26 Friday, October 29, 1982
. .
W e gasZtaktillit
-4
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Williamsburg Is Turned Upside Down in The Chosen'
shul. These were no Woody
Allen or Mel Books
(Editor's note: Rabbi Hasidim! These were the
Freedman is an adminis- Hasidim of Bedford, Lee
trator with Yeshivath and Marcy Avenue,
Williamsburg, circa 1945.
Beth Yehudah.)
I never fully appreciated
True, Robbie Benson as
native American, Italian the Hasidic Danny Saun-
and black groups' concerns ders seemed to have learned
about the film industry his Talmud at a video ar-
stereotyping their respec- cade, rather than a yeshiva,
tive cultures. I always and sure his talmudic
thought the calls for theory sounded like vintage
boycotts were a bit exces- country yokelism, but you
sive. That was until I saw have to admit it wasn't bad
"The Chosen."
for a "Goy"! It looked real!
The story, adapted from
These guys were daven-
Chaim Potok's book of the ing like Hasidim, singing
RABBI FREEDMAN
same name, takes place at like Hasidim (almost). The
the end of World War II in streets looked like the camaraderie are the most
Brooklyn. Two clever, Williamsburg I know, but I highly regarded attributes.
One of the most poignant
learned, Jewish boys, sons didn't recognize the people.
of immigrants, become
Rod Steiger's portrayel teachings of the great
friends. Reuven Malter of the Hasidic Rebbe, Hasidic masters is, "The
(Barry Miller), a shrewd, Reb Saunders, the stern, fundamental mitzva is that
guarded streetwise kid, is judgmental, severe and of loving thy neighbor, be-
the son of a professor and arrogant leader, could cause it leads to all other
writer on Jewish affairs only be the creation of commandments. In the
(Maximillian Schell).
fiction. All the Hasidic same vein, the fundamental
Danny Saunders (Robby rebbes that I have known sin is being sad, because
Benson), tall, stern, with personally or heard sadness leads to all other
curly sidelocks, a Hasid about are memorable for sins." Does that sound like
from a long line of rabbis, their very warmth, the same teachings that
has been raised in silence by friendliness and humil- could call for raising a child
in silence, gloom and lonel-
his awesome father, the ity.
white bearded patriarch
The Hasidic Movement iness? Would it tolerate its
Reb Saunders (Rod Steiger). became "The Movement of leaders screaming in rage at
Although I am not a the People" in Eastern
Hasid, "Hasidus" is a Europe precisely because of U.S. May Deport
way of life that I have the human qualities of its Alleged Ex-Nazi
been very familiar with leaders — roots that the
WASHINGTON (JTA) —
since my youth. It is a modern American sects
The Justice Department
culture which I came to have never lest sight of.
has initiated action to de-
understand, love and ap-
A rebbe bringing up his port a 59-year-old alleged
preciate. After viewing son in cold silence? Having Nazi collaborator who was
the film, I wondered if the studied religious and stripped of U.S. citizenship
audience had been mildly Hasidic texts all my life, I by a federal court last
deceived or had the have never come across any March for participating in
Hasidic Movement been use for the silent treatment the murder of a*Jewish fam-
deliberately betrayed?
in raising children, or any ily and killing a young
I must admit the film's other purpose. The only Jewish child in the Ukraine
costuming, the visual ef- religious silence I'm famil-
1943.
fects and the settings were iar with is in the monas- in Bohdan
Koziy, a native of
authentic, right down to the taries of the Trappist order, the Ukraine and now a resi-
knots on the Hasidim's a Roman Catholic sect. Cer-
"Ttzitzit." It looked so real tainly, it has no place in the dent of Fort Lauderdale,
you could almost smell the world of Hasidus, where joy, Fla., is accused of conceal-
herring in the old world laughter and warm human ing his activities on behalf
of the Nazis during World
War II as a policeman in the
Ukraine.
The department said in
papers filed in a U.S. immi-
gration court in Miami that
"Koziy's acts of persecution
and murder and his conce-
alment made his admission
into the United States un-
lawful" and should there-
fore be deported. The court
revoked his citizenship fol-
Paid for by the Broomfield Campaign Committee, P.O. Box 24,
Birmingham, Michigan 44012, Arthur G. Elliott, Chairman, and
lowing a three-week trial
Denton Hassell, Treasurer.
last March.
By RABBI E.B.
FREEDMAN
The Honorable ALICE GILBERT
Oakland County Circuit Judge &
Her Husband DR. HERBERT BLOOM
URGE
YOU TO
RETAIN
a guest because of ideologi-
cal differences?
As the movie pro-
gresses, a central theme
of contrast develops be-
tween Reuven Malter's
father, the modern sec-
ularist Zionist, and Reb
Saunders, the Hasidic
master.
Malter is seen pas-
sionately motivated to
work for the new born state
of Israel, while Reb Saun-
ders is driven to the point of
rage at the mere mention of
the state of Israel in his
home. This alleged anti-
Zionist zeal of the Hasidim
is played to the full hilt.
Hasidim are seen passing
out leaflets against the new
state, and starting fist
fights with its supporters,
etc.
Generalization is an old
ploy in the game of fictional
stereotyping. In this case, it
capitalizes on the average
person's lack of familiarity
with the Hasidic world and
its multitude of ideologies.
As in any society, the
Hasidic world consists of
rightists, leftists and every-
thing in between.
There are Hasidic
groups and leaders that
are unabashed Zionists,
just as there are a minor-
ity of vocal anti-Zionist
groups amongst the
Hasidim. Most groups,
including the largest
such as "Ger" and
"Lubavitch" are
staunchly pro-Israel.
Many a Hasid served in
the Israeli Army and lost
their lives along side
their secularist brothers
in the five wars since
1948.
I personally know of
American Hasidim who
were teenagers during the
War of Independence in
1948 that spent that sum-
mer clandestinely packing
crates of arms and military
equipment for Israel, just as
the secularist, Reuven Mal-
ter, did in the film.
Once again, the director,
Jeremy Kagan, and
screenwriter Edwin Gor-
don, were guilty of the "You
know those Hasidim — they
all look the same to me"
syndrome.
With world affairs as they
are today, pulling out the
old stereotypes to further
divide the Jewish people
KEEPING THE
DREAM ALIVE
By Don McEvoy
ALLIES IN RESCUE
R
aoul Wallenberg is among the
most honored of the "righ-
teous gentiles", and rightly so. The
efforts of this young Swedish
diplomat in saving perhaps as many
as 100,000 Hungarian Jews from an-
nihilation at the hands of the Nazis is
one of human history's most heroic
sagas.
In the waning months of World
War II, with the German army in
retreat, Hitler ordered a frantic ac-
celeration of his demonic "Final
Solution"; the death of all European
Jews. Wallenberg, sent to Budapest
by the War Refugee Board, effective-
ly thwarted the efforts of Adolph
Eichmann to accomplish that grotes-
que goal.
I thought I knew the Wallenberg
story in detail, but a new book has
just been published this Month,
which adds a significant dimension of
which I had been unaware. The
author is Harvey Rosenfeld, editor of
Martyrdom and Resistance, the longest
running periodical devoted to the
Holocaust. The books is Raoul
Wallenberg: Angel of Rescue.
Paid for by the Committee To Retain Judge Bernard A. Friedman
could not possibly be more
ill timed.
After seeing "The Cho-
sen" I lose faith in the
medium of popular
movies. I wonder, can a
film made for the masses
depict the inner beauty
and richly-guarded tra-
ditions of Hasidim? Can
Hollywood possibly ap-
preciate a humble people
jealously protecting a
treasured culture against
the ravages of assimila-
tion?
Just because the "talises"
and the "tzizit" are real,
does that mean the Hasidim
portrayed are real?
Coming up with a few
contrasts between the old
and the new might make
excellent melodrama, but
don't make the mistake of
plunking down $4 for two
hours worth of movie and
believe you saw real
Hasidim from
Williamsburg. Not my
Hasidim, not my
Williamsburg.
Unfortunately, many
people will go away from
this film with deceptive
opinions about Hasidim.
The new information, which
Rosenfeld details, is the important
role played by the Catholic Church in
collaboration with Wallenberg. As
the author points out, "The story of
Raoul Wallenberg would not be com-
plete without examining the conduct
of one,of his most important allies --
the Roman Catholic Church."
Until recently, many papal
documents relating to the Nazi
period were locked up in Vatican ar-
chives. In the absence of these
documents, many have severely
criticized Pope Pius XII for his
presumed passive role in the face of
Hitler's atrocities. 'While differences
of opinion will continue ad infinitum,
perhaps, as to whether the Pope and
the Church acted as decisively as they
could have or should have, the newly
revealed . facts of the involvement in
Hungary must be a part of that
debate.
In Hungary, a predominately
Catholic country, many Catholic in-
stitutions, many Catholic in-
dividuals, both laity and clergy, ac-
tively participated in the rescue of
Jews. This was done in response to
the moral leadership of papal nuncio
Monsignor Angelo Rotta, acting
under direct orders from Pope Pius
XII.
The lustre of Wallenberg's her-
culean efforts is in no way diminished
by the new revelation of the im-
mensely important support he receiv-
ed from the Catholic Church, its
leaders and f011owers. In fact, a new
dimension is added to this inspira-
tional story which enlightens the grim
history of that tragic era.
(I)on McEvoy is Senior f'ice President of
the National Cooference of (.hristian.s and
Jews. The opinions expressed are hi.t OUT. )