Friday, December 4, 1942
THE JEWISH NEWS
?age Sirfeen
What's Happening in Detroit
KAH celebrations will monopolize the calen-
dar of Jewish events in Detroit during the coming
,
IIANU
week. In the Hebrew and Yiddish schools, in our
synagogues, in the Jewish Community Center, interest-
ing programs are planned.
Occurrence of the first anniversary of the Japanese .
attack on Pearl Harbor, which marked our country's
entrance as a belligerent in this war, will be occasion,
during the Hanukah celebration, for reaffirmation of
faith in our democracy and rededication to the ideals
for which we are fighting.
The Pearl Harbor anniversary will be marked by
a rally sponsored by the Win the War Council at 8
p. in. Monday, at the Hutchins School, Gladstone and
Woodrow Wilson. Bernard Altshuler, educational di-
rector of the Win the War Council, announces that
motion pictures of the Japanese attack will be shown
by Patrolman Jack Gaines and that music will be
provided by the WPA Symphony Orchestra under the
baton of Valter Poole. The public is invited.
Hanukah Celebrations at Jewish Center
One of the major celebrations at the Jewish Com-
munity Center will be a Hanukah concert . on Tuesday
evening, Dec. 8. The participants will be Emily Mutter
Adams, violinist, Bernard Argiewicz, 'cellist, and Julius
Chajes, the noted composer-pianist who is the director
of the Center's music department. Cantor Hyman H.
Cohen will recite the blessings over the candles and
Mr. Chajes will lead the audience in the singing of
Hanukah and Palestinian songs. Free admission tickets
are available at the office of the Center.
. History of Festival Studied in Schools
The study of Hanukah is occupying an important
place in the curriculum of the United Hebrew Schools.
The history of this great festival, as well as the
manner in which it is being celebrated, is being studied
in all the classes.
During Hanukah, parties and assemblies are ar-
ranged in all the schools.
The Woman's Auxiliary of the schools, which has
for its major objective the maintenance of the bus
system, contributes to the festivity of the schools dur-
ing Hanukah by presenting the children with Hanukah
gifts in the form of refreshments.
Young Judaens to Hold Party
- Young Judaeans of Detroit will sponsor a Hanukah_
party at the home of Marilyn Einhorn, 2525 W. Phila-
delphia, at 2 P. M. Sunday. There will be games, a
holiday program and refreshments.
Rabbi Morris Adler leads a Young Judaea leaders'
discussion group at 7:30 P. M. on Tuesdays at the
Shaarey Zedek. Young people, 16 and older, are invited
to join the group by calling the director of Young
Judaea activities, Miss Helen Kass, TO. 6-5902. New
leaders include Marilyn Einhorn, Arlene Kohn, Beth
Laikin, Ethel Levine, Selma Lichtenstein and Florence
Schlesinger.
Observe Pearl Harbor Anniversary •
The Jewish Community Center's third holiday hop,
a Hanukah Victory Dance, will be held Sunday evening
in the Center's main • auditorium. It is the third in the
series of holiday dances and 'parties sponsored by the
Center's social committee. The first two affairs, an Arm-
istice celebration and a Thanksgiving party, drew large
crowds.
At midnight, the anniversary of the Pearl Harbor
attack, Dec. 7, will be observed with a "broadcast" of
the transcription of President Roosevelt's Declaration
of War.
Habonim Mothers Arrange Dinner
The Hanukah festival will also be observed by the
Habonim Mothers' Club. A holiday meal will be served
at the Workmen's Circle Bldg. on LinWood Ave., from
12 noon to 9 P. M. on Sunday. Proceeds will be used
by the mothers of Detroit Habonim, the labor Zionist
youth movement, to further the activities of the youth
organization. An invitation has been extended to the
entire Jewish community to participate in this dinner.
Our Letter Box
We Were Happy
to Receive This One
Editor,
The Jewish News:
I have watched with keen in-
terest the rapid development of
The Jewish News. It has become
a habit to look for your paper
each week, and I find that al-
though you have been publishing
barely a year, I have come
to depend upon your columns for
all information concerning Jew-
ish affairs, both at home and
abroad.
The other day I ran across in
my files an editorial published
last April in The Reconstruction-
ist, of New York. After taking to
task the Jewish press of the coun-
try in general, the editor under-
takes to diagnose the ailments
which he charges are preventing
these newspapers from fulfilling
their purpose.
The he says under the heading
'Success to 'The Jewish News' ":
"Why have the papers fallen so
low? Because advertisers must
be made happy, because organi-
zational activities must be given
plenty of room or else so-and-so
will hold back on his advertising
space. Political candidates are
allowed to take large ads be-
cause the publisher has to pay
bills. And some editors make
Passover, Rosh Hashanah . and
Hanukah the occasion for in-
perting page after page of pie-
Hanukah Celebrations Feature
Current Week in Detroit; Many
Affairs Planned at Center and
Hebrew Schools; Seek Fund for
Completion of Ehrlich Forest;
Rabbi Wohlgelernter's Fifth
Anniversary; Other Activities
Aim to Complete Ehrlich _Forest
As we indicated in this column some weeks ago,
an effort is being made to complete the Joseph H.
Ehrlich Forest in Palestine, on land of the Jewish
National Fund.
The Zionist Organization of Detroit has selected
a prominent committee to sponsor this effort and to
encourage a concerted attempt to speed the raising of
the necessary funds for the planting of 10,000 trees
in Palestine.
Hanukah week is considered especially appropriate
for Detroit Jews to give liberally so that the name of
an outstanding Detroit leader may be properly
memorialized.
An important announcement is expected during the
coming few days regarding efforts to speed the com-
pletion of the Ehrlich Forest in Palestine.
Rabbi Wohlgelernter's 5th Anniversary
Of interest this week is the completion of five years
of service in Detroit by Rabbi Max J. Wohlgelernter
of Congregation Beth Tefilo Emanuel.
Rabbi Wohlgelernter came to Detroit on Dec. 1,
1937. He has been re-elected year after year by his
congregation and was retained for another long term
at a recent meeting.
• During his stay in Detroit, Rabbi Wohlgelernter has
inspired numerous activities in Orthodox Judaism
and has been responsible for the revival of interest
in many causes and institutions.
A Revisionist States His Case
Louis Panush comes to the defense of the New
Zionist Organization (Revisionists) in a lengthy letter
to The Jewish News, and disputes a • statement in a
recent "Purely Commentary" column in which the
rise of an independent committee sponsoring the
Jewish Army plan was deplored. Mr. Panush writes:
"The New Zionist Organization, sponsor of the Com-
mittee for a Jewish Army, was created by the late
Jabotinsky because of the breakdown of morale in
the Old Zionist Organization and because the Jewish
Agency was committed to a policy of inertia in poli-
tical, economic and military fields. Nothing has changed
since the split in the W.Z.O. . . • A dunam land will
not solve our problem. United action . . . will!"
Mr. Panush pleads his case as "a Herzlian Zionist."
If Mr. Panush will study the facts he will find that
he is wrong when he denies that the Jewish Agency
did nothing to sponsor the Jewish Army cause. Dr.
Chaim Weizmann was given a pledge (see Louis
Adamic's article in the Nov. 20 issue of the New
Palestine, explaining why he refused to join the
Committee for a Jewish Army) by the British govern-
ment that such an army would be sanctioned officially.
The pledge was not kept, but that does not justify
condemnation of the Jewish Agency which is the
world recognized body in all matters affecting Pal-
tures—pictures of three-year-old
Miss Henrietta Goldberg, and Mr.
and Mrs. Hyman Levy celebrat-
ing their twenty-fifth wedding
anniversary. Why? The answer
is obvious.
"We are getting some of these
thoughts off our chests because
something is happening in Amer-
ican journalism in the city of De-
troit' which, we pray, will turn
out to be the first step in the re-
construction of our journalism.
That progressive city has already
shown the country how a Com-
munity Council ought to work. It
is now adding something new to
a newspaper. The Jewish News,
the first issue of which will be
off the press by the time this ap-
pears, is being sponsored by a
representative citizens commit-
tee. The prospectus states:
" 'It is our belief that only a
newspaper that places service
above the profit motive can as-
sume the role of community or-
gan, and the sponsors of The
Jewish News are confident that
with such guiding principles we
shall receive the whole-hearted
support of all elements in our
community.' "
"We have always believed in
community responsibility. We
have advocated community orga-
nization because we believe that
individualism can be afforded
least by Jews, because such nec-
essary services as education must
be maintained by all the Jews,
because private profit in Jewish
educational, cultural or religious
work is a violation of its sacred
character. We have even sug-
gested community responsibility
for the whole industry of kash-
rut. We plead with the editor of
the new periodical, Philip Slo-
movitz, .to avoid gossip, political
maneuvering, publicity seekers,
disingenuous good-will, and all
the pitfalls to which an editor is
exposed. We urge him to make
the paper a fine, dignified, rep-
resentative effort, which does not
proceed on the assumption that
readers are necessarily morons.
And we wish success to The Jew-
ish News."
I am sure that the editor who
wrote the above has been more
than satisfied as he has studied
each succeeding issue of The Jew-
ish News. You have certainly
lived up to your promises, and
although there still are things to
be done, I have faith that you
will not let down the community
which is depending upon you.
AARON BORMAN,
Washington, D.C.
* *
EXCERPTS FROM LETTERS
"Your paper is far superior to
most Jewish publications. I hope
you continue to maintain the
high standards you have already
established." — Jack Kravitz,
Field Representative, Council of
Jewish • Federations and Welfare
Funds, East Central States Reg-
ion, Cleveland, 0.
"As an editor of the Recon-
structionist, my voice was in-
cluded in the greeting and felic-
itations which the journal had in
regard to the advent of The Jew-
ish News. I want, however, to
express my personal joy in see-
ing—at last—one weekly in the
United States which is striving
for high standards. Your news,
your editorial views, your make-
estine. The Revisionists would arrogate such powers
to themselves, at the same time belittling efforts for
acquisition of land by Jews in Palestine. That is hardly
the way to achieve "unity of action and unity of
purpose" for which Mr. Panush pleads.
It is to be hoped that the Revisionists will return
to the Zionist fold. But it is difficult to believe that
such unity can be possible when it is approached in
a spirit of tearing down the existing structure organ-
ized for Palestine's redemption.
Spirit Unbroken in Occupied Lands
In connection with Hanukah, the following state-
ment from the Government-published periodical Vic-
tory is of great importance:
We've been hearing a great deal lately about morale
—about the morale of troops in the field and the
morale of civilians at home—and we'll hear more as
the scales of war tip further in the Allies' favor. For
morale, although not easy to define, is a primary war
necessity—without it, armies and nations crumble in
the end. In support of domestic morale the Axis radios
are busy attempting to explain recent Allied successes,
and minimize their importance. The enemy's propa-
ganda bureaus, which once launched attack after attack
in the "psychological warfare" of the air waves, now
have gone on the defensive. The United Nations begin
to have the edge in the world-wide struggle for control
of the air, as they begin to have the edge in physical
combat, and this because we have something more
than propaganda to offer. The truth is our weapon.
Civilian morale may rise or fall with favorable or
unfavorable news from the fighting fronts, but its real
test comes in the ability to take the discomforts caused
by a straitened war economy.
If the public must undergo discomforts and incon-
veniences, in severity and extent unlike any we have
experienced before, it must be remembered that a heavy
share of the burden of national control of scarce corn-
-modifies and limited facilities is borne by operators,
retailers and wholesalers. By patience and courtesy,
by firmness' and fairmindedness, the dispensers of the
country's goods and services contribute directly to the
Nation's wartime morale, and perform a public service
that cannot be measured in dollars and cents.
A Miscellany of Local Events
Dr. Simeon Halkin, eminent Hebrew poet and
lecturer, addressed a large congregation at the Shaarey
Zedek last Friday evening, was the guest at the
meeting of the Kvutzah Ivrith on Saturday evening
and spoke at an Oneg Shabbat of the Detroit Hebrew
teachers at the Rose Sittig Cohen Bldg. Saturday
afternoon . . . The annual Chevra Kadisha member-
ship banquet of Congregation Mishkan Israel was held
Sunday evening. Rabbi Isaac Stollman was the prin-
cipal speaker . . . Mrs. Adele Mondry is in receipt
of a letter from Frank N. Isbey, Michigan chairman
of the Committee for the sale of War Bonds and
Stamps, thanking the Pioneer Women of Detroit for
selling $10,000 worth of Bonds during the past few
months . . . A congregation exceeding 1,200 attended
the Thanksgiving morning services at the Shaarey
Zedek. Rabbi Morris Adler delivered the sermon and
Cantor J. H. Sonenklar officiated . . . At the Thanks-
giving services at the Bnai Moshe, Rabbis Moses Fischer
and Jacob Nathan delivered the sermons and Cantor
David Katzman recited prayers and Psalms.
Coining Events
Dec. 7—Monthly meeting of Detroit section,• Na-
tional Council of Jewish Women, 12:30 P. M., at
Jewish Center. Speaker, Dr. B. Benedict Glazer.
Dec. 8—Hanukah concert at Jewish Center.
Dec. 10—Hanukah festival of Zionist Organization
of Detroit, at the Shaarey Zedek.
Dec. 25-27—National conference of Jewish Na-
tional Fund of America, at Book Cadillac Hotel.
Jewish Casualties In African Action
War Department Issues List the Center Task Force in the
North African operation, in re-
of Jewish Dead; Heroes
cognition of "demonstrated lead-
Listed in Canada
ership in action in the vicinity
WASHINGTON (JPS) — The
War Department has issued a list
of soldiers who are casualties of
the Middle Eastern forces, whose
death was reported prior to the
present operations in North
Africa.
The men who gave their liVes
include: Sgt. Oscar L. Rosen-
berger, of Vevay, Ind., Lt. Henry
Paul Elias, Spartanburg, S. C.,
Sgt. Julius L. Kleiman, New
York City, Maj. Alex Sam Cap-
lan, Seattle, Lt. Howard L.
Stern, San Mateo, Calif., and Isi-
dore Joseph Gengler, Beloit, Kan.
The War Department also an-
nounced a series of battlefield
promotions made by Maj.-Gen.
Lloyd Fredendall, commander of
up, all tend to make your paper
one of the best, if not the best,
weekly in the country."—Dr.
Bernard Heller, 500 Riverside
Drive, New York, former director
of Hillel Foundation at Univer-
sity of Michigan, author of-. "The
Odyssey of a Faith."
"Thank you for your coopera-
tion in helping us make a suc-
ces of our recent fund-raising
event."—Mrs. Schare, Infant Ser-
vice Group.
"We appreciate the account of
our 20th anniversary banquet .. .
and your editorial comment"—
Charles T. Gellman, president,
Young Israel of Detroit.
of Oran." Jacob Shapiro, Boston,
was promoted from captain to
major on this list.
Canadian Jews List Heroes
MONTREAL (JPS) — Serving
the same purpose of demonstrat-
ing Jewish participation in the
fighting forces as is performed
in the Honor Roll issued for
America by the Jewish Welfare
Board, the War Efforts Commit-
tee of the Canadian Jewish Con-
gress has begun to issue regular
lists of Canadian Jews render-
ing distinguished service to their
country's army and navy.
Non-Jewish Group
Found Hiding Scrolls
LONDON (JPS)—An organiza-
tion of non-Jews, whose purpose
it was to hide and safeguard Jew-
ish Scrolls of the Law taken from
the synagogues of the cities from
which the Jews had been exiled,
has been discovered in Belgium,
according to the pro-Nazi Het
Volk, published in Antwerp. The
paper states that 28 Scrolls were
found hidden in the home of a
peasant in a village near Char-
leroi.