THE JEWISH NEWS

Page Two

Strictly
Confidential

By PHINEAS J. BIRON

(Copyright, 1943,.Sevcn Arts Feature
Syndicate)

YOU SHOULD KNOW

Here's revealing quotation from John
Roy Carlson's "Under Cover" which ex-
plains much about the anti-Semitic dise
orders in Boston . . . Francis P. Moran,
fuehrer of the New England Christian
Front, gave this advice to Carlson: "The
only thing you can do now, of course, is
to talk about Communism and the Jews
. . . You can't touch the war . . . A whis-
pering campaign is the best thing now
. . . They'd have a hell of a time tracing
it . . . Mrs. Murphy tells Mrs. Duffy, and
she tells Mrs. O'Toole, who tells it to
Mrs. Smith . . . Yes, these women can
Certainly dish it out, and by the time
they end up they've got something
which everybody believes . . It's the
safest thing to work nowadays . . . The
movement has friends all over the city--j
a. lot of people here think the way I do."
A new smear campaign is being pre-
pared against the Jewish movie moguls
of Hollywood . . This time the issue
will be "pro-Communist propaganda" ...
The main targets will be the : Wainer.
brothers and Samuel Goldwyn e-- all. of
whom, incidentally, are idnatiCally e anti-
Communist . . . The "evidence" against
them will be their :prbdtietion of films --
about Russia that don't knock our Soviet
allies. _
*
*
• *
THIS AND - THAT -
Broadway's - Lee Strasberg, we -hear, is -
about to desert that famed street for
Hollywood, to become a movie director
. We congratulate Hollywood, but
▪
hope he doesn't stay away from the
theater too long.
Moss Hart's Air Force Show, "Winged
Victory," has had its out- of-town 'open-
ing, and is being acclaimed as a mastere
piece . . . Particular mention is given • to
the sets, which are the work of Sergeant
Harry Horner . . . Horner, if you remem-
her, came. to this .Country only a few
years ago as a •member of the entourage
of the late Max. Reinhardt, -_who discov-
ered him in Vienna . . On his deathbed,
by• the way, -Reinhardt - eifiressed a de-
sire to be buried in. Palestine . . Meyer
Weisgal tells us that after the war this
••-
last wish shall be fUlfilled.'. e.
*
*
WEEKLY GIGGLE
The Nazis, the news reports tell us,
are trying to clamp the lid on what they
call "political jokes" by outlawing them
. . But that can't stop the most prolific
source of anti-Nazi humor—the grape ,
vine . . . From it, for example, Harry
Hershfield recently culled the 'story of
the Jew who somehow Managed to get
into a Berlin radio station and begged
the announcer for an opportunity to ad-
dress the world over the air waves . . .
Finally the announcer gave . in to his
pleading to the extent of permitting him
to say just one word over the radio • . .
"But remember, only one word," he
warned the Jew—who then rushed over
to the mike and at the top of his lungs
shouted: "Help!!" . • . From this mono-
syllabic punch-line •it's . an easy transi-
tion to the anecdote of the two Berliners
who, huddled together in an air raid
shelter, got into a conversation and
pretty soon were swapping jokes
Han's tales, however, were all rather
long-winded, and Fritz finally remarked
Upon this trait . .. "Don't you know any
shorter jokes?" he asked . . . "Sure," re-
plied Hans. "I even know the shortest
joke in the world—but I'll have to whis-
per it to you" . . . And, so softly that no
Gestapo agent could hear, Hans told
Fritz: ."We'll win the war."

Quotation of the Week

"The cry of nations and their peoples for assistance in the first
hours of liberation will dc-mooracy with a supreme test. The
fate of all United Nations' e..:Iors to assure a world of security and
of lasting peace may well be largely influenced by the success of this,
their first joint action in relief and rehabilitation. This work of pre-
venting death by starvation and epidemic, and of making it possible
for peoples through their own efforts to solve their own long-range
problems transcends the realm of political allegiances and can give
full expression to the highest principles and instincts of all peoples.

"We have been called upon twice within the span of a lifetime to
devise a peace in which all men can live in freedom from fear and
want. We failed once. We dare not fail again.

Friday, November 19, 1943

Between
You and Me

.

By BORIS SMOLAR

(Copyright. 1943. J.T.A., Inc.)

BEHIND THE SCENES

The American Jewish Conference may
soon issue a statement which will come
as quite a blow to the groups which
have branched out from the Committee
for a Jewish Army ..

Jewish leaders are especially incensed
at the Emergency Committee to Save
the Jews of Europe because of the fact
"To the great goal of helping to meet the tasks which confront us
that this committee was responsible for
the introduction of a resolution in the
I pledge my devoted energies. With the full cooperation of this council
Senate, and in the House which urges
and the governments which it represents I am confident that together
the creation of a special commission to
we shall succeed."
plan the rescue of Jews in Nazi Europe
. . . Excellent as this resolution may
—FORMER GOVERNOR HERBERT H. LEHMAN, in Address
seem, important American Jewish lead-
Accepting post as General Director of United Nations
ers consider it harmful . . . In fact, we
Relief and Re, abilitation Administration.
understand that Senator Gillette who in-
troduced this resolution in the Senate ;
was• asked by well-known Jewish lead ,
ers to abstain from doing so . So was
Rep. Will Rogers Jr. before he intro
duced the resolution in the House . . .
Both preferred, however, to act on the
advice of the _Emergency Committee and
against the will of the American Jewish
By
DAVID
DEUTSCH
By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ,
Congress, the American Jewish Confer,
(Copyright, 1943, Independenl
ence, and others . . • In terming this res ,
DETROIT'S "POWDER KEG"
Jewish Press Service,
olution harmful, Jewish leaders indicate
. Independent Jewish Press - Service, in a PRIVATE LINE
that important negotiations are now go-
news .release. issued last week, made much•
Why are several Yiddish scribes so ing on behind the scenes in official
of our . editorial. "Detroit in ..the Lime,
grumpy
about Ben Hecht? His heart is Washington which may bring tangible
light"; in which We claimed that there are --
the
right
place. We venture that it is results as far as saving the Jews of Eu-
"gross exaggerations" in evaluating this
writer's
jealousy.
Hecht's ad-epistles to rope . . . But these_negotiations, in which
city's position.. as •the "center!'e-of anti-
the State Department is involved, may
American Jewry are quite popular.
Semitic •
• -
- •
be hampered as a result of the Gillette-
Eddie
Cantor
and
George
Jessel
are
on
Those living outside of • Detroit may
Rogers resolution, they claim . . At any
jump on.the bandwagon of the critics who the Indian trail, the feud is hot but not rate, members of both houses of Con-
May take .us to task for such a view. without humor. Says Georgie: "It's all gress, as well as high Washington offi-
What, hbWever, is the attitude of because Eddie tells more lies than I do, clias, now have in their hands for the
except that his are true."
Detroiters? . - .
first time information as to the exact na-
*
*
*
Here, too; we are certain; opinion is
ture of the groups which have branched
divided__ There are many who . believe SICK LEAVE
out from the Committee for a Jewish
that a new wave of anti-Semitism will be
Jerome Weidman, "I'll Get It for You Army . And this information will soon
felt here real soon. Others, their Wholesale," broke his arm while pitch- be made available to the public.
calmness; adhere to • the view that we ing a baseball. Now, he will not be able
*
*
*
should accept the present quietude as an to write for several weeks. And he can't
indication that all is well in : .gasolene get a stenographer because of the labor THE JEWISH FRONT
alley.
shortage.
A delegation of American Jews may
*
*
Jack Benny isn't sick, but this item soon proceed to Russia . . . It will be
THE FACTS, PLEASE!
tells of his talk about sickness. Says composed of .persons interested in estab-
Your commentator desires to be guided Jack Benny: on his recent tour. of the lishing direct contact with the . Jews of
only by facts, and on - the basis, of actual Middle East he had breakfast in Turkey, Russia, and may include even a rabbi.
experiences reiterates the ,statement that dinner in Egypt and dysentery in Pales-
The ideological split in the ranks of
Detroit is • no more a "powder keg" than tine—"all in one day." Why didn't you
Reform rabbis is becoming dangerously
Cleveland or Boston • or Chicago' or Phila- .eat at Tel Aviv, Jack?
wide . . . Serious differences are report-
delphia or New York. -
* *
*
ed in San Francisco, Houston and other
The truth is that Detroit, ' in spite of WAR ITEMS—
cities . . . And all is not well even in the
having, given birth to Fordian anti-
Danny Kaye has
e,jected. 4-F. ranks of the Reform rabbinate in New
Semitism, to Coughlinian hatred and to
G. L. K. Smith rabble-rousing has, never- They say he's heartb -,1`..en and already York.
theless, emerged with less serious conse- has requested that he be booked for
quences than the other cities mentioned. appearances at army bases abroad . . .
Just because a few anti-Semites were The Great Goldwyn's 17-year-old son is
enlisting .. . Ralph Cohen, the Columbia
candidates for office 'here is no proof,
producer, has been drafted. Limited
An Independent Jewish Press Service
therefore, that antiSemitism is rampant.
Editorial Comment
On the contrary, the fact that a rabid anti- service. He wears a hearing device . . .
Semite polled a handful of votes proves Milton Bracker, New York Times' war
Fortune
Magazine
concludes as a re-
correspondent,
covered
Zionist
affairs
in
that Americans—even those who have
a number of years. sult of its latest sampling of public
listened to Coughlin on home soil--do not New York for quite
* * *
opinion that there are "fascistic tenden-
fall so easily as prey to hatred for the
WASHINGTON
CALLING—
cies" among the American people. This
People Israel.
We see by the papers that Secretary is revealed in the answers given to a
(Incidentally, we were right in stating
editorially that one of the candidates, of the Treasury Morgenthau is com- question, "Are there any groups of peo-
who was listed by an I.J.P.S. news re- pleting a. tour of countries in the Pales- ple you think are trying to get ahead at
lease as an anti-Semite, was just a politi- tine belt, and that former Asst. Sec'y. of the expense of people like you?"
cal vote-seeker who attended a G. L. K. the Interior Abe Fortas soon will be on
Of those asked, 32% replied "yes" and
his way on a U. S. mission to Saudi of this number 21 % stated that Jews
Smith meeting here.)
*
*
Arabia. Whether their terms of reference, stand in their way. Applying this pro-
so to speak, include such study or not, portion to the entire popUlation of the
DANGER IMMINENT EVERYWHERE
There is just one basic truth to remem- they should try to learn something about country, it would mean that nearly 7%
or 10,000,000 people have some sort of
ber about the evidence of a rising anti- Jewish Palestine.
Two Broadwayites, having . heard so' anti-Semitic prejudice.
Semitic movement in this country!
Hatred is not limited to Boston or New much about Bernard Baruch's outdoor
It is doubtful whether the result of
York, and is not the exclusive gift of the "office," wrote him a letter addressed: this particular survey is - an accurate
elements of terrorism to the city of De- Bernard Baruch, % Park Bench number barometer of the extent of anti-Semit-
troit. When prejudice becomes rampant 1, Washington, D. C. The letter arrived ism in the United States. The nature of
without delay.
it affects all of us.
* * *
the question put by the interrogators is
Therefore, we must recognize it as a
such as to suggest to many a simple, way
P.
S.
nation-wide menace, to be fought every-
Is it true that the publicity given to to cover up their own shortcomings by
where with equal skill and not to be
Congressman
Celler's utterances on Jew- blaming the Jews. But the alarming
arrogated to a local fight in Detroit.
ish
questions
have some other Jewish spread of "fascistic tendencies" masked
If we overlook this fact, we fall back
congressman
green
with envy? Our ad- in the guise of outright anti-Semitism is
upon a convenient scapegoat and then
By THEODORE LESSING
vice to the envious is—one should choose evident on the surface and presents a se-
may suffer serious consequences.
(Editor's Note: The author of this brief state-
rious threat not only to the Jewish com-
Our people everywhere have a right to between popularity with his own people
ment the late Prof. Theodore Lessing, was a
munity but to the entire American way
convert - to Christianity who returned to the Jew-
and
toasts
to
Saudi-Arabian
oil
dealers.
ask whether those who claim priorities in
ish fold shortly before the advent of Nazism. He
of life. It is a problem which demands
the fight on anti-Semitism are doing any-
escaped to Czechoslovakia and there was brutal-
first call upon the attention of the re-
ly murdered by the Nazis.)
thing about it, whether they are conduct- rabble-rousers will again play a devilish
sponsible leadership of American Jewry.
`Who are you? Perhaps the son of the
ing studies in the matter, or whether they role in spreading hate against our people.
It will not respond to the customary sac-
nervous Jewish tradesman Nathan. No!
have been lulled into a sweet sleep dur-
Some of our "leaders" will be hushing
charine treatment of good will speeches
Judah Maccabi was your father, Queen
ing a period of prosperity, which may be up issues instead of bringing problems
and backstage manipulation. The men-
Esther your mother! From you, from you
only a prelude to real danger when the right out in the open as a challenge to all
al;- ,ne the chain reaches back, even
blessed day of money-making is over.
Americans; and some "leaders" will find i ace is real and it can be averted only by
a courageous and realistic program of .
though some of its links may be weak,
the usual scapegoats in our own ranks as
to Saul and David and Moses. They are SOME PREDICTIONS
a means of whitewashing their inactivity. action.
present at all times. They always ex-
As a take-off on a famous radio corn-
There are many allies whom we can
The rise of - anti_Semitism CAN he
isted and may return tomorrow.
mentator, here are some of your own stopped—provided we have frank and draw to our side in this struggle. All
"Do you bear an unclean heritage Commentator's predictions:
open discussion of the issues and do not Americans who cherish the institutions
Yourself? Well, cleanse it again.. Your
We may be due for trouble when this depend for defense on "hidden archives" of their country, the forces of religion
children will forgive • you for being a war is over, because the poison
where facts are being buried by those and labor, the friends of social progress,
child of your parents. Don't try to cheat accumulated before the war has not
not been who fail to understand the value of a can be Mobilized in a frontal attack to
Your fate, but follow it unto death. Be fully fumigated, and new poisons have frank challenge to our neighbors. But defeat the enemy on the home front. But
of good cheer. Through all the hell of been added to it.
Your Commentator retains faith in the Jews need not veil themselves in the
our human ego you can always get back
In the event of a new wave of anti- masses—that they will force fearless • fac- cloak of anonymity. Thy have a vital
to the haven of yourself, to your eter- Semitism. it will not be limited to Detroit ing of the proh177ms as the only approach stake to defend n , t only as Jews but as
nal people."
or Brooklyn or Boston, but former Detroit to danger by a . free people..
Americans as well.

Purely.
Commentary

Heard in
The Lobbies

-

The Menace Is Real

Who Are You?

-;444,=;..tck4v- oltitosig

, *mew** ipi:.irsoo

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