Ohio Jewish Chronicle, 1970-02-26

              VOL. 48 NO. 9
gPO     serving Columbus, "Ceritrar'^nd^uthwestern Qh16? VMS
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FEBRUARY 26, 1970 — ADAR-i, 20
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JERUSALEM, (JTA)-The Central African republic of Zambia, ^ neutralist country that has had close ties with Egypt, has decided to establish 'diplomatic relations with Israel and exchange ambassadors, it was announced here. There is an Israeli technical mission already in Zambia which was formerly Nor¬ thern Rhodesia, the country has usually voted with thd Arabs in the United Nations.
BUENOS AIRES, (JTA)-Recent acts of vandalism against Jewish institutions here are linked by local Jewish leaders to extremist groups acting in concert with Arab League agents, who are fostering anti- Semitism in the guise of anti-Zionism. The situation was the subject of a letter sent to the Minister of In¬ terior, Gen. FVancisco Imaz, by the DAIA, the central representative body of Argentine Jewry. The letter noted that tar bombs were thrown two weeks'ago on tfae building housing the Sociedad   Hebraica Argentina.
WASHINGTON <WNS)-President Nixon has signed a foreign aid bill that contains support for a number of Israeli projects, including a $20 million grant for a desalination program. Hie bill also provides aid to- projects of Hadassah Hospital, the Weizman Institute of Science, Beth Yaacov Avat Girls School, The' Education^ Center ofthe Galilee and Amana Ulpanat' B.A. and other educational institutions, including several for newcomers.
BRUSSELS, (JTA)-Israel and the Common Market countries have concluded a five-year preferential trade agreement that includes pledges on both sides for substantial reductions in tariffs on industrial and farm products. The agreement will go into effecTafter ap-
-^ proval, expected this summer, by, the Cbuncil bf Ministers of tbe ECC and ratification by tiie Israel Knesset. Under the agreement Israel -pledges tariff ^reductions of up to 45 percent on a wide .range of in¬ dustrial, and-.agricultural goods it imports-from :^Common Market countries. The latter have granted an
, immediate tariff cut of 40 percent on la'aeli citrus and set an annual quota of 300 tons on Israeli exports of cotton textiles. The agreement applies to Israeli im-
^ ports worth $82 million and to Common Market imports estimated at $86 million.
Pepper
Warns France
WASHINGTON, . D.C, (WUP)~'nie Ambassador of France to the United States, Charles Lucet, has assured Congressman Claude Pepper of Florida that the delivery of FVench jets to Libya- regarding whicb^France has imposed certain terms and «diich will be delivered over a period of four years-will in no way jeopardize the security of Israel.
Ambassador Lucet's 'assurances' were contained in a letter which he had sent to Cong. Pepper in replay to an urgent telegram which the Florida Representative had wired, him in connection with- the current vi^it to America of President Pompideau. , • .Cong. Pepper, in his wire, "questioned the wisdom of the French sale, to Libya of Tighter jets which, he notedi may be "destined for use by the Arab nations as part of 'their aggression against Israel, thns increasing the danger of warcih the Middle East." ;
Pepper went on to say that "this action on the part of your Government has en¬ couraged further threats on the part of the Soviet Union to give further . en- 'couragement to Arab aggression by contihuing to provide a weapons buildup
1. - ¦
Tekoah Charges UN Suppressed Appeal
By David Horowitz
UNITED NATIONS, (WUP)-Correspondenta/(vere taken ' by surprise here last week when, in a specially.arranged press conference. Ambassador Yosef Tako;a(n charged that the UN Secretariat has succumbed to Soviet pressure by refiising to circulate data dealing with the treatment of Soviet Jews which he had requested to Iki put out as a General Assembly document. In reply to a question by the WUP correspondent, he replied that the UN adUon vis-a-vis Israel set a precedent in UN action. \
Directly after the press conference, a UN spowesman at¬ tempted to present legal grounds for the Secretariat^ refusal to circulate the Israeli document's \
Some of the salient facts    People in the Jewisl\State.
,    \
tor them.
"I believe that it is the consensus of our Congress and country that the Government of the United States cannot allow aggression to be encouraged by such, buildup in Arab arms without our con¬ tributing to stability and peace by matching in arms aid to Israel whatever your Government and the Russians provide to those who declare .their deter¬ mination to destroy Israel."
Rubinstein Forest
Dedicated
Artur Rubinstein, known the world over as one of the most prestigidus artists, of oiir jime, recently dedicated a for^t planted in his honcli' in, the Jerusalem Hills.
The Forest is being sponsored by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra,^ ot which Mr.''Rubinstein is ail hbhprary member, ahd by the FViends of the Orchestra in Israei and abroad. .
Deeply moved, with tears welling up in his eyes, Mr. Rubinstein unveiled the dedication pjaque: He thanked tiiose whose efforts' had made the planting of the Forest possible and added that he was.proiid that part of the love given him goes to, his piciople - the people of Israel. "My father," he said, "was a life-long Zionist and from him I learned of the dream of a Jewish State. In '.(Continued on Page 7)
Chautauqua Gives Books To Dominican Library
Following up on the lectureship in Jewish studies
established by the Jewish Chautsfuqua Society at Ohio
Dominican College last semester, the Society this week
presented 28 leading books on Jewish history to the
,ODC library.
Pictured at the presentation are, left'to right; Sister
M.   Suzanne   Uhrhane,   O.P,,   president   of   Ohio
Dominican; Davjd C. Forman, president of Temple
„ Israel Brotherhood, and Seyman L, Stern, board
' ¦ membei' of.; the  National   Federation  of TempI^
Brotherhoods,,which sponsors the Chautauqua Society.
El Al Stops Promoting    ' Passion Play Tour
NEW YORK,-Assorting itself with worldwide objection tp the Oberammergau Passion Play, El Al, the airline of ^Israel, withdrew from promotion of any tout's that highlight attendance at the West Gerinan village production.
.Mordechai Ben-Ari,'president of El Al, wrote Rabbi Arthur J. Leiyveld, president of the Americah Jewish Congress, that the airline had decided to sever its association "with any efforts to promote tours that feature the Oberammergau Passion Play in theiir itinerary."
The   American   Jewish   thinking     reflects      the
emerging from Mr. Tekoah's dramatic press conference may be summed up as follows:
He said that a dramatic struggle was takihg place in the Soviet Union'7Sga»ling the human rights of tbree and a half million Jews. He noted that an intemational scandal had now been created regarding this matter, referring to the UN refusal to take any action on the.matter.
He revealed that on 27 January he had dispatched a third letter on the subject to U Thant and the President of the Assembly, attached to which, he stressed, were documents from inside the Soviet Union, signed by 25 residents of Moscow. 'They referred to' the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in asking to be allowed to leave the USSR and to live with their own
He then disclosedV that when he submitted this Mter he had been infot-med thS^ it would be acted upon, thatVs, circulated.' But no soonA had this been said, he added than representatives of the\ Spviet Union "exerted the utmost pressure in order to have this document and appeal from within the Soviet union suppressed.
He went on to say that he had first been told by the Secretariat that the Assembly was over and therefore an "A" document could not be issued. He had replied that the second letter on the subject Ihad been circulated after the end of the Assembly. He had-then been told that that was a mistake.
Apparently, given the run^ around after he had pointed out that thejssue of human rights was on the agenda of
(Continued on Page 7)
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UJFC
CAMPAIGN
Congress has described the Oberammergau Passion Play as ^"notoriously anti- Semitic" and since 1966 has piressed for changes in the cehtury-pld text Hitler once endorsed as a cohvicing portrayal of "the menace of Jewry."
The play, produced once a decade for the past 300 years, by the Bavarian villagers, is now being readied for 98- performances between May 18 and S^tember 30 this year.
In making public Mr. Ben- Ari's letter, Rabbi Leiyveld said the El Al decision came in response to efforts by Jew'st) organizations' here and abroad to discourage attendance at the Passion Play,"in the face of obdurate refusal by the Oberam¬ mergau officials^ to make substiantial changes in the. anti-Jewish character of the play. V   '
"Despite" the personal intervention of Jiilius Car; dinal Doepfner, Archbishop of Munich, and requests of the West" German govern¬ ment," Rabbi Leiyveld said, "those in charge of the Passion Play seem deter^ mined to stage a production ^at is^ffensivebotb to Jews and to Christians whose
ecumenic spirit of the past decade."
. The American Jewish Congress spokesman said Cardinal Dpepfner had assigned a local Benedictine priest to submit a revised, text, bu|\that his text had ,been. rejected by the Oberatnmergdu Passion Play committee. , Its .. director, Anton Preisinger, announced last November that the con¬ troversial text dating from 1860 would be the' basis of this year's production. Preisinger said it had be^n "overhauled" but would still contain "some anti-Jewish references." i
Rabbi Leiyveld said that village authorities thus far had refused to release this revised text.
El Al had cooperated in promoting a tour that in¬ cluded a stop at tlie Oberammergau Passion Play enroute to Israel, a- poteiptially< attractive package to Christian visitors to the Holy .Land this spring:
When the American Jewish Congress informed the airline of the continued anti-^mitic nature of the pIay,however, EI Al officials niade the'<^ecisian'to halt such promotion.
By Rabbi Nathan Zelizer
I join my colleagues in issuing this personal appeal to members of my congregation, as well as to the entire Jewish community,, to take more seriously, than ever the appeal of the United Jewish Fund, leadership for maximum support. As a member of the Board of the United Jewish Fund and Council, it has been my privilege tp observe more closely the seriousness with which locaf men and women assume theu: obligations in this critical period of our people. At the cost of much time, energy, money: ~ yes, at the cost of friendship and perhaps being avoided, these men and women demand, urge, cajole, beg, plead in ho uncertain terras to give until it hurts. i
What makes them involve themselves so deeply? They are not better Jews than ypu and I. Uiey do not ha ve a greater stake in the survival, pf our people than you and'I'or our children! What then makes them sacrifice so rhuch.more in time, nioney, aggravation than you and I? I could go into a long and detailed list of answers to these questions historically, theologically,' politically oriented. There is not time for this now.
The simplest answer is - these men and women, like '. you and I, know the dangers bur ipeople in Israel and in other places are facing.fhey know the needs we must meet locally to maintain oiir dignity'and to keep our promises. You and I know it, too. The difference is that they feel the needs and the danger. I hope you feel like they do, then ypu - like they - will give until it hurts!
I pray to the Almighty for your generous response to the United Jewish Fuiid appeal this year and for the success of our undertaking.
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