- Friday, July 2, 1943

THE 'JEWISH NEWS

Reform Rabbis Disavow
Anti-Zionist 'Council'

Name 4 Detroiters
To Vaad Harashi
Of U.S. Mizrachi

.

Parley of Central Conference of American Rabbis Declares
Zionism and Reform Judaism Are Compatible;
Anti-NegrO - Rhiti . in Detroit. Condemned

NEW YORK (JPS)—Goaded by the "growing threat"
to fellowship in the Central Conference of American Rabbis
'and expressing "shock'-' at. the rise \ of the Council at this
time, the Conference, organization of Reform rabbis, went
on record at its 54th annual meeting here as demanding
-the termination of the anti-Zionist American Council for

Judaism.
- At the same time, the Confer-
ence passed a resolution declar-
ing that there is '"no essential
incompatibility between Reform
'Judaism. and Zionism." The ad-
vocates of the Zionist ideal with-
in the Conference outnumbered
the others in the voting, 3 to 1.
The passage of these two reso-
lutions was the highlights of the
five-day sessions, which culmin-
ated in the election of Rabbi Sol-.
omon B. Freehof of Pittsburgh as
president of the .Central Confer-
ence to succeed Rabbi James G.
Heller of Cincinnati. Dr. Abba
Hillel Silver of . Cleveland was
:elected vice-president.
Evoke Bitter Debate
" The twin resolutions; one di-
rected at the anti-Zionist- schism
within' the Conference and the
other bluntly repudiating an im-
pression that Reform Jewish
"universalism" was in opposition
to Zionist "particularism," evoked
the most bitter debate that the
Conference has known in years.
A round table on "Compatibil-
ity of Zionism with Reform
Judaism" had Rabbis William
Fineshriber of Philadelphia and
Hyman Schachtel of New York
presenting the anti-Zionist side
and Rabbis Felix Levy, Chicago,
and David Polish, Cleveland, of-
fering the Zionist point of view.
The outcome of the debate
might have constituted a rebuke
to Lessing Rosenwald, Philadel-
phia industrialist, who, at the
same time was presenting the
anti-Zionist viewpoint of the
American Council for Judaism in
Life magazine.
Submits Resolution_ -
Rabbi Freehof submitted the
resolution asking for the disso-
lution of the American Council.
A minority report was offered
by Rabbi Samuel Goldenson, of
New . York's Temple Emanu-El,
who was Rabbi Freehof's pre-
decessor at Pittsburgh. As soon
as it became evident that a
majority of the delegates, the
largest number ever to attend a
Conference, were in favor of the
"termination" resolution, oppon-
ents began to offer emasculating
amendments.
This procedure so offended Dr.
-Stephen S. Wise that he rose to
warn the Council advocates that
if they did not Permit the major-
ity to express their point of view
on this "mild" resolution, he
would see that a "really Zionist"
resolution was voted upon by the
Conference.
Observers noticed that although
a Zionist flag was on • the dais
at the opening session, it had dis-
appea•ed at subsequent sessions.
No explanation was offered.
Joint Resolution
An appeal to the conscience of
•the civilized world on behalf of
the Jews of Europe was adopted
in a joint resolution of the Cen-
tral Conference and the Rab-
binical Assembly. The resolution
asked that "bolder and "larger
scale efforts be undertaken forth-
with for the deliverance of Jews
from Nazi-dominated lands and
for providing havens of asylum

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• ,

Deny Dr. Wise Quit

DR. SOLOMON FREEHOF

.

.

His Rabbinical Post

NEW YORK •( JP S ) —Bec a use
its previous announcements on
the subject were not clear, di-
rectors of the • Free Synagogue
have emphasized that Dr. Ste-
phen S. Wise has not resigned
as rabbi but has taken "a par-
tial leave of absence" and will
preach during the Holydays and
"once monthly during the year
and at such other times as he
may 'desire," Confusion h a d
arisen becatfse it NAN& originally
stated that Rabbi .E6;ward E.
Klein would be "in. char* ofi the"
pulpit."

for them in neutral and Allied
countries." It also urged that "tlie
doors of Palestine be opened -to
homeless Jews, in accordance
with the pledged word of the
nations of the world."
The opening of the Conference
sessions on June 22 was high-
lighted by the address of retir-
ing President Rabbi James G.
Heller, who reviewed the prob-
lems that had arisen in the 16
months since the last convention.
His speech included a demand
for the abrogation of the White
Paper, swift aid to the Jews of
Europe by the United Nations
and the creation of a special cere-
mony in the Day of Atonement
services on October 9 for mourn-
ing and intercession for the Jews
of Europe.
Unity Imperative
Urging the dissolution of the
Council for Judaism, a sugges-
tion later acted upon by the Con-
ference in its resolution; Rabbi
Heller declared that "at a time
when Jewish unity is imperative,
when we must school ourselves
to estimate differences of opinion
at their true importance, some
of us have chosen to precipitate
an intestine conflict and to per-
sist in it despite reiterated ap-
peals to desist."
The following day's Sessions
heard reports by chairmen of
committees and also included two .
unique sessions, in the form of
joint meetings in the afternoon
and evening with the members
of the Rabbinical Assembly, Con-
servative body, meeting in New
York at the same time.
Detroit Riots- Condemned
Taking action promptly on re-
ceipt of news of the bloody riots
against Negroes in Detroit, the
Central Conference unanimously
endorsed a resolution presented
by Dr. Silver of Cleveland. The
text, in part, will be found on
the first page of this issue.
At the closing session; a reso-
lution was adopted courageously
attacking the Congress of th"
United States for its action in
enacting and over-riding the
Presidential veto of the Connally-
Smith Anti-Strike Bill.

Conservative Rabbis
Denounce White Paper .
NEW YORK (JPS)—At the
close of its 43rd annual conven.-

Four Detroiters have been hon-
ored by appointment to the Vaad
Harashi, the National Council of
the Mizrachi Organization of Am-
erica.
, They are: Irving W. Schlussel,
president of the local Mizrachi
organization, Daniel Temchin,
Meyer Beckman and Jacob Lev-
in. Rabbi Isaac Stollnian was
again chosen a member of the
Vaad Hapoel, the chief govern-
ing body of Mizrachi.

Page Seven

Fred Butzel Again Appointed
To Race Relations Committee

Eminent Student of Social Problems Among 12 Selected
By Mayor Jeffries to Probe Riots; Was Named
By Smith for Similar Job in 1926

Fred M. Butzel, eminent stu-
dent of Social problems who is
recognized as one of the out-
standing leaders in Michigan,
was appointed by Mayor Jeffries
as a member of the committee of
12 which is . to investigate the
causes of the race riots. There are
six white persons and six Ne-
groes on this committee.
In 1926, Mr. Butzel was ap-
M. Shubow Visits City
pointed a member of the Com-
In Interest of Seminary mittee on Race Relations, ap-
pointed at that time -by Mayor
M. Shubow of Miami, Fla., a John W. Smith to investigate the
former Detroiter, is in Detroit race difficulties which occurred
for a brief stay in the interests
of the Jewish Teachers' Seminary
and People's University of New
York. The People's University
has recently acquired a new
15uilding in New York and has
launched a bi-lingual publishing
project in Yiddish and. English.

tion here, the Rabbinical Assem-
bly of America, attended by 200
Conservative rabbis, adopted a
series of resolutions which de-
nounced the White Paper on Pal-
estine, urged the United Nations
to take swift means of saving
European Jewry "from their ex-
ecutioners and warned against a
peace based on the desire for
revenge although asking that "the
perpetrators of the inhumanities
committed by the Axis nations
against civilian populations be
tried by international courts and
punished."
. The Rabbinical Assembly' con-
vention, rent by no such contro-
versies as marked the sessions of
the Reform rabbis - held at the
same time, re-elected Rabbi Louis
M. Levitsky of Newark as presi-
dent. Dr. Robert Gordis of Rock-
away Park, L. I., was re-elected
vice-president.
High hopes for the American
Jewish Conference were expres-
sed at one of the sessions by Dr.
Gordis, who described it as "the
last stand and final hope for the
preservation of Jewish rights in
the post-war world.
Rabbi David Aaronson of Min-
neapolis asserted , that the first
demand of the Jews in the post-
-war world must be an "official
place." His four-point program
offered to the Assembly demand-
ed the right of the Jews to repre-
sentation as a people; an interna-
tional rehabilitation commission
with a Jewish secretariat to pro-.
vide for special Jewish problems
in the reconstruction of Europe;
a liberal policy of immigration
in all countries; and `Palestine
must become the Jewish Home-
land where immigration will be
regulated by the Jewish Agency."
During the four-day gathering
reports were presented - on Jew-
ish chaplainS in the armed forces,
trends in Jewish education, with
special reference to adult study
groups and soldier groups.
The resolutions pasSed by the
Assembly declared that "closing
Palestine to further Jewish im-
migration at the end of May,
1944" is a "breach of the pledged
word not only of Great Britain
but also of the 52 nations who
were signatories to the mandate."

MICHIGAN'S LARGEST
FLORSHEIM. DEALER

eni

67;

BORSHEIM

2231 - 35 Woodward Next to Fox Theatre
Open Evenings

Episcopal Church, was vice-chair-
man of the -committee, and Dr.
E. A. Carter, physician, was sec-
retary.

It is interesting to record that
the recommendations then urged
improvement of housing for Ne-
groes and made other proposals
similar to the eight-point pro-
gram now advanced by R. J.
Thomas.

Center Holds Second
`AP Dance Saturday

The Jewish Community Center
will hold the second in the series
of Victory dances, Saturday eve-
ning, 9:30 p. m. to 1 a. in., July
3, in the Outdoor COurt of the
Center.

The Court has been decorated
with trellises and shrubbery.
There will be special enter-
tainment and dancing to record-
ings.

Pioneer Women Send
$100,000 to Palestine

FRED M. BUTZEL

during the Summer and Fall of
1925. Mr. Butzel was chairman
of the cornmission's sub-commA-
tee on business and thrift.
The survey for the committee
of 1926 was made by the Detroit
Committee for Governmental Re-
search. Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr,
then pastor of the Bethel Evan-
gelical Church in Detroit, now
professor of applied christianity
at Union Theological Seminary of
New York, was chairman of the
committee selected by Mayor
Smith in 1926. Bishop William T.
Vernon of the African Methodist

Men's Wear

The $100,000 mark has been
reached by the Pioneer Women's
Organization in its transmission
to its sister organization in Pal-
estine, the Working Women's
Council, it was announced in New
York by the national secretary,
Miss Dvorah Rothbard. This sum,
raised by the clubs since the be-
ginning of the fiscal year, Oct. 1,
is over and above monies raised
for other American and Pales-
tinian funds.

=--
-=—BROTHERS

Made to Measure and
Ready to Wear

Open •
Evenings

DEXTER
of WEBB

N

DO• • • •

Have Doctor
Check-up!

Many serious illnesses can be
avoided by regular physical
check-up. Twice a year for
children; once a year for adults
is wise. Make your appoint-
ment in advance—to save yOur
doctor's time and your own
waiting..

PRESCRIPTIONS

And when your doctor prescribes,
bring the prescription to your
nearest Cunningham's Drug Store.
Our registered pharmacists will
follow his instructions with absolute
exactitude.

