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1940

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DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE end the Legal Chronicle

Orteber 4. 1940

Purely Commentary ••

The Fifty-Eighth Century Begins

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CLIFTON AVENUE - CINCINNATI 30, OHIO

Fifty-seven centuries have come to an end,
' a nd the fifty-eighth begins on our calendar.
The most tragic periods in all history took place
during the past fifty-seven centuries. They were
like 57 varieties of misery, of despair, of persecu-
tion, of inhumanity of man to man. We should
start out with the assumption that they are corn-
ing to an end.
True, the years were not all sad. They were
punctuated by brief milestones of happiness. The
eighteenth century, in the Christian era, for in-
stance, marked the beginning of a period of free-
dom and democracy, of emancipation and toler-
anc e. Then came the twentieth century, with its
first brutal war, with its aftermath of indecency
and the rise of a pagan movement that sought
to destroy everythin g that has been given to man-
kind first by Judaism and then by its offspring,
Christianity. The end is not yet in sight, and we
are merely at the beginning of the road to recov-
ery, to a return to sanity which will see the
eradication of the inhuman elements marked by
Hitlerism.
As we approach the threshold of the fifty-
eighth century on the calendar, we gain confidence
that we shall see the beginning of better days,
that there will be a new era of decency, that
the spirit of inhumanity will vanish from the
! earth.
The entire existence of the Jewish people
would be belied if we were to believe otherwise.
For close to 200 generations, the Jewish people
has been propagating an ethical and moral set
of laws which mankind finally accepted. But it
turned out to be mainly lip service. Christians
failed to adhere to Christian teachings, just as
some Jews fail to live up to the tenets of Judaism.
The Judeo-Christian ideals were accepted grudg-
ingly. The result stares us all in our faces. There
is destruction across the Atlantic—and also across
the Pacific—as a result of the repudiation of
these Judeo-Christian teachings and a return to
Valhalla.
How long can the present condition last?
Not long.
We venture to make this prediction on the
basis of the battle of London, on the strength of
the world's reaction to the bombing of Tel Aviv,
on the ground that the ethical and moral laws
promulgated by mankind can not be trampled
in the dust indefinitely.
Take as an example the reaction to anti-
Semitism in America. There have been blunders
in dealing with Coughlin and McWilliams and
Pelley and their ilk. These men of bitterness
and gall and hatred and destruction were toler-
ated and argued with. Then came a reaction.
Men like Monsignor Ryan and Father William C.
Kernan and the Rev. Dr. L. M. Birkhead and
Madame Irene Harrand came to the front and
said, "this condition can not continue, for the
sake of human decency" And in one year all
the misdeeds of these men who have been driven
by an insane desire to destroy the Jewish people
were branded as un-American. Every anti-Semi-
tic candidate for office was defeated by Am'erican
voters who refuse to tolerate anti-Semitism—that
anti-Semitism which is Nazism and un-American-
ism. Coughlin has been forced off the air by the
pressure of public opinion that holds up to ridi-
cule spreaders of hatred and prejudice. The
bigots have been relegated to a position of dis-
grace and ridicule. The spirit of fair play for
which American sportsmanship is famous has got-
ten the best of the intolerant in our midst.
That which has become possible in this coun-
try is equally as possible in the Old World. Man-
kind does not approve of vandalism and murder
and destruction interminably. The human element
must rise to condemn the inhuman and to strive
for fair dealing and tolerance. This shall come
to pass—soon. It can not be otherwise, else we
would have to admit that the jungle has come
to stay.
This is the beginning of the end of the rule
of the jungle.

•

The Problems of 5701

Will the problem of 5701 be different from
those of preceding years?
In most respects the issues will be the same.
T . here will be the identical responsibility to our
institutions, to the fugitives from oppression, to
the needy in our midst.
But in one respect responsibility will be
greater than ever. We have a duty to our con-
science and to the spirit in which we carry on
our activities. Life goes on and will continue
to go on, and the one thing to be avoided is a
spirit of defeatism, an attitude of despair, a feel-
ing of helplessness.
There is no room for hopelessness in Jewish
life, and despair should be discouraged in life
generally. If we were to adopt such an attitude
towards Palestine, or the Jewish future as a whole
or with regard to the outlook for world events,
there would be only one thing left to do—to
gather our families in one room and to turn on
the gas. But if any one were actually to sug-
gest that, he would be branded as insane. Life
is a struggle at best, and today it is a struggle
improve
mprove human relations, to strengthen the
Joy Of living, to beautify our environment and
to make this world a place worth living in.
As Jews, with our historic experiences, we
surely have no right to lay down our arms and
to despair. We carry on. We go on with our
work in Palestine. We plan for the future—
for ourselves and for the exiles from the lands
of oppression which will surely be transformed
again into lands of freedom.
,
Palestine offers the best encouragement for
ho
pe. It is today a belligerent country subject
to attacks from the air, by way of land and sea.
But the people go on with their work.They
build colonies, they carry on research in the
H ebrew
laboratories, they build armies
for work a and armies for defense, they live and

5

WISHES TO ALL
AND SUNDRY

STRICTLY
By Philip Slomovitz CONFIDENTIAL

love, they bring up families and teach their
children the traditions of their people and in the
midst of war they reaffirm that "Israel's mission
is peace."
There is a sense of shame in Palestine when
they hear that we, in the Diaspora, are despair-
ing over the future. They know that a commun-
ity of more than 500,000 people, settled in colo-
nies, in modern cities, building industries and
encouraging cultural pursuits, can not be up-
rooted.
The major problem of 5701 is for us who
live in freedom to learn the lesson of courage
from our people who live under the shadow of
Iva r.

•

What Henry Ford Can Do

A few clays ago your Commentator expressed
the opinion, to men close to the Ford organization,
that any one with one per cent the wealth of
Henry Ford could prevent, in a legal way, the
misuse of his name by anti-Semites who spread
propaganda against the Jews over and under his
name. Our publisher then remarked that it could
be accomplished with one-tenth of one per cent
of Mr. Ford's wealth. Several days later, PM, the
aggressive New York daily whose articles exposing
anti-Semitic activities and the manner in which
Ford's and W. J. Cameron's names figure in the
work of bigots have attracted wide attention, pub-
lished an interview with Jose Camprubi, publisher
of La Prensa, New York Spanish language news-
paper, whose office has been selling "El Judio
Internacional" ("The International Jew"), the
anti-Semitic book bearing the name of Henry
Ford. Camprubi said his office would continue to
sell the book, and when asked whether he believed
that Henry Ford actually wrote that book he
said: "I think Mr. Ford has enough money to
put anyone in jail who used his name without
permission."
Apparently, we agree. A course of action for
Mr. Ford is quite clear. He can, and should,
prosecute those who use his name in disseminating
anti-Semitic propaganda. Else, it will be difficult
for him and his associates to convince any one
that they are sincere in repudiating association
with bigots. Once agan, we urge Mr. Ford to
repudiate the anti-Semites, to reaffirm his stand
of 1927 when he condemned the forged "Proto-
cols," and to prosecute those who continue to
spread the libelous and outrageous literature for
the publishing of which he apologized in 1927.
•

(Continued from Page 4)

Lincoln in Illinois" and "There
Shall be No Night": May he
find the time and inspiration to
write a play on the Jewish tra-
degy of the twentieth century.
MESSAGES TO
JEWISH LEADERS
TO DR. CHAIM WEIZMANN:
Hopes for his safety in his air-
raid shelter, and good luck to his
two sons in the British Royal
Air Force, who are playing a
heroic part in the defense of the
last island of democracy in Eu-
rope . . . TO GOVERNOR HER-
BERT LEHMAN: A prayer that
he will not give up public work
after his gubernatorial term ex-
pires . . . TO LOUIS LIPSKY:
The assurance that whether he
be in or out of office American
Zionists regard him as the dean
of the Jewish national move-
ment in this country . . . TO
STEPHEN S. WISE: A message
of our impatience to see the pub-
lication of his autobiography ...
TO LOUIS FINKELSTEIN, head
of the Jewish Theological Semi-
nary: Sncere wishes that he will
find time to continue his scholar-
ly writing, and will not be com-
pletely taken up with adminis-
trative duties . . . TO MEYER
WEISGAL: The confident hope
that after the close of the Pal-
estine Pavilion he will find the
right opportunity for the em-
ployment of his dynamic crea-
tive ability . . . TO THE LEAD-
ERS OF THE AMERICAN JEW-
ISH COMMITTEE, THE AMER-
ICAN JEWISH CONGRESS AND
THE BNAI BRITH: May they
be undauntedly and unhesitat-
ingly courageous in unmasking
any foe of religious and national
minorities in this country, regard-
less of how highly placed that
foe may be.

TO THE EDITORIAL BOARD
OF "THE CONTEMPORARY
RECORD": That they will con-
tinue to improve their magazine,
which is setting a new standard
in Anglo-Jewish publications . . .
TO THE HOLLYWOOD PRO-
DUCERS: That they finally real-
ize that the European market
is gone forever, and that they
will use their tremendous in-
fluence without fear or favor,
for the cause of democracy . . .
TO THE NEW ADMINISTRA-
TION OF THE ZIONISTS: The
realization that the ZOA can be
streamlined, but that Zionist tra-
dition and principles cannot be
changed overnight .. . TO THE
NEW
ZIONIST ORGANIZA-
TION,
left leaderless by the
death of Jabotinsky: May it find
as idealistic and gifted a leader
to take his place .. . TO HIAS:
Congratulations on the many in-
stances in which it has helped
almost hopeless cases and of
which we have personal knowl-
edge . . . TO THE JOINT DIS-
TRIBUTION COMMITTEE: The
hope that during the coming
year it will find ways and means
to bring direct help to the rem-
nants of Polish Jewry in Nazi-
occupied Poland . . . TO THE
UNITED PALESTINE APPEAL:
Our confidence that the work in
Palestine will go on unhampered
respite the hostilities . . . TO
ALL THE JEWISH REFUGEES
drifting along the highways and
byways of this globe: May they
find visas for countries where
they can start life all over again.
. . . TO THE PUBLISHERS OF
THE ANGLO-JEWISH PRESS:
A successful year, and the ap-
preciation of national and local
Jewish organizations for the vit-
ally important function they are
fulfilling in the education of our
Jewish communities . . . AND
TO ALL OUR READERS: Le-
shanah Tovah Tikasevu.

(Copyright, S.A.F.8.,

1940)

Jews In the News

Bcst Wishes to All for a Happy and Prosperous New Year

Complaints about overabundance of sad news
are not new. We have heard them before Hitler;
they are re-echoed now.
One correspondent complains that our head-
lines do not satisfy her. It's Jews, and Jews, and
Jews, she protests, and adds that it is "making
our people feel inferior". Why, she asks, are we
referring to our people as "Jews instead of
Jewish?"
There are Catholics, and Italians, and Greeks,
and Protestants, and Mohammedans, etc., etc. In-
dividually, members of these creeds and national
groups would be referred to as Catholic, Italian,
Greek, Protestant, Mohammedan. We are Jews,
and each one of us individually is a Jew. Need
one object to that? Do you suppose any one of
them would object if mentioned that way?
No, we don't think there is ground to the
objections of our correspondent. A person who
feels inferior when told of his origin is ap-
parently affected by something more than the
effect of emphasis on a term. It must be an in-
ward feeling which ought not to exist when there
is a natural acceptance of destiny and heritage.
Some people call the natural reaction pride and
courage. The opposite reaction has been termed
self-abuse and self-hatred.

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8737 TWELFTH STREET

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SIMON RICHARDSON, Principal
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•

GET IN TOUCH WITH

The Late Ameen Rihani

Detroiters will recall that Ameen Rihani,
Syrian poet and publicist, made numerous ap-
pearances here in behalf of the Palestinian Arabs.
This Syrian spokesman, who passed away on Sept.
14 in Freike, Mount Lebanon, Syria, at the age
of 63, was an opponent of Zionism who cam-
paigned in this country, wrote letters to news-
papers, debated with Zionist leaders and proved
an effective opponent whose strength was under-
estimated by Jews. In recent years he sought
to effect a bond of friendship between Jews and
Arabs, but the damage he had done the Zionist
movement in his lifetime stood in the way of
redress. Perhaps he was not dealt with wisely
by our leaders. In any event, the peace that
should have been established with his aid did not
materialize. It is a pity that such an eminent
man could not have been a force for the good
which is sure to come out of latest efforts to
create a bond of friendship between the two
kindred peoples, the Arabs and the Jews.
•

The Line-Up

The Republican National Committee has is-
sued a number of releases quoting statements by
prominent Jews endorsing the candidacy of Wen-
dell L. Willkie for President. Former Justice
Joseph Proskauer of New York; Dr. Abba Hillel
Silver of Cleveland; Walter Rothschid, a leader
in Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds; Henry
Hendricks, president of Congregation Shearith
Israel of New York; Edgar J. Nathan, Jr., presi-
dent of the New York Society of the Jewish
Theological Seminary, are among the supporters
of Mr. Willkie. On the other hand, the Arbeiter
Ring (Workmen's Circle), the Farband, Jewish
National Workers' Alliance and other organiza-
tions have issued endorsements of President Roose-
velt's candidacy for re-election. There are Jews
for Willkie, and there are Jews for Roosevelt.
That's the American way—and that's the line-up,
ladies and gentlemen.

Jack Alkon

You Will Do Much Better

SEE THE 1941 MODELS

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