Page .4 - the Canadian Jewish News, Thursday, Octpber 16, 1980
Editorial
TTTeCaoadian jewisnnews
.An independent Ciimmunrty Newspaper . serving: as a I'lirum for diverse viewpoints.
Directors: Chjt les Bronfman, Donald Carr, Q.C. ' ■.George A; (^ohbn, Jack Cummings, ' • Murray'.B. Koffler;; Albert J. Latnier, ; ■ Ray D.Wolfe. RuDin Zimmerman
Editor, lyiauri.ce Cucpw
Assistant Editor, David.Birkan. ,  Business Maiiager-, Gary Laforel-. '.Advertising ManageriVera Gillman . .__Controller, Maurice Bronner; .
VOL. XX, NO 82 (2,025)
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IS
The bombing of the liberal synagogue on Paris' rue Copernic last week is the latest in a series of anti-Semitic incidents which began almost two years ago with the detonation of an explosive device at the Foyer Israelite, a student restaurant near the University of Paris.
In that two-year period the French authorities responsible for internal security have done virtually nothing to protect the Jewish commuriity ofParis or to effect the apprehension of those guilty of the outrages against French Jews.
The.lethargy of the government is not merely lamentable; it reflects the same mentality which acquiesced, some, forty years ago. in the wholesale round-ups and deportation of more than 80.000 French Jews to Nazi concentration camps — from whence none emerged alive.
Itappearsfrom the events of the past two years that a coalition of anti-Jewish factions, including indigenous fascist elements (the same source which provided Hitler with French troops for the notorious SS. Charlemagne unit), right wing political lunatics, and PLO crazies — has declared the hunting . season on Jews re-opened. .
h should not be forgonen that the first real stirrings against French Jews occurred shortly after the French government ordered the release of the notorious Abu Daoud in 1977. This was the gentleman who
masterminded the bloody assassination of Israel's Olympic wrestling squad.
Th.s irresponsible act joined to a series of additional government decisions, including f.he inexplicable sale to Iraq ofALachines and niateriarwith nuclear potential, haVe signaled to terrorist groups Within France the idea that as far as Jews are concerned anything and everything is permissible!
the indignation which moved 20.000 . French Jews to tie tip traffic on the Champs Elysees last week signals something else, however. It portends an uncharacteristic militancy among them — an unwillingness to accept the status quo. The revelation that 30 Paris policemen have been associated with one of the right-wing groups thought to have been' involved in terrorism has triggered demands on the part of Jewish leaders for a thorough investigation of the interior ministry and the resignation of its head, monsieur Bonnet.
h is significant that Baron de Rothschild, a long time advocate of the low-profile school of Jewish politics, has joined the chorus of Jewish voices expressing outrage at the attack against Jews in France. He. has finally realized that the times demand a greater militancy. '.
Jews all over the world will be watching to see how the French government responds to the lawless atmosphere which it has itself promoted by a misguided Mideast policy.
A hero of our times
Iri Argentina today a reign of terror throttles the life of Argentinians who dare criticize human rights violations perpetrated by the militaryjunta which has ruled that tragic country since. 1976.. Up to 20,000 Argentinians have "disappeared," and the probability is that no traiire will ever be found 6f these brave men and women who . raised their voices to stopthe madness that is being foisted upon the people in the dubious name of law and order. '
Jacobo Timerriian. honored by B'nai. B'rith's League of Hurnan Rights last week, is a man who has neyer taken refuge in silence. .When he was publisher and editor" of Buerios Aires' La Opinion, he Was not cowed by the junta. Despite advice to the contrary, he wrote editorials denouncing the Wholesale curtailment of-freedoni in Argentina. For that he was punished — ; kidnapped, interrogated, tortured and subjected, to house arrest and imprisonment for two-and-a-half years. Last September, after an internationaloutcry, the fascists who - rule Argentina reluctantly released
him, stripping him of his citizenship. Since then, as an Israeli citizen, Tirnerman has travelled around, the world exposing the brutal nature of the junta."
Unfortunately, the Jewish community of Argentina has not been of much help in supporting Timerman's cause. As Timer-man suggested in an. interview,_ to be published in our next edition, the Jewish leadership is acting disgracefully, hushing things up, and in general, turning a blind, eye to the disappearances, killings, arrests and outrages that uhimately affect every-'one in Argentina.
;^The time has. come for the leaders who represent the community .to inform the junta that they cannot condone theviolence and the infringement of human rights for which they arc directly responsible. To remain silent isto.acquiesce in the crimes of . the junta.
Jews can only prosper in. a sociisty whose government respects human rights — a point Jacobo Timerman never tires of making.
DiaiT of a People
Bv DAVID BIRKAN
October 18. 1980, marks-the centenary of the binh of Vladimir Jabotinsky. writer,, orator and Zionist statesman .whose passionate and forthright encouragement of massaliya to the Holy Land in the inter-war years alienated him from the bulk of Jewish leadership at the time. :. ■ Jabotinsky first -involved himself with Judaism in his 20's, when the 1903 Kishinev pogrom led him to organize a self-defence group in his native Odessa. He soon fastened upon Zionism and its goal of an independent Jewish state as the solution for European anti-semitism. That it should be in the Holy Land was paramount to Jabotinsky; who at the Sixth Zionist Council voted against Theodore Herzl's Uganda, plan. As editor of the Zionist journal, Razvet. he also: advocated political, and: education activities in the Diaspora and the need to combat anti-semitism and assimila-■tion.'. ', .
Jabotinsky turned his tenets into: practical statesmanship at the start of World War L With Joseph Trumpeldor, he pressed unsympathetic British authorities tguestablish an. all-Jewish allied fighting unit. The contemptuously named Zion Mule Corps, which fought at Galipoli, led to the formation of the Jewish Legion in 1918. He himself was a lieutenant in it,;and was decorated. For fear of offending the British, the majority of the Zionist leadership neither encouraged its formation, nor objected toits demobilization in 1920, in the face of mounting Arab hostility.
Jabotlnsky's Initial desire to work: with the British: JERded In the wake of their Increasbig snpport for the Arabs, their lefiilal to defend Jews from Arab mobs, thefar constant retreat from the Im^illclt promises of the-Balfonr declaration and . their monnting steps to bar Jewish entry ^, Into the Holy Land. Impr^ned for helping! foni^ the Hagwnudi hi 1920,^
sentence was soon commuted as a result.of public outcry. In the midst of his lectures and activities across Europe, he was barred re-entry into Palestine In 1930. In 1937, he presented evidence of massive British pressure on European governments to prevent Jewish emigration. When the Haganah succumbed to indirect British ; domination, Jabotinsky threw his support behind the Irgun Zvei LeumI as an instrument of defence against Arab depredations and as.a growbig Irritant to the mandatory rule.
Jabotinsky,. who wanted an independent Jewish state instead of just a national home,: who urged Jews to be prepared to fight, if necessary and .who was quick to condemn what he saw.as accommodation with hostile .authorities, was seen as a marverick by the bulk of the Zionist leadership. In 1925, he ■ formed the Revisionis_t wing .of the World "    Zionist Organization, and 10 yearsd later, withmassive.support from East European Jewry, aninternational Zionist organization of his own. Tsrael'sHerut party, and the Betar youth groups across the world are two ; of his direct legacresV ^
Jabotiosky's most ambitious plan was the . - proposed deportation in the '30s: .of European communities to the Holy Land, with the help of governments eager to be rid . of their Jews. Lack of support from Jewish . : circles and firm antiremigration pressure from the British scotched the bulk of it. A 10-year program with the Polish govern-y-ment to send out 1.5 million Jews was f:- shattered at the start of World War II. ■ Jabotinsky died of a heart attack in 1940 in the i midst of a hectic intercontinental campaign to raise a Jewish army to fight the ■■.Nazis. ■■.:
Early hi life, Jabotinsky sacrificed a brilliant literary careerto devote himself to his people. With more isopport, he might have saved a significant nnmber of Jews from the Holoicaast. As it isj the validity of hisgoalsand methods is only now entering the recognition of Jewish officialdom.
Jerm over 2^
ears o
An essay entitled "Jerusalenij the Heart of the Jew,'' has been read into the Congressional Record of the House of Representatives of tlie Congress of~ the United States.
;_ The article, by Rabbi I. Usher Kirshblum, was read into the Record by Bei^amin S. Rosenthal, member of the House of Representatives for New Yorit.
Rabbi Kirshbium's son, Ellezer, Is cantor at Adath Israel Congregation In Toronto.
The essay follows:
JERUSALEM, THE HEART OF THE JEW
My parents were devout Zionists. This word. Palestine, never existed in their vocabularies. To them that particular d(it on . themappftheMiddle East was either Eretz Israel or the Holy Land, holy because in.its center lay its heart, the holy city of Jerusalem.
I was rocked in the cradle of Zionism. Before tucking me to sleep my mother sang to me sweet lullabies of Zion and Jerusalem. One night.I was startled by a v^eeping and wailing voice. It was not a bad dream. As I crept out of my bed I found my mother sitting on the floor, in the corner of the kitchen, with a lit candle in one hand and prayerbook in the other, swaying back and forth. Tears were wending down her cheeks as she was sobbing out her prayers. I was too young then to understand what my-mother was doing. But as I grew older I learned that every week-day night, at the midnight hour, my mother would arouse herself from her sleep and offer special prayers of lamentation over the destruction of the holy Temple and Jerusalem.
The houses of the city of Bialystok, where I was born, were by no means pretentious. The interior walls, more often than not,-were whitewashed rather than painted. One day my father took me along to visit the home of one of the wealthiest Jews of the city. My eyes kept staring at itis multicolored walls. As wc were iabout to leave the palatial home, a large unpainted spot near the bottom of the door caught my attention. My curiosity was soon satisfied by my father. 'My son, what you noticed was not recklessness on the part of the house painter. It is a tradition among Jews to leave a spot near the door unpainted in brder to serve as a reminder that we must not rejoice fully with the beauty and comforts of our home but to recall the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem."'
As soon as I learned to read Hebrew I was taught to pray, thrice daily, and whenever praying to face East, toward Jerusalem. The more prayers 1 learned the more 1 recognized that our ancient, t^ar-stahied prayerbook was studded with petitions for the rebuilding of Jerusalem, our holy city.
The Day of Atonement is the.holiest day in the life of the Jew. From sunset to suiiset he afflicts his body and soul .through a twenty-four hour fast. The most gripping moment arrives when all the prayers are. ' concluded and the entire, congregation, . standing on its feet in dead silence, awaits : the final, pfoJonged blast of the shofar which will proclaim the end of the fast; I can still remember how at that sacred moment I clung tenaciously to my father. His.eyes were.tightly closed and with his hands raised heavenward he: blended his voice with the resounding voices of the rest of the congregation as all fervently .exclaimed, "Next year.in Jerusalem."
. There is not a happier night than the : Seder night. During the first night of ^ Passover, the most humble of homes is converted into a palace, where the father becomes king, the mother queen and the children princes. That night is filled with laughter, joy and song. But it also has its very serious moments when, toward the end of the Seder, the.entire family bursts forth in the proclamation. "Next Year in Jerusalem."
More than 2,500 years have passed since the holy Temple and Jerusalem were destroyed by the Babylonians. Another people would have long forgotten that day. But not the Jew! Each year, on the Eve of Tisha B'Av, the nhith day on Av, the Jew begins a 24-hour fast. On that evening the synagogue is shrouded in darkness, except for the light of a candle here and there. Sitting himself down on the floor or on a low bench,.like a mourner during shivah, he recites the Book of Lamentation which describes the destruction of the holy city of Jerusalem; .
.   No joy can compare with that of the groom . under the canopy, as he stands next to his beloved bride. At the end of the wedding-ceremony a glass is placed before him. "Break if with your right foot," the rabbi instructs him. As the glass is shattered
.shouts of"Mazel Tov" break forth. In truth, the breaking of the glass is not a symbol for good luck but, again, as a
—reminder of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem-. .
Day and night, upon rising and retiring, in joy and in sorrow, even in death . Jerusalem is on the heart, soul and mind of the JewTMy father and mothernever lived to see an Israel Reborn. But they took Jerusalem with them to the grave.They
. procured from Jerusalem two little bags of sand, which they guarded like" the most precious jewels.. They kept those bags for the inevitable.day. Before potsherds were placed upon their mortal eyes, the holy soil of Jerusalem was strewn all over their bodies — the closest way for them to have reached the holy city.
Sorely Jerusalem is holy to ChrisUans and Moslems — and the State of Israel
respects and protects theh holy shrines ■ But Is there another people, nation and reUoion which can match the Jews's love^d cont^rnfor Jemsalem? Is Jerusalem holler to the CathoUc than the Vatican' h Jemsalem more sacred to the Mosleih than
Mecca ^d Medina? For the Jew there is no : substitute for Jerusalem. Take that holy city away from him and you have severed his heart.
The Psalmist, in Chapter 137.-describes the scene how the Jews-; defied the Babylonian captors who ordered them to sing some songs of Zion. Instead of singing
they raised their voices in a pledge, "If I forget you, 0 Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning! Let my tongue.cleave to the roof of my moiith, if I do not remember ■ ybu, if I do riot set Jerusalern-above my highest joy!"
That ancient pledge/has lieen repeated for centuries by Jews the world over. And
ue
to
By BEVERLEYSTERN
Bizarre and perverse as it may seem, one of the rnost outstanding collections of Jewish monuments, synagogue and art objects in Europe had its beginnings under Hitler's aegis in Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1942.
And after eight long years of negotiations with the Czech government, the Whitworth Art Gallery at the University of Manchester in England has scored a stunning art coup in : obtaining the loan of many of these art treasures for their first — and perhaps only — public exhibition abroad..
The gallery's exhibition of Jewish art treasures from Prague opened last week and will run until Dec. 17.
"Noted art historian and Whitworth gallery director. Prof Reginald Dodwell, considers this exhibition the highlight of his caree:r," says Henny King an ex-IVloirit-realer who is public affairs officer for the Whitworth gallery.
The collection, which spians Jewish culture from the 16th century onwards,
Jewish ' art treasures . from Prague on display in Machester's Whitworth Art Gallery. llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllilllllliliililllllllllllllllllillllilllilllillillllllllllllllllM
[Religions News Servicer
INTERNS FOR PEACE
Robb Hatter, a member of Interns for Peace, and a Torontonlan, helps an IsraeU Arab family bake bread In the Galilee vlUage of Tamra. Interns for Peace seek to hnprove relations between Jews and Arabs in Israel..:
today, no less than when they stood by the waters of Biabylon, the Jews hi America stand ready to make the ancient pledge by the waters of the Potomac. No pdwer on earth can wrest Jemsalem away firom them. For Jerusalem is not only the c^>ltal of the State of Israel bnfalso the heart of the Jew throughoat the world.
museum
race
includes synagogue textiles and silver religious art objects as w£ll as oils, glass and ceramics.
There is also an exhibition of drawings made by Jewish children, and adults from the infamous: concentration camp in the town of Terezin in North Bohemia.
The facts behind the roUecdon of Jewish art treasures hi Prague reveal an Incredible tale of paradox and tragedy, says Mrs. King who, hi 1959, wis managing editor of the Canadian Jewish Chronicle, published in Montreal.
Hitler, whose orders caused the extermination of thousands of Jews in Czechoslovakia, ironically succeeded in perpetuating their memory by creating the Central Jewish Museum in 1942, she says.
In the wake of the destruction of the Czech Jewish r(2ligious communities, synagogues and individuals. Hitler commanded that all Jewish art objects, books and archival material be assembled in the Central Jewish Museum. He ordered Jewish cognoscenti in art, history, library and museum science to systematize the collection.
The object. Hitler said confidently at the time (according to Mrs. King), was to have a museum which would show "the artifacts of an extinct race."
Bat Hitler's predictions were not to be. Not only did the Jews as a people escape his prognosis, but the group of Jewish scholars he engaged labored against time to prepare a legacy of Czech Jewty which would live forever.
Appalled by the tragedy which befell their people — and which would soon enough reach them — the scholars endeavored to save the valuable artistic and cultural objects of the Jews in Bohemia and Moravia.
They everi forined exhibitions of these macabre acqLuisitions. Ironically, only Nalzis could attend the exhibitions. They were not .
- even accessible to the general public.
Most of these wartime Jewish creators of the Central Jewish Mtiseum perished in the carrips; Museologists Dr. Josef Polak and Dr. Alfred Ehgel, former directors of other Jewish museums in Czechoslovakia, died in 1944, as did architect and playwright. FrantisekZelenka, and librarian Dr. Tobias Jakobovits.
But the fruit of their efforts lived on. After Prague was liberated In May 1945, the
- Czechoslovaklan ■ government recognized the value of the artistic and coltoral objects as a tragic witness to the tate of the majority of Jewish commnnities In Bohemia and Moravia daring the Nazi occupation.
The Czech government made public the : exhibitions, and in 1950, in agreement with the Council of Jewish Religious Communities in Bohemia and Moravia* established the State Jewish Museum in Prague.
Although requests had been made from New York, and other international art centres to obtain an exhibition abroad, the Czech government turned them down. It was not until Prof. Dodwell and his continued entreaties and visits over eight years that the Czech government considered releasing some of the objects for an out-of-country exhibition. :
Dodwell, an art historian of international renown, directs one of the most prestigious art galleries in England. Affiliated with the University of Manchester, where Jewish scientist Chaim Weizmann made his discoveries of acetone and synthetic rubber, thegalleryis organizinga number of special events around the Jewish art treasures from Prague.
"The main exhibition consists of nearly .300 magnificent examples of historic Jewish art;" says Mrs. King who attended the Hebrew Teachers' Seminary in Montreal and later joined Habimah, Israel's national theatre, in Te! Aviv.
. Included are such synagogue textiles from the mid-17th to the end of the 18th centuries as elaborately decorated curtains and pelmets made for the Ark, embroidered Torah mantels of velvet, silk, damask and linen and many exquisite coverings and draperies associated with particular religious ceremonies. :
There are about 162 pieces of silver and other examples of the metalworkers craft ' such as spice boxes, Levite sets, brass candlesticks and the pewter plates used for " . the Passover feasts and as presents for a
_bridegroom______ _ _____ __   _ _
Another section of the exhibition presents scenes on glass of the elaborate ritual of the Burial Brotherhood, which was established in Prague after 1650; There are ^also 18th century paintings of some of the Burial Brothers.
"An important part of the modem holdings is associated with the concentra-tibn camp at Terezin where Czech Jews ~ were deported in 1941 and 1942," says Mrs. King. "A selection of 38 of the children's drawings and 23 by adult artists are also shown." ■
Mrs. King's last job was directing the massive two-week Salford Feistival with its 350 events (Salfbrd is 750 years old). She was in Toronto recently visiting with parents Maria and Eugene Lowy; and brother, Dr; Fred Lowy, dean ofmedicbe at the University of Toronto. i