A merica ,fewisk Periodical &Hier CLIFTON AVENUE - CINCINNATI 20, 01110 I) 27, i‘ )4 , NKS i v late Na. to ttal the kit(1 otr. their 4, "I' Detroit Jewish Chronicle and The Legal Chronicle SECTION TWO 10c Single Copy: $3.00 Per Yeai DETROIT, MICHIGAN. FRIDAY, MARCH 27, 1942 VOL. 44, NO. 13 When Mexico Had a Jewish President tir innlit ralin s; 'Enemy Aliens' as America's Friends HD Eloo Ise I ING CO. MOO: lest Wishes beet rks A Marginal Note on Don Francisco Madero By LUDWIG LORE By HAROLD U. RIBALOW Editor's Note—With hemispheric war having bound all the Ameri- can republics even more closely together, the story of Don Francisco Madero becomes especially interesting as citizens of the United States familiarize themselves with the history and traditions of our neighbors to the south. The question of creating a Jew- ish army to defend Palestine was raised at the very beginning of the Second World War by Jews in all parts of the world who wanted to make a recognizable military contribution to the fight against Fascist in Palestine because they wished to be organibed for self- defense in case of invasion. The British government was re- luctant from the start. It required a great deal of persuasive argu- ment before it would permit the recruiting of a small number of Palestine units, and thos only for non-combatant service. Later these units were inducted into the regu- lar combatant forces, but with the proviso that their number must at no time exceed that of the en- listed Arabs which set very defin- ite limits, since the enthusiasm of the Jews was incomparably great- er than that of their Arabian com- patriots. When by the end of 1941 this rule, also, was relaxed, the young Jews of Palestine volun- teered in such numbers that they now have a force of some 12,000 men. But these units are still not allowed to display their own flag, or call themselves by their rightful name. If referred to at all in dispatches from the Near East when they have done such splendid service, they are called simply "Palestinians." A common danger has cement- ed between the republics of the Western Hemisphere a friendship fostered originally in peacetime by the "good neighbor" policy initiated by President Roosevelt. The culture, the traditions, the history of the sister republics to the south have become a storehouse for which the Ameri- can Government is providing guides. Mexico, which leans against the southwestern flank of the United States, is espe- cially fascinating to the United States because of its exotic past and its romantic present—and important because of the need to defend joint frontiers. For American Jews trying to familiarize themselves with the antecedents and activities of their fellow Jews of the West- ern Hemisphere, Mexico has much to intrigue them—and per- haps also to shame them. Today, some 10,000 Jews live in Mexico, as isolated from the Jews of the United States as though they lived in some impenetratble jun- gle fastness. A self-sufficient American Jewry, perched on its mountain peak of self-preoccu- pation, overlooks a community which needs the friendship and the guidance of its more experi- Passover Greetings to All! CARL'S CHOP HOUSE AVE. STEAKS—:—CHOPS and SEA FOOD FRIT PARKING 3024 Grand River Ave. TErrace 2-8600 enced sister to the north. Although most of the Jews in Mexico today are of compara- tively recent origin, there are many whose antecedents are as glorious as those of any Jew in America. Mexico, indeed, has had a president through whose veins Jewish blood has coursed. He was the ill-starred Don Fran- cisco Indalecio Madero, third President of the Mexico Repub- lic, who traced his ancestry back to the Jews of the Spanish In- quisitioa. His reign, short, stormy and sad, was typical of the early years of the Republic when Mexico was feeling her own strength. Born on October 4, 1873, Ma- dero was a cosmopolitan in the full meaning of the term. He was born in the State of Coa- huila, Mexico, was educated at the University of California and spent six years in France— when the Third Republic was in its glory. In 1900 Madero felt that he should take an interest in the politics of the land. He organ- ized the Club Democratico Ben- ito Juarez, after the great Mexi- can fighter for liberty, and pro- ceeded to do battle against the Diaz regime, which was a cor- rupt and well-oiled political ma- chine, the type responsible for the countless Mexican revolu- tions. In 1905 Madero boldly op- posed the powerful Diaz. To no avail. He could not lick the ma- chine. But he did win his spurs as leader of the independent voters of the young republic. Heartened, he began to prepare for the presidential elections of 1910. He issued a statement proving that Diaz was practicing unconstitutional methods. He fought brilliantly and fiercely. His book condemning the Diaz government was suppressed. By this time he was the No. 1 op- ponent of Diaz. Madero soon felt the sting of See PRESIDENT—Page 12 Passover Greetings ER To You and to Those V Whose Happiness Is Yours, a Very Joyous Holiday. • nc - 1124 5224 1426 Woodward Ave. • A History of the Plan In principles the idea of a Jew- ish division was approvevd by the British cabinet in September, 1940. Six months later, on March 4th, 1941, action was postponed with the assurance that this was "in no sense a reversal" of the already adopted policy. At first it was intended that the recruits should be trained in England. Then, since there might obviously be difficulties of shipping, it was suggested that they should be trained in this country. In fact, Washington had agreed to a train- ing camp under British control. But this plan was also postponed "because of new technical diffi- culties." When Dr. Weizmann, the Zionist leader, suspecting that the day when there would be no tech- nical" difficulties would never come, asked for a definite decis- ion he received an answer which in substance went back altogether on the promises of September, 1940, and the reassurances of March, 1941. Prime Minister Winston Church- ill intimated during his recent visit to Washington that his gov- ernment favored a greater partici- pation by the Jews in the war in the Middle East and that he believed Jewish units should be allowed to fight under their own flag, but that he held the time inopportune. By GEORG BERNHARD Distinguished German-Jewish Editor Editor's Note—Once editor of the Vossiche Zeitung, the Berlin daily which exercised great influence in German public life, Georg Bernhard has been an exile from his native land from the beginning of the Hitler regime. For a time he edited the refugee daily in Paris. He here gives the reaction of refugees in America to legislation affecting so-culled "enemy aliens". It is readily understandable that most German refugees, particu- larly Jews, should feel a strong sense of discomfort at now being regarded us "enemy aliens" in the United States. This discomfiture is even more understandable in the light of the experiences these refugees have known. Many of them arrived in America by way of France. That was the way it started in France, too. For the younger men war meant military service in the Foreign Legion or service in the labor battalions. Many of them were subsequently again dragged into concentration camps, straight from their service under the French colors. For the older people it meant confinement in concentration camps soon after the declaration of war — unless they could prove that they had sons serving under the French flag. Small wonder that many such refugees, severely buffeted by fate, believe that the same pro- grain faces then in the United States. Nor are their suspicions allayed when it is pointed out to them that actually only visitors to the United States are aliens, while every immigrant arriving under the regular quota is looked on as a future American citizen and is treated with due consideration based on democratic traditions. This information meets with dis- belief, since even Germans whose final petitions for naturalization are about to be acted on are offi- cially designated as "enemy aliens." The term includes even those to whose naturalization no objections can be humanely ex- pected. The facts ought to help dispel the suspicions of the over- anxious; for if the American au- thorities class even the men and women in this last category under the designation of "enemy aliens," it should serve as indisputable proof as such as defamatory. True, it would unquestionably have been preferable had another term, less unequivocal in corn- inon usage, been chosen. I um in no position to decide that ques- tion. But such is the situation and it ought to be accepted with- out too much quibbling. As a matter of principle, enemy aliens are sbject to restrictions that are far from pleasant. Un- like other non-American residents, they are deprived of freedom of movement and must abide by othe substantial restraints. But crediting even the gloomiest pros- pects—underscored by the meas- ures against enemy aliens at pres- ent being taken on the West Coast—German refugees, of all people, must realize clearly that whatever they may face, it will not bear comparison with their experiences in France, nor with the trials and tribulations they would have to bear if they were still in Germany. Reports dealing with the shipment of Jews into Poland are so terrible that even American concentration camps at their worst would seem like hea- ven compared to confinement in a Polish ghetto. But such things are hardly to be expected According to all avail- able information and from a study of the questions involved in alien registration it appears likely that See ENEMY—Page 11 A Joyous Pesach to All! CADILLAC CATERING CO. Sandwiches — Box Lunches for Fountains, Factories, Parties 6022 FOURTEENTH ST. TYLER 4-2754 Greetings 41 The Need for Manpower Britain needs manpower so bad- ly that she is stripping her indus- tires of the last available man and unquestionably there are im- portant reasons for her refusal to act on the Jewish proposals. The British fear that recognizing a Jewish Army would produce an unfavorable impression among the Arabs who would regard it as an official recognition of Palestine as the Jewish Homeland, with every- thing this would imply. That a part of the Arab popu- lation of Palestine would oppose an agreement between the British government and the Jews is cer- tain. Whether the Churchill govern- ment is strengthening its position among the Arabs by hiding its •head in the sand and refusing to see the Jewish problem, is an- other question. It made the same mistake when it refused to recog- nize India's right to self-govern- ment and by so doing prevented the formation of India's millions into an enthusiastic army to sup- port the Allied cause. Now, in this critical moment, London is making concessions to Delhi which is could and should have made two years ago. But the harm it has done to its own cause by its procrastina- tion cannot be undone. Instead of trying to find an acceptable formula under which the interests of both Arab and See ARMY—Page 2 and Best Wishes for a - Joyous Passover - - - #tholuirit's WASHINGTON BLVD. AND GRAND RIVER