Newspaper Page Text
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A Weekly Newspaper for Southern Jewry - Established 1925
Vol. XLVI
Atlanta, Georgia, Friday, August 6, 1971
Two Sections—12 Pages
* *<•#*
"STS
State Department
Admits Jackson Expose
WASHINGTON ( J T A ) —
State Department officials have
conceded that Sen. Harry M.
Jackson was correct when he
said the Arab States outnum
bered Israel six to one in jet
aircraft but they maintained
that the pilot-to-aircraft ratio
“sharply favors” the Israelis.
They suggested that the Egyp
tians had the preponderance of
planes but not enough pilots
JDLers Draw
Sentence in NY
And Israel
TEL AVIV (JTA)—An Amer
ican and a Canadian student at
Bar Ilan University who admitt
ed to membership in the Jewish
Defense League, were sentenced
to six months in jail by a Tel
Aviv district court on charges
of having extorted money from
fellow students for the JDL. The
accused, Robert Fine, 25, an
American and Seymour Laker,
23, of Canada, denied the
charges. Federal Jhdge Jack B.
Weinstein imposed a five year
suspended sentence and $5000
fine on JDL national chairman
Rabbi Meir Kahane in U. S. Dis
trict Court in Brooklyn Thurs
day.
Kahane was convicted of
making bombs at the JDL’s
Camp Jedel in Woodbume,
N. Y. Two co-defendants, Chaim
Bieber and Stewart Cohen, were
given three year suspended sen
tences and three years proba
tion. Bieber was fined $2500 and
Cohen $500. More than 200 JDL
followers cheered the verdict
and carried Kahane out of the
courthouse on their shoulders.
In rendering his verdict,
Judge Weinstein said, “In this
country at this time it is not
permissible to substitute the
bomb for the book as a symbol
of Jewish manhood.”
He said that if the terms of
probation are violated the sus
pended sentences would be re
voked and the full jail terms
imposed on Kahane and the
others. Kahane said later that
he had not asked the court for
leniency.
He insisted that there were
times when “there is no other
way than violence.” He said the
JDL would buy rifles for Jew
ish “self defense” and an
nounced that its new motto
would be. “Every Jew a .22”.
trained to fly them.
They refused to speculate
whether the large number of
Russian pilots in Egypt changed
the ratio substantially. Sen.
Jackson, a Washington Demo
crat had said that there were
200 trained Soviet pilots in
Egypt and 100 Russians of Ad
miral and General rank in that
country.
The officials said that his fig
ures for high-ranking Soviet
officers and combat pilots were
on the high side but agreed with
his report of 600 Soviet super
sonic jets in Egypt and Syria.
They said there was nothing
new in those figures. The offic
ials maintained that the Soviet
pilots were in Egypt for training
purposes but have been known
to fly actual combat missions
before the Suez cease-fire went
into effect last Aug. 8.
JERUSALEM (JTA) — The
United States had not as of this
week approved Israel’s applica
tion to purchase 40-odd F-4
Phantom jets. A Foreign Minis
try spokesman said June 21 that
“the subject is still being dis
cussed by the two governments
but no decision has been taken
as yet.”
Israel is seeking more Phan
toms to replace the French-built
Mirage jets that were the back
bone of its Air Force in the
June, 1967 war but which are
becoming obsolete.
U. S. Hears Testimony- -
On Control of Jerusalem
WASHINGTON (JTA)—Jew
ish, Catholic and Moslem wit
nesses testifying at a House
subcommittee hearing on Jerus
alem agreed that they were op
posed to a divided city but dif
fered over who should have sov
ereignty over a unified Jerusa
lem.
Rabbi Marc H. Tanenbaum,
director of the department of
inter-religious affairs of the
American Jewish Committee
said a divided Jerusalem would
be a “moral and human disas
ter.” He insisted that Jewish
claims to the city took priority
over the claims of other faiths
because Jerusalem is an entirely
necessary and indespensible part
of Judaism as it is not for Chris-
tinanity and Moslems.”
Different views were express
ed by Dr. James Kritzeck of the
Institute for Advanced Religious
Studies at Notre Dame Univer
sity, Rev. Joseph L. Ryan, S.J.
of the Cambridge Center of So
cial Studies, Cambridge, Mass.,
and Dr. Muhammad Abdul
Rauf, director of the Islamic
Center here.
All of them gave testimony
at a hearing of the Near East
subcommittee of the House For
eign Affairs Committee chaired
by Rep. Lee H. Hamilton
(D. Ind) who observed at the
First SE Aliyah Director
Dies Suddenly in Israel
for the ever growing Israeli col
ony, particularly erev Shabbat.
Returning to Jerug*lem in
1966, he took up his pbst with
the housing authority.
A native of Jerusalem, Mar-
galit started working in the Jer
usalem Municipality in 1934. He
served as chief of the Mayor’s
Bureau and continued in this
post under Mordechai Ben-Sha-
lom unttil 1964, when he was
posted in Atlanta to represent
the Jewish Agency’s Immigra
tion Department in seven south
eastern states.
Besides his wife, Rachel, he is
survived by a daughter Ziva and
his son Moshik. The son, with
his wife Ruth, was in Israel on
summer vacation from Tech
where he is securing a master’s
degree for a week before the
unexpected death of the father.
JERUSALEM—Aharon Marg-.
alit, director of the Prozot
Government municipal housing
company here, died in his sleep
on Saturday
night. He wasT
55 years old.
Mr. Margalit!
had pioneefred|
the Israel Ali-
yah Office ini
Atlanta, open-1
ing it for thef
first time and f
mgaging in thef
initial expa n ■
sion of the idea“
of immigration to the Jewish
State at a time when to say the
least it was not very popular.
He resided in Georgia for two
years, during which his son
Moshik attended Georgia Tech.
The Margalit home in Atlanta
was the weekly gathering place
close of the session “We are
dealing with the most difficult
problem of the Middle East.”
The hearing, which began at 2:00
p. m. adjourned late in the af
ternoon.
In formal statements read to
the subcommittee, Rabbi Tanen
baum argued for Israeli sover
eignty over Jerusalem. Dr.
Kritzeck and Father Ryan in
ternationalization and Dr. Rauf
wanted the city restored to
Moslem rule.
The two Roman Catholic
leaders declared that the city
of Jerusalem should be interna
tionalized, and said that the
U. S. “must do everything pos
sible to see that Israel with
draws from the territories oc
cupied in June, 1967.” In their
statement to the committee,
Father Ryan said that “this
would be only the first step to
peace in the Holy Land, but
Christians are praying that it
will be taken in recognition and
application of the requirements
of justice.” After citing the ac
tions and resolution of the
United Nations and the views
of the Vatican and the State
Department which call for Is
raeli withdrawal from occupied
territories, the statement con
tinued to say that “If Israel
wishes peace, she can have it.
But she cannot also have the
territories occupied in June
1967. It is essential that she with
draw from them, and that the
United States, but for whose
permissiveness she would be un
able to continue to defy the
United Nations year after year,
must do everything possible to
see that she does.” It also in
vited official organization of
Christians here to speak out on
these subjects. The statement
said, “We recommend that our
government and citizens make
a contribution which is uniquely
theirs to make, to peace and
justice in the Near East by ad
mitting the injustices that have
been done to the Palestinian
people, and by recognizing that
their rights . . . have important
applications to the matter of
Jerusalem and the Holy Places.
The problem of Jerusalem arises
in its present context out of the
progressive and persisent refusal
of the government of Israel to
honor the United Nations’ res
olution, which is illegal; or any
body elses opinions including
the U. S. and the Pope’s, which
is impertinent.” Father^ ^Jlyan
noted a “progressive decline*’ in
the number of Christians in Jer
usalem from 25,000 in 1948 to
about 10,000 this year.”
Rabbi Tanenbaum opened the
rebuttal by suggesting that
those who left did so not be
cause of Israeli oppression, but
rather “for econdmic and other
practical reasons.” * •■<*
The important thing, the rab
bi added, was to work -for “a
genuine pluralistic society*' under
Israeli sovereignty.” The orig
inal statement continued to say
that “If a fresh phrasing”
would be “more conducive to
acceptance let us suggest ‘in
ternational guarantee’ instead
of ‘internationalization’.”- -
The statement pointed out that
no other nation has recognized
Israel’s annexation of the Old
City of Jerusalem and other
territories, and the UN has re
peatedly declared it invalid.
Rauf said “that the practical
and legitimate solution to,,the
problem of Jerusalem is to res
tore it fully to Muslim rule,”
adding that until the 19tf?war,
Muslim inhabitants constituted
a vast majority of the. city's
population. He told the subcom
mittee that Islam “represents a
continuity of the one true re
ligion of God, revealed* to a
series of prophets,” and that
Mam has "a more legitimate
claim to the custody” of the
m
over Islam’s own sacred shrines.
Dr. Rauf added that Muslim
tolerance gave the Jews "ac
cess” to the Wailing Wall, but
the Zionists capitalized on this
tolerance. He referred to the
Wall as a “myth” seized upon
by the Zionists to serve as a
focal and rally point for Jew
ish attention. Dr. Raul con
cluded that any other solution
that does not recognize Muslim
authority over the entire city
would be in violation of the
right of self-determination laid
down in the Charter of United
Nations and the Universal Dec
laration of Human Rights.
Replying to questions by com
mittee members afterwards, the
ttwo Roman Catholic witnesses
old Rep. Jonathan B. Bingham
(D. N.Y.) that their statement
represented only themselves.
~ Continued on page 4
Will the Author of'Nihonjin Yudayajin' Please Stand Up?
By Joseph Polakoff
JTA Washington Bureau Chief
TOKYO (JTIA) — “Nihonjin
To Yudayajin” is the transliter
ated Japanese title of this coun
try’s runaway non-fiction best
seller, “The Japanese and the
Jews.”
The 208-page volume made its
appearance eight months ago
with a modest first run of 2,500
copies.
Since then it has sold over a
half million, been quoted from
by Japan’s Prime Minister
Eisaku Sato on national televis
ion, grabbed an important liter
ary prize and, in the process,
created an intriguing mystery
surrounding its authorship.
Why the book made an im
pact in Japan was explained to
this correspondent by Moshe
Bartur, Israel’s Ambassador to
Tokyo. For one thing, he said,
“it identifies modem Japan’s
quest and search for its own
identity and mission in today’s
world.” Secondly, “it reflects the
fascinating spiritual relationship
between Japan and the Japa
nese people and Judaism and the
Jewish State—Israel.”
Bartur noted that the book’s
language is “very rich Japanese,
very difficult to translate.” He
said the “perspective is such
that it could have been written
only by one fully versed in Jap
anese history, through from the
point of view of a foreigner who
fully understands Japanese lit
erature and pecularities.”
Beyond that, the Israeli envoy
was no better able to identify
the author than the scores of
other literary detectives who
have been probing the mystery
since the book attained promi
nence.
The name of the author ap
pearing on the cover is. Isaiah
Ben-Dasan. A brief preface to
the book describes him as a Jew
who was brought up in Kobe be
fore World War II, left there
during the war and returned to
Japan in the post-war period.
Bartur ^said the publisher, a
Christian who operates a smaU
company specializing in Biblical
works, explained that they must
respect the author’s desire for
anonymity. The publisher will
only say that he is a business-
JTA Special Report
man and obviously also a scholar
well versed in Japanese litera
ture and history and acknowl-
edgeable in Jewish classics.
A professor at Indiana State
University in Terre Haute who
handles the author’s mail and
apparently knows him offers no
clues. He says the writer “is not
ready to odisclose his identity.”
The director of the United States
Information Service in Japan,
Allan Carter, told the JTA cor
respondent that the prevalent
theory is that the author is not
a Jew but a Japanese Biblical
scholar who is now studying at
a theological school in North
Carolina.
Walter Citrin, president of the
Jewish Community Center in
Tokyo, agreed that the author
probably was not Jewish He
pointed out “some errors” in the
Jewish context of the book, But
the publisher insists that the
mystery writer “is not a Japa
nese.” This re-endorses Ambas
sador Bartur’s belief that he is
a bi-cultural person bom of a
mixed marriage — possibly a
Jewish father and Japanese
mother.
The book draws a parallel be
tween Japanese philosophy and
literature and Hebrew learning,
including the Talmud. It speeks
of contemporary problems that
Japanese and Jews—Israelis—
have in common, among them
matters of national security and
defense. Sato quoted from the
book sev^n months ago during a
television appearance at which
Japan’s defense problems were
discussed.
When Gideon Rafael, director
general of Israel’s Foreign Min
istry, visited Japan, the book
was Sato’s first subject Two
days later, when the Prime Min
ister met King Faisal of Saudi
Arabia, he immediately began
talking about “Nihonjin To Yu
dayajin,” to the obvious con
sternation of the Arabian mon
arch. “**
Meredith Weatherby, president
of John Weatherhill, Inc. in
Tokyo, announced recently that
an Efcigliah-language edition of
the book is scheduled for publi
cation early next year. Vfobtern
readers will then have a chance
to find out what so tremendous
ly Impressed the Japanese. Per
haps then, the author will come
out of hiding.