A merica 'apish Periorlieal Carter

CLIFTON AVENUE • CINCINNATI 20, OHIO

9

November 22, 1940

DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE and the Legal Chronicle

mur Sts. David Nemoff of Hasho-

organization will
gling and pettifogging over the "Land for Food" Program to Be Aided
mur Hatzair
creation of a single effective body
act as chairman.
Through Zion Flag Day Observance
for Jewish defense. They have
(Continued from Page 1)
not succeeded because they have
Junior Women's Civic Club
The Junior Women's Civic
mittee, which absorbed all other not been serious in the effort.
Club, meeting every Monday
relief committees and became the When the story of the General
night at 2725 Monterey, at the
central agency for relief on be- Jewish Council will be told, it
home of Betty Harley, is plan-
half of all American Jews. Both will reveal the utter emptiness
ning a hay ride on Nov. 24, at
the American Jewish Committee of the pretension that the
1 the Bnai Brith were not in- "cause" comes first. What comes
Morton Stables. New members
18 to 25 years old are welcomed
terested in the problem of corn- first is organizational selfishness,
munal development. They had organizational pride, organiza-
to the meeting.
definite prejudices against the tional income, organizational
taking over, in American life, of leadership. There is no agreement
a traditional form of Jewish soli- possible because of the conflict
darity like the Kehillah. In fact, of interests and personalities.
the Bnai Brith was interested
There are indications, how-
chiefly in establishing and main - ever, of a growing revolt among
taining local lodges and not in th e communities. The communi-
creating a united community. ties are not so easy-going any
The American Jewish Committee more, not so reverential or re-
WINDOW SHADES
was interested in having a few spectful toward national leaders
MADE TO ORDER
Jews
in
a
as
they
used
to
be
in
the
olden
prominent or wealthy
community affiliated with its (lays. Orders coming from above
Cleaned and Repaired
work; it was indifferent to the do not meet with the unanimous,
LINOLEUM
community as such. The slogan unquestioning response that was
JEUI5H NATIONAL FUND
of the American Jewish Congress once typical of the relation of
Inlaid and Battleship
was the democratic organization the "provinces" and the "city".
"Help to provide More Land It is extending an invitation to
CARPETING
of the Jewish communities, but The Welfare Chests have sue-
persons and groups, who are
for be
More
it never was strong enough to ceeded in establishing a form of for More Food will
Rugs and Furniture
the People
clarion sympathetic to the cause, to par-
form a union of all elements in communal unity which few of in Palestine!"
ticipate in the work. Information
VENETIAN BLINDS
call of recruited
a volunteer
corps now
any community; it made its aP - the national collecting agencies being
by Jewish
Na- concerning the Flag Day can be
so-called
are
able
to
break
through;
they
obtained
by
calling
the
local
Drapery Hardware
to
the
only
peal
"masses"; it had the support of run their own campaigns and tional Fund Councils throughout chairman, David Nemoff, Vine-
t ■ et Our Eriees and Save
Zionists and nationalists and make their own allocations; the the United States in a popular wood -3536.
Free Est finales Furnished
schul-Jews, but the classes were National Council is their own drive
Keren
Headquarters of the Flag Day
8625 LINWOOD
(luring for
the the
Nov.
23-24 Kayemeth
week-end.
creation, and not the servant of
beyond its influence.
Blue-White tags and special will be the David W. Simons He-
CALL
TYLER 5-1230
The building up of local com- the agencies centered in New "More Land for More Food" brew School at Tuxedo and Hol-
will
tokens (reproduced above)
munal unity was made almost York.
A New Movement Dawns
be distributed in the nationwide
impossible by the national agen-
The same is true also of the observance which has as its aim
cies that invaded the communi-
ties from time to time, regard- local defense agencies. The Gen- the strengthening for the Jewish
Al-time low price for a 6 cubic foot
ing them as the objects of their eral Jewish Council was not able
Home
an outpost
of
.— National
democracy
in its as
struggle
for the
•
propaganda. There were frater- to find a way out of the dim- preservation of liberty in the
nal organizations with their local culty that presented itself when world.
The wartime program of the
four parallel, recognized na-
lodges. There were the Zionist
Organizations with their districts tional defense agencies under- Jewish
National
Fund the
in Pales-
tine aims
at meeting
needs
and chapters and groups. There took to operate in each city for of the Yishub by acquiring and
were all direct
kinds appeals
of movements
Making
to certain themselves. They have not been reclaiming more land areas upon
EASY
able to agree on how to create which larger quantities of locally
TERMS
elements
in
every
community,
and who were utterly indifferent unified local defense committees. grown essential food supplies
Features include many found in
to the effect of their invasions If the national agencies were may be obtained, now that the
highest priced Frigidairesl Includ-
upon the solidarity of the corn- genuinely interested in establish- Mediterranean is the scene of
ing Meter-Miser; Frozen Storage
munity. The national pressure ing local autonomy, and were hostilities. Popular contributions
Compartment; 4 Big Ice Trays,
aided in fractionalizing the corn- not concerned in maintaining lo- ranging from 5c to $1 will
toward
all with Automatic Tray Release;
in un it ies. They were regarded cally their own "firm names," Palestine Land Fund
whichh
Exclusive F-114 Refrigerant; Auto-

KEHILLAH

LASALLE

Window Shade Co.

, )

'112' 5

- 4

whom financial or moral support of local defense committees ca- is the 27th annual action of its
was to be gotten. They existed Fable of doing a "Job of work" kind,
Goldstein,
presi-
dent Dr.
of Israel
the Jewish
National
for the sake of the national pro- a thousand times more efficient Fund, stated.
grams, and not for the sake of than the work of the national
The local Council of the Jew-
agencies. In many of the comma- National Fund has already made
the community itself. The co- agencies.
munity had no rights that had nities they have found the way
to be respected. They were in- to organize their own defense plans for the coming Flag Day.
cidents in a nationwide activity. work, and to unite all elements.
The communities were thus torn In cities like Los Angeles, Chi-
asunder by diversified appeals; cago, Detroit, St. Louis—to men-
their divisions accentuated; and tion only a few—the defense
unable to exercise any influence work is in the hands of a single
as a community upon national committee in which all groups
policy are represented, and they are
doing excellent work. The pro-
"Trustees" for a Program
gram of activities in Chicago,
Today, in the field of relief where the Bnai Brith and the
and (defense, "all power" seems American Jewish Congress local
to be exercised by the national units have combined, is well ad-
agencies, and they grow more ministered and controlled, and a
and more autocratic and less andf of communal solidarity
eeling
less responsive to influences that has
been created. In Los Angeles,
come out of the communities. there is an alert, all-inclusive
Only a threat to reduce financial committee, providing its own
support has any significance in funds, which is only slightly de-
their eyes. Of course, conies- pendent upon national advice
. '
sions are made; regional confer- and cooperation.
ences are called; names are
These are the beginnings of
placed on letterheads; but there a new Kehillah movement. A
is no genuine desire to create a revolution is being created. The
unified
autonomy,
or to in difficulty locally lies in solving
introduce local
democratic
processes
the conduct of Jewish affairs in the problem of representation.
which all have a common in- Are all Jews to be regarded as
terest. equal—every man one vote?
Who are the Jewish people for
The position taken is that the purpose of representation in
there is a "job of work" to be the community? Are all Jews, re-
(lone—say, in relief or defense. g••dless of how much they pay,
)
Why should anyone interfere entitled to the same rights as all
with the efficiency of the work other Jews who contribute much
by dragging in the unrelated larger sums? As matters stand
ideas of democracy and unity?
the large contributor or
rn now
the prominent individual exer-
Thus, the Joint Distribution Co-
mittee and the American Jewish
Committee have come to regard cases
undue give
influence.
maller an people
way to The
the
' p
themselves, in a way, as "trus - ressure
of the more wealth y or
tees" acting not for people but prominent. In many cities, the
for a cause or program. The synagogues and temples, as such,
public might well ask whether play less of a part than their
the cause is being served hon- significance in Jewish life war-
estly and efficiently, but their rants, and Jewish unity prevails
F—) rights go no further. But is in what might be called the sec-
efficiency in service really the ular field. In some sections, rab-
principle that guides these na- his play a large and influential
tional agencies? If they were part; in others they are wholly
guided by ideals of efficiency, disregarded. But these problems
they would be keen to coordinate will be solved locally, without
or consolidate their own activi- difficulty, once it is understood
ties as between themselves—find - that responsibility lies with the
.fig greater strength in union. community, and once it is un-
derstood that the autonomy of
The General Council's Record
The criterion of efficiency is the community is not to be dis-
intrusions of prop-
a mask. The record of the Gen- turbed by the ntrusions
cral Jewish Council is proof of aganda agencies that regard
the fact that there is something themselves as "trustees for a
t i
above efficiency in service that cause," to interfere with whom
chillul ha-shem.
controls—at least—in the work is regarded as
of defense. There are four agen- The organization of Kehillas
cies of defense in the General throughout the United States
Jewish Council. What disturbs will conic not through propagan-
them most, as the record will da from above, but by the devel-
shou.,is their own organizational opment cf local responsibility in-
jurisdiction and freedom, which telligently directed. The commu-
takes precedence over unity, co- nities are boring from within, and
ordination, efficiency and thrift. soon the whole structure of a
For over two and a half years centralized control will topple
3
t
be
order will
the four agencies in the General over; and a new
American Jewry
Jewish Council have been hag- introduced in

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