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DETROIT JEWISH CHRONICLE

Prescription for Health

Detroit Jewish Chronicle

Published Weekly by the Jewish Chronicle Publishing Co., Inc.
WOodward 1-1040
IWO Lawyers' Building, Detroit 26, Michigan
SUBSCRIPTION
83.00 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

Friday, February 23, 1951

Immigrant Life
Still Attracts
Our Writers

By HAROLD S. COIIEN

JOURNEY TO THE DAWN
by Charles Angoff (Beechhurst
SEYMOUR TILCHIN
Publisher
Press, New York, 1951, 421
GERIIARDT NEUMANN
NORMAN KOLIN
PP., $3.75).
Editor -
Advertising Manager
Charles Angoff, editor of Mer-
- —
I Adar 17, 5711
. Friday, February 23, 1951
cury Magazine, was born in
Russia and came to the United
States as a lad. Journey to the
The Crisis in Israel
Dawn is essentially the story of
Israel's second cabinet crisis within six months comes at
his trip to a new home and the
a time when the Jewish state is viewing with alarm the mount-
problems that immediately pre-
ceded and followed the revolu-
- ing tensions in the relationships with Jordan. No more ill-
tionary change.
timed crisis could have been devised.
The feeling persists that Ang-
Again, as last year, the controversy over education between
Ben Gurion's Mapai party and the religious bloc is the cause
off is at heart a writer of short
stories and many of the book's
of the breakdown of the coalition.
chapters can, and have, stood
A release of the Mizrachi Organization in Jerusalem dated
alone as such. He is possessed
February 8—that is, a week before the no-confidence vote in
of a fire talent for quickly de-
the Knesset—states the issue as follows:
lineating character and situation,
"David •Remez, minister of education, has put before the
with the result that in the novel
Knesset the government's new proposals with regard to re-
one feels little sense of contin-
• ligious education in the Maabarot.
uity outside of chronology and
"They are a flagrant breach of the agreement made four
the fact that the same characters
persist throughout.
• months ago between the Mapai and the religious bloc, and
are intended to give Mapai complete control and supervision
Add to this the fact that An-
- of all education, including religious education in the Maabarot.
goff is more skillful at telling a
- "Hence the religious bloc, at a meeting together with rep-
good story than at developing a
resentatives of the Merkaz Olami, the Mizrachi, Hapoel Hamiz-
viewpoint and we have another
rachi, Aguda and Poale Aguda, has rejected the government's
book of reminiscence.
. proposal."
If a note of weariness can be
The religious bloc is particularly interested in the Maab-
detected
here it is unavoidable.
arot, because they are the villages in which the orthodox
One would think that American
newcomers from the Arab countries concentrate.
Jews who have decided to turn
The government proposal rejected by the parliament pro-
their talents to the writing of
March,
obviously
vided for a registration of school children in
fiction should find something,
and teach-
with the purpose of determining how many classes
anything, to s'ay about the cur-
By DR. KURT WILHELM
ers were needed. Through the participation of a religious
Chief Rabbi of Sweden
rents of modern life.
how
many
chil-
registrar it would" also have been determined
(From the London Jewish Chronicle)
This is not the case generally,
dren wanted a religious education.
for which Angoff is of course
HISTORY
OF
THE
JEWS
in
Sweden
might
almost
have
It was also proposed by the government to open religious
HE
he
schools in all camps and villages of newcomers, wherever. they
been ended when it began—in 1774. A German Jew living in not to blame. Nevertheless
cannot
be
unaware
that
Jewish
Mecklenburg bought a herd of goats near the Polish frontier, but
are not yet in existence.
that
The religious bloc opposed the government proposal on
all of them died on the journey home, and in despair he made up writing is at a low ebb and
the grounds that many religious schools opened so far are
his mind to start a new life in Sweden, where so far no Jew had if anything is not needed it is
nothing but pseudo-religious schools operated by the Histadrut,
been allowed to settle. Thus Aaron Isaac, the first Jew, to enter another book about how we (or
not with the intention of giving religious instruction, but for
Sweden, came to this northern country and was admitted as our parents) came over to the
Golden Land and had to struggle
political purposes.
Court Jew.
for a living.
Mizrachi charges that the Histadrut is sending non-religious
The liberal King of Sweden, have come from abroad. There
Leaving this aside. Journey to
teachers into these schools who try to indoctrinate the stu-
Gustav III, granted Isaac lull have been rabbis in Sweden of the Dawn is a sound book, Well
with the ideology of labor and pay little attention to re-
scholarship,
dents
religious freedom. "Am I really great reputation and
written and well conceived.
ligious instruction.
allowed to exercise my religion such as the Orientalist Moritz
The patriarchal great-grand-
Of 4,704 children receiving schooling in 70 Maabarot,
according to the tradition of my Wolff in Gothenburg, Ludwig
mother,
the alto bobbe, is a
Mizrachi says, not more than 920 attend religious schools
Lewysohn,
the
author
of
"Zoolo-
fathers?" he asked. The king
memorable character, conceived
'under the supervision of Mizrachi and Aguda. During the
agreed. "Then I shall need nine gie des Talmuds," the learned out of great love and under-
year 5710 (1949-50), it is further stated, 105 immigrant settle-
more Jews to worship in accord- theologian and favorite pupil of
ments were founded of which 49 are purely Yemenite settle-
ance with the Jewish rite," he Abraham Geiger, Gottlieb Klein, standing. Just as absorbing is
ments. Although it was agreed that all Yemenite children were
and the Hebrew and Swedish the father of the Polonsky fam-
explained.
to receive a religious education, only 15 of the 48 Yemenite
Other Jews from Mecklenburg publicist Markus Ehrenpreis, all ily, Moshe.
The story of his personal reac-
settlements have religious schools.
were admitted. A small influx of of them in Stockholm.
tion to American life, a man who
Mizrachi distrusts the government proposal for the estab-
German Jews continued during
There
are
even
today
a
few
lishment of new religious schools, because it charges that the
the 19th century. A second im- learned laymen in Sweden, and has no special training or talent,
government has not lived up to the agreement of four months
migration wave followed from one can hear Hebrew spoken in but draws upon a great reserve
the supervision of
ago putting all religious education under
Eastern Europe, beginning with Stockholm, but the Torah is "im- of piety, kindness and under-
the two religious parties, Mizrachi and Aguda, and General
the end of the 19th century and ported goods." The Jewish knowl- standing, is indeed heartwarm-
Zionists and Labor.
continuing until the First World edge of the Swedish-born Jew is ing.
This is where the matter stands. Education in Israel has
Every member of the family
War.
generally inadequate.
become a political football. It would appear most logical to
During the Hitler regime sev-
from little David to great-grand-
In
the
three
main
cities
every
give each party jurisdiction over its own schools, but this
eral thousand Jews came from •
father, Tzalel, makes a beautiful
solution seems not to have been considered in Israel, as far as
Central Europe, and in May, 1945, Jewish child receives a Jewish adjustment in the end, despite
education
and
religious
instruc-
there arrived the so-called "Ber-
we know.
the depression which comes upon
The recent gains of the General Zionists make it not im-
nadotte refugees," 10,000 Polish, tion as long as he goes to school. the country shortly after their
Rumanian and Hungarian Jews, The religious schools, with curri- arrival and despite the necessity
possible that a new constellation of parties will come out of
the elections to be held in about three months. This would put
who found shelter in Sweden, cula not very different from other of departing to some degree from
Mapam and the religious bloc in the opposition and make it
and of whom more than 50 per Hebrew schools, have all the ad- the religious regulations which
even harder for them to win out on the que.Lion of education.
cent have now left the country vantages and shortcomings of mean so much to them all.
- The whole 'question, of course, is interwoven with the
again in order to migrate to their kind.
Interspersed with a good deal
• • • •
general problem of the future social- makeup of Israel. It is
Israel or other countries.
THE
MOST
URGENT
problem
of
warm humor and shrewd ob-
impossible to make predictions as to what sort of society will
• • •
develop out of the heterogeneous immigration from the various
facing
Swedish
Jewry
is
that
of
servations
of characters and
THERE ARE A FEW individual
events, Journey to t he Dawn
parts of the world.
anti-Semites in Sweden, but one the refugees. The Jewish popu-
a stron g response
cannot stigmatize any special lation problem is almost corn- should find
are interested
groups within Swedish society for parable with that prevailing in from those who
The Hospital Needs Help
,;
• book.
anti-Jewish tendencies. For this Israel. In May, 1945, the num- in an entertaining
ber
of
Jews
in
Sweden
doubled
reason
Swedish
Jewry
lacks
any
Jewish
hospital
in
Detroit
going
to
BEAUTY
AND
MYSTERY
Are our dreams of a
organization for self-defense; it overnight. But the Swedish prob- by Herman E. Segelin (Ez-
vanish in thin air?
lacks also any organization or lemis complicated by an un-
Press, New York, 1951,
For a while it looked as if the hospital drive was going
association to unite the Jews of known factor—whether the refu- position
very well. Now it develops that it has not yet surpassed
95 PP ., $ 2 .50)•
gees
will
remain
in
Sweden
or
the country.
$710,000, whereas a minimum quota of $1,000,000 was expected
This bo ok of verse is the
Sweden is the classic country not.
product of a former teacher an
of the physically fit haveroduct
to be reached easily.
of assimilation. Several factors
businessman who writes poetry
The Greater Detroit Hospital drive, too, is still $1,000,000
have combined to bring this settled as workers in factories, for the simple pleasure of it. At-
short of its goal. "In our conversations," Melville S. Welt,
about. One is that Jews came especially in the smaller towns, tacking unafraid every topic of
campaign chairman, wrote to the board members of the Jewish
to Sweden only 175 years ago, so in the majority of which there human reflection, the poet comes
Hospital Association, "they indicated that their only source for
that relations between the non- has never previously been a Jew off second best in most cases.
additional funds would be the Jewish Hospital division and
Jew and the Jew were never ish community. But these work-
Segelin's difficulty is one
the Oakland campaign."
poisoned by the after-effects of ers, from various countries of which plagues poets in every
"Their records," Welt continues, "show that our Jewish
the Middle Ages. Again, the origin, have only one common age, the avoidance of cliches.
community of Detroit has contributed $710,000 toward our
Jewish population always consti- experience—the negative experi- Seriously examining his works,
quota of $1,000,000, and they are depending a great deal on
tuted a very small proportion of ence of the concentration camp. one finds a cliche in almost every
our raising the additional $.300,000 to complete our portion
the total—until 1945 0.1 per cent,
The nucleus of community life, line.
of the campaign."
now 0.2 per cent.
No matter to what he turns,
The Jewish Hospital will receive an allocation of $2,500,000
the synagogue, is not too promis-
Sweden
and
all
the
Scan-
iron) the Greater Detroit Hospital Fund after completion of
ing a beginning, because many of no matter how fine his senti-
dinavian countries are remark- the workers cannot afford to ob- ments, the feeling that one has
the drive.
able for their tolerance.
seen it all somewhere before
"I have discussed this problem with Max Osnos, president
Because of this, intermarriage serve the Salabath—most of therm militates against the enjoyment
our
board,"
Welt
writes,
and
it
is
our
mutual
feeling
that
work
on
that
day—and
also
be-
of
is frequent, in Denmark even cause few of them show much in- and appreciation of the verses.
the first responsibility to make our phase of this campaign
more than in Sweden. The Jew- terest in religious matters. Cul-
As a volume of good amateur
a success, lies with the individual members of our hospital
ish partner of the intermarriage
poetry the book holds it own,
tural
interests,
too,
are
often
rudi-
board. We cannot afford failure."
generally remains a Jew, and in mentary. A grave problem is the
as a serious work to be com-
There is litt14 we can add to these words. Ground was
about half of the cases the chil- surplus of women and girls.
pared with first-rate craftsmen,
broken for the Jewish Hospital not so long ago, and everyone
dren grow up in the Jewish faith.
present at that ceremony felt -that the time would not be far
How to enable these refugees it cannot be considered satis-
• • •
when the hospital structure would go up as a credit to the
to
adjust themselves to condi- factory. It should have been
NO RABBI, CHAZAN, or Jew-
off
Jewish
community of Detroit and as its contribution to the
tions
is the main question con- printed in a limited edition for
ish teacher has ever been born
fronting the leaders of Swedish private circulation among friends
medical needs of this city.
in
Sweden:
from
the
very
begin-
and admirers.
We can, indeed, not afford to fail. The whole Detroit com-
ning up to the present day they Jewry,
munity is watching us closely and will judge us by our deeds.
•

Fate of Swedish Jews
Marked by Uncertainty

T