DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE Page 4 Detroit Jewish Chronicle it's All the Bunk' Published by the Jewish Chronicle Publishing Co., Inc. 2827 Cadillac Tower, Detroit 26, Michigan WOodward 1-1040 SUBSCRIPTION: $3.00 Per Year, Single Copies, 10e; 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. SEYMOUR TILCHIN Publisher EMILY SOMLYO GERHARDT NEUMANN Business Manager Editor Thursday, February 23, 1950 Adar 6, 5710 Fascism in Action At a very opportune moment—a few days before the official start of Brotherhood Week—Mississippi's Rep. John Rankin let loose with a blast against Albert Einstein, which was obviously intended as a political bomb, but hardly provoked any other explosion than loud laughter. • Dr. Einstein, Rankin inserted in the Congressional Record, "is one of the greatest fakers the world ever knew." And his logical conclusion follows: "He should have been deported for his Communist activities years ago." So you thought Einstein was a great man? So did we. How ignorant we all are. The great atomic expert Rankin has this to say: "He (Einstein) had no more to do with development of the atomic bomb than if there hadn't been such a thing." Well, we know this much: the secret of atomic energy was not discovered in Mississippi. Of course, it is not Einstein, the scientist, with whom Rankin is concerned. He is worried over the "Communist" Einstein. In a televised interview with Mrs. Roosevelt, Einstein had advocated a ban on violence among nations to prevent destruc- tion of the human race by atomic and hydrogen bombs and other "advanced" methods of killing This threw Rankin into a rage. "This bunk that Einstein is now spreading," he said, "is simply carrying out the Communist line." There is no reason to take the demagogue from Mississippi seriously. But what worries us is the state of mind that makes his attitude possible and takes hold of people who ought to be able to tell truth from fiction. As Jews we have a right to be worried, for Rankin's stupid statements have far-reaching implications. As he calls Einstein a Communist, he also subtly reminds the world that he is a for- eigner and a Jew. The text step is to call all Jews, Communists. This well-known Fascist technique worked nicely in Europe, so why not try it here? Peace among nations, understanding and good will among men, truth and reason—none of them is any concern of the Rank- ins. Their business is hatred. They were not slow in taking a leaf from Hitler's book from which they found out that the hate business is a going concern which does not even require an in- vestment of brain power. What can be done about the hatemongers? Frankly, we do not know. It is easy to say that we should fight them and just let the facts speak for themselves. The lessons of history are not too encouraging. Truth is mighty, all right, but it has a way of creeping awfully slowly, whereas hatred gets to its destination with the speed of a jet plane. Of course, we have to fight against the Rankins, but we must be realistic enough to see that they have one advantage on their side: they are appealing to the emotions whereas we are appeal- ing to reason. Ours is by no means a losing fight. But everyone should know that it takes courage, vision and infinite patience to see it through. Arming the Arabs From all indications it seems that a new British arms scan- dal is brewing in the Middle East. Recent British arms shipments to Arab countries have set off fear and alarm in Israel. The small country is indeed in an uncomfortable position. It has no atomic bombs with which it could intimidate potential enemies, nor has it any military power to speak of. All Israel has got is its courage, determination and confi- dence in its future. We know that Israel will appreciate the moral support that comes froth abroad. One of the most heartening developments during the past week was the joint action of the presidents of the CIO and AFL who paid a special visit to President Truman in order to ask for American intervention in the British arms shipments. Whatever the excuse of Mr. Bevin may be, it seems clear to the objective observer that such support of the Arabs does not work toward peace. Britain knows, just as well as the Arabs do, that Israel's neighbors have no justified grounds to expect a sur- prise attack. Israel's peaceful intentions are too obvious to be misinter- preted, Britain did its level best to misinterpret them during the recent war between Arabs and Israelis. The political develop- ment since the end of this war seems to have made no impression on official British opinion. Maybe a word from Mr. Truman will do the trick. Equality in Israel A recent bill adopted by the Israeli parliament makes women subject to military draft. This is not only an emergency measure but the expression of complete democracy. Ever since the first Jewish settlements were'set up, women have played an active and equal part in the reconstruction of the country. During the war they fought with the men in the firing lines. It is a democracy that shares and shares alike in war and in peace. Rabbis' Note to Israel a Slap at Democracy By WILLIAM ZUKERMAN THERE WAS AN ELEMENT of A courage and statesmanship in Ben Gurion's rebuke to the Jew- ish Religious Bloc in the United States for its attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of Israel. Few politicians even of old es- tablished states would have acted like that. The orthodox rabbis of Amer- ica, by their campaign to force Israel to introduce compulsory religious education in the immi- grant camps for all children, even for non-Yemenites, whose par- ents oppose such education, have made an outright assault on a fundamental principle of democ- racy. Ben Gurion was certainly right from every democratic point of view when he told the rabbis that if they wanted to have a say in the educational or other affairs of Israel, they should come to the country and become citi- zens of it. • • .1. IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE, another and still greater prin- ciple was violated. The political edifice of Israel was built on the premise that Israel and the Jewish people are two distinct and separate entities. That is why Israel was named as it was, not the Jewish State. That is why the responsible Israeli leaders have always been careful to differentiate between their own citizens and Jewish citizens of other countries. That was also why the Zionist Organization of America at the time of the proclamation of Is- rael declared (at the Chicago Convention) that the "people of Israel owe their allegiance to Is- rael, and Jews of America owe their allegiance to the United States." If this principle is violated, the entire status of the five million Jews in this country needs to be r evised. • • • THIS DOES NOT MEAN, how- ever, that American Jews have no right to express an opinion, to offer advice, or even voice criticism on problems in Israel. But it is one thing to offer friendly advice, or criticism, and another thing to organize political pressure groups in this country to strengthen the hands- of some minority parties in Israel to work against the will of the majority of the people and its govern- ment. The Religious Bloc did not re- quest in a friendly manner the Israeli government to consider their proposals for a compulsory orthodox education for all, but demanded it on the ground that "every Jew has a share in Is- rael" and that no matter where a Jew lives and of what state he is a citizen, he has a right of a citizen to voice his demands in Israel. There is a world of difference between an act of courtesy and friendship and a stab in the back which the Religious Bloc has now inflicted on the Ben Gurion gov- ernment, and Jews outside Israel. • • • THERE IS ONE OTHER dis- turbing element in the whole of this business. This is the support which the rabbtk have received and are receiving from official and unofficial Zionist quarters in this country. Both Yiddish Zionist dailies have fully justified the Religious Bloc's position and have joined the campaign against Ben Gu- rion's government. Dr. S. Mar- goshes, who is considered the of- ficial spokesman for the ZOA and its president, Daniel Frisch, has come out with a strong de- nunciation of Ben Gurion for his 'insult' to American orthodox Jews who merely sent a 'polite communication' to the Premier. The question of the 'politeness' of the rabbinical communication can be left without comment. But what cannot be passed without some remark is what Dr. Mar- goshes states further in the same column: "The State of Israel is the cre- ation of World Jewry. What's more, it had been the proud boast of the pioneers of Palestine and of Israel that they were only the advance guard of World Jewry which is to follow in the great historic process of the return of the Jewish people to their an- cestral soil." This is something new in American Zionism since the es- tablishment of Israel. This is not the interpretation of present-day Zionism that Dr. Emanuel Neu- mann gave at the Chicago Con- vention in 1948; nor is it what Dr. Abba Hillel Silver stated in his Readers' Digest article. It is not what Frisch told the American Jewish Committee . Doei that mean that American Zionism is embarking on a new policy of ideological nationalism? Is Dr. Margoshes speaking for himself? Or has the American Zionist movement, or its present leadership, joined the Religious Blo• in its stab-in-the-back cam- paign against Ben Gurion? These are grave questions to which American Jews are entitled to have a clear answer. Thursday, February 23. 1951 'Widget' Man Explains Way to Prominence By ALFRED SEGAL NOW THE SAME MR. Gorr. LIEB of Los Angeles who a few weeks ago caused me to re- port my vital statistics in this column demands to know more about Mr. Hillel. "I mean that gentleman —horn you fre- quently quote in your column," Mr. Gottlieb says. "The one who takes time out f corn - his widget business to write your Segal column for you occasionally. It seems to me you owe it to your readers to tell them more about him, in order that they may know how much respect to give his Jewish opinion." "How," Mr. Gottlieb asks, "does a widget manufacturer manage to become an authority on so many of the phases a/ Jewish life. Shouldn't a widget manufacturer stick to his wid- gets? And what are widgets, anyway?" Upon receipt of Mr, Gottlieb's letter I called up Mr. Hillel. Mr. Hillel began by saying that it was his big success with wid- gets that brought him to hit prominence in Jewish life and the respected Jewish authority that he is. "When I was turning only 100 widgets out a day who cared to hear from Mr. Hillel at the speakers' tables? I couldn't ex- pect to amount to anything as an authority in Jewish affairs. "I recall one evening at a big banquet given to promote more spiritual vision in our commun- ity. And who was the main speaker? He was none other than the leading widget manufacturer in our city then. 1, with my 100 widgets, couldn't consider my- self a competitor of his. "My wife reproached me: Why wasn't I ever invited to the speakers' table? Why was I held down to an inferior position M one of the many small tables around the banquet hall, w hile that other widget manufacturer sat at the big table and spoke like a voice of authority in Jewry? "Ile puts out 10,000 widgets a day and I only 100. That makes a big difference of 9,900 wid- gets," I replied. 'There came an evening when my wife felt that I had at last arrived at my due place in the Jewish life of our community. "Since then, as my output of widgets has grown from quota to quota, I have advanced in my Jewish position from strength to strength." "But, Mr. little!, there's an- other question that Mr. Gottlieb asks: What are widgets?" "I've answered that," Mr. Hill(L) replied. "Widgets are the things by - which to seem important." 25 Years Ago, This Was News Bequests to charitable and re- ligious institutions amounting to $9,000 are made in the will of Emanuel Wodic , Civil War vet- eran and Indian fighter who died Feb. 4 at the age of 89 years. The Wodic home at 1257 Brain- ard street and $10,000 are left to Mrs. Sarah Wodic, the widow. Mr. Wodic was among the earliest Jewish settlers in Michi- gan and one of the most pic- turesque figures in the state. • • • The Hundred Thousand Club of the Great West Life Insurance Co. recently chose as its president Moe Leite; of Detroit. He has been termed one of the largest underwriters on the American continent. (Jewish Chronicle, Feb. 20, 1925)