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Valiant Behavior
Published every Friday by the Jewish News Publishing Co.
Inc., 2114 Penobscot Bldg., Detroit Mich. Telephone RAndolph 7956. By the REV. HENRY H. CRANE
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Church
Application for Second Class matter pending at Detroit, Mich. TEXT: 'Be of good courage, and

On this Sabbath, the ninth day of Elul, the following
Scriptural selections will be read in our synagogues: Pentateuchal
- portion, Dent. 21:10-25:19; Prophetical portion, Is. 54:1-10.

MAURICE H. SelMARTZ and PHILIP SLOMOVITZ. Publishers

BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Maurice Aronsson
Philip Slomovitz
Isidore Sobeloff
Fred M. Butzel
Theodore Levin
Abraham Srere
Maurice H. Schwartz
Henry Wineman

PHILIP

VOL. 1—NO. 22

SLOMOVITZ,

Editor

AUGUST 21, 1942

The J. D. C.: A Third Front

"--"•••%,„_

'

let us behave ourselves valiantly
for our people, and for the cities

•

of our God: and let the Lord do
that which is good in His sight."

I Chronicles 19:13.
The somewhat debatable max-
im that "there is nothing new
under the sun" certainly seems
one searches
to be validated
the Scriptures and discovers
therein descriptions of ancient
situations so startlingly analo-
gous to
our
o own
present day. dif-
ficulties. To
demonstrate
how utterly
timely, as well
as timeless, the
2-i; Good Book is,
consider the
story of David's
overtures to Ha-

As talk proceeds about a second front, humanity can
•not forget the existence of a third front—the battleground
nun, king of the
on which we shall have to retain morale by aiding the un-
Ammonites, and
fortunate victims of war.
Dr. Crane
t h e subsequent
The report issued by the American Jewish Joint Dis- denouement. It sounds surpris-
tribution Committee reviewing activities during the past ingly familiar to modern ears
17 months gives a slight idea of the immensity of the re- that have heard of Pearl Harbor.
lief problem. More than 950,000 Jews were helped with
Nahash, king of the children of
J. D. C. funds on five continents. The money raised Ammon (I. Chronicles, IXX) died
through the United Jewish Appeal—in Detroit through and his son, Hanun, reigned in
the Allied Jewish Campaign of the Jewish Welfare Fed_ his stead. David, king of Israel,
eration—has been a source of encouragement and life- sent messengers to comfort the
saving. Had it not been for this aid, the widespread trag- young heir concerning his father.
But the princes of Hanun's court
edy would have been far more serious for our people.
grew suspicious, and whispered
It is work that will go on, as it must go on, because it to their unsophisticated young
is so evident that the battle must be won on all fronts, not king, "pinkest thou that David
forgetting the third, humanitarian battleground. At pres- doth honor thy father, in that he
ent, activities will be centered in war relief. As time goes hath sent comforters unto thee?
on, there will be a return to rehabilitation and resettle- Are not they come rather to
search, and to overthrow, and to
ment programs. The Joint Distribution Committee is the spy
out the land?"
guardian angel for hundreds of thousands, and their num-
A MODERN CHALLENGE
ber is certain to run into millions in view of the widespread
That was enough. Hanun im-
destruction suffered by the world as a result of Nazi-
Fascist brutality. When the war is over, and victory is mediately became very. realistic.
maligned the messengers, mis-
achieved, the initials J. D. C. will continue to represent one He
treated them
and
of the major sources of hope and courage given the men, then formed an outrageously,
alliance with the
women and children who must turn to this great relief Syrians to attack the Israelites.
agency for sustenance.
One morning, all unsuspertin5".

Boake Carter's Conversion

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The Palestine Regiment

•

•

The Jewish Army proposal has come closest to reali
ation by the announcement last week of the formation 0
a Palestine regiment in the British army to consist o .
exclusively Jewish and exclusively Arab battalions.
In the main, the issue resolved itself into the que
tion of using the term "Jewish Army." But in prin
ciple the demands for a recognition of the rights of Jew
to the formation of a fighting force in Palestine have bee
honored.
Emphasis should be placed on the comparative fig
ures of Jews and Arabs serving in the British forces
the Middle East. The Arabs outnumber the Jews two
one in Palestine, nevertheless there are 16,000 Jews sery
ing in the armed forces of Great Britain, compared wit
6,000 Arabs. These figures indicate the relative loyalty o
the two peoples. Certainly this is not the time to appe
those who have not shown total loyalty.
In principle, Jewish rights to an armed force in P
estine stand recognized. In practice, only the first step It
been taken in fulfilling Jewish demands for an armed
General Joab in command of force to fight under the Jewish banner.
King David's army, found that
A statement by Berl Locker, Adviser to the Jewish
his forces had been, encircled by
the treacherous enemy and was Agency Executive in London, contains interesting com-
in grave danger of annihilation. ment on the army question. Mr. Locker stated that the
The situation was desperate. Then formation of a Palestine Battalion has "opened new pos-
Joab faced his men and uttered sibilities for the enlistment of•thousands of Palestine Jews
a challenge superlatively signifi- in the fighting services," and declared that "the Jewish
cant—not for that hour only, but Agency believes that at least another 25,000 to 30,000
for all times when mortals are Jews could be enlisted for the Home Guard, making a
most sorely beset: "Be of good force of some 50,000."
courage, and let us behave our-
This is a clear indication that through proper action
selves valiantly for our peonle,
and for the cities of our God: Great Britain can strengthen the Middle East defenses.
and let the Lord do that which is There has been unfortunate delay in action heretofore,
and it is to be hoped that there will be no further pro-
good in His sight."
That is an ancient summons, crastination in recognizing Jewish rights to a fighting
but it is magnificently modern, force for the protection of their own and the United Na-
too. I know of no more mean- tions' positions in Palestine and the entire Mediterranean
ingful motto for mankind today, 'area.

Jews do not seek converts. The law compels a rabbi
who is asked to convert someone of a different faith to
Judaism to paint a black picture of Jewish responsibilities
to the person seeking to join our fold and to welcome him
only after he has gone through rigid training and a long
period of study.
Boake Carter, who was at one time suspected of being
a pro - Fascist and an anti-Semite and who_ more recently
declared himself an avowed student of Hebrew and a be-
liever in Jewish national redemption, apparently prepared
himself well for entry into the Jewish fold. The strange
thing about his conversion is that he is aiming, from all
appearances, to introduce a new cult, a sort of "Hebrew
Biblical faith."
The new convert appears to be dissatisfied with the confronted as we are with this
accepted version of the Old Testament and with the aid of "pentecost of calamity." For
one David Horowitz aspires for a "true version" of the nothing is more indispensable
Bible which they report to have been given to them by a right now—for the duration, and
Moses Gibori of Palestine. This somewhat complicates for a long time 'ahead—than val-
Boake Carter's case and introduces doubt as to the logic iant behavior. Without it, even
of his thinking along Biblical lines, and the Jewish ideas victory is valueless; with it, de-
and ideals he has embraced. This "new Jew" is not learning feat is impossible.
It is a great word—"valiant".
Jewish precepts, as a convert should in order to become
acquainted with his new faith, but has set out at once to It comes from the French "val-
teach his own pet ideas to his "new brothers in faith." Do oire"—to be worth, and from the
Latin, "valere"—to be strong; the
e we hear snickers?

,

Post Script: In Vol. XV of Thomas Jefferson's Writings we read:
"I never told my own religion, nor scrutinized that of another. I
never attempted to make a convert, nor wished to change another's
creed. I have ever judged of others' religion by their lives . . for
it is from our lives and not from our words, that our religion must
be read."

Palestine Land Redemption

The Jewish National Fund of America, of which Dr.
Israel Goldstein is president, has cabled the sum of $100,-
000 to Palestine, for land redemption, as a token of faith
in the future of the Jewish National Home.
Accompanying the remittance was a cable expressing
the admiration of American Jewry for the Jews of Pales-
tine and their "fortitude in! the face of peril." It was a
magnificent gesture at this time, when the valiant settlers
in Palestine need all the encouragenient that can be given
them.
Stemming from such activities, and the cooperation
between the Jewries of Palestine and the United States,
for the redemption of Eretz Israel, is an assurance that
the efforts of free peoples will not be stopped and that
there will not only be an end to terrorism and Nazism
but that liberation is in store for the persecuted and
oppressed.

No Time for

Jokes

A 56-year-old Philadelphia painter, John Stull, was
arrested on a charge of malicious mischief for painting a
huge swastika on his roof with an appended note: "Kill
All Jews." Stull now says he did it as a joke.
Apparently Stull had not yet learned that Pelley was
also "joking." So were a lot of Nazis who now share
Pelley's fate.
root idea apparently being that
The pro-Axis group in this country is learning pretty
one can make any situation really fast that this is no time for jokes and that an anti-Semite
worth while if one is only strong
and pro-Nazi is being viewed as un-American under the
enough.
current critical scheme of things. This realization came a
THREE THINGS INVOLVED
bit late, but not too late for America to be fortified against
But how can we behave val- the subversive elements.

iantly? Three things at least are
involved, it would seem:
First, we must learn to RE-
CEIVE whatever comes, however
bad it may be, as an unavoid-
able, usable part of life; we must
not try to REJECT it. To expect
only pleasant experiences is fat-
uous and shallow. Trouble, diffi-
culty, sorrow, suffering come
sooner or later to all. Adversity
is an indispensable element in
all great living, if heroically ac-
cepted and finely used. Happiness
comes not from rejecting dif-
ficulty, avoiding adversity, shun-
ning sorrow, but from receiving
it, using it and eventually trans-
ile
forming
it into something worth

REACT to it. To react to a given
situation is to function primar-
ily in terms of our animal in-
stincts. But to respond is to call
into play our higher faculties,
our spiritual nature. It is not only
easy, it is likewise instinctive to
strike back when struck, to de-
mand an eye for an eye and a
tooth for a tooth.
SONS OF GOD
But we are not mere animals.
We are endowed with divine
characteristics, which when util-
ized, reveal a conquering power
and a survival value that war-
rant our being called "the sons
of God." Actually to seek the
Second, we must RESPOND to welfare of our detractors, to pray
whatever comes, and not merely for those who persecute us, to

love our enemies, to respond with
our best instead of reacting with
our worst, is. desperately diffi-
cult, but it is divinely effective—

and
valiant behavior surely
means that.
Lastly, we must REJOICE in

whatever comes, and not REBEL
against it. We must add the qual-
ities of joyousness, graciousness,

even hearty enthusiasm. Good-
will is ghastly when it is pock-
marked with self-pity. It is not
enough to return good for evil;
we must "rejoice in our tribula-
tions: knowing that tribulation
worketh patience, and patience,
experience, and experience, hope"
—and the result is VALIANT

BEHAVIOR.

