America Yetrish Periodical Cotter

CLIFTON AVENUE - CINCINNATI 20, OHIO

DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE

September 27, 1940

P urely Commentary

?40

Charges Against Ford Organization

Last week we made reference to the lack of

prejudice against Jewish workers in the plants
fthe ord Motor Co. .We pointed out, however,
th the spread .of anti-Semitic literature under
the name of Henry Ford and by organizations
with which Ford executives are affiliated does not
react favorably upon either Mr. Ford or the
Ford plants.
This week, as reported elsewhere in this is-
sue, an avalanche of articles has appeared in na-
tionally prominent magazines charging the Ford
people with being responsible for the spread of
anti-Semitism and accusing Henry Ford's asso-
ciates with financing and encouraging such move-
men ts. Friday Magazine, PM, the Protestant Di-
gest and other periodicals have repeated these
charges and in the last few days have emphasized
them.
Less than a year ago, Mr. Ford made an im.
portant statement to Dr. Leo M. Franklin con-
demning Nazism and coming out four-square for
tolerance and for fair dealing with refugees. Then
something happened through the machinations of
Father Charles E. Coughlin, the consequences of
which increased rather than diminished suspicion
of the attitude adopted by Mr. Ford. More
recently, about two weeks ago, Mr. Ford, in his
endorsement of the candidacy for the Presidency
of Wendell L. Willkie, approved of the Republi-
can standard bearer's condemnation of racial and
class discrimination.
Wherein lies the inconsistency in the two
conflicting situations? As we pointed out last
week, those who have been charged with respon-
sibility for anti-Semitism must repudiate the
spreaders of hate. It should be an outright state-
ment, indicating a readiness to prosecute those
who misuse Henry Ford's name. Furthermore,
there ought to be no room for anti-Semitic spokes-
men in an organization as important as the Ford
Motor Co. Because anti-Semitism is anti-Ameri-
can; it is anti-humanitarian.
Mr. Ford, by reaffirming what he said in July,
1927, in repudiation of the Protocols, by con-
demning Father Coughlin for using the Ford en-
dorsement of these discredited Protocols made in
1921 and 1922 and by prosecuting the anti-
Semitic groups that misuse his name, can put
an end to these charges at once. We urge him
to do it immediately. There is no other way in
which he can allay the existing suspicions of his
associates' activities.

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Is Mr. Ford Dealt With Unfairly?

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•

Apologists for Henry Ford, Jews among
them present the argument that since the alleged
Cameron letter to Fritz Kuhn is a forgery, the
articles in PM, Friday and Protestant Digest
ought to be disregarded. They would have us be-
lieve that these articles are Nazi tricks to create
, an issue against Ford.
But what about the manifestations of anti-
Semitism of the past 13 years—since the Ford
apology which discredited the Protocols as false
and as forgeries? For several years we have had
literature come to us with the imprint of quo-
tations from Henry Ford, as they appeared in
the once anti-Semitic Dearborn Independent. The
same quotations appeared in Coughlin's Social
Justice in 1938. We pleaded with Mr. Ford (lur-
ing the past several years to repudiate these
anti-Semitic outbursts, to reaffirm what he had
said in 1927 in apologizing for the very state-
ments that continue to be broadcast over and
under his signatures. But there was not a word
from Dearborn, Mich., except for one of two mild
denials. In the meantime the Protocols, published
as if they were original works sponsored by Henry
Ford, continue to appear on newsstands — as
shown in the exposes in Friday and Time and
Protestant Digest.
It is not enough that Mr. Ford should be
defended by a Jewish apologist, or that his sec-
retary should deny that Mr. Ford has anything to
do with the spread of anti-Semitic literature. Mr.
Ford must do more. lie must repudiate those
who, as his associates claim, misuse his name;
he must prosecute those who misrepresent him by
appending his name on anti-Semitic books and
in anti-Semitic magazines like Social Justice;
he must not welcome anti-Semites and Nazi
agents who have been known to see him at Dear-
born.
Is this asking too much of a man who has
made declarations of friendship on several occa-
sions, and soon thereafter gave audiences to Nazis
like Westrick and others? Are these demands upon
NIr. Ford too shocking at a time when Mr. Camer-
on's name continues to be linked with the schemes
of the Anglo-Saxon Federation?
The facts stare us in the face. They pro-
vide the best answers to these questions.
•

Fear and Self-Hatred Versus the Truth

Correspondence and telephone calls reaching
our office usually reflect a cross-section of senti-
ments in the community. It is to the credit of
our correspondents and callers that they do not
display fright, that they do not degrade them-
selves and their people, that they show a desire
for courage, that they refuse to hide their heads
ostrich-like in the sand and to demand a hushing
up of Jewish claims for justice and fair play.
There was, however, one call last week
which demonstrated the existence of self-pity.
nay, self-hatred, in our ranks. We are inclined
to believe that it is an isolated instance of a
Jewish ostrich. The attitude of this caller de-
serves comment as a lesson to the vast majority
who reject such an attitude.
A lady called, and she at once exposed her
Position by informing us that she lives in an
exclusive north end apartment. She proceeded to
tell us that we who publish a Jewish weekly
newspaper, are fostering anti-Semitism; that by
nublishing news regarding the persecution of
Jews we provide ammunition against us for our

enemies: that the caretaker in her apartment
Purposely displays copies of The Detroit Jewish
Chronicle in the lobby of the apartment house

— the

•

exclusive

and the Legal Chronicle

Trees Planted in
By Philip Slomovitz Palestine Forests

apartment house—for all who

pass to see the bad news, to read it, to glory in
the sufferings of the Jews. She called to tell
us that we ought to stop publishing this news;
that we should stop publishing altogether if we
have nothing else to publish.
We tried to reason with the lady, to show
her that daily newspapers have been playing up
this news for years, that the revolt against per-
secution came, and is certain to continue to come,
only as a result of the presentation of facts, of
the exposing of anti-Semitism. But it was use-
less to plead with her. She insisted that ALL
our readers will discontinue their subscriptions
as a protest against the publishing of sad Jewish
news.
Where have we heard this before? Years
ago, just before Adolf Hitler came to power, a
handful of Jews asked that their Jewish papers to
delivered to them in wrappers and not open-faced
because they did not want the mail carrier to
know they were Jewish. (Remember the old story
about the Jew who became a convert to Chris-
tianity and who had befriended a deformed man?
He confided to him that he was a Jew. Whereupon
the hunchback drew his "Christian" friend's ear
and confided to him that he, too, has a secret: he is
a hunchback.) We no longer hear such senti-
ments. Jews are wiser. They know that Jewish-
ness can not be hidden from our neighbors. The
Nazi philosophy about the Jewish grandmother
proved that. The non-Jewish neighbor respects
us more when we are frank and honest with our
heritage.
The attitude of the outraged lady in ques-
tion suffers from an hallucination when she be-
lieves that the caretaker in her apartment pur-
posely displays The Chronicle in order to arouse
hatred. The chances are that he sorts the mail
for the tenants in the building to find theirs more
readily. But even if true, there are only two
reactions possible: If the caretaker is an anti-
Semite, the proper persons should call a halt
to displays of prejudice; and if the news of the
persecution of Jews stares people in the face,
then these people should feel the shame of it,
for anti-Semitism is the sin of the Christians who
perpetrate injustice not of the Jews who suf-
fer it.
The lady in question can easily offset the
damage she feels done to her. She can subscribe
to the Christian Science Monitor, or the Christian
Register, or the Christian Century, or the Pres-
byterian, and she can have them displayed next
to The Jewish Chronicle as periodicals read by a
Jew. What a glorious show of impartiality that
would be for the mailman and the caretaker!
(We also get these periodicals, dear lady, and
they come to us in the same mail with the Yid-
dish dailies of New York and St. Louis and Phila-
delphia, and there is no one to make us ashamed).
This is a lot of space to devote to the com-
plaint of a frightened person. But it ought to
be worth it as encouragement to the vast num-
bers of Jews who reject such an attitude, who
insist on knowing what is happening to their peo-
ple throughout the world, who are courageous in
their determination that the fight for justice shall
not be abandoned and who have confidence in the
spirit of America which repudiates intolerance.
Ours is a fight for courage and for truth as
opposed to fear and self-hatred. This is a fight
akin to the battle of America and democracy.
We are confident that we are on the winning
side.
•

Petach Tikvah Municipal Budget
Is £23,000

The Jewish National Fund
Council of Detroit announces the
planting of trees in forests in
Palestine, as follows:
In the Fred M. Butzel Forest:
one tree in memcry of Abraham
Barnett by Amitian Club.
In the J. H. Ehrlich Forest:
two trees in memory of Joseph
Harris by Mrs. Joseph Harris.
In the Meyer Berlin Forest:
one tree in memory of Fraidel
Mendelsohn by Aimitian Club and
one tree by Sadie and Sidney
Gray.
To plant trees in Palestine for-
ests, call Mrs. Alexander W.

Jews and Patriotism

A few minutes after listening to the frantic
complaint of the lady referred to in the above
paragraphs, there were calls from other readers,
complaining against the distribution of the vio-
lently anti-Semetic and un-American pamphlet
charging Jews with being unpatriotic. The charges
in that pamphlet are, of course, untrue. They are
libelous, scurrilous, nasty displays of indecency
and the vilest type of un-Americanism imagin-
able. We are dealing with this problem editor-
ially, and there is no need therefore to refer to
it again. But we mention the calls from our
readers in order to point out that most people
are not frightened by displays of anti-Semitism.
—on the contrary, they are outraged. They did
not call us to hush the matter up, but rather to
urge that something be done to put a stop to it.
They are willing to make an issue of a display
of un-Americanism. Anti-Semitism, being akin
to Nazism, is also un-Americanism. That's the
spirit to be condoned—a spirit of rebellion against
injustice.
•

The Observance of Education Month

The United Hebrew Schools have again
launched the observance of an annual Education
Month, and synagogues and organizations, as
well as the community at large through the press,
will hear a message that will be punctuated with
appeals for the education of our children.
Learning remains the major and primary
need in Jewish life. We need to educate our
youngsters so that when they grow up they will
not be ignorant of the issues surrounding them.
We must train our boys and girls for a hard life
which requires constant defense of just causes
and condemnation of injustice. We must so
prepare them for the life to come so that nothing
will make them afraid—except injustice and un-
fair dealings with their fellow men.
This is not a simple task. It calls for stub-
born adherence to principle. It demands constant
emphasis upon the moral and ethical codes of
Judaism, the perpetuation of which is the major
stumbling block to Nazism and every form of
oppression and tyranny. It calls for courage as

well as dignity.
Such a program presents a far greater chal-
lenge for the teachers than it is for the pupils.
It demands devotion and dedication to a cause.
The fulfillment of such a task represents one of
the highest principles of Americanism because it
leads to carrying into effect the most sacred ideals
of this great republic,

PETACH TIKVAH (Palcor
Agency) — The Petach Tikvah
Municipal Council has adopted a
budget of £23,000 for the ensuing
year.

Blue Goose Trips
Are Inexpensive

Sanders, HO. 0967, 12342 Broad-
street.

Blue Goose bus

fares are the

lowest they have ever bean, but

L. A. S. Auxiliary
Tag Day Sunday

you get the same efficient

serv-

ice.

No

The Detroit Auxiliary of the
Los Angeles Sanatorium will con-
duct a tag day and house-to-
house solicitation this Sunday,
Sept, 29. The public is requested
to welcome the solicitors and to
extend to them the courtesy the
cause merits.
At the same time, the auxiliary
requests that the sanatorium re-
ceive a just share in the syna-
gogue High Holy Day appeals,
and that the needs of the insti-
tution, which has helped victims
of tuberculosis, amongst them
hundreds of Detroiters,
The problem of the refugee pa-
tients confronts the sanatorium
in addition to its daily tasks. Two
patients are now waiting to be
admitted from Detroit.
For information, call Madison
6766.

matter where you wart to

go in Michigan, or

elsewhere,

your trip by bus will cost little.

Ask a Blue Goose

agent for

rates and details.

Travel by bus — you'll

save

money.

Detroit Terminal

Washington Blvd.
at Grand River Ave.

CA. 9000

BLUE GOOSE

LINES

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KADIMAH HEBREW SCHOOLS

ONE OF THE MOST MODERN IN THE STATE

NEW PUPILS NOW BEING ENROLLED
at 11812 Linwood Ave., corner Tuxedo, upstairs

SIMON RICHARDSON, Principal
Private Lessons Can Be Arranged

Transportation furnished for children who live at •
distance from the school.
For information call TOwnsend 6-1698

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