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THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE
Friday, August 10. If*!'!
The Southern Israelite
Published Weekly by Southern Newspaper EnUrprlses, Inc.. 312 Ivy Street.
N. E., Atlanta 3. Georgia. WAlnut 0791-0792, Entered as second class matter
at the post office. Atlanta, Georgia, under the Act of March 3, 1879. Yearly
subscription, four dollars. The Southern Israelite Invites literary contribu
tions and correspondence but Is not to be considered as sharing the views
expressed by writers. DEADLINE is 9:00 A. M WEDNESDAY but material
received earlier will have a much better chauue of publication.
Member, American Association of EnRlIsh-Jewish Newspapers
ADOLPH ROSENBERG, Editor and Publisher
MEMBERS OF ADVISORY BOARD
Hyman Jacobs
Harry Spltzer
Frank Carson
Paul Wolkln
Joe Cohen
Kalman Sunshine
Sam Levy
Gustav Oppenhelmer
Dr. Jack Blelch
Ben Massell
Dr. Irving Goldstein
Dave Slann
Thomas Makover
Abe Goldberg
Hyman Morris
Phil Schwartz
Edward Krlck
Meyer Balser
Sol Benamy
Reuben Cohen
Arthur Weiss
Eugene Oberdorfer
A. I). Srochl
Harry Harrison
Armand May
Barney Medintz
Dr. Nathan Blass
Irving Liboweky
Berry Rlttenbaum
Meyer Rosenberg
Gems from our Bible
0 God, keep not Thou silence; hold not Thy peace, and be not
still, 0 Cod,
For, lo. Thine enemies are in an uproar, ond they thot hote Thee
have lifted up the head.—PSALM 83—2,3.
From One Arab to Another
A new element of reasoning has been injected into the
muddled, .hostile Arab Picture in the Middle East and if
followed it could result in more progress for both Arabs and
Israelis than we fondly think possible for long years to
come.
The basis for our optimism stems from a stern warning
issued to Arab Countries by an outstanding American Arab,
Prof. Habib Eissa, who bluntly looks the facts in the face
and calls them to the attention of rational Arabs. (See Boris
Smolar’s column.)
Professor Eissa frankly points out the perilous state of
affairs when the entire Arab world was nearly defeated by
the tiny new Jewish state. He recalled how narrowly Is
rael came from complete humiliation of her foes, and added
a staggering blow against the Arab League. All of this being
a bold hint that the so-called second round talk by the
Arabs should cease.
Perhaps the rationale of this sober advice will penetrate
somehow into the circles which guide the actions of the
Arabian countries. It could well lead to compromises which
could result in peace and an era of cooperation which would
bring a truly golden era to the troubled Middle East.
Unfortunately, reason has not governed the Arab react
ions in the past—but there can always be a beginning. May
be this patrician’s advice is the start.
CAPITOL SPOTLIGHT by Milton Friedman
Magician or Wizard?
Harry Houdini was a Jew who
specialized in getting himself out
of chains and tight places. Harry
Rosenfield is a Jew who special
izes in getting thousands of peo
ple out of chains of red tape and
such tight % places as displaced
persons camps. Rosenfield is
probably a better magician than
Houdini.
As U. S. Displaced Persons
Commissioner, Rosenfield has
not only gotten 250,000 out of
Europe, despite a spitefully un
workable DP act, but has also
succeeded in defeating the Iron
Curtain ideas of Sen. Pat Mac-
Carran. Rosen field’s theory is
that immigration is not only
healthy for the immigrant but
also for America; that America
doesn’t build immigrants as
much as immigrants build
America. Testimony to the truth
of Rosenfield’s theory is seen in
the magical change he helped
bring about in the governmental
attitude toward immigration. In
stead of finding ways to keep
people out, the government is
actually trying to find ways to
bring them in.
While Rosenfield was busy
trying to bring homeless refu
gees into the U. S., Sen. McCar-
ran was equally busy trying to
keep Rosenfield out of the D. P.
Commission. As one of the three-
member commission appointed
by President Truman, Rosenfield
drew the most difficult job. He
was and still is the legislative
liaison member. The attitude of
many legislators toward DP leg
islation is well-known while the
attitude of Senate Judiciary
Chairman Pat MacCarran is
even more infamous. If Houdini
worked miracles, then Rosen
field’s legerdemain surpassed
even that.
Rosenfield fought for a liberal
DP program on the grounds that
it is much more dangerous to
build an Iron Curtain mentality
than it is to allow free access to
America subject only to indivi
dual screening. His idea is that
it is difficult to maintain peace
in the world unless the displaced
persons are placed. He called the
DP program "America’s Arstnal
of Peace.”
When the DP Act of 1948 was
written, its terms were so strin
gent that pessimists said that not
only would no DP’s be admitted
but that it was doubly certain
that not a single Jew would
make it. Actually, the DP Com
mission worked the "unwork
able” act, got it amended in 1950
and more recently it was ex-
tendtd. To date about 20 percent
of the DP’s have been Jewish,
representing approximately 50,-
000 of the 250,000 admitted.
Rosenfield helped implement
reforms in what was this coun
try’s first largescale experiment
in seltctive immigration. These
reforms included giving DP’s the
right to a review of the rejection
of their visa application; estab
lishment of the basic principle
that stepchildren and adopted
children should be considered
legally as children of* immi
grants; the democratization of
the law by taking people on the
basis of what they can contribute
through their worth as human
beings rather than by using the
wealth of their sponsors as a
criteria for selection, and other
liberalizing changes.
A native New Yorker, Rosen
field was known as the personal
legal assistant of Mayor Fiorello
LaGuardia. Rosenfield figured
prominently in LaGuardia.
Rosenfield figured promintntly
in LaGuardia’s inner group of
personal aides. He also taught at
New York University’s School
of Education.
He married Leonora Cohen,
the daughter of the late Morris
Rayfield Cohen, who was the
only Jewish president of the
American Philosphical Society
Mrs. Rosenfield is an assistant
professor of French at the Uni
versity of Maryland. She recent
ly won a faculty study fellow
ship awarded by the American
Council of Learned Societies.
Rosenfield says his only child,
eight-year-old Marianne, "runs
the family.”
Rosenfield left New York in
1942 to came to Washington as
principal attorney for the Fed
eral Security Administration. He
served as assistant to such men
as Paul McNutt, Oscar R. Ewing,
and former Commissioner of Im
migration Watson B. Miller. He
was called on to aid President
Roosevelt in the drafting of some
of the most memorable State of
the Union and welfare messages.
In 1948 he was appointed by
President Truman to membership
as a U. S. delegate to the United
Nations Economic and Social
Council (UNESCO) at Geneva,
Switzerland. He was later ap
pointed to the DP Commission.
Although the confirmation of his
appointment was delayed thru
the influence of Judiciary Chair
man McCarran, the administra
tion has stood squarely behind
him.
BETWEEN US by Boris Smolar
AMERICAN MOODS
Jews in America differ in at
titudes toward Israel, but most
of them have warm feelings to
ward the Jewish state . . . This
is the conclusion of a public opi
nion study which will soon be
made public in the U. S. . . .
The study establishes that
whether Zionist, non-Zionist or
anti-Zionist—American Jews are
firm in American sentiments and
loyalties ... It also establishes
that anti-Semitism is not caused
by doubt about the attitudes of
the American Jews toward Is
rael . . .
The findings show that unpre
judiced people do not view re
gard for Israel as a sign of dis
loyalty; prejudiced people inter
pret such sympathy according to
their own prejudice . . . Another
study analyzes the role of Amer
ican philanthropy in Israel and
comes to interesting conclusions.
One of the conclusions stresses
that if American philanthropy is
to be of maximum usefulness in
helping to solve Israel’s economic
problems, it should be channelled
into programs which make the
most effective contribution to
ward the increase of production.
A second conclusion says that
all existing philanthropic pro
grams should undergo re-exami-
nation in the light of the chang
ing situation in Israel . . .
Some modification have been
taking place this year in major
Israel programs which are
financed through the United
Jewish Appeal . . .
Maclver and ADL
Speaking about* surveys, we
come again to the by-now
famous Maclver report on the
organizations engaged in fighting
anti-Semitism in the U. S. . . .
The Anti-Defamation League of
the B'nai B'rith—-which is hit
hardest by the report—claims
that Prof. Maclver’s study “is
not a true survey” . . .
The major argument advanced
by the Anti-Defamation League
is that the Maclver report lacks
understanding of Jewish life . . .
The analysis admits that there
have been “errors of omission
and commission" by Jewish com
munity relations agencies and
that the A.D.L. has been as
guilty of these errors as others...
However, it claims that the
approach recommended by Prof.
Maclver does not help either in
defining the errors or in solving
them . . .
The Anti-Defamation League
takes exception, especially, to
Prof. Maclver’s recommendation
for the establishment of a special
committee consisting equally of
members representing the Jew
ish community councils, the
Council of Jewish Federations
and Welfare Funds and the na
tional Jewish agencies engaged
in anti-defamation activities . . .
To this committee Maclver would
turn over all funds for fighting
anti-Semitism and racial preju
dice ... In turn, this committee
would apportion sums to the
various organizations engaged in
combatting anti-Jewish senti-
Jewish sentiments in the U. S. ...
In objecting to such an ar
rangement, the Anti-Defamation
League says that Prof. Maclver
minimizes the ideological differ
ences among (Jewish community
relations agencies and over em
phasizes alleged overlapping of
function . . . The A.D.L. also does
not like Prof. Maclver’s recom
mendation to set up the National
Community Relations Advisory
Council as the controlling body
over all Jewish organizatoins en
gaged in defending civil rights...
The American Jewish Commit
tee takes a milder stand towards
the Maclver report ... It be
lieves the report can serve as a
basis for further discussion and
a starting point for solution of
certain problems in the field of
Jewish community relations.
Sober Warning
American Arabs have issued a
sober warning to the Arab coun
tries to halt their talk of a “sec
ond round” against Israel ... In
a "second round” the results
would be much worse for the
Arabs than in the first round,
they point out . . . They predict
that in a "second round" Israel
would double her territory . . .
And they take issue with the
Arab League for poisoning the
minds of the Arabs by making
them believe that a “second
round” against Israel is possible.
The American Arabs also
criticize the Arab rulers and
politicians for maintaining that
the truce was imposed on the
Arab states by force . . . The
truth, they say, is exactly the
opposite—before the truce the
Arab armies were in a state of
disruption and disintegration . . .
They reveal that “the capital
of one of the Arab states was in
instant danger of occupation by
the Zionist armies’*' . . . Such
occupation, they disclose, was
prevented by the second truce
which the generals of the Egyp
tian army actually begged for....
“One partfcular foreign power
interfered at the proper occasion
and thus prevented shame, scan
dal and total defeat for the
Arabs,” they established . . .
In a blistering attack on the
Arab League, the American
Arabs blame the League for
"advising” the Palestine Arabs
to leave their homes and become
refugees in neighboring coun
tries . . . They call the leaders
of the Arab League liars and
political charlatans . . .
And all this is done publicly
in an article in Al-Hoda, largest
Arab daily newspaper in New
York . . . The author of the ar
ticle is none other than Prof.
Habib Eissa, one of the most re
spected figures in the Arab
world.
Jcunshp
Calendar
Tisha B’Av
Sunday, August 12
Kosh Rodesh Elul
Sunday, September 2
5712-1951
•Rosh Hashona
Monday, October 1
Fast of Dedaliah
Wednesday, October 3
*Yom Kippur
Wednesday, October 10
‘Holiday Begins
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