Friday. June L7 1917
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DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE
Strictly Confidential
Wha I Jews Did in War
Told in Great Book
11,000 Died in Service; 27,000 Won
Awards Other Than Purple Heart
By PHINFAS J. BIRON
WE PRESENT THIS week's guest columnist, Arthur Weyne.
assistant director of the department of public information
of the Jewish Welfare Board, who supervised production of the
two-volume, 900-page "American Jews in World War H" . . . Mr.
Weyne now takes over .
More than 1,200 Jeyvish communities in this country partici-
pated in the truly herculean task
— and rate credit for a magnifi- uniform of Uncle Sam in World
cent job—in compiling the war War II (in military terms, 37
I record of Am- divisions — a good-sized army)!
• • •
erican Jewry,
Thousands
upon thousands FIGURES TO REMEMBER
HILE Volume I is the narra-
o f volunteers
throughout the
tive story of Jewish partici-
country gave pation and Volume H the listing
heavily of their of names of our men and women
time and ener- who received citations and awards
gy, making per or who laid down their lives in
service, both volumes contain sa-
sonal calls on lient statistics — easily scanned
P. J. Biros
families of Jew- and conveniently quotable — on
ish servicemen and women, auth- the Jewish contribution to victory.
enticating at first hand their Jew-
Figures to remember: Of the
, ishness, and helping write what U.S. Jewish population 11 to 12
Dr. Louis I. Dublin refers to as per cent served in our armed
"a glorious story!" Dr. Dublin, forces — just about average for
renowned statistician and social the total population. . , Jews in
scientist, served throughout the service were about 3.5 per cent
entire life of the JWB's Bureau of the total armed forces of the
of War Records as chairman of U.S., approximating their relation
its technical and advisory com- in the total population.... Eleven
mittees.
thousand Jews died in service
More than half a million Jew- (8,000 in combat against the foe
ish men and women were in the
(Continued on page 4)
W
Capital Letter
France May Lift Bars
on Migrating Refugess
AJC Urges Relaxation of Efforts
to' Arrest DP's on Way to Palestine
By WILL SHERMAN
ASHINGTON—The American Jewish Conference has quietly
W
" opened negetiations with the French embassy to get the
6
Jacob Potofsky
Labor Leader
By DAVID E. SPIGLER
JACOB S. POTOFSKY, who
was elected president of the
Amalgamated Clothing Workers
of America almost a year ago,
succeeding the late Sidney Hill-
man, has not yet become a fig-
ure of such national importance
as his predecessor, ti
But he certainly\is carrying
en capably the work of direct-
ing the powerful union which
he helped to found together with
llillman, and he is beginning to
play a growing role in America's
liberal movement.
Very recently, for example,
Potofsky was awarded a citation
by the National CIO Committee
to Abolish Discrimination for the
excellent work done 1)/ his or-
ganization in combatting dis-
crimination during the past year.
• • •
WHENEVER a great leader of
an organization is succeeded by
another man, it is usual for the
incumbent to pledge to continue
the policies established by his
predecessor. But very often it
doesn't work out that way.
Jacob Potofsky also made such
pledges. In his case it is quite
safe to say that the pledge was
more than mere words, and for
this there is a very good reason.
A co-founder of the ACWA
with Sidney Hillman, and hav-
ing worked so closely with his
late chief for over a quarter cen-
tury it is natural that they
should have developed similar
outlooks and see eye-to-eye on
almost all matters affecting their
union and its role in the Amer-
ican labor movement and in the
counts y generally.
• • •
BORN IN RUSSIA
BORN IN RADOMISL, Rus-
sian Ukraine, 1894, young Jacob
Potofsky came to this country
with his family at the age of
11. They settled in Chicago.
Three years later Jacob got his
first job and started going to
night school.
He began as a $3-a-week floor-
boy at Hart, Schaffner and
Marx's men's clothing factory
where his father, brother and
sister were already working.
Potofsky's union activities be-
gan in 1910 when he joined pant
local 144 of the United Garment
Workers and took part in the
historic strike of that year,
which was led by Hillman,
against wage reductions and
sweatshop conditions.
French authorities in France and the French zone of Germany to
relax their efforts to arrest Jewish displaced persons trying to
make their way from the American zone to Palestine.
Recent pressure by the British brought a short-lived response
by American military authori-
ties, but the French have con- supporters of the Stratton bill
tinued to be energetic a bit long- was pointed up clearly, how-
er than was expected. Several ever, by another Republican con-
parties have been returned ei- gressman from Illinois, Welsh-
ther from the French zone of born Noah Mason, who would
Germany or well into France it- have become chairman of the
• • •
immigration and naturalization
self.
The protest, of course, will committee this year had it sur- ELECTED SECRETARY
never be honored with an of- vived the congressional reorgani-
AFTER THE STRIKE the 16-
ficial acknowledgement by the zation act.
"I became interested in the year-old Potofsky was elected
French government—but unof-
ficially there are grounds, fOr plight of these unfortunate dis- secretary of his local and in the
hope that it may bring results. placed persons when I /earned course of the next two or three
The French are not strongly op- that some 240,000 Polish soldiers years he became a full-time
• posed to Jewish immigration to who fought with the allies in all union representative. Together
the European theaters of action, with Minion, Potofsky became
Palestine.
• • •
oftentimes spearheading the at- part of the growing opposition
tack, are now men without a to the reactionary leadership of
ABANDON STRATTON
the United Garment Workers.
country.
THERE'S A GOOD deal of
"Their bitter opposition to
In 1914, when the delegates of
speculation here that Col. communism ,their love of liberty
the opposition group were re-
Bertie McCormick, publisher of and their attachment to a demo- fused
seats at the union conven-
the Chicago Tribune and GOP cratic form of government prove
tion, they seceded and founded
leader in Illinois, is preparing to them to be the kind of people
the Amalgamated Clothing
abandon young Bill Stratton. this nation needs at the present
Workers of America with Sid-
whom he helped to defeat Mrs. time."
ney Hillman as president. Po-
Emily Taft Douglas in a hot
• • •
tofsky moved to New York in
race last year for the seat of
HAT IS THE face-saver for 1916 to help Hillman open the
1 Congressman-at-large.
McCormick would he decide new union's national office.
Stratton, a safe Tribune iso-
that after aH he may as well for-
For the next 18 years Potof.
lationist when he served in the
give Stratton for playing around sky served as assistant general
77th Congress, has shown what
with liberals. The colonel can secretary of the ACWA and
must be—to McCormick—intoler-
always reason that the bill helps helped to build the organization
able signs of independence.
reactionary and anti-S oviet and establish its reputation for
In fact, the Washington staff
groups in Europe. (Not only having some of the most prog-
of the Tribune is still very much
General Anders' Polish soldiers ressive and best business union-
puzzled about what attitude it but many
4 housands of Volks- ists in its top ranks.
should take toward Stratton's
• • •
deutsch of Eastern Europe must
bill to permit entry into this certainly be included).
country of 400,000 of Europe's
In the bill and in Stratton's FIGHT WITH LEWIS
displaced persons.
IN THE COUNCILS of the
testimony on it, the fact that
Stratton, incidentally, handled
Jews account for only one in five CIO Potofsky had an open fight
himself surprisingly well during
of the displaced persons who with John L. Lewis in 1941 over
the lengthy questioning he suf-
would be eligible for visas was the latter's anti-Roosevelt poli-
fered as hearings were opened
stressed simply as a matter of cies, which later led to Lewis's
on the bill by the immigration politics.
resignation from the CIO presi-
subcommittee of the House Ju-
But the fact is that there is dency.
diciary Committee.
no assurance the proportion of
Potofsky voted socialist before
• • •
Jews in the camps will neces- 1932, then began to back Roose-
INTERESTED IN DP's
sarily have any bearing on the velt. He never joined any polit-
THE ISSUE WHICH has been number of Jews offered asylum ical party until the American
most troublesome to many in this country.
Labor Party was founded.
T
Page Three
Personal Problems
It's A Man's World
With Jews Even Now
No Females Are Rchbis, Cantors;
They Are 'Second-Class Citizens'
By DR. W. A. GOLDBERG
THERE IS LITTLE comfort for Jews in the official action of a
Christian church group which recently denied women the right
to sit in on their official boards. We are in the same boat.
It's a man world among Jews, too, if you look about you. Di
we have female rabbis, female cantors, female presidents, vice-
president, treasurers or secretaries? Who is called up to the Toral
whenever the scroll is read?
Who carries the Torah? Men, through it.
always men.
Now, in that group the famil. ■
Yes, in our
sits together . . . father, mother.
Jewish groups
boys and girls.
women are sec-
• • •
and-class titiz-
RESERVED FOR MEN
e n s , inferior,
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION fo•
not quite equal
many years was reserve(
to men. A boy
for men, as was all education
of 13 is count-
The three "K's" was the lot o.
ed with the
the women. We still find among
men. Ten wo
some of our Jewish groups th'
men, of what-
same reluctance to give girls ;
ever age, can-
religious education.
not substitute
Dr. Goldberg
When given it is often diluter'
for him.
Many orthodox synagogues and not the deep, intense edu-
still have the partition with its cation required by the parent
curtain behind which the wo- of the next generation.
Our Christian neighbors hay,
men sit, or the balcony. It is
unheard of for men and women outdone us in this respect it
many areas. Some sects havi
to sit together.
Some 20 years ago one con- ordained women preachers
servative congregation was al- Others permit women assistanc
most split by the proposal to qualified to conduct the service
Most of them have not clun ,
scat men and women en famille.
There was a storm of protest to the outmoded concept of th.
but the congregation lasted (Continued on page 7)
Plain Talk
First Duty of a Rabbi
Is to His Congregation
`Spiritual Leaders Have Become
Errand Boys for Jewish Groups'
By ALFRED SEGAL
I HAVE JUST been reading something that Rabbi Joachim Prin
has written in the Jewish News of Newark, N. J. • . . ".Thi
American rabbi," says he, "has become the master of ceremonies
and the errand boy of Jewish organizations.
His life is divided between invocations, addresses, lectures
testimonial dinners and social affairs within and outside of hi'
congregation."
Rabbi Prinz thinks the Amer- standing among the non-Jew:,
ican rabbi should have more than among us.
time for study
MRS. Z:-,(.711: That's what
"if he is to
like about him. He is a sort o
fulfill his his-
missionary for us to the Chris
toric task in a
tians.
Jewish world
MRS. ARBUTHNOT: My hus
bereft of thou-
band thinks he's better knowr
sands of schol-
among the Christians than he 1:
ars and tens of
among us. He thinks a rabb
thousands of
should stay home more, if yot
students." (He
get what I mean.
means the ones
MRS. ZILCH: My husbanr
who were kil-
says a rabbi should be a sort of
led by Hitler).
public relations -
and that':
Rabbi Prinz says he is happy what our rabbi man
is.
enough to be the guide, philo-
MRS. GLUTZ: I'd like him
sopher and friend of his con-
better if he had come around k
gregation but he thinks the main
see me the time I was sick it
rabbinical function is "to con-
the hospital. Did he? No! Ht
stitute a conscience of Judaism,
would have been at my funeral
of religion, of morality; to pos-
though, if I had died that time
sess, interpret and hand down
MRS. ZILCH: If the job of
the knowledge of the Jewish
rabbi is to hold your hand when
heritage; to be the leader and
guide in the problems of the you're sick, - then what's all his
world and of the personal lives education for? If I wanted some-
of the people who_ have eh- body to hold my hand, then !
trusted 'Um with the position know a lot more glamorous mer
of rabbi; to be the friend of the I'd rather have do that for m
young and old whenever such than our rabbi. We don't pay
him to hold your hand.
friendship is needed,"
MRS. GLUTZ: I think you're
• • •
getting personal.
RABBI PROBLEM
ENDLESS ARGUMENT
WELL, THAT BRINGS up the SO IT GOES. It's an endless
argument: Should the rabbi
WELL, problem which is dis-
cussed frequently in Jewish cir- be a pastor? Should he be the
cles. The rabbis should hear spokesman for Israel in tilt
what's said about them on those public life of the community?
occasions! Whenever the matter Should he be a profound schol-
comes up I sit around and take ar? Should he serve as a pundit
mental notes of the , conversa- telling the world how its afTakrs
should be run?
tion:
To these questions this Mr
MRS. ZILCH: I think our rab-
Segal has had occasion to make
bi is just wonderful.
approach in a personal sort ol
MRS. GLUTZ: As for me he
way. There is a fact of his life:
tires me out when I have to
If, long ago, he had meticulous-
listen to him.
ly applied himself to rabbinical
MRS. ARBUTHNOT: He seems lessons, he would be a seasoned
to pay more attention to his
(Continued on page 16)
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