?larch 14, 1941 DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE and the Legal Chronicle 16 Hedera Club Celebrates Second Anniversary The Hedera Club will give a dinner-dance Sunday, March 16, at Niebiolo's, to celebrate its sec- ond anniversary as a chapter of the Pioneer Women. Mrs. Doro- thy Schechter is in charge of ar- rangements. On March 3, Hedera Club held a social and open meeting at the home of Mrs. Emma Schreier, 4271 Cortland Ave. Mrs. Rosa- mond Hammerstein gave a re- port on the "Plow-Woman". All Detroit Is Talking About CHUNG'S Detroit's N e west and Most Modern Chinese Restaurant In the Heart of Chinatown 0 REAL CHINESE STYLE DISHES including Egg Roll and Fried Shrimps Open Until 4 A. M. 1343 Third RA. 7296 HARRY CHUNG, Mgr. For Finer Living WILSHIRE Apartment Hotel Collingwood at Third Convenient to transportation, I to 5 room suites. furnished or unfurnished. Hotel service optional. All carpeted, dining room. Garage in connection. TOWNSEND 8-2680 LASALLE Window Shade Co. WINDOW SHADES MADE TO ORDER Cleaned and Repaired LINOLEUM Inlaid and Battleship CARPETING Rugs and Furniture VENETIAN BLINDS Drapery Hardware (let Our Prices and Save Free Estimates Furnished 8625 LINWOOD CALL TYLER 5-1230 BEN-AVI Continued from Page 1 Ittamar Ben-Avi is one of the first leaders of Palestine Jewry to have arrived in the United States following the outbreak of the war for a lecture tour. His message, shedding light on the situation in the near East and on the war-time problems and tasks of the Jewish National Home in Palestine, is eagerly awaited in many communities. A native of Jerusalem, Ittamar Ben-Avi is the son of Eliezer Ben Yehudah, the late famous Hebrew author and lexicographer who is regarded as the father of modern Hebrew as a spoken language. Himself the first Jew- ish child in modern times to have been reared with Hebrew as his native tongue, Ittamar Ben-Avi received his early education in Jerusalem and later studied at the universities of Paris and Ber- lin. A gifted linguist and eloquent speaker, Mr. Ben-Avi is one of the most colorful personalities in the political and social life of Palestine and the Near East. Formerly editor of Doar Ha'yom, the Palestine Daily Mail, he has written extensively in Hebrew as well as in several of the Euro- pean languages and has played a leading part during the World War and in the post-war era. During the World War, Mr. Ben-Avi was twice sentenced to jail for a period of several months, for having conducted pro-allied political activities in Palestine and was later con- demned to death, but managed to escape a few hours before the time set for the execution. Mr. Ben-Avi came to America after his escape, in the interest of the Zionist movement, and was invited to address the Con- ference of Minority Rights, held in Independence Hall, Philadel- phia, under the leadership of President Masaryk of Czecho- slovakia. The following year, Mr. Ben-Avi accompanied the Zion- ist delegation to the Peace Con- ference in Versailles. In the 20-year period between the conclusion of the first World War and the beginning of the present conflict, Mr. Ben-Avi participated in every important movement that accompanied the growth of the Jewish National Home in Palestine. (Mr. Ben-Avi is referred to in the Purely Commentary column on page 5 of this issue.) Hebrew Letters in Morse Code JERUSALEM. —(Palcor Agen- cy)—There are at present 44 post offices in Jewish settlements which receive and transmit He- berw-character inland telegrams, according to an announcement made at the end of December by Palestine's Postmaster-General. This interesting development is due mainly to the practically single-handed and devoted efforts of Israel Amikam, now a lawyer in Haifa. Twenty years ago, as a young telegraphist in the Pal- estine General Post Office, Ami- kam first broached the idea that Hebrew could be sent by Morse code, just as Arabic was. Before long he had devised a system for so doing. Shortly thereafter Israel Ami- kam left the Post-Office service, but he retained his faith in his plan. For the next 15 years he bombarded the League of Na- tions, the British and Palestine Governments, and successive High Commissioners with his memo- randa and petitions that Hebrew should be allowed over the tele- graph wires in Morse, rather than in the Latin characters that were used for the purpose. Finally his diligence was re- warded. On Jan. 1, 1935, the LITTMAN'S PEOPLE'S THEATER 8210 Twelfth Street TRinity 2-0100 Fri. Eve.. Sun. Mat. and Eve.. March 14 and 16 Nathan & Rose Goldberg—Jacob & Bettie Jacobs GUSTOW BERGER FANNIA RUBINA Leon Seidenberg. Vitee Dubrow, Harold Miller, Ella Wallenstein, Leah Seidenberg. Louis Buckshitzky, Harry Jordon Charming Biblical Operetta. with Beautiful Music "Ahasuerus and Queen Esther " By ABRAHAM GOLDFADEN COME TO LITTMAN'S FOR THIS PLAY AND REJOICE IN HAMAN'S DOWNFALL! Prices: EVES., 60c, 76c and $1; MATINEES, 60c and 75e P urely Commentary By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ (Continued from Page 5) is "Longing for Jerusalem," as translated by Emma Lazarus: 0 City of the World, With sacred splendor blest, My spirit yearns for thee From out the far-off West. (Answer: An ear of corn.) Without an eye its weeps, and we Do laugh with joy its kiss to see, But when its eyeless face is dry, 'Tis then our turn to weep and sigh. A stream of love wells forth When I recall thy day, Now is thy temple waste, Th y glory passed away. (Answer: A cloud.) Had I an eagle's wings, Straight could I fly to thee, Moisten thy holy dust With wet cheeks streaming free. Oh, how I long for thee, Although thy King has gone, Although where balm once flowed, The serpent dwells alone. Could I but kiss thy dust, So would I fain expire, As sweet as honey then My longing, my desire. The Jewish Publication Society of America, always in the forefront as producer of excellent literature, several years ago published a volume of Judah Halevi's poetry, containing the Hebrew as well as English texts, with the translations by Nina Salaman. At a time when we observe the 800th anniversary of the death of Judah Halevi, we should also spread his work, and the Jewish Publication Society Volume is among the important books to be utilized on this occasion. The diversity and universality of Halevi's poetry is indicated in the following selections which are in place for quotation at this time: RIDDLES What is it that's blind with an eye in its head But the race of mankind its use cannot spare; Spends all its life in clothing the dead, But always itself is naked and bare? (Answer: A needle.) Happy lovers, learn our law, Be joined in one, as we; Aught that parts us, through w e saw, And again are one, you see. (Answer: A pair of scissors.) service of telegrams in Hebrew characters between specified of- fices was introdued. Hebrew Language Day Inaugu- rates Hebrew Week Mr. Amikam's service to the cause of extending the use of Hebrew in every day public and private intercourse, to which cause the first week in January —dubbed "Speak Hebrew Only" week—was devoted, was given due recognition on Hebrew Lan- guage Day, which inaugurated the week on the first day of the secular year. Public meetings were held throughout the country on that day as part of the campaign to strengthen the domination of the language in the life of the Yishuv. Speakers explained the vital need for popularizing He- brew as a medium of expression in Eretz Israel. Ben Yehuda, "The Father of Spoken Hebrew", Memoralized Eliezer ben Yehuda, "the Fa- ther of Spoken Hebrew", was memoralized at a public meeting at the Histadruth Hall in this city on the occasion of the 18th anniversary of his death and the 60th anniversary of his arrival in Palestine. The scholar's widow, Mrs. Hemda ben Yehuda, recalled some of his earliest efforts on behalf of a "living" Hebrew. Professor Harry Noah Torczv- ner, who has occupied the Bialik Chair of Hebrew Philology at the Hebrew University since 1933 and who was one of the Ben Yehuda's collaborators, declared that it was Ben Yehuda's great faith in his people, in the He- brew language and in the future of Palestine that had inspired the few active Zionists then in the country to follow his lead and to speak Hebrew. Nathan Greenblatt, prominent writer, and Professor Joseph Klausner, Professor of Modern Hebrew Literature at the He- brew University, both paid trib- ute to Ben Yehuda's combination of classical and modern terms which imbued the language with the spirit of a living, every day tongue. Palestine Lodge Passover Charity Party Mar. 25 Palestine Lodge No. 542, sponsor a charity card and package party on Tues- day. March 25, at 8:30 p. m., at 3707 Fenkell Ave. Refreshments will be served. Proceeds will be used to aid needy families during Passover. I.O.O.F., will 'Tis dead and scattered on the earth, And men bury it all bare; Yet in the grave to children give birth That start full clothed from their lair. A SERENADE Awake, 0 my dear one, from slumber arise, The sight of thy face will give ease to my pain. If thou dreamest of one that is kissing thine eyes, Awake, and the dream I full soon shall explain. LOVE, THE ROGUE Once I nursed love on my knee. He saw his likeness in my eye, He kissed the lids so tenderly, 'Twas his image he kissed, the rogue, not me. SEPARATION And so w e twain must part. And so we twain must part ! Oh, linger yet, Let me still feed my glance upon thine eyes. Forget not, love, the days of our delight, And I our nights of bliss shall ever prize. In dreams thy shadowy image I shall see, Oh, even in m y dreams be kind to me! Though I were dead, I none the less would hear Thy step, thy garment rustling on the sand; And if thou waft me greetings from the grave I shall drink deep the breath of that cold land. Take thou my days, command this life of mine, If it can lengthen out the space of thine. The undying spirit of an old, yet ever-young, people, is reflected in the poetry and the life of Judah Halevi. It is poetry to be read at this time, and a life to be studied for inspiration in this hour of gloom. ALLOCATIONS (Continued from Page One) Coons Speaks for J.D.C. Describing the 1941 require- ments for the Joint Distribution Committee and its accomplish- ments in 1940, Isidor Coons, na- tional director of the agency, out- lined the situation today as fol- lows: "For Jews the hardships of war have been multiplied by the effects of persecution and legal restrictions, with the result that today European Jewry has reached its lowest social and eco- nomic depth. "Not all can be saved. We must decide who will live and who must die. The governments will not and cannot aid because of the war and other problems to which they must give their undivided at- tention and resources. American Jewry alone can and must aid. "The J. D. C. pledges and has pledged not one American dollar to the German economy, by rea- son of the clearance arrangement which is used. Neither does it at- tempt to break the British block- ake or deviate in the slightest from the regulations of the United States Treasury Department." Haber Speaks for N.R.S. Speaking for the National Refugee Service, Dr. William Ha- ber, former director of the agen- cy, told the group that American consuls abroad were operating under relaxed rulings and prac- tically guaranteed the filling of the total immigration quota in 1941. "Twenty-six thousand visas were issued from July 1 to Dec. 31 of the past year," he said. "Of late we are not so keenly aware of the influx of refugees into this country because it is no longer dramatic. The days when one thousand persons entered New York Harbor on a single boat have disapapeared. But, in No- vember of last year alone 3,400 people drifted into the port of New York on 53 boats. We must plan for the admittance of refu- gees in the same number in 1941 as we received in 1940." Blaustein Here Thursday Jacob Blaustein of Baltimore, chairman of the Jewish Tele- graphic Agency, will present the petition of the J. T. A. for in- clusion in the 1941 Allied Jewish Campaign, before the sub-com- mittee of the campaign budget committee, conducting a hearing on Thursday, March 20, at 3:30 p. m., at Hotel Statler, Room 1474. Mr. Blaustein is hailed through- out the country as the liaison man most largely responsible for the bringing together of Joint Distribution Committee and Unit- ed Palestine Appeal leaders, after the United Jewish Appeal disso- lution already had been an- nounced. It was Mr. Blaustein who encouraged them to recon- stitute a single unified drive to preserve Jewish life in Europe and to defend the Jewish home- land in Palestine. Other Appeals The sub-committee, to which Mr. Blaustein will address his petition, on behalf of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, has been considering the requests of na- tional education and research or- ganizations. Dr. Leo M. Franklin and Maurice A. Enggass are serving as chairmen of the group. To be presented also, at the Thursday afternoon meeting, will be the budgetary request of the Menorah Association. Dr. Henry Hurwitz of New York, chancellor of the Menorah Association, will make the presentation. In addition the sub-committee on national education and re- search agencies has weighed the budgetary petitions of the fol- lowing organizations: American Academy for Jewish Research, Bnai Brith II illel Foundation, Jewish Braille Institute of Amer- ica, Jewish Chautauqua Society, Young Judaea, Histadruth Ivrith, Avukah, Yiddish Scientific Insti- tute and Graduate Faculty of Political and Social Science. The budget hearing both for national and local civic, protec- tive and defense organizations, seeking inclusion in the 1911 Al- lied Jewish Campaign, is sched- uled for Monday afternoon, March 17, at 4 o'clock, at Hotel Statler. The committee is headed by Fred M. Butzel and Abraham Cooper. Among the agencies to be heard by the civic-protective sub-com- mittee are the Jewish Community Council, the American Jewish Committee, the American Jewish Congress, the Bnai Brith Anti- Defamation League and the Jew- ish Labor Committee. Wayne Instructor to Teach Creative Writing at the Center Dr. Alice T. Crathern of the English faculty at Wayne Uni- versity will be the instructor in the Jewish Community Center's course in "Creative Writing," which will be given on Wednes- days, 8 to 9:15 p. m., beginning March 26. The course will be de- voted to the short story, essays, feature articles, descriptive ma- terial, etc. A literary newspaper will be pulished in connection with the course.