Page Two
JEWISH WESTERN BULLETIN
Friday, November 12, 1965
m
CBC
didn't
say
// I// sorry!
Members of all religions received with pleasure recently the news that the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation had expressed its apologies to Roman Catholics for having subjected Pope Paul to ridicule.
The incident which prompted many indignant viewers to call in and protest was a television skit which showed a T.V. producer attempting to get the Pope to umpire a baseball game at New York's Yankee Stadium prior to his appearance there to celebrate Mass.
Now this is not to say that the Pope occupies a post that is beyond the world of humor. Indeed the Papacy, like the U.S. Presidency, is fair game for the clever wit of the modern-day comedian just as Royalty was in the days of his forerunner, the court jester.
But there was at least one basic requisite in the humor of the court jester. To assure him his occupation, if not his head, he had to use good taste. And painfully sharp though his barbs might have been, they were always wrapped in ample layers of delicacy, refinement and m.ost important of all, good judgment. It was the CBC's lack of this latter essential which offended Catholics, Protestants and Jews alike, as well as many thousands who do not consider themselves members of a religious group but who hold in the highest regard the Judaeo-
similar rudeness in the future.
For our part, however, we cannot but remember that one year ago the same CBC program presented an hour-long interview, thereby providing a forum, for the paranoic successor to Hitler in the United States, G. L. Rockwell. From coast to coast Canadians were surprised that the CBC should have provided so vast a forum for a publicity-seeking Nazi who had been denied it almost everywhere else. The Toronto Telegram caUed it "poor programming", for Rockwell was "simply not in the news". Opposition Leader Diefenbaker said it was a scandalous program that showed a shocking disregard for the feeling of the Canadian people as a whole and a conteriiptuous and sordid attitude towards the Jewish people." The Canadian Jewish Congress termed it untimely, having no relationship to the week's news and charged that the interview was handled "ineptly, permitted gross inaccuracies and lies to go unchallenged.
But the same Mr. Fraser showed little sympathy either for the feelings of the people who had been the greatest victims of Nazism or for the Canadian nation that had sacrificed so much on the battlefields in order to defeat it. Instead he rationalized that introductory comments by the program commentator John Drainie, in in-
INSIDE ISRAEL:
The Bible speaks to you
By BABBI DR. E. M. LEVY, M.A., LL.B.
Christian ethic and humanitarian principles troducing Rockwell, absolved the CBC of respon-
which are basic to all of the denominations. For they knew that all mankind would benefit from the Pope's "mission of Peace" to the United Nations at a time when so-called "bush wars" were increasing both in number and intensity. Thus to poke fun at him at such a moment was not just irritating to his followers from a religious standpoint; it was downright mortifying to people striving and hoping for world Peace.
2iccordingly, when the heads of the CBC realized the faux pas that had been made, Corporation Vice-President R. C. Fraser is reported to have acknowledged that the CBC had been guilty of "an error in judgment", and "needlessly gave serious offence to the feelings of many of our viewers. Catholics and non-Catholics alike, and we regret this mistake."
Jewish Canadians, we are certain, are gratified that our fellow citizens of the Catholic faith have thus received a public redress of a great disrespect. For the apology, while it cannot undo the wrong, is in itself an assurance that Catholics will not have to contend with
sibiHty for the vicious libels and calumnies which followed.
In the light of the CBC's new-foimd empathy for the "feelings" of viewers, we would emphasize to then^ the sensitivity of the 250,000 Jews in Canada for whom the Rockwell program was much more than insulting. More especially they ought to have considered the sensitivities of the many former Nazi concentration camp inmates who are now Canadian residents, and ask themselves how men, women and children, people such as these, feel when they see on the Canadian T.V. network a Hitler propagandist advocating massacres, executions, annihilations.
It is not inconceivable that had the CBC officials displayed greater sensitivity at that time, they would not have allowed themselves to lapse into the more recent embarrassment concerning the Pope. Although it is a year since it occurred, do not those who suffered so much torment also deserve a belated apology for what was undoubtedly another grave "error in judgment?"
Recently having stepped off the Diane on returning from res? dence in Israel this last summer, I can only say that those of us who have not been there yet, are missing a most unique and exciting experience.
Apart from the usual pleasures of travel anywhere else in the world, a visit to Israel is, over and above all that, something of an entirely holier order. Israel is still the Holy Land of ancient days, and yet is streamlined to harmonize with modern conditions of living. At every turn the country recalls the Bible and post-Bible happenings. Especially impressive upon this writer was the revival of the ancient Hebrew tongue magnificently adapted to everyday needs. We foimd it particularly enchanting as it fell trippingly from the tongues of little children and happy teenagers on the highways and biways of this land of miracles.
The State of Israel, proclaimed only 17 years ago, is not the creation of something new Rather, it is a pulsating anc throbbing continuation of the old which was only temporarily suspended 2,000 years ago. "Verily we have renewed our days as of old." Ben-Gurion was never tirea of acting upon that basic assumption and so today is Levi Eshkol. For that reason the very air of Israel is mysteriously inspiring. It makes you feel that the intervening years between the "then and the "now" were just a horrible nightmare which has vanished in the sunlight. Our new State is still the old "State" sprung back into life once again. Our people had never acknowledged defeat by Rome even at Massada where all the beleag-ured Jewish defenders agreed to take their own lives rather than surrender.
Gazing from the side of the ship anchored at Haifa Bay in the early years of this century, Herzl called this land "Alt-neuland" (old-new land); and Sokolov translated those words into Tel-Aviv (Hill of Spring). That name aptly describes the whole land and not only its largest city.
One fine day this reporter was strolling along Nordau street in
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Improving murderers' working conditions?
Dear Mr. Kaplan:
The planned Abolition of Capital Punishment scheduled by our M.P.s for che next weeks or months after some kind of vote, is of great concern to me as it does not contribute to make Canada "a better place to live".
Who will benefit from the planned abolition? The murderers only. Future murder victims will be deprived of 90 percent of their protection because it cannot be denied that death-sentence is the strongest deterrent. The first thing the murderers try to achieve is commutation.
The frightening accumulation of ghastly murder-cases (remember Meeker, Haase, Ronald Ingram, and others) is the logical consequence of the cabinet's commutation of death sentences. Even hold-ups are getting bolder through lack of fear: see the death of the victim, Kelderman. Do you remember the flood of letters protesting Meeker's commutation? The president of the Canadian Police Chiefs said. Members were astounded by that commutation. The Government pays more attention to sob-
sisters than they do to law enforcement officials in the field." (Province, Sept. 15/65). The late Sir Winston Churchill knew what he was doing when he opposed such an abolition.
It is beyond comprehension that in the future only the innocent will have to die: persons who are not able to help themselves when trapped by a ghastly monster. But the two-legged beasts, who create worst tragedies, ncrt only by murdering their victims with brute force but also by causing inexpressible grief and sorrow to victim's parents or relatives—they will not die.
Therefore the abolition would be a great disservice to Canada, against justice, against common sense and also against the Bible. The abolition would make us guilty of contributing to the disaster of future victims, through "improving the working conditions of miu-derers". This means that we would take for granted giving the worst enemies of mankind an opportunity to take lives, without risk to their own lives.
Let us not make Canada a paradise for murderers and let us not play politics with the life of our citizens.
If it is "modern" to sacrifice an increased number of future
victims by keeping their murderers alive, I prefer to be called "non-modem" and thereby to keep the more potential victims alive.
HELIOS
WA does vital work
Dear Mr. Ka;plan:
Only recently, we received a copy of your excellent issue of April 16, giving a vivid report on our Jerusalem Louise Waterman-Wise Youth Hostel. The story was titled: "Christian ycomgsters out-hora the Israelis".
We fully imderwrite the credit given our friends of the American Jewish Congress, its Women's Division and to the Youth Department of the Ministry of Education and Culture whose director, Mr. Joseph Meyouhas, has been on our committee from the inception of our association.
At the same time, we regret that no mention was made of the Israel Youth Hostel Association, the living spirit behind the network of 19 youth hostels spread over the most beautiful districts of this country. Without the devotion of the band of volunteers representing our executive committee, the rapid development of the Israeli youth hostels would be inconceivable. Last year,
there were 258,000 overnighters, 60,000 of whom were foreign youths.
Hampered by lack of funds and publicity, laboring quietly for the benefit of local and foreign youth, we do our best to expand and improve our hostels so that they may welcome more and more youngsters without discrimination of nationality, race, creed or color.
Dr. Walter Katz, Hon. Secretary, Israel YHA.
Haifa—^what memories of Max Nordau's prophetic utterances at early Congresses were evoked in one's soul as we sauntered into a travel office there. We were bent on arranging a trip to the Negev and Eilat.
A young man was sitting at his desk in the midst of his office staff.
"I think I know you," he said. "Are you not Rabbi Levy of Vancouver?"
"And are you not also from Vancouver?" we said. "Mister . . .".We hesitated.
"Yes," he said. "Art Goldberg." What a pleasant suprise this was. For we discovered this Vancouver young man to be now the founder and head of a large travel organization, operating all over Israel with head offices in Tel Aviv. He recalled to us that he had left Vancouver for Israel in 1948. A small world, you might say. But Israel, the geographic centre of the globe, is the focus of a wide world beyond. You must not be surprised to meet people from all points of the compass; and especially from the American continent.
The warm greetings over, Me. Goldberg remarked:
"How would you like me to show you around our harbor where I happen to have some
(Continued on Page 11) See INSIDE ISRAEL
Thought tor the Week
from the TALMUD
He who hears himself abused and is silent will be preserved from many abuses:
— Sanhedrin, 7 a.
JEWISH CALENDAR (LUACH)
Candle Lighting NOVEMBER 12 — 4:18
1965 5726
Ghanuka __________________ Dec. 19
1966
Tu B'Shvat__Feb. 5
Purim_________________ Mar. 6
All holidays begin tiie preceding eve at sundown.
Endorsations Granted
Israel Bond Campaign Nov. 8 • Dec. 8 Talmud Torah PTA Brunch.. Nov. 23
Peretz PTA Fall Dance ______ Nov. 27
B'nai B'rith No. 77 Pre-Chanuka Tea _____ ------- Nov. 30
Community Centre Art Show
Nov. 28 • Dee. 19
Joint Adult Ed. Lecture----Dsc. 1
Negev Dinner - Dec. 2
Centre Orchestra Concert _ Dec. 5 Home for Aged Chanuka Baz. Dec. 7 Israeli N.C.J.W. Brunch Dec. 8 Jewish Comm. Fund Thank You Dinner Dec. 12
Beth Israel Sisterh. Lunch.- Dec. 15 Comm. Centre Search Series Dec. 15 H. Szold Disco. Party ------ -- Dec. 25
THE mm
WESTERN BUUETIH
Official Organ of the Vancouver Jewish Community Council
Friday, November 12, 1965
Published weekly every Friday at 3285 Heather St., Vancouver 9, British Columbia.
SAM KAPLAN Publisher and Editor
WILLIAM GELMON President
ALEC BECKER Publications Chairman
LEADING JEWISH WEEKLY IN WESTERN CANADA
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