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THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE
Friday, December 1#,,1965
THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE
1‘uMished weekly by Seutbern Newspaper Enterprises, 390 Courtlant
««., N.E., Atlanta Georgia, 30303. Tit. 6-8249, TK. 6-8240. Second class
hostage paid at Atlanta, Ga. Yearly subscription five dollars. The Southern
Israelite invites literary contributions and correspondence but is not to be
considered as sharing the views expressed by writers. DEADLINE is
S r.M.. FRIDAY, but material received earlier will have a much bitter
dance ot publication.
Georgia Press Association
NATION A l EDITORIAL
I a # c 6"5 w
7 Arts Features
Jewish
Telegraphic
Agency
World Press
Adolph Rosenberg, Editor and Publisher
Kathleen Nease, Jeanne Loeb, Joseph Redlich
Vida Goldgar, Harry Rose, Betty Meyer, Kathy Wood
BEHIND UN SCENES By DAVII) HOROWITZ
Rafael Speaks Up for Disarmament
UNITED NATIONS (WUP)—The
vision of Isaiah the prophet pre
dicting a world at peace when
“nations” shall beat their swords
into plowshares, and people shall
not learn war any more,” may
seem remote at the present time
when states are arming to the
teeth. Brit no one can deny that
the seed for the beginning of the
fulfillment of his vision is being
currently sown here at the UN.
And a son of Isaiah’s people let
bis voice be heard here this past
/week.
Speaking in the important First
Committee in support of a reso
lution calling for a disarmament
conference Gideon Rafael, one of
Israel’s most astute and veteran
delegates, re-echoed the eternal
prophetic plea of peace and con
cord among all men on earth.
What was needed, he told the del
egates, “was not more promises,
but better performance.”
Mr Rafael suggested that in
the complex planning and prep
aratory work, which must precede
such an historic conference,
everything should be done to
bring about the participation of
Communist China.
It became clear from his speech
that Israel left the door open to
a possible Middle East conference
for whittling down the Israeli-
Arab armaments race. Signifi
cantly, in an apparent move that
challenged the Arabs to live ud
to their own statements, Rafael
Eshkot Hospitalized;
Suffers ‘Exhaustion'
JERUSALEM, (JTA) — Prime
Minister Levi Eshkol was hos
pitalized here last Saturday night
for what his physicians diagnosed
as “general exhaustion.” Rumors
that he had suffered from pneu
monia were dispelled by a medic
al bulletin issued this week, that
reported Mr. Eshkol had to be
taken to the hospital because of
“general weakness” caused by a
tiring week's work, followed by a
cold.
In addition to working hard on
the efforts to form a new coali
tion Government, Mr. Eshkol had
stayed up all night last Wednes
day, watching Israel army
maneuvers. His physicians said
they ordered complete rest for
their patient, who is 70, and had
requested that he shun all visi
tors during the next few days.
He may be in the hospital 10
days, it was indicated.
Mr. Eshkol’s hospitalization
will delay formation of the new
Cabinet. He has appointed a sub
committee to continue talks
about formation of the new
Government. Last Friday he of
fered new concessions to the
Independent Liberals in talks
which he had with their leaders.
The results of his talks to date
indicated that the Independent
Liberals and the leftist Mapam
appeared to have common
ground with the Premier’s
Mapai-Achdut Avoda Alignment
conditions for joining the next
coalition. The deadlock with the
National Religious Party, a mem
ber of the present caretaker
Cabinet, continued however.
pointed out the recent Cairo Con
ference decision which had left
such a door open. In this con
nection, it is interesting to note
that the Arab states represented
almost half of the delegates that
co-sponsored the Assembly reso
lution which was later adopted
by 91 votes with no opposition.
The overwhelming Assembly
approval of the resolution for a
disarmanent conference which
would include the mainland of
China reflects the growing con
cern of all governments with the
rising terror of the new weapons
and the dismal failure of the Big
Powers to divest themselves and
the world of this intolerable con
dition which keeps humanity on
the edge of immiment doom.
What appears important for Is
rael is the fact that the direction
of disarmament seems not to be
moving from the universal to the
regional approach but the other
way around. A conference of glo
bal scope could give lagging re
gional efforts a big spurt, and
this is what Israel is counting
on.
It is in this sphere of thinking
that Gideon Rafael left open the
door by implication to a possible
Middle East conference on dis
armament.
Of course, this is not the first
time that a spokesman of Israel
has suggested the possibility of a
regional agreement in halting the
arms race. No one took heed and
no one listened. The unsolved
problems in the “Palestine case”
stood in the way.
However, the World Disarm
ament Conference—now a reality
and if it is going to get China—
will have to be pretty much out
side the UN. In such a conference,
where the issue is completely di
vorced from the Palestine conflict,
a world body may insist on rec
ommending regional armaments
cuts.
It was in this sense that Rafael's
move constituted sound and imag
inative diplomacy. For it lies
within the power of a world con
ference on disarmament to com
pel the Arabs to enter into ne
gotiations with Israel on the issue
of the arms build-up which is
taxing both to the extreme.
Without deflating the idea of the
scheduled conference, it should
be said that no one expected its
trumpets will blow down the nu
clear walls of the Big Powers.
The Cairo Conference of non-
aligned nations realistically did
not delude itself with such a false
hope. But it left the door open
for “special” meetings in the
field of disarmament with more
modest objectives involving re
gional agreements for the con
tainment of the mad armaments
race now gripping the world with
the force of an epidemic.
Thus, when the World Conference
opens, the impact of its decisions
will of a necessity affect the Mid
east as well as other regions of
the world, and the Arabs, if they
wish not to appear as deceivers
in the eyes of the other non-align
ed members, will have to give
serious consideration to a mutual
arms reduction in the Middle
East.
It was in this context that Gid
eon Rafael made reference to the
Cairo conference.
OPINION and COMMENT
The Jews Are One People
Two opposing philosophies seem to be
struggling for dominance in Jewish life today:
one which insists that Jews unite for action
only when they must, and the other which
declares that Jews and Jewish organizations
should act unilaterally only when they must.
The former is represented by the American
Jewish Committee; the latter by virtually
every other Jewish group. We believe that the
American Jewish Committee is mistaken in
its views. Because it has held to them ever
since its inception and because of the pres
tigious character of many of its leaders, it has,
despite good work, perpetuated harmful
myths about Jewish unity. One of these
myths is repeated in a recent statement by
Morris B. Abram, President of the AJC, on the
subject of centralism. “It is no service to the
goal of Jewish dignity and security,” he wrote,
“in the United States and in other countries,
to attempt to impose a so-called ‘unified voice’
on (this) diversity of outlook and interest.” Do
these gentlemen mean that if the Jews of one
country achieve a consensus on a particular
issue their “security” may be endangered? All
Jews got behind the campaign to protest the
plight of Soviet Jewry; did they weaken their
position as Americans? They all spoke up for
the liberalization of immigration laws. Are
they the weaker therefor? . . . The AJC lead
ers seem to think that anyone who urges the
creation of an ongoing cooperative body does
so because he wishes his organization to
aggrandize itself. (“We view such moves . . .
as ill-disguised efforts at power aggrandize
ment.”) Certainly if any one group purports
to speak in the name of all Jewry, it is obvi
ously looking for status and support. But what
is wrong with advocating that all groups par
ticipate in a cooperative effort? Would not
opposition to such a plan be more likely to
appear like self-aggrandizement? Finally,
runs the AJC argument, a single organization
“or its leader . . . (might) act unwisely in the
name of the entire Jewish community.” Obvi
ously there is no guarantee that unwise decis
ions might not be made. But we contend that
wisdom is more likely to prevail when leaders
of various viewpoints come together and con
sult with another in an effort to achieve a
consensus. . . The Reconstructionist
Jewish Calendar
* Hanukah
First day Dec. 19
Last day Dec. 26
* Hamishah Assar Bishevat,
February 5
* Fast of Esther, March 3
* Purim, March 6
* Passover, April 5-12
* Lag B’Omer, May 8
* Shavuot, May 25-26
* Tishah B’Av, July 26
* Fast of Tummuz, July 5
•Holiday Begins Sundown
Previous Day
GDur JUjurialj
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Extracts from "The Graphic History
of the Jewish Heritage." Edited by
P. Wollman-Tsamlr. Published by
Shengold Publishers and Foundation
For A Graphic History of Jewish
Literature.
A Seven Arts Feature.
i. sarah (nsD') n*w
Hagar and her son Ish-
jnacl leave Abraham's
tent upon Sarah’s dr-
land.
"And God laid unto Ab
raham: , in alt that
Sarah saith unto thee,
hearken unto her voice’"
(Cen. 21.12)
In Scripture it is written: “Haran, the father
of Milcah, and the father of Iscah” (Genesis
11.29). “Rabbi Isaac said: ‘Iscah is Sarah. And
why is she called Iscah? Because she perceived
(sakhtah) by the Divine Spirit, as it is written:
“And God said unto Abraham . . . all that Sarah
saith unto thee, hearken unto her voice” (Genesis
21.12)”’ (Mcgillah 14a).
B.G.’s Defeat
If there is any man who can read the
election returns from Israel without a touch
of sadness or a twinge of pain, let him step
forward. For the old warrior with the lion-
mane and the heart of a David facing the
Philistine, Goliath has gone to defeat. David
Ben-Gurion, the stubborn and the opinionated
life-long politician who couldn’t sit still, has
lost his bid for a return to power—rejected at
first by the party of his better days and now
by the people. We disagreed with Ben-
Gurion’s latter-day actions. We wished him
well in retirement. We felt he should have
stayed there and should have stepped aside
even as George Washington did in our own
country. But Ben-Gurion had that indispen-
sible complex. It has served neither him nor
his country in these most recent days. We
are saddened to see this fallen leader in Israel.
But it is an emotion rather than a common
sense feeling. For as we observed the cam
paign unfolding in the democracy that is
Israel, we found ourselves rooting for Eshkol,
the man who visited our nation through the
front door of the White House and not through
the doors of the Waldorf-Astoria, the man who
has a rapport with our President Johnson, the
man who has once again made our Zionists
feel that they belong. Prime Minister Eshkol
now faces the task of hammering out a new
cabinet and mending some fences. But he has
in the past proved that he is Israel’s master
political carpenter. Even B.G., in his rancor,
must acknowledge this. B’nai B’rith Messenger
Book of Books
- THE BIBLE
By JACOB I., FRIEND
The present Hebrew month Kislev has
been designated “The Jewish Book Month”.
I deem it therefore most opportune to devote
the next few columns to our own contribution
to world culture and literature—the ‘‘Sacred
Scripture.”
There are many people who consider
themselves as highly “modern” just because
of the fact that they scoff at the Bible, calling
it “obsolete”, “old fashioned”, and when asked
they readily admit they neither studied nor
even read it. Yet, it still is a “best seller” and
most popular volume in the entire rvorld. It
has been partly translated into more than 1130
languages and dialects, and completely into
195 languages. There is hardly any other book
in the entire globe that can claim such a popu
larity. Jewry can truly be proud of its legacy
to mankind with its Bible. Here are some opin
ions, sayings and apraisals of an array of
world-wide acknowledged philosophers, poets,
scientists and literary geniuses whose word
should be of profound interest to all of us.
Sir M. Hale (famous English jurist 1609-
1676), has this to say about it: “The Bible is
the only source of all Christian truth; the only
rule for human life; the only book that unfolds
>o us the realities of eternity. There is no book
1 ike the Bible for excellent ivisdom and use.”
Die philosophers, as Varro tells us, counted
ip 320 answers to the question: “What is the
supreme good?”, and as Francis Bacon says:
'There never was found, in any age of the
world anything that did so highly exalt the
public as the Bible.”
Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859),
German explorer and master of 30 languages,
scientist and philosopher, who, when he came
to the phrase (in the Hebrew original), “I will
make mine arrows drunk with blood” (Deut.
XXXII, 42) exclaimed in a passion of deep
emotion: “Here ice should be ready to die.”
Johann Gottfried von Herder (1744-1803),
German philosopher, poet and critic, upon
reading chapter 104 of the Psalms, was over
come with such an enthusiasm from this most
wonderful of nature hymns, in which the wor
shipping poet (King David) is enraptured by
the marvels of creation and losing himself in
adoration of God, that he fainted.
Friedrich von Schiller (1759-1805), great
German poet, dramatist, historian and philo-
pher declared: “Chapter 37 of Ezekiel (The
prophecy of the dry bones) has awakened in
me the urge for poetry and made me a poet.”
The above were all inasters of Hebrew
and could, therefore, understand and appreci
ate real value and significance of that great
book and its deep meaning in the original. Dr.
E. J. Goodspeed is right ivhen he declares:
“It has been truly said that any translation of
1 his masterpiece (Bible) must be a failure.”
And let us conclude with the sayings of some
of our own.