Page 4 ^ The Canadian Jewish News, Friday, March 26, 1976
Editorial
An independent Community Newspaper serving as a forum for diverse viewpoints. Directors:   Donald Carr, Q.C, George A Cohon, Murray B. Koffler, Albert J. Latner' Ray D. Wolfe.
Editor, Ralph Hyman Associate Editor, Lewis Levendel Advertising Manager, Douglas G. Gibson Production Manager, Gary Laforet Office Manager, Candace Carroll'
VOL. XVII, NO. 9 (89,3)
Published by The Canadian Jewish News
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The US . can irnpr(we Cairo ties
massive milttary assistance
Israel and American Jewry are up in ' arms over the news that' Washington intends to establish a military supply relationship with Egypt. Premier Yitzhak Rabin has accused his only ally of being a "catalyst" in the furious Middle East arms -race, and leaders of U.S. Jewish organizations have asserted in no uncertain terms that they are "most strenuously opposed" to the Ford administration's plan to lift the military embargo against Cairo. '
The uproar is caused not so much by the White House desire to sell six C-130 transport planes to Egypt, as by intended leaks that Mr. Ford plans to follow up this proposed sale with a range of such supposedly "non-lethal" weapons as transport helicopters, radio and communication equipment and mine detectors^
According to the Jerusalem Post, a newspaper close to the Israeli government. Washington has further — and far more dangerous — iritentions: a list is currently being' prepared that calls for selling Egypt modem war planes, anti-tank missiles and J-79 jet fighter engines.
Given America's growing interests in Egypt. Israel and her-supporters will be hard-pressed to persuade Gerald Ford and Henry Kissinger to cancel the pending multi-faceted deals. Similar efforts last year by pro-Israeli members of Congress to stop sales of Hawk anti-aircraft missiles to Jordan and jets to Saudi Arabia failed miserably.
In justifying the sale of weapons to Egypt. American officials employ nimble but basically fallacious arguments. Undersecretary of State- Joseph Sisco set the tone for the administration's apologetic defense when he said "there can not be an overall relationship with Egypt without considering this kind of (militarv) need."
Defence Secretarv' Donald Rumsfeld., in what must be a self-serving statement, added his support, too. "It is in Egjpt's interest...and in the interest of the Middle East in the broadest sense," he declared. And Robert Funseth. a State Department spokesman, summarized the American reasoning by telling reporters "it is clearly in oiir interest to assist him (President Anwar Sadat) in defending his policies of moderation against outside pressures."
Undoubtedly, the U.S. will be better able to marshal her arguments in favor of the sales following President Sadat's abrogation of the 1971 friendship treaty with the Soviet Union;
President Sadat's sudden announcement should make it easier for the Ford Administration to convince Congress to acquiesce to the opening of a militan.- sales relationship with Egypt. .According to the Americans. President Sadat is on the defensive in the Arab world as a result of the two Sinai disengagement accords, while the Rus^ sians are no longer providing his country with weaponr>'. Now is the time for the United States to step into the vacuum and drive a wedge between Egypt and the Soviet Union, the theor>-runs.
We say Washington can improve her ties with Cairo without massive military.' assistance. Contran.' to American proclamations, the developing U.S.-Egyptian connection wiij not collapse if Washington withholds sophisticated arms. The U.S. can consolidate her friendship with Eg\'pt without heating up the arms race.
Clearly, we do not oppose American cultivation of the Arab world. This has always been an inevitability. WTiat we do object to is Washington's apparent insistence that arms sales are synonymous with peace.
-east project
to
Seeking solutions to problems before they develop is a realistic approach which pays off in fewer headaches and delays and a considerable saving in money. A classic example of the old adage that an oiince of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure, is the North-East Jewish Commiinity Services project.
It became apparent several years ago that a significant move towards the northeast area of Metro was taking place within the Jewish commiinity. Young families, seeking relief from the high cost of housing and rental accommodation, were changing the traditional pattern of location by moving into areas where few, if any, Jewish families resided.
This branching out by a predominately youthful group, along with a goodly sprinkling of newcomers, alerted the Toronto Jewish Congress to potential problems and needs which it was felt would arise in the wake of this population shift. The need to bring the faijiilies into contact with what the Jewish religious, educational and recreational structiire has to offer was considered of prime imprortance by the Toronto Jewish Congress.
A mobile trailer located in a shopping
centre at Leslie and Dexter, was the physical evidence of the project. It Was, and is. manned bv volunteers , from the YM-YWHA and Jewish Family and Child Service. Here the north:east residents were able to obtain literature and see displays and audio-visual presentations-on what the community at large has to offer.
The success of the informational campaign designed to involve this important segment of the Jewish community, was evidenced on a recent weekerid when hundreds of families descended on the Thomhill Communit>- Centre on Ba\-view Avenue to get the full picture of the services available to them. Thirtv- organizations Joined forces to preisent a most impressive collection of pertinent material.
The response of the families was heartwarming to the organizations involved. The whole project reflects credit on Congress and its allies and demonstrates that no need goes without attention; The north-east project will continue its work with family life education and children's programs and the thrust of these and other activities w ill help to ensure that the Jewish way of life in this outlying community is hot lost bv default.
Guest Editorial
Canada fails to act in renouncing citizenship of Nazi war criminals
By BEN NOBLEMAN
The Canadian government has failed to take any action on a request by the Canadian Jewish Congress in May. 1975 to. renounce the citiizenship of 12 suspected Nazi war criminals presently residing in Canada. Simon Wiesenthal. head of the Jewish Documentation Centre for Nazi War Crimes in Vienna, reported the presence of the 12 suspected Nazi War criminals in Canada a few years ago. Several were reported to be living in the Toronto area. "
Congress believes the persons involved entered Canada legally within 10 years after the end of World War II. They served in the Nazi SS militia and are of Russian, Lithuanian. Rumanian and Hungarian extraction. A major stumbling block facing CJC in its efforts to have the federal gov- -ernmerit renounce, their citizenship, is that Hungary is the only country with which Canada has an extradition treaty.
There is a precedent for war criminals being deprived of their citizenship,
A typical example is the case of Mrs. Hermine Braunsteiner-Ryan, 55, a guard at the notorious Nazi concentration camp at Maidanek in Poland. She was deprived of her American citizenship and became the first United States resident to be extradjt-ed to West Germany — on the personal order of William Rogers, then U.S. secretary of state, in 1973. She is presentl^^ .on trial with five other women and nine nien in Dusseldorf, Germany in what m^y
well be the last major Nazi war crimes trial — complicity in at least 250.000 murders.
The interesting part of this stor>- is that Mrs. Braunsteiner-Ryan lived for a time in Canada after the war before going to the United States.
The laxity of Canada's immigration laws is clearly outlined by the fact that a person sentenced to prison in Vienna for Nazi War Crimes was able to enter Canada easily without detection. It is ob\'ious that Canadian immigration authorities made no effort to determine who Nazi or fascist criminals or sympathizers were among immigrants entering Canada after World War II. There may be hundreds, perhaps thousands of such immigrants, living in Canada.
Unfortunately; Canadian Jewish Congress leadership in the post-war period was not as militant as the current Ieadership.i»»^
A further example, of Canadian immigration laxity is a recent article iabout the assassination of Martin Luther King. James Earl Ray, the man sentenced to 9^ years in prison for the murder of King, lived in Toronto for severaUnonths before, his capture. He used as aliases the names of four actual Canadian citizens and later went to Europe with a passport in the name of one of the four. George Sneyd.
It is quite obvious that Canada's lax immigration laws rnust be overhauled and —.tightened to keep out criminal elements,,
Ben Nobleman, a York alderman, has long been active within the Canadian Jewish Congress^
museum
By JERRY FAIVISH
WARSAW —
The tjapie of the shiny_ white building at 79 Aleja Swierczewskiego is the Jewish Historical Institute; But while the history of the Jewish community in this country spans centuries, one sees very little of that here. What one can see are documents and photos and destruction. For it was the Holocaust which effectively ended the vigor and vitality of the Jewish communitj-in Poland. After all; before the war there were 3,500,000 Jews; by 1945 nearly 3.000,000 had been murdered. Qf course there are other things in the institute and museum, but the record of the Holocaust dominates them all.
That record began with a picture of the German invasion of Poland. On the troop train was written the mottO:"Wir fahren nach Polen um Jiiden za versohlen" — (We're going to Poland to kill Jews.) The rest of the exhibit proceeded to illustrate how they did just that, and how they accomplished that goal with the utmost efficiency and brutality.
First came the psychological step of humiliation —- the branding of stores, the branding of people. The ridicule of customs and beliefs followed- In the institute, this was illustrated by the photograph of Nazis laughing at a man whom they had forced to put on tefillen. while he stood barefoot in the snow, beside the sprawling dead bodies of his co-religionists. The next phase displaced by the exhibit was the banding of people" together— the "ghetto stage". A previous historical rule was to divide and conquer. But Hitler added another step which made it that much more devastating — group, then divide, then conquer.
One of the men who chronicled this stage in Warsaw was Emanuel Ringelblum, a historian and underground leader. During the war. he recorded information and even collected reports and evidence of what was happening in the ghetto, as well as encouraging and directing others to do the same. In March. 1944. the Gestapo discovered his activities and his hiding place and murdered Ringelblum and his family. Nevertheless, his work was not destroyed. A great deal of material which he had compiled and collected was put into large milk containers and buried. After the 'war, a number of these cans, but not all of them were recovered from the rubble and the ruins. Today, they are stored in the archives of the institute. They provide an eyewitness documentarj- account of life in the ghetto and a lesson which history should never forget.
But. his was just one of many acts of heroism. The exhibition depicts a great deal more, for that, too, was an important aspect of the Holocaust. One whole floor is dedicated to the people — ordinary, yet at the same time exceptional people whose spirits defied the guns, the bullets and the bombs. But eventually these herbes died. Bombs are stronger than mati, but only physically, not spiritually. WTiile the ghetto had been raised to the ground, the spirit of the people who fought in it had been raised to heaven.
Some of thdise honored included Josef Kowneir and Yitzhak Brauner-artists; Yitzhak Katzenelson — poet; Henn,-Goldschrnidt (better knowTi as Janui Korczak) — radio personality' and child leader who went to the gas chambers with his children; and Mprdechai Anielewicz —
community
ghetto fighter. The names and pictures go on and on. but it's still too short. One can n^ver list all those who deserve to be listed.        - ' :
But in Poland who remembers the Jews that died? A few tourists do, but the Jews who remain (about 6 — 8,000) are in the awkward position of never being able to forget, while atthe same time not trying to remember. They would like to think that the Holocaust was a nightmare which only existed in the 1940s, arid does not trouble them now. But that is not true. The HoIot caust destroyed Jewry in Poland. The comritunity that remains is not the seed of a ^reat rebirth or revival, but merely the decaying remnant of a disappearing past.
Indeed, the Jewish Historical Museum and the museum itself accurately symbolize this situation. The outside of the building is painted a pure white and tries to show how pleasant matters are in the institute, in Warsaw and in Poland. But orice inside, everything is murky, dark and black. For the Jews; that is the way it was years ago and that is the way it is now.
These are the papers of Emmanuel Ringblum housed in the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw. He chronicled the events of the Warsaw Ghetto before he was found by the Gestapo and murdered in 1944  Freelance writer Jerry Faiyish recently visited Institute.
He can soar higher than a Concorde'
^Every Jew should he an eagle-not a chicken ^
By RABBI MEW GOTTESMAN
Parshat Shmini/ Paisbat Hacbodesh/ Rosh Chodesh Nisan
Blfcrovy ehkadaish.. .through those who are close to Me will I be sanctified...
Anyone can pay for kosher chickens with a check or cash — but it takes Super Jew to be witling to pay with his life...
Once they placed a plate of chicken in frotit of the saintly Hidoshal Harim. He took one look and announced — "I can't eat this..." They checked carefully and discovered that the chicken wasn't kosher...
His chassidim marvelled at the rebbe's super-human powers, but he explained — "You could all do the same thing... All you have to do. is before you eat anything, say, 'If this is not kosher, I'd rather choke than swallow it...' Then, vou can always smell tndfBB... "
Every Jew should be ati eiagle. not a chickeii — not even a kosher chicken. If a Jew puts his future in the Ribono shel 01am. he can soar higher than a Concorde. Consider...when Moses declared the new month of Nisan, he said, "hacbodesh bazeh lachem...you Jews must count ever>-thihg by the moon, riot the sun...;' The Jews wondered, what are we, night owls?
But Moses explained — " we are not I'ke anyone else. Just like the moon has no light of its owri. but only shines if it's at the
proper angle from the sun, the same way, we Jews cannot be bright unless we're in the right orbit around G-d and His Torah. We can't do anything without Him..." (Ituray Torah)
If you look for G-d you.can find him — even on Finch Avenue. Once the saintly Rabbi Zusia of Anapoli came to a crossroads and didn't know which road to take. He looked long enough until he saw the Shalm Havayoh — the Ineffable Name
— hovering over one road; and then he knew which way to go...
But who sees holy visions on Bathurst Street? It's too crowded with billboards for Fruit of the Loom; A Jew has to make his own Kednsha. That's why .we find a strange thing... "Vayehl — and it was...bayQm hashmini — on the eighth day..." But our rabbis teach: wherever you see the word vayehi, it means something sad. But what's so sad about an eighth day
— it's not even Idi Amin's birthday?
Ah, but it teaches... No Jew should have an "eighth" day. What do I mean? Six days a Jew runs around without a head! busy, busy, picking up a little sin here, doing an avalroleh theire... But then comes Shabos, and if we observe it joyously and fully, presto! the slate is wiped clean and we're back to ?Iay one... But if a Jew is so busy skiing Saturday morning instead of hearing the Torah, then day piles on day. six. seven, eight, nine..; When will he ever dig himself out and draw close to the Ribono shel Olam? (Rabbi Chaim Meir of Vishnitz)
But what keeps a Jew from feeling shabbos? A Jewish soul can't think straight when it's coated with traifus. A Jewish neshama is as delicate as a Stradavarius — how can it play sweetly wheti it's stuffed with pepperoni pizza., snails, chop suey chuleht and other n'valliis?
Once Jews were crossing a bridge and they saw a Russiaii soldier leaning over despondently. Sure enough, he was'Jewish also. "We just got a new division commander," he explained, "who insists
that all the Jewish soldiers eat pork." But it's a matter of liife and death," they consoled htm, "he'll shoot you otherwise." The soldier looked at them morosely — "But what good is it if I let my nesharna become (amai — unclean?" He jumped into the river and committed suicide..; Later, the Tzemach Tzedeck of Lubavitch praised the unknown soldier for the purity of his spirit...
A man ow ned a flower shop on Avenue Road. Once he drove by the slaughterhouses on St. Clair and almost fainted from the smell. A few months later he lost his shop, and found a job — in the shlacht-hoise itself. The first day he covered his nose, the second day...well, he endured it a bit better. In a few weeks, he walked in and almost welcomed the powerful scent. (Chofetz Chaim)
But those who still tended the roses knew better. Shabbat Shalom and a Gutten Chodesh.
Standard prayers for graveside
/. Why are the graveside standard prayers only for blood relatives?
It is well-known that the seven relatives for whom there is shiva and the other rites of mourning are: mother and father, children, brother and sister, husband and wife. You must have been consulting the wrong order of service, copyright JONS, 1976
Fiery scholar. Rabbi Solomon Sch^
around turn of century
Landmark Events In Our History
By ROCHELLE CARR
It was the last week in March, 1903. A flurry of activity enveloped all those (like the philanthropist. Jacob Schiff) who were connected with the Jewish Theological Seminary. In an attempt to meet the updated needs of the Seminary, it would be moved the following month to a new building located on 123rd Street in New York.
Probably no one was more ecstatic at this latest development than the Seminary's new president, Solomon Schechter.
From this position of leadership, Sche-chtcrnot only set-thc seminary on a path toward-increasing accompfishments, but he also profoundly affected American Jewish life — particularly what came to be referred to as Conservative Judaism.
Schechter's successes were no surprise to those who'h'ad followed the red-haired, red-bearded -{with, sometiriies, a fiery temper to match) scholar's-life in Europe. Indeed, almost from the time he was-bom in the Rumanian village of Foscani in 1849 to Isaac and Chiaia Schechter, the learned in the community recognized his aptitude for scholarship.
After studies in various parts of the continent, a one-year marriage, that ended in divorce and his ordination as a rabbi, he was persuaded by the; affluent, young, English, Jewish scholar, Qaude Goldsmid Montefiore, to leave for England,
His work oil the Geniza findings, which included sorting the thousands of fragments that had been shipped back to Cambridge and his scholarly articles on the , findings, were rewarded by an honorary degree conferred on him by the Senate of Cambridge University and world-wide recognition.
It was about this time that he received a call from America and left for his new post with his second wife, Matilda Roth, and their three children. America, he believed, was to be the new fortress for the gix)wth
and strengthening of Judaism..
Now the scholar spent his time heading the seminary and giving lectiires there and at other institutions of higher learning, speaking before Christian and Jewish groups, fightirig for the Zionist caiise (his twin brother, Israel, was one of the earliest colonists in Palestine arriving in 1882) and strengthening Conservative Judaism.
On Nov. 20. 1915. Schechter took ill. He was always the scholar. Even as he died, he was in the midst of reading a book.
Letters to the Editor
Rabbi Solomon Schecter - a U.S. giant.
For a tjme he did some teaching, much _writing and even more arguing within a group that called itsetf the "Wanderers" and included such other learned Jewish luminaries as the writer, Israel Zangwill, the editor of the Jewish Chronicle, Asher Myers and the scholar, Israel Abrahams.
At last, all the wisdom stored up in that massive frame had the opportunity toTburst forth.
After being accepted to lecture at Cambridge University* he convinced the authorities that there were ancient fragments hidden in an old synagogue in Cairo in the archives siection known as the Geniza. In 1896; the university gave him permission to follow his hunch. The find was even greater than Schechter's wildest dreams.
Dear Editor:
I read with amusement Moura Wolpert's review of the recent Hamilton Max Rotman Humanitarian Youth Award; amusement because of the ch^-beating by some that so few Jewish young people were nominated for this meritorious service award. I agree with Hariiilton Federation president Albert Foreman_that th^re are probably a goodly number of Jewish younger persons who are quietly serving their fellow man.
Suggestions for nominations for the niost part are communicated by agency directors, clergy, and other heads of service organizations. It may be that those in a position of leadership in the Hamilton Jewish organizations are not communicating as well as those in similar polsitioiis in other cultures. It must be remembered, too, that the Hamilton Jewish community is but 1% of the total Hamilton population. I seem to recall that since the inception of the award
seven years ago. at least one Jewish young man received it. I think that you will agree that this is hot a bad average.
The Max Rotman Humanitariain award was founded" l>y Max Rotman's widow Stella, Hamilton Mayor-Victor K. Copps ^d myself shortly after Max Rotman's untimely death. I seem to recall that the preamble to the award reads something like this to be presented to the Hamil--ton young person who has done the most forotbers in the Hamilton area in the past year —".This may apply to Christians or Je\ys or to a member of any religious faith, and is very much within the framework of Max Rotman's own personal philosophy; indeed, he was beloved by all and he would have been the last person to care whether the recipient was white, black or yellow.
W. "Bid" Stem, fonnerdlrectiir, Hamilton Comicll of Jewish Orgwiizations.