2 Friday, January 13, 1984

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Purely Commentary

Retaining Unity as a Continuing Jewish
Obligation Emphasized on Super Sunday . . .
Maccabi Recalls Nordau's Muscular Judaism

By Philip
Slomovitz

Super Sunday as an Emphasis on Unifying Jewish Ranks

Super Sunday is acclaimed as a fund raiser. Several thousand Jews will be contacted
telephonically by hundreds of Allied Jewish Campaign volunteer workers for contribu-
tions to the major Jewish fund-raising projects.
It is necessary to emphasize that such an ,effort is more significant than the mone-
tary. The funds to be secured are vital. They are important as an aid to Israeli social
services and educational institutions.
They are equally important for the continuing activities of Detroit's major Jewish
agencies.
They are vital as an assurance that the educational system will not suffer for lack of
funds, that the family services will be provided for, that Meals on Wheels will continue
rolling, that all of the causes that provide for a well-functioning community will continue
to provide services without interruption.
As important as any of the aims is a major aspiration — that of achieving community

Muscular Judaism as Ideal
Embodied in Maccabi Movement;
Definition by Max Nordau

Selection of Detroit by the World Maccabi Union
Executive as the site for the 1984 United States Maccabi
Youth Games, to be held in August, attaches great interest
to the history of the Maccabi Union, its activities for nearly
a century and the eminent world personalities who brought
the movement into being.
With the emergence of this important sports activity as
a worldwide Jewish concern, there was an initial emphasis
on the need for a Muscular Judaism. It was an urgently
needed term in the decades when it was so urgent that Jews
should be ready for self-defense in areas where pogroms
were the run of the mill among the masses in several
backward countries, with the progressive nations having
proven helpless to stem those tides, many among their own
citizens having resorted to anti-Semitism.
Perhaps themost effec-
tive appeal in support of the
Maccabi aims and in advocat-
ing muscular Judaism was
the address delivered by one
of the most eminent Jewish
personalities of the last and
this century, Max Nordau,
one of Theodor Herzl's closest
associates, who, in his ad-
dress to the Second World
Zionist Congress in Basle,
Switzerland, in 1898, gave
this impetus to the concept of
a nationalist Jewish sports
MAX NORDAU
movement:
. Gymnastics and physical training are ex-
ceedingly important for us Jews, whose greatest
defect has been and is lack of discipline . . . nature
has endowed us with the spiritual qualities re-
quired for athletic achievements of an extraordi-
nary quality. All we lack is muscle, and that can
be developed with the aid of physical exercise .. .
The more Jews achieve in the various branches of
sport, the greater will be their self-confidence and
self-respect..
That the eminence of so distinguished a leader and
world personality as Max Nordau should have lent
encouragement to the Jewish sports movement is espe-
cially significant in outlining the history of the sports
movements as a concept for Jewish youth activities.
This concept came into being with the creation of gym-
nastics movements in several countries. Gradually, the
Maccabi idea gained wide acceptance and was accorded
esteem internationally.
The Maccabi sports idea became an ideal in the em-
phasis given by the movement's adherents to the Zionist
libertarian principles. With the rebirth of Jewish state-
hood, the Maccabi idea acquired Israel as the center of its
inspiration for sports movements in many lands.
With the American Maccabi activity now in the proc-
ess of planning in Detroit, the historical record of the
movement lends itself to a review of the courage of Jewish
athletes and the pride in it that received such excellent
acclaim from Max Nordau and from sports advocates
throughout the world. The very idea can even be a course of
study about Jews in sports in all Jewish schools. For Detroit
Jewry it is cause for pride that this community will be
hosting such an important international gathering.

,Jackson and the Arabs:
Some Notable Quotations

Jesse Jackson and his missions arouse understandable
concern about his views on the Middle East.
The Democratic candidate for President, who earned
worldwide attention with his intercession that resulted in
the release of Lt. Robert 0. Goodman, Jr. from Syrian
captivity, made this statement to the press after his meet-
ing with Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger:
He said that it was wrong to have a Middle East policy
that "excites" one country, meaning Israel, and "incites 21

unity.
These are challenging times in Jewish life, and the support that is needed for Israel,
in assuring solidarity for the American Jewish community, is based on the unified efforts
of the constituents.
There is danger in divisiveness, and when fund-raising services are a means of
enrolling the unidentified as partners in the overall Jewish efforts, it emerges as a great
achievement.
Fund raising is vital as a supporting aim for the existence of Jewish educational and
social agencies and those supporting overseas needs. It becomes vitally important as a
unifying instrument. As such, it is urgent that the Super Sunday task on Jan. 15 should
be as'noteworthy and as successful as possible.
All who are approached the coming Sunday will hopefully encourage the volunteer
solicitors and will make Jewish unity a reality.

countries," meaning most of the Arab nations.
Those concerned about "inciting" the 21 Arab coun-
tries will find an explanatory addendum in a revealing
portion of an article about the Jacksonian role in the report
to the New York Times from Washington by Ronald
Smothers, as follows:
Mr. Jackson was criticized by M.T. Mehdi,
president of the American-Arab Relations Com-
mittee, who led an unsuccessful effort to seek the
release of the Navy flier two weeks before Mr.
Jackson's trip.
In a telegram, Mr. Mehdi congratulated Mr.
Jackson on his success, but then noted reported
statements by him saying that "the Arab war
against Israel must be stopped" and expressing
the hope that Israel become the capital of democ-
racy and commerce in the Middle East. Mr. Mehdi
said such statements showed "utmost contempt
for the feelings of the Arab people."
Mehdi is not a stranger in the Arab spokesmanship
contrary to Israel. He has led in the antagonisms and he
now again indicates that he is not a supporter of the peace
movement.
Jesse Jackson may be only incidental to the Mehdian
declaration. But Jackson's role on the American political
scene certainly assists in bringing to public attention many
of the factors that create conflict in the Middle East's dif-
ficult efforts to attain amity among neighborly nations.

Yiddish Revivalism

Linguistically, this must be judged as an exciting time
in Jewish cultural circles. The interest revived in Yiddish
is especially electrifying. Isaac Bashevis Singer's interna-
tional triumph as a Nobel Prize winner added much glory to
Yiddish. Therefore, every article in the general press invit-
ing interest in the subject has much value in a difficult task
of giving added life to a struggling instrument in Jewish
culturism.

There are many questions that need clarifying in this
sphere of interest. It is yet to be proven that the claim to 60
universities having instituted courses in Yiddish is true. In
the main, the Columbia University as a notable exception,

the Yiddish studies are limited to devotion to Yiddish liter-
ature in translation. It is possible that even if large classes
could be enrolled for such courses the lack of qualified
teachers would stand in the way of success. That is why the
establishment of a department for training Yiddish
teachers, at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, by Detroiters
Sarah and Morris Friedman, is perhaps the most important
step yet taken in the direction of implementing the growing
interest in Yiddish revivalism.

On Censorship .

Joseph L. Baron's collected Jewish quotations contain
this excerpt from a letter written in 1304 by Abba Mari, the
14th Century French anti-rationalist, to Solomon Adret,
the Barcelona Talmudist:
"How can you look on when the sanctuary is being
consumed by rotten books?"
Applied to censorship, one may be forgiven for treating
this 14th Century message as a replica to the Shakespea-
rian technique of quoting Scripture for one's purpose. This
is not satisfying those who are outraged by the censorship
of the Arab press in Jerusalem. The latter could take into
account resort to such censorship for the Hebrew press.
Therefore, the calamity is that in time of crisis and when a
people is at war, censorship has been made a necessity.
Will the fact be ignored that Israel's press has been
recognized even by its severest critics as among the freest
in the world? And is there a freer Arab press anywhere in
the world than the one functioning in Jerusalem?
Therefore, it is being asked as it should be, why the
strict censorship of the Arabs?
Dealing with this sad subject, there is the compulsion
to be realistic, to recognize that when a journalistic group
seeks to glorify the enemy of the land where it is publish-
ing, and thereby provides weapons for destruction,
shouldn't the country whose fate is at stake act firmly?
Censorship is hardly commendable anywhere, but
where there is threat of terrorism and there is a continuing
embattlement should the target provide extra ammunition
to an attacker?
Hopefully, there will be a better world soon to assure
the undesirability of censorship. Meanwhile, those needing
and seeking defense should not be asked to commit suicide.

Zichron Yaakov's Aaronsohn Family

By CARL ALPERT
Rothschild came to the help
ZICHRON YAAKOV — of the early settlers by guid-
This picturesque town, ing them into the growing of
founded in 1882 and located grapes and by establishing
on the southern end of the the wine cellars.
During World War I,
Carmel range, is sometimes
visited by tourists. They Aaron Aaronsobn, his
come to see the famous wine sister Sarah and such
cellars, or the tomb of Baron friends as Avshalom
Rothschild, set in the midst Feinberg and Yosef
of a magnificent garden es- Lishansky organized a
tate. But very, very few visit pro-British espionage
the home and museum of ring which operated be-
the Aaronsohn family, who hind the Turkish lines. A
were the center of some of carrier pigeon with one
the most exciting and of the messages fell into
dramatic stories in the pre- enemy hands and Sarah
was captured and tor-
state history of Israel.
In pictures, exhibits, let- tured in an attempt to
ters, archives and other compel her to reveal
material, the museum re- names of other members.
tells some of the history. The story becomes alive
When Ephraim Fischel as we see the Aaronsohn
Aaronsohn brought his fam- home today, preserved as it
ily to the Holy Land from was 70 years ago, the secret
Romania in 1882 he found it panel from which 27-year-
difficult to scratch a living old Sarah drew a hidden pis-
from the rocky Carmel tol, and the old-fashioned
slopes. An appeal for help to bathroom where she shot
Baron de Hirsch brought a herself. The dress into
tempting offer to settle on which she was ostensibly to
the baron's fertile lands in change still hangs on its
the Argentine, but the fam- hook on the wall.
ily remained, and Baron • Her brother, Aaron, was

already an agronomist and it difficult for him to get
botanist of international along with others.
reputation. His discovery in
The Zionist Organization
Palestine of wild wheat, a did send him to the United
prototype of modern culti- States in the latter years of
vated wheat, was a botani- the war, after the spy ring
cal sensation. The U.S. De- had been broken up. His
partment of Agriculture task was to "arouse Zionist
appointed him a dollar-a- enthusiasm" and stimulate
year consultant. Aaron pro-Entente feelings, but
never cashed the first one the letter of appointment at
dollar check, and it hangs the same time explicitly
on the wall of the museum forbade him from making
to this day.
public speeches or giving
He was constantly at odds press interviews, as we
with the official Zionist learn from one of the docu-
leadership. His intense ments on display.
Jewish nationalism led him
Aaron Aaronsohn mys-
to draw up plans for an teriously vanished in a
economically-viable Jewish small British plane which
state based not only on disappeared over the
political but also on geo- English Channel in 1919.
graphic realitie. He in- The family accepted the
sisted that the state-to-be verdict of accident, but
must include the head there are still some who be-
waters of the Litani River in lieve that there were those c
the north and the coastal who wanted Aaronsohn out
strip of Gaza in the south. of the way. He was carrying
He opposed the moder- his maps at the time, maps
ate leadership of Weiz- which he had displayed at
mann. However he was the Versailles Peace Con-
possessed of a strong and ference. British files on the
highly-individualistic
incident have never been
personality which made opened.

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