PURELY COMMENTARY
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
Editor Emeritus
Shanah Tova
With Its Eventualities
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N
ever separating Ibvah
from Shanah is the
Jewish Way of Life.
The universality in our
spiritual life, the Rosh
Hashanah appeal for justice
for mankind, emphasizes the
urgency for confidence that
the most human in life will
not be abandoned. That is
how we usher in the new year
5751.
Nevertheless, there are con-
cerns caused by war threats,
by racial animosities, by
distressing conflict that affect
the peace in the world.
Hatred for Israel and Jewry
have become major aims in
undermining the very ex-
istence of the Jewish state.
All the realistic commen-
tators and editorial writers
deal with the issues at hand
as the world against the
singular Iraqi enemy. The
urgency of attaining a
measure of peace becomes
secondary to the anti-Israelis
who are the anti-Semitic
elements in mankind.
This is one of the most ag-
gravating developments in
the current war-threatening
situation. It is an element
that could mar our holiday
spirit and it must be recogniz-
ed as one of numerous threats
to the festivities commencing
the year 5751.
In the crises that keep
challenging us we always res-
pond philanthropically. Now
we are treated to a most in-
spired way of making the new
year an occasion for hope and
confidence. The United
Jewish Appeal, the major
cause that solidifies our
generosity, responds to the
needs of the missions depen-
dent upon us.
A news release, a message
on the occasion of Operation
Exodus, was prepared by the
UJA rabbinic cabinet. It pro-
vides a Rosh Hashanah home
ceremonial reading and is so
uplifting at this time in our
lives that it will hopefully
become an honored portion in
our new year observances.
Here is its text:
For centuries, Jews have
celebrated Rosh Hashanah
by eating apples and
honey. We fervently ex-
press our hopes and
prayers that this new year
may be especially sweet for
ourselves, our loved ones
and all the Jewish people
around the world.
Seated at this festive
=In ;Ile5
table, we remember our
precious heritage. We
understand that the new
year is a sacred time for in-
tensive reflection and
renewed hope, as we pray
for guidance to meet the
challenges of the coming
year.
The beginning of the year
5751 is marked by extraor-
dinary events.
The urgency of
attaining a
measure of peace
becomes
secondary to the
anti-Israelis who
are the anti-Semitic
elements in
mankind.
We are witnessing the
emigration of more than
150,000 Soviet Jews who
have been isolated from
the mainstream of the
Jewish world for decades.
May they enjoy the
sweetness of Jewish life as
they establish new homes
among the people of Israel.
We are witnessing —
where there had been
repression — the resur-
gence of Jewish vitality in
Eastern Europe. May these
communities find new
strength and success in
their endeavors.
We are witnessing a
growing concern for the
imperiled Jews of Ethiopia
and of Arab lands. May
they soon be reunited with
their families in Israel.
We are witnessing an out-
pouring of compassion,
empathy and generosity
for all Jews in need. May
we be thankful for our
religious freedom and the
ability and opportunity to
extend help to others.
Now, on this Rosh
Hashanah, as we once
again dip our apples into
honey, we recite the age-
old words of our tradition.
May we enlarge our
horizons, pledging to
ourselves that this year we
will do even more to reach
out to Jews in distress
wherever they may live.
This year, may we substan-
tially increase our support
of UJA's Operation Exodus
and its heroic efforts to ab-
sorb Soviet Jews in Israel.
This year, may we fulfill for
ourselves and our families
the mandate:
Kol Yis-ra-el ah-ray-vim
zeh ba-zeh. All Israel is
responsible for one
another.
This year, may all Jews
experience a new measure
of sweetness.
During 5751, may each
one of us continue to grow
in our commitment love for
our people and our faith.
The message is sound and
solid. It is a credo for our peo-
ple as a message of hope and
faith.
Always on the alert, ready
to battle against indignities
and threats to our existence,
the overpowering element
must remain the dignity that
stems from the spiritual
forcefulness of our legacies.
There will be immediate
necessities to deal with the
threats leveled at us. For Rosh
Hashanah there will continue
the predominance of meeting
our commitments with the
cheerfulness that accom-
panies the new year. There
will always be the Shanah
Tovah salute, with the Tovah
never reducible.
❑
Giorgio Perlasca Righteous And Fearless
G
iorgio Perlasca is at
last available to be
recognized and ac-
claimed as one of the most
distinguished righteous gen-
tiles who came to the rescue
of Jews under challenging
conditions. His modesty kept
him in his Padua, Italy, home
without fanfare, economically
struggling, until Yad Vashem
and some of those he rescued
brought him into the
limelight fewer than three
years ago.
It was in Budapest that he
assumed the unassigned role
as Spanish diplomat, rescu-
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Vol. XCVIII No 3 September 14, 1990
2
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1990
ing thousands of Jews by issu-
ing them Spanish citizenship
visas and housing them in
homes decorated with
Spanish flags, where Nazis
were prevented from gaining
control.
How could an Italian from
Padua assume such power?
Michael Ryan reveals the fan-
tastic Perlasca tale for the
first time in Parade maga-
zine. Perlasca operated as a
Spanish representative at the
same time that Raoul
Wallenberg did as a Swedish
diplomat. Ryan accounts
reveal that Mr. Wallenberg at
one point encouraged Mr.
Perlasca in his dangerous
task. That is why, in "Com-
mentary" last week, I
nominated Mr. Perlasca to
follow Elie Wiesel as the se-
cond recipient of the Univer-
sity of Michigan Wallenberg
medal.
How did a Padua meat
salesman reach into Spanish
diplomacy as a means of defy-
ing Nazis and rescuing Jews?
As Mr. Ryan explains, as an
Italian meat importer who ac-
cidentally found himself as
an eye witness to one of the
greatest atrocities of history
and decided to do whatever he
could to stop it.
Here are the Ryan details:
You cannot speak of
heroism, or courage, with
Giorgio Perlasca; he
dismisses such talk impa-
tiently. "There's an Italian
saying, 'It's the opportuni-
ty that makes a thief, "
Perlasca tells me. "I had
opportunity, and I took it."
He says it with a shrug,
dismissing his own actions
as if anyone else would
have done likewise. But
what he did was
breathtaking.
Giorgio Perlasca was the
Budapest representative of
a company in Rome that
supplied meat to the
Italian army .. .
Perlasca had been a
soldier in the Italian army
that fought for Franco in
the Spanish Civil War. He
carried with him a docu-
ment he had been given
when he left Spain, entitl-
ing him to seek protection
in any Spanish embassy,
anywhere in the world. "I
went to the Spanish lega-
tion and told the minister,
Angel Sanz-Briz, that he
should give me a pass-
port," Perlasca remembers.
"He gave me a regular
diplomatic passport that
day."
While the paperwork
was being processed,
Perlasca noticed that hun-
dreds of people had lined
up outside the Spanish
legation. Some of them
were fighting to get inside.
He learned that the people
were Jews, asking for pro-
tection. Sanz-Briz, in a
humanitarian act that
violated every principle of
diplomacy, had begun issu-
ing false documents called
letters of protection —
papers that said the bearer
was entitled to Spanish
citizenship and was under
the protection of the
Spanish government. His
hope was that the Nazi
government of Hungary,
which valued its relations
with Madrid, would
acknowledge the
documents and leave their
bearers alone. Sanz-Briz
gave a letter of protection
to anyone who could get to
his office and ask for one.
One of Perlasca's first
jobs was to go to the
railroad yard. The
previous day, a group of
Hungarian Nazis had
rounded up some Jews
who had Spanish letters of
protection. The Hungarian
government admitted its
mistake, but Perlasca per-
Giorgio Perlasca
escaped the fate of
Raoul Wallenberg,
who is believed to
still be in a
Russian prison.
sonally had to find the vic-
tims and rescue them from
the SS.
Giorgio Perlasca escaped
the fate of Raoul Wallenberg,
who is believed to still be in
a Russian prison. Perhaps it
was one of the miracles that
now provides great joy for the
Perlasca admirers that he
managed to survive for a
return to his Italian
homeland. As Ryan explains:
Continued on Page 44
.