revival, in a
chapter of that name, link-
ing the aftereffects of the
Holocaust with the re-
YEHUDA BAUER
emergence of Israel as a sovereign state. This is his in-
teresting comment:
The state of Israel did not result from the
Holooaust; in fact, had the Holocaust not oc-
curred, it is more than likely that Israel may have
arisen quicker and better and more securely. But
the pressure exercised by the Holocaust sur-
vivors in the DP camps decisively influenced the
establishment of Israel.
Some religious and lay Jewish leaders have
claimed that Israel was in some sense a recom-
pense by God for the murder of Jews during the
Holocaust. However, on both historical and
theological grounds, most Jews reject this theory
today. Other theologians, Jewish and Christian,
argue that the rise of Israel is a sign of God's
presence in history; to some Christians, espe-
cially, Israel's return to political history is a mat-
ter of profound theological import in the light of
God's promise.
From an historian's point of view, the problem
is no less complicated. The rise of an independent
Israel is indeed difficult to understand, especially
by • those who subscribe to the theory of Jewish
submissiveness.
The frightful trauma of the Holocaust is now,
decades after the event, beginning to emerge as a
constituent factor in Jewish psychological
make-up. It could happen again. Increasing num-
bers of non-Jews are equally concerned with the
event, its causes and aftereffects, and for not dis-
similar reasons. The Holocaust is a meeting place
between Jewish and non-Jewish history. As one
of the two or three major events of the-20th Cen-
tury, it is a watershed. As a warning, it may be the
most crucial. But people very seldom learn from
history. Can we be an exception?
These are views eminently worth studding. Like the
entire Bauer volume, yet to be extensively reviewed, it is
the testimony which bigots now try to destroy. It is a reaf-
firmation to a degree of the effectiveness of Prophecy. It
serves well at this time, as the Israel Independence Day
programs are planned, for a consideration of Israel's influ-
ence upon Jewish life.
The Holocaust Library has grown in immensity in
recent months. The Yehuda Bauer volume enriches it im-
mensely.
U.S. Senator Carl Levin's
Realism on Major Issues
.
Michigan's junior U.S. Senator, Carl Levin, scored
immensely as an advocate of a solution adopted by a 94-to-0
vote granting the U.S. Senate veto power over federal
bureaucracies. This' drew commendation editorially from
the Detroit News, usually a critic of the Democratic Sena-
tor's political and social views. The gist of the Detroit Ne(ws'
commendation was:
It is a long overdue reform intended to curb the
power of unelected officialdom in Washington. It
is also a remarkable achievement for a freshman
Senator, Detroit's Carl Levin .. .
As Mr. Levin has frequently noted, faceless
bureaucrats have been able to thwart and distort
the intent of Congress on a number of important
national policy questions. Yet none of these
rule-makers was elected to act in the name of the
people. And, while the federal agencies are sup-
posed to be answerable to the President, no chief
executive in recent history has been able to get
- control of the sprawling federal bureaucracy.
The Quest for Freedom and the Passover Experience
Provide Serious Consideration of the Nazi Holocaust
as If Affected the Rebirth of Jewish Statehood
The Michigan Senator,
whose roots are in a family
of distinction, his father
having established a record
of merit in the foreign con-
sular service, has already
earned distinction on many
fronts. He was a leader in
the fight against the out-
rageous AWACS deal. He
has assisted Russian claim-
ants for the right to exit
from Communist rule in
their homeland. He is in the
front ranks of Israel's de-
fenders and his services will
be urgently needed in that
capacity in the months
CARL LEVIN
ahead.
Furthermore, he can be expected to aid in the struggle
for adoption of the Genocide Convention by the United
States. As he has stated recently, support for it, an attitude
originally pioneered by President Harry Truman, will need
the backing of President Ronald Reagan. That's where the
U.S. Senators will have to figure actively.
Because applause for Carl Levin is not unanimous, it
could be considered an added compliment when the Com-
mittee for the Survival of a Free Congress branded him "a
radical." That committee, referred to (branded?) as rightist,
would do well to study the dictionary, to learn that a radical
usually searches for the roots of causes he adheres to, advo-
cates reforms in people's lives and many more interpreta-
tions, some very commendable and qualitative.
The Carl Levin record in his first four years in the U.S.
Senate is highly commendable. From all accounts he also
has a highly-appreciative constituency.
Paul Borman Adds Distinction
to Pragmatic Citizenship
On what had been Twelfth Street and is now the Rosa
Parks Boulevard in Detroit, a noteworthy communal
achievement invites recognition of the pragmatism of a
leader in the food industry.
Farmer Jack added a market to its growing chainof
stores in the area that had been the scene of rioting, de-
struction and numerous tragedies.
The area is rebuilt, and now it is enhanced with a
supermarket matching the best equipped and most attrac-
tive in the sta
To have taken that step re-
quired a businessman's courage.
Paul Borman displayed it with
courage and devotion. Now the
residents of that area bless him.
He has earned blessings from
other spheres. He and Mrs.
Borman hosted an interesting
evening for the Chabad
Lubavitch movement, with
George Will as guest speaker.
Thereby the Bormans became
supporters of the Hasidic move-
ment, evidencing an interest
that supplements lifelong con-
PAUL BORMAN
By Philip
Slomovitz
gregational activites. The• substance is that wherever they
can be of service for the elevation of Jewish causes, they
respond. That's why they are the leaders here in behalf of
the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, and
respond to all important causes, Jewish, civic, interfaith.
The Rosa Parks Boulevard venture glorifies the record
of the acts that denote good citizenship. That is why there is
acclaim for them in an area that could have suffered obliv-
ion and now rises again as a proud neighborhood.
Robert St. John as Honorary
Fellow of Hebrew University:
A Highly-Merited Award
This is a season of many anniversaries and num -
notable birthdays. Among the special ones is the 8G.. i f
Robert St. John.
Author, lecturer, world traveler; a score of books,
many acquiring best-selling status, bearing his by-line; an
orator with distinction, who has toured every important
area in the world, including many return visits to Israel, St.
John has been named an Honorary Fellow of the Hebrew
University in Jerusalem to mark his 80th birthday.
Appropriately and de-
servedly, the investiture of
the honor will be at the Is-
rael Embassy in Washing-
ton on April 25. He has
made so many noteworthy
contributions in tasks for
44:
Israel's security and in the
advancement of Israel's
cultural-spiritual needs,
that the great institution
honoring him speaks in be-
half of all Jews in express-
ing appreciation for a role
that marked courage and
devotion in his having em-
braced a cause when the
people involved urgently
needed friends like him in
ROBERT ST. JOHN
Christendom.
During more than half of his productive lifetime,
Robert St. John evidenced his humanitarian-libertarian
devotions, with emphasis on his support of Zionism in pre-
Israel years, his evaluative efforts in Israel's behalf as a
war correspondent, as lecturer, as author of works devoted
to studies of personalities and events globally, particularly
the Middle East.
David Ben-Gurion, Abba Eban and Eliezer Ben-
Yehuda are among the great personalities of this century
whose names are perpetuated in the biographies authored
by him. He did not limit his studies to Jews and Israel. He
emerged an authority on Egypt with his biography of
Gamal Abdel Nasser and studies of conditions in Egypt.
During World War II he exposed the Nazi crimes in his
studies of the terrorism by the Hitlerites in Hungary and
elsewhere. He has well earned the honor accorded him and
there is a sense of pride that the Hebrew University has
named him to be an Honorary Fellow on his 80th birthday.
It is an occasion fOr his friends in Israel and world Jewry to
join in greeting him heartily on merited achievements.
Aid AKIM Benefit
Two 'First Ladies' to handicapped
children, is an retarded adults. In addition,
WASHINGTON — Mrs.
Ronald Reagan, First Lady
of the United States, will be
patron of "The Blue Rose
Gala," a special tribute to
Mrs. Menahem Begin, wife
of Israel's Prime Minister,
which will take place at the
John F. Kennedy Center for
•
ALIZA BEGIN
the Performing Arts in
Washington, D.C. on May
23.
Patrons with Mrs. Re-
agan are U.S. Ambassador
to Israel and Mrs. Samuel
Lewis and Israeli Ambas-
sador to the U.S. and Mrs.
Moshe Arens. The gala will
headline Sammy Davis Jr.
and Barry Manilow.
Proceeds from "The Blue
Rose Gala" will benefit
AKIM — The Association
for the Rehabilitation of the
Mentally Handicapped in
Israel, of which Mrs. Begin
is honorary president, as
well as the Foster Grand-
parents Program, desig-
nated by Mrs. Nancy Re-
agan, which is an American
program that links older
volunteers with children
who have special needs, in-
cluding the mentally handi-
capped.
AKIM, founded in 1951
by parents of mentally
organization of 1,000 volun- it arranges and participates
teers caring for some 20,000 in sports activities such as
mentally handicapped chil- the Kennedy Foundation's
dren and adults in Israel. Special Olympics. All ser-
AKIM advises and vices are provided free
guides parents and without discrimination.
For information on The
families in coping with
their situations and pro- Blue Rose Gala, call the na.-
motes research to further tional office in Washing` Win,
assist the mentally (301) 654-8344.
handicapped. It is also
involved in special
therapy techniques in art
and creative drama
under the guidance of Tel
Aviv University.
As the major force in pro-
viding new social tech-
niques for rehabilitation
and providing employment
opportunities for the men-
tally handicapped, AK AC-e,
maintains and operates 33
facilities including day nur-
series, kindergartens, shel-
tered workshops, hostels,
social clubs, summer camps
NANCY REAGAN
and residential homes for