20 Friday, January 20, 1984
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
"Talk About Quality .. .
'74
il bW7
0
'eefre Pil®
MOBILE PHONES
FREE DEMONSTRATION
Let's talk 569-2337
ONE STOP SHOPPING • BUY • RENT
LEASE • NEW • RE-MANUFACTURED
IMIIIIM111•11/
Exhibit on American Jewish Life Will Tour
NEW YORK — A collec-
tion of 250 photographs
from the recently published
"American Jewish Album:
1654 to the Present," forms
the backbone of an exhibi-
tion on Jewish life in the
United States which opened
at the New York Public Li-
brary earlier this month.
The exhibition, "Jewish
Life in America: Fulfilling
the American Dream," is
sponsored by the Anti-
Defamation League of Bnai
Brith and the American
Jewish Historical Society.
It is scheduled to travel to
a number of U.S. cities, in-
cluding Detroit.
In most places, the photo-
graphs from Allon
Schoener's book (reviewed
in The Jewish News Dec. 9,
1983, p. 4), will be
supplemented by local
Jewish memorabilia.
Among the 100 additional
items on display in New
York are a 1782 invoice
signed by Haym Solomon,
who had been a financial
bulwark of the American
Revolution; a ketuba, or
wedding contract, written
in New Orleans in 1854; and
the text of a 1773 sermon
given at a Rhode Island
synagogue by a fund collec-
tor from Palestine.
Schoener is serving as the
curator for the exhibition.
In addition to putting to-
gether "The American
Jewish Album," Schoener
has organized a number of
exhibitions, most notably
"Portal to America: The
Lower East Side_ 1870-
1925," at the - Jewish
Museum in 1966.
35 YEARS OF LABOR PAINS ISRAEL
By MAURICE CROLL, M.D.
The dark clouds came drifting
In
O'er this lonely sliver of land.
An island of struggling, love' and
Sunshine —
Surrounded on all sides
By a sea of turmoil, war, and pure
Hate.
Where. for almost three thousand
Years,
The struggling, parched earth,
With its beautiful flowers,
The blood-red Roses of Sharon,
And the graceful, dainty
Lilies of the Valley,
Were trod on and crushed into the
Earth below;
'heath the armor-studded heels
Of a whole host of invading conquerors
Destroying everything in their path.
36 times Jerusalem was invaded.
17 times Jerusalem was completely cinderized —
To scatter the Israelis
Over the face of the earth.
But, each time, it was rebuilt —
In this covenant, promised land
"Eretz Israel."
Was it by chance or measured,
Celestial, design
That all the bordering Arabic
Lands
Could muster forces and send
Massive congregations of dark clouds
To concentrate and hover over
The land of Israel
To form a barrier, keeping out the
Most welcome rays of sunshine —
A lifeline of faith
For the children of Israel?
Or
Was this a token"of future
Of things to come? Forebodings
These were the actual forebodings
That dwelt
O'er this lonely, lost, desperate
Land,
Haunted daily for almost three
Thousand years.
And then — a miracle — a day of glory.
The covenant fulfilled;
Israel, in '48, became a state.
Proclaimed by Ben-Gurion, the first
Prime Minister.
The United Nations, in a most glorious
Moment of righteousness,
Accepted Israel into the brotherhood
Of nations.
After three thousand years of diaspora.
Wandering over the face of the
Globe;
Scattered to 70 countries of the
Earth,
Programmed, dehumanized, ghettoed
Into physical submission; deprived of
Their teachings;
The right to pray in their own way;
Driven from country to country;
Tortured and killed by the millions,
In an attempt to eradicate them.
Nine Months, Turmoiled into 35 Years, Plus — With No End in Sight.
The rebirth and rebuilding of the
Scarred land of Israel
Could begin.
By their own efforts,
The 'Shofer' of freedom could
Be sounded, far and wide,
Openly proclaiming Israel's
Finest hour;
To rebuild a free nation,
As a state.
A nation, a people in their own
Homeland.
Free, at last.
And then —
The acute, severe, bloody labor
Pains began.
The bitter hate of life plunged down
On Israel
Once again, in full force,
By her neighboring semitic kin.
The entire Arab world joined
Together
To kill and push the Israelis
Into the sea — in total annihilation
Israel was attacked on all sides;
By Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan
In the 1949 war of independence.
Fighting fierce battles for 19 bloody months,
Israel lost 6,000 lives.
The armistice was signed on July 20, 1949.
Once again the flowers of Israel,
The Roses of Sharon and the Lilies
Of the Valley
Were trampled into the
Blood saturated earth below.
The 35 years of acute labor
Pains
Had now descended upon the
Battle-torn land and
Added to 3,000 years of foot-sore,
Weary, dejected, wanderings;
Lost in an unwelcome world
Of hate and persecution.
Why is my heart so sadly
Rummaging around
In my vice-like, heaving chest,
And can find no peace, or even
A secure resting place?
While my beloved, struggling,
"Eretz Israel"
Is still in the throes of agony,
Writhing in constant pain
For these 35 years
In unending, debilitating
Labor pains
With no end in sight.
1956 — Second War — Invasion of Israel by Nasser —
Pledged to conquer all of Palestine with the
help of Arabs from the Atlantic to the Persian
Gulf. Israel was stopped short of victory, by the
Super-powers.
1967 — Six-day war against Egypt, Syria and Jordan.
Jerusalem reunified into its original area.
Jews can now worship at the Western Wall.
Israel victorious once again.
1973 — Yom Kippur war. Egypt and Syria invade
Israel. When the Israeli troops were 65 miles
from Cairo and 25 miles from Damascus, a
cease-fire was forced on Israel by the
Super-powers. Once again the flowers that
bloomed in Israel were trampled on.
1982 — Israelis push back terrorist raids of the PLO
under Arafat. Super-powers stop Israel before
complete victory. PLO driven out of Lebanon.
Five wars in 35 years. Israel
Is still under siege today.
No other country has been so
Harassed in all of history.
When will it end?
Peace on earth, good will toward men —
What does it actually mean?
Lip service with no inherent meaning;
To pray intensely on Friday with
Full heart,
Then pick up the sword on Saturday
To maim and kill all the Israelis.
The 30 centuries — plus the
35 years of anguished agony —
Have brought no tranquility
To my heart
That is steeped in bitter tears,
Looking forward to one single,
Kind word.
When will the world hold up
A mirror
To take a long, deep, penetrating
Look at itself?
When will I see the Roses of Sharon
And the Lilies of the Valley
Grow again in full heart, unmolested?
Peace on earth, good will to man?
Someday, I hope it will have some
Meaning.
ADDENDUM: I was born in the old country,
on a hot, Saturday afternoon,
76 years ago. My mother tried
to get into a hospital because
of a long and difficult _labor.
No Jews Allowed!" I was
born on a mattress on the
back of a wagon.
I was born into a state of hate.
There was already sadness
built into my heart. Sadness
for the inhumane world I was
born into, as it later proved to
be.
And the world is still av-
alanching downhill. Nuclear
armed — enough to destroy
itself.
This is not a new process. It
merely accelerates the grow-
ing hate so prevalent today,
including domestic and
foreign hate, man toward
man. And we, the Israelis,
still in labor, even today, in
agony, fighting for a brea-
thing space just to live.