DETROIT JEWISH . CHRONICLE

Friday, March 5, 1946

Page Three

Strictly Confidential

Defense Agencies Silent in Ban on 2 Novels

By PHINEAS J. BIRON

THE DE WITT CLINTON High

School in The Bronx, New
York, has banned from its library
shelves "Focus," the novel by Ar-
thur Miller, and "Gentleman's
Agreement," by Laura Z. Hobson.
It seems that both these books,
which blast anti-Semitism in this
country, are offensive to the Cath-
olic church. And so a public
school, maintained by taxpayers'
funds, has eliminated from its
reading list two books which are
P. J. Biron
recognized as the two best exposes, in readable fiction
form, of discrimination and anti-Semitism bigotry.
Our defense organizations are not protesting. As
. matter of fact, they do not consider this anti-
mitic censorship as organized anti-Semitism.

"AS JEWISH agencies we will be concerned not
so much with protecting the 'position of the Jews as
with expanding the business of democracy, so that all
who live in America shall enjoy equally of the rights,
obligations and opportunities which America offers".
Signed, N.Y. Supreme Court Justice Meier Steinbrink,
national chairman of the Anti-Defamation League.

Well said, Judge. But then, in your next para-

graph, you nullify your statement by adding: "After
having fought a defensive battle against the fascist

menace for so long,..we are now in a position to con-
tribute our bit to the general welfare without having

to fight a rear guard action."
And that spills the beans. You have never dared
to attack fascism—lest you be regarded as a radical—
but you have fought a defensive battle. Defending
yourself at the expense of the real victims of fascism
by defending yourself at every opportunity against

charges of leftism and of being aggressively anti-
fascist.
When it suited your strategy you proclaimed that
you were concerned primarily with protecting the
Jewish position. Now you emphasize that you are
"concerned not so much with protecting the position
of the Jews". You want "to expand democracy,"
which is a way of explaining your forthcoming drive
against the radicals, the Communists, the progres-
sives, the victims of Attorney General Clark's red-
baiting smear campaign.
No, Judge, you haven't learned a thing from the
Hitler era. You go right on falling into the trap of
the "Judeo-Bolshevik" battle. cry.
•
•
•

ORCIIIDS TO Ted Thackrey, editor of the New
York Post. Ted the other day exposed, supported
by incontrovertible evidence, official anti-Semitism

(Continued on Page 7)

Congress Play
Letter Calms Parents
Slaps Bigots, on Future Son-in-Law
Wins Acclaim Gentiles Asked to Look for Character

Plain Talk

Personal Problems

Vocation Problems
of Youth Surveyed

Jobs Easy to Find With Training;
White Collar Posts Are Favorites

You won't find it advertised

or ballyhooed on the entertain-
ment pages of your newspaper
but the play, "Personal Experi-

Not Imaginary Defects of the Group

By ALFRED SEGAL
DEAR MR. SEGAL: Will you please write something for me
ences in Discrimination," prom-
CURRENT
NT INFORMATION in vocational guidance brings out
that I can show my parents?
CURRE points rather strikingly: (1) The ease in finding a job ises to have a long stand.
I, who am not Jewish, have become engaged to a Jewish
after training and (2) The preference of many young people for
This production of the Wo- young man, a fellow student when we were at the university.
white-collar jobs.
men's Division, American Jew- He is a most excellent young man.
The choice of a job must be geared to the possibilities of ish Congress, was put on before
Considering our mutual in-
way prejudice has of expressing
employment when the student is numbers would reject a job if it representatives of labor, church terests and our common out-
itself. The stupidity of prejudice
ready for work. In some fields carried little social standing.
and non-sectarian organizations. look, our agreement to be mar-
is incapable of explaining itself
they are slowly declining, if not
ried
would
be
perfectly
based
The audience was pretty much
Rather closely related is an-
clearly. I respect my father but
already gone.
were
it
not
for
the
prejudice
of
other situation—where either the agreed that the play would do
not his prejudice.
By 1960, ac-
my parents. I am trying to find
student or his family desired or much to fight bigotry.
My mother said: "It just isn't
cording to a
a way to bring
planned a vocation out of keep-
They liked the way individual
national agen-
them around done."
ing with individual abilities.
members of the cast enacted
I should say that my mother
cy, the employ-
to understand-
at least is more intelligent about
A case in point is that of an personal incidents of discrimina-
ment situation
ing.
tion. Some asked that it be pre-
this than my father. She thinks
My father
in the United older veteran who wanted train-
of the social angle and how it
ing as a landscape architect. He sented before their respective
said : "S o
States will
will look for me to marry out
was trying to complete his high groups.
you're
marry-
Need — at school work but found the work
of our set. She, at least, can
Mrs. Louis Tatken is the di-
ing a Jew!"
least one mil- extraordinarily difficult. He was rector and participants include
explain her prejudice, even if
I
asked
him
lion more also falling behind in assign- Mesdames Janice Mendelsohn,
the explanation isn't at all satis-
to
tell
me
just
teachers, f o r
factory.
Dr. Goldberg the elementary ments, not because he wasn't Albert Kaplan, Sol Dann, Saul
what's wrong
Now I know that both my
spending enough time on his Schmidt, Sam Zeldes, Louis G.
with
marrying
•
and high schools;
father and mother admire your
Redstone, Nettie Last, Merman
work.
a
Jew.
Al Segal
writings in the daily press and
Need—around 50,000 new phy-
Testing showed that he was Kazdan, Allan Weston and Sam
He sputtered in the articulate never miss them.
sicians; •
Olsher.
(Continued on Page 11)
It occurred to me that for
Need—around 50,000 new den-
their special benefit you might
tists; •
write something in. the Jewish
Need—at least 250,000 addi-
paper to help them understand
tional registered nurses;
what it really means to be Jew-
Have enough pharmacists by
ish, what it means to the spirit
1951, since school enrollments
and character of the one who
have increased about 400%;
is really Jewish.
Have enough engineers by
From the example of the
1949 or 1950, both because of the
alleviate the crisis in Palestine. young man to whom I have he-
Palestine,
the
Administration
is
tremendous tqehnical training
NEW YORK (Special)—Prob-
There was not going to be come engaged I know what it
during the war and high engi- ably under the pressure of the conniving to "pass the buck" to
any
lifting of the arms embargo, means to be Jewish.
neering enrollments since then. bad effect which the declara- Congress.
• •
the
creation
of an international
It is also quite evident that
• • •
tion of Senator Austin at the
WILL
TAKE
HIS FAITH
force,
or
the
opening
of
a
port
the Truman administration
STILL IN DEMAND
UN has created in the country,
for Jewish immigration, as was IN CASE YOU have -any mis-
would
very
much
like
to
post-
HE DEMAND for accountants a number of inspired reports pone any decision on the issue expected and hoped ior.
giving about encouragink in-
termarriage, I should tell you
will probably continue to be appeared in the leading news- until after the election when it SHUNS PARTITION
great for well-trained and capa- papers, purporting to soften the would not be under threat of
Instead, Senator Austin pro- that it is fully my intention to
ble persons; the supply of law- blow of the official declaration the so-called "Jewish vote."
posed to establish another com- take up Judaism, the faith of
yers will probably be met rather and to hint that the acts of the
mission of the Big Five powers my prospective husband.
administration on Palestine will VAGUE AND EVASIVE
When your answer is printed.
quickly.
to investigate whether the fight-
American
declaration
to
The
I will let my parents read it.
This same source indicates be better than the words of
ing
in
Palestine,
which
has
al-
the Security Council was one
Thank s. (S igned) Sistie.
that there should be an in- the official statement.
ready taken a toll of more than
The Herald Tribune carried a of the bitterest disappointments
(They've always called me
rease of 8 percent in persons of
*
1200
lives
and
three
times
as
rking age; the same increase dispatch from its Washington in recent months.
many wounded, constituted a Sistic.)
In
a
vague,
confused
and
typ-
Dear Parents of Sistie: Sistie
workers over 54 years of age, correspondent that the adminis-
ically diplomatic statement, Sen- threat to peace.
has written me about her being
en increase of 13 percent in tration is working on a plan to
The
American
government
women workers and a decrease lift the arms embargo on Pales- ator Austin made it clear that
engaged to a Jewish young man
the American government was spokesman also made it amply and about your opposition. She
of about the same number in tine.
clear
that
the
United
States
did
Reports to this effect were not prepared at the present mo-
thinks that maybe because you
teen-age workers.
not feel obligated to implement
respect my writings you may
With fulf employment, a mark- current several days before Sen- ment to do anything specific to
the UN Assembly decision by
ed increase is expected in the ator Austin had made his decla
not take it amiss that I write
force, or in any other way and
number of professional, semi-pro- ration and they helped to raise
to you.
that, in his opinion, the Security
She asks me to tell you what
fessional, clerical and sales peo- hopes that the government
Council and all the govern-
being Jewish means, in order
would come out with some con-
ple.
ments
represented
in
it,
were
that you may look at the young
These national figures have lo- crete action instead Of mere
concerned only with the keep-
NEW YORK—When Dr. Nel-
man in his full measure.
cal variations, some minor and words at the Security Council.
ing
of
the
peace
in
Palestine
Because of social conflicts that
some of major significance. They It appears that the lifting of son Glueck, world-famous Bib-
and not with the enforcement of
need analysis, rather carefully, the embargo is again tvider con- lical archeologist, is inaugurat-
may arise in intermarriages I
ed as president of the Hebrew partition and of a Jewish State. am reluctant to encourage it.
for local influence.
sideration.
Union College in Cincinnati, PRESS INDIGNANT
• • •
But, then, Sistie seems so un-
ARMY POSSIBLE
The statement was met with
Sunday, March 14, the event
derstanding, so whole-hearted in
Other
Washington
correspond-
CITES DISCRIMINATION
an
outburst
of
indignation
by
ents reported that steps might will be heard from coast to Jewish and non-Jewish liberal her desire to have your com-
INTERPRETATION
is
(INF.
passionate cooperation in her
even be taken in the direction coast over 150 stations of the
that some of the professions of creating an international American Broadcasting Com- American opinion.
purpose to be the wife of a
"America has let us down,"
are filled up, others are still open force for Palestine, although pany at 10 a.m., on the Message
Jewish young man.
—facts to be borne in mind when
of Israel, locally released over the Jewish Morning Journal
I can't say no to her request
that seems to be more remote.
summarized the thoughts and
forming a vocational plan. In
that I tell you something about
The general tendency of the WXYZ.
feeling
of
the
Zionists.
More
in
very
definite
handicaps
Rabbi Robert Gordis, recently
addition,
the matter of being Jewish.
administration seems to be to
air sorrow than in anger, the Jour-
exist, in some of the professions,
• • •
try to take the responsibility returned from a 23,000 mile
nal
claimed
that
Mr.
Austin's
groups.
for certain racial
for a major decision on Pales- tour of the Pacific and Asiatic
BLAMING
TILE
GROUP
indicated
a
complete
In a recent survey, students tine from a wavering President Theaters in the interests of the statement
AM NOT TELLING you that
capitulation on the part of the I
considered important: (a) The
war
and
navy
departments,
will
and place it on Congress. Since
all Jews are great and good,
United States on tRe Palestine
social standing attached to a job,
Congress would have to decide speak over the Message of Is-
(Continued on Page 14)
(Continued
on
Page
4)
and (b) Security. Both young
on seeding American troops to rael on March 7.
men and young women in large

By W. A. GOLDBERG, Ph. D.

U.S. Action to Implement Partition
Despite Statement.m UN Indicated

T

Glueck Ceremony
to Be on WXYZ