See. 512, P. L. & R. THE JEWISH NEWS U. S. POSTAGE Published every Friday by the Jewish News Publishing Co., Inc., 2114 Penobscot Bldg., Detroit. Mich. Telephone RAndolph 7956. Subscription rates, $3 a year; foreign, $4 a year. Member of Independent Jewish Press Service, Jewish Tele- graphic Agency, Seven Arts Feature Syndicate., Religious News Service, Palcor News Agency, Bressler Cartoon Service, Wide World Photc Service. PAID DETROIT, MICH. - Permit No. 3761 MAURICE H. SCHWARTZ and PHILIP SLOMOVITZ, Publishers BOARD OF DIRECTORS Maurice Aronsson Fred M. Butzel Theodore Levin Maurice H. Schwartz Philip Slomovitz Isidore Sobeloff Abraham Srcre Henry Wineman The Weekly Sermonette PHILIP SLOMOVITZ, Editor Today, the first day of Shovuoth. the Feast of Weeks, the fol- lowing selections from the Torah will be read in our synagogues: Pentateuchal portions, Ex. 19:1-20:23; Num. 28:26-31; Prophetical portion. Ezek. 1:1-28; 3:12. The Book of Ruth is also read on this day. On the Sabbath, the second day of Shovuoth, the following Num. selections from the Torah are read: Deut. 14:22-16:17; 28:16-31; Prophetical portion, Hab. 3:1-19. VOL. 1—NO. 9 MAY 22, 1942 The Shovuoth Festival As we gather in our synagogues this week-end to celebrate the great festival of Shovuoth, we must remem- ber one fact: The Supreme Law is unbreakable. Throughout the world, the elements of destruction and indecency, as represented by the Nazis and the Fas- cists, seek to destroy the laws of mankind and to substitute for them the rules of force and cruelty. But those who stand for righteousness and for justice must learn the lesson taught to mankind by Israel during the past two thousand years. We have witnessed persecu- tion. bigotry, oppression; but at no time have we yielded. On the contrary, we have always held steadfastly to the faith that the Law as handed down on Sinai, as personified in the observance of Shovuoth, will dominate the world. This faith must be reaffirmed by all mankind. We must reaffirm it as Jews on Shovuoth. As long as man lives. he must have faith ; and as long as man has faith, he will live. This is the Jewish law which will prevail as a lesson for all humanity when the present terrible world conflict comes to an end. The Coming USO Drive John D. Rockefeller. Jr., has launched the national $32.000,000 drive for the United Service Organizations with an address he delivered in Chicago and with his an- nouncement of a gift of $200,000, which is' -1 ..f..uble his 1941 contribution. This was a signal to the 5.000 communities throughout the land who will participate in this year's drive to get ready for the united effort in behalf of the morale building service organizations, including the Jewish Welfare Board. Detroit's campaign has been deferred to the fall and will be conducted as part of the Community Fund drive. It will call for the active support of all Detroit citizens. The fact that Detroit Jews are about to complete a record- breaking Allied Jewish Campaign should in no sense minimize the importance of the forthcoming USO drive, and all of us should be prepared to do our best for it when it is launched. The Zionist Conference It required the freedom of America and the courage generated by the traditions of this country to defy the obstacles created by the war and to reaffirm Jewish as- pirations with regard to Palestine, -as enunciated in the declaration of principles set forth by the Extraordinary Zionist Conference, held in New York last week and de- scribed by our special correspondent as "a miniature World Zionist Congress." Not since 1916, when a similar conference of all parties in American Zionism was convened by Luis D. Brandeis, has such a gathering taken place in this coun- try. In the face of war emergencies, and because of the necessity for united action in preparation for the coming peace, this conference assumes historic proportions. Its declaration covered the entire, field of Zionist thought and action. It reaffirmed the basic principles inherent in the Zionist ideology, rejected the restrictions contained in the White paper of 1939, expressed readiness to cooperate with the Arabs, declared faith in the ultimate victory of humanity over lawlessness and pledged the aid required for the victory of the democracies, on the military front through the aid of a Jewish army and in whatever other form may be necessary. Adhering to the principles set forth in the Zionist declaration, members of all parties in the movement have an opportunity to make history in this war period by striving for a unified front necessary for the achievement of these basic ideals. The major problem of Jewish home- lessness can be solved by the fulfillment of the hopes set forth in this declaration. But in order to achieve them, the proper political conditions are necessary. Dr. Chaim Weizmann's plea, "Give us the political conditions and we shall finish the job"—paraphrasing Prime Minister Churchill himself—must be heeded by Great Britain and the United Nations, for the sake of the fulfillment of the principles involved in the present world conflict. Z'Man Matan Torathenu BY RABBI ISSAC STOLLMAN the "When the L-d gave Torah, the fowls abated their cackling, the birds stopped in their flights, the oxen ceased their braying, wheels turned no longer, the Seraphim discon- tinued their chanting of Kodosh, the surface of the sea became placid, people stopped talking, the entire world was dead still, and the sound of `I am the L-d etc. was -heard." (Rabbo. Ch. XXIX). The quest for self- aggrandize- Rabbi Stollman ment at the expense of others. aptly termed by the poet as "man's inhumanity to man," is and has been displayed all too much in the history of our planet and. unfortunately, there appears, even at this late hour, no diminution in or abatement Poland Fights," the organ of the American Friends of the evil. If anything. it is on the increase. Poland Hell on Earth of Polish Democracy, publishes an extensive report of the present Jewish position in Poland. It received its in- formation from a person who visited several times in the Warsaw Ghetto last winter and who is now in a neutral country, and his impressions are recorded under the heading "Hell on Earth." The appalling misery occasioned by lack of food and living space, the inability of the sick to obtain medical treatment, form part of the material for a story that makes the reader's hair stand on end. "Only the graveyards are growing," this observer's report states. Such reports indicate clearly the responsibilities that are ours. It is not enough for us to give lip service, to express sympathies and to make nominal voluntary con- tributions. The tragedy of our people requires effort ex- ceeding by far any relief campaign that has been spon- sored in the past. Today we can help the 700,000 Polish refugees in Russia, tomorrow we will be able to assist the thousands stranded in South American countries, and before long it will be *possible to come to the aid of the millions who are now incarcerated in ghettos created by the Nazis. We must be prepared for all emergencies, and at the moment we can provide the minimum needs through the Allied Jewish Campaign, which is an exceedingly import- ant instrument for good not only for overseas relief but also in providing the necessary support for local agencies as well as the nationally recognized institutions. Included, of course, in this great community effort is the cause of Palestine which is the major cause for satisfaction over Jewish achievements in the present crisis. Only hearts that have turned to stone, and only the very poor, can possibly refuse to subscribe to this great humanitarian effort. At War Against Bigotry America is at war on all fronts—not merely in Aus- tralia, in the Pacific and Atlantic zones and on a dozen battlefields - against the Axis, but also on the home front. Last week, Governors Lehman and Edison signed bills prohibiting racial and religious discrimination in em- ployment in New York and New Jersey. A few days later, Governor Lehman signed two more bills, designed to bar discrimination against Jews and Negroes who desire to participate in golf and tennis tournaments. Thus, this is indeed a total war—against terrorism and banditry throughout the world and against intoler- ance at home. Only total victory on both fronts will make the re- sults worthy of the sacrifices that are being made by humanity today in the fight for freedom. THE EFFECTUAL REMEDY Our tragedy, however, is not the fact that we seem long to have had these tendencies inimi- cal to right "that every imagination and thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (Gen. VI-5), but the failure of mankind to grasp at ' and apply the only effectual remedy offer- ing a solution to the world's woes—the Torah. Those solutions of the problem which proceeded from human origin, usually bring in their train abuses just as detrimental to the welfare of Man as th abuses which were intended t• be rectified thereby. To cite in stances is superfluous. All have to do is to look about our selves, view the world as it i - today, with the rich seeking t. benefit at the expense of th:- poor, and then, when the table- are turned, as recent history ha demonstrated, the opposite sit uation obtains. JUSTICE FOR ALL Only the Torah offers justic- for all. It is for that reason tha as the excerpt quoted at the to of this column indicates, whe. the L-d gave the Ten Corn mandrnents all had become dea• quiet. For, at that moment the - was a pervading sense, reachin:- every element of life, of the ad vent of a new power, a new dis pensation of functions and pre rogatives, which would deal ou to all absolute and even-hande• justice. • This is the essence of o faith. In accordance with th: teachings of our rabbis (Mesich to Abot VI-1), Judaism is, alo with four other prime facto in life, an especial creation o G-d, calculated to offer to - those, who seek to avail them selves of its doctrine, the perf medium for allaying discord an. disaffection in the world. Our Torah, with its well-reg ulated and balanced system o governing the relations betw - - man and man, between natio. and nation, between rich an poor, between human being an beast, all based upon a profoun. recognition of our nature, and i frailties, is a perfect orchestra tion of a symphony of justice an righteousness, such as only th Al-ty lan devise.