DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE

Page Four

Detroit Jewish Chronicle

Published by the Jewish Chronicle Publishing Co., Inc.
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Bettered a, Second-clan matter March 3. 1916, at the Poet Officenit Detroit. Mich.. under the Act of March 3. 1379

SEYMOUR TILCIIIN, President

Thursday, May 19, 1949

GEORGE WEISWASSER, Editor-In-Chief

(Iyar 20, 5709)

In Brief .

A year packed with great historic
achievements for Israel has fittingly ended
with the greatest of them all, the admission
of Israel to membership of the United Na-
tions. With the exception of the near-miracle
of a mass-immigration of 200,000 Jews within
one year, Israel's membership stands out as
the crowning achievement of the new State.
Nothing can compare with this act in historic
justice and in practical value for Israel. The
victories on the battlefield, the promulgation
of the State, its consolidation in the midst
of war Ind Invasion, the truce and armistice
agreements, the diplomatic victories of rec-
ognition by individual governments, nothing
can compare with the moral victory achieved
by Israel at Lake Success. The admission of
Israel means the last act in a long process of
putting Israel on a basis of real equality with
all other nations. Without this finishing
touch the long and ardous struggle of years
would not have been complete. Israel would
have been equal with other states by merely
having a governinent, an army, a navy, an
economy and all the parapharnalia of a state,
but she would have missed the most signifi-
cant of all attributes of a modern state, the
approval of the family of nations without
which no civilized state can exist in these
days. By being accepted as a member of the
family, Israel has become "like all the na-
tions" in the best sense of the word, in the
social, family and spiritual sense. This, of
course, puts new responsibilities on Israel,
not only benefits, but these are the responsi-
bilities of maturity. After a single short year,
Israel has become a full, mature member of
organized humanity.,
•
***.' * *

Difficult Days Ahead

As Israel enters the second year of its
existence, the early elation and joy gave way
to the realization that difficult days are still
ahead. Tens of thousands of immigrants must
be absorbed; the country's economy must be
transformed from a war to a peace footing;
fresh elements must be kneaded into a social
and intellectual entity. The housing and ern-
' ployment situation, the establishment of
firm governmental structures, the effectua-
tion of diplomatic and trade relations, the
building of industry, the placement of man-
power in agriculture and related fields—
these, and others,, are among the many prob-
lems with which Israel must cope in the
future. The task is not an easy one. But
neither is it impossible of attainment if there
is peace and there is no diminution of inter-
est among American Jews in the significance
of Israel to tens of thousands of Jews still
in Europe and in Moslem countries whose
sole hope for survival rests in the rehabilita-
tion of the Jewish State. Our efforts can
never cease here.
* * *

The Butchers' Dispute

The matter of supervision of Kosher food

prices . in the community is a complicated
one and, sooner or later, must he settled.
Just now, negotiations between the Kosher
butchers and the Jewish Community Council
here are at an impasse. The Council demands
that the butchers post a bulletin board giving
prices for all meats, and the merchants
respond by challenging the Council's au-
thority and then demurring that the price
list would be ineffective. The issue is more
important than it seems on the face. If the
butchers car, successfully defy the Commu-
nity Council, the democratically elected au-
thority .for the Jewish community, then the
Council stands a good chance of losing the
respect of Detroit Jewry and degenerating
into an organization that fosters cultural and
educational projects and deals with little
more. We do not claim that the Council is
right in every respect in its dispute with the
butchers. But we cannot overemphasize the
point that the butchers must not be allowed

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Detroit 26, Michigan

to defy the Council and refuse to negotiate
with it. The butchers are being stubborn.
There is little question, and the Council has
facts to prove it, that there is a large amount
of gouging going on in the fealm of Kosher
food prices, meat, Passover foods and cer-
tain other commodities. The butchers, and
we must see their side of the argument, too,
are not wholly to blame. Many a hOusewife
never questions the prices, she pays as long
as she gets what she wants. The butcher
gives her the best he has, brings it to her
doorstep and makes her pay through the
nose for her finickiness and his special
service. The little fellow who can't pay the
exorbitant costs is the one that suffers. He
must shop around or just quit buying Kosher
meats because of their high price differential.
This is where the Community Council comes
in. To protect the community and to avert
new defections from Kashruth because of
the high prices, the Council is asking for the
bulletin board to give the housewife who
wants to shop around a chance to know just
what the prices are. Some butchers list some
of their prices but none lists all of them. The
bulletin board, the Council feels, is the an-
swer. The butchers dare not continue their
defiance indefinitely. The Council recog-
nizes the threat to its authority and is ready
to mobilize the Rabbinate and the entire
orthodox community to force compliance by
the butchers. This is a problem in which the
public good is affected. Cooler heads among
the butchers ought to convince their breth-
ren to come to terms with the Council for
their own good as well as for that of the
community.

* * *
Rabbi Meir Berlin

Jewry's shock at the death of Dr. Stephen
S. Wise should not have overshadowed our
grief at the
sing of Rabbi Meir Bar-Ilan
(Berlin). While Rabbi Berlin trod somewhat
of a different path from that of Dr. Wise, he
too was a dominating 'and revered figure
and an architect of the new State. Head of
Mizrachi, he promoted Zionism in spheres
that were once hostile to it and he traveled
from one orthodox community to another in
Europe and America on behalf of Zionism
with traditional overtones. In his last mo-
ments, he battled for the integrity of Jerusa-
lem. "A Rabbi of the old school," said the
London Jewish Chronicle, "he was yet a
Rabbi of the new school, and he saw matters
with a clarity and shrewdness of intellect
denied to a number °topers vocal in the
Rabbinic tradition." Heloresaw the trends
' of the new day as is evidenced by this state-
ment shortly before his death: "The only
opinion I believe to be valid is that all
courts of law should be conducted according
to the laws and ordinances of the Torah
which have been handed down from gen-
eration to generation, it being understood
that many of them will have to be amended,
altered or reformulated, as the needs of our
times demand."

* * *
Friends of U. S. Zionists

The warm reception which the American
Zionist leadership received in absentia in Tel
Aviv was one of the surprises of the Actions
Conimmittee meeting. It appears that there
is more sympathy in' Israel for American
General Zionism and its position in the re-
cent controversies than there is in official
circles in the United States. Not only the
General Zionists and Mizrachi spoke up
warmly for healing the rift in American
Zionism but tte left wing of the labor move-
ment as represented by Mapam took a re-
markably friendly position towards the non-
labor American Zionist movement. Of this
not enough is known now for comment, but
one thing is certain, the American Zionists
although they were not present at the ses-
sions (and probably because they were not
there) found more sympathy in Israel than
in the -United States.

Frisch Tells Program
for Revitalized ZOA

By WILLIAM ZUKERMAN
(Jewish Wield News Service)

NEW YORK—Daniel S. Frisch, the only candidate for presi-
dent of the ZOA, this year, met the representatives of the Jewisk
press and presented his program for the next two years it he is
elected at the ZOA eonvention,*
May 27-90.
can House, which is to be a cen-
The most important plank of ter for all Americans who come
Frisch's program is to bring peace to Israel and for those who want
within the Zionist ranks and to to obtain information about Is-
stop the internecine strife which reel:
has been going on for years be-
But it is to be more than that.
tween the administration and so- The "American House" is also to
called Progressive Zionists.
acquaint Israelis with America,
In the opinion of Frisch, the with American Jewish problems,
ZOA will probably disappear, if personalities and institutions.
the internal strife does not end
Speaking of personal experi-
immediately.
ence, Frisch said that the second
PEACE TALKS ON
task of the "American House,"
In this connection, he . reported that of acquainting Israel wish..
that negotiations were going on America, was even more import-
between the two factions of the ant than the first.
Zionist movement for the liquida-
"Until now Israel has been
tion of -differences and he was teaching us, but we too, have
very hopeful that the next con- something to teach Israel," he
vention would see a united Zion- summarised his views.
ist movement in AMerica for the
AWAITS UNDERSTANDING
first time in many years.
Frisch was hopeful also about
With real and lasting peace in
future relationship between some
the ZOA, Frisch proposes also to
labor leaders of Israel and the
unify and consolidate the various
Zionist leadership of America,
Zionist funds to do away with
which in his opinion, was due
overlapping, chaos and waste
to a lack of knowledge on the
which exist now.
part of Israelis stout American
He is convinced that this is as
Jewry. But the mood and policy
essential to the further progress
of Israel has now veered in the
of the ZOA is is unity. In fact,
of closer co-operation
the proposed organizational unity direction
and better understanding with
is necessary in order to unify and
American Zionists.
centralize the work for Israel
The Israelis have recognised',
during the next few years, he
he said, that there is still much
said,
work to be done for the ZOA
AMERICAN HOUSE
America, and that in this work,
Frisch told also of a plan that Israel can depend more on Zion-
he had elaborated for the estab- ists than on non-Zionists no mat-
lishment in Israel of an "Ameri- ter how,well intentioned they are.

Plan to Coordinate Projects
of Communal Bodies Sifted

A comprehensive plan for
more effective coordination of
the work of national community
agencies was adopted by the Na-
tional Community Relations Ad-
visory Council at its recent meet-
ing, the Detroit delegation told
delegates of the Jewish Commun-
ity Council at a meeting last
week.
The Detroiters ore Dr.
Shmarya Kleinman, who has
been nominated for president of
the Community Council; Boris
Joffe, Council executive direc-
tor, and Walter Klein, associate
executive director.
SEES ACID TEST
"This year," said Dr. Kleinman,
"Will be the acid test of the long
overdue attempts to coordinate
the activities of the major Jew-
ish agencies in the community
relations field."
The plan as adopted by the
national body includes specific

procedures for clearances for pol-
icy formulation, for reaching de-
cisions by vote, for the issuance
of Joint statements and for divi-
sion of responsibility among the
agencies for the carrying out of
programs.

POLICY SURVEYED

It defines a number of policy
questions of current importance,
regarding which the NCRAC is
to seek to reach decisions.
The plan was worked out in
long,, day-and-night negotiations
among representatives of the na-
tional agencies, American Jewish
Committee, American Jewish
Congress, Anti - Defamation
League of Bnai Brith. Jewish
Labor Committee, Jewish War
Veterans of the U. S., and Union
of American Hebrew Congrega-
tions, and of the 27 local county.
state and regional Councils
which are affiliated with the
NCRAC.