Thursday, May 12, 1949 DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE Page Three STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL Raps Wishy-Waslify Policy of Defense Bodies • By PHINEAS J. BIRON wE'RE OFTEN ASKED why we keep on hammering " at our defense agencies. They arc doing the best they know how, we're told. Why make their task more difficult. Well, there are times when - we can not stomach the type of polite restrained, ineffectual Jewish diplomacy which these organizations spout. It took long discussions to reach an agreement among our six national top organization s on how to express disapproval of the Ger- man (Nazi - sponsored) Industrial Fair. Finally the American Jewish Congress, the Anti-Defamation Lea- gue, the Jewish Labor Committee and Biron the Union of American Hebrew Con- gregations sent a polite request to the U. S. Govern. ment to cancel the Fair. • THE WORDING of that statement was the crux of "the difficulty." The American State Department is committed to the strengthening of Germany. The rebuilding of a strong Germany as a bulwark against the SovieJ. Union is one of the cardinal points in our foreign policy. So the question arose: How can we Jews oppose the promotion of good will between Ger- many and the U. S, on any grounds? The organizations finally agreed to a statement, pro- vided it would merely express our disappointment at the failure of the de-Nazification program. The Jewish groups who picketed the Fair in New York were promptly labeled Communist by our top organiza- tions. The policy of talk without follow-up action won acceptance. If the Jews of Palestine had pursued that kind of policy there would not be any Jewish State today. • • • THE NATIONAL education department of the Zionist Organization of America deserves high praise. Its most recent booklet "So You're Going to Israel" is a wonder. Its got everything! Style, information, imagination and above all perfect presentation. Anybody going to Israel without this concise guide for American tourists should have his head examined. • • • THE NEWS OF Stephen Wise's death hit us like a bullet in the pit of the stomach. We haven't recover- ed yet. Of all the Jewish leaders, we loved him the most. Sure, he was an actor and knew how to give an ins- pressive public performance. But he was human, genuine, and more a man of the world than any of his contemporaries in Jewish leadership. There was something heroic about Wise. His pres- ence always dominated his surroundings. During the last decade his classic features had become sharp, sort of eagle-like. His gait remained springy to the very OFF THE RECORD Name-ChangingEbbs; Yorkville Hats Back By NATHAN ZIPRIN TREND to name changing T in Israel seems somewhat. checked. Many are hesitant to assume new names because of sentimental reasons. An old-time Israeli resident ob- serves in a letter I received from Tel Aviv that it would be a Chilul Hashem if those who survived the. hand of death disassociated themselves so soon from the HE ' names Under which millions of Jews perished in Europe. "The names on the tombstones will be obliterated by time and the ele- ments but who are we to con- demn the memory of those names in one generation?" he asks .. . . • • • BAREFOOTED BEN GURION A RARE AND interesting pho- tograph is on display at the Li- brary of Congress in connection with an exhibition in honor of Is- rael's first anniversary. It shows Prime Minister David Ben Gurion as a young man with a group of pioneers studying farm work in Rishon L'Zion. It was snapped in 1905. Ben Gurion stands at the head of the group and one of the Chalutzim rests his hand on the shoulders of the future prime minister who stands barefooted and wears a soiled apron and rolled-to-the- knees trousers. In his right hand he holds what appears to be a cluster of grapes. Looking at the photograph one can't help thinking about the fruit of his labor now. • • • ANTI-SEMITIC FRONT 1 HE ATTEMPT to revive the last day. • • • FEW PEOPLE knew it, but Wise was a very sick man for the last few years. Last summer, when he presided over the World Jewish Congress sessions at Geneva, he beat back several attacks that downed hint and kept him in agonizing pain for hours, His recuperative powers amazed the physicians. That's why they delayed the inevitable major opera- tion until the very last moment. They knew that the operation would mean the end—and so did he, we suspect. • • • IN THE LAST ten months anti-Semitism in France has increased. The number of anti-Semitic publ tions is growing. There is even noticeable an injection of anti-Semitic material in the political literature of Gen. DeGaulle. The most distressing aspect of this political anti- Semitism, is the fact that DeGaulle counts in his ranks a number of prominent Jewish leaders and financiers. These pro-DeGaulle Jews are keeping quiet and accept this political anti-Semitism as temporary strategy of minor concern to them. But the Jewish population in Paris is seriously alarmed. The French government is reluctant to do anything because DeGaulle, in his anti-Semitic literature, also attacks the Communists. And the French government would not like to stop any action designed to weaken the Communists. German Bund is progressing be- yond the expectations of the manipulators. The Yorkvilles of America are being flooded with anti-Semitic literature reminis- cent of the days when the ped- dlers fit' hate were running amuck. Twice within a week this writ- er was handed anti-Jewish leaf- lets in New York's Yorkville area only to have them torn from his hand when the distributors real- ized he was a Jew. A number of Jewish storekeepers told this writer that sentiment against Jews was running higher in York- ville than ever before. Standkeepers in that area are afraid to display Jewish papers for fear of bringing on customer (Continued on Page 5) . Parcels to Israel Sent by Reliable Packages of food and clothing, may be sent to Israel and Euro- pean countries through the Re- liable Package Service. 1917 Linwood avenue. Each package is insured with delivery guaran- teed. A special service for medi- cal parcels by air mail has been established. Parcels may be sent to Russia, Romania, France, Italy, Poland, Germany, Austria and other countries through the Reliable Service. There are special rates for organizations. Jewish Chronicle news deadline is noon, Mondays. If you've never enjoyed a Summer holiday "On the Cape" Ai there's a new thrill awaiting you at THE SEA CREST. 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