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By MARK MEDICOFF CJN Quebec Bureau Chiefs
MONTREAL-
The QuebecTJewish cotn-muntty was advised last week riiot to irequest any__specific language policy statement ~from^the Ganadian Jewish Congress until the Bburassa ""government makes its position on language rights known in the National Assembly;
Respondiig to the language controversy currently, re-: ceiving wide attentibn in the province^ thie Congress held a puislic meeting at Bronfman House to assess the reaction of the Jewish community.
French is to be declared the official lainguage- 6f Que-beic, . according, to Premier Boiirassa's stateriient in the legislature, but he avoided touching oh the highly emo-: tionalafcrid controversial aspect of the language; issue; whether the governnoieht plans to curtail or abolish the' existing right of parents to- choose between French andEnglish schools.
,According.to McGiii Law Professor Perry Meyer, a national .officer, no official statement bias been issued by Quebec . "only alleged newspaper leaks. . " We dpn't know what we're reacting against, or what the problem is. We'llbe in a better position once things are more concrete,'' .he told the audience;
In recent weeks, newspaper accounts have reported that the Quebec government intends to repeal Bill 63, the act which permits parents to choose the language of instruction for their children.
■ Leaked newspaper stories suggest the government intends to use a language examination to "persuade" new immigrants to 'accept French as their adopted language.
The mood among English speaking Quebec ers and the Jewish community on language uncertainties is apprehension. A- more militant stance among some French language groups and school associations ; is being expressed in. the jprovince. ,
In briefs submitted to the Gendron Commission (on language), and the original Bill 63 commission, Meyer said Congress' position is in favor of a language choice. ■ Meyer modified his comments, however, with "up to now," since a more radical approach is being expressed by. the Congress' French Committee, in favor of Que-becois aspirations. '
"But we don't have any reason to do something flamboyant," he added, "and if we do, we'll only be saitis-fying our; own internal neieds."
^Man of many faces'
Kissinger is accuse of two-faced actio
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24 Pages-. Friday, March 22,1974 Adar28,5734
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JERUSALEM (JTA) -
A prominent American political scientist accused Sec-~retary of State Henry A. Kis-'&ingerof:_ two-faced diplomacy and warned here last -week that the U.S. is moving, ^ from a position of-unqualii. fied-support for Israel, to one_ increasingly aimed at regaining its influence in the Arab world!
Pi-iaf. Hans Morgenthau, of the University of Chicago and . City University of New York, spoke at an international relations seminar marking the dedication; of the Hebrew University's Leonard Davis Institute for International Relations. ■
The same forum was addressed by Premier Golda Meir and Deputy Premier Yigal AUon.
Prof; Morgenthau, who has frequently expressed the view that the U.S: was giving up more than it gets for the sake of detente with the So-
viet Union, characterized Kissinger as "a man of many faces" like Homer's Odysseus. Hfi^said Kissinger is able to transform himself in
- every-capitalJnto a friend of that country; But there is danger in such diplomacy
■"that it may collapse should the various countries ever compare notes,'' Prof. Morgenthau said..
Speaking at the same symposium earlier, Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Dayan described Kissinger as "the best diplomat in the world." Allon referred to the tense situation on. the Syrian front and took the occasion to warn Damascus that a resump-: tion of hostilities on its part : would hbtdislodge Israel or endanger ■ Israel's security but "would jeopardize .the efforts to reach adisengage-" ment agreement.'' If Israel is faced with extrerne demands, Syria will find. it im -movable and no solution will
be advanced, he said.
Premier Meir said earlier that Israel would part with the Syrian territol7 it captured in the Yom Kippur War as part of a disengagemjent accord butlvould never^give up the Golan- Heights cap--.
. tured in 1967. Israel's retention of the heights is its only security guaranteie in
: the north, she said.
Discussing Soviet policy, Mrs. Meir contended thatv
•while Moscow did not want global war or even the destruction of Israel, its aim in ■ the Middle East iS' a continuing state of no peace. Nothing is impossible in Soviet ideology, she said, "they are far from idealism." She^ did not think the Russians were encouraging Syria. to
■ reach a disengagement
; agreement with Israel along the Egyptian pattern. She expressed doubt that any accord could have been reach-' ed with. Egypt if the.Soviets had had a hand in it.
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SERVIETTES SERVE SOVIET JWRY
Shown looking at a'blowup of serviettes being sold by thiNa(ipnal Council of Jewish Women, Toronto Section^ areieft to right, Mrs. Clare
Goodman with son Drpmy, i|, Mrs. Anita Tyber and'Donna Kapisn. Proceeds will support Soviet fewry. See story page 3. (Ei-Baz photo)
By SHELDON KIRSHNER
TORONTO-
A prominent.executive member of the Jewish Agency warned last week that Israel faces exceedingly difficult political apd public ne-latiohs problems in the months and:perhaps years to cbme.
Avraham .Schehker, the Brooklyn-born chairman of the powerful Department of Information. and Organization, told ah overflowing
crowd at Zionist headquarters here that world Jewry should prepare itself for a series of political "shocks" whose reyerberatioiis will: test Israel's strength.as a nation.
Schenker, a Mapam party member, writ^randteacher, spoke on "Israel's Struggle for World Opinion" at a meeting sponsored by the Canadian Zionist; Federa:-tion's Central Region.
Asserting that public opinion is generally uniware of
the inescapable link between . Jewry and the land of Israel, Schenker said "the world forgets our deep-rooted historical and. religious connection to Israel;". ?
Wondering out loud whether the Israelis are reially an integral part of the Middle East, Schenker said "our problem is that we don't see it that way, we still think we're in Europe." ^
He added it was the fate' of the Israelis to live with the Arabs ~ "they won't
entitled Letter From The Front thie. first time it has been screened in Canada:
Omverted
From our Quebec Bureau
MONTREAL-
The Quebec Court of Appeal has ruled that a non-Jewish, divorced woman may retain custody of her six^year-old daughter who was born into the j;ewish faith but who subsequently was converted. to Catholicism.
The woman converted to Judaism ujwn her marriage, but reverteid to.Catholicism after her divorce, in-, September, 1971. The ex-husband claimed inlow^ er court that the mother had violatedji_promise to raise the child in the Jewish faith and had breached his visitation rights. ^
But the lower court said there was no proof that this had occurred, and the Court of Appeal to which the plaintiff turned supported this view. Justice Claude Gagnon said that ailthough the father c 1 aimed he learned of the Catholic baptism in February, 1973, a year after it took place, he was fully aware that the child had been attending a Roman Catholic kihdergar-teii for two years.
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By DEBORAH LIGHTSTONE
MONTREAL -
' /, New nation-wide Israeli elections may be necessary in the foreseeable future. despite Prime Minister Meir's newly re-elected La- • bor government, a professor of law at Tel Aviv University told The Canadian Jewish News over the weekend.
"The testing-point for the Alignment's stability will come when negotiations begin on the West Barik territory ~ as a matter of fact, Golda Mejx i has; already
"promised the: National.Religious Party that before the future of the West Bank is determined, new state-wide elections w.ill definitely take place," said 37-year-old A-mps Shapira, '•:„,'
A regular contributor to the Israeli press, television and other public platforms on subjects of law, community affairs and politics, Shapira is In Canada for a cross -country two-yeek: lecture tour sponsored by the Canadian Zionist Federation. _,He Is first In anew "Scho-lars-In-Resldence" project! which alms , at., exposing knowledgeable Israeli academicians to a variety <A\ university, community and
'special interes lences. \
viet Union,. whom he accuses of "pliaying with fire. Grom-yko's recent Kissinger-style shuttle-diplomacy' between Cairo result
ing of losing control. V '' The American secretary of.state's Siiccess insofar as disengagement with .Egypt is concerned, has caused the Russians to quickly return to the area, thereby refusing to
disappear" -- and the soon- Federation, and former ma-er his fellow countrymen yor of Toronto,, said it was adopted this attitude, the bet- the duty of Jews to "stick ter. . .. together' '■ so long as Israel's
Schenker, deploring the political situation remained Israelis' general ignorance precarious:. of Arab history, urged his The meeting was preceded audience-to learn Moslem by a 15-minute color film history '-so that we can fight ^bout the Yom Kippur War back" in the "very serious • struggle", with the Islamic world.
"It's not: enough to love Is-. rael but to know the facts and respond intelligently to criticism," he said. • In.diisciissingthe enlarged role of the Gresat Powers in the Middle East, Schenker aisserted that, the "sooner we recogniz.e the; permanent presence of the Soviet Union in our area, the less dangerous it will be for us." : Touching on the detente ' between the U.S.; and the USSR; he claimed it is still. • unclear whether the recent thaw in Soviet-American relations "will be;at our ex-
TORONTO-
. A youth centre consisting of study, seminar rooms and dormitories is under construction in Jerusalem, according to an announcement made by Morris B. Kaufman and. Daniel Monsdh, presidents of the Zionist Organization of Canada Charitable Fund Inc. and Zionist Organization of Canada, respectively.
. The centre will be located in the Jerusalem Forest of the JudaeanHills, 10 minutes from the centre of Jerusalem . with a breathtaking view of -picturesque Ein Karem and the great Hadassah Medical Centre on the opposite hill.
It will consist of three blocks of dormitory buildings (in clusters of three inter-connected wings) and : one large seminar, library and meeting rooms building. ■ ■
Serving as home-base for-Young Judaea's Camp "Bil- ■ uim" Israel, it will accommodate.. 100' Canadian teenagers during the summer Tionths (July-August of each .year) and be available each year to Canadian students attending Israel universities from September to June.
The ZOC centre will be part of an already existing youth recreation centre in
the Jerusalem Forest and will have available all facilities of this recreation centre including: camping lots in forest clearances, stone lodges, lecture hall; dining hall, reading rooms, cafeteria, two swimming pools and sport grounds with courts for volleyball, basketball, handball and tennis.
The centre will.be owned and operated by the Zionist Organization of Canada Charitable Fund Inc., through its resident Israel committee, headed by Dr. Dov Joseph (honorary. . chairman) and Jarvis Freedmah, formerly of Ottawa.
The youth centre campaign will be launched officially with visits to Canadian cities by Dr. Dov Joseph in May . and Mayor Teddy Kollek of Jerusalem in June.
Montreal born Dr! Dov Joseph,, founder and first president of Canadian Young Judaea and one of the first Canadian olim to Israel has accepted thehonorarychair-manship of the youth.centre . project. ■■
Dr: Joseph, best known as • military governor of Jerusalem during the 1948/49 siege of Jerusalem, was a member of the first, second and third Knesset; served also in the Israeli cabi-
^ Dr. Dov Josei^h •;
nets as Minister of Justice; Minister of Supply and Ra-:tiohing; Minister of Agriculture; Minister of Transport and Communications; Minister of. Trade and Industry; Minister of Development and Minister of Health. Dr. Joseph also occupied several positions in the Jewish agency, including the treasurership.
Dr. Joseph mentioned that : he is particularly pleased to assist in this venture because Canadian Young Judaea will be the prime beneficiary of the youth centre building.
youngsters
By ESTHER MEHR
TORONTO -
More than 300 people turned out at Shaarei Shbmayim Synagogue last Saturday evening to share in the cele-.
Ijratioh of the symbolic cbni -. ing of age of four Russian boys. The event which took and Damascus is the pense. We must fight against .place 30 days after their cir-of the Russians' feel- that, and deal with this issue cumcisibn, was sponsored by ' ' ' in political and nbt emotion-
al terms. If we don't, we'll be. in for shocks." \
The speaker allowed that Israel's image in the eyes of the public throughout the world, including Eastiern Eii-r
rope, had greatly iniprpved
the Lubavitch organization and was a first for Toronto.
The boys — Steven Yan-kiyer, 12, Alexander Kur-gatnikov, 13, Kron Izaslav,: 14 and Naum Bespaly, 18, were redeemed in a: unique Pidyon HiBien ceremony,
•♦group aud-
Anibs Shapirar'
•Syria may: throw a spanner into the Geneva peace works, Shapira warned, discussing lisrael's relations with the various groups within the Arab camp.
In his view Syria's hardening of position and the recent military clashes with Israel may . dash Egypt's hopes of getting Syria to join her on the diplomatic road — a development which, from Egypt's point of ylew, is Imperative, since for Intra-Arab reasons she can-' not afford to be characterized as a dove, as the sole accommodating Arab nation. V Shapira places the responsibility for Syrla'is.renewed warmongering with the So-
let Kissinger run the show,"
he commented. ; , since the Yom Kippur War, whereby in accordance with
The post-war ^ national Vibut. explained that her dip- ^ancient Jewish tradition, the mood .Jn Israel, according lomatic position had deter- father buys back his son from to the professor, has flue- -lorated.:' 'Unfortunately govr service in thfe_priesthood to tuated from surprise, then—; emmlnts do' not. listen tb""^ which all first-born sons trauma, to a rnelancholy-de-. their, people;" he comment- ' are dedicated; tliis^s nor-presslon, and most current- ed. • ■ — T: , mally performed 30.days fol-
ly, to a feeling of Umbo: * ^^xtmg the oil companies; logins the circumcision of
"To some^'extent^we lost control, and we Ire still not masters of the situation ... -people are saying: let's wait
and see-......!'
But at the same time he emphasizes a fundamental change in attitude on the part of the academic community, both faculty and students, and of young people generally, :;:
"This unparalleled awakening, of direct and serious political participation within the framework ,pf real parties, hopefully may bring changes to the present party and election system,' 'A he .said. /
' :responsiblefoi^ manipulating "the energy crisis, Schenker said he was thankful world public opinion had
. so far not blamed It on Israel.
. He noted the woi-ld had acquired a "new language" for anti-Semitism antl-Zionism.
"Too many Jews! use this term without understanding .. it. They're falling Into a trap, not realizing that the issue Is Zionism— the right of the Jews to live in Israel."
In introducing the_ guest speaker totheaudlpnce, Philip Glvens,: national presl-;, dent of the Canadian Zionist
the newborn infant boy,'T The four young Russians ~ were tiitored. for their bar^ • ihltzvah by Lubavltcher Rabbi Ilia Llpskar, who told The Canadian Jewish News he was able to get the fundamental basics across to the boys In the short pierlod he had to work with them. " For the benefit of the ICQ Russians who attended, It was a trilingual evening.; Rabbi Irwin Witty, director of the Board of Jewish Education who chaired, the occar slon, spoke In Yiddish and English, with Rabbi Llpskar providing the Russian translation;
Rabbi David Schochet performs thejtraditional PidyonHaBen ceremony whereby the father redeems his son from the. priesthood, to which first-born males arededicated. The four young Russian newcomers who wer^ redeemed are.left to right, Naum Beispaly, 181 Kron Izaslav, 14; Alexander Kurgatnikov, 13; iind Steven Yankhrei;, 12. (Photo by Gadi Hoz)
■y.
Sharing the head table spotlight with the bar-mitz-vah boys were several rabbis and somf of the people responsible for organizing the affair, which was arranged by Jack Schwartz, who spoke eloquently of the historic significance of the evening's celebration.
In his address. Rabbi Im-manuel Schochet pointed 6tit
that eveii after six decades of suppression of Judaism in the Soviet Union,. these newcomers graphically illustrate that the "spiGirk of ttie Jewish soul cannot be
quenched. They come to us to celebrate with us in the religion of Israel and to seek a new spiritual dimension in their, lives. ; Tonight the tables are turned by these bpys and their parents de-' liyerlng a sermon by thielr very presence, telling us in the West that the most dangerous problem facing us is assimilation,'' he istated.
But the evening was any-. thing but solemn. There was rejoicing and dancing in the Chassidic tradition, led by /Rabbi Llpskar. Among the guests were James Walker, ^
Liberal MP for York Centre;-Vernon Singer, Liberal MPP for Downsview; Jack Israeli, Israel Bond chairman, and many leaders in the Jewish community.
; Entertainment was provided by Shaarei Shomaylm cantor^ Harold Klein, who rendered several songs in Hebrew and Yiddish, with a young group of musicians, the Trallbla«ers, tccom-panylng the dancers.
It was an eveniog onlike any other, and acconUof to Rabbi Llpskar, the firit of :many to come, i-v.:':;:-;'^'-r;:?;.
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