PURELY COMMENTARY
'MU
Continued from Page 2
Dr. Tannenbaum, always
dealing with religious mat-
ters with great dignity, was
compelled to conclude his ex-
pose of the bigot with
ridicule: "Some Nobel Peace
Prize Laureate!"
There is an accumulation of
condemnations of the Tutu
role that has given him
leadership in anti-Semitism.
For instance, a letter pub-
lished by the Chicago Tribune
helps to multiply the indict-
ments. Tammy Kaplan of
Chicago wrote:
The Tribune reported
that Anglican Archbishop
Desmond Tutu said he
would continue to criticize
Israel even if it meant be-
ing called an anti-Semite.
While in Israel, Tutu
refused to meet with the
black Ethiopian Jewish
delegation. The spokes-
man for the Association of
Ethiopian Immigrants
said, "I heard he had time
to meet with Palestinians
but not with Jews, even
with us from Africa." In
fact, Tutu has been silent
about the persecution of
black Jews in Africa and
the persecution of blacks
in Arab countries.
In 1984, Desmond Tutu
accused American Jews of
"an arrogance — the ar-
rogance of power." At a
speech at a church in Con-
necticut, he claimed, "The
Jews thought they had a
monopoly on God." In 1985,
lie complained about the
"Jewish monopoly on the
Holocaust:'
Desmond Tutu does not
have to criticize Israel to
label himself an anti-
Semite. His statements and
actions speak for them-
selves.
The Jewish press is not
silent about the Tutu poison.
He is repetitive in his venom.
Why is the exposing of him so
limited in world news and
editorial comments? ❑
Goldberg
Continued from page 2
perpetuating the accumu-
lated facts for this evaluative
tribute to a truly great
personality.
The Goldberg record of his
contributions to scores of
Jewish causes, in addition to
his aid to global human
rights, is overwhelming. He
provided leadership on behalf
of Yeshiva University, the ,
Jewish Theological Seminary,
Bar-Ilan University, Hebrew
University, Truman Center
for the Advancement of Peace,
International Association of
Jewish Lawyers and numer-
ous other causes to which he
46
FRIDAY. FERRUARY 2. 1990
responded when his services
were called upon.
There are legacies from
family and peoplehood to be
taken into account in his
remarkable career. Arthur
Goldberg learned peoplehood
which was inspired by family.
He was born to an immigrant
background, one of 11
children, whose father was a
carter whose wagon was pull-
ed by a blind horse. There are
two factors here: the kindness
he showed the blind animal
upon whom he depended for
his livelihood, and the fact
that he labored for means to
support his family. It was
evidence of his compassion.
There is a single sentence
in the Talmud that gives em-
phasis to this duty. In Talmud
Berakot we read: "Who works
for a living is greater than he
who fears God!' Perhaps that
is why he became so impor-
tant in the labor movement.
Perhaps this is why from his
early youth Arthur Goldberg
was active in Histadrut, the
Labor Zionist movement.
It is already evident from
what has just been stated
that he was a scholar. It was
apparent in legal opinions
which continue to inspire the
lawyers of succeeding genera-
tions. He applied knowledge
to his actions in the judiciary,
the government and the
United Nations. He inspired
those of us who were associ-
ated with him in the Jewish
Publication Society of Ameri-
ca, in which he had a great in-
terest. This role in JPS was
his encouragement to Jewish
publishing as a great need in
advancing Jewish knowledge.
He gave particular emphasis
on the JPS accomplishment
upon the publishing of a se-
cond important revised trans-
lation of the Bible. The result
was a published account that
elevated the status of the JPS.
Arthur Goldberg was a
remarkable man. He was a
veritable giant in everything
he tackled. It is a great privi-
lege to have known him as a
fellow American, fellow Jew
and fellow Zionist. ❑
Salutes for Stolz,
Atoning Wagner
I
n the realm of music, per-
haps more than any other
advanced culture, there
are endless recordings of
genius, the immensity of per-
sonalities, humanism yet not
devoid of prejudice, glorifica-
tion yet also jealousy.
In two major events, all of
these may be in evidence. One
is the celebration and acclaim
of the 60th anniversary of the
monumental compositions of
Robert Stolz. A listing of
them at once justifies the im-
mensity ascribed to them. If '
it were only the "Zwei Herzen
in Dreivierteltakt" at once
assures similar anticipation
for the many scores that
followed.
The other occurrence is the
presence in Israel for a series
of lectures of the great-
grandson of the notorious
anti-Semitic composer,
Richard Wagner. While Zubin
Mehta, as music director of
the Israel Philharmonic,
favors playing the Wagner
music, opposition to it is near
unanimous in the orchestra's
composition. Now the great-
grandson comes in sort of
atonement to reject the anti-
Semitism of great-grand-
parents who were among the
chief endorsers of the Hitler
hatred for Jews and all they
represented.
The two simultaneous oc-
currences could be treated as
possessing a related em-
phasis. The Wagner matter
recalls the venomous in
musical ranks. Stolz was the
courageous liberal who
fought and even risked his life
in the fight against Nazi Jew-
baiting. In the years before
the total collapse of Austria
under Nazism, Stolz was res-
cuing Jews, hiding them
under cover in his large auto,
taking them to rescue in freer
areas.
Then came his own in-
carceration when he escaped
to France. His first wife
betrayed and robbed him and
he became a Nazi captive.
That's when his Einzi became
his savior. She rescued him,
and both managed to get to
the United States before
France became totally
Nazified and he continued his
creative work as a composer.
Therefore the treatment of
Robert Stolz posthumously as
one of the most distinguished
composers of the last and the
present centuries. A Euro-
pean music festival
observance of the anniversary
of the notable compositions
even on a global basis. It is
taking hold in this country
with the ranks of the Stolz ad-
mirers growing.
In a sense, the Stolz func-
tion gives emphasis to the
continued contempt for Wag-
nerism. Stolz was the leader
in opposition to the anti-
Semitism of Hitler's com-
poser.
The sensational story about
the Wagner great-grandson
Gottfried Helferich Wagner, is
related in an article in the
Wall Street Journal by Bar-
rymore Laurence Scherer.
The story of the dispute over
Wagnerism is related by
Scherer who accounts for the
visit in Israel by the third
generation Wagner family
member by indicating:
What would that noted
anti-Semite Richard Wag-
ner think of his great-
grandson Gottfried? The
elder Wagner was a favor-
ite composer of Hitler and
author of the scurrilous
essay "The Jew in Music."
But his descendant, Gott-
fried Helferich Wagner, has
spent time studying the
German-born Jewish com-
poser Kurt Weill; has writ-
ten about his great-grand-
father's nemesis, Friedrich
Nietzsche; and lends his
energies to the sympa-
thetic re-evaluation of
German-Jewish culture.
Now this son of the
Bayreuth Festival's general
director, Wolfgang Wagner,
is lecturing in Israel.
In a four-part series at
the University of Tel Aviv,
Mr. Wagner is speaking in
linguistically neutral
English about subjects that
would make the composer
of the proto-Nazi "Ring Cy-
cle" cringe. His topics:'
"The Ring of the Nibelung,
or the Consequences of the
Abuse of Power," "The
Anti-Wagnerian Music
Theatre (the music theatre
of Weill and Brecht)," "The
Cases of Nietzsche and
Wagner," and "On Wagner,"
his personal view influ-
enced by his youthful ex-
periences at post-World
War II Bayreuth.
A Wagner in Israel? It
seems impossible, at very
least implausible, for there
are some Israelis who con-
sider the name itself
obscene. Although recor-
dings and videotapes of
"Der Ring des Nibelugen"
and other Wagner works
are available for private
consumption in Israel, his
music is neither performed
in public nor broadcast. In-
deed, conductor Zubin
Mehta's attempt to pro-
gram the Prelude and
Liebestod from "Tristan"'
at a concert of the Israel
Philharmonic in 1981 led to
an uproar.
Mr. Wagner is painfully
aware of the anti-Semitic
aura that hovers around
his family. But he has lived
in Italy since 1983 and feels
something of a "cultural
outsider" toward the rest
of the Wagner clan.
Born in 1947 on the
grounds of Wahnfried, the
house built by the corn-,
poser, Gottfried Wagner
grew up in the shadow of
his ancestor. Early on,
however, he apparently '
had experienced mixed
feelings about his heritage.
He has written that as a
child he had "already
discovered that the imag-
ined world of the Grail in
, which I grew up . . . was
contradictory, and , in light
of the period from 1933 un•
til 1945, even a bit in.
human:'
He felt repelled, he says,
by "the demon of my
,grandmother, Winifred
Wagner" — once the friend
of Hitler — and by "her
followers who went on in
the underground to pro-
pagate as forced demo-
crats their Aryan Wagner?'
The two personalities just
described provide an impor-
tant addendum to historical
musical occurrences. An anti-
Semite's memory is rebuffed
by a descendant. A coura-
geous opponent of anti-
Semitism is properly record-
ed in the history of music. The
third generation Wagner
gains the respect that could
never be attained by ances-
tors. On the other hand, the
Robert Stolz name will
always be cheered. Therefore
more emphasis in our ranks
to the music of Robert
Stolz. ❑
NEWS
Resettlement
Upsets Jordan
Jerusalem (JTA) — Jorda-
nians were jolted by Prime
Minister Yitzhak Shamir's
remarks implying that
Soviet Jewish immigrants
pouring into Israel would be
settled in the administered
territories.
The Foreign Affairs Com-
mittee of the Jordanian
Parliament discussed the
issue Jan. 17, and the news- ,
paper Ad-Dastourwarned
against a "new nucleus for
another Israel in the
region."
Shamir's remarks were
widely interpreted as a
justification for Israel's
retention of the territories it
seized in the 1967 Six-Day
War.
The prime minister said
later that he meant only
that large scale immigration
would require a "strong,
united Israel."
The Jordanian newspaper
nevertheless called on the
Soviet Union to consider the
possible negative ramifica-
tions of large scale Soviet
immigration to Israel, at a
time when Moscow is striv-
ing for a settlement in the
Middle East.
Israel Radio reported that
King Hussein has urged all
Arab states to assist the
Palestine Liberation
Organization's peace efforts.
K.