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Sa ee ere th eae Se ase ee _—_ . Totalitarian r@® 4. Mr. LanisiNelson, Vice-President of th. glernational Ladies’ Garment Workers Unjon and one of the most independent and courageous men in the Jewish Labor movement, has written an article in the current (February) issue of the Jewish Bulletin in which he charges that American Jews who live under one of the most democratic governments and who have, themselves, a great tradition of a liberal and almost revolutionary past, are now exhibiting a state of mind and emotional attitude which can be deséribed only as totalitarian. The fact that this totalitarianism gga is not of a political nature and does not use the physical force g2y4 of the state to enforee its will does not make it less vicious. 4 Social ostracism, traditional taboo, economic boycotts, character Ed assassination and other forms of modern pressure tactics can and waa do make the lot of the Jewish dissenter from the majority very Fea trying and often painful. , sO ==4 Nelson confirms the fact. long known to every observer that .-] the emergence of the state of Israel has created a curious psycho- logical manifestation not only in Israel, but also among many American Jews. It has let loose a wave of racial pride, religious 7 intolerance, and nationalistic fanaticism. Israel has become almost an object of religious worship among Zionists. To criticize a pol- tion\the infallibility or the absolute righteousness of~ Israel, is equivalent to treason. In order to enforce these views and emo- tional ‘attitudes on the nonconformist anti-Zionists who do not share them, the fanaties have evolved a system of pressures which, although # rently harmless in comparison with political force, can be and are .ery effective. Samples of Pressures Mr, Nelson deals with these pressures. He deliberately ignores the big well-known demonstrations of organized political pres~ : gures on Congressmen, Senators, editors and other American ‘_ public men. He relates only small facts of everyday experiences which do not make the headlines, but nevertheless ustrate the ington and the Madison Square lies. 4 He tells the story of Dr. Herman Ms, at the New York University, and a well-known lawyer and ‘2 life-long liberal active in the labor" movement and in the Ameri- ei. can Jewish Committee. This man has the distinction of being ae 24 the only American Jewish leader of standing in the community _ + who has had the courage to voice his disapproval of the present 7 Zionist-produced hysteria and to say in public what many non- , Zionists say privately. Writing in the Jewish Newsletter (Nov. : | 21, 1955) on the Failure of American Jewish Leadership, he said: ‘ Gray, professor of law American Jews axe no whit diferent from their fellow citizens. They do not and will not subordinate the interests of this land of their birth or adoption to those of Israel. They deny with indignation any suggestion of dusl Joyalty, They are honest in their denial, For them there is only one home and one country. Unfortunately American Jews are in danger of being put in a false light. At thig critical juncture thei journals, their publications, their spokesmen are failing them. For having the courage to voice these simple truths, Dr. Grey was described as a leader of a “sonspiracy to truncate Israel,” as the “prize specimen in the stable of Jewish donkeys” and simi- larly attacked for weeks in succession’. (National Jewish Post, Dee. 2, 9, 16, 23) in an effort to’ discredit him in the Americen Jewish Committee. ’ _, Pressures pn Newspapers As another illustration of the same trend, Nelson cites the Newsletter since ovember when the publicars” tion te -oGit of hysteria-introduced by 4 “yjsts into thet ‘ures on America since the opr$ of the Israeli government is tantamount to sacrilege; to ques- — 4 working of the trend more graphically than marches on Wash-' government. He pga, out that the Middle Kast situation was complicated, that had its own interests which are in conflict with the int. <3 of Moscow, and that the truth was not entirely on the side of Israel.” The article was quoted in Time (Nov. 20, 1955). This so enraged the fanatics that they were not satisfied with unleashing against this publication the usual - mob incitement of lies, calumny, and character assassination in - their presa, but have also organized a campaign of private letter writing te prominent perso: ities and friends of the publication to urge them to boycott it and thus force its suspension, a cam- paign which, incidentally, is still continuing, Pressures in the Labor Movement Nelson is even more disturbed by the fact that this spirit of totalitarianism has infected other orgatiizations which have noth- - ing to do with Zionism. “JT know of Jewish union leaders who are afraid to express an opinion. } know of Jewish businessmen and industrialists who are too intimidated to stand up to pressure,” be says. At a recent UIA meeting In Brooklyn to which be was invited, the suggestion was made that Jewish trade union leaders should exert influence and pressure on employers with whom their unions have contracts to increase their contribution to the UJA. Nelson pleces in the same category the practice followed by a number of trade unions of mpposing a-tax on all their mem- bers, Jewish and non-Jewish, in favor of Histadrut. “This is the picture of Jewish communal life and of the Jewish press now,” he concludes, “Each organization vies with the other in the use of totalitarian pressure Public opinion is atrophied, The individual is lost. The cul- fish community of America”. ; Completing the sad picture independently of Nelson, the New “York ‘Chapler ot ae fscmsau Suni? Cor Aandeiac sepente the following in the April issue of its publication: “There have come to our attention recently instances of pres- sures alleged to have been made by some Zionists against mem- hers of the American Council for Judaism. These charges seem. incredible when we remember we are living in a democracy and not under a terrorist dictatorship. We are anxious to ver- ify them where and if possible. It és said that business and professional men have been threatened with economic boycott if they join the Council; or, where it ig known that they are members of the Council, they have been forced to withdraw under threat that their Evelihood would be destroyed.” . ' » william zukerman READERS FORUM Change of Heart _ During the second half of 1955, I reached the conclusion that the views expressed in the Jewish Newsletter no longer repre-. sented what I considered a fair appraisal of the position of the American Jewish Community. Durmg those few months, I con- eluded that I didn’t want to continue to receive the Newsletter as I feared that it had become a mouthpiece for the.American Council for Judaism, which Im many cases I consider arbitrarily anti-Israel as well ag anti-Zionist. I . "The inclosed check is evidence that recent issued of the News—_ letter have struck me as enlightening and 8 completely fair state- ment of the situation as it presently’ exista. I circulated and quoted the Newsletter of January 16th among quite a few ot my friends, and 7 am particularly impressed with every article m the issue of February 13th. . In spite of the attacks on you, which are undoubtedly numerous and relentless, I hope you will be able to retain an objective approach to the eritical problems in which we Ameri- tan Jews find ourselves inevitably involved. Hamilton, Ohio . . William 3 Wolf “1 have found the Newsletter quite valuable, and have used material from: it-direetly: or indirectly on many occasions. 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