Thursday, May 12, MI
DETROIT JkIVISII CHRONICLE
Page Four
Detroit Jewish Chronicle
Published by the Jewish Chronicle Publishing Co., Inc.
2827 Barium Tower, Detroit 26, Michigan
But Be On Guard
WOodward 1-1090
SUBSCRIPTION: $3.00 Per Year, Single Copies, 10c; Foreign, $5.00 Per Year
Entered as Second-class matter March 3. 1916, at the Post Office at Detroit, Mich., under the Act of March 3, 1879
GEORGE WEISWASSER, Editor in Chief
SEYMOUR TILCHIN, President
Thursday, May 12, 1949
-
(Iyar 13, 5709
In Brief . . . $
There is great merit to the plan of re-
organization of the ZOA submitted to the
the Zionist regional conference by Lawrence
Crohn of Detroit. Let it be acknowledged
from the start that there is little new in
Crohn's major suggestions and that parts of
the prc;posal are "utopian", as a prominent
Zionist labeled them at the conclave. This
is not the place to discuss Crohn's plan in
detail but the major. section of the seven-
point proposal should be surveyed at this
time. It is his demand that America's Zion-
ists must unite. We made a similar demand
in these columns in unequivocal langugage
just a few months ago, and our words were
echoed by no less a personage than Emanuel
Neumann several days later at the Zionist
coriventton. The value in Crohn's reiteration
is the fact that his plan will be formally pre-
sented to the Zionist command and to dis-
tricts throughout the country at the behest
of the Michigan region, and that, if given
careful study, it may increase the clamour
for unity among the rank and file of Zionism.
American Jewry—and we cannot say this
vigorously enough—is sick to the death of the
petty squabbles among Zionist groups, their
partisanship and their self-seeking. The
American-born group which will take over
the leadership in the not far distant future
views the factionalism as a carryover from
foreign environments and as inconsistent
with the American scheme of things which
deprecates fragmentation among groups
with a common aim. To the American Jew,
there is only one reason to be a Zionist, and,
we submit, the rebirth of Israel has not
changed that objective despite the frantic
search of our leadership for a "reorientation
of program" tejusfify the existence of the
• Zionist bodies. That goal, that aim is to help
the Jews of Palestine. That was the objective
before May 15, 1948 and that is today's pur-
pose. The Jews of America must be educated
to understand and love Israel for its histori-
cal, religious and philosophical connotations.
The Jews of America must be rallied in sup-
port of Israel politically and economically.
The promulgation of the state has not
changed any of this. There must be a Zionist
organization of America to do the job now
as it has done it four decades before this.
The need for education and support will
never end But the American Jew will not
countenance the fact that, with the establish-
ment of a politically sovereign State, that
state's internal political ideologies will be in-
troduced into the Amerkan Jewish environ-
ment to tear our unity and our equanimity
asunder. There must be an amalgamation, an
accord of disunited forces be they of an econ-
omic. religious, chauvinistic, sociological or
any other basis. ZOA and Hadassah members'
must center their affection and support upon
all Israel, not on the General Zionists and
the middle class alone; Labor Zionists in
America must learn to sustain and strength-
en all Israel, not the Histadrut alone; Miz-
rachi must build and create for all Israel and
not for the religious elements alone. That's
what- Americans understand Zionism means
today. That is why there must be amalgama-
tion, visionary as the idea may be to its de-
tractors. For without unity, American Zion-
ism will fail.
* * *
Give Israel 'Religion' Time
Many persons are prematurely disturbed
about religion in Israel. Our learned col-
league, William Zukerman, writes as if Israel
is irrevocably destined to,be a theocracy be-
cause of the insistance of the Rabbis on
religious observance in public institutions
and because of Rabbinical supervision over
marriage, divorce and matters of the family.
Another eminent colleague, Robert Gamzey,
editor of that gxcellent newspaper, the Inter-
mountain Jewish News of Denver points out
-
Detroit 26, Michigan
that there is little religious observance in
Israel outside of the orthodox settlements
and centers. One naturally expects that a
Jewish State in the ancient Homeland would
retain certain religious controls in addition
to nationalistic observance of the festivals.
The Sabbath must inevitably be respected in
a Jewish State and some Rabbinical control
over family subjects is to be expected. Yet, it
should not be assumed that the Rabbis are
so dominant in the political field that Israel
will be turned into a nation of medievalists
and fanatics. Rabbinical spokesmen agree
that there will be alterations consistant with
the needs of our age. We quote the late rev-
ered Rabbi Berlin in this vein elsewhere in
these columns. Also in this issue, we have a
statement of Premier Ben Gurion's recogniz-
ing the spiritual significance of the preserva-
tion of religious tradition. His labor party, he
said, would have insisted on Kashruth in
public .institutions and a strict observance of
the Sabbath by governmental departments
and officials even had the Rabbis never de-
manded it: Ben Gurion is well aware of the
fact that Israel, too, is a -melting pot; that it
is in a critical stage of change and flux. Out
of the amaigam of Israel's new people and
ideas, out of the experiences of Statehood,
out of respect for the beautiful and rational
in tradition and the rejection of the incon-
sistent will come a practice of Judaism in
Israel that will not disturb our brethren here.
*
*
And We Echo This
Rabbi Harry Kellman of Camden, N. J.,
makes some pertinent remarks about the
English-Jewish press, which are not at all
flattering to our fraternity—but whose criti-
cisms cannot be dismissed as so much pulpi-
teering. "Whereas, other journalism reflects
and even influences the current thought and
philosophy of life, the Anglo-Jewish press is
celebrated for its lack of ideas," he says—
"even boastful of it and goes its undeniably
tiresome way, dedicated to the theory that
its main business is to report who did what
and where, and other stimulating chit-chat.
Of course there are exceptions in this field,
but I speak of the greV bulk." We agree with
the Rabbi—there are some exceptions, and
the Bnai Brith Messenger attempts sincerely
to be one of the leaders among the few ex-
ceptions in this country. But we wonder
whether the good Rabbi realizes that if the
English-Jewish press is uninteresting, un-
stimulating, devoid of ideas and devoted to
the banalities and chit-chat that this con-
dition may be attributed tg himself as a
member of the Rabbinate, whose only in-
terest--in the main—as far as the English-
Jewish press is concerned, is to see his own
name mentioned prominently therein. Has
Rabbi Kellman, or any other Rabbi for that
matter, given the English-Jewish press the
active support it should receive to make it
the ideal journalism that it can become?
Have the Rabbis ever discussed with editors
and publishers how best to make the press
in their own communities really serve them?
Most of those who have talked Jewish journ-
alism with this editor have done so on a
purely personal basis. That is, they felt posi-
tively that if we printed their sermons and
their articles we would have achieved the
acme of Jewish journalistic worth. Have the
Rabbis ever spoken from the pulpit on the
English-Jewish press and its problems? Do
they know anything about the problems
of the English-Jewish press? Have they
dared, to recommend• to their parishioners
that they should support the Jewish press
by subscribing to it, and advertising in it,
and patronizing those who do advertise in
it, so that there would be a big enough bal-
ance to employ the service of a better grade
editorial department? And while we're on
the subject, these questions. may be asked
of many of our Jewish communal leaders as
well. —L. A. Bnai Brith Messenger
Warns of Israeli Cockiness;
Cites Distorted View on U.S.
By WILLIAM ZUKERMAN
(Jewish World News Sen ► iee)
NEW YORK—Another interesting report on Israel was gives
by Robert Gamzey, editor of the Intermountain Jewish News et
Denver, who has just returned from a tour of Israel.,
Gamzey belongs to the younger::
type of American Jewish editors will be repeated in
the U. S., says
who are taking their journalism Gamzey. For this reason they
do
as a social responsibility, not not hesitate to demand that Am-
merely as a source of income, and erican Jews should transfer
who are attempting to introduce everything that they have of their
American methods and American worldly goods to Israel before
the
tolerance into the Jewish press pogroms start, in the form of
in-
in English.
vestments, contributions and skill-
According to Gamey, the pre- ed labor,
vailing mood in Israel now is that COOL TO RELIGION
of optimism, self-confidence, self-
Religion does not play the irn-
assertion, bordering almost on portant part in Israel propagan-
expansionism. The average Is- dists try to imply. The
average
raeli, native, old timer, or new Israeli, native and immigrant is
arrival, he says, is convinced that indifferent to institutionalized re-
there is nothing in the world that ligion.
Israel cannot achieve militarily,
Only the Sabbath, Yom Kippur
economically, culturally and in
and Yizkor are generally observ-
every field of human endeavor.
ed. Otherwise the Synagogues are
TOO COCKSURE
empty, or they are filled with old
There is a certain cocksured- Jews, or with Jews from back-
ness about these Oople which ward Arab countries who are
might become dangerous, if it becoming one of the difficult
were not controlled and discip- problems of Israel.
lined by a level-headed and pro-
A new and rather interesting
gressive leadership, Gamzey theory prevails in Israel about
warned.
religion, according to Gamzey,
The Israelis have a terribly one which is best described in his
wrong conception of American words.
Jews, he adds. Most of them be-
"Over ,and over again," he said,
lieve sincerely that the good and "you hear young people saying;
prosperous days of American 'Religion was necessary to keep
Jewry are counted. Sooner or the Jewish people together dur-
later there will be persecution ing two thousand years of dis-
and even pogroms in America and persion. Now that we have the
American Jews will have to look Jewish State and a land of our
for refuge in Israel.
own, we do not need religion any
• They are obsessed with the more. Those old people who want
tragedy of Germany that they it can have it, but it is not for
are certain that the Hitler process ui.' "
Jewish Culture and Religion
Curbed by Reds, Says Study
NEW YORK (WNS)—Existence
in the Soviet Union and the coun-
tries within its orbit of "a com-
mon pattern of suppression of all
independent religious, cultural
and communal activities" was re-
vealed in a survey released by
the American Jewish Committee,
conservative defense gcoup.
The study alleges that Commu-
nists in the Soviet satellite na-
tions, backed by state power, oc-
cupied all key posts in Jewish
organizations, that neutral or in-
dependent Jewish leaders were
purged, that several of the organ-
izations were compelled to dis-
band "voluntarily," and that even
Jewish schools had been taken
over.
CURBS,CITED
Subsequently, the teaching of
Jewish history and language was
cancelled, a move, the report says,
which accorded with the "nation-
alization" of Jewish welfare or-
ganizations, hospitals and orphan-
ages. Jewish relief agencies were
closed down and many Jewish
religious and civic leaders were
jailed or forced into exile. the
study says.
The survey declares that, in
Romania, Dr. Filderman was
forced to resign from the chair-
manship of the Union of Roman-
ian Jews and flee the country.
The same fate overtook Dr. Alex-
ander ShafTran, Chief Rabbi of
Romania,
RAN RELIGIOUS STUDY
Later the Union was forced to
merge with a left wing splinter
group and, ultimately to dissolve.
The Federation of Jewish Relig-
ious Communities was taken over
by pro-Communist leadership
without an election being held.
In the summer of I948, 69 ele-
mentary schools and 23 high
schools with a total registration
of 13,000 pupils were nationalized,
and religious instruction is pro-
hibited under threat of heavy
punishment.