Congress bulletin, 1 février 1968, Février

[" EWISHÉCONGRESS PUBLISHED BY CANADIAN VOL.24 No.2 MONTREAL, QUEBEC CITI = FEBRUARY, 1968 Comment: AS A RECOGNITION OF THE PAST The Canadian Jewish Congress Museum & Archives, Inc.The Canadian Jewish community is coming of age.Our community need not be dubbed smug or sinfully proud if it asserts that it is mindful of its past, it worries about the problems of the present and is concerned about its future.It can admit it has responded to the urgencies of its time in recognizing the travail and hardship of Jewish communities of Europe and, more latterly, of those of North Africa.Its traditional support of a homeland for Jews in Palestine has brightened its pages of history with rich luminosity.Its concern with the building of a Jewish State has been a daily preoccupation and our lives have been enriched by our efforts and the people of Israel have been enormously benefitted.The network of charitable and benevolent activities in Canada are most impressive and rank from children\u2019s aid societies, family welfare bureaux, old age homes, hospitals and innumerable other welfare organizations.Jewish religious activity finds great support.We are not found wanting either in our support of the general community\u2019s needs be they universities or general hospitals or the great variety of welfare and philanthropic services.However, before we compliment ourselves in a state of heady self-congratulation and assume it is the best of all possible worlds any stock-taking will reveal many lacunae.To accent one phase only of our inadequacy, let us pose the question this way: can any community really be considered a complete personality if almost all its efforts are concentrated in the inevitable and necessary round of fundraising?Can a community be a well rounded one, if the catalogue of its assets fails to reveal the evidence of a place in the cultural sun?Would past civilizations ever be remembered, if it were not for their interest in and support of the aesthetic values?These questions lead to the recognition that the Canadian Jewish community has no national cultural centre, no national museum, no national archives, no national Library of Jewish Information.Can you think of British, French or U.S.Jewry without Jewish museums, or archives, or proper physical facilities for research programme?At last, Canadian Jewry is coming of age.In 1961 plans were advanced to build a National Headquarters for the Canadian Jewish Congress, the chief features of which would be these very manifestations of maturity, a library of Jewish information, a museum, a repository of archives and a building which would give concrete evidence to ourselves and to the total community that behind this facade of activity in all fields of welfare and educational work is a truly grown-up and culturally-oriented community.By a happy coincidence the suggestion was further advanced that such a national enterprise should bear the name of Samuel Bronfman in recognition of his personal leadership over 25 years and in tribute to a career unique in Canadian annals.Seven years have passed since the plans were first devised but land suitable for the purpose in the area desired, at a price economical enough, was very hard fo come by, Finally, the building committee found an impressive location at the very crossroads of all areas.(Cont'd on page 4) PREMIER ESHKOL VISITS CANADA Premier Levi Eshkol of Israel, accompanied by his wife, visited Canada during January.Among the many activities on his busy Canadian schedule, the Israeli Prime Minister addressed the opening public session of the Canadian Hadassah-WIZO convention and was the guest of honour at an Israel Bond Dinner, which was chaired by Mr.Samuel Bronfman, chairman of CJC Board of Governors.Pictured above: Mr.Michael Garber, Q.C., CJC president, meets the Israeli Premier and Mrs.Eshkol upon arrival at Dorval Airport on behalf of the Canadian Jewish community.(From left to right): Col.Dov Sinai, Israel Consul General, Montreal; Israel Ambassador to Canada, Arieh Eshel; Mr.Garber; Premier Eshkol; and Mrs, Eshkol.SAMUEL BRONFMAN AS MUCH A PROMISE OF THE FUIURE HOUSE UNDERWAY Br] ] PTT Scale model of the Canadian Jewish Congress Museum & Archives, Inc.building, which is to be known as The Samuel Bronfman House.Construction is scheduled to commence in Spring, 1968.Plans are now underway for the construction of The Canadian Jewish Congress Museum and Archives in Montreal, according to Mr.E.Leo Kolber of Montreal, who was recently appointed national chairman of the building\u2019s advisory committee, The building will be known as the Samuel Bronfman House in recognition of the unique and outstanding services that Mr, Bronfman has rendered to Jewry at home and abroad as well as to the general community and-will serve as national Canadian Jewish Congress headquarters for National Archives; Bureau of Jewish Information; National Museum; Library of Adult Education; Education Department; Exhibition area and administrative offices.Mr.Kolber pointed out that \u201cMr.Bronf- man served for practically a quarter of a century as national president of the Canadian Jewish Congress which under his leadership he fashioned what is truly the voice of Canadian Jewry.\u201d Today Mr.Bronfman continues his association with Congress and serves as chairman of the Board of Governors of Congress.Among his many important communal offices, Mr.Bronfman is also vice president of the North American Section of the World Jewish Congress.The structure which is scheduled for completion within the next 18 months will be in the heart of Montreal on the corner of McGregor and Cote des Neiges.The site was selected, not only for its prestigious central location, but also for its easy accessibility to all members of the Montreal Jewish community.\u201cThe construction of a new national headquarters,\u201d Mr.Kolber said, \u201cprovides Canadian Jewry with a fitting and appropriate opportunity to honour and give permanent recognition to one whose devotion and dedication to our community has been unparalleled and whose lifetime of leadership is a unique source of inspiration and encouragement to members of the Canadian Jewish community.\u201cAs the spokesman of Canadian Jewry,\u201d Mr.Kolber continued, \u201cCongress is responsible for executing a myriad of tasks dedicated towards safeguarding and strengthening Jewish Life, while at the same time it seeks to develop the highest standards of citizenship in the best interests of Canada and the Jewish people.It is the address of the Canadian Jewish community.\u201cOver the years its activities have increased many fold, .accentuating the limita- (Cont'd on page 2) National Executive Meets The National Executive Committee of Canadian Jewish Congress met in Toronto on January 21, 1968 and dealt with the following agenda.Community Relations: Regional reports were discussed and legislation against hate propaganda and areas of concern to the Joint Committee with the Federation Zionist Organization of Canada on matters affecting Israel were reviewed.Foreign Affairs: The National Foreign Affairs Committee, under the chairmanship of Mr.Michael Garber, Q.C., CJC president, met immediately prior to the National Executive Committee meeting.Its agenda included reports on COJO and World Jewish Congress; neo-Nazism in Germany; Jews in Arab countries and U.N.Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Religious Intolerance.Reports on these issues were presented directly to the National Executive.Mr.Lavy M.Becker, who represents Congress on the Governing Council of the World Jewish Congress, reported on the meeting of the Council which was recently PLENARYWSESSION - MA Y@1 6-20 \u2018- TORONTO held in London, England, and on discussions regarding the formation of a world-wide Jewish body, which would also include groups presently not associated with World Jewish Congress or with COJO.Mr.Becker on his recent trip also visited Prague and met With leaders of the Jewish community of Czechoslovakia.Plenary Session: A meeting was held of the National Arrangements Committee for the Plenary Session, chaired by Mr.Sheldon Kert, on the evening immediately prior to the National Executive meeting.Recommendations concerning program and procedures to be followed at the Plenary Session were presented to the National Executive.It was agreed that the convention will initiate the observance of the 50th anniversary of the Canadian Jewish Congress, which first met in March 1919, and will be designated the \u201c50th Anniversary Convention.\u201d Approval was given to the recommend- (Contd on page 4) CONGRESS BULLETIN FEBRUARY, 1968 Jewish Day Schools in Montreal The following is the text of the announcement made by the Protestant School Board of Greater Montreal on its decision to enter into direct negotiations with Jewish Day Schools, which applied for \u201cassociate\u201d status: \u201cThe Protestant School Board of Greater Montreal will enter into direct negotiations with various private educational institutions that have applied for associate status.The basis for these negotiations will be a contract which was drawn up by representatives of the Board and of the Canadian Jewish Congress.\u201cAs a result of Bill 37 which was passed by the Quebec Legislative Assembly last June, private educational institutions throughout the Province are permitted to negotiate for associate status with various public school boards.When this status is given, the private school then will receive and agreed-upon sum of money for each of its pupils from the territory of the public school board.\u201c \u201cWhile all types of private schools are eligible to apply, the majority of applicants to date have been Hebrew parochial schools) commented PSBGM chairman Peter Millar.\u2018As a result, the Board felt it would be best to work with the Canadian Jewish Congress in an effort to establish some common ground on which these negotiations might be based.The contract is the result of this, and we are grateful to the Congress for its help.\u201cWhen agreements between the PSBGM and specific schools are concluded, they will not take effect until the Department of Education gives its approval.For this reason, both the Board and Congress officials made every attempt to have their contract as close as possible to one already suggested by the Department.This, they succeeded in doing.\u201cConcerned solely with the secular educational activities of private educational institutions, the new contract will provide each school which is granted associate status with a sum of $30.00 per pupil from the territorial limits of the PSBGM per school month.This will mean that each school concerned will receive a sum of $300.00 per year per pupil concerned.The PSBGM estimates that it costs about $50.00 per school month to educate a normal pupil.It is believed that about 60% of the total school time of Hebrew schools is spent on secular studies.Also an extensive study of per pupil costs at various Hebrew schools was made.\u201cInitial agreements will be retroactive to January 1, 1968 and they will be in effect until June 30, 1969.For either party to terminate these agreements, a minimum of five months notice must be given.\u201d JEWS IN RUSSIA The following is the full text of the resolution on Jews in Russia and attacks on Israel in Soviet Press adopted by the Governing Council of the World Jewish Congress at its meeting held in London, England, on January 9, 1968.\u201cThe World Jewish Congress expresses its regret and indignation at the indefensible attacks on Israel and Zionism which have disfigured the Soviet press and mass media in recent months.These attacks, and the terms in which they are couched, are not only offensive to the Jewish people but must inevitably give encouragement to those, in the Soviet Union and elsewhere, who seek to foment the kind of anti-Jewish prejudice which Soviet leaders have in the past repudiated and condemned.The allegation that a national liberation movement like Zionism is in the same category as Nazism is not only grotesque on its face but is calculated to create an atmosphere of distrust and hatred which must make more difficult the achievement of a just and permanent peace in the Middle East.\u201cThe Congress renews its appeal to the Soviet leaders to ensure for Soviet Jewry the same rights and facilities as are granted to other religious and ethnic minorities for the maintenance and development of their religious and cultural traditions and institutions.This appeal, which is based on the principles of equality and non-discrimi- nation and enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Constitution of the Soviet Union, is appropriately renewed in the opening weeks of the International Year for Human Rights.It is in no way related to, or influenced by, any of the conflicts which unhappily divide the world.It represents a simple quest for justice long denied, and the hope that the Soviet Union will be moved to observe the International Year by giving heed to the plea voiced not only by Jewish communities but by democratic movements and friends of the Soviet Union in many parts of the world.\u201cThe Congress in this context recalls the statement of the Chairman of the Soviet Council of Ministers a year ago that no difficulty would be placed in the path of those who seek to emigrate in order to reunite families sundered as a result of war and Nazi persecution.This assurance, also, which was widely welcomed at the time was based on humanitarian consideration which remain valid whatever the state of international relations.We urge that it should be fully implemented both to lift the burden of suffering and separation from families innocent of any offense and in order to promote goodwill and mutual understanding in the family of nations.\u201d Montreal The Jewish Daily Eagle of Montreal has resumed publication Historical Society Lawrence Lande Mr.Lawrence Lande has accepted the chairmanship of the Canadian Jewish Historical Society in Montreal, which is sponsored by the Canadian Jewish Congress, succeeding Dr.Alton Goldbloom.Mr.Lande was one of the first recipients of the Medal of Service of the Order of Canada.He established the Lawrence Lande Foundation for Canadian Historical Research at McGill University and purchased jointly with McGill University the Lande Collection and the Arkin Collection of Western Canadiana.Among his many publications is included \u201cThe Lawrence Lande Collection of Canadiana,\u201d Montreal, 1965.He established a centennial fellowship in Canadian History for post-graduate students at McGill University and the University of Montreal for the purpose of creating a history book of Canada to be used in primary and secondary schools throughout Canada in English and French.He is found- \u2018er and general chairman of the Judaica Institute of Arts and Letters.The next meeting of the Canadian Jewish Historical Society will be held February 28, 1968.Mr.Justice Harry Batshaw will speak on \u201cThe Jew in the Judiciary.\u201d a Siti i JDC AIDS 13,000 FRANCE: Medical care is one of the many services provided for needy North African Jewish refugees coming into France.Of the 15,000 who arrived from Morocco and Tunisia in the latter half of 1967, more than 13,000 applied for some form of assistance from French Jewish welfare agencies, which are partly sponsored by the Joint Distribution Committee., A total of 24,200 Jews departed from Arab countries during the six month period from July 1 to December 31, 1967, Louis D.Horwitz, Director-General of the Joint Distribution Committee, recently reported.More than 15,000 of these escapees found haven in France and approximately 13,000 of them have already applied for some form of help to Jewish welfare agencies subsidized by JDC.7 \u201cBecause JDC is the major American agency serving needy Jews overseas, the plight of those in the Arab countries is one of our primary concerns,\u201d Horwitz declared.\u201cTheir welfare, both in their native lands and in the countries in which they find haven, is precisely the type of world Jewish problem which prompted American Jews to organize JDC more than fifty years ago.In recent years, a large part of our work has been centered therefore on France, which has been a major haven for Jewish refugees and escapees since the end of World War II\u201d The Jewish population of France in 1945 was 150,000, Horwitz reported.At the present time, the figure has risen to 550,000.By far the bulk of this net increase of 400,000 is the result of successive waves of migration \u2014 from the displaced persons camps, from Eastern Europe and from North Africa.\u201cSince the end of the war, France has admitted and absorbed more Jews than any other country in the world except Israel,\u201d Horwitz said.\u201cIt is interesting to note that the open door policy toward refugees, which has prevailed in France since the war, continues with the present government,\u201d Despite a sharp increase in Jewish needs, the Fonds Social Juif Unifié, the central welfare body of the French Jewish community, continues to assume an ever-grow- ing share of financial responsibility for welfare programs.Today JDC meets only 25 percent of the FSJU budget.\u201cIf French Jewry had not had so many new problems to face it would be on its own today and have no further need of outside help,\u201d Mr.Horwitz concluded.JDC is a major beneficiary of the United Jewish Relief Agencies of Canada.Bronfman (Cont'd from page 1) tions of the facilities which currently house the Congress headquarters.More office and executive space is needed, but primarily the Jewish community requires a structure that will make it possible to meet present and future plans,\u201d Mr.Kolber stated.\u201cThe blueprint for the new National Headquarters building,\u201d he said, \u201ctherefore, provides for a national Jewish archives, a library and bureau of Jewish information, a library of adult education, the beginnings of a national museum reflecting the history of Canadian Jewry and attractive exhibition areas where the achievement of Canadian Jewish men and women of arts and letters can be displayed.It will provide ample facilities for Congress directors, staff and committee members to function efficiently.facilities in which the Congress program aimed at maintaining a wholesome Jewish life for this and generations yet to come, will be further enhanced and strengthened.\u201cThe progress that Jewry has made,\u201d mail cash.Postage paid at Montreal.Published monthly except July and August by the Canadian Jewish Congress, 493 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, to report on the activities of Canadian Jewry and matters of interest to them.Authorized as second class by the Post Office Department, Ottawa, and for payment of postage in National President.Michael Garber, QC.National Executive Vice-President .Saul Hayes, QC PressOfficer .cocovvvviiviieien.Jean Mr.Kolber concluded, \u201ccoupled with the stature and maturity that it has attained nationally and internationally, necessitate the completion of a new National Headquarters building which will reflect with pride and dignity not only vestiges of our past, but our confidence in the promise of the future.\u201d Members of the Advisory Committee for the Canadian Jewish Museum and Archives include: E.Leo Kolber, chairman; Monroe Abbey, Q.C.; Jack Becker; Ben Beutel; Henry Blatt; Allan Bronfman; Charles Bronfman; Gerald Bronfman; Gordon Brown; Percy Caplan; Maxwell Cummings; Michael Garber, Q.C.; William Gittes; Saul Hayes, Q.C.; Harold Lande, Q.C.; Boris Levine; Moe Levine; Moe Levitt; Jacob Lowy; Sydney Maislin; Ben Marks; Alfred Miller; Arthur Pascal; Lazarus Phillips, O.B.E., Q.C.; Louis Reitman; Arthur Rud- nikoff; Sam Steinberg; Sigmund Unterberg; Cecil Usher; Philip Vineberg, Q.C.; Alvin Walker (Montreal); Ray Wolfe; Noa Torno (Toronto).Esmond Lando, Q.C.(Vancouver).Sol Kanee; Maitland Steinkopf, Q.C.(Winnipeg); Harry Cohen; Morris Hector (Calgary); Sam Belzberg (Edmonton).Kitchener Mr.Harold Somer has been elected president of the Beth Jacob Congregation of Kitchener, Ont.Other officers elected are: vice president \u2014 Harold Zacks; secretary \u2014 Ernier Raphael; treasurer \u2014 Leo Woly- netz; financial secretary \u2014 Bennett Agra- nove; chairman, education committee \u2014 Manley Walters.Montreal The United Jewish Teachers Seminary of Montreal held a reunion of its former graduates on February 13 to mark the 20th anniversary of the Seminary.oa x TS il SN ~~ £ antl Ang 0 tnd litany Ibvtioy SO, as of Wii persons le va, { mow world ine id in ih the ed cml FOF fy fr Fred dim | jh the fund pale { vib of our ie of it fi chives FEBRUARY, 1968 CONGRESS BULLETIN Among the Remnants of a Jewish Colony in From Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, an electric train cuts the country in two as it goes to the Brazilian border.From there a small single-coach railway takes you across the border to Pelotas, a city in the province of Rio Grande do Sul.I chose this route because going from Argentina to Brazil I had already had the experience of travelling by boat, by airplane and even on a crudely built raft.This time I chose to go by railway and electric railway at that.Forty years before when I went from Porto Alegro to Rio de Janiero on a ship of the \u201cLloyd Brasiliero\u201d, 1 passed Pelotas which then had a small Jewish community.I was curious to see what it looked like after three decades.I came on a Sunday when all the shops were closed and I had no address to look up.I stopped at a few cafes where one usually meets Jews at their stammitsch.1 did not have to wait long.In one particularly noisy cafe I heard Yiddish being spoken, and saw Jewish faces.This was the \u201cJewish table.\u201d I started to chat with them and was soon asked \u201cDid you have to come all the way from New York only to meet us at this cafe?\u201d 1 asked for some of the residents whom I remembered from my last visit and the answers were either they had died or they had succeeded in business and moved away to Rio or Sao Paulo.The number of Jews had not increased since then, in fact it had diminished.Pelotas is a place to begin and from which one works up to the larger centres where there are Jewish schools for the children and marriage prospects for the son and daughter.They pointed out to me an elderly Jew sitting alone at a nearby table like a mourner, in total silence: \u201cHis daughter married an Italian, and she\u2019s not the only one.\u201d From Pelotas a bus takes you to Porto Alegre, the largest Jewish community in the province.Memories of 30 years ago assailed me.I remembered how the Jews of Porto Alegre built a synagogue and in front of it erected two stone statues: one of Moses with lights shining from it and the other of Aaron holding the tablets of the Law.After moving for a while our bus suddenly ground to a halt.We had reached an impasse.The rains had flooded the roads and we had to wait.How long?The answer was a Brazilian one: there's lots of time.After half a day's wait the waters subsided a bit and were taken over to the other side in a raft.Then the bus itself was transported on top of a number of rafts and drenched by the downpour we reached Porto Alegre late at night.I read on the front page of the Porto Alegre newspaper a story that hundreds of intrusos (intruders) had invaded the Jewish colony of Quatro Irmaos in the same province and had seized the fields.Troops were expected.My journalistic instinct was aroused and I decided on the spot to go there directly and find out all there was to know.It was a long way from Porto Alegre, however, and it would take days and nights by normal transportation.The only airplanes travelling there were very small insecure aircraft which shake and quiver in the air and sometimes shake and quiver till they fall to the ground.But my nose for news got the better of me and very soon I was sailing through the sunny blue sky of Brazil in an airplane that held only six passengers and which looked like an old fashioned kneading rough.We flew as far as Paso Fundo.There I boarded a bus to the town of Eroshim and there I transfered to a second bus which was to bring me to the Jewish colony of Quatro Irmaos \u2014 a trip lasting about six hours.As my luck would have it, just then a wild and capricious semi-tropical storm broke out in all its fury.The rather primitive road was flooded on every side.The water rose higher and higher and our bus strove with all its might and main to evade the threatening flood.The woman passengers grew panicky.The driver and his assistant stepped into the raging water to help the motor \u2014 but in vain.Did I need all this?I had been staying in a clean comfortable hotel and I had to become involved in this! I remembered what my mother used to say when as a boy I would climb up the trees and swim in the deepest part of the lake: \u201cYou will die and no one will know where your bones lie.\u201d Women were getting hysterical.The water was penetrating the bus.My mind at this point went blank, refusing to contemplate what was happening.Suddenly in the darkness of the oncoming night I saw tiny shimmering points of light coming towards the bus.They turned out to be Brazilian peasants armed with rope and axe, who leapt down from their swimming horses and started the rescue work.Soon our bus was back on the track dragging itself on the mud- soaked road.At the bus station I was received by the administrator of the colony, Mr.Schall, a warm, Jewish-minded German Jew who brought me a pair of boots which I was quick to don.He took me to his home where I was greeted with warmth and hospitality.My first walk through the colony left a dismal impression \u2014 one of long enduring poverty.Little shops reeked of pauperdom reminiscent of those in Poland in the days of Grabski when Jews walked about with cotton-stuffed vests.The houses were clapboard woven and hammered together.Here and there was an old man or woman.The youth had all left for the towns.\u201cAnyone with the strength has gone from here,\u201d said an old Jew wearing a hat that was ancient and clothed in an antique and ragged coat.\u201cThe others lost their strength here \u2014 and some their lives.\u201d He looked at me curiously.\u201cYou know ifs not so easy to abandon this place.You give your years to the soil, invest your sweat and blood \u2014 how can you suddenly leave it all?Some of us were stubborn and stayed.Here, they argued, is where we'll end our days.\u201d The shamas (sexton) of the synagogue, who performs a dozen other jobs for his livelihood in addition to his official post, took me to the synagogue, the only brick structure in the area.Yahrzeit (memorial) lamps were flickering and there was a partly damaged pulpit put together with boards.A Hebrew passage was painted on the Holy Ark: \u201cA prayer without devotion is like a body without a soul.\u201d A pale, worn- looking Torah mantle bore the Hebrew inscription: \u201cA gift of David Feinglas and his family, in memory of the soul of his wife.\u201d Torn prayer books were lying helter- skelter on the seats.On the east-wall hung a placard of the \u201cUnifficado\u201d (the United Zionist Organization of Brazil) calling for aid to the United Israel Appeal.On the opposite wall was a replica of the Declaration of Independence of the State of Israel and in a small ante-room were portraits of Herzl, Weizmann and Ben Gurion.The shamas saw me looking at these portraits and he explained: \u201cWe would have hung these portraits in the synagogue proper on the east-wall but there are some pious members who say we mustn't as the portraits are bare-headed and after all it is a holy place.\u201d The shamos, a talkative type, goes on: \u201cDo you see these yahrzeit lamps?They are in memory of people who died right here in Quatro Irmanos \u2014 but not of natural causes.One died of a snake bite, another of malaria, the third of some tropical sickness.I'm one of the earliest to have come here\u201d, he says, \u201cYou by Jacob Beller The Jewish Train of the Jewish Colonization Association, ICA,\" In Quatro Irmaos.have to be a Samson to withstand the pains, the climate, the labor and all the other plagues.\u201d In the meantime the Jews of the village found out that there was a visitor from abroad who was neither an ICA official nor a fund-raiser and they gradually one after another, filed into the synagogue, uncertain at first, to shake my hand and offer sholom-aleichem.1 felt hands hardened with calouses and blisters.Hairy faces, burned and hardened by hot winds and rain, looked at me with curiosity \u2014 perhaps I have some good news from afar?A Jew with a broad solid looking beard asked: \u201cWill salvation ever come to the Jewish people?We're in great trouble here.Malchus (i.e.the government) is on our side, but (and here he was interrupted by a companion who said: \u201cWe'll be able to handle the mob of shirtless beggars.\u201d) The night that I was at the home of Mr.Schall I learned the details of the attack by the intrusos, and that it was nothing new \u2014 an old phenomenon.The landless Brazilian natives ride about the country on their horses with their supply of roasted meat (Osada) and mate (a type of grass liquor) in their pack.This is all they own, all they carry.Several thousand of them fell upon the colony and simply took possession of the unused portions of the land.The government sent in troops who expelled them.Dr.Schall assured me that there was no question of anything antisemitic.It was quite simple: the presence of the untilled land attracted the intrusos.The colony officials approached the government who warned the intruders to leave or be chased out by force.But the story did not end there.The provincial Brazil government has made several efforts to enact a law to take the land belonging to the \u201cYevish\u201d (a Brazilian distortion of the English word \u201cJewish\u201d) meaning the Jewish Colonization Association and divide it among the landless natives rather than let it go uncultivated.So far this has not succeeded.The next day I was invited to ride on \u201cthe Jewish railway\u201d which belongs to the ICA.It consists of 40 cars and a locomotive and the cars really bear the label ICA clearly printed on them.The engine driver, a Jew from the old Holy Land town of Safed named Abiezer Mojalib drove me through the length of the colony and the locomotive issued a few blasts in honor of the distinguished guest \u2014 a special token of homage only for visitors from the outside.Mozhalib speaks Hebrew quite well in the Sephardic manner and as he drives his locomotive sings Israeli folk songs.The colonization project which started fifty years ago has not been a success.This applies both to the first colony Philipson, founded in 1904 near Santa Maria, and Quatro Irmaos established a few years later.The Jews who came found it hard to adjust to the tropical climate and the heavy labor.Most of those who came were people without any previous experience in agriculture.They suffered for years in the bare fields surrounded by swamps and thick forests which had been entangled and overgrown for untold centuries.Most of them ruined their health and their strength and left for the nearby Brazilian towns where they took to the common Jewish livelihood of South America \u2014 carrying a pack on the back and knocking on doors.Later they opened stores and shops which, of course, they did not come by easily either.Then the colonization was halted for a decade, until 1921 after which new experiences were started.The well known Palestinian agronomist Akiba Ettinger was brought in.He recommended that in addition to straight crop-raising, livestock should be bred, agricultural industry carried on a small scale and each colonist be given more land.His recommendations were about to be implemented when another revolution broke out in Rio Grande province and the plans had to be set aside.The uprising and resulting unrest caused many of the colonists to leave.When things became quiet again the ICA made an effort to reorganize the colony.New farming candidates were brought in.Each was to receive 50 hectares of forest land and was to install sawmills on the pattern of small industry.But again the experiment failed.The Jewish immigrants were the products of the East European shtetl where there was a long-established (Cont'd on page 4) e Books in Review The Village Builder a biography of Abraham Harzfeld by Simon Kushnir Herzl Press, New York $5.95 Abraham Harzfeld is one of the heroes of modern Israel.He devoted his entire life to one major goal: to build villages \u2014 that is to increase the agricultural base, first of the Jewish Community in Palestine, and then of the new State of Israel.The present book traces Harzfeld\u2019s story from his childhood and early youth in his native Ukraine, to the time when, several years after his immigration to Palestine, he became a central figure in the endeavour to establish agricultural settlements in the country.The panorama unfolding on the pages of the book gradually shifts from the Ukrainian village of Stavishtche, to Ber- ditchev and to Telz where Harzfeld studied, and thence to Siberia where he was exiled.His escape route took him to Vilna, and from there to Germany and Italy, where he boarded a ship that took him to Jaffa, Palestine.He arrived in the summer of 1914, and from that day on Palestine was his country, and his life was dedicated to making his country, green, fertile, and yielding her fruit to her returning sons.With the pasage of years, Harzfeld\u2019s scope of activities increased and he conceived larger and larger settlement plans: the Settlement of the Thousands, \u201cOperation Stockade and Tower,\u201d and many others, in ail of which Harzfeld had an important role, and in many of which he was the moving spirit.As David Ben Gurion wrote of him in 1954, \u201cthe fact remains that the people of Israel have only one Harzfeld.\u201d The author of the book, Simon Kushnir, is a long-time associate of Harzfeld in his settlement work.His biography of Harzfeld based partly on written documents and partly on interviews with Harzfeld, is a lively and often fascinating account of the life-story of one of the most colorful figures of modern Israel.Knesset by Asher Zidon Herzl Press, New York $5.95 The Knesset, Israel's Parliament, although one of the youngest houses of representatives in the world, has in the two decades of its experience developed not only rules of procedure but a tradition of its own.The rules and traditions jointly determine the ways in which the Knesset operates, the relationship between the coalition parties and the opposition, between the Knesset and the public, the agenda, question time, motions, debates, voting procedures, etc.Mr.Asher Zidon, Deputy-Secretary of the Knesset since its foundation in 1948, has been closely associated with the work of Israel's Parliament and with all the formal and informal developments that went into the shaping up of its present physiognomy.His book provides a fascinating insight into this central legislative institution of Israel. 4 CONGRESS BULLETIN FEBRUARY, 1968 ~ Lord Sieff\u2019s Visi i fis « ; : fA 3 HE 8 oT à i 1 Canadian Jewish Congress held a dinner meeting in Montreal on the occasion of the visit of Lord Sieff of Brimpton, England, who is vice chairman of the World Jewish Congress.Lord Sieff was accompanied by his daughter-in-law, Mrs.Daphne Sieff, honorary president, Federation of Women\u2019s Zionists of Great Britain and Ireland.Lord Sieff and Mrs.Daphne Sieff were in Montreal to address the Hadassah Convention at which time Lord Sieff presented the Rebecca Sieff Award to Mr.Samuel Bronfman.Lord Sieff addressed the dinner meeting on World Jewish Congress program and past accomplishments.Pictured above at the Congress dinner meeting are (from left to right): Mr.Samuel Bronfman; Mrs.Daphne Sieff; Mr.Lavy M.Becker; Mr.Monroe Abbey, Q.C.; Lord Sieff; Col.Dov Sinai, Israel Consul General, Montreal; Mrs.Samuel! Bronfman; and Mrs.Monroe Abbey.Tribute Canadian Jewish Congress paid tribute to the memory of the former Governor- General of Canada, Vincent Massey, giving expression to the keen loss of his passing.Rabbi S.M.Zambrowsky, in his capacity as chairman of the National Religious Affairs Committee of the Canadian Jewish Congress, was asked by the Secretary of State to attend the funeral and participated as representative of the Jewish faith.Literary Mr.Israel Shtern (pseudonym: Ish Ya-Ir) has been awarded a gold medal by the United Poets Laureate International on the occasion of World Poetry Day.Mr.Shtern is Associate Professor of Mathematics at Loyola College and the author of poems in Yiddish and English, which appeared in various American and European journals and of a volume entitled \u201cFables\u201d \u2018Honour Mr.Issidor M.Wolfe, second vice president of the Pacific region of Congress, has been elected a member of the Executive of the Vancouver Bar Association for a two year term.Mr.Wolfe is also chairman of the Vancouver Kashruth Committee and a former secretary of the Schara Tzedeck Congregation.Vancouver The Jean Rose Bursary in Social Work is again being offered for studies in social work at the University of British Columbia.The bursary, of annual value $100, has been made possible by the \u201cOrphan Group\u201d which came to Vancouver from Europe in 1947 as an expression of gratitude of this group to Mrs.Jean Rose, who represented the Canadian Jewish Congress in Vancouver in their rehabilitation group.Brazil (Contd from page 3) and clearly defined social and religious pattern of life.Suddenly with no transition they found themselves in the midst of giant primeval forests rarely penetrated by the light of day, jungles teeming with reptiles and lizards, cut off from the world outside.Adjusting to life in this environment and in these circumstances clearly was difficult.There were those who persevered stubbornly and who tried with all their strength to accept and live with these conditions.The Germans who lived nearby proved to be an aggravating factor in the situation.There was a heavy concentration of them in Rio Grande province \u2014 heavier than in other parts of Brazil.In Kaiser Wilhelm\u2019s time they were firmly attached to their Reich and with the advent of Hitlerism they became ardent Nazis.They infected the primitive Brazilians with the poison of Jew-hatred and soon anti-Jewish incitement became a daily occurrence \u2014 at first in mild forms and later quite open and brutal in its manifestation.There were even cases of people being wounded and killed.The Brazilian government was forced to dispatch troops from neighbouring army posts to maintain order.After a few days in Quatro Irmaos an American jeep took me through the muddy and dangerous road to the station of Eribango, the nearest town.The road led over large uninhabited stretches of land and thick forest.Late at night as I waited for the train which was to take me to Pasa Fundo I heard a weird song sung to jarring music coming out of a bar which was lit by a kerosene lamp.Through the open door I could see the customers: half civilized men with unkempt hair and beards, wrapped in panchos, some barefoot, women dressed in rags \u2014 the whole pictures was one of stark primitive backwardness.Even the railroad official who sold me the ticket to Pasa Fundo had on a well-worn pancho with a broad sombrero- like hat.That night in the darkness I had the opportunity of making an analysis of my observations of the facts and of the complaints I had heard.It is true that the former ICA officials bear a large share of the blame in the failure of the colonization scheme; many of these officials were removed from any knowledge of Jewish life and had no understanding or appreciation of the Jewish common man, the folks- mentsh, his characteristics and his needs \u2014 but it must be admitted, this was not the only factor that led to the present fiasco.More than twenty five years ago I saw the same process in effect in the Argentine colonies.Even then the younger generation was fleeing from the farm colonies and at the very time when the prices for their products were rising in the market many colonists were leaving the farms.One is driven to the conclusion that Jews can only do work of a pioneer nature in a country which is their own, where the environment and the social and communal background is their own and where, above all, there is an ideal to spur them on.Montreal Canadian Jewish Congress paid tribute to the memory of the late Dr.Alton Gold- bloom of Montreal, who was Past Chairman of the Canadian Jewish Historical Society which is sponsored by Congress.The late Dr.Goldbloom was professor emeritus of pediatrics at McGill and the \u2018author of a number of scientific articles and two books.The Canadian Jewish Historical Society was to have honoured the late Dr.Goldbloom at its forthcoming meeting.The program will now include a tribute to his memory.Election Mrs.Saul Hayes of Montreal was recently elected unanimously English language Vice President (women) of the Quebec Section of the Liberal Federation of Canada which held its annual convention in Montreal, January 27, 28, 1968.National Executive (Contd from page 1) ation of the National Arrangements Committee that the theme of the convention be \u201cThe Jew in Canada \u2014 Today and Tomorrow.\u201d War Criminals: Exchange of correspondence with the Department of External Affairs on the possibility of action against an alleged war criminal, who was admitted to Canada several years ago without disclosing his past, was discussed.The Canadian Jewish Congress obtained documentation of the case, which was examined by the Department in light of existing regulations which do not, however, provide room for retroactive action.Samuel Bronfman House: It was decided to proceed with the application for the incorporation of the Samuel Bronfman House in Montreal as Canadian Jewish Congress Museum and Archives, Inc.Mr.M.H.Myerson as chairman of the National Archives Committee was asked to act as consultant to the Building Committee in matters pertaining to Archives.Centennial Project: A report was given on the collection of Judaica presented to the National Library in Ottawa in observance of the Canada\u2019s Centennial.The cost of the program were reviewed in light of the original projection and the commitments of the major Jewish communities through their central fund raising agencies on a pro rata basis.The collection is being completed and the costs was estimated at $20,000.The communities will be advised so that their commitments may be adjusted accordingly.Fundraising: Approval was given to Canadian Jewish Congress joining in the sponsoring of the incorporation of the United Jewish Appeal as a fundraising agency for the United Israel Appeal, UIRA and Canadian Jewish Congress Charities Committee in order to facilitate fundraising procedures, particularly in smaller communities, in conformity with the new regulations governing charitable organizations.Conference on Yiddish: A report was given on the plans made by the Eastern Mrs.Paula Ben Gurion Mr.Michael Garber, Q.C.and Mr.Samuel Bronfman, on behalf of the Canadian Jewish Congress, conveyed condolences to Mr.David Ben Gurion on the passing of his wife, assuring him of the sympathy of the Canadian Jewish community.Winnipeg Messrs.David Levin, Q.C., Sol Kanee, Abe Anhang, S.M.Cherniack, Q.C., MLA, and Abe Steinberg have been named Congress Directors on the new board of the United Jewish Appeal in Winnipeg.The same group will constitute the Winnipeg Section of the UJRA.Dr.Joseph Kage of Montreal gave a public lecture in Winnipeg recently in Yiddish.He spoke on \u201cWorld Jewish Immigration Problems.\u201d He also addressed a luncheon meeting of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Canadian Jewish Congress, Western Region.Region of Congress to hold a Conference on Yiddish.It was indicated that similar conferences might also be held in other regions and there will be room provided for a discussion on Yiddish at the Plenary Session.Pavilion of Judaism: It was reported that the Pavilion of Judaism at Expo \u201967 has been handed over by the Foundation of Judaism to the city of Montreal, which will include it as part of the exhibition of \u201cMan and His World\u201d The Pavilion will be maintained by the City of Montreal and the Foundation was asked by the Mayor to assist in the programming and arrangements for suitable exhibits.Congratulations were extended to Mr.Samuel Bronfman on being named Companion of the Order of Canada.Tribute was paid to the memory of the late Saul S.Berlin of Toronto.Congratulations were expressed to Mr.and Mrs.Joseph À.Cherniack of Winnipeg on their 60th wedding anniversary, recalling the pioneering role of Mr.Cherniack in the founding of Congress.Mr.Michael Garber, Q.C., CJ.C.president, chaired the first part of the meeting.The mid-morning session was chaired by Meyer W.Gasner and the afternoon session by Leon Kronitz.Attending the meeting were: Monroe Abbey, Q.C.; Lavy M.Becker, Samuel Harvey, M.H.Myerson, Q.C., Murray Spiegel, Lou Zablow; Sigmund Unterberg; the Associate Education Direction and Press Officer of Congress (Montreal), Dave Levin, Q.C., and A.J.Arnold (Winnipeg), Saul Koschitzky (Calgary); J.Finkelman, Q.C.(Ottawa); A.B.Bennett, Donald Carr, Q.C.,, Max Federman, Arthur E.Gelber, John A.Geller, Sydney M.Harris, Q.C., Louis Herman, Q.C., Sheldon Kert, Joseph L.Kronick, Justice A.Lieff, Mrs.Abe Levine, Louis Lockshin, J.S.Midanik, David E.Newman, Q.C., Mrs.Alan Rosen- thal, Samuel J.Sable, Max Shecter, Jack Shindman, Harry Steiner, Hart D.Wintrob, Harry L.Wolfson, Myer Sharzer, Ben Kayfetz, Dr.J.Klinghofer and N.Shemen, (Toronto).Comment (Contd from page 1) This prestige location at McGregor Avenue and Cote des Neiges is in what is called \u2018the consular row\u2019 of Montreal; it was priced advantageously and it was just right in superficial area.A series of misfortunes dogged our efforts.First it was municipal zoning, then it was the refusal of the City to issue a permit until a major law suit affecting commercial sites in this area was decided, and then it was the presentation of a new bylaw to the City Council, after which came the period of waiting its passage.Finally, a number of incumbrances and servitudes in favour of adjoining land had to be removed.However, all the difficulties have been surmounted and work will start this spring.There are other aspects apart from the physical which make this undertaking so important to the community.It will be the address of the entire Jewish community and the repository of its treasures.It will be good for the psyche of the community and will serve notice to the entire world that a dignified important and mature group in Canadian life has a great faith in the Canadian future and an abiding loyalty to its existence, It will be the symbol of a unified community which has created such a distinguished record and which has every intention of maintaining its rele in Canadian Life, "]