Page Two

THE JEWISH NEWS

Strictly
Confidential

"What-Again?

By PHINEAS J. B!RON

(Copyright. 1944, by Seven Arts
Feature Syndicate)

WE REPORT
Supreme- Court Justice•Frank Murphy,
who, as you know, is actively interested
in fighting anti-Semitism, recently told
a friend: "I am not pessimistic, but I am
very much worried . • . Despite all this
good will talk, anti-Semitism is on the
increase, and threatens to assume really
violent manifestations."
Associated Press has sent the Protest-
ant Textbook Commission a letter apolo-
gizing for the unfair treatment given in
an AP dispatch to the speech Represent
tative Curley made on the floor of the
House about Jewish heroism. in the war.
In response to a number of inquiries:
Yes, Walter • WinchelI is Jewish, 'and
never has denied it.
*
*
*
THE HARRYS HAVE IT
Harry • Richman, over-age for A r m y
service, is going overseas with a USO
entertainment unit . . . There he hopes
to run across his older brother, Lou, who
has been overseas with the Army for
quite some time now . . . Lou, who used
to run - a night. club on Broadway,. but
whose age • is not a matter • of public
knowledge the way brother Harry's is,
got into the Army by declaring he was
fifteen years younger than he actually is
. . And if you don't think it's an
achievement for a man of 59 to get away
with a fib like that, just try it when
you're rising 60. •
Harry Zarief, 'father "of those quadrup-
lets, is a musician, and so knows from
experience that managements important
for one (or foUr) in the public eye
. . . So • the quads - have been signed up
by an agency, which has already signed,
in their behalf, contracts mounting into
the tens: of thousands of dollars . . . On
the Zarief's home block, by the way, the
gossip is that the recent change of the
family name from Friedman to Zarief
was made on the advice of some New
York newspapermen, who- argued that
the name Friedman 'didn't lend itself to
national publicity.
Harry -Hershfield tells us- that. New
York State Supreme Court Justice Aaron
J. Levy was a close friend and traveling
companion of the late Jack London,
though you won't find this fact mention-
ed in any of the London biographies.

•

"What:---agairi? Why, I just bought a bond a couple of weeks ago."
"Yes, sir—again. And again, and again. Those boys of the AEF
who fought their way along the north coast of Africa did it a-gain in
Sicily. They did it again at Messina . . . and at Naples . . . and at
Anzio. They're doing it again and again and.again every day. There's
no discharge in the . war, .
"Yes,,sir-.---again. Our- marines who picked the Japs, like chiggers,
- one by one out of Guadalcanal , . and . Rendova . . . and New Guinea
... and Tarawa . are doing it again .day after day, night after - night,
again and again. There's no discharge in the war for 'them,' either.
"Nor for you, Mr. and Mrs. America. . Those boys need you . . .
again and again. Just as they did last time. Just as you need them
. .. again and again.
"The bands will Come•. later. Right now it's bonds. Again and
again!"

Between
You and Me

By BORIS SMOLAR

(Copyright, 1944, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)

POLITICAL TIPS
Zionist leaders in the United States
may be interested in a prediction made
in a semi-official British report which
reached here by airmail this week from
London . . . The report says the follow-
ing is likely to happen: "Palestine, de-
spite all it means to the Arabs, will be-
come largely a Jewish State, with a
paramount mandatory power remaining."
. . Another quotation from the same
report which deals with problems of the
Middle East reads: -"It is also possible
that a large financial compensation may
have to be paid to Arabs in the eventual
Palestine settlement" . . The report ad-
mits that "Englishrrien have a Special
liking for the. Arabs and have made big
promises to them" . . • At the_same time
it asserts that "it is imProbable
that the strong wave of Zionism will re-
cede" . . . Expecting Zionist presSure to
become stronger, the report says that the
Arabs must be compensated for what
they are likely to lose . . "And," fon-
eludes the report, "there is a way to do
this, though it also involves a policy con-
trary to many old-fashioned ideas"
Do these phrases -mean anything to in-,
terested leaders of the Jewish Agency?
Did you hear the latest definition of
the British. White Paper? . . . "A White
'Paper is a document issued 'by a govern-
ment .usually to conceal a dark deed."

INSIDE NAZILAND
There are about 180 American civilians
interned in camps in Germany, and 80 of
,them are Jews . .. The Jews are segre-
gated in a separate camp at Tittmining,
Upper Bavaria .. They are confined. in
an old dilapidated castle, with three-
By MARTIN DUCHOVNY
tiered bunks crowded into various rooms
as dormitories . . They sleep on straw
Nat Holinan, now turning out basket-
mattresses and pillows . . . Their food is
ball teams •as coach of City College, has
atrocious, but they are permitted to re-
been one of the best likd
and respected
ceive prisoners' food parcels through the
persons i in basketball .'since the days
International Red Cross . . . This may in-
when he was one of the stars of the
terest the War Refugee Board in Wash-
original .Celtics. • .
ington which is trying its best to rescue
No other race, Mr. Holman believes,
Jews from. Nazi Europe . . In addition
has been- so proficient in the game as
to the 80 American Jews,: there are sev-
the Jews. From the Stars of yesterday,
eral thousand Jews of Central and South
Barney Sedron and Morty Friedman, not
American nationalities interned by the
to mention Mr. Holman himself, to the
Nazis as enemy aliens who could be ex-
contemporary greats, Alvie Inngermano changed for German •war prisoners .. . I
and Sid Trubowitz, Jews in basketball
understand that the War Refugee Board
have had the spotlighI consistently fo-
has
been informed of the possibility of
cused upon . them.
rescuing these Jews by exchanging them
Tenements Make for Stars
for captured Germans . . I also :learn
Nat Holman believes there are .defin-
that Leon Blum• is being held by the
ite reasons why Jews excel in basketball
Gestapo as a special prize, for exchange
—"racial" reasons, if you wish.
for Nazi bigshots who may fall into Al-
The greatest asset of Jews in basket-
lied hands. --
ball, he says, is their competitive spirit,
Little Switzerland, • though surrounded
which is mandatory in any good basket-
by Germany, has. bravely demonstrated
ball player.
its contempt for Nazis 1;),y establishing a
There is another reason why this game
chair - for Judaism at the University of
was fostered by Jewish youth, says Mr.
Lausanne . . . A grant to this university
Holman. This was one game to which
will be made by the Joint Distribution
the parents did not object. Seeing his
Committee in appreciation of the hos-
child play baseball with a big stick and
pitality
and services extended by the
a hard-ball, the immigrant parent would
Swiss Government and people to Jewish
be panic-stricken, snatch' the youngster
refugees.
home and give him a sound thrashing
for jeopardizing his life. Nor was foot-
one of the best basketball teams in the.
ball approved by the elders. This, too,
country.
was a tough game.
New Continent for Basketball
Basketball was the only game left for
Nat Holman spoke with warmth of
these youngsters, and so they drank, ate
the possibility that basketball, a game
and slept basketball, and developed in-
in which Jews are so proficient, m a y
to stars.
take root in the sports of the Jewish
Of' the present-day crop of Jewish
Homeland. U. S. doughboys surely must
players, Mr. Holman predicts greatness
have introdUced_•basketball to Palestine,
for Al Intigerman, Leo Rothman and . Hy
and the country's youth will pick it up
Gotkin among others. The induction of
and very soon . yet another continent
many Jewish stars into the armed forces
will have been captured for this game
has not decreaSed the proportion of
which requires, even like the Jews, lit-
starring Jews in basketball. The - most
tle lebensraum.
notable of the basketball "greats" now
As for anti-Semitism in sports. There
in the armed forces is Lt. Commander
is none, says Nat Holman. Teamwork
Claire Bee of the Merchant Marine. Mr.
is conditional for success in sports, and
Bee was coach of Long Island University:
once people learn to pull together, pre-
It was he who put Long Island Univer-
judice and discrimination are ruled out
sity on the map. He took a . group of
among them.
boys from an obscure little college and
by persistent work molded them into-
(Copyright, 1944, Independent Jewish

Nat Holman on
Jews in - Basketball

.

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*4 • • •••• .

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* 4 -

avoinne-*

rAiN4eViC94 -*Of

Purely
Commentary

By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ

A "SLANTING" AP STORY
For weeks, the Congressional Record
had been filled with debates and exten-
sions of remarks involving Walter. Win-
chell. Much of this material was nausea-
ting because it was of a very personal
nature involving Congressmen Hoffman,
Rankin and Dies.
There w,as not a word about the ex-
pense incurred, other than the protests
of Congressman Sabath and two or three
other Members of Congress who felt that
the Winchellian debates were wasting
valuable time.
But when Rep. James M. Curley of
-Massachusetts inserted in the Record 16
pages of names of Jews who received the
Purple Heart and other awards for valor
in service, the Associated Press saw fit
to "slant" the story and to state that it
cost $900 to print these' names.
This monetary reference, seldom re-
sorted to before this, really hurt us.
There is so much bigotry which might
be overcome by publishing the record
of Jews in active service. Why should
anyone resort to innuendos to under-
mine such a move at establishing the
truth regarding the sacrifices being made
by the Jews of America in helping win
the war?
Would the AP correspondent 'feel bet-
ter if an effort were made to repay the
$900L--or would he like it better if we
showed him samples of more flagrant
abuses of privileges through the mater-
ial inserted in the Congressional Record?
In any event, AP has rendered us a
disservice.
* * *
A LESSON FOR AN ANTI-SEMITE
One of our readers relates an interest-
ing incident that took place on a Wash-
ington-to-New York train a few days
ago.
In the paflor car, in a spirit of good
fellowship marked by a few extra drinks,
some passengers were' exchanging opin-
ions regarding the war with several sol-
diers who had- .just returned from 'the
war front.
One of the passengers saw an oppor-
tunity to let loose some violent talk
about the Jews. The Jews were respons-
ible for this, that and the other thing.
The soldiers were silent, but one of the
passengers suddenly turned on the vitu-
perative chap, opened his wallet, and
pulling out two objects shouted:
"My son was just awarded, the Purple
Heart. But if that does not satisfy you,
here are two, Purple Hearts which I
earned in the last war. And I am a Jew."
Whereupon , one of the soldiers, point-
ing to an empty sleeve, said:
"If the Purple Hearts do not satisfy
you, what about my lost arm? I am also
a Jew."
The " anti-Semitic fellow was silent.
We wonder whether he learned' his les-
son.
* * *
GOOD PUBLIC RELATIONS
A Detroit labor Zionist leader tells a
story which illuStrates the value of good
public relations through genuine liber-
ality.
Soliciting for one of his major hob-
bies; the laborite' came upon a man who
was rather upset that not enough ,of his
friends had contributed to a certain
civic project. It' 'hurt him, and he felt
that some Jews were not cosmopolitan
enough in their giving.
The labor Zionist remembered that he
had -contributed to the fund to which
his own "prospect" , alluded, and he
asked him for the list Of contributors.
"By chance, you may find my own
name there," :he remarked:
Sure enough, the labor Zionist had
contributed to the public project.
The result: he received double t h e
amount he had expected for the Zionist
fund.
That was good soliciting and good pub-
lic relations

Friday, April 21, 1944

Heard in
The Lobbies

By ARNOLD LEVIN

(Copyright, 1944, Independent Jewish
• 'Press Service, Inc.)

TIDBITS
Mrs. Irving Berlin's "The Land I Have
Chosen," to be published next month
and already bought by Warner-Brothers,
should be 'must reading for Anne Line'':
bergh. It is a testament to democracy
by a woman whose private life is an
experiment . in the melting pot tradition
. . . Irving Berlin may receive the Con-
gressional Medal of Honor. A bill to
that effect is now being drawn up. His
songs have been, great contributions to
the. war effort in World War I and
World War II,' both from a financial, and
a* morale viewpoint.
Eddie Cantor's thirty-fifth anniversary
in show business, to be marked in April,
reminds us of the difficulties he en-
countered several years ago when the
now re-emerging Father Coughlin's
Christian Front sought to instigate a
boycott against the Jewish comic, who
had done so much for rescuing Jewish
children and bringing them in to Pales-
tine.
"Jacobowsky and The Colonel," orig-
inally a Franz Werfel piece, doctored
and over-doctored by Clifford Odets and
S. N. Behrman, has made a name for
some of its players, with the critics
pointing, out that the actors salvage
what would otheiltvise be a flop. A
Viennese refugee, Oscar Karlweis, is the
most-praised of the actors in the play.

Ben Moreell—Vilna's
Gift to U. S. Navy

By FERDINAND - M. ISSERMAN

Vice Admiral Ben Moreell, scion . of
'a family of- talmudists and cabalists, is
the founder and commander of the fam-
ous 'fighting Seabees, the construction
battalions of the Navy; whose members
range in age from 18 to 60, from un-
skilled laborers to highly trained tech-
nologists and mathematicians. Their bat-
talions have made history on scores 'of
battlefronts, at Guadalcanal and at New
Caledonia; at Tarawa- and at the Kwa-
jalein Atoll, in North Africa and in
Sicily, in Iceland and in Londonerry.
At 44, he was made a Rear Admiral,
one of the youngest in the service.
Vice Admiral Moreell's inspiration for
his present important service came from
his mother, a sensitive, intellectual
woman. In her youth, she had read all of
Shakespeare in German. Arriving in
America from Vilna, she soon became
familiar with English and American
literature: .
His Grandfather's Scholarship
Her father, Joseph Judah Loeb Sos-
snitz, was important enough to be in-
cluded in the Jewish Encyclopedia. He
was a mathematician, author of works
on astronomy, geometry and physics._
His hobby being .chess, he- even wrote
'a manual on that game. His "Perpetual
Calendar (Iddan. Olamin) for Christians,
Mohammedans and Jews was published
in Warsaw in 1888. He was co-editor of
Ha-Zefirah in Berlin and editor of the
scientific and cabalistic departments of
Ha-Eshkol , encyclopedia. In New • York
he founded the 104th St. Talmud Torah
and lectured on Jewish Ethics at the
Educational Alliance.
The Vice Admiral was born in Salt
Lake City and reared and educated in
St. Louis.
In 1913; ..he was graduated froth the
School of Engineering of Washington
University and took a municipal position
in St. Louis.
• When World War I broke out, en-
gineer Moreell volunteered for the Navy
and in June, 1917, was commissioned a
Lieutenant. He served overseas
on
the staff of Admiral Dunn and his lin-
guistic skill proved an added asset in
his career. He remained in the Navy, and
he rose in rank with the years.
The Other Moreells
The•Admiral's .older brother, .Major
Sam. Moreell, is with - the 371st Engineers,
serving somewhere in England. He has
built some of Chicago's most important
bridges. At 58, he volunteered his serv-
ices in the Army and was Commissioned
a Major. M. J. Louis Smith of Coving-
ton, La., the Admiral's sister, is well-
known in education, being a meinber of
the Board of Governors of the Louisiana
State University, the first woman to hold
that position. Another sister, Miss Caro-
lyn Moreell of St. Louis, now a high
school teacher, taught in Temple Israel's
religious school- in the days of Rabbi
Leon Harrison.
His wife, a native of Toledo, formerly
served as a nurse in the NaVy.
(Copyright, 1944. by Independent Jewish Presa •
•
Service, Inc.).

