M-T
The Canadian Jewish News, Friday, December 16,1977 - Pige 7
Opinion
The city of Jerusalem, fought and argued over for 30 years, is one of the most complex issues in the Arab-Israeli dispute. Henry Srebmlk says the eastern half, captured by the Israelis hi the Six Day War, should be Jointly administered by Israel and the Arabs.
Quotas strangling Soviet Jews
The Just-published 1977 Soviet statistical yearbook (Narodnoe Khoziaistvo) throws a glaring light on What the future holds for Soviet Jews. It is scarcely encouraging, writes William Korey. director of B'nai B'rith's International Council.
NEW YORK [JCNS] —
The statistical table on the enrolment of students in higher education reveals that. in the academic year 1975-76. only 66,900 Jews were to be found in Soviet universities. In the course of but seven years, 1969-76, the number of Jewish students in higher education has declined by over 40%.
Until 1968, the number of Jews in Soviet universities had annually continued to climb, reaching a total of 111,900. And this despite restrictive quotas which had been introduced in the '40s. If Jews had found difficulty in entering the University of Moscow, there were easier opportunities at universities in Leningrad or Odessa. Moreover, in the universities of Siberia or the Central Asian republics, the chances were even greater.
Aspiration for higher education, the pass-
port to success in modem society, distinguished the Jew in the USSR, just as it had elsewhere in the Western world. When Stalin shut the doors to the Jews in the fields of politics, diplomacy, foreign trade, and other military-security areas, they could nonetheless enter, via a university education, the scientific, technological and cultural worlds.
One-third of the Jewish community by the late '60s had become university graduates. Thus, the 1970 census data showed tliat 68% of Jews in the largest union-republic, the Russian Republic, were designated as "specialists." Only 19% of the Great Russians in this republic had this designation.
A statistical monthly in 1974 indicated that Jews comprised 14% of the holders of doctorates of science, outdistiancing in absolute figures all Soviet nationalities except Great Russians. The Jewish population constitutes less than 1% of the total Soviet public.
The year 1968 marked, however, the
landmark events in our history
ByROCHELLECARR
Jacob and Zilli Strauss migrants from Gerrhany,
Marshall, im-
______ , had much to
celebrate in their modest Syracuse, N.Y. dwelling. It was Dec. 14, 1856. The first of their six children had just been bom. He was to bring not only joy: to his family, but also was destined to be a fighter for Jewish rights in the U.S. They called their first-bom, Louis.
By the time_he died in 1929. Louis Marshall was looked upon as one of the country's most notable constitutional and corporate lawyers, and a leading spokesman for American Jewry.
The boy's early years in Syracuse were austere, but, prodded on by his mothir to get an education, and helped by his father through his hide and fur business, youiig Louis managed to become a lawyer. Even in those early years, however, there was Instilled in him adeep sense of commitment toward the Jewish community.
Even in 1894, when he became a full partner in the prestig;ious law firm of Guggenheimer and Untermyer, and his legal jesponsibilitiM^grew, he never forgot his co-religionists.
With his wife, Florence Lowenstein, at his iide, he. helped found the American
uent, poor
Jewish Committee in 1906 and served as its president froin 1913 until his death. Through it he gave succor to Jews in other countries and defended the legal rights of Jews in America by fighting discrimmation in public places and the libelous, anti-Semitic writings of auto magnate Henry Ford.
Although Marshall was strictly identified with the uptown, affluent German Jews. he. perhaps more than any of his peers, seemed to bridge the gap between the uptown and newly-arrived Eastern European downtown Jews. While his uptown group tried to Americanize the newcomers as quickly as possible, Marshall went out of his way to try to get to know and understand them better, to the point that he taught himself Yiddish.
His ability to bridge the gap wais seen in the fact that he simultaneously held powerful positions both in New York's Reform Temple Emanu-El and the Conservative Jewish Theological Seminary. Not all was smooth. He and Rabbi Stephen Wise differed on many issues including who had the final say about controlling topics of sermons. " ^„_-
Although his brother-in-law, Dr. Judah Magnes, had emigrated to Palestine, Marshall could not bring himself to become a total Zionist. He finally, agreed to a compromise solution which allowed him to give partial support to the Zionist cause.
Jews were not the only ones to benefit from his incisive mind and deep sense of commitirient to others. In his capacity as a lawyer, he helped bring about protective legislation, such as the area of collective bargaining procedures.
In essence, Marshall, the Jew who took to heart the commandment to serve humanity,. spent a lifietime fighting for the civil rights of all Americans.
appearance in the Communist world of a new, although scarcely Marxist, ideological perception about Jews and their role in higher education. The leading Polish Com-rhunist theoretician, Andrzej Werblan, no doubt with the encouragement of the Kremlin, wrote an authoritative article in June 1968, which concluded that Jews have a "particular susceptibility to revisionism'' (ie. reformism) and to "Jewish nationalism in general and to Zionism in particular."
Werblan argued that the "concentration ... of people of Jewish origin" in universities and other cultural institutions had created a "bad political atmosphere." He recommended "the correction of the irregular ethnic composition" in higher education.
Andrei Sakharov, the distinguished Soviet physicist and dissenter, in the same month, detected that the Werblan thesis was already finding expression in the prestigious Soviet Academy of Sciences. He bitterly asked: "Is it not disgraceful to allow another backsliding in our appointments policy , . .? The "backsliding." he emphasized, was toward anti-Semitic discrimination.
The Sakharov complaint was disregarded. Instead, a leading Kremlin ideologue, y. Mishin, in a major work published in 1970. for the first time officially justified the use of a numerus clausus in admission of students to Soviet universities.The number of students of each Soviet nationality which may be admitted to higher education, he contended, should be restricted to the percentage of the nationality in the total Soviet population.
Soviet administrators set to work to apply the new ideology with a vengeance. In 1970-71, the number of Jewish students dropped to 105,800; in 1972-73. the number plummeted to 88.500; in 1974-75, to 76,200, and in 1975-76, to 66.900. A total decline of 45.000 Jewish students has quietly taken place. If, in 1935. Jews constituted 13% of the Soviet student body in higher education, today they constitute but 1.3%.
One can only speciilate as to how far the plunge of Jewish student enrolment will go. It might stabilize at some 40,000 — which accords with the percentage of Jews in the population. But with the current heavy rate of decline — some 10,000 to 12,000 per annum — one could approach zero in but a half-dozen years. This year, not a single Jew was admitted to the University of Moscow.
As the number of Jews admitted to Soviet universities declines, Jews will disappear fix>m post-graduate work. A Soviet statistical journal, in Aprilr 1974, already revealed a drop of-30% on the post-^duate level fix)m 4,945 to 3,456.
The eventual result will be the large-scale removal of Jews bom scientific fields. The number of Jews who-havebecoine "scientific workers'* in recent years declined from 2,500 per annum to 1,000 per annum.
If, in 1970, the percentage of Jews m the scientific world was seven, today — according to the just-published statistical yearbook — it is 5.6. That percentage will rapidly dwindle. For the average age of Jewish scientific workers, it is estimated, is 10 years above the general average of Soviet "scientific workers."
The trend is clear and foreboding: the future^ Soviet Jewry, if there is any, is unreservedly black.
StatmofJerumlem^s OldGily pkx}tal pmMind^ over sovereign^
ByHENRYSREBRNIK
Perhaps the most intractable problem of the Arab-Israeli dispute is the status of Jerusalem. Underscoring this fact was President Anwar Sadat's assertion, before the Knesset, that Israel must relinquish East Jerusalem, which it captured in the Six Day War.
Now, when we refer to Jerusalem, we are not in fact talking of that 95% of the total city of 42 square miles that is merely an economic, commercial and residential municipality of 300,000 citizens going about their affairs. We, of course, refer to the central symbolic myth-value that it has for three of the great faiths of the world, Christianity, Islam and Judaism.
Were it not for its ideological (that is, religious) centrality, it would merely be another Copenhagen, as it were; and in actual fact the Jerusalem under discussion (the Old City, that tiny area of Vi square mile inside the four walls built by Suleimen the Magnificent in 1539) is of little economic or commercial value. Less than 40,000 people live within the walls, and except for retail commerce, little of economic import goes on there; it is certainly marginal to the overall Israeli GNP.
Outside the Old City itself — holy to Jews and both Christians and Moslem Arabs, as well as to all other believers of these faiths — afe West Jerusalem and East Jerusalem, both secular, ordinary cities. The Palestine partition could, therefore, run through these two cities, with West Jerusalem remaining Israeli, and the new sections of East Jerusalem under Palestinian (or Jordanian) sovereignty.
Hopefully, under conditions of peace, the inate logic which dictates that the city remain one commercial (if not political) unit would be seen as beneficial by both sides, and presumably the Israeli-Palestinian Arab boundary runnihg through the city would be an open one, much like Windsor-Detroit, and would not interfere with the municipal unity of the city, in terms of business, culture and services.
The Old City conveniently straddles both east and west Jerusalem, and so would be accessible to either side, physically. It cannot, much as any Israeli or Arab might wish it, belong to either side.
First of all, it could no more be partitioned in terms, of the holy sites than could Solomon have cut the baby in half, in the famous biblical tale. This is especially the case with the Islamic and Jewish holy places: they literally "sit on" each other. The Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aska mosque are atop the Temple Mount, at the base of which is the Western Wall, most holy of Jewish sites.
In any case, the whole Old City is, as an organic entity, sacred to both religions (as well as to Christianity): it is, so to speak, one common temple, in its entirety. Now Israelis may argue that it is less holy to Moslems and Christians than to Jews; tliese latter two religions, being "outgrowths" of Judaism, have later myths which make of Rome, Mecca and Medina cities more important than is Jerusalem.
This is possibly true, but still meaningless. It may be historically unfortunate, but nonetheless no less real for all that, that these younger two religions have also appropriated to themselves the same ideological value-symbols that make Jerusalem holy to Jews; just as Christianity and Islam are intertwined — often very tragically — with Judaism, so is Jerusalem of fundamental importance to all three. There is no way but of it: there cannot be a sole sovereignty in the Old City.
Two solutions come to mind. First, it can be internationalized, perhaps under UN auspices. This, while sensible, is not really fair to the actual two nations who, in political and demographic terms, actually live in it: the Israelis and Palestinian Arabs. Why should they give up part of their terri- . tory to, so to speak, accomodate the three faiths they, in any case, both adhere to?
The second suggestion is what in political science is referred to as a condominium: joint sovereignty. The Old City, which would border and be accessible to both Israeli West Jerusalem and Arab East Jerusalem, could be run jointly be the two states. It could have a purely functional municipal government, dealing with only technical and bureaucratic matters (sanitation, traffic, etc) and a police force responsible only for "ordinary" crime prevention. The two countries could finance common services in the Old City, either on a. 50-50 basis, or whatever arrangement is worked out.
In political terms, for the Israelis and Palestinians who would actually live within the Old City, they would carry the passports of their respective countries, and be part of their country, in terms of sovereign- • ty. For the Jews, politically, the Old City will be an extension of Israel: they will be under Israeli law, could only be tried by Israeli courts, would pay Israeli taxes and -vote in Israeli elections. Visitors coming to the Old City, viaTsrael, could enter under an Israeli visa—for them, too, it would be part of the Israeli state. 1^
For the Palestinians, an identical status ^ would obtain, as part of their Palestinian nation and they would participate equally in the life of "Whatever new political entity would be set up east of Israel. Again, a Moslem pilgrim coming from, say, Iraq, would be able to enter the Old City, via the new state of Palestine, on that country's visa. .
This would not only satisfy the two actual nationalities involved (Israelis and Palestinians), but also the three major religions which have a stake in Jerusalem: for Jews anywhere, the, Israeli joint sovereignty/ '
would take care of their new needs; for Moslems (and even Christians), the Palestinians would be representative of, and safeguard, their religious rights.
If the two main contending parties — Israelis and Palestinians — could agree to such a compromise, the other Arab states would eventually also come to live with it; Syria and Egypt would in any case be again sovereign, whole entities, and even states like Iraq and Libya would have a hard time opposing something which their Palestinian brothers have accepted, since that is supposedly their main argument in rejecting Israel.
A genuine recognition of the existence of Israel within legal'boundaries; a realignment of Palestine-Jordan to create a genuine national state for the Palestinian people; the return to Syria and Egypt of all their lands, and a joint Israeli-Palestinian condominium over the Old City of Jerusalem — only if such a package, or something approximating it, can be voluntarily hammered out by all the parties involved, will the guns &ially fall silent in the Middle East.
Henry Srebrnik teaches Jewish studies and political science at Dawson College, Montreal.
Letter to the Editor
Whither S.
Dear Editor:
The result of the recent general election in South Africa spells in many ways the demise of Western-style democracy in that country.
What does all this portend for the South African Jewish community? Its basic instincts are that of freedom and democracy. Many thinking Jews have long since seen the writing on the wall and have emigrated to Israel, Australia, England and Canada. There has been a great brain drain, and it would be true to say that this not only applies to Jews.
Those Jews who remain, will, as hitherto, be engaged in commerce, industry, law, medicine, dentistry and the wholesale distributive trade. These constitute a considerable number. They, too, might be tempted
ewsr
to leave but are inhibited by the currency laws. Many, of course, live in the false world of German Jewry in the pre-Hitier era.
Anti-Semitism is not in any direct way apparent, and is certainly not part of government policy. There is, of course, as in many countries, a lunatic fringe who, now and then break out with some anti-Jewish expressions, which have no impact on the man in the street.
The government has at all times been extremely helpful in the transfer of funds to Israel. It would be true to say that many Jews have voted in this election for the Nationalist Party of Prime Minister Vorster.
Quo Vadis??
J.Dwolatiky, WEDowdale, Ont.
Uncle Eliezer describes Hotzeh-Plotzeh scxiety
By Uncle EUezer ForJ.B.SALSBERG (First in a series)
Dear readers, as I told you before, I am not a professional writer. Whenever I undertake to fill the space of this column for a week or two, I do so only to help my overworked nephew, J.B. You will agree that it's the least an uncle can do for a favorite nephew. I'm sure that you would do the same.
Don't think that writing, for one like myself, is an easy job. To tell the truth, I go through hot-and-cold, as they used to say. each time I do it. First, I walk around in a daze for a few days before 1 actually write. What should 1 say. how should J say it and things like that are on my mind.
The night before I'm expected to deliver the manuscript (they call it "copy" in the paper) I hardly sleep. 1 wake up every hour of the night and find myself thinking of what I'm to put down on paper.
By the time I'm finished, 1 am both exhausted and fearful. Exhausted, because I am. I am just exhausted from it all. And I'm fearful because I get filled with doubts about what I've written and wonder what the editor and, especially J.B., will think of it.
So you may ask: if that's the case then why do I do it? The answer is that I do it out of the kindness of my heart. You also pay a price for being a nice guy; as they say. Believe me, one does. I wasn't bom yesterday and I have seen a lot and I havie long ago realized that being kind and considerate is not necessarily the most rewarding gift to be bom with.
But, on the other hand, not to be kind and not to be considerate of other people is ceirtainiy far lesis rewarding. Because at the end of it all (you know what I mean) it's far better and far more rewarding, at least for the survivors, for people to say that he or she was a kind and considerate person than to ha/e people say that he or she was an unkind andrinconsiderate person--in short, a chazer.
I'm sorry, my dear readers, for spending so much time and, more importantly, space on my personal philosophies. It only goes to show that a long-winded talker, eVen a clever one, cannot, necessarily, be a good columnist , A columnist has to be able, to write briefly and to the point, otherwise he will run out of space and maybe out of readers as well. So let's get back to what I began with.
What 1 begaii to say was that though I'm not a writer I agree, occasionally, to
write a column or two to help my nephew, J.B., who is determined never to miss a week and not to disappoint his loyal readers. So, when he has to go abroad (usually to Israel) or when we, his family and friends, feel that he needs a vacation to protect his health, it is at such times that 1 offer to help him by writing for him. I'm very pleased that he always accepts my offer enthusiastically. It shows that he has confidence in me.
But this time I'm writing.not because he is more tired than uisual and not because he is about to leave for Israel. It is due to another reason entirely. Here it is.
About a year and a half ago I wrote . three columns about the trials tmd tribulations of two landsmanshafteh — the Hotzehr Young Men's Society and the Plotzehr Mutual Benefit Society. Those columns got me into hot water with some of my society friends, but I figured that it was worthwhile. After all, you can't please everybody all the time.
My nephew and I agreed then to continue reporting on the saga, as he calls it, of the Hotzeh-Plotzeh society. But this agreement, like other good decisions, was not lived up to. As a result, I found myself in a real crisis. Here is the crisis that I refer to.
As all readers of this column know I am actually the founding member (as' they would say) of the exclusive Thursday night steambath group that gets together in our favorite shwitz every Thursday night, rain or shine. We are aU good friends and, you might say, not of the mn-of-the-mill people.
We are not snobs, but we like our ovra kind. We have such remarkable people as Meiidle, who knows what's what and who understands the small print, if you know what I mean. And we have my good friend Sam, who knows everything that happens inside and around the Jewish encampment on Bathurst Street and its environs almost as well as I do, myself.
Well, they all helped in gathering the information of the Hotzeh-Plotzeh society and they feel like co-authors, so to speak. Lately they began complaining that they are thinldng of giving up their work. "What's the use," said Mendle, "of us carrying around important material on the life and times of the landmanshaften if we can't use it?"
I felt that they were right and told my nephew that either we resume^^ our reporting to the readers or the project will just die. J;B. realized that my friends and I had a good cause and he offered me the next few columns to report on the recurring problems of the amalgamated society of the Hotzer and the Plotzer. That's why I am writing this. Now you know it all.
Gevalt, am I long-windedl Iknpw that I am mniiing out of space and I haven't e"ven startedrlSj, dear readers, have patience and remember that I'm not a professional.
Next week we will really get going. My friends and I will appreciate h you return to this space next week.