PURELY COMMENTARY PHILIP SLOMOVITZ Editor Emeritus A nxieties of a global nature pave the road of the new year 5751. The trials and tribulations that concern all mankind multiply for Jewry in its need to combat anti-Semitism. Bigotries on university campuses, like those that oc- curred at the University of Wisconsin, and desecrations of synagogues and cemeteries in several states, keep us alerted to the serious aspects of our concerns as Jews. While we treat with disdain the fomenters of in- humanities — many of the hatreds being heaped upon us as Jews — we now have occa- sion to rejoice in the realiza- tion of a great and very spiritual ideal in our historic legacies. It is the Kibbutz Galuyyot P the Ingathering of the Exiles. The successful Operation Exodus, with tens of thousands arriving in Israel as an end to their spiritual and moral enslave- ment, signals to the world the triumph of a great effort under difficult conditions. Reduction in obstacles to Operation Exodus adds momentum to the in- gathering. Russian Jewry found its voice; American Jewry went to its aid and massive migra- tion is on the agenda. Progress in Operation Ex- odus is dramatically recorded in a report on its results Ingathering Unlimited described in the New York Times cable from Jerusalem by its correspondent, Joel Brinkley. His report gave ac- count of these increases in the Russian Jewish emigration, despite the attempts by Arab enemies of Israel to prevent or undermine the Jewish tasks. As Brinkley reports: Even as the threat of war hangs over the region, 17,494 Soviet Jews moved to Israel from the Soviet Union in August, a 14 per- cent increase over the total They cannot negate the spiritually inspired ideal imbedded in the Ingathering of Exiles. in July. With more than 1,300 immigrants arriving from other places, last month's immigration total was Israel's highest in 39 years. Nearly 83,000 Soviet Jews have moved here so far this year, as have more than 10,000 immigrants from other places. Immigration this year is already higher than any yearly total since 1951, when 175,129 people, most of them from Europe, arrived in the surge of im- migration that followed Israel's founding in 1948. Despite predictions here to the contrary, the Persian Gulf crises seemed to have little if any affect on the im- migrants' plans. Through the month, many Soviet Jews interviewed in Israel and in the Soviet Union said they were more con- cerned about the growing anti-Semitism at home than about the prospect of conflict in Israel. The increasing emigration, the gradual trend toward migrating to Israel from 1971 to the present are indications of the defiance to the Arab threats to obstruct the New Exodus. In nearly every Arab center everywhere, including Arab quarters in Dearborn, Mich., the results are truly impressive. The figures for the years 1986 to the present alone are seen in the accom- panying chart. Such is the response to the enemies of Israel and their prejudiced adherents who believe that propagating against admission of Jews as settlers would thereby con- tribute toward Israel's destruction. They cannot negate the spiritually in- spired ideal imbedded in the Ingathering of the Exiles. This is a most fascinating ideal assuring our people- hood. The inspiration of it is Soviet Immigration to Israel Nu m ber of Immigrants Operation Exodus 17,500 18000 16000 14000 12000 10000 8000 6000 4000 2000 0 IL,t314 - - 1,909 2,250 1987 1988 220 1986 detailed in a remarkable essay in the New En- cyclopedia of Judaism. Here is text eminently worth lear- ning from: Prophetic concept ex- pressed in the Pentateuch (Deut. 30:3-5) as the "gathering together" of Israel's scattered rem- nants, and their restora- tion to prosperity in the ancestral homeland, by an act of Divine intervention. From the era of the Babylo- than exile (sixth century BCE), this concept was developed and intensified, equating exile (galut) with homelessness and the Land of Israel with spiritual as well as 1989 1990 (through March) physical restoration. Pro- phetic literature is imbued with such hopes and beliefs, which also make their appearance in Jewish eschatology. According to Isaiah, the banished captives of Israel and the dispersed exiles of Judah will be assembled "from the four corners of the earth" (11:11-12; cf. 43:5-6, 56:7-8). Jeremiah likewise foretells this pro- cess of national restoration (16:14-15, 23:7-8), when the exiles will be gathered from all their lands of banishment (29:14, 31:8ff., 32:37). He even calls upon "Rachel" to cease weeping Continued on Page 44 Anatomy Of Hate Leaves One Deaf To Reason R epresentatives of many nations re- sponded to the need to participate in the Anatomy of Hate conference held in Oslo, Norway, with the aim of eradicating as much as possi- ble the hatreds that plague mankind. The conference was inspired by the Elie Wiesel Founda- tion for the Humanities THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS (US PS 275-520) is published every Friday with additional supplements in February, March, May, August, October and November at 27676 Franklin Road, Southfield, Michigan. Second class postage paid at Southfield, Michigan and addi- tional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send changes to: DETROIT JEWISH NEWS, 27676 Franklin Road, Southfield, Michigan 48034 $29 per year $37 per year out of state 75' single copy Vol. XCVIII No. 4 September 21, 1990 2 FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1990 always had strongest support from Jews — a fact he had always acknowledged — then erupted with a type of hatred the conference was assembled to eradicate. Mr. Mandela said in his address in Oslo: together with the Norwegian Nobel Peace Committee. Dr. Carol Rittner, the former Detroiter and admired Catholic scholar who has organized ecumenist movements, had a leading part in the formative stages for the sessions as the ex- ecutive director of the Wiesel Foundation. The South African battler for justice, Nelson Mandela, was encouraged to participate in the Anatomy of Hate ses- sions by Dr. Wiesel, who was anxious for a comment by him on the shocking UN Zionism is racism resolution. It would be wrong to accuse Mr. Mandela of anti-Semitism when he commenced his ad- dress in Oslo with the comment: Nelson Mandela If Zionism, as I believe, means the struggle by the Jewish people for their na- tional home, for their own state within secure borders, then Zionism is a very commendable move- ment, which we all would like to support. But the South African fighter for freedom, who If Zionism means the right of the Jewish state to retain the territories, which they have con- quered from others, to refuse to deal with the acknowledged leaders of the Palestinians, in par- ticular with the PLO; if the Jewish state has decided not to allow the Arabs in the conquered terriories to exercise the right of self- determination; if protest demonstrations by the youth of the Arabs are met with brutal oppression, then of course we condemn Zionism in the strongest terms. During his visit in this country, Jewish leaders met with Mr. Mandela in an at- tempt to clarify the issues on which he expressed such hostile views. In Oslo he emerged as an enemy of Israel and the Jewish people. Is it possible that the very ti- tle of the sessions at which he was treted as a respected par- ticipant had no affect upon his prejudices? The human challenges that emerged in Oslo teach that there is no end to the need to strive for an eradication of the hatred that called for the ac- tion of the Wiesel Foundation for the humanities together with the Norwegian Nobel Committee to anatomize hatred. Mr. Mandela justifies himself as the type of leader who suffers from hatred and seeks to end it yet feels free to propagate it against Jews. The positive responsibilities for humanism and ecumenism remain endless. Mr. Mandela denigrates his own character by causing his anti-Zionism to be treated as anti-Semitism.