Page Four
THE JEWISH NEWS
THE JEWISH NEWS
Friday, January 15, 1943
"Der Plunderbund" Un-American
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 Photo Service.
Published every Friday by Jewish News Publishing Co., 2114
Penobscot Bldg., Detroit, Mich. Telephone, RAndolph 7956. Sub-
scription rate, $3 a year; foreign, $4 a year. Club subscription of one
issue a month, published every fourth Friday in the month, to all
subscribers to Allied Jewish Campaign of Jewish Welfare Federa-
tion of Detroit, at 50 cents a club subscription per year.
Entered as second-class matter August 6, 1942, at the Post
Office at Detroit, Michigan, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
How To Pray
By RABBI FREDERIC A.
DOPPELT
Prayer seems to achieve per-
sonal regeneration; and it is pre-
cisely against this very aim of
prayer that we fight. For it is
part of human nature to resist
what it resents. We resent the
sugges,... ---, that we have sinned;
therefore, N. resist the sugges-
tion that we ought to change.
We reject any thought of self-
blame; hence, we object to the
thought of self-criticism. As a
result, when we pray, we engage
in offstage soliloquies, much like
those in Eugene O'Neill's drama,
"Mourning Becomes Electra."
MAURICE H. SCHWARTZ and PHILIP SLOMOVITZ, Publishers
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
MAURICE ARONSSON
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
FRED M. BUTZEL
ISIDORE SOBELOFF
THEODORE LEVIN
ABRAHAM SRERE
MAURICE H. SCHWARTZ
HENRY WINEMAN
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ, Editor
VOL. 2—NO. 13
The Weekly
Sermonette
JANUARY 15, 1943
This Week's Scriptural Portions:
This Sabbath, the tenth day of Shevat, the following
Scriptural selections will be read in our synagogues: Penta-
teuchal portion, Ex. 10:1-13:16; Prophetical portion, Jer.
46:13-28.
We pray: Guard my tongue
from evil. But aside we say: Not
my tongue, 0 God, needs guard-
ing; it is my friend's tongue that
needs it badly. We pray: Keep
my lips from speaking guile.
Aside we say: Not my lips, 0
God; it is the lips of my neigh-
bor
that speak guile. We pray:
GUEST EDITORIAL
I have dealt perversely. But
aside we say: Not I, 0 God; it is
"Victory for Brotherhood" is the slogan adopted by
my competitor who deals per-
the National Conference of Christians and Jews for the
versely. In short, prayer speaks
By RABBI LEON FRAM
to us in the first person, and we
observance of annual Brotherhood Week, which has this
Temple Israel, Detroit
pray in the third person. The
year been set for the week of Washington's Birthday,
It
is
Feb. 19 to 28. The slogan has been so well received that
a relatively young organization—the National content of our prayers, there-
has no point of contact
President Roosevelt welcomes it in his statement which Council of Jewish Welfare Federations, meeting in Cleve- fore,
with the intent of our hearts.
reads:
land this week-end—yet it has achieved an enormous The result is that most of our
The perpetuation of democracy depends upon the
prestige and it wields a powerful influence in every Jew- prayers go unprayed. We recog-
practice of the brotherhood of man. The American con-
nize the need of moral change
viction in war and in peace has been that man finds his
ish community in the United States.
in others; but prayer bids us
freedom only when he shares it with others. People of every
Ostensibly its function is limited. It brings together commune with our own souls and
nation, every race, every creed are able to live together
as Americans on this basis.
obligations from Jewish Funds and Chests and Federa- summons us to purify our hearts.
The Editor
Views the News -
Annual Brotherhood Week
The Prestige of Social Service
We are fighting for the right of men to live together as
members of one family rather than as masters and slaves.
We are fighting that the spirit of brotherhood which we
prize in this country may be practiced here and by free men
everywhere. It is our promise to extend such brotherhood
earthwide which gives hope to all the world.
The war makes the appeal of Brotherhood Week
stronger than ever.
I commend to all our citizens the observance of Bro-
therhood Week, February 19-28, 1943. I like the slogan
"Victory for Brotherhood." I trust that the 'call of the
National Conference of Christians and Jews to affirm anew
the religious principles of understanding, justice, friendli-
ness, and cooperation on which the realization of brother-
hood rests will be heeded across the land by those of every
occupation and religious allegiance. It is the application of
these principles that makes our country united and strong.
The nationwide character of the current celebration
of Brotherhood Week is properly reflected in this cele-
bration from the White House. Victory on the battlefields,
on the seas and in the air will be ineffective unless there
is victory also for brotherhood among all Americans and
for the American ideal of justice for all. The National
Conference of Christians and Jews qualifies the Presi-
dent's statement with the declaration that among
Americans "Forms of abuse and quarreling which lead
to overt hostilities are ruled out because we are, and must
continue to be, 'one nation indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all.' This is the American Dream."
If observance of Brotherhood Week will contribute
in some measure to the effort for the perpetuation of this
Dream, then the ideals of the Christian-Jewish alliance
for justice will be brought nearer to reality. It is to be
hoped that all elements in our population will share in
this great effort.
The Late Dr. Arthur Ruppin
Dr. Arthur Ruppin was the father of agricultural
colonization in Palestine. He was the founder of the colony
of Dagania and the collaborator with the late Menahem
Ussishkin in the purchase of the Emek Jezreel.
His will had provided that he be interred either in
Jerusalem or in Dagania, and history will record with
pride the fact that his family had selected the latter be-
cause he had helped create this important Jewish, colony.
Detroiters who knew him well cherish his memory
because he had led them to deeper devotion to Palestine
and to an appreciation of the great values inherent in the
establishment of a Jewish National Home in Eretz Israel.
His friends admired him for his learning, for his efficiency
and courage. He was one of the great men of our time.
Tel Aviv's Miraculous Growth
When the all-Jewish city of Tel Aviv was founded in
1909, it comprised 150 dunams—approximately 40 acres
of land. Today its size is 6,300 dunams and the city has
a population of nearly 200,000 Jews. Last week Mayor
Israel Rokach made known the significant news that by
order of the High Commissioner of Palestine, following
many years of effort by the municipality, Tel Aviv's size
will be doubled to a new area of 12,650 dunams. This is
encouraging news pointing to uninterrupted expansion of
Jewish land-holdings in Eretz Israel.
tions throughout the country for an exchange of ideas on
fund-raising. Actually, however, it is capable of making
weighty decisions afecting every phase of Jewish life.
The fact is that ultimately every expression, every
movement, every aspiration of Jewish life must resort to
fund raising. Religion, social service, Zionism, overseas
relief, culture, defense work, and educa-
tion, must all seek financial support. The
Federation way has proven to be the best
way of raising funds. Consequently, this
National Council as well as the local Fed-
erations, have evolved into a remarkably
unifying force in Jewry.
This power for good which the Fed-
eration group now exercises would be con-
Rabbi Fram
siderably enhanced if its members could
avoid overspecialization. In a business civilization so much
prestige can attach to the sheer "business end" of the
community life that a group of Jews may be developed
who set high standards of giving but who do not otherwise
participate in Jewish life. Perhaps we ought to welcome
such a specialized group as a blessing. We are all psycho-
logists enough to know, however, that unless the act of
giving is rooted in an emotional self-identification with
the cause for which the gift is offered, the act of giving
itself is bound to wither away.
The men and women of the Federation groups must
meet squarely the responsibility which the prestige of their
organization entails. They ought not to be satisfied with
being mere fund raisers. They should become personally
involved in the "why"•as well as in the "how" of Jewish
community life. The "why" is the Jewish spirit—the Jew-
ish faith as expressed in the synagogue, Jewish culture as
nourished by the Jewish school, the Jewish will-to-survive
which must motivate the community organization as a
whole.
The Labor Zionist Effort
Labor Zionists have earned a position of first rank in
the movement for Palestine's redemption. The Histadruth,
the Jewish Federation of Labor, having enrolled a mem-
bership far in excess of 100,000, is today the strongest
single group in the Jewish Natipnal Home. The work of
the National Labor Committee for Palestine in this
country, also known as the Gewerkshaften, has therefore
rightfully earned the wide support it is receiving from the
masses of the Jews of America.
Detroit has acquired an outstanding position in
Gewerkshaften efforts in this country. The opening of the
current drive, on Jan. 24, will be an occasion for renewed
educational activities to enlighten our community on the
achievements of the labor group in Palestine. Especially
now, - with the Histadruth playing an important role in
the war effort in the Middle and Near East, the work
made possible with funds raised by the Gewerkshaften
is of great significance in effecting proper support for the
United Nations as well as in guaranteeing uninterrupted
activities in the upbuilding of Eretz Israel. We are con-
fident that Detroit's response to the Gewerkshaften drive
will be as liberal this year as it has been in the past.
Military Record
Of Jews in U. S.
Revealed in Book
The U. S. Destroyer John Ord-
roneaux which slid down the
ways at San Diego, Calif., last
week bears a Jewish name. This
and other little known facts, con-
cerning the contribution of Jews
to American military history, are
revealed in a new book, "Jews in
American Wars" by J. George
Fredman and Louis A. Falk, pub-
lished by the Jewish War Vet-
erans of the U. S.
Commander Ordroneau was a
Jew of French descent who
served in the American Navy
during the War of 1812. The
reputation for fearlessness and
bravery which he established
made him one of the most popu-
lar heroes of his day—a popular-
ity which he shared with his co-
religionist a n d contemporary,
Commodore Uriah P. Levy.
The military record of Jews
has kept pace with the growth of
the United States, according to
"Jews in American Wars." At the
outbreak of the Revolutionary
War, though there were less than
3,000 Jews in the colonies, more
than 300 or ten per cent served
in Washington's armies.
In the first World War, though
Jews constituted approximately 3
per cent of the American popula-
tion, about 41/2 per cent of the
men in the army and the navy
were Jewish. Nearly 250,000 men
of the Jewish faith served in
World War I. In World War II,
though it is far too early to estab-
lish any statistics, there is every
indication that this high ratio is
being maintained.
There were two generals and
one admiral of the Jewish faith
in the last war. Today there are
at least five generals and one ad-
miral. The generals are Maj.-
Gen. Irving J. Phillipson, Maj.-
Gen. Samuel Lawton, Brig.-Gen.
Julius Ochs Adler, Brig.-Gen.
Lubonoff and Brig.-Gen. John B.
Rose. The admiral is Ben Moreel,
cis ief of the Bureau of Docks and
Yards.