128 Friday, September 9, 1983 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Dr. Abram L. Sachar Records the Historic Record of How 'the Unwanted' Attained `the Redemption' Abram L. Sachar, long- time president and now chancellor of Brandeis Uni- versity, has a distinguished record as an historian. He is among the most eloquent lecturers of this era. In both capacities he shows great skill as a storyteller and as commentator on world af- fairs, with emphasis on Jewish history. With "The Redemption of the Unwanted" (St. Mar- tin's Press), he adds im- mensely to his role as a scholar whose researched historical material enriches the chronicled records of Jewish experience. National Jewish redemp- tion and the rebirth of the state of Israel is the basic theme of this impressive work. It is much more than that. It is a record of tragedies and Sachar's is a summarized recording of the events that preceded the emergence of Israel, the basic resume of the Holocaust and the struggle on behalf of the survivors and the events that led to the craving for freedom in the Jewish environment of a redeemed homeland. The American in- volvements are vital in these recapitulations of the historic events and the Franklin-Truman roles are basic to the is- sues at hand. Therefore, much of the indifference that was in- volved in the failure to pro- vide homes for the refugees are relevant to the incorpo- rated record. Dr. Sachar gives an account of the Jewish demands for Ameri- can action and the con- troversies that created much bitterness in that process. Much of it relates to the activities of David Niles, who began a career and was drawn into the White House inner circle by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and - who continued as admin istrative assistant to President Harry S Truman. Dr. Sachar gives much credit to Niles as having written many of the impor- tant statements regarding . the Jewish demands for an open door to the then Jewish community of Palestine for the refugees escaping Nazism. Niles was Tru- man's guide in these delib- erations and Dr. Sachar based the numerous pages in his book devoted to the subject to giving fullest cre- dit to Niles for his aid to the Zionist cause and to the re- lief efforts for the refugees. , While most of what is *1. ABRAM L. SACHAR related on the subject was fully known to ac- tivists in behalf of relief efforts and the. Jewish claims to Palestine as a homeland, there are some details that are especially revealing. At one point, Truman was angered by pressures from Jewish leaders and in a note to Niles, revealed in this volume, wrote: "Imagine (Nahum) Goldmann, (Stephen S.) Wise and Com- pany coming in after a round with a bandit like Molotov. on Trieste and Tyrol Reparations, dis- placed persons, and hell all around. Think probably, I'd tell him (Goldmann) to jump in the Jordan." And with regard to the militant attitude of Abba Hillel Silver and the mod- erate position of Stephen S. Wise, Sachar states that "Niles solicited letters from moderate Zionist leaders to reassure the President of their opposition to (Abba Hillel) Silver's views." Rabbi Stephen Wise, in a letter Niles passed on to Truman, wrote: "We should proceed to counteract the Silver mischief. I am not prepared to hurt the inter- ests of the American and British people, alike in- volved in this loan, to spite a man (Bevin), however hasty his speech and however lamenatable his conduct against Zionism." The references are to Silver's warning that he and his associates would inaugurate a campaign opposing a loan to Brit- ain under the existing situation of the venom- ous British attitude toward Zionism _and the Jews of Palestine; and to the anti-Semitic remarks of British Foreign Secre- tary Ernst Bevin, espe- cially his statement at the Labor Party conference in Bourenmouth, England, that Americans are so enthusiastic about opening Palestine to the refugees because "they did not want to have many of them in New York." Thus, the entire bitter bitter struggle over the closed door policy of the British, barring entry of Jews to Palestine, is covered here. It is in relation to those struggles for justice for the Jewish position that the leadership taken by President Truman in the demand that 100,000 refu- gees be admitted to Pales- tine is given thorough analysis by Dr. Sachar. It is here that David Niles' role is emphasized. As indicated, this is a Sachar tribute to Niles, who was known to his contem- poraries as Truman's "Jewish adviser." In reviewing the events that preceded the Palestine partition decision, Sachar thoroughly reviews the ac- tivities of the Anglo- American Commission on Palestine, recalling the con- flicts that ensued and the American protests against British failures in solving the many issues. While the Sachar ac- count of the dramatic events that are inerasa- ble in Jewish, American and world history are generally known, the emphases by Sachar lend his recapitulation of them special signifi- cance. His "The Redemption of the Unwanted" gains un- usual interest in the many hitherto unknown or unre- corded episodes in. Jewish experiences. Exemplary is his revelation of the anti- Semitism of General George S. Patton. There were differ- ing military views between General Patton and his chief, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, commander of the Allied forces in Europe. There is a lengthy expose of the Patton attitude and it refers to the role of Earl Harrison, adviser to the In- tergovernmental Commit- tee on Refugees. Dr. Sachar exposes Patton's anti- Semitism as follows: "The case of General George Patton, while ex- treme, was not entirely unique. Patton was a bril- liant field commander and had become a legend for the daring that brought vic- . tories in North Africa and, in the final actions of the war, in Germany and Czechoslovakia. Eisenhow- er regarded him as his `champion end runner,' but the professional respect had not been reciprocated. "With all his Hotspur courage, Patton was un- stable and harbored deep prejudices. Commanding the Third Army in Europe, he caused embarrassment when he publicly ques- tioned the military useful- ness of black soldiers. He had little'understanding of the evil core of Nazism. "In a press conference that centered on de- nazification, he referred to 'this Nazi thing' as just like a Democratic and Republican election.' Patton had the ,profes- sional soldier's attitude that neither winners nor losers should 'carry a grudge.' "Moreover, he never bothered to disguise the anti-Semitism he had im- bibed in his southern California childhood. On Aug. 31, he wrote to his wife: 'Actually the Germans are the only decent people left in Europe. It's a choice between them and the Rus- sians. I prefer the Germans. So do our cousins.' "He resorted to a double pejorative when he de- scribed the wife of a man prominent in the American government as 'a very Jewy Jewess.' "Patton reluctantly ac- companied Eisenhower on the Yom Kippur visit to Feldafing, and reacted vio- lently. In his diary there was a stinging reference to the Harrison Report: " 'One of the chief corn- plaints of (Earl Harrison) is that the DPs are kept in camp under guard. Of course, Harrison is ignor- ant of the fact that if they were not kept under guard they would not stay in the camps, would spread over the country like locusts, and would eventually have to be rounded up after quite a few of them had been shot and quite a few Germans mur- dered and pillaged .. . " 'Harrison and his ilk believe that the. DP is a human being, which he is not, and this applies par- ticularly to the Jews who are lower than animals.' " The title of the new Sac- har book becomes apparent in the revealing fact of a de- termined will of the sur- vivors from the Holocaust to become established in the Jewish homeland. It is ap- parent in the account that the resistance to anti- Semitism was a major aim. It was in an era of mini- mal efforts to rescue those doomed by the Nazis and the struggle for the right to decide on their own destiny — in defiance of the con- tinuing anti-Semitism -- that led to the ultimate goal of making real "the Rede- mption," with the "Un- wanted rising to regained dignity as attainers of the aim of re-establishing the traditional homeland." It is in this respect that the new Sachar volume at- tains importance in the pub- lished Jewish historical sphere. —P.S. Retrospective on the Problems of Israel: Will They Be Resolved by the Year 5745? By CARL ALPERT HAIFA — The High Holidays are a time not only for retrospection, but also for looking forward. Each year, at this season, - we con- template the dozen major problems which Israel will be called upon to face during the coming 12 months. As we see the situation, the fol- lowing are Israel's foremost concerns looming ahead, presented in respective order of importance: debt is getting the economy into deeper and deeper trouble. How can economic disaster be avoided? RESTIVE LABOR — No one in Israel is hungry, but a philosophy of "if others get it, we want it too" is agitating labor, and the problem is to avoid a repeti- tion, in other professions, of the catastrophic strike by physicians which set a ter- rible precedent on the labor scene. EXTRICATION FROM LEBANON — Major goals POLITICAL CON- FRONTATION — The in the war for peace in the Galilee having been achieved, how do we now withdraw from the Lebanese mire, and avoid war with a militant, Soviet-backed Syria? INFLATION — The av- erage Israeli enjoys a high standard of living, and there is an air of prosperity, with minimal unemploy- ment, but economists warn that the swollen national imminence of national elec- tions is leading to resumed and unrestrained political onslaughts as the respective parties resort to verbal vio- lence and provocation in the struggle for control of the government. RELIGIOUS INFLU- ENCE — The need to main- tain coalition stability con- tinues to give Orthodox groups a control over na- tional policies and purse far out of proportion to their ac- tual representation in the population and govern- ment. JUDEA AND SAMARIA — Israelis are in the area to stay, and their numbers will increase. In the face of provocative acts, from both sides, a spirit of co-existence between Jews and Arabs must be fostered. CARL ALPERT DEATH ON THE HIGHWAYS — Greater ef- forts must be made to pre- vent road accidents which, in the past year alone, have taken more Israeli lives than the war in Lebanon. IMMIGRATION — Is- rael looks to Jewish com- munities abroad for man- power and brain power to stimulate the dynamic process of growth and de- velopment. Will the doors of the Soviet Union re-open, or will new immigrants come in large numbers from the free West? YERIDA — The exodus of discontented or fortune- hunting Israelis appears to be subsiding, and many of the emigres are beginning to return home, but a close eye must be kept on what is still a serious problem. ENERGY — Despite a growing shift from oil to coal, Israel must still look overseas for its sources of energy. Decision with re- gard to domestic nuclear power plants is still pend- ing. EGYPT — Renewed ef- forts must be made to revive the dormant peace with Egypt, and convert it into a dynamic process of normali- zation of relations between two peace-loving neighbors. WATER — Israel con- tinues to consume all its available water resources with barely minimal re- serves. A prolonged drought could be catastrophic, un- dermining everything being done on the defense and economic fronts. These are the 12 major problems of the coming year. How many will be close to solution when we again contemplate the list on Rosh Hashana 5745? Sixth President Chaim Herzog, the Labor Alignment candidate, was elected in March Israel's sixth President by secret ballot in the Knesset, pro- viding a stunning political set-back for Premier Menahem Begin's coalition government. Herzoa suc- ceeded President .Yitzhak Navon. .