2 ;I Friday, May 11, 1984 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS • PURELY COMMENTARY PHILIP SLOMOVITZ Leon Uris novel damages Israel-Arab relations An assumption that any novel by Leon Uris, who at- tained so much success with hisExodus which had a record distribution of millions of copies, now demands the warning that the theme of his new book is not in the Jewish spirit of goodwill. Reviewing the book in the Baltimore Jewish Times, Robert St. John expressed shock over the- venom that filled the novel. What St. John wrote to call attention to the outrage- ously venomous statements in Uris' Haj was a companion endorsement of similar disgust expressed in a review in the New York Times by Evan Hunter. St. John recalls a comment by David Ben-Gurion about Uris' Exodus: "Never did such a badly-written book do so much good." Then St. John proceeded to indicate the harm that can come from Haj: Now, 26 years and seven books la- ter, Leon Uris has come out with Haj, 566 pages of smut, pornography, salaam- - ousness, vulgarities, scatology, racism, distorted history and vicious anti- Arabism. Haj is about the Arabs in Tabah, a small village near Hebron. The .action takes place between 1924 and 1956. Uris' Arabs are Leon Uris uniformly illiterate, dirty, evil-smelling, evil-behaving, licentious, dis- honest, superstitious and altogether repulsive. The Islamic holy book, the Koran, is ridiculed and Arab customs are treated without a whit of understanding. The most sympathetic character in the book is a young woman who in the last chapter confesses to her father that she is a whore, whereupon he has her throat cut. Uris makes love between Arab men and women so bestial that it takes a strong stomach to read the explicit descriptions of love-making which he sprinkles through the book, obviously pandering to aficionados of pornography. Evan Hunter in the NYTimes is similarly outraged. He quotes Uris: "Strange, that we Jews are once again stuck with a dirty job no one else wants. You and all your snide friends in all the foreign offices know in your hearts the cruelty, the evils that emanate from the Moslem world." Added is the quotation, "We are a people living in hate, despair and darkness," quoting a Jewish character in the novel. Thereupon, Hunter comments: On and on and on the bugles of Mr. Uris' ten- dentiousness blare unmericifully. When a view is so biased, it becomes impossible to accept even what appears to be impeccable research on past events. History lessons in brief are inserted into the book at regular intervals lest we forget Mr. Uris' overriding theme. The Arabs are a hateful and hate-filled people and there is no chance they will ever change. It is no wonder that by the end of the novel, Haj Ebrahim explodes in an unspeaka- ble act of violence that drives his son Ishmael mad. Vital to the attention given to a damaging book is this comment by St. John in his review: Likewise, this book by Uris, who will be iden- tified as a spokesman for Israelis and perhaps for all Jews, will also do much to poison the minds of Arabs and cause bitterness toward a whole people. The special attention thus given to Uris' Haj entails an obligation to warn readers that what Uris wrote is not Jewish policy or ethics. It is an outrageously despoiled viewpoint. Surprisingly upsetting is the interest that is being aroused in the book. Morris Amitay, former executive di- rector of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee who writes a good column on politics, saw fit to refer to Haj approvingly. The fact is that the Jewish position is for amity with Arabs, for good will, and the point is splendidly made by St. John. That's the attitude to -be 'pursued; not Uris'. Israel at 36: accomplishments immense, obstacles unlimited Concerned Jewish communities are remembering Israel on her 36th anniversary. Last Monday was a commemoration on a world scale. The knowledgeable who follow the events know that the accomplishments were and continue to be immense. There was an enrichment on a vast historical basis. The dedicated pledge continuity. The universities prove it. The builders of Zion attest" to it. The great role Israel plays is shown in the aim of making the people's ethical code their democratic reality. These aspirations are always tested — Israel always remaining under scrutiny. Therefore, the realism of an historic experience is accompanied by a recognition of the obstacles that confront Israel and the Israelis on ITlf fronts, the acknowledgement that the difficulties have not subsided, that they always mount, constan, demanding vigilance. Therefore, the unending hope for a devoted unity that will continue to uphold the hands of the builders of Zion, always adhering to the most ethical principles embodied in the Jewish legacies. This appeals for the concerted Jewish action that is represented by unity. The unified Jewish support for Israel is the basic means for celebrating an anniversary totaling 36 that is numerically twice the Hebrew letter Chai and they are a pronouncement of Life. Unity for Life: that's a proper celebration. Carl Alpert as 'Oracle, maneuvering columnist Readers of Jewish periodical literature have a natural interest in the authors of columns which have attained popularity. Prominent in such ranks is the Israel Technion leader Carl Alpert, the former vice president of the Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa. Alpert will be here to confer with Technion lead- ers on his 71st birthday (May 12). He will surely be applauded not only for his labors for Israel's major technical facility but also for the columns he has been writing for nearly half-a- century. That's where he now merits special mention. He was very young, under 20, when he started writing a column of ques- tions and answers entitled "The Oracle," for English- Jewish newspapers — the few then in existence. A col- Carl Alpert lection of these Q-A's was published in a small book entitled The Oracle in 1935 by the then-functioning G.C. Manthorne Co. in Alpert's birth- place, Boston. His is a record to look to with pride, as it is for this columnist who reviewed that book nearly 50 years ago. Carl had occasion to do lots of correcting in the answers he then provided. There has been lots to learn, as, for example, in the misleading answer regarding the Balfour Question in which Jacob deHaas was given credit for hav- ing helped write the famous and historic statement. (Purely Commentary, The Jewish Netts, Feb. 3, 1984, pro- vides facts regarding the role of Lord Walter Rothschild, to whom the Balfour Declaration was addressed as "Dear Lord Rothschild," in the framing of the Balfour Declara- tion.) Thus, Carl Alpert, practically as a teenager, pioneered as a columnist for the Jewish press. (That's when the English-Jewish newspapers were referred to as Anglo- Jewish, and this columnist aimed to correct it because Anglo definitely implied a British locale. Now the knowl- edgeable speak only of the English-Jewish designation for the weekly newspapers.) Therefore Alpert has not only gained an honorable place in Jewish journalism but retains it through these many years. family functions. Her Mozartian interest won for her atten- tion extending to musical associations in several countries, winning for her a gold medal from the International Asso- ciation of Mozartium. The Jewish angle in Mozartium was traced in an arti- cle published several years ago in World Over, one of the most interesting children's magazines which is now, re- grettably, defunct. According to a story written by F.R. Kraus in World Over, Mozart had a great respect and love for Jews and Judaism. One of his librettists, Lorenzo Da Ponte, was Jewish. It was a casual walk with Da Ponte that was to be mainly responsible for Mozart's interest in Jewish culture. "Don Giovanni" was to premiere in Prague Oct. 29, 1787, and Mozart, Da Ponte and their friend Casanova decided to stroll in the Jewish section of Prague to ease their anxieties. Da Ponte, a native of Prague, sought out the Altneu Synagogue in the section — the same synagogue where Rabbi Low, who created the Golem, once sat. While Da Ponte was absorbed in prayer, Mozart was absorbed in the people and their rituals. When services ended and the three began to leave, a group of worshipers inquired into the men's identities. When they were introduced to the famous Mozart, they were awed and flattered, and unbelieving. Mozart himself was awed, and turning to Da Ponte said, "I am going to write a new opera, `Golem Above the Vltava,' and you, Da Ponte, must write the libretto." Mozart's enthusiasm did not come to fruition. His Jewish interest nevertheless remains a matter of record and the admiration for his creative labors is a perpetuated mark of recognition thanks in great measure to the devo- tions of the talented Marguerite. The Truman legacy It is much more than a national tribute to take into account the centenary of the birth of Harry S. Truman. There is an international aspect to the late President of the United States. In a time of crisis, when the wounds inflicted upon the Jewish people had not yet even begun to heal, Harry Truman rose to new heights to become the first head of a state to recognize the rebirth of Israel. tr- He had the unanimous support of the U.S. Congress in an act that Mozart image in Jewish called for recognition of his- toric justice. Yet he made records, his advocate his decision, and lived up to honored on world scale it, in spite of opposition from his official family. His Sec- Many of the world's famous musical geniuses had gone retary of State, General on record as having imbided hatreds against Jews. In a few George Marshall, advised instances they were vengeful when they failed to get Harry Truman him against it. True, craved-for support. Wolfgang Mozart left a different, a positive legacy. Clark Clifford directed him toward that decision. Only a Therefore, the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the handful of his advisers approved of it. The Truman anniversary will always be judged by the founding of the Pro-Mozart Society of Greater Detroit merits special attention, and tributes accorded the founder decisive actions of a man already judged among the great of this society and its sponsor for 25 years, Marguerite United States Presidents. The recognition of Israel's state- hood will be among the great acts of a great President, and Kozenn Chajes, similarly earn special consideration. It is noteworthy that Marguerite Chajes' advocacy of in this sense the 100th anniversary of his birth — May 8, interest in Mozart extended to Vienna, where she lives half 1884 — is occasion to inspire honors for him, perpetuation of each year, returning here for Jewish festivals and of his name, by world Jewry.