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DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE and The Legal Chronicle

Detroit Jewish Chronicle

and THE LEGAL CHRONICLE

Friday, December 28, 1945

Scimeci

Published Weekly by Jewish Chronicle Publishing Co., Inc., 525 Woodward Ave., Detroit 26, Mich., Tel. CAdillac 1040

SUBSCRIPTION: $3.00 PER YEAR, SINGLE COPIES, 10c; FOREIGN, $5.00 PER YEAR
Entered as Second-class matter March 3, 1916, at the Postoffice at Detroit, Mich., under the Act of March 3, 1879

Publisher, CY AARON

Editor-in-Chief, LOUIS W. ENFIELD

Detroit 26, Michigan

Friday, December 28, 1945 (Tcveth 24, 5706)

Keep Religion Out Of School

1

Managing Editor, NATHAN J. KAUFMAN

The Dreyfus case took place in France
a long time ago. Following a regular pat-
tern, there was a Jew used as a scapegoat
to cover up inefficiency and dishonesty.
But it did have one important result. It
brought about a complete separation of
church and state.
In this country, freedom of worship was
a part of the warp and the woof of our
fundamental theory of government. A
part of this fundamental theory was
grounded in our educational system. In
none of the public schools of this country
do we have any sectarian religion taught
as such.
But attempts are being made to let the
bars down. Here in our own city, an at-
tempt is being made to bring religion in
the regular school curriculum.
The start is claimed to be harmless.
Perhaps it is. But it is a start, and once
the bars are down who knows what will
follow. It is then only a question of time
before the qualifications of a teacher will
include his viewpoint on religion.
There lies the real, danger. When a.
teacher is forced to teach religion in a
certain way in the public schools, our
vaunted freedom of worship is on the way
out. With this fundamental of democracy
out of the way, the road is paved for the
breakdown of freedom of speech and
freedom of press. Once any protection of
liberty is gone, there are no limits to what
may happen.
Organized religion has been struggling
with public indifference for a long time.
Somewhere along the line, they have lost
their appeal to the masses. In their strug-
gle to regain it, they are trying to "mu3-
cle in" on the power of the school sys-
tem which still has the supreme respect
and approval of these same masses.
We must beware lest they succeed. The
dangers of allowing organized religion to
enter our school system, however inno-
cently at first, are too obvious to set
forth. There is no question as to who will
be the victims if victims there be. The
Jews and other religious minorities have
suffered from religious persecution in al-
most every land on the globe.
In 1779, the General Assembly of Vir-
ginia passed an act establishing religious
freedom. This act was written by that
great leader and thinker, Thomas Jeffer-
son. It has been the basis for our thoughts
on freedom of religion. in this country and
we would do well to think very carefully
before we change it.
The act provided, "that no man shall
be compelled to frequent or support any
religious worship, place or ministry what-
soever, nor shall he be molested on ac-
count of his religious opinions or beliefs:
but that all men shall be free to profess
and by argument to maintain their opin-
ions in matters of religion and that the
same shall in no way diminish, enlarge
or affect their civil capacities."
Let us stick to the fundamentals ex-
pressed in this act and in no way let sec-
tarian religion enter into our schools.

Jews Should Serve

For the past twenty-five years, not a
single Jew has been elected as a member
of the board of directors of the Board of
Commerce in this city. The board is a
civic project which handles community
problems. It is constantly on the lookout
for those who are community minded and
capable of handling this kind of problem.
Yet the board has not seen fit to appoint
any Jew.
Something is wrong and whatever is
wrong should be corrected. For Jews in
this city are famous for their community
mindedness and their community attitude.
One does not have to look further than

Vol. 47, No. 52

the proud record of our Jewish Commun-
ity Council and similar local bodies to get
complete evidence on that score.
It may be that our Jewish industrialists
and our Jewish mercantile leaders have
failed to participate in the affairs of the
Board of Commerce to the point where
they are of sufficient value to be on their
board of directors. If this be so, we rec-
ommend that they should become active
in these affairs and be recognized as a
vital segment of Detroit's population.
There is another possibility. Perhaps
the Board of Commerce is under some
misapprehension regarding the ability or
willingness of Jews to concern themselves
with communal affairs in this city. Per-
haps the Board has some real or fancied
grievance, individually or collectively,
against our folk.
If this is the situation, it is unfortunate
indeed and requires immediate correc-
tion. Fortunately, we have a body in our
midst equipped to handle just such a
situation.
We therefore respectfully suggest to
the executive board of the Jewish Com-
munity Council that they look speedily
into this matter and survey it from all
angles. If something needs to be done, let
them take the proper action.
For the efforts of Jews can bolster up
the worthy purposes of the Detroit Board
of Commerce and provide them with the
kind of new blood that carries with it en-
thusiasm and fire. Jews are more than
willing to carry their share of the burdens
of the community.
The brains, the skill, the experience in
community affairs for which our Jews are
justly noted ought to be at the service of
the community. Our best leaders, our wis-
est, our most experienced and our most
successful should join in the service the
Board of Commerce offers. We feel that,
if asked, they will be proud of the privi-
lege of serving.

Stop Sign Necessary

Wildemere and Davison is well within
the heart of the Jewish section of Detroit.
Across this wide street daily pass crowds
of children on their way to school. Jewish
mothers as well as Gentile sit with their
hearts in their throats while their little
ones go to and from school.
For this is one of the most dangerous
crossings in the city. In 1945, there have
already been twenty-one accidents on this
intersection, almost two every month of
the year. Eight people have been seriously
injured or maimed. On December 1, there
was an accident in which one person died.
Yet the powers that be refuse to make
one or both of these streets a stop street.
Traffic whizzes by and little children are
in danger.
What does it need to convince the Com-
mon Council that lives are at stake? What
does it need to get the Jewish community
to protest?
Whatever it needs is not forthcoming
for no stop signs are there. Some group
in that community ought to take some
action. For action certainly is necessary.

New Year's Resolutions

We recommend the following resolu-
tions for the New Year.
I resolve that:

1. I will at all times try to be a good Jew
3
and a good American.
2. I will support financially and morally
all Jewish institutions.
3. I will keep in mind my suffering breth-
ren abroad.
4. I will help the cause of liberty and
justice in all lands of the world.
5. I will support the cause of education
and rehabilitation at home and abroad.
6. I will work, hope and pray that eternal
peace may come upon this earth.

eo

1F[TIAL

By PHINEAS K. BIRON

QUESTIONS . .
Is it true that the list of the financial backers of Col. Peron, the
would-be fuehrer of the Argentine, includes several wealthy Jewish
names? . . . This question is important, and should be of interest to
the World Jewish Congress ... How come that the mayor of Frank-
furt, Germany, who claims to have the backing of the American occu-
pation authorities, is a notorious pro-Nazi? . . . His name is Dr.
Blaum, and you can check his record in the Frankfurter Rundschau
for 1940 . . . The leaders of the Youth for Christ movement deny any
and all anti-Semitic slant in their propaganda . . . Then how come
that at a recent Youth for Christ rally at Winona Lake, Ind., Gerald
L. K. Smith and Joe McWilliams, two notorious anti-Semites, werc
among the principal speakers? .. .

PALESTINE DEPARTMENT .. .

The Saudi-Arabian pipeline will run across Palestine ... The owner
of the pipeline will be the Trans-Arabian Pipelne Company, of which
the Standard Oil Company of California and the Texas Company are
the majority stockholders . This is not news in financial circles--but
it makes a lot of political sense . . . When the resignation of Dr.
Chaim Weizmann was recently rejected, at a meeting of the Jewish
Agency Executive in Palestine, there was one vote favoring its ac-
ceptance . . . That vote was cast by Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver . . •
Hats off to the Jewish Brigade .. . We are told that while it was
stationed in Italy the Palestinian boys shared their military food
rt-tions with the Jewish refugees who are so desperately in need of
help . . . The public "trial" of the British Colonial Office, to be held
in Madison Square Garden the first week in March, will cost over
$50,000 . . . We wonder whether it's a worthwhile stunt .. .

CORRESPONDENCE . . .

To Bernard Lander, Brooklyn: Mr. Watt, director of the Catholic
Center for Jews at 65th Street and 12th Avenue, Brooklyn, is right .
The motivation of the work of this Missionary center is the belief "in
Catholicism as the only true religion" . . . The line "A Jew is a good
Jew only when he is a Christian" is used by all proselytizing outfits as
their basis .. . To Mr. L. Cohen, Connecticut: The charge that "ac-
cording to Jewish law Sholem Asch is an apostate who has no share
in the God of Israel" —a charge with which we disagree—is made by
Prof. Chaim Tchernowitz, editor of the Hebrew monthly "Bitzaron" • ..
To Meyer W. Weisgal, New York: Capt. Charles B. Hirschfeld, who is
helping to write the "History of World War II" to be issued by the
U. S. Army, is your brother-in-law, now stationed at Washington .. .
To Joseph Schwartz, Syracuse: We have no idea why Dr. Weizmann
was accompanied by Lord Halifax on his visit to President Truman.
The only plausible explanation may be that Dr. Weizmann chose this
means to avoid being placed in an awkward position because of his
British citizenship .
To Jane Hess, Toledo: The Rev. A. W. Termi-
niello, self-appointed successor to Father Coughlin has not been de-
hocked ... He has merely been transferred from his pastorate in Ala-
bama . . . To V. Hirsch, New York: Yes, Ilya Ehrenbourg is covering

.

(Continued on Page 9)

cirisR9 Lex

Dear Editor:

We have just returned after extensive serAce with the United
States Army in Europe, and we are writing this letter to you because
wt have noticed letters printed in your newspaper complaining about
the lack of aid from American Jewish organizations for the liberated
Jewish refugees in the displaced persons camps in Germany and
Austria.
We were eye-witnesses to the appalling plight of these surviving
Jews, and from the moment the camps were liberated we devoted
every possible moment of our time towards helping them. In connec-
tion with this, we would like to bring to your attention that there
was one American Jewish organization that literally showered us
with many thousands of kosher food packages for these destitute Jew-
ish displaced persons — the Refugee-Immigration Division of Agudath
Israel Youth Council of America.
We feel that you and your readers should know about the splen-
did work that this organization is doing to overcome the red tape by
shipping urgently needed relief supplies to the liberated concentration
camps through G.I.'s and chaplains.
Sincerely yours,

LT. MEYER J. BIRNBAUM,

SGT. ABRAHAM SEPTIMUS,

21 Malta St., Brooklyn.
1401 Carroll St., Brooklyn.
LT. JULIUS SCHREIBER,
SGT. MORRIS SWERDLOFF,
104 W. 83rd St., New York City.
641 Williams Ave., Brooklyn.
PFC. IRVING BERENT,
183 Broome St., New York City.

Don't Hog Food You Don't Need

