Jewry's Role in Human Advancement One century ago--to the month--Alfred Nobel drafted a behest into his will for the annual gathering that bears his name. What he created to award human ingenuity and research is a touchstone for civilization and progress. Many Jews have taken their place among history's Nobel Laureates with pride and distinction. ADOLF VON BAEYER (1835-1917) b. Berlin, Germany While also an Organic Chemist inspiring teacher of promising young chemists, the gifted researcher helped establish the new field of organic \ chemistry. His many discoveries inclu- ded a derivative for barbiturate sleeping pills and synthetic indigo which nurtured Germany's huge dyestuff industry. He went on to correctly theorize the structures of carbon rings and benzene. Professionally active until age eighty, the internationally respected scientist gained his 1905 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for "the advancement of organic chemistry and the chemical industry through his work on organic dyes and hydroaromatic compounds." ROSALYN YALOW (1921-) b. New York City Medical Researcher The first American woman to earn a Nobel Prize in science (for Physiology or Medicine, 1977) was honored for devising the noted radioim- = munoassay (RNA). The ingenious ana- lytical system which measures the amount of biological substances in the blood and other body fluids spurred a great leap forward in medical research and lifesaving disease treatment. For example: recording hormone and insulin levels in the bloodstream, and safeguarding stored blood supplies from hepatitis contamination. A recipient of more than forty honorary degrees, she was also the first woman to win the coveted Albert Lasker Prize for Basic Medical Research. ,1 RENE CASSIN (1887-1976) b. Bayonne, France Statesman and Jurist A much decorated World War I infantry hero, he entered the law and served as France's delegate to the League of Nations from.1924-38. The educator and jurist joined the Free French upon Hitler's invasion and was appointed commissioner for justice and education by General Charles de Gaul. With fierce dedication to world peace and the dignity of man, he helped author a legal program to forestall war, headed his nation's prestigious Conseil d'Etat and became president of the U.N.'s Commission of Human Rights. The courageous and forceful diplomat, showered with numerous French and international honors, was awarded his highest recognition in 1968: the Nobel Prize for Peace. -- Saul Stadtmauer Bad Girls Marm and Polly could have put Lucky and Bugsy to shame. ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM ASSOCIATE EDITOR II I know that the State of Israel has something called the Law of Return, entitling a Jew to enter and instantly become a citizen of the country. I was astonished when someone told me that you don't have to be Jewish to take advan- tage of this law. Is that true? A: Yes and no. Not every gen- tile can walk off an airplane and be granted immediate citizen- ship. There has to be a Jewish connection. The Knesset, Israel's nation- al legislature, first ratified the Law of Return in 1950. Since then, it has been amended twice. The original statute simply stated that "Every Jew is enti- tled to immigrate to Israel," without defining the term, "Jew." In 1962, the Knesset amended the Law of Return to define a Jew as someone "born of a Jewish mother or convert- ed to Judaism and not practic- ing another religion." Q: I have been a feminist from Day One, and as such am 100 per- cent convinced that every society is really directed (or should be, in any case) by the brilliance of women, who are inherently superi- or to men. Case in point Who would you rather spend an evening with, so-called actor Pauly Shore or Jeanne Kirkpatrick? I thought so. Not only do women make better politicians, teachers, lawyers and physicians, they even make better gangster. Enough already with Bugsy Siegel and Meyer Lansky! Please tell me about some of the famed Jewish women criminals from throughout history. A: Certainly the most colorful Jewish `bad girl" was the infa- mous Fredericka Mandelbaum, a 19th-century "fence" who not 4.• "Jews are unique in that for eighteen-hundred years they have had no country... and have, whenever there was any pretense of equality of opportunity for them, forged their way ahead into positions of prominence, influence and power in business, professions, in philosophy, in art, in literature and in government." -- President William Howard Taft COMMISSION FOR THE DISSEMINATION OF JEWISH HISTORY Harold Berry & Irwin S. Field, Co-chairmen Harriet F. Siden, Secretary Founders/Sponsors: Walter & Lea Field Exactly who gets immediate citizenship upon arriving in Israel? In 1970, in the face of in- only traded in stolen goods but creasing immigration from ex- actually masterminded many tensively intermarried Soviet of the heists, including some of Jews, the Knesset again the most notorious of their time. amended the law also to apply "Marm," as she was known to "the child and grandchild of among friends (though the press a Jew, the spouse of a Jew and dubbed her "Ma Crime") was the spouse of the child and born in 1818 and immigrated to grandchild of a Jew, except a America in 1849 from Prussia person who was a Jew and will- with her husband, Wolfe. ingly converted to another reli- Her American crime spree gion." was at its height from 1854- It is estimated that since 1884, when it was estimated 1970, under the Law of Return, she made off with tens of mil- about 150,000 gentiles from the lions of dollars. A modern-day former Soviet Union (FSU) Lucky Luciano, she oversaw the alone have entered Israel. This "work" of bank robbers and bur- is one-third of the total immi- glars, often teaching them the gration from the FSU. necessary skills to make it big Application for citizenship is in the world of crime. not a prerequisite to receive all A large woman with dark the benefits and privileges ac- eyes, Marm would tolerate no corded a Law of Return immi- foul language in her presence. grant. She did her best to improve the - manners and ways of her "em- ployees," often orchestrating the most remarkable transforma- tions. Under Mann's tutelage, a crook like Mark Shinburn could make a fortune, then qui- etly settle in Europe as "Baron Shindell of Monaco." Marm also was known as the most hospitable of hostesses, friendly and outgoing and am- icable — even as her colleagues were hard at work robbing guests. Marm's role in the world of crime came to an end in 1884, thanks to the work of the famed Pinkerton. Mann and her son Julius were arrested in a raid, but Marm, after posting bail, got away the next day. She spent the rest of her life in Toronto, Canada (untouchable, at the time, because of extradi- tion laws). She died in 1894, at age 76, and was buried in New York. Interestingly, Marm's hus- band Wolfe was said to be a qui- et, private gentleman who had no interest in his wife's crimi- nal activities. Another woman in whom you would be interested was Polly Adler. Born in 1900, Polly was one of the great madams of her day, whose friends and clients in- cluded Dutch Schultz and Lucky Luciano. (The former, in- cidentally, was known to be quite generous; the latter was not.) Polly operated her business, so to speak, from her luxurious Manhattan apartment. Decor there was lush, the furnishings regal and the walls adorned in bright, often garish, colors. Free food and drink was always available. Not just a madam, Polly emerged, inexplicably, as a so- cial commentator often quot- ed by the press. 'They might as well have been trying to dry up the Atlantic with a post office blotter," she said of Prohibition. Polly "retired" in 1944, at which time she took up a sec- ond career as a writer. She died in 1962. Send questions to Tell Me Why, The Jewish News, 27676 Franklin Road, Southfield, MI 48034, or fax to (810) 354-6069. All letters must be signed and in- clude the writer's address. Ques- dons answered in the column will feature only the writer's initials and city of residence.