Detroit Jewish Chronicle
and The Legal Chronicle
SECTION ONE
DETROIT, MICHIGAN, FRIDAY, JULY 5, 1940
VOL. 42, NO. 27
Jews Trapped New President
American
In Rumanian-
Soviet Clash
Incite to Riot
Anti-Semitic agitation, appar-
ently with Government approval,
has been rising throughout Ru-
mania. Manifestoes attacking
Great Britain and the Jews have
been distributed widely. One
manifesto read:
"The British, our so-called
friends, have rejoiced over our
misfortune. They want war in the
Balkans in order to protect them-
selves from war for a while.
Down with England. Down with
the Jews."
Rumanian newspapers publish-
ed accounts of the Russian oc-
cupation. The Italian version of
the occupation claimed that the
"Jews demonstrated against the
Rumanian soldiers" and threw
stones at them. In concluded by
saying, "there is a general feel-
ing of contempt for the Jews in
the whole country."
Wholesale Flight
Faced with increasing anti-
Semitism, the Jews of Rumania
See WAR—Page 13
Women Give
Ambulance
Women's Congress In-
augurates Red Cross
Project
The Detroit Women's Division
of the American Jewish Congress
has undertaken to raise a sum of
money sufficient to contribute an
ambulance to the American Red
Cross, and thus to be of assist-
ance in the present war crisis.
A committee to enlist the co-
operation of the Jewish women of
Detroit has been selected, consist-
ing of Mrs. Perry Burnstine,
chairman; Mrs. Irving Dworman
and Ali's. William Hordes, vice-
chairmen; Mrs. William Adelson,
secretary; Mrs. William Roth,
treasurer; Mrs. Robert Drews,
Mrs. Joshua Sperka and Miss
Rose Meyer, public relations.
Mrs. Max Dushkin is the vice-
president in charge of fund-rais-
ing.
Pledges and cash contributions
may be sent to Mrs. Max Dush-
kin, 1826 Virginia Park, Trinity
2-5155; Mrs. Perry Burnstine,
8451 La Salle Blvd., Trinity
5.9494, or to the aforementioned
members of this committee.
T h e Women's Division an-
nounces the following initial con-
tributions to this project:
The Women's Auxiliary of the
Jewish Children's Home, first or-
ganization to give a generous,
voluntary offering; Women's Aux-
See RED CROSS—Pag e 9
10 Cents Single Copy; $3.00 per Year
gilitrgitginoned American Zionists Act to Meet
i i t
Zionists l
'
Report Axis Plans to
Exile Jews to
Abyssinia
LONDON (WNS) — Trapped
in a territorial clash between
Rumania, which last week an-
nounced a new totalitarian policy,
and the Soviet Union, Rumania's
800,000 Jews are in imminent
danger of violent anti-Semitic po-
groms, according to diplomatic
sources here.
While the Red Army troops
moved swiftly to occupy Bes-
sarabia and northern Bukovina,
areas ceded to Russia by King
Carol in response to a Russian
ultimatum, anti-Semitic leaders in
Rumania sought to pin the blame
for the Russian occupation on
the Jews of Rumania.
Pro-Nazi elements in Rumania,
their ranks swelled by the re-
lease of hundreds of anti-Semitic
Iron Guardists from prison, in-
stituted pogroms in which hun-
dreds of Jews were killed and
many more wounded. An indica-
tion of the extent of the po-
groms was furnished by DNB,
official Nazi news agency, which
reported that 600 Jews were
killed when the Rumanian Army
put down "armed Jewish upris-
ings" in Galati.
This Paper Printed in Two Sections
By President
Homeland Emergencies; Elect
Edmund I. Kaufmann President
Hias Warns of Confus-
ing Aliens With
5th Column
Delegates Subscribe $300,000 to Million Dollar
WASHINGTON (WNS) — De-
Emergency Fund to Protect Jewish
claring that the bill carries no
stigma or implication of hostility
Position in Homeland
towards those who are loyal to
this country and its institutions,
President Roosevelt signed the
first peace-time bill providing for
the registration and finger-print-
ing of approximately 3,500,000
aliens within the United States.
In signing the bill, which now
becomes the law of the land, the
President issued a statement ex-
plaining the purposes and aims
of the new law. The statement
read:
EDMUND I. KAUFMANN
Zion Asking
11. S. Support
Ussishkin Cables Call
for Emergency
Tasks
NEW YORK, N. Y. — Pales-
tine Jewry, girding for the tasks
connected with the present emer-
gency in the Near East, will
"stand guard with all means in its
power" but does rely and will
expect a full measure of material
and financial support from Ameri-
can Jewry, Menahem Ussishkin,
chairman of the Zionist General
Council and World President of
the Jewish National Fund, de-
clared in a call he addressed to
U. S. Zionists.
The call, which is the first au-
thoritative statement of condi-
tions in the Jewish National
Home following the new situa-
tion which has arisen since the
capitulation of France, was cabl-
ed to Dr. Israel Goldstein, presi-
dent of the Jewish National Fund
of America. In response to this
call, the American branch of the
Fund remitted to the Jerusalem
headquarters another $100,000 for
the "extension of agricultural set-
tlement" part of the emergency
program in which Palestine Jewry
is now engaged.
"We Shall Not Falter"
"Rest assured, American Jews,
that we shall not falter. Not dis-
may. but determination animates
us all. In this awful crisis threat-
ening entire civilized world and
the existence of the Jewish peo-
ple, faith in our cause and in
our Homeland is the sole reality.
Entire Yishub is united in this
belief. We shall stand guard with
all means in our power whatever
See J. N. F.—Page 16
"The Alien Registration Act
of 1940, which I have just
signed, should be interpreted
and administered as a program
designed not only for the pro-
tection of the country but also
for the protection of the loyal
aliens who are its guests. The
registration and identification
of approximately three and a
half million aliens who are now
within our borders does not
carry with it any stigma or
implication of hostility towards
those who, while they may not
be citizens, are loyal to this
country and its institutions.
"Most of the aliens in this
country are people who came
here because they believed and
had faith in the principles of
American democracy, and they
are entitled to and must receive
full protection of the law. It is
of the utmost importance to
this country that the program
of alien control shall be car-
ried out with a high sense of
responsibility. It would be un-
fortunate if, in the course of
this regulative program, any
loyal aliens were subjected to
harassment.
"I ask that citizens and non-
citizens alike cooperate with a
full sense of the responsibil-
ities involved so that we may
accomplish this task of regis-
tration smoothly, quickly and
in a friendly manner, our aim
being to preserve and build
up the loyalty and confidence
of those aliens within our bor-
ders who desire to be faithful
to its principles.
"With these aliens who are
disloyal and are bent on harm
to this country, the Govern-
ment, through its law enforce-
ment agencies, can and will
deal vigorously."
By Speci a l Correspondent of The Detroit Jewish Chronicle
PITTSBURGH, Pa. — For the first time in the his-
tory of the Zionist movement in America, a business man
—Edmund I. Kaufmann of Washington, D. C.— has been
selected for leadership, at the sessions of the 43rd an-
nual convention of the Zionist Organization of America
held here Sunday through Tuesday, at the William Penn
Hotel.
The major part of the first two days of the conven-
tion were consumed in political
battle. Caucus meetings, sessions
of peace committees which sought
to establish a praesidium of five
or seven instead of the presi-
dency in order to avoid a con-
test, overshadowed the major
business of the convention—that
of finding means for the continued
building of Palestine and the
protection of the colonies. Never-
theless, the delegates evidenced
keen concern over existing con-
A survey of Jewish congrega- ditions and undertook to consider
tions in the entire state of Michi- serious business after the po-
gan has been completed by the litical issue was disposed of.
Subscribe to Loan
Michigan Historical Records Sur-
An achievement of major sig-
vey, which is an agency of the
nificance at this convention was
Federal Works Projects Adminis- the subscription by the delegates
tration, and has been published in of a sum of $300,000 towards a
a 70-page multigraphed volume million dollar loan to the Keren
under the title "Jewish Bodies", Hayesod, the floating of which
as part of the "Inventory of the was announced by Eliezer Kaplan,
treasurer of the Jewish Agency,
Church and Synagogue Archieves who addressed the convention
of Michigan."
banquet on Sunday evening; Dr.
This work represents the efforts Stephen S. Wise and Henry Mon-
of a group of investigators and tor, executive director of the
research men, who conducted the United Palestine Appeal.
survey under the direction of
This loan will be paid on Oct.
Stuart Portner, state project 1, 1941, at the rate of 2% per
supervisor of the Historical Rec- cent interest. The fund will be
ords Survey. Basil Ayres is as- used for emergencies in the pres-
sistant supervisor of the project. ent crisis, such as the building of
Although numerous studies have children's evacuation shelters, de-
already been published, including fense and reconstructions and un-
the several year books issued by employment relief.
The Detroit Jewish Chronicle and
The Vice-Presidents
In addition to electing Mr.
several series of articles on sonic
phases of state Jewry by writers Kaufmann president, the conven-
for The Chronicle, this survey is
the completest to appear to date,
See ZIONIST—Page 12
embracing the entire state.
Congregation Beth El of De-
troit is the oldest congregation
in the state on record, having
been formed in 1850. Temple
Beth Israel of Jackson is listed
as the second oldest congregation
FBI Seize Nazi Agent
in Michigan, having been organ-
LOS ANGELES (WNS)—Her- ized in 1859.
The historical introduction re-
bert Hoehne, one of the group of
German "business men and tech- views the development of the
See ALIENS—Page 16
State Jewry
Survey Made
Conducted by Histori-
cal Records, WPA
Project
Exiles Use
New Routes
See SURVEY—Page 16
A Century After the Damascus Incident
Horrible Ritual Murder Libel Shook the Conscience of the Civilized World, With
France Avowedly Against the Jews, While Austria, England and the Uni-
ted States Fought for Justice; Incident United World Jewry
By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
Present events are mirrored in the past. The plight of the Jew has been endless. Today,
Streicher accuses the Jew of ritual murder. One hundred years ago a similar charge was the begin-
ning of a "cause celebre" which gave rise to the great Alliance Israeite Universelle in France, the
country whose present collapse has brought despair to the thousands of homeless who were given
refuge there. The "blood libel" of Damascus did not leave the Jews in other lands cold to a grave
issue. The great philanthropist, Sir Moses Montefiore, stepped in and rendered a great service. The
United States Government intervened. Unlike the totalitarian rule of today, there was a semblance
of responsibilit y everywhere. The accompanying article confirms the principle—established in the
past and given emphasis in the present era— that one nation IS responsible to another when it sets
out to do injustice.
Very few events in all Jewish
history so shook the conscience
of civilized humanity as did the
horrible ritual murder libel which
was concocted in Damascus 100
years ago. Few, also, are the
events in all our history which
have contributed as much to unity
in Israel as has the unfortunate
Damascus affair. Out of the mis-
eries suffered by Jews everywhere,
as a result of the libel devised
100 years ago in the chief city
of Syria, there developed move-
ments which linked Eastern and
Western Jewries, and led to the
creation of the Alliance Israelite
Universelle in France and similar
bodies in other lands.
The international scandal which
developed from the Damascus af-
fair began on February 5, 1840,
when a Capuchin monk, Father
Tomaso (Thomas) of Sardinia,
disappeared, together with his
servant. Tomaso practiced medi-
cine among Christians, Mohamme-
dans and Jews. Rumor at the
time of his disappearance had it
that he had quarreled with a
Turkish mule-driver and that the
latter had sworn: "This Chris-
tian dog shall die by no other
hand than mine." But innocent
testimony given by some Jews
that Tomaso and his servant had
been seen on the eve of his dis-
appearance in the Jewish quar-
ter immediately directed clerical
attention on the Jews. Under the
leadership of a Jew-baiting fana-
tic, Father Tusti, the monks
grabbed at the suspicion aroused
See BLOOD LIBEL—Page 8
Refugees Trek Their
Way to Palestine
and Americas
New channels of refugee emi-
gration to Palestine and North
and South American countries
were put into operation this week
with the aid of the constituent
agencies of the United Jewish Ap-
peal. Through the efforts of the
United Palestine Appeal, the first
group of refugees to use the over-
land route to Palestine, arrived
at their destination after travel-
ing through Yugoslavia, Greece,
Turkey and Syria. This group
consisted of 17 refugees from Po-
land. With the assistance of the
Joint Distribution Committee, 400
refugees from Greater Germany
have left for the Americas, trav-
eling through Soviet Russia and
China to Japan and from there
across the Pacific to the United
States and South American coun-
tries.
The task of maintaining the
flow of refugee immigration into
Palestine and North and South
America, despite the closing of
the Mediterranean and other sea
lanes, has placed an added burden
on the resources of the Joint Dis-
tribution Committee, the United
Palestine Appeal and the Na-
tional Refugee Service which find
themselves confronted with the
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vil
zation on the continent of Europe.