Rahmin Sion Makes Debut As A Radio Commentator (Vol. 2, Issue 8)

“My name is Rahmin Sion. I come from Iraq. I am at present a student at Yeshiva College. The topic of my speech is ‘The Jews in Iraq.’” These carefully enunciated words served to introduce a new radio personality to the listeners of station WFAB (1300 kilocycles) last Sunday evening at 9:45.

It was Rahmin Sion’s debut as a radio commentator. The immediate reaction of the small group of his admirers who had just turned off Mr. W.J. Cameron (speaking for the Ford Motor Co.) was to remark, “What a charming radio voice. He sounds just like Boake Carter.”

Perplexing Idioms

Sion spent ten minutes vividly describing the unbearable conditions of the Jews in Iraq and pleaded for their salvation. The Jews in Germany, Poland, and Palestine are not the only ones needing aid, he said. There are 150,000 Jews in Iraq in constant danger of riots and massacres who have received no aid whatsoever from world Jewry.

Sion had a little difficulty conquering the English idiom and offered Arabic substitutes. Especially perplexing was “Allheads, no tails; all tails, no heads.” What his listeners mistook for a crooked flip of a coin turned out to be an Arabic proverb meaning that everyone wants to be the leader until the crisis comes.

The Yeshiva students crowded about the radio thrilled in his glorious tribute to their alma mater which had been the only medium of saving Iraq by accepting one of their number to study in this Mecca of Judaism.

Whatever humorous moments there may have been in the course of his talk were overshadowed by his stirring appeal to world Jewry to come to the aid of Iraquian Jews. “Help us, save us,” he pleaded.