tt$K .V 0 A N A PIA N Phone* Vfcto^frUM* mm-:* Room 532, 1500 Stanley Street, felto Montreal tfpf^ Authorised as second class mall by PojnY'ifcfflcei Department, Ottawa, and for payment of postage In cash. Subscription $2 per year; $3 for two years. United States $3 per year; |5 for two years; Single copy, 6- cents. Florence Freedlander Cohen, siitor Suxann F. Cohen, Adverting Manager / wholly disapprove of what you say and will defend to the death your right to say it. � Voltaire to Helvetius. JULY 12, 1963 PaMleatlw Offk* VOL XLV, No. 41 GtrdmTaU, S)a�bM The Second "Dialogue In Israel" The second "dialogue in Israel" sponsored by the American Jewish Congress drew such an enthusiastic response that the event may be turned into an annual public conversation between leading Israelis and American Jews. Crowds of Israelis and American tourists, brimming with comments and questions, attended the sessions in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. The "dialogue" brought together American Jewish and Israeli writers and intellectuals for four days of uninhibited talk on the question of Jewish identity and the role of the Jewish intellectual in the Jewish community of America and of Israel. Two major themes emerged from the "dialogue": 1) While many American Jews are struggling to define a "meaningful Jewish identity," most Israelis consider the problem solved by merely living in Israel. 2) The role of the Jewish writer is not to promote the Jewish ethnic tradition but to probe the human condition. A highlight of the "dialogue" was a lively exchange between the American participants and the, at that time, Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion. The conversation took place in Mr. Ben-Gurion's office just 24 hours after he startled the country by tendering his resignation. The Israeli leader chided American Jews for not knowing the Hebrew language or Jewish history. "Without these two minimum requirements," he warned, "I cannot envisage that American Jews will long remain Jews." Shad Polier, of New York, chairman of the governing council of the American Jewish Congress and leader of the U.S. delegation participating in the "dialogue," told the Prime Minister that American Jews were in no danger of disappearing, but that they were seeking to find a "valid expression" of their Jewishness. One such expression, Polier said, could be seen in the active role played by many Jews in the American struggle for civil rights and Negro equality. He said this was in line with the Jewish heritage of social justice, equality, and human brotherhood, handed down by the Biblical prophets. Self-criticism marked much of the "dialogue" conversations. Edwin Wolf II, of Philadelphia, president of the National Foundation for Jewish Culture, warned that, many Jewish intellectuals in America were becoming "alienated" from organized community life. He expressed concern at their reluctance to see beneath the surface of American Judaism, whose materialist values they reject, to the enduring Jewish values beneath." Israel Supreme Court Justice Halm Cohen pleaded with his countrymen to "jealously safeguard the free choice of the individual to make his own definition of Judaism." Leslie Fiedler, American critic and .novelist, key-noted a provocative session when he asserted that the "essential nature of Jewishness" was "not to belong, but to be in exile, to be alienated." He explained: "In the past, living under hostile governments or dominated by hostile religious groups, the Jew was a natural 'outsider1. Today, however, the majority of Jews live in the United States, and Israel, both liberal countries, and no longer suffer the burden of being outside the mainstream of the societies in which they live. As a result, Jews are ceasing to be Jews. For myself, I submit as a Jew to the burden of being the outsider, the burden of bearing witness to the inequality that exists in the world." Philip Roth, young American novelist and author of "Goodbye, Columbus," said he felt that "the role of the Jew is not to be the victim but rather the great dissenter from the values of our affluent civilisation, the one who says 'nay' to the^ materials tic values of our culture." !,; Dr. W. Z. Low"; professor of physics at Hebrew University, and an Orthodox Jew, said he had "never had any difficulty" in finding his Jewish identity. He declared: "Past generations of Jews had a strong sense of 'galut' or exile' but in a positive sense: They knew they were not truly at home in the countries they lived in; they knew their true home was the Jewish community; and they knew that some day this Jewish community would have a home of its own. "What matters today," he continued, "is our answer to the question: how much do we know about Jewishness?" He went on: "The Jewish intellectual must increase his knowledge of Jewish history, must have a positive attitude toward that knowledge, and must look to that history for a guide in meeting the problems of today and tomorrow." Serving as moderator of the panel, Shad Polier, of New York, lawyer and civil rights leader, said that in the UiJ. many Jewish intellectuals were actively engaged in the struggle.for racial equality as an expression of their Jewish identity. He cited the leading role played by the American Jewish Congress and other Jewish groups, working closely with Negro organizations, in fighting discrimination through law and social action. An Israeli panelist, Sholom Kahn, professor of American literature at Hebrew University, then asked: "Is tha problem of the Negro in America a Jewish problem?" To which Made Leraer, Brandeis HEINTZMAN la the) flnsi to saw before) you fcvy any PIANO or ORG nutttAiwir %kU~4 Shopf** CmIm , 1-619) Tewsj af asssstt Koyef Tie. Canadian Jeydsh _ of #hich Michael,Garber, Q. president,, issued |i public stab* feeht conippatnlatrnf the Quebec Cabinet on the Government Bill which was unanimously approved by the Legislative Ass^bty ^ Quebec, making o^l^l^o^ t� any fonn illegal in the hotels, restaurants, and camping grounds of the Province, which read: : "People of good will, interested in a democratic community, vrtll congratulate the Quebec Cabinet on the Government Bill amending the Hotels Act and making discrimination in any form Illegal in the hotels, restaurants, and camping grounds of the Province, and to the Legislative Assembly for Its unanimous approval. Apart from the legal considerations in the Act, all experience proves that such legislation is the best educational tool. "The Canadian Jewish Congress is pleased that this legislation was introduced, having urged it for some time, not because discrimination is practised generally in Quebec but because such a law comes to the rescue of those even in the isolated cases where discrimination exists. The Hon. Carrier Fortin, Minister Without Portfolio, who introduced the Bill, is alleged to have stated that there are very few such cases but anyone with any experience in these matters will attest to the fact that there are a sufficient number to warrant the introduction of the Bill. In fact, not so long ago, one of the resort hotels in the Laurentians was sued for breach, of contract and an out of court settlement was arrived at Some benighted hotel owners persist in advertising their hotels in such a way as to make it abundantly clear that only those of certain color and religious affiliation would be accepted. The documentation is sufficient to have justified the Government in taking its action though it Is equally true that Quebec's record is by no means one of intense prejudice. "The Canadian Jewish Congress, in hailing this legislation, hopes that it will be followed by a Fair Employment Practices Act such as exists in several provinces in Canada." Congratulatory telegrams were sent to the Hon. Jean Lesage, Prime Minister of Quebec, and to the Hon. Carrier Fortin by the Congress. As reported in the press, in presenting the amendment, Mr. Fortin said he believed it would serve as an example to other provinces and to many American states. He said that "discrimination is not practiced generally in Quebec" but the law is designed to prevent isolated instances and to ensure that visitors to the province, especially those who come for the World's Fair, will be received anywhere without incident "We want to affirm the principle that all people have equal rights here," he said. Text of the amendment is as follows: "No owner or tenant of a hotel, restaurant, or campaign ground shall directly or through his agent or a third party: a) re- University professor, replied: "Yes, because the web of freedom must be an unbroken one. When that web of freedom is broken for the Negro, it la broken for the -Jew and for every American. At the same time, it is a Jewish problem because the struggle for social justice is in the historical tradition of the Jewish people. I fight for dvil rights as part of my Jewish identity." Mr. Fiedler returned to the die- -cnsaJon by challenging the idea -that because Jewish values had ; been broadly accepted by Western society, in principle, at least, they -were no longer Jewish values, f "Jews have always sought to V transmit their propbetie teachings