Page Two
Purely
Commentary
F
By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
HATS OFF TO HOLLANDER
Sidney Hollander of Baltimore, presi-
dent of the National Council of Jewish
Federations and Welfare Funds, emerged
as a most courageous leader at the East
Central States Regional Conference held
in Detroit. last week-end.
He calls a spade a spade and is fear-
less. Associated with Bnai Brith, Ameri-
can Jewish Congress and American Jew-
ish Committee, he did not hesitate to
criticize ALL national civic-protective or-
ganizations for creating confusion in Jew-
ish ranks at a time when there should be
unity in fighting the growing trend of
anti-Semitism in this country.
A few more speeches by Mr. Hollander,
and there is reason to believe that he will
mobilize all of American Jewry behind
him in an effort to pirt an end to what he
called "millions of dollars worth of con-
fusion."
The overlapping of activities is an ap-
palling demonstration of a fight for vested
interests. Let there be an end to it.
OTHER EXAMPLES OF CONFUSION
There are many examples of confusion
in Jewish ranks in this country.
Take the typical example of national
conventions being held at nearly the
same time.
Hadassah's convention was held last
week. The United Palestine Appeal Con-
ference followed almost immediately in
Chicago. The World Jewish Congress
will convene on the very eve of the ses-
sions of the American Jewish Conference.
Thus, people who are interested in
related movements are unable to attend
important conventions because they are
grouped so closely together.
Can't we get together?
CEREMONIAL OBJECTS
American Jewish leaders are quite evi-
dently showing a deep interest in the
preservation of Jewish historical objects.
In recent years, the Museum of the
Jewish Theological Seminary of America
has become one of the world's most im-
portant centers • for ceremonial objects.
The Hebrew Union College in Cincin-
nati has taken a similar interest in im-
portant Jewish historical items.
Proof that American Jews are con-
cerned that the most important elements
in Jewish life should be preserved is to
be found, however, in the interest inch-
viduals show in ceremonial art collections.
A number of Detroiters are collecting
Jewish ceremonial objects. Charles Fein-
berg, Harvey Goldman, Samuel N. Hey-
man, Rabbi and Mrs. A. M. Hershman
and many others are collectors of im-
portant objects.
An advertisement in the current issue
of The Jewish News searching for im-
portant ceremonial objects indicates the
growth of such interest.
LITTMAN AND YIDDISH THEATER
For 21 years, Abraham Littman had
made the Yiddish theater his life's work.
Year in and year out, he struggled to
perpetuate activities on the Yiddish stage.
This year, for the first time, he is com-
pelled to reduce his efforts and to limit
them to just a few specially sponsored
performances.
In previous years, the theater, by this
time, had already functioned for a num-
ber of weeks. This year, Mr. Littman ar-
ranged for two Sunday performances
and at this writing it is impossible to
foretell whether there will be other pres-
entations before long.
We record these facts with deep regret.
Mr. Littman has earned the community's
support and encouragement. But, appar-
ently, the Yiddish theater-supporting
audience has been considerably reduced
and there is little hope of the theater's
permanent revival. There is no longer a
permanent home for the Yiddish theater
and another Yiddish institution has been
reduced to a minimum.
What is the future of the Yiddish thea-
ter in this country?
National leaders in the theater appear
to be confident. In a recent interview
with a JTA correspondent, Reuben Grus-
kin, for 26 years the head of the Hebrew
Actors' Union, stated:
"It is difficult to forecast proportions
which the Yiddish theater may achieve
after some of the survivors of Nazi per-
secution join its ranks. Instead of emerg-
ing as frustrated, emasculated people,
many will dazzle the world with a display
of creative pyrotechnics which can only
come from long-suffering liberated souls."
We shall have to wait for future de-
velopments to be able to judge whether
the optimistic are justified in believing
that the Yiddish theater will see a re-
vival of activity and interest.
In the meantime, it is a source of re-
gret to us that Mr. Littman should be
subjected to disillusionment after many
years of loyal services to the Yiddish
theater.
THE JEWISH NEWS
Dr. Weizmann's Untiring Fight
For Jewish National Iltionaeland
By LOUIS LIPSKY
Former President, Zionist Organization of America
For 30 eventful years, the intriguing personality of Dr. Chaim Weizmann
stands out in a singular way as the incarnation of the struggle for Jewish
national freedom.
No other Jewish leader ever struggled with such persistence. He was
the leader of the Return. He had to become the Interpreter of the Jewish
martyrdom of our day. Zion was not intended merely as a refuge for the
victims of the world's injustice. It was to be a symbol of reconciliation.
No sooner were the Jews persuaded to begin their Return, when the
promise of the Balfour Declaration began to fade. Dr. Weizmann's leadership
was a long vigil of painful struggle, alternating hope and despair—which only
deep-rooted faith and great vision enabled him to sustain through the years.
The pattern of his Zionist life was never broken.
He was born in a home, on a street, in a community, where the vocab-
ulary of Zionism was a part of everyday life. His rebi was his teacher, in
Zionism, his father his guide. He knew from his earliest days that Israel's
hope would be fulfilled when God and Israel would be attuned to the miracle
of a new creation.
When the first World War broke out, destiny found Dr. Weizmann pre-
pared for the task of leading. It was to this moment he had looked forward
when England became his home. He shared the views of Theodor Herzl that
England • was destined to become the guardian of Israel's hope—England,
where Disraeli had ruled.
He was transformed by his absorption in creating a Zionist political
front in London. He had been an interpreter of Zionism at the Congresses.
He acquired the approach of the statesman, the suavity of the diplomat. He
became conscious of the world theater in which the Jewish drama was being
played.
He converted that steadfast and loyal friend, Gen. Jan Smuts, who in-
fluenced imperial policy in the first war and plays the same gallant part in
the present war. He carried through the lengthy negotiations that led to the
issuing of the Balfour Declaration. He submitted the Zionist demands at the
Peace Conference. He visited Palestine as chairman of th first official Zionist
Commission. He laid the cornerstone of the Hebrew University on Mt.
Scopus.
This meticulous worker in a chemical laboratory, this debater on the
floor of Zionist Congresses, was immersed in problems of finance, of settle-
ment, of organization, and had to plan the action which was to follow the
appointment of the First High Commissioner.
The Jewish National Fund, the first pillar of organized Jewish nationality
created by the Zionist movement, came to life in the days of Herzl largely
as an expression of sentiment. The redemption of the land was an act of
piety. The Keren Hayesod, the second pillar, was the inevitable consequence
of the Balfour Declaration.
The latter was the first maneuverable instrument of the Jewish State in
"the process of becoming" which had achieved mobility in action.
Dr. Weizmann came to us first as the missonary of the Keren Hayesod.
He has spoken in many campaigns, at many dinners, in many intimate con-
ferences. His message has reached the leading personalities in the American
theater of political action.
Dr. Weizmann has never been bound by formulas or programs or party
limitations. The Return to Zion was a vision to be filled with realities through
the work of Redemption. -
He has been the one personality in the Zionist movement through whom
all groups and categories could find a way of cooperation, and in whom all
sensed a mystic kinship dissolving the walls of prejudice. It was this con-
ception that made it possible for Dr. Weizmann to persuade non-Zionists in
England, in Germany, and in the U. S., to join in the building of a Jewish
Palestine.
The Jewish Agency, organized in Zurich in 1929, was destined to have
no luck. Louis Marshall died soon after the conference. His death was pre-
ceded by the bloodiest riots ever witnessed in Palestine. The year 1929 saw
the beginning of the deterioration of Zionism and of all Jewish life. The
Passfield WOe Paper was the first of the black papers in which was reg-
istered the effort of England to escape the obligations of the Mandate. The
Peel Commission in 1937 suggested the partition of Palestine. That failing,
the White Paper of 1939 came as the final act of desperation.
The survival of leadership during this period of disintegration would
have been a miracle. Dr. Weizmann realized that Jews had no power to
restrain a world bent on self-destruction.
In Zurich in 1931, Dr. Weizmann was forced to retire from office, the
victim of Jewish frustration; but in 1939, an overwhelming majority of the
Zionist Congress invited him to return as president.
That moment was decisive in Dr. Weizmann's life. It was a moment of
heroic decision. The crown of martyrdom was being offered to him.
He will be remembered for his endurance during this period of travail—
his proud and noble bearing, and the tirelessness of his effort. He made his
memorable address to the Royal Commission. He was called upon to make
the hazardous decisions regarding the proposal for the partition of Palestine.
It was to him the White Paper of 1939 was sent. He had had to endure the
long administration of 'High Commissioner who was determined to enforce
the White Paper despite the tragic circumstances of Jewish life; and suffered
the humiliation. of English officials turning Jewish victims of the war away
from the shores of the Promised Land to perish in the sea.
His refuge was the Rock of his Faith. The validity of that Faith is re-
vealed in the Jewish State we have created. Along the narrow path of a
receding Mandate, the National Home had become visible, potent, exciting.
Its 47,000 population of 1918 became almost 600,000 in 1944.
The Statesmen had failed to keep the promise, but not the martyred
Jewish people. Once, when. defending these Statesmen, Dr. Weizmann asked:
"What have yok the Jewish people, done to take advantage of the promise?"
That was before Hitler. Dr. Weizmann would not ask that question today. He
knows that his people have kept the Faith.
Thus, at the age of three score and ten, Dr, Weizmann has lived to see
the moment when his faith in Statesmanship will be justified in fulfillment
or sealed in frustration for generations to come.
Between
You and Me
By BORIS SMOLAR
(Copyright 1944. JTA, Inc.)
HERE AND THERE
It can now be revealed that the Jewish
Brigade, for a time, will not have, more
than 8,000 men . . . It is composed of in-
fantry, artillery, tank and air units . . .
It also can be revealed that all British
military commanders in the Middle •East
objected to the establishment of a sep-
arate Jewish Brigade and cabled their
protests to the British War Office . . .
They were overruled by Prime Minister
Churchill who is proving himself more
and more friendly to the Zionist cause ...
This, of course, did not prevent him from
summoning Zionist leaders in London and
giving them a stern warning that the
assassination of Lord Moyne may have
serious repercussions on Zionist demands.
Foreign Policy Association believes that
the U. S. Government probably will ask
Britain to review the whole Palestine
question as part of an "expected re-
examination" of the League of Nations'
mandates.
Heard in
The Lobbies
By -ARNOLD LEVIN
(Copyright, 1944 Independent Jewish
Press Service. Inc.)
PALESTINE VARIETIES
Did you know that the flag of the
Jewish Brigade was chosen by Prime
Minister Churchill himself? And that
Jewish Palestine's volunteers now in
service were adamant in their demand
that the Hebrew designation on the
shoulder patch precede the English one?
Result: a compromise. The Hebrew one
precedes, but it consists of initials only,
while the English designation, at the
bottom, is unabbreviated.
Strange how Gen. Paget, British com-
mander-in-chief of the Middle East, was
so quick to announce that the assassins
of Lord Moyne in Cairo were Jews, but
has never revealed that the German
parachutists caught in Palestine were
agents of the Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj
Amin el Husseini, now doing business
from Berlin? Incidentally, why not an
investigation of, the Palestine Arab Par-
ty, consisting of Mufti's henchmen?
Friday, Noveiniier 24, 1944
Strictly
Confidential
By PHINEAS J. BIRON
(Copyright. 1944, by Seven Arts
Feature Syndicate)
LISTEN HERE
American Jewry will before long be
stunned to learn the details of an inci-
dent that took place at Philadelphia a
few weeks ago . . . We have promised
not to mention names, but this is the gist
of the story . .. A young Jew, standing
in a crowd that was greeting Gov. Dew-
ey, vociferously booed the Republican
candidate . . . Two policemen grabbed
him, administered a brutal beating, and
dragged him off to the police station . , .
His hearing was held before a 'Jewish
judge, who fined him . . . The young
man then had to be sent to a hospital
for treatment for his injuries . . . Now
here comes the redeeming feature of
the tale: A complaint was lodged against
the two policemen, and this complaint
was heard before another judge . . .
This second judge, a Catholic, set heavy
bail for the policemen . . . Their case
is coming up soon, and as a result the
young Jew may be exonerated and just
punishment dealt to the policemen, who
have to learn that in a democracy one
is permitted to applaud or boo in ac-
cordance with one's likes and dislikes
. . . Then there's the case of that rabbi
who, on a train going from New York
to Stamford, Conn., was assaulted by an
anti-Semitic hooligan.
* * *
YOU SHOULD KNOW
The Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee of
Moscow has sent to the Jewish Black
Book Committee a batch of eye-witness
reports on Nazi atrocities . . . The Vaad
Leumi of Palestine will do likewise . • .
This material, together with the docu-
ments compiled by the World Jewish
Congress and the American Committee
of Jewish Writers, Artists and Scientists,
will be part of the JewiSh Black Book
to be issued jointly by these four organ-
izations.
The oft-maligned New Zionist Organ-
ization of America has just issued a
White booklet setting forth in unmis-
takable terms • its aims and principles
and policies . . . It's worth reading.
The American Committee for the Yu-
goslav Relief Ship, now collecting cloth-
ing, food and medicines, deserves your
support . . . Among its sponsors a r e
James Warburg and Mrs. Edward M. M.
Warburg . .. If you want to help, com-
municate with Zlatko Balakovic, 439
59th St., New York.
* * *
THE WORLD OF LETTERS
Britain's policy on Palestine and India
is in for a panning in the forthcoming
book by Frances Gunther, according to
advance reports . . . She's the former
wife of correspondent John Gunther, and
long active in Revisionist Zionist circles.
Jekuthiel Ginsburgh, editor of "Scripta
Mathematica," reports the receipt of two
large volumes issued by the Soviet Aca-
demy, listing the damage wrought by
the Germans in this war to the progress
of science . . . The report will be re-
viewed in this unique quarterly journal.
Alex Hillman, who five years ago
published Pierre van Paassen's "Days of
Our Years,' has launched a new picture
and feature magazine called Pageant.
* * *
SHOW BUSINESS
Orchids to Jacob Ben Ami, producer,
director and star of "The Miracle of the
Warsaw Ghetto," the four-star Yiddish
smash hit at the Jewish Folk Theater in
New York.
There is no justification for the praise
meted out by Chaplain Jacob K. Shank-
man, USNR, to the • Hollywood picture
"Mr. Skeffington" in the October issue
of Liberal Judaism . .. Instead of deal-
ing with the Jewish problem, as it pur-
ported to do, the picture presented Mr.
Skeffington as a Jew who enjoys being
slapped about.
Marine hero Barney Ross, out of the
service with a medical discharge, is
planning a vaudeville tour.
Planning an early attempt at a screen
comeback is Carmel Meyers, whom you
may remember as a star of the silent
films.
* *
ABOUT PEOPLE
Going to France shortly in the inter-
ests of American soldiers disabled in
service is the newly elected president
of the Disabled American Veterans, Mil-
ton Dewey Cohn (his middle name, if
you must know, was given him in honor
of the Admiral).
Frederick Backer, who had been re-
ported missing in action, is now reported
safe . . . Fred is the brother of George
Backer, who is in Europe for the OWL
The WMC's Mrs. Anna M. Rosenberg
may get a big job in the War Depart-
ment's rehabilitation service for return-
ing service men.