,Thursday, September 29, 1949 .
DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE
Detroit Jewish Chronicle
Look Behind, Uncle!
125,000 Jews
U.S. Farmers,
Report Shows
Published by the Jewish Chronicle Publishing Co., Inc.
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Entered as Second-class matter March 3, 1916, at the Post Office at
Detroit, flitch., under the Act of March 3, 1879.
EMILY SOMLYO
Business Manager
SEYMOUR TILCIIIN
Publisher
Thursday, Sept. 29, 1949
(Tishri 6, 5710)
Detroit 26, Michigan
The Chronicle on the Air
A major asset to Jewish communal life in Detroit and a
bulwark of interfaith and civic goodwill will come into being
at 10:45 a.m., Sunday when the Jewish Chronicle launches its
dynamic and purposeful "Chronicle Hour" over Station WKMII.
This is not just another radio hour. The Chronicle radio
program will miss its purpose if it does not help weld the
Jewish community into closer ties and attract the attention
and respect of our non-Jewish neighbors.
Nor is the Chronicle's goal to be attained with dry, didactic
and dispirited offerings. It will come to realization with a pro-
gram of radiance, of dramatic color and of worthwhile and
timely discussions.
That is what the Jewish Chronicle offers in its Sunday
morning "Chronicle Hour."
Be sure to listen at 10:45 a.m. this Sunday. You will be
pleased and delighted whatever your age and whatever your
preferences.
A View on Religious Courts
The first Knesset met—it was a parliamentary meeting of
the highest caliber —120 men and women sat and debated
national problems.
But the question of an Israeli constitution was not taken
op "because of pressure of momentous business." It is just as
well that the. consideration of a constitution was postponed, but
we hope that it will not be for too long.
The major issue of controversy in the proposed constitution
Is the question of a religious state versus a secular state. With
Mapai and Mapam split on several questions of policy, Prime
Minister Ben (Arkin must look to the Mizrachi for support, and
he cannot obtain it unless he is ready to make concessions on
the question of a religious judicial setup. Chief Rabbi Herzog
has expressed himself in no uncertain terms on that point and
so has the Mizrachi organization as well.
•
•
•
We as American Jews, whether religious or not, believe in
the principle of separation of church and state. The nature of
the judicial system is one of the most important aspects of any
society. Despite the form of other institutions, the judicial
system may spell the difference between freedom and tyranny.
Under a system where judges can declare laws unconstitutional,
their political and social philosophies are fully as important as
their technical qualifications and personal competence.
The Israeli draft constitution sets up religious courts which
are given exclusive jurisdiction over the entire sphere of per-
sonal status including marriage, divorce, alimony, adoption and
the like. In modern states, people's lives arc not governed by
religious law except if they so desire. In the interest of freedom
of conscience, religious courts should be declared competent to
regulate only such questions as shall voluntarily be submitted
to them by the interested parties, and civil courts should be
allowed to exercise jurisdiction in all other cases.
What is objectionable in the draft constitution is not the
scope of the proposed religious court's jurisdiction but their
compulsory character.
Jerusalem and the UN
The proposal of the United Nations Palestine Conciliation
Commission for permanent internationalization of Jerusalem,
whatever its theoretical attractiveness may be, appears to have
been far outrun both by time and events. It is not merely a
question of the Israelis refusal to cede their rights in Jewish
Jerusalem, although this alone would make the UN's task of
taking over the entire city a formidable one, but also of the
practicability and effectiveness of the Conciliation Commission's
proposal.
There was a time, perhaps, when internationalization, which
was suggested in the UN's original partition resolution of 1947,
might have been imposed; but it was the Israeli army and not
the UN which saw to it that the partition of Palestine became
a reality.
The fighting for Jerusalem proper left the Israelis in pos-
session of the New City and King Abdullah's Arab Legion in
control of the Old City, and the complete acquiescence of both
side won't] be a prerequisite to any plan for treating the city
as a whole
•
•
That the United Nations, as the representative of the world
community, has a rightful place in Jerusalem, is denied by
none. The Israeli government has repeatedly and consistently
expressed its willingness to have the UN supervise the holy
places, not only in Jerusalem but elsewhere, and there is no
reason to doubt that both the letter and spirit of such an agree-
ment would be rigidly adhered to.
It is conceivable, also that the UN could perform valuable
service as a mediator in the city and as a guardian of the rights
of outside parties. There is no reason why a satisfactory com-
promise along the lines set forth by the Israeli government
should not be worked out and, in time, become acceptable to
all interested parties. But stability in Palestine scarcely seems
likely if the UN persists in a now outdated plan of setting up
a third state in a country that is barely large enough for two.-
N.Y. Herald Tribune.
NEW YORK—(YIVNA) —Thi s
year's report of the Jewish
Agricultural Society shows that
the movement for kettlement on
the land is on the increase in the
U. S. despite prosperity, high
wages and the ever increasing
comforts of city life.
The report, written by Gabriel
Davidson, the general manager of
the society, shows that 157 Jewish
families settled on the land dur-
ing the year with the aid_ of the
society. Eleven hundred and sixty
families have applied for infor-
mation and many of these may
settle later.
The society estimates that at
present between 125,000 to 150,-
000 American Jews derive their
sustenance from farming in the
U. S. Jewish farmers are found
in practically every state in the
union, with the largest numbers
in the northeast and middle west.
The report reveals that lately
the number of Jewish farmers is
growing on the Pacific coast.
The Jewish farms range from
less than an acre to large grain
and stock ranches. Jewish farm-
ers practice every kind of agri-
culture—dairying, poultry rais-
ing, truck farming, floriculture
and orcharding. They raise tobac-
co, grain, sugar beets, cotton and
From Mr. Biron's description, medicinal plants.
BIRON HYSTERICAL?
the Robeson men came prepared
To the Editor:
• • •
The article by Phineas J. to fight. In short, Mr. Biron re- NO TENANT FARMS
Biron, Chronicle, Sept. 15, im- ported what he wanted to see.
THE BIG MAJORITY of Jew-
presses me as being the product
Such distorted fear variety of ish farms can be classified as of
of an overly frustrated individual. reporting is as dangerous as the the family type. Tenant farming
May I remind him that a news- incident itself.
is almost non-existent among
paper man has grave responsibili-
It is noble to speak out against Jews. The society helps prospec-
ties. In reporting the Paul Robe- mob violence but it is not always tive Jewish farmers with advice,
son incident he states that "One quite as simple as that, for hav- guidance and with loans. It
fat jovial state trooper yelled out, ing just returned from Europe, advanced over $400,000 in loans
'Strike one,' when a rock hit a my only regret is that I wasn't last year and $11,000,000 since its
little girl of 10."
there to club Hitler to death on foundation in 1900. Most of the
This sounds like a complete un- his very first street appearance.
loans have been repaid in full.
truth. Further, he states that the
The report of the JAS must be
'BERNARD EDELMAN
state troopers tipped off the
seen in conjunction with the land
• •
rowdies when a new line of
movement among Jews in other
busses approached. This likewise
(The Progressive party is pub- countries in order to understand
sounds unreasonable.
lishing a four-page picture tab- its significance. There is an er-
Proof of the bias appears when loid on Peekskill. Copies are 75 roneous impression among non-
he describes the Robeson men had cents per 100. Address of the Jews and even among some Jews,
"A well disciplined group and or- Progressive party is 56 W. 45th that Jews as a people are not fit
ganized a self-defense corps of street, N. Y. C. Fifteen-minute for agriculture.
sturdy young men who formed platters of on-the-spot recordings
Jews are supposed to he an ur-
an immovable barricade around are also available at $5 per plat- ban people who do not care for
the audience."
ter.—Ed.)
the life on the land and seek to
avoid it. This theory is based on
false rationalization and is defi-
nitely not true. The history of the
Jewish people, particularly dur-
ing the last two generations, tells
an entirely different story.
The facts of the last 75 years of
Jewish history show that the urge
BY WILLIAM ZUKERMAN
to return to the land is greater
(Jewish World News Service)
among the Jews than among
NEW YORK—At this time of the year when all Jewish organiza- other people and that they have
tions and public men issue the customary New Year's messages accomplished more in that field
to the Jewish people and repeat the old hackneyed phrases which than in any other.
•
have long lost their meaning by:
endless repetition, it might not southwest and south, in large ISRAEL IS EXAMPLE
be amiss to quote from a hearten- cities and in small towns, Jews
FIRST AND FOREMOST. there
ing and unconventional eyewit- emblazon their Jewish names for is, of course, the striking case of
ness report on the state of
Israel. There is no doubt that
all the world to see ..."
Semitism in America. The report
the foundation of the Jewish
The
trip
accentuated
my
previ-
was written by James Kahn, edi-
State is rooted in the famous col-
ous
conviction
that
we,
Jews
in
tor and publisher of "The Jewish
onizatim. movement which began
the
east,
are
hypersensitive
about
Times," an independent Jewish
towards the end of the last cen-
our
Jewishness.
We
are
eager
to
weekly in Brookline, Mass. Says
note an insult. We are quick to tury. Without the spade work of
Kahn in part:
find a slur. We often look for the famous Kvutzas, the collective
"My wife, my son, and I have anti-Semitism where none exists. farms, there would not now have
just returned from a cross-coun- Some of us ghettoize our interests been a Jewish State. Israel is the
try automobile tour of the United into solely Jewish organizations crowning political act of a great
States. We travelled 10,308 miles and activities .. .
movement for a return to the
covering parts of 30 states and
soil that'has been going on among
"Our
newspapers
have
placed
chunks of Canada and Mexico. We
Jews for the last 75 years.
talked to hundreds of people, too much emphasis on anti-Semi-
The second striking example of
cowhands, harvesters, Indians, tism and minor anti-Semetic in- the same trend is the remarkable
ranchers, farmers, shopkeepers, cidents. There is still much anti- Jewish colonization movement in
hotel owners, waitresses, Indian Semitism in this country, it is Soviet Russia, which began after
traders, moving picture people true, but compared with the dis- the first revolution and resulted
and ordinary motorists like our- crimination against the American in the settlement of a quarter of
Negro, American Indian and Mex-
selves.
a million Jews on the land in that
"We spent considerable time ican, the bigotry against Jews is country.
quite
insignificant
.
.
."
in the midwest, far west, south-
A third illustration are the agri-
• • •
west and south. In the entire
cultural colonies in Argentina,
period of almost seven weeks we ISRAEL IN THE UN
founded by Baron de Hirsch.
did not hear nor sense the slight-
ISRAEL WILL not figure prom-
Even a superficial study will
est hint of anti-Semitism."
inently in the session of the UN show that the land movement
• • •
Assembly which opened last among modern Jews is not a pro-
LEAVE THEIR MARK
week. Only two important prob- duct of the rise of nationalism.
KAHN DESCRIBES scenes of lems affecting Israel may be dis- but that it came before and is an
his visit in Albuquerque, N.M.; cussed by the Assembly; the in- independent movement of mod-
Des Moines Ia.; Omaha, Neb.; ternationalization of Jerusalem ern man, Jew and non-Jew alike,
Seligman, Ariz.; Levy, N.M.; and the Arab refugees. Both are who is sick of the growing indus-
Memphis, Tenn., and throughout important but not crucial.
tiialization and mechanization of
the length and breadth of this
The Conciliation Commission's life and longs to get away from
country, in the "west, midwest,
(Continued an Page 11)
it to the simple life on the roil.
Letters to the Editor
•
Editor Finds No Traces
of Anti-Semitism on Trip