Dear Editor
DEAR EDITOR CHINA Zbigniew Brzezinski's otherwise stimulating article, ("Meeting Moscow's 'Limited Coexistence,'" NL, December 16) is marred by one cliche: "It is desirable for the United States...
...But this visit took place in 1935, before the show trials took place...
...There is every reason to agree with Marshall that at present the Israelis have little to fear militarily from the Arabs...
...It is centuries old...
...Gammell is a trufy funny man, but since m?st of Ui's bad deeds are done offstage, and his "nervous, shaky Ui" is rather endearing, we come out of the theater liking a character who is a stand-in for Adolf Hitler...
...No condemnation was directed at the Arab terrorists for their brutal bombing of Machane Yehudah, the Jerusalem marketplace, with high loss of life...
...Tretyakov, I am informed, disappeared at the end of the '30s...
...An unsettled state of affairs can only enhance Moscow's status among its Arab clients, and further weaken United States influence in this area...
...The publisher never thought the book would live up to its title...
...It would help if Israel kept in mind the adverse effect the Beirut raid had on Western public opinion...
...Having been in the marketplace on a Friday, I can attest to its being crowded with civilian shoppers...
...If Brecht ever changed his mind about Stalin's terror, I have seen no record of it...
...New York City Sidney Hook MIDDLE EAST It is hard nowadays to find someone of S. L. A. Marshall's stature condemning the double standard of justice applied to the nations of the Middle East (NL, January 20...
...If he had attended the publisher's cocktail party-—at the Marboro Book Store—he would not have been surprised...
...Israeli power can never end the Arab threat, and if the West should really become neutral in the continuing Mideast war, Tsrael would be in difficulty...
...Yet it was bound to provoke Western criticism without producing any very useful result, and this makes it a somewhat stupid affair...
...But 10 years from now the situation may have changed, and then Israel will need all the friends it can find...
...Planes become more valuable than lives...
...Russian interest in the Middle East is not a new thing...
...Israeli policy-makers have...
...What Brecht wrote about him is not necessarily incompatible with what he said to me years earlier...
...The raid itself was a gesture, a relatively harmless one...
...No nation is going to extend itself to protect Israeli interests...
...San Jose, Calif...
...But it is sometimes possible for two parties to recognize that they have mutually conflicting interests, and then nothing much can be done until there is some basic change on one side or the other...
...With the continued high tension and turmoil, the Soviet Union becomes further entrenched in the Middle East...
...By the way, T tried to purchase a copy of his book, The Number One Best Seller, but I was informed that the limited edition already had been remaindered...
...And that, I think, is the case between us and the Chinese...
...Bentley has not read the article to which he refers, "A Recollection of Bertolt Brecht" (NL, October 10, 1960) or, perhaps, he has forgotten what he read...
...One generally hears the criticism directed at Israel for its retaliatory raids...
...It is easy to see why Marshall is impatient with those who excessively moralize over a minor military operation with no casualties on either side...
...In substance Robert Conquest is justified in writing what he did...
...I am certain Brzezinski realizes that we have a number of outstanding major differences with the Chinese Communists which are not easy to resolve...
...The reaper of benefits clearly is the Soviet Union...
...There is also evidence that other trials on a smaller scale were conducted before August 1936 as the case was built up against the chief defendants...
...I cannot think of anyone today who would oppose improving relations with China, yet I have never heard a sensible suggestion about how this is to be achieved...
...The article makes quite clear that the conversation look place before the first great show trial in August 1936: "The Moscow Trials were in the offing...
...The Arab States must similarly re-examine their national priorities if they are to see the situation as it is, not fantasy...
...The details of my article make manifest that Brecht's visits to me occurred in the mid-'30's (1935), and also why I could never forget what he said...
...Korsch, in defending Brecht, spoke of the Narrenfreiheit of poets...
...If Israel does not protect what it views as being in its national interest, no other nation will...
...Israeli civilians, Israeli retaliation, and world condemnation of Israel...
...January 20), I wonder about something that Zeiger never seems to have noticed...
...The Israelis have again demonstrated their strength, but if they think this will cause the Arabs to behave they know little of the psychology of nationalism...
...Something is wrong somewhere, and I suspect there should be a darker, more menacing quality to an ideal performance of Ui...
...Certainly Bertolt Brecht had little reason to present the Fiihrer in an even mildly sym-nathetic light...
...Knowing how careful and judicious he is in his writing, I was surprised to read that he thought the 1896 and 1898 catalogs superior ones—extremely surprised, since none were issued during those years...
...Nor did the Pope cry out after the attack on worshipers at the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron...
...I look forward to seeing the movie based on Israel's scholarly work...
...Yet in the long run, Israel depends on Western goodwill and military and economic assistance for its survival, and tactics like the Beirut raid do not promote its future...
...Arthur Kelman GAMMELL'S UI Having seen Robin Gammell's portrayal of Brecht's Arturo Ui, reviewed by Henry A. Zeiger in a recent column ("On Stage," NL...
...But why does he censure the moralists in so moralistic a fashion...
...Brecht used to be caustic about the German Communist party and the American Communist party (especially some people in it), but I never heard him make a critical remark about Stalin or the Soviet Union during my meetings with him either in Germany or in the United States, though we discussed political questions in the main...
...One of the great liberal myths is that talking with the other guy promotes understanding, mutual trust and accommodation...
...DEAR EDITOR CHINA Zbigniew Brzezinski's otherwise stimulating article, ("Meeting Moscow's 'Limited Coexistence,'" NL, December 16) is marred by one cliche: "It is desirable for the United States to try to improve relations with China...
...Portland, Ore...
...It seems that monetary loss is more important to world opinion than lives lost...
...It is time for the Arab States to realize the possible repercussions of this situation and face reality...
...Although strictly speaking those of whom Brecht spoke were not at the time literally in the dock, some of them were soon to be...
...If such tactics are not repeated the raid will be quickly forgotten...
...They know that any acceptance of an imposed "peace" would, in fact, mean returning to years of insecurity...
...It is to throw doubt on the authenticity of my account, reporting Brecht's remark about the victims of Stalin's purges: "The more innocent they are, the more they deserve to die...
...His public silence even during the period of the Nazi-Soviet Pact when Stalin was handing German opposition Communists over to Hitler is highly significant...
...Brooklyn, N.Y...
...His ad hominem attack on my book is cruel...
...Stalin, they contend, saw the postwar situation in the Middle East as an excellent opportunity to enhance the Soviet position...
...Right now, Marshall is right: Israel can stand alone, the Arabs can only make noise...
...There are some who feel that Soviet support in 1947 for the Partition Plan was merely a ruse to create instability in the area, instability which would permit the Soviet Union to enter the region as a major contender for power and influence...
...When I mentioned the story to Karl Korsch, who had introduced me to Brecht, Korsch observed that he, too, was getting fed up with Brecht's pro-Soviet apologetics, but I do not believe he broke off relations with him...
...Criticism of the Arab policy of terrorism is relegated to the status of a side issue, really not having much to do with the Israeli raids...
...Given this reality, it is hard to know what we can do, short of handing the Chinese most of Southeast Asia, to provide tangible evidence of our love and affection...
...Brzezinski thinks a Washington-Peking hot line might be nice (and I suppose it would), but does he imagine that there is anyone in Peking who really agrees with him...
...James Peterson KITMAN Many thanks to Marvin Kitman ("On Television," NL, December 16) for taking the time to comment on my 1897 Sears Roebuck catalog...
...The question raised for our policy-makers is who benefits most from the assaults on The New Leader welcomes comment and criticism on any of its features, but letters should not exceed 300 words...
...Both Chelsea House Publishers and I had a good lauch about Kitman's article as we were walking to our schlock bank...
...they have known this for quite some time, and the knowledge has not produced peace...
...The implication of Bentley's letter is clear...
...in the mid-'30's...
...They must realize that continued, and in some cases sole, dependence on the Soviet Union may lead to harsh consequences...
...New York City Fred L. Israel Marvin Kit/nan replies: Professor Israel is guilty of scholarly nitpicking when he calls attention to the minor factual error in my review...
...Elmet Rudd BRECHT Eric Bentley writes ("Dear Editor," NL, December 30) in response to Richard Pipes' review of Robert Conquest's book The Great Terror, in which Bertolt Brecht's remark is cited about the victims of Stalin's purges: "So far as I know the only source for this story is an article written long afterward by Sidney Hook for The New Leader which claimed that Brecht said this during his only visit to the U.S...
...The Arabs are aware that Israel is strong...
...Washington, D. C. Arthur S. Berger S. L. A. Marshall's article on t he latest Arab-Israeli dispute is keen on the military realities, but a little slow when it comes to the political questions...
...The Kirov assassination [December 1, 1934) had been followed by widespread arrests of members of the political opposition and all the signs indicated that a bloody purge was being planned for leading personalities who had incurred Stalin's disfavor...
...It simply does not have sufficient manpower or material resources to withstand a prolonged Arab siege without continuing Western assistance...
...if they continue, Israel's relations with the West can only deteriorate...
...Peking has consistently pursued policies combining military expansion with diplomatic and political isolation...
...How often we have heard that song in the past few years from men of goodwill with peace in their hearts...
Vol. 52 • February 1969 • No. 2
