1V 1.
The Canadian Jewish News, Friday, Feb. 23, 1973-Page 5
Opinion
Thmtre cmsonhip cmtKwmy
By NECHEMIA MEYERS
The current controversy over the abolition of theatre censorship in Israel is clearly a case of much ado about nothing. In its 25 years of existence^ the censorship board has banned -precisely two plays. Saved, by the British ^author Edward Bond,; was vetoed 10 years^ago because it depicted _Jhe on-stage murder of infants. Friends Talk About Jesus, by Tel Aviv playwright Amos Kenan, was blacklisted last year for its alleged affronts to Christianity, though its defenders claim that Kenan was aiming his savage satire less at Jesus and Mary than at the Israeli establishment.
Be that as it may, Kenan has found a warm supporter in Deputy Premier and Education Minister Yigal Allon, who is very much a member of that establishment. First his ministry provided grants to cover part of the play's production costs and then, following the ban, Allon suggested the total elimination of theatre censorship. His proposal was supported by a majority of the cabinet despite opposition by Prime Minister Golda Meir and representatives of the National Religious Party. It will probably also get through the Knesset, where the parties are allowing their members a free vote.
Whatever happens, the censorship board, headed by a mild-mannered, liberal-minded civil servant, will in any case continue to review films, of which it bans from 10 to 15 each year, while limiting others to adult audiences. Quite apart from those films which are actually blacklisted, the board's firm policies undoubtedly dissuade distributors from bringing in hundreds of porno flicks.
Yigal AHon
U. Bruveris
Arab films, which have been imported into Israel since the Six Day War, create no problems for the censors. An occasional belly dance, their most erotic feature, cannot compete with rape scenes from such films as A Clockwork Orange or Straw Dogs, both now showing in Tel Aviv.
But the .increasing popularity of belly-dancing epics from Arab countries-as well as films on the same level from Turkey, Iran, India and even Israel itself-highlights
a question far more serious than that of censorship. This trend shows, critics warn, that Israeli taste is becoming increasingly Levantine. -
In fact, there^s no such thing as "Isrjieli taste." The theatre is-a case in point. A half-dozen prestige companies present a rich variety of plays in all major cities as well as in outlying aTeas. On the boards this season are classics like The Iceman Cometh, The Skin of Our Teeth and Crime and Punishment, together with a number of recent Broadway hits by Neil Simon and others. Originar Israeli plays are frequent and frequently good. Some of the best are by Hanoch Levin, ••enfant terrible" of the local stage, whose Queen of the Bathtub, Hefez and Jacoby and Leindentahl are far sharper in their criticism of the Israeli establishment than anything offered by Amos Kenan, and at ' least as vitrioldc about Jewish womanhood as Philip Roth at his most misogynous.
But plays by O'Neill and Levin are seen by an educated minority. Most Israelis, particularly of -Orientar' origin, prefer broad humor and belly laughs, especially at the expense of •vus-vusim" (Yiddish-speaking Jews), who play the fool in these ethnic comedies.
Perhaps belly dancing films andbelly laugh comedies are. as some observers predict,. clear indications of a descent into Levantism. Still, it should be remembered that Jews from the Arabic-speaking countries came to Israel without any sort of theatrical tradition at all. As they go to the theatre, and learn to enjoy it, they may. eventually turn from broad ethnic comedies to O'Neill and Levin.
Some Yiddish flowers are blooming in the snow
.i>i
Leibel Basman and friends
By J.B. SALSBERG . ,
Devotees Of Yiddish will joyfully acclaim it as a miracle.
Skeptics will dismiss it as of no consequence.
The uncultured schizophrenics will shrug their shoulders andsav: "Who needs it?"
To those of us who view Jewish history not as a stahc series of unrelated events but who see it as a Intending, integrating and on-going process; to us the little bouquet of mid-winter' flowers that I have gathered from the snow-covered surrounding is full of cheer and, hopefully, also 6f.promise.
My viewis on the place and significance of Yiddish in Jewish life for the past 500 years or more have been presented in this space more than. once. I do not engage in long-term prognostications; there are too many imponderables to permit correct forecasts. For me,it is enough that Yiddish is and was from its origin, spme 800 years ago, a historic accomplishment of our people. There must have been good and substantial reasons for its
development. Our forefathers nourished it tenderly until it became the living instrument for Jewish expression and cultural achievement for the vast majority of Jews in the world during a long and turbulent period of our history.
Despite the catastrophies that befell European Jewry. Yiddish is still very much alive throughout the world. It refuses to die. Of late Yiddish receives loving attention ' from our most cultured, and hitherto non-Yiddish speaking sectors. More; our thoughtful youth, in search of its roots, reaches out to the language and cultural heritage of its forefathers-to Yiddish.
Here are some heart-warming developments that the Yiddish Committee of the Canadian Jewish Congress. Ontario Region, was able to report on recently:
1. Yiddish, as a credit course, is being taught now for the first time at the University of Toronto. Mazel Tov!
The registration for the initial class (for the 1972-3 school year) was very much larger than anticipated and two additional part-time teachers had to be found to meet the needs. Plans for the 1973-74 year are based on additional enrolment growth. Halevaih!
2. The Yiddish Drama Group, established by Congress' Yiddish Committee, made its debut with Peretz Hirshbein's Grine Felder (green fields) in the fall under the auspices of the prestigious St, Lawrence Centre of the Arts.
The same play will be staged again next week in the heai-t of Toronto's Jewish community and will be taken to Hamilton a few weieks later.
In recognition of its service, the drania group has received a sitialr government , grant to help jit bring authentic Yiddish dramatic works to all Jewish communities
in the province. Mitmazel.
3. For the second year, and to an increased enrolment, Yiddish literature is being taught (in English) at Toronto's York University. It is expected that York will soon expand its Yiddish teaching program.
4. Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology here is pioneering in the instruction of Yiddiish as a second language to enthusiastic members of the staff of the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care (the Toronto Jewish Home for the Aged) of whom the majority are non-Jews...
Leibel Basman, the veteran Yiddish pedagogue, was chosen by Seneca (on the recommendation of Baycrest) to be the instructor of the Yiddish course for staff members. And. miracles of miracles: non-Jews, natives of Canada, Jamaica, the Philippines. Barbados and European lands are voluntarily immersed in the study of Yiddish: (Uncle Eliezer; ••what blessing" does one offer for such a delight?")
Why do they do it? Because Yiddish is the dominant language in that institution and they want to be able to converse with the residents and patients of their institution. The course was tailored to meet the special circumstances. Sentences are structured for the needs of Baycrest residents and patients. "Der patzient vil dem doctor," says the East Indian nurse. (Uncle Eliezer; ••what prayer should one offer to get Jewish staff in other Jewish institutions to be ais considerate of their clients' needs and also l^arn Yiddish?")
But I'm running out of space and it is bitterly cold Outside; so here, protected^ from the frost, I bring you a few of the flowers, Yiddish flowers, that bloom in our midst, despite the cold and the siiow. I promise to bring more next week...
Letters to the Editor
US not forget
Dear Editor: ; ■:
. :Any comparison of-the U.S. role in Indochina and Its involvement in the Middle East-is faulty to_say the least.
It is unforunate enough that we often heard anti-American pronouncementsiind saw anti-American activities among Jews who represented only the cpowd of^activists without any personal responsibility. But it is sad indeed when a public figure joins the crowd, maligns the president of the most powerful nation, in the world in presumption of his future immaginary activities against Israel.
It is not the first time that the Jews forget where their friends are. Let's not. forget where the United States stood during the darkest time of the Jewish history and ; let's not Ignore the friendship the U.S. govern-ment~renders to the state of Israel even jinder the most precarious circumstances. We must not be indifferent about the atmosphere between the U.S.. government and the world's Jewish communities. It is the duty of each single one of us to contribute to the very best of relations towards the best friend we Jews have.
.J. Sti
Israel's new missile boat, the INS Reshef, now under construction. (IPPA)
Home-produced missile boats unveiled by Israel
Valerie White \- Toronto
Dear Editor: In a time and age when we are losing many
of our youth to all sorts of movements such \_as the. Hebrew_Christians, we^feel people
like Rjibbi Bernard RosensweTg7 whose at^
tacks on ecumenism and the parts played. ' by Conservative and Reform leaders should
be applauded. -
i For thousands of years Jews have survived because they kept the Torah unchanged without "fixing It up" to satisfy them. We are not a guide for the Torah but the Torah is a guide for us. -
It is ,only recently that these "leaders'' of Judaism allow their congregants such things as mixed seating, organs in the sanctuary and driving to the synagogue. These tilings water down Judaism.
It IS a fact that a high percentage of third generation Reform Jewry assimilates and intermarries. xThis.has a much less chance of happening if the child is taught such mi^zVahs as Tphillm, Sabbath observance and walkingv to ShuL It is getting so bad that. Jewish^ youth believes that our heritage UeS^Jneating kishke, going to Fiddler on the Roof and dancing the^Mora. ^
It is for thes^xreasons we believe that Muriel Tinianov's letter (Feb. 9) praising
the parts played-ibyConservatlve-and Reform leaders,"with their philosophy ofbring- -
ing-Judaism into Hief20tF_century is totally -Ignorant of the historical-facts .'She seems to
think that__Judaism has always changed to 'suit the environment
Leo Steiner
- Shmuel-Wellman
Stan Rosenzwelg Toronto
Dear Editor.
: Until January 1 of this year, amphetamines were freely prescribed as diet and pep pills. Now that they have been outlawed, who will compensate for the distorted minds, bodies and souls created . by some self-appointed professional experts who prescribed and dispensed them?
1 joined a group diet plan to prove to myself that I could reduce my weight and keep It without dangerous diet drugs: The federal health ministry would do well now to act on- The CJN editorial which cajls" for regulations "lest the potential goojdhin group /dieting becomes subverted by I; the appetitefor dollars."
H. Ma'xSeiden Toronto.
7'
By ROYSTON ALLEN
CJN Tel Aviv Correspondent
TEL AVIV-
The Israeli navy has just taken the wraps off its first home-produced missile boat.-the , 415-ton Sa'ar IV; known as the - Reshef." Armed with seven Isra&li "Gabriel " mis-' siles, two .76mm anti-aircraft guns, depth charges .and light machineguns, the first batch of.-'Reshef boats was launched Feb. 19, according to the commanding officer of IsraeFs navy. Rear Admiral Binyamin Teleni.
Addressing newsmen here. Admiral Telem said that the boats were built specifically to meet the needs Of the Israeli navy. Their construction had utilized the experience gain-el in building and operating the French--built - Cherbourg''gunboats, several of which the Israelis spirited out of the French harbor three years ago after the French government put the vessels under an enibai-go, even though they had,been paid for.
A French-Jewish magazine reported several ■ months ago that Israel was building ■ '•bigger and better-armed gunboats" but there was no confirmation then from Israeli sources.
The Perspectives France-Israel said that the new Israeli missile boats were fitted with "a new anti-radar device, code-named ■Sea" Rover.' " The super gunboats would safeguard Israel's sea routes in the Gulf of Eilat (Aqaba) and the Red Sea, the magazine added.
Considering the fact that the r Reshef" boats reporte4ly have a range three times that of the 'Cherbourg" gunboats, this is ■ more than a. possibility. There has been
^. !niore than one incident where Israeli vessels have been interfered with between Bab el , Mandab and.Eilat.
Bab el Mandab, 1.100 nautical miles south of Sharm. el Sheikh, is a port on the very junction of the Red Sea and Indian Ocean. It would require a minimal force located there with artillery, to close off the Red Sea to Israeli shipping.
The 45-crew " Reshef" has a cruising speed of 32 knots and. an operational range of "several thousands of miles'' Admiral Telem said. The speed is slightly less than that of. the Cherbourg""gunboats but'the increased
_ range is a morejmportantlfactor for opera"^ "
.-tion in this area^rConditions for the crew were also said to be greatlvnmproved m the Reshef model. . ^ ,•
"The Israeli shipyards where the new boats were : built have -a potential which-will be able to answer almost any. requirement we v might put beforethem," Telem said. '•'We have reached an advanced '.state of .
, independence in design, development and construction of modern weapons systems, almost without any need of help from outside sources "
The"Maibachi" engines for the Reshef • come from a European country, he added, (probably German). -. ■ Another very impoi'tant factor is that Israel may soom start producing the new gun- , boats for export. This country already manufactures aircraft, • weapons systems,: computers'^ and a host of other items for either attack or defence use; >-sIsrael Libartowski, head-of the Israeli-shipyards, said that the Reshef vessels could be produced locally for export far cheaper \Jhan ■ in any European .country and possibly "30 to 40 per cent below whal a U.S. ship- - . yard might charge v « ,
Each Reshef would cost between S8 and SIO million, fully fitted with modern weapons.
The Cherbourg boats cost S2,5 million and as much again.to equip with computers, guns and •Gabriel" missiles.
United Church
on Key 75
TORONTO-
The United Chui-ch of Canada is one of the participating churches in the North American program of evangelism known as Key '73 but it doesn't go along with statements in literature published in the U.S., i-egarding relationships with Jews.
•'We view with deep concern the fact that some literature produced in the United States, and some, mdvements associated with Key '73 in that country have suggested that this;'is an opportunity to 'present the Messiah to your Jewish friends' and to win 'Jews for Jesus' " said a statement adopted recently by the executive of the church's general council.
The statement was presented to the executive by Rev, W., Clarke Mac-Donald, deputy secretary of the Division of Mission in Canada, , who explained that recent statements by some rabbis and United Church ministers indicated they felt there was an "anti-Semitic . bias in the North American Kiey '73 document used as a handbook for organizers.
"We take exception to the implications of these statements and point out that . we are aware that theologically this is not the only place many United-Ghurch peoplr would find parts of this document less than-compatible with present United Church belief and practice. .'•We are__jilso a\vare of the fact," the statement .adopted by ,the 60-fflTmber exee^utive said,"that some Jewish leaders have found these implications offensive... In view oT this awareness and the conditions, under which the general council authorized our involvement in Key '73, we want-to affirm (a) that we will oppose any tendency withm the Key '73 program to single out any groups as a particular 'target' for our Evangelistic thrust, (b) we will continue to support those aspects of Key '73 which declare the good news of God's love for all. people, and to encourage their response as ^ persons without violation of their own integrity. We wiirtry, as we are given grace; to do tms: in the spirit of loye'^ we have seen in Jesus Christ, and to assure air other religious groups ihat we respect and will continue to affirm their iijdividual and corporate rights."