For Victory Buy U. S. War Savings Stamps And Bonds VOL. 2—NO. 6 THE JEWISH NEWS A Weekly Review 2114 Penobscot Bldg. RA. 7956 of Jewish Events Detroit, Michigan, November 27, 1942 34 4&Ziu. 22 For Victory Buy U. S. War Savings Bonds And Stamps Federation Issue Jewish Social Services Gear d to War Needs By ABRAHAM SRERE President, Jewish Welfare Federation of Detroit The impact of war on the organized Jewish com- munity finds us with a new set of communal problems under changing conditions. Out of the strengthened community relations en- gendered by the unifying influences of the War Chest, there already has been created an improved social climate, with a better understanding based on closer cooperation. , The general community has become more aware of our special services and the place that these activities play on • the home • scene and the world over. Perhaps most important of all, as we survey +he social scene at this time of year, is the fact that we are free in the coming winter and spring months to devote ourselves to the programs of service, ,rather than to the organization and machinery of fund-raising. We have talked in the past about the need for edu- cation within our own group. Education is more than the dissemination of the spoken or wriften word for promotional effect; education is a living process that involves partici- pation by members of the community in the day-to-day problems at school, in the home, at play, at work and in all of our other relationships. The war, which is being fought for the preservation of our democratic institutions, makes our responsibility that much greater and more important. The present is a time of trouble throughout the world. It is this general situation of social crisis and tension that throws out to all of us a supreme challenge. Can we meet this challenge? Can we as a com- munity meet this test without compromising our ideals and our community goals and responsibilities? Can we meet the challenge and the trust placed in us by our Jewish brethren who now suffer under the heel of the oppressor? They have not given up hope. They have marched as free men before and they will march again. We must bear in mind that in the process of achieving military security we, together with the rest of the Amer- ican people, must not abandon the articles of our demo- cratic faith and practice—our social welfare goals—our communal institutions for the furtherance of well-being. It becomes our responsibility as a community to maintain a continuing and lasting interest in and support for the social services. Child-care services must. be maintained and strength- ened to meet the needs of children in war-time. Children must be safeguarded—and they can be safeguarded— in the midst of this total war so that they can live and share in the free world for which we are fighting. They must be nourished; they must be provided with proper shelter; they must be protected and guided in their development. The family is always subjected to the stress and strain of daily life. War has aggravated many of the "normal" problems of families who come for help to the family agency. The family is the corner-stone of the democracy for which we are fighting. The community must exert every effort to help the families in distress, to ease the burden of those families broken through separation, conflict, or death. In the field of vocational guidance and employment service, the time would seem to call for contraction of program and personnel. Yet even at this - moment, when the public employment services are performing such im- portant functions, those same public agencies are asking the utmost cooperation from private vocational services such as the one established in our community. The war has had a double effect on Jewish community centers and their programs of recreation and general educational work. Many of their members have been called to serve in the armed services. Into these buildings, how- ever, have come a great many new activities induced by the war. The community centers were among the first social agencies to go on a war-time footing. USO activi- ties for the men in the armed forces, Red Cross and kin- dred war-connected programs for civilians, services for war workers who only recently came to the community, physical fitness programs for young men and women have made our own Center an arsenal of civilian morale and volunteer effort. In the health field it is imperative that the community should not allow the war to impair its operating efficiency. Despite the entrance of many physicians into the armed services, the community should make every effort to mobilize. new volunteers from the medical ranks to man this important civilian station-during the war. Providing Jewish education is one of the privileges and strengths of the Jewish community in a democracy. As a community we must intensify our efforts in order to assure the continuing function of our school system. The war did not eliminate the need for a vigorous and coordinated civic-protective program. While many areas of activity formerly in our hands have become the direct concern of government, there are other areas in which we ourselves must continue to operate. These are but a few of the guide posts in the com- munity's effort to meet its social needs and to fulfill its social responsibilities. The maintenance of the community institutions which we have established depends in the largest measure upon our understanding of the purposes they ex- emplify and the services they render. Devotion to the common good, however selfless and single-minded, is not enough, unless accompanied by understanding. In the year ahead it will be our responsibility to bring to the community—and to the individuals who make it up —a' more detailed presentation of the functions, purposes and needs of the social welfare institutions which the com- munity maintains. We hope that this wil; result in a strength- ening of those loyalties which are so necessary to the well being of the community and its agencies.