Page 3-THE NEWS-November 1979
Soviet’s Record on Jews
Is The Same Old Song
Random Thoughts...
By George F. Will
' Washington
The agreement was this: In
exchange for two Soviet spies in
U.S. custody, the Soviets would
release several dissidents, in
cluding Alexander Ginzburg,
and their families. Today the
spies are in Russia. So is Ginz
burg’s wife, mother, two sons,
and foster son, Sergei.
Mrs.’ Ginzburg will not leave
Sergei, who is ill and is being
persecuted. Soviet authorities
say he will “never” be allowed to
leave. In spite of grave medical
problems, he has been drafted
and assigned to northern
regions.
Although Alexander Ginz
burg is a convert to the Russian
Orthodox faith, at age 16 he took
his mother’s maiden name,
rather than his father’s name,
as a way of protesting Soviet
anti-Semitism, and he declared
himself Jewish which, under
Soviet law, is treated as a
nationality as well as a religion.
The persecution of his family is
almost certainly a facet of the of
ficial anti-Semitism of the
Soviet state.
Anti-Semitism is as
traditional in Russia as tyran
ny. But anti-Semitism recently
has been intensified under
Brezhnev. Soviet publishing
facilities, all of which are part of
a state monopoly, chum out a
muddy river of anti-Semitic
propaganda.
A recent Soviet book criticizes
Soviet television for using
“heroes who look like Jews.”
Another describes the Torah as
“a textbook unsurpassed for
bloodthirstiness, hypocrisy,
betrayal, perfidy and moral
degeneracy.”
. r Another book equates
Zionism and Hitlerism. A book
published by the Ministry of In
ternal Affairs goes further. It
says Zionism is “one of the
varieties of fascism, “but is
more dangerous than even the
German variety. An anti-
Semitic movie was shown
recently on Soviet television
and was repeated because of
“popular demand.” A recent art
exhibit featured a grotesque pai
nting of a pile of Russian cor
pses being gloated over by a
grinning Nazi soldier and a
grinning Jewish prisoner wear
ing a Star of David. The
message: Nazis and Jews were
collaborators.
Another book, by a professor
at Moscow’s magnificently
named Patrice Lumumba Un
iversity, reports that Jews
dominate ^eemasonry and
that Free Masons already
dominate the world.
A prestigious Soviet
publishing organization has
produced a book that says
“Zionists” in the Soviet Union
(meaning Jews who would
rather live elsewhere) are linked
to the CIA. The government
newspaper, Izvestia, hailed this
book as “a humane publication,
a contribution to the implemen
tation of the Helsinki accords.”
The Helsinki accords were
signed four years ago; they were
syrup on the sundae of detente.
Ihey commit the signatories to
many things, such as
facilitating the reunification of
families, like the Ginzburg fami
ly. The Soviets show for that
commitment the same kind of
contempt they show for the
agreement that was the basis of
the deal that sent the two spies
back to Russia.
The Soviets’ idea about what
constitutes “a contribution to
the implementation of the
Helsinki accords” should in
terest U.S. senators as they con- ,
sider the many problems of
defining, construing and verify
ing compliance with the terms
of SALT II.
Important Notice!
If you receive any unsolicited mail from a Lawton Taylor of
Gastonia or any other source (contents concern Messianic
Jews/Jews for (IJhrist movements) please leave it with its
original envelope at the JCC, marked attention: Charlotte
Jewish Federation.
by Muriel Levitt
The societal influence of
Jewish educators, sdentists, ar-
tisans and business en
trepreneurs has been felt around
the world. Our brethren abound
in every area of the professions,
arts, and general industry. Most
certainly we can be collectively
proud of their academic and in-
dustrial accomplishments.
However, there are many more
Jewish stars in the firmament
than one might imagine.
Take show business, for in
stance. Even in the early days of
Hollywood we were well
represented. If you are as old as I
am then, of course, you
remember the nastiness of
Eklward G. Robinson and creepy
Peter Lorre, both actors you just
loved to hate. Do you recall the
dapper European Paul Lukas
who was suave and thrilled the
ladies with his heel clicking and
hand kissing? In contrast, the
artistry of Paul Muni will never
be forgotten. His portrayals of
Dreyfus and Pasteur still re
main film classics.
Another old favorite was
Ricardo Cortez, a latter day
Valentino, who had the patent
leather hair to prove it. One of
my special leading ladies of that
era was Sylvia Sidney who
usually appeared only in three
handkerchief pictures like
“Dead End” and “Symphony of
Six Million.” Sylvia is still
around today, now a famous ex
pert on needlepoint and han
diwork.
Of more recent vintage we
have Lauren Bacall, a Jewish
girl from the Bronx, who made
an impact in movies and then
gained still more recognition by
marrying Humphrey Bogart.
During this same period Kirk
Douglas canie into^^ryminence
with his rugg^ masculinity
and his individualistic dimple-
in-the-chin good looks.
Ihey were ail headline stars
in movietown but I’m willing to
bet that there must have b^n
more Jewish entertainers who
did not identify and probably
changed their names to gain
religious anonymity. After the
Hollywood witch hunts, and in
more recent times, it has become
fashionable to flaunt a minority
religion. Suddenly Jewish
names started to pop up all over
the place. Even Yiddish words
and expressions became part of
the everyday vocabulary.
The list of Jewish comedians
from the past seems endless...
Jack Benny, George Bums,
Milton Berle, Henny
Youngman, Eddie Cantor, Jan
Murray, Red Buttons, Jack
Carter, Jerry Lester, Don
Rickies, The Marx Brothers,
Joey Hshop, Jerry Lewis... I
could go on and on. We owe them
all a debt of gratitude for the
years of laughter and pleasure
they gave us both then and now.
^die Fisher’s lyrical tenor
voice brought him fame at an
early age, too early, I am afraid,
for him to handle it wisely. Con
versely, young Susan Strasberg
received acclaim for her acting,
paced her career intelligently,
and is still emoting successfully.
Tony Randall, an exceptional
comedic talent, had his early
beginnings in Brooklyn but is
currently the debonair, polish
ed, complete sophisticate. Bar
bra Streisand, also originally a
New Yorker, is in a class all by
herself. She sings, acts, com
poses, and directs without any
formal training. Naturally
gifted and supremely talented,
she is a star among stars.
I must mention Anthony
Newley and Richard Dawson,
two extremely popular
Englishmen, who are widely in
volved in the performing arts as
well as many Jewish activities.
The blessing of laughter has
never deserted our people. There
are so many young comedians
around now that it would be
almost impossible to name them
all. I will concentrate on my four
favorites in the interest of brevi
ty. My all time far out madman
is Mel Brooks. He has been with
us -for eons,
particular'form of insal^y, but'
most people have only dis
covered his genius for craziness
in the past few years.
Next comes Woody Allen.
whose depth of perception and
wild humor combine to make
this little man a giant of
slapstick. His movies are very
special and receive all the atten- ’
tion and awards they richly
deserve.
Gene Wilder and Marty Feld
man are both unique. Gene is.a
New Yorker with an unworldly
Fonda
and
Hayden
NEW YORK (JTA) - Two
leaders in the anti-nuclear
energy coalition, Jane Fonda
and Tomy Hayden, said that
there is a tilt of American
foreign policy to Arab causes
through the pressure of the ma
jor oil companies and their
friends who depend on Saudi
Arabia and Kuwait for nine
million barrels of oil a day.
Hayden, who focussed on this
facet of U.S. policy, stressed
that there is “no way the energy
issue can be disconnected firom
the crisis in the Middle E^st and
no way the crisis in the Middle
B^st can be disconnected from
the energy crisis.”
Hayden and Fonda addressed
more than 900 people at Temple
Shaaray Tefila on “Key
Economic and Energy Issues of
the 1980s” at a meeting spon
sored by the citywide Brandeis-
Kallen Chapter of the American
Jewish Congress. Both Fonda
and Hayden, whose remarks
were greeted by frequent
applause, have been touring the
country to speak out against the
use of nuclear energy and to
campaign for phasing out
nuclear plants, ending
American dependence on oil
and calling for a crash program
to develop solar energy.
Black-Jewish Relations
Ihe National Jewish Com
munity . Relations Advisory
Council issued the following
response to the black leadership
statement on black-Jewish
relations:
As agencies which have been
deeply involved for many
decades in achieving civil rights
and which have contributed our
manpower, finances and lives to
that struggle, we take pride in
our continued commitment to
those goals that grow out of our
Jewish heritage.
Thus, it is with sorrow and
anger that we note the August
22 statement issued by a group
of black leaders on black-Jewish
relations.
We know that many black
leaders feel as we do. They are
and will continue to be our
allies. We join hands with them
in the struggle against injustice.
We cannot work with those
Hayden, who heads the Cam
paign for Economic Democracy,
asserted that there is a “coali
tion between big oil and the
PLO. The same establishment
that opposes radical change
suddenly finds itself in secret
but real alliance with (PLO chief
Yassir) Arafat. There’s an in
visible but far-reaching lobby
for Uie interests of Arab states
and the Arab rich” in this coun
try.
who resort to half truths, lies
and bigotry in any guise or from
any source.
We cannot work with those
who in failing to differentiate
between the Palestinian Arabs
and the PLO give support to
terrorism by legitimizing the
PLO.
We cannot work with those
who would succumb to Arab
blackmail on the energy crisis.
We will continue to cooperate
with those in the black com
munity who fight for peace and
justice in the Middle East. ^
We will continue to fight
racism — be it white against
black or black against white —
with all the strength we can
muster.
We will continue to cooperate
with the black commimity in the
campaign for full employment.
We will continue to cooperate
with those in the black com
munity who fight for fair hous
ing, integrated quality educa
tion, health care, and equitable
solutions to inflation and the
energy crisis.
Editors’ note: The above state
ment was drafted by an
NJCRAC subcommittee con
sisting of the American Jewish
Committee, the American
Jewish Congress, the ADL of
B’nai B’rith and the Jewish
Labor Committee.) Other
national member agencies are:
B'nai B’rith, Hadassah, Jewish
Labor Committee, Jewish War
Veterans of the U.S.A.,
National Council of Jewish
Women, Union of American
Hebrew Congregations, Union
of Orthodox Jewish Con
gregations of America, United
Synagogue of America,
Women's American CRT.
manner that borders on the
“manic’' while Marty is a Lon
doner whose pop eyes and utter
abandon make him the weirdo
of all time.
Surely >we cannot ignore those
converts, to Judaism who em
braced us some time ago and are
still our. co-religionists. I refer
first to Sammy Davis, Jr. who
has been test^ and not found
wanting! He is a practicing Jew
who wiU hot perform on the high
holidays and who is proud of Ms
chosen religious life style.
And now we come to
Elizabeth Taylor, the middle
aged actress whom many
regard as the reigning movie
queen of the century. The ex
quisite beauty of liz has dimm-
^ somewhat, but an inner fire is
still there and very apparent.
Her conversion to Judaism
came about because of a
marriage to Mike Todd, but his
death did not alter her convic
tions.
So there you have it. Un
questionably, I have omitted
some of your favorites. These
names are just a few in the long
roster of entertainers, actors
and personalities. They are part
of us and we are part of them.
Naturally some will be lost and
forgotten, but others will emerge
to amuse and delight the public.
And if a few of them just happen
to be Jewish, wouldn’t that be
nice!
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