Detroit Jewish - Chronicle
and The Legal Chronicle
SECTION THREE
VOL. 43, NO. 37
DETROIT, MICHIGAN. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1941
,
10c Single Copy: $3.00 Per Year
)
The President's Message to Jewry
At this tragic hour in modern civilization I extend to the Jewish
people of America my sincere greetings for the New Year, in the con-
fident hope that the temporary darkness which appears to encompass
the world shall not extinguish the light of liberty and the blessings of
peace and freedom. Accordingly, with a united devotion to the just
cause of tolerance and peace, we must rededicate ourselves to the task
which lies before us in order that all peoples may live as equals
.
Franklin D. Roosevelt.
HISTORX IatesiuNcounOLITLINE
OCTOBER
Congress: Adolph J. Sabath of
October — German blitzkreig Illinois, Dean of the House and
on London hits Jewish sections Chairman of the Rules Commit-
heavily. Decrease in anti-Semi- tee ; Emanuel Celler, Samuel
tism noted as Jews work hand Dickstein, M. M. Edelstein, and
in hand with their neighbors in Sol Bloom of New York ; Leon
rescue and fire-fighting. Sacks and Samuel A. Weiss of
Oct. 1-1,000,000 Jews deport- Pennsylvania ani3 Homan P.
ed to Gouvernement Generale in Kopplemann of Connecticut, all
Poland, Nazi sources reveal. Democrats.
NOVEMBER
Nov. 6-10,000 Jews of the
Nov. 6—National election re- Palatinate expelled to Unoccupied
turns President Roosevelt to of- France, interned in com. entra-
fice. Voters in Michigan, Cali- don camps along with tens of
fornia and New York soundly thousands of other refugees. .
defeat anti-Semitic candidates. Nov. 13—Palestine Foundation
Nov. 6—Eight Jews elected to Fund celebrates its 20th anni-
AMERICAN JEWS MUST BE
PREPARED TO DEMAND RIGHTS
FOR JEWS WHEN PEACE COMES
By DR. A. M. HERSHMAN
Self-preservation, .of the body as of the soul—that,
in short, is the problem which confronts us today. The
task of American Israel is a two-fold one : To preserve
lives and to preserve Jewish life.
It is obvious that one of our immediate duties is
to preserve lives. The "problem of the Jew" has as-
sumed cataclysmic proportions. It is true that the suffer-
ing, which the present crisis ha's brought in its wake, is
world-wide. Ours, however, is a double measure of
suffering. It is beyond our power to deal adequately
with this aspect of our problem. The fate of Israel is
inextricably bound up with the fate of mankind at large.
But in the meanwhile we must strain every effort to
save as many lives as possible.
Let it be remembered however that the "problem
of the Jew" is but one aspect of our Jewish problem.
There is the "problem of Judaism", the survival and
development of our Jewish heritage, the perpetuation
of the great cause for which •Jews throughout the ages
have lived, suffered and died. We want to survive as
Jews, to maintain our identity, to retain our distinctive-
ness. It is our bounden duty to dedicate ourselves to
the supreme task of preserving Jewish life.
To achieve this end we must revitalize the home
and the synagogue, give a new impetus to Jewish educa-
tion, organize our Jewish communities on an all-inclusive
basis:
Indispensable to the upbuilding of Jewish life is the.
upbuilding of Eretz Yisroel. American Jewry must
make itself heard on the all-important question of Pales-
tine. It must proclaim within the hearing of the whole
world that - no solution of the Jewish problem is adequate
unless the Jewih .claim to Palestine is fully recognized
and conceded.
We must envisage the Jewish problem in its totality.
We must plan for tomorrow. The war will be over. It
will end, we hope and pray, in a speedy victory of the
Democracies. When this much-looked for victory is
achieved, American Jewry must be prepared to demand
that, in those European countries where national minori-
ties are recognized, the Jews be guaranteed not only
human rights but also their rights as Jews, as a national
minority.
This is our heaven-appointed task. May we prove
equal to it.
vr.rsary. Reports spend:ng $45,-
385,000 since its establishment.
Nov. 17-19—Christian Confer-
ence of American Fascist group
scheduled for nine days in Chi-
cago closes hurriedly as meeting
fails to attract leaders of suffi-
cient prominence.
Nov. 21 — Congressman Dies
issues White. Book showing ex-
tent of Nazi propaganda and
sabotage in United States.
Nov. 25—The "Patria" loaded
down with 1,900 refugees ex-
plodes mysteriously in Haifa
harbor. More than 200 lives lost.
Nov. 25—Warsaw ghetto area
100 square blocks in center of
city established behind eight-foot
walls.
EDITOR'S NOTE—All the histories of the year 5701, whether
long or short, are the frameworL for the skeleton of dates
h rewith listed. In a year eventful beyond all others, these
dates count for most.
.,
mittee considers problems of re- Jewish Agency, issues affidav!ts
lief for Jews abroad.
for nearly 1,000 Jews to escape
MARCH
to Palestine.
March 1 .— Germans overrun
March 1 — General Commis-
Bulgaria us Government gives sariat for Jewish Affairs estab-
way before Nazi kniands. Anti. lished by Vichy Government un-
Jewish laws intensified.
der rah kily anti-Semitic Xavier
March 4-5—Speeches of Sen- Vallat co-ordinating all anti-Jew-
ators Burton K. Wheeler (Dem.- ish measures.
Montana ) and Rufus C. Holman
March 22—Dr. Chaim Weiz-
(Rep.-Oregon) in lend-lease de- mann arrives to confer with Jew-
bate contain references to "in- ish leaders in the United States.
ternational bankers" with em-
March 24—Jewish Section of
phasis on Jewish names.
Interfaith Committee for Aid to
March 8—Pogroms break out the Democracies established with
over Rumania. More than 1,400 Dr. Israel Goldstein as Chair-
Jews, including prominent com- man to give material aid to Brit-
munal leaders, murdered in Bu- ish civilian population.
charest alone. British Govern-
ment, through intervention of
See HISTORY—Page 3
DECEMBER
December—Die Zukunft, old-
est Yiddish monthly in U.S. ends
publication.
Dec. 2—Norwegian Nazi lead-
ers begin attacks on "Free Mas-
on.," because it is discovered
number of Jews in Norway in-
sufficient to warrant an anti-
Semitic campaign.
Dec. 5 — Joint Distribution
Committee reports expenditures
from September 1939 to October
1940 for relief and ehabilita-
tion abroad totalled $8,269,241.
Dec. 13—Motorship on way to
Palestine . with Jewish refugees
rom Rumania capsizes in Sea
of Marmora. 223 lives lost.
JANUARY
January—Dissolution of Unit-
ed Jewish Appeal results in in-
dependent campaigns on behalf
of Joint Distribution Committee,
United Palestine Appeal and Na-
tional Refugee Service. •
Jan. 6—President Roosevelt in
address to Congress calls world-
wide freedom of religion one of
essential Four Freedoms on
which enduring peace can be
based.
Jan. 25-26—National Confer-
ence for Palestine in Washing-
ton, D. C. asks for all-out aid
to Britain and establishment of
Jewish Commonwealth in Pales-
tine after the war.
FEBRUARY
February '1 — Assembly of
Council of Jewish Federations
and Welfare Funds meets at At-
lanta. Hotly debated proposal
for National Budgeting submit-
ted to referendum of member
agencies throughout the coun-
try.
Feb. :3—Research Institute for
Contemporary Jewish Affairs to.
study a program for the coming
peace established by American
Jewish Congress..
Feb. 6—Release time for re-
ligious instruction in public
schools introduced in New York
City.
Feb. 16—Extraordinary meet-
ing of Joint Distribution Corn-
Formidable and Pertinent Questions for Liberals
( For Their Periods of Self-Examination)
By L. M. BIRKHEAD
National Director, Friends of Democracy
Why is it that every vital political movement today
is anti-liberal and anti-democratic?
Why is it that our liberal civilizatan is on the
defensive and democracy in retreat?
-Is it because the "secret of liberty is courage" and
that the liberals have lost their courage?
Why is it that in a world where liberal traditions
and achievements are disappearing, why is it that in
such a world liberals are indifferent and disorganized?
Is the Marxian charge that liberalism means "a
weak and wobbly bourgeois program whch offers nothing
but amiable futility" a true indictment?
Is it true that contemporary civilization is moving
into a new epoch which must discard all liberal tradi-
tions and procedure and in which new ways of life
must be adopted?
If it is true, as Herbert Spencer once said, that no
one is free until all are free, why is there no liberal
passion for freeing those enslaved under dictatorships
today?
If it is true that no one can be happy until all are
happy, why is it that the majority of us have no burden
for the depressed millions of mankind? •
Is liberalism merely an ineffectual gesture and be-
nevolent attitude of mind or is it a positive and dynamic
program of action?
Has the psychology of defeat and frustration so
pervaded the contemporary world that the downfall of
liberal civilization is inevitable?
Are the leaders in democratic government today in-
ventive and courageous enough to chart new courses to
a more satisfactory national and international life?
•
If we realize that our fathers won the victory
against tyranny and for political, civil and economic
rights, why do we not realize the necessity of lighting
to keep their victory won, and to enrich that achieve-
ment? In other words, is the old axiom that "eternal
vigilance is the price of liberty" a mere platitude or. is
it still true?
And finally,•is Lawrence Dennis' charge that Liberal-
ism and Liberal Democracy have committed suicide; a
true indictment?