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AVENUE - CINCINNATI 20, OHIO

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September 6, 1940

purely Commentary

master s, Not Slaves of Our Destiny

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11

Eleanor Roosevelt recently made a very signifi-
statement. "No one," she said, "can make
can t el inferior without your consent."
fe
you
credo by the brilliant First
This one thee land is reminiscent of an equally
claration by the eminent writer,
iLnatde Y r esO f
tiugde who said:
Stefan Zweig,

"There i s nothing that I find as a Jew
nobler in our people than the fact that we
h ave always been the masters and not the
ufferings, that we did not con-
sla ves of our s
isery inflicted upon us into lasting en-
vert m
gainst the nations that wronged us.
m ity a
We have always lived as grateful friends in
midst of the nations that had done in-
the
justice to our fathers and forefathers. I hope
that the terrible misunderstanding that has
now been c onverted into deeds against us in
Germany will not remain lasting and eternal."

In their downcast moods, it will be well for
people to think of these two statements. One must
never give consent to degradation. Also, one
m ust always aspire to be master of his own
destiny.
Remembering these principles, nothing can pos-
sibly destroy the spirit of a people, no matter
h severely it is persecuted.
•

Methuselah—Only 192 Years Old

Biblical records are being rectified by Dr. An-
drew Efron, 40-year-old scholar who escaped from
his native Russia in 1919. On the basis of his
findings, Dr. Efron, who is a Yale University
research Fellow, maintains that Methuselah was
not 969 years old when he died, as given in the
Bible, but that he lived to be only 192.
On the basis of these findings, Noah was a
young man of 48 when he built the Ark, and
not 600; and Adam died as a youth of 96, and
not as a hoary fellow of 930.
One need not enter into pilpulistic discussions
with this scholarly young man. We are told that
in arriving at his conclusions "the key which Dr.
Efron used is a tree-shaped symbol which has
been found carved on rocks and in other records
of the ancient world. The number of branches
differs, also their positions, lengths and thick-
nesses, all combining apparently to form a "code".
One is hardly in the mood of digging for tree-
shaped codes to establish the longevity of our
ancestors.
But there is another thought that is inevitable.
These men of old, if we are to believe the re-
search Fellows, did live to be over a hundred.
Apparently such a feat did not require unusual
attention from newspapers and photographers,
for it must have been a common occurrence. And
yet, they must have been sturdy even at such
ages, else they could not get along in roughshod
spheres, without luxuries and conveniences, with-
out planes and automobiles and electric trains.
It is being said today, in discussing the inroads
of Hitlerism, that we in the democracies are being
softened. Is it too much convenience, and too
many luxuries? Is it food that is too rich, too
many pastries, too much cream, too little of the
toughening qualities in what we consume?
Methuselah's age, even at 192, may provido
the clue for these questions. And yet, we must
not turn back the pages of time even in minutes,
except to learn from historic experience. Democ-
racies can be strong without abandoning the ad-
vantages gained in the course of time. The people
in the democracies can be toughened without
giving up the gains made by generations.. What
must be realized is that strength is acquired not
merely over rough roads or by fighting wild
beasts, but by conquering the spirit of the jungle.
This is, in truth, the major and most serious
problem of our time. The jungle is aiming to
conquer civilization, and the civilized world, rep-
resented by the surviving democracies, must gird
its loins and must once again seek supremacy
over the wild beasts who masquerade as men.
Will the democracies conquer the jungle? Or
are they so weak that they are facing their doom
at the hands of monsters?
In facing, or preparing for, this struggle, one
must think of Methuselah and Noah and their
generations. They, too, conquered the jungle. They,
too, faced the challenge that comes from blood•
thirsty beasts. They were toughened by struggle
for life. Democracy, in our time, must be tough-
ened and strengthened in the face of danger. The
battle has just begun. And humanity still carries
on. Who will doubt that humanity will gain
strength from the trials facing it?
•

The Removal of the Zionist Headquarters

Removal of headquarters of the Zionist Or-
ganization of America from New York to Wash-
ington has set many people to speculating on
the wisdom of this move and the possible effects
of it.
Strike one against the move is the transfer
of the office from the most populated Jewish com-
munity in the world. When the Bnai Brith head-
quarters were moved from Cincinnati to Wash-
ington, the organization did not sacrifice an im-
portant vantage point. It moved from a city of
approximately 25,000 Jews to another of only
about 20,000 Jews. But it did get closer to the
major population center in the country. It is
different with the Zionist Organization which
sought proximity to the political center of Amer-
ica instead of to the Jewish masses.
The claim is advanced that the chief aim in
this move is to create something resembling an
embassy of the Jewish people in the nation's
capital. But our contention always has been that
what we need is an embassy to the Jewish people
before we send one to the nations of the world.
Theodor Herzl said that before there is a return
to Zion there will have to be a return to Judaism.
Whom are Zionists aiming to gain? "If you
will it, it is not a dream," said Theodor Herzl.
For a people to will it that there be emancipa-
tion, t here must be
a conscious effort to partici-
pate in the movement for redemption. Self-eman-
cipation will heal our wounds. No one can redeem
us unless we are willing to redeem ourselves.

7

DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE and the Legal Chronicle

By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ

(We have repeated this so often that it is sicken-
ing to be compelled to return to the subject.)
Now, then, the complaint is made that New York
Jews have supplied the smallest proportionate
number of members in the Zionist Organization
of America. Is New York Jewry to be mobilized
by removing the organization's headquarters from
the major center of Jewish population or by
strengthening the movement?
It is obvious that the change in atmosphere is
not altogether wise. It is the person who honors
the place he occupies. If the man is undeserving
of such honors, no manner of dignity that goes
with the place accorded him will help to elevate
him. The new administration should have felt
strong enough to rebuild the movement, to go
to the weak places and to give them a new breath
of life. But that can not be accomplished by
running away from the center of population.
Since the removal of the Zionist headquarters
has been made a matter of definite decision by
the new administration, there is nothing left but
to wish it well. May the move prove effective and
wise. There is nothing left for Zionists to do but
to cooperate with the new administration in every
possible way, no matter how seriously some may
disagree with the new leadership.
•

With the Jewish
War Veterans

Trees Planted in
Palestine Forests

The Jewish National Fund
Council of Detroit announces the
planting of trees in forests in
Palestine, as follows:
In the Butzel Forest: One tree
in memory of Lippman Lands-
berg, by Jewish Women's Euro-
pjean W el f are Organization
(North Woodward branch).
In the J. H. Ehrlich Forest:
One tree in memory of Dr. J. M.
Bemis, by Zedakah Club.
To plant trees in Palestine for-
ests, call Mrs. Alexander W. San-
ders, Ho. 0967, 12342 Broad-
street.

The Department of Michigan
and its delegation was honored
at the 45th National Encamp-
ment of the Jewish War Vet-
erans in Boston. The department
commander, Dr. Robert Rosen,
was selected to nominate Fred
Harris of Meridan, Conn., who
was subsequently elected national
commander.
Another honor was confered
on Mrs. Elizabeth Shapero, who
was elected national conductress
of the Ladies Auxiliary.

Re-Upholster

YOUR OCCASIONAL

What's sauce for the gander is
okay for the goose, too, in the
opinion of Mrs. George S. Kauf-
man . . What we mean is, she's
emulating her playwright husband
to the extent of having a play
produced by Herman Shumlin on
Broadway in the coming season.

How to Fight

Ralph Ingersoll, the dynamic editor of
P. M., the New York daily newspaper
which is at present exposing fifth column-
ists and anti-Semites in this country, re-
cently wrote an editorial on "How to
Fight." He discussed the menace of Fas-
cism, Bundism and anti-Semitism, and in
the course of the signed editorial had this
to say :
I do not know how to fight Fasc-
ism, but I propose to find out.
And I have certain ideas to begin
with.
I think the Bundists should be
swatted like flies. They are annoying
insects which carry pestilence.
I think anti-Semitism should be

fought frankly and in the open, in
high places as well as low. I am
against the idea that the Jew's best
defense is to silence, suppress and
cover up. If the American people
do not believe in the great Ameri-
can tradition of racial and religious
tolerance and equality so deeply that
they will arm to defend it, not
abroad but at home, then neither the
Jews nor any of us anti-Fascists have
any chance anyway. And we might

as well find out quick.
We commend Mr. Ingersol for this
statement. We agree with him. In fact,
we have been advocating this viewpoint
for several years.
Anti-Semitism must be brought out in
the open. It is a disease that affects Jews
first, then the entire American people—
just as it affected Germans first, then the
entire European continent.
Our leaders were either over-confident
or too blind to reality to realize the im
pending danger to American democracy
in the rise of the anti-Semitic threat. They
failed to recognize the fact that silence
i3 deadly because it is often interpreted
as consent; that the American people,
whose greatest asset is adherence to fair
play, do not respect those who sit back
and do not protest indignities; that a men-
ace must be brought out in the open to
be defeated decisively.
It is not too late to inform the Ameri-
can people. Two years ago we said that
for every dollar spent for relief we must
spend ten dollars for defense. Today we
believe that for every dollar spent for
relief we must spend a hundred times as
much for defense, else we may so en-
danger the position of many Jews that a
hundred times as many will need relief
because they will be pauperized through
discrimination and persecution.
How are we to fight? In a hundred
ways, perhaps; through education, by
letting the public know the truth, by ex-
posing the destructive forces of anti-Se-
mitism. But never through silence. Speak-
ing the truth is acting. Keeping silent is
aggravating the issue and making mat-
ters worse for us, for America, for the
ideals which have made this country
great.
•
At the Mercy of the Proofreader

The transposition of the words "veins" and
"blood" in the editorial "Thorkelson's Nazi
Method" in our last issue proves the power of
the proofreader. From behind the scenes the
proofreader permitted the editorial to make the
fantastic anatomical trick of creating "Jewish
veins in his blood." Now, all that is left for us
to do, in addition to being on guard, is to pray
that linotype man and proofreader do not con-
spire to transpose the two crucial words in this
correction—for then we shall indeed be in a lu-
dicrous position.

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ELECT

JOHN H.

SCHNEIDER

State Representative

(First District .. . City of Detroit)

—Graduate it. of M. Law School,
—Attorney-at-Inw—I4 years.
—Former Circuit Court LotntnittIoner.
—Past Noble (.rand—Palestine Lodge, In-
dependent Order of Odtifellowo.

•

Vote Democratic

Member of Various Jewish Fra-
ternal, Charitable and Relief Or-
ganizations.

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