2 Friday, April 6, 1984 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Purely Commentary `Delegitimizing Israel challenges diplomats, with Jerusalem as a target Long before the rebirth of Israel, hypocrisy already predominated in diplomcatic circles. As the expose pub- lished in London by Detroiter Daniel Silverfarb revealed, the craving for oil was already a factor in the quest for power, with emphasis on the Middle East, and the British Foreign Office and its related government agencies were plotting to undermine the Zionist movement. Prof. Silverfarb's revelations are of schemes long sus- pected. His researched documentaries show how the British, a decade before the proclamation of Jewish state- hood, were already playing up to Saudi Arabia, then insig- nificant even in Arab ranks. The gestures to the Saudis and, inter alia, to all the Arabs were then, as they continued thereafter, to undermine the Zionist ideal and the Jewish dreams for fulfillment of Prophecy. There was then already a spelling out of betrayals of the British pledge to the Jewish people for the re-establishment of the Jewish Na- tional Home. Prof. Silverfarb's researched facts pointed accusingly at the British pledge-breaking. As he indicates in his essay in the prestigious Middle Eastern Studies: In April 1938, the War Office agreed that Ibn Saud's attitude towards Britain would be gov- erned in large measure by events in Palestine. And in February 1939, the standing official sub- committee for questions concerning the Middle East of the Committee of Imperial Defense also maintained that the most important measure which Britain could take to influence Saudi Arabia and other Arab states would be to imple- ment a more pro-Arab policy in Palestine. Responding to this pressure, in May 1939 the British government issued a White Paper which placed severe limitations on Jewish immigration into Palestine and Jewish land purchases within Palestine. According to the terms of the White Paper, Palestine would, after 10 years, become an independent state under the control of its Arab majority. The adoption of this new policy, which effectively terminated Britain's efforts to create a Jewish national home in Palestine, was almost certainly influenced by the British government's desire to gain the friendship of Ibn Saud. The horronof it is the attempt to "deligitimize" Israel, in this era of Israel's sovereignty. It has similarities to the plot to deligitimize Zionism in the years of recorded pledg- ing of statehood for Jews who were homeless, dispossessed. They survived as a warning to the world that what was suffered from the Nazi Holocaust is mankind's indictment. Therefore, the need to accept as political realism the efforts of legislators like Senator Daniel Moynihan and itepresentative Tom Lantos and their associates — 37 in the U.S. Senate and 220 in the U.S. House of Representa- tives, advocating the transfer of the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Rep. Lantos defined the controversy that has arisen, with the State Department attempt to squelch the issue, when he pointed to facts and figures: The United States maintains diplomatic rela- tions with 136 nations. In 135 of these countries our embassy is located in the capital city. As a routine matter, when a capital is moved, we move our embassy. When the government of Brazil de- cided to move its capital from Rio de Janeiro to Brasilia, the United States moved its embassy to the new capital. When the government of Saudi Daniel Moynihan Tom Lantos Arabia, which until recently declined to have em- bassies located in its capital, indicated that it would like to have embassies in Riyadh, the United States government followed traditional diplomatic practice and began construction of an embassy building in Riyadh. This is as it should be. An embassy should be in the same city as the government to which it is accredited. Equally effective is the explanatory letter by Con- Legitimacy Growing as a Diplomatic Problem, With Jerusalem Threatened in Delegitimizing Schemes ... Progress in the Maccabiah Planning gressman Bill Green of New York, published in the March 27 New York Times, in which he stated: Moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem need not involve the international law complications you suggest. It merely requires that we act with the same civility toward Israel as we do toward the Communist government of East Germany. We have never accepted that the East German government has the right to make Berlin its capi- tal. Yet because that government is in East Berlin, our embassy is in East Berlin. If that works in Berlin, why not in Jerusalem? Do we regard our friend and ally Israel less highly than a Warsaw Pact country? Delegitimizing Israel's just rights to Jerusalem, bet- raying the legitimacy of Israel and Zionism, spell deligiti- macy of decency. Therefore, the satisfaction that stems from knowing that so many are rejecting such tactics and are on the side of truth and civilized diplomacy. Leib and August: both earned spots in local history Two recent losses to this community merit mention as a plus to their biographies. Samuel W. Leib was so important to B'nai B'rith here that he gained national invitations to the inner circles of the movement and to the most important planning sessions of the movement. Especially to be noted in his close friendship with Eddie Jacobson, who was Harry Truman's haberdashery partner before Truman became U.S. President. Leib always insisted that Jacobson had very much to do with Truman's pro-Israel role and the friendship that developed with Chaim Weizrnann, thus strengthening the foundations for the America-Israel friendship. Herman August was properly described as "ver- satile and dynamic." He rose high in legal ranks and he was always remembered for his prominence in debat- ing and oratory on behalf of the University of Michigan. He participated on U-M de- bating teams in competi- tions in Ann Arbor and at many other university campu8es. His brief career in jour- nalism serves as a reminder about one of the early local newspapers, the now de- funct Detroit Journal, and Herman August leaves an understandable impression about a keenness that led him to a deep under- standing of community problems. The Leib-August community associations call atten- tion to the movements both were associated with and thereby assist immensely in the search for the chronicled record in compiling data for the planned Metropolitan De- troit Jewish history. By Philip Slomovitz tan Detroit Jewry. The Jewish Community Center and the Sports for Israel Committee functioning from there are 1 awaiting the enrollment so urgently needed for the oncom-=' ing games. Let's pray! Accompanying "A Postscript on Prayer" on the Wash- ington Page of the March 30 New York Times was this cartoon and story: Washington — The day after defeating the proposed Con- stitutional amendment to allow officially sanctioned prayer in public schools, the Se- nate began its session as usual, with a prayer by the chaplain, the Rev. Richard C. Halverson. "Gracious, Mighty God, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, God of Jesus, the Apostles and the Church, God of nations, Lord of history, Father of us all, the Senate has worked its will," Mr. Halverson began. "After hard study and great debate under intense pressure, the Senate of the United States has spoken. Thou are still on the throne. Thou hast not abdicated." The prayer over, Senator Howard H. Baker Jr., the majority leader, a chief sponsor of the prayer amendment, observed: "Mr. President, once again I commend the chaplain on his prayer. It sounded to me as though he is trying to reassure the Lord. But I am sure that was only the impresion of one who was on the losing side of that issue." What else is new about prayer? Isn't there a memory' about a popular song, "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition"? This does not erase the dream of the Founders of this nation, spelled in this fashion: This is a Christian country, and a Jewish one, and Moslem — and all pray according to their conscience: not as a melting pot but as adherence to the conscience that every American has the right to pray, no one can stop a citizen from resorting to prayer, and he and she does it in freedom, without interfering with anyone else's just rights. Let's pray — the American-human way! Romanian Seder Sports as a unifying force in Jewish life; support urgent for Maccabiah Metropolitan Detroit Jewry has a privilege in store, with the approaching Maccabiah Games to be conducted here in August. There is something very unique in the very substance of the games. They serve as a unifying force for American Jewry. Hitherto, it was the philanthropic aspect of Jewish life that linked communities into a single purpose. Now, more importantly, it is sports. The report on the progress made in preparation for the games shows that some of the smallest Jewish com- munities, population-wise, will be represented in the games. Jewish communities with less than half a dozen minyanim have registered participants in the variety of planned games. From North and South Dakota, the Southern states as well as from the major Jewish kehillot, young athletes will be gathering here for the events. These are addenda to the nearly a score of countries that will send youthful devotees to the Detroit-based Mac- cabiah. There is one problem: homes are needed to host the athletes. Less than 150 have already been pledged to ac- commodate some 300 guest athletes. Homes will be needed for 500 more. Therein lies an obligation on the community to fulfill the need. As the host city, the preparation for the games and for welcoming and hosting the athletes must be assured early. That's where the duty arises from the citizens in Metropoli- This Seder in a Romanian home for the aged in Bucharest is aided by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. The JDC provides Passover foods and money where necessary. The JDC is aided in its overseas relief work with allocations from. Detroit's Allied Jewish Campaign.