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News Briefs Anti-Semitic book is protested NEW YORK (JTA)—The Canadian ambassador to Syria has complained to Syrian authorities in Damascus about the publica tion of Syrian Defense Minister Mustafa Tlas’s anti-Semitic book which revives the myth of the blood libel. In a letter to the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Joe Clark, Cana dian secretary of state for external affairs, said Ambassador Jacques Noiseux has met the Syrian minister of information and vice minister for foreign affairs to convey Canada’s displeasure with the publication. Syrian officials informed Noiseux that Tlas’s book does not represent the official view of the Syrian government, according to Clark’s letter. The center sent copies of excerpts from Tlas’s book, “The Matzah of Zion,” to the Canadian, American, British and French governments and called for official protests against the book. The Wiesenthal Center has also sent letters to the president of the Sorbonne University of Paris urging them to bar an upcoming doctoral thesis by Tlas on Soviet strategy. Demjanjuk extension sought TEL AVIV (JTA)—Attorney General Yosef Harish asked the Supreme Court Monday to extend for six weeks the detention in custody of John Demjanjuk The Ukrainian-born autoworker is awaiting trial for war crime charges accusing him of being “Ivan the Terrible,” a guard at the Treblinka Nazi death camp who ran the gas chambers in which 900,000 Jews died in 1942 and 1943. Harish said he needed time to include new evidence in the formal charges which are due to be presented to the Jerusalem District Court by Oct. 1. Key evidence, including an identification card allegedly issued to Demjanjuk in Treblinka, is in Soviet hands. Israel, Cameroon eye ties JERUSALEM (JTA)—Israel and Cameroon will soon resume diplomatic relations and Prime Minister Shimon Peres will visit that country on the occasion. According to reports, Peres is to visit Cameroon at the begin ning of September. Cameroon, in west-central Africa, severed diplomatic relations with Israel after the 1973 Yom Kippur War. In recent years it has begun to move closer to Israel and has strength ened its economic ties with the Jewish state. Only woman POC leaves jail NEW YORK (JTA)—Nadezhda Fradokova, the only woman Prisoner of Conscience, was released from prison last week and is now in Leningrad, according to Lynn Singer, Advisory Board chairperson of the Union of Councils for Soviet Jews. Fradokova had served two years in a Soviet labor carnp for parasitism. She was refused a visa on the pretext of her father’s “access to state secrets.” Fradokova, a mathematical linguist, staged a number of hunger strikes beginning in March 1983. Engine snafu fails to ground jet TEL AVIV (JTA)—A TWA plane with over 300 passengers aboard, en route from Tel Aviv to New York, returned safely to Ben-Gurion Airport shortly after take off Sunday, when an engine developed trouble. The aircraft circled over the Mediterranean for about an hour while the pilot dumped the full load of fuel in preparation for an emergency landing. The engine, which had begun to overheat, was replaced and the plane departed for New ) York Sunday night. Israeli CPI stable, bodes well JERUSALEM (JTA)—The Consumer Price Index remained unchanged during July, the Central Bureau of Statistics has announced. The figure immediately was hailed as indicative of the success of the current economic policy of freezing the value of the shekel and controlling prices. Last July, the CPI rose 25 percent. It has risen 24 percent in the year since the government unveiled its austerity plan. Inflation during that year rose 15 percent. The year before it had reached about 400 percent. The good news came a day after the government publicized a letter from U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz that urged intro duction of far-reaching economic reform. Column troubles convert Editor: I have read with much concern the article entitled “On Intermar riage” (TSI, Aug. 8). I converted to Judaism and have been married for four months now to a Jewish man. It disturbs me to read that there is still conflict as to what con stitutes a valid conversion. I am troubled when 1 see that what 1 have done might not be acceptable to the entire Jewish community. Converting to Judaism was a choice that I made and one that I am very happy with. During my conversion process 1 was questi oned many times as to why 1 was doing what I was doing. 1 had many reasons—the main one being a love of Judaism and a desire to practice it. But, 1 also had another reason. I wanted to share the bond of mar riage with a man who meant more to me than anything else in the world. So, if I converted for the "sake of marriage,” then it was a noble cause indeed. Nancy Skolnick Ex-legislator defends record on Jews Editor: For many years there has been some misunderstanding among the Jewish people of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., who never realized that I introduced more important resolu tions in their behalf than any other member of Congress, Jew or Gen tile. My Palestine Resolution of 1922 went through Congress and was signed by the president, which made it the law of the United States and helped to create the state of Israel. Regarding the slaughter of six million Jews by Hitler’s monstrous and diabolic extermination policy, it was FDR and his State Depart ment that refused to approve my resolution calling on all nations, even those not involved in the war, to demand an immediate end to ADL solves MCl-lsraeli Editor: In a recent letter to The South’ ern Israelite (Aug. 8), a reader noted MCI’s lack of telephone ser vice to Israel. Within the past sev eral months, the Anti-Defamation League has received several inquir ies on this subject. After an investigation, we have concluded that MCI’s lack of ser vice is due to a decision by the Israeli government. There is no evidence of any improper conduct by MCI. In fact, MCI attempted to gain entry into the Israeli market by filing an application with the Ministry of Communications. According to our Jerusalem of fice, this application has not been granted for economic and techni- this horrible slaughter. FDR’s White House secretary, who was Jewish, publicly stated that FDR would “not lift his finger or open his mouth” to stop this mass geno cide. And I am still angry and will continue to be until I die. Hamilton Fish Member of Congress, 1920-1945 ‘hang-up’ cal reasons. Long distance service to Israel is provided by AT&T and Western Union. We did not want your readers to be misled into believing that MCI was boycotting Israel. Michael Winograd, Assistant director, ADL The forgotten festival by Itzhak Sordo AJCC Israeli Shaliach Sometimes we find in the oral Torah or the Bible, clues for cus toms or festivals that we have diffi culty explaining today, or finding their real origin. One of these ex amples is Tu B’Av (the 15th of Av, Aug. 20 this year). In the Talmud, we find a verse (Ta’anit 4, 8): “There are no days as festive in Israel as those of Yom Kippur and the 15th of Av.” What does this mean? There are a few explana tions, but we aren’t sure about any of them: (1) It’s a day of forgiveness: Yom Kippur symbolizes the forgiveness of G-d to the children of Israel for the sin of the golden calf on their way to the Land of Israel, and Tu B’Av symbolizes the forgiveness of G-d to Israel for the sin of the spies who spoke against the land after they were sent to look it over. They didn’t belive that G-d would bring them to the promised land, so they spoke against it. On Tu B’Av, the plague that killed many of that generation stopped. It was a good reason to celebrate, for those who remained alive were the first gen eration to be redeemed and enter the promised land—the land of milk and honey. (2) The tribes of Israel were allowed to marry each other after a prohibitive period. It was suspended on Tu B’Av. (3) The tribe of Benjamin was allowed to come back and marry others from Israel. They had been prohibited because their role in the case of the concubine of Givah. (4) On the same day, the King of Israel cancelled the guards who would not allow people to make pilgrimage from Israel to Jerusa lem. After the split of Israel and Judaea, the King of Israel, in order not to lose his population, didn’t allow them to go to Jerusalem. He was afraid that they would stay there and not return to Israel. On Tu B’Av, the last King of Israel (Hosha Ben-Elah), cancelled the guards, and, therefore, that was reason for celebration. (5) Up to the day of Tu B’Av, the Israelis were able to bring pure logs to the Second Temple Altar, which was enough until the next year. (6) After the fall of Beitar (135 C.E.), a large Jewish city in the Bar Kochba rebellion, the Romans, as a punishment, did not allow the Jews to bury their dead. On Tu B’Av, three years later, the new emperor allowed them to do this, and it was very important to the Jews. These are six possibilities for the origin of the festival. I feel that it’s a forgotten festival. We know that in ancient Israel on Tu B’Av, the girls used to dress up in white clothes and go out into the fields to dance; young men would follow after them. In modern Israel, we tried to renew this festival. It seemed excit ing for me. I remember when I was in a Zionist youth movement, on Tu B’Av we used to do a marathon of dancing and singing while wear ing white clothes. Even on some kibbutzim, they are trying to keep the tradition by having group dan cing. The question that is relevant now is: Should we try to put into this traditional festival current content, or should we do anything? if yes, in what character should we keep it? 1 think that if we rebuild it, we can renew a tradition that is in the spirit of “Israel Sabba” (Israel Grandfather). What is your opin ion? r Soviet retusnik on hunger strikes NEW YORK (JTA)—Cancer research specialist Dr. Iosif Irlin, 52, a refusnik since 1981, has declared a hunger strike to protest Soviet refusal to grant him and his wife permission to leave, according to the National to the National Conference on Soviet Jewry. Irlin, a world-renowned scientist, who worked at the Onco logical Center of the U.S.S.R. Academy of Medicine, was fired from his job when he applied for an exit visa to Israel in April 1979, as was his wife, Svetlana, also a scientist. v II / PAGE 5 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE August 22, 1986