Page 4 - The Canadian Jewish N6ws, Friday, September 13, r974
Editorial
An independent Community Newspaper serving as a forum for diverse viewpoints.
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VOL. IX, NO. 87 (812)
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Egypt bankrupt before war
Pray for a prospering economy lest Sadat initiates a war again
Jews everywhere shouldpray that Egypt continues to en)oy economic prosperity; Stagnation, in the Egyptian economy might tempt President Sadat to repeat his tactic of last October and plunge the Middle East into war,.
: President.Sadat stands condemned in the eves of decent human beings for the reprehensible policv of starting a war because, in his own words, "our economic situation reached zero point." This is the reasoning of a man lacking the qualities for responsible leadership. Lacking too, is all sense ot humanity. President Sadat said he had no alternative but to go to war, that had Egypt not done so the population would not have its daily loaf of bread. ^
. The '^madness of this sort of thinking IS highlighted by the fact that long before the October war. Egypt was spending $250 million a. month on its army. Enough to balance the most desperate budget; But the Yom Kippur War, fought for economic reasons.and little else, paidoff for President Sadat. Arab and other nations poured millions into Egypt's coffers in the immediate postwar period. Never mind that the balance sheet is splashed with blood; that thousands of men, Israelis, Egyptians, Syrians, died; that thousands more were crippled.
What kind of peace is possible with a nation so morally bankrupt? How much reliance can Israel placem the signature of a Sadat on a peace, treaty? About
as much-reliance as Israel has in the good faith of a United Nations top heavy with Arab supporters.
The shocking disclosure that hestarted, a war because his country was nearly bankrupt, puts the.Egyptian president in the same category as those rulers who long ago cared so little for .the lives of their people that they sacrificed them in senseless wars. What is frightening is that President Sadat has no qualms about what he did. To his twisted thinking, send-: ing thousands of men to certain death was a small., insignificant price to pay in the . ' overall scheme of things.-
The Israelis have learned a lesson they will never forget; that if they are to survive as a nation there must be no relaxation of vigilance, no letdown.in their state of preparedness;. And we in the Diaspora must face up to the grim fact that the. support we give, to Israel must continue unabated :year bv year until a brighter day dawns for that tiny,.embattled outpost Df civilization.
To do less is to break faith with those who died in defense of their homeland. The next few months iLkelvwilltellwheth-er. the peace that is not really a peace IS to continue, or whether another bloody conflict IS inevitable. Meanwhile,, the Syrian war machine is cranking up for what may be another attempt to wrest the Golan Heights from Israel's.grasp.
USSR increases Palestinian links fearing to lose diplomatic war
U.S. Secretary of state Henry Kissinger: who has enioved success in arranging workable disengagement accords on the Smai and Golan fronts; believes in tackling easier problems^ first before moving forward to the more difficult ones.
Within the context of the tangled Arab-: Israeli conflict, Kissinger obviously feels, that it is far less difficult to solve the dispute between Israel. Egypt and Syria than It IS to resolve the gnawing and incredibly complex matter of the dis^ .possessed, bitter Palestinians
In spite of. his accomplishments in Jerusalem, Cairo and Damascus, Kissing-: er knows that a durable peace in the Middle East cannot come about without the, explicit approval of his country and that of the Soviet Union, is.just apipedream.
What is.the feeling in Washington and Moscow regarding the idea of a Palestinian state"'
Some weeks ago, the U.S^ informed Israeli diplomats in Washington that it had no interest, in seeing a separate
. Palestinian state set up on: the West Bank or in the Gaza Strip. The state depart-
■ ment is of the opinion that a Palestinian state would become a bastion of pro-Soviet or even pro^Ghinese :sentiment' in. a region that it is considered a predominately Western sphere of influence.. Another reason why the U.S. does not support the creation of a Palestinian state IS that it : would cause fear and uncertainty in Israel, and Jordan—both of which are important clients of Washington^-.
Israel, the target, of Palestinian raids and rhetoric, has never recognized the notion of Palestinian nationalism. Its policy on the Palestinians was recently elucidiated by Premier Rabin: "The peace will be founded on th» existence of two independent states only— Israel with united Jerusaleih as its capital, and a Jordanian-Palestinian state, east of Israel, within borders to be determined in negotiations between Israel and Jordan.. This state will provide for expression-ef the self-identity of the Palestinians . . ,
Jordan's opposition . to a Palestinian state is based on the assumpfion that such a state can only be established on the West Bank, an area to which Amman
lays claim. King Hussein, whose wrath-: . ful army massacred hundreds and pos- ., sibly thousands of Palestinians in.i970-1971, IS also fearful that a West Bank - state would attempt- to undermine the legitimacy of the Hashemite Kingdom, -Despite U.S. opposition to a Palestinian state, Washington has repeatedly told-the> Israelis --and, to a lesser extent, the • Jordanians — that: the Palestinian ques-. tion should not be ignored and. that the-Palestinians' "legitimate interests" must. .be taken into, account. Washington's over-, all view.IS that the Palestinian problem ; . must be resolved within the .framework ; of an Israeli-Jordanian settlement.
■The Soviets have not been-as ambigu-' ous as the Americans on a Palestinian state, but neither have they been very keen, in public at least, about the Pales-tinian/guernlla-movement; . . ; Although Moscow; an avowed partisan of the Arab cause, hasoften branded the Israelis as Nazis andaccused them of imperialism, militarism and expansionism, the Soviet. Union is not committed to the destruction of .Israel;. Until .the Six Day War, the Soviets had an embassy in Tel AviV; There IS talk-that Israel and Russia .may. soon re-establish diplomatic ■ relations. . -■
■ Moscow sees no contradiction:between supporting Israel's right; to sovereignty . and independence and embracing the. Palestine Liberation Organization. The So- • viets are definitely committed to a total Israeli withdrawal from ..the occupied Arab lands, . but whether they are in . favour of. returning the West Bank to Jordan rather than the PLO remains to be : seen.-
Cognizant of the diplomatic ground they have lost to the U.S., the Soviets are terribly concerned that if they do not pay lip service to the Palestiniansjheir pos-ture-^n-the. Middle East will be further undermined by the Americans or the . dreaded Chinese.'
.Last month, in. one of the. first moves ■ since the Yom Kippur War to strengthen their links with the guerrillas, the Soviets permitted the PLO to open an office in .:. Moscow, and dispatched new weapons and ;-military equipment to the Palestinians.
The arrest of Greek Catholic Archbishop HUarion Capucci of Jerus^^^ on siispicictn of subversive activity has sparked a growing internatioiial controversy. (IPPA ..photo)
Producer-directdr Otto Preminger, last in the motit^ii picture.
Exodus, has returned to the Holy Land to shoot a new film entitled Rosebud, (IPPA)
What Really Happened
Canadian history in tet^
By a; J, arnold (First of a Series)
if jam-.
Comparisons are often made between Canadian and U.S. Jews and it is suggested, that Canadian Jewry IS merely an extension of the much larger American Jewish community. A careful examination of the. .historical background of the-Jews in the countries does, show some similiarites. brings out'basic differences. :
In the. U.S.; - for example, the Jews celebrated. their tercentenary in 1954. while in. Canada the bicentenary of Jew-
God's powers but Jews can ask
A. J. Arnold
but also
ish settleriient was celebrated in 1959, Jews seeking to. escape the Ihqiiisition were first able to se.ttle in the American colonies in the mid-l'i?th century .when New ;York was still New Amsterdam, ruled by the Netherlands. When the .British displaced the Dutch, opportunities expanded for Jews in the: colonies. ■
In Canada.^ori the other hand, Jews were officially barred frbm: settlement, along, with: other non-Catholics, during the entire period of the French colonial regime. That is why the first permanent Jewish settlers did not arrive in Canada -until the second half of the 18th century. ■
American Je:wish history has been divided inip. three periods,- corresponding to three different waves of immigration. First there ■ Was the Spanish wave, from 1654 to 1725, then the German-Polish wave, from 1725 to i880, and finally the
^Synagogues bive been featured in a recent series of stamps* from Israel. From left are The Old Synagogue, Cracow; The Great Synagogue, Tunis, and Amsterdam's Great Synagogue,
Dear Editor:
. - I read with great interest .Mr. J.B. Salsberg's article regarding "the disturbing thoughts'6fTtre~Lubavitcher mitz-- vah campaign."
- Regarding this article, one cannot help but see the warmth and respect that Mr Salsberg has for authentic Judaism.
However, with.due respect to Mr. Salsberg, I would like.to take issue with the conclusion he has reached regarding the element of protectioninherent in the mltz-vah of mezuzah.
Most of. my relatives that perished in the Holocaust had kosher mezuzahs, as : well as no doubt had -Mr: Salsberg's saintly grafidmother. They have put mezuzahs on their doorpost not only because of .protection, but because it-was G-d's command- '1 would join Mr. Salsberg in arguing with G-dandquestioning him why he did allow the Holocaust. By questioning G-d, we firstly-admit his existence; and .'ccondly his unlimited powers, v ^ . A Jew may ask "why", and I am sure that: hisr^aintly grandmother as well as my relativesdid ask "why", but at the same, time adhered to G-d's mitzvoths and commands to its finest pomts:- -
From Mr, Salsberg's article it is clear that^ he understands the need for the mezuzah, his obiections are only to the methods. : .
I am sure that many readers of ;Mr. Salsberg's article will.see his positive thoughts about the mezuzah campaign, and his obiections to the methods will not deter them from the fulfilment of this mitzvah as well as others,
A. S. Amminadav, Toronto
Dear Editor:
Some of my best friends were born Jews. We: have mutual respect for religious and other differences. It is not
whether one is blue-eyed, blonde or dark-skinned; We do hot seek cohverts; we respect one another for what we are.
So your big black headlines on two pages on Aug. 9 are most obnoxious Catholic plans cohversipn, -Such gloating with blow by blOw reports on a disenchanted young man's intent to be-. conie a Jew! i:.'-:. : '■■V;-:-; ^:.-■ ^.v.
Would Jews like Christian papers to print similar articles on Jews who marry Christians, convert or. detailed disillusionment with Judaism? -Or gloat oyer the conversion from Judaism of the Rev. Gregory Baum, now a great Catholic theologian who did not appreciate his Jewish birth and heritage?.
Surely, for 2,000 years we have made too much of religious differences. Has any religion really been tried sincerely in practice?- Should Christians gloat over 4,000 years of the sanguinary history of Jews, replete with civil wars, murders and the inter-conimunal strife?.How much better for all religions to convert their own nominal membiers to sincerity. ;
It is (or was) an admirable feature of the Jews to discourage converts based on the beautiful philosophy that the righteous of all nations will share the world to come, whereas Jews were a "chosen" raCe,; selec.ted for setting a good example to all others and teaching them. How sad, then, that so many Jews ignore, this and are become indistinguishable from the ignorant liniasses of the world.
Surely it would be better not to seek converts but concentrate on the. only justification for remaining a people apart — being an example to all other people and teaching them the right way ot life.
Hariiish O'Coin, West Hill, Dot.
Russian wave, from 1880 onward-Very fe;w Jews from the fi:rst. two immigrant waves ended up. in Canada. To draw an analogy, we may imagine our-; selves standing on an ocean beach watch-: ing the tide roll, in; Each waves rolls a little higher up the shore, and at the highest point a bit of flotsam may be; deposits
- ed; but the next wave washes it out to sea again. That's what happened to. Jews
-trying to reach Canada in the- first im-■ migration period, -r.■ ■
In the second period, we are back on' . the beach watching a stronger tide; The ,. waves flow in further and deposit some twigs and even a few logs that finally > : V get ieft behind: That's how the first;
hundred: Jews came to settle in Ckada . after 1759. J/-: ^, . -: It Was not until the third period how- . -;, ever, after 1880, that, the number of Jews reaching' Ca,nada became a large part of the immigration tidal wave to . America. . .. .v\
A few years ago Dr. Jacob Marcus, • director of the American Jewish Archives, gave an address on the "Quintessential , American Jew." He suggested that for . the three periods of US: Jewish history, it is possible to "pinpoint one man in each : period as its quintessential personality;" ;
Canadian Jewish history cannot really . . be treated in the same manner. Nevertheless, in-considering Dr. Marcus' sym-\ bolic "quintessentia 1" personalities, it seems possible to suggest a Canadian. '} "cousin" for each; .
' Haym Levy, for example, Dr. Marcus' : ; first choice, settled in New York in the 1740s, became a merchant, went bankrupt in the war of the American revolution, recouped his position and served as presi-.,
• dent of New York's Sephardic congrega-:: tion for six terms. Haym Levy's Canadian
"cousin" is obviously Aaron Hart, founder of Canada'sfirst Jewish family. They came from similar European backgrounds and
- Hart knew Levy well describing him in a letter as an "auld achventance."
Dr. Marcus' second choice,' Sigmund Schlesinger, arrived in the U;S. from Hungary, wandered for a few years, settled in Cleveland by 1870, and became a sue- :-cessful businessman and Jewish commun-; ity leader., Schlesinger's Canadian "cou--sin" could be George Frankfurter, who came to the U:S. from Germany in the 1870s andlfter some wand.ering settled ^ in Winnipeg about 1879, becoming a merchant and cpnlmunity leader. .-^ The third period choice for the U,S, is Aaron a Russian-Jewish dirt-farmer, dri-
• -, ven off the land by the May laws of 1882.
After trying New York, he peddled his way to Pittsburgh and beyond, eventually returning to the ('Steel City" to become a respected citizen. Aaron has many Canadian "cousins" who tried Montreal or ' Toronto first, then heeded the caU of the west, and after peddling or shopkeeping in smaller centres settled in Winnipeg, , Calgary or Edmonton, or later nioved on to Vancouver. . :---:^:^-.^:,,-'.-''
; Do.not despair, dear, readers. This is not merely a Canadian-U.S. "cousins" game. It is rather intended as an intro-
duction to a new series oh founding Jewish, families across Canada. Some of the families to be considered will be the Harts of Three Rivers and Montreal, (Evelyn Miller, please note); the.Samuels of Toronto, Jhe Frankifurters of Winnipeg and the Oppehheimers- of Vancouver, air of whom settled in -Canada before Confeder-'ation. :
Copyright A.J. Arnold, 1974
to p0i;icipdte
m
service
1. ts it permissible for a rabbi to participate in ah interdenominational church service on some state or civic oc-■,;cation (that is by reading a Psalrh or from some other acceptable Jewish source)?
What objections can there be to a rabbi participating in such an interdenominational service? He is there as a representative of Judaism so, that his partici^ patibn can in no yyay be. construed as an acceptance in the slightest degree of the teachi rigs ■ of Christ iani ty. The prob I em which bothers niany is vyhen the service takes place in a church: Now it is perfectly true that Jewish law is very strict on the question of entering a place in which idols are worshipped. : But whatever the views of medieval teachers. .(a good history of these and nnore recent views is to be found in-Jacob Katz's Exclusiveness and Tolerance), the generally accepted opipipn in the classical sources is that Christianity, while considered to be "idolatry" so far as Jews are concerned, is not idolatry for Gen-' tiles, i.e. according to the Torah for Gentiles (the "seven laws of the sons of Noah") a Gentile is committing no wrong by beinga Christian and, oh the contrary, his religion brings him nearer to God.
It follows that much of the opposition to entering a place in which idols are ,■ worshipped does not apply to a church. I arrt fully aware that nriany, perhaps most Orthodox rabbis would take a stricter line; but even the chief rabbis in Britain have attended church services and though they have only done so on state occasions there is no logical reason for distinguishing between these occasions and tlie one you mention. ;
Copyright JONS. 1974 ■