Page Fourhten •
THE JEWISH NEWS
April 24, 1942
A MESSAGE
-- from -
YOURSELF TO YOURSELF
FRED M. BUTZEL
Chairman of 1942 Allied Jewish Campaign
THIS IS a good time for me to take stock of my personal
position. I do not know how grim the days ahead may
yet be, but in the comparative security of America,
there is a special lift in my heart and a feeling of
thankfulness.
I C'AN count myself fortunate that I live in a land where
the poor and the weak and the crippled are not
doomed to hopelessness; where man is still his
brother's keeper.
IT HAS ALWAYS been my great pride as an American
and as a Jew that we have never failed the social
services of our community. Their support has become
as much a part of the normal pattern of our lives as
home, family and business.
AS AN AMERICAN, it is my willing duty to do everything
that is required of me, and more. AS A JEW, it is
my obligation to help hold down our special sector in
the world struggle, at home and abroad.
AT HOME, I must maintain the vital services that help
make up the totality of America. In the process of
war, I would not want to let rot away the things we
are fighting for. Such a victory would be no victory
at all.
ABROAD, I must continue to sustain the victims of Nazism
and the enemies of Nazism wherever they can be
helped. Wherever there are Jews, there is still resist-
ance to Hitler. The countries in which they liV .e may
be temporarily conquered by Hitler, but so long as
Jews remain, these lands will not be completely Nazi.
I APPRECIATE that our future is bound up with the
future of Jews everywhere. Hitler draws no dis-
tinctions. Now that isolationism has been completely
discredited in America, we mtist not be guilty of
isolationism at the sacrifice of our fellow-Jews any-
where.,
I KNOW THIS—and the Allies know this. Churchill has
stated that the people of the conquered countries are
like brave soldiers on the battlefield of democracy. I
realize that in other countries, and particularly in the
Palestine sector, Jewish men are in the thick of the
battle. They, too, are fighting for us. And President
Roosevelt has declared that a victory anywhere in the
world represents a victory for our own country.
I SUBMIT that this is more than our Jewish duty. It is
our American duty. The statements of President
Roosevelt, Secretary of the Navy Knox, Attorney
General Biddle, and others make it amply clear that
our Government expects us to meet our own obli-
gations.
I APPRECIATE that true patriotism means the complete
fulfillment of our duties. I feel that coming back
again to our annual Allied Jewish Campaign task is
like coming home to one of the things that are etern-
ally fine and decent and enduring in a world full of
bitter change and disaster. I can give thanks that
there are places left in the world where there can still
be Allied Jewish Campaigns.
IN THE LIGHT of all this, how much should I contribute
to this year's campaign? Should I give more, and if
so, how much more?
I ASK MYSELF these questions, knowing that the answers
do not depend entirely on any financial statement,
but rather on my frame of mind. I know that ulti-
mately the cause for which America and its allies are
fighting will triumph.
I GAVE what I thought was a fair amount last year. Now
that the need is greater—and the goal is greater, I
shall give more—and be HAPPY that I am free to
give more.