Refugee Shelter's Director
Views Uneasiness at Fort

r .11,.

H. Smart Declares That Bringing of 11 0000 to Emergency
Camp at Oswego, N. Y., Was a Goodwill Gesture on
Part of Government; Describes Activity There

,Bringing 1,000 refugees to the Emergency Refugee Shelter
In Ft. Ontario, Oswego, N. Y., was not meant to be a solution
of the tremendous problem of rescue, but rather as a goodwill
gesture on the part of our government. This message was
brought by Joseph H. Smart, director of the shelter, in his
address here last Monday evening, at the Rose Sittig Cohen

Auditorium.
The meeting, under the auspices
of the Resettlement Service, was
attended by relatives and friends
of the inhabitants of Ft. Ontario
and those interested in obtaining
information about life within the
Shelter.
No Able-Bodied Men
Mr. Smart explained that there
are no able-bodied men between
the ages of 20 and 55, for in se-
lecting people for emigration
from Italy to Ft. Ontario, choice
was made on the basis of the fol-
lowing factors: (1) only family
.groups were permitted, no° chil-
dren without parents; (2) no men
of military age; (3) no person
having . a communicable disease;
(4) no unfriendly person.
As a consequence, it has been
difficult to accomplish the day-
to-day tasks. However, the resi-
dents of the shelter manage to
get them done. The majority of
the refugees are profesSionals and
busihessmen; there are a few art-
ists.
According to Mr. Smart, there
is a feeling of restlessness and
dissatisfaction prevalent at Ft.
Ontario. When the refugees first
arrived they were thankful for
the quiet, peace and safety of the
shelter, but confinement and con-
tact with people from "the other
side of the fence" have been con-
ducive to the change attitude.
Must Return Home
They all came with the under-
standing that they must live at
the fort, that their stay here was
temporary and that they must re-
turn to the lands of their origin
after the war. Nevertheless, they
cannot comprehend the need for
their being retained within the
shelter rather than being per-
mitted to work and live with
relatives.
Mr. Smart agreed that this bit-
terness was natural and feels that
it might have been more sound to
have turned the refugees over to
private agencies. He is inclined
to believe that there is goodwill
toward the refugees on the part
of most Americans.
Mr. Smart indicated that the
significance of the shelter project
lies to a great extent in the fact
that it has created a partnership
in enterprise among the Jewish,
non-Jewish • and governmental
agencies. Because of the war,
the government was able to pro-
vide for the minimum needs of
the refugees, the rehabilitation
efforts have been conducted by
the private agencies including the
National Refugee Service, ORT,
HIAS, National Council of Jew-
ish Women, Bnai Brith and many
others. Religious facilities are
provided by these agencies, 90%
of the residents being Jewish.
Attend Oswego Schools
The 'children attend schools in
Oswego, N. Y., and about 75 per
cent of the adults study English,
crafts and skills which will equip
them to start life anew. Teachers
fore these subjects as well as rec-
reational workers and facilities
are provided by the private
agencies.
Mr. Smart considers the weld-

Central Hadassah Unit
To Hold Oneg Shabbat

The Central Group of Hadassah
will hold its Oneg Shabbat thiS
Saturday at 2 p. m., at the home
of Mrs. Benjamin Laikin. of 8300
LaSalle Blvd.
Mrs. Aaron Kurland, vice presi-
dent, with the assistance of Mrs.
Zackheim, chairman of
Minyanim, arranged the program.
Mrs. Max Dushkin will speak
on "The Right to Petition" and
Naomi Linden will talk of the
work of Hadassah.
The Oneg Shabbat will take
the place of the regular February
meeting. Refreshments will be
served.

Friday, February 23, 1945

THE JEWISH NEWS

Page Eight

ing of the 19 nationalities, to
which the inhabitants belong, into
one unified community as the
paramount accomplishment of the
group at the shelter.
Fred Butzel, president of the
Resettlement Service, was chair-
man of the evening. Another
feature of the evening was the
showing of the film "New Amer-
icans," an excellent portrayal of
the/manner in which the refugees
have adjusted themselves to life
in the United States and of the
contributions which they are
making to the development of in-
dustry and science and to the
various arts.
Harold Silver, director of the
Jewish ,Social Service Bureau and
of the Resettlement Service, re-
quested that all refugees who
have arrived in this country since
January, 1933, cooperate in filling
out the questionaires which they
will receive. This information is
vital to the completion of a study
being made to determine the de-
gree of adjustment the refugees
have made. The data will also
be utilized in attempting to in-
fluence the opening of immigra-
tion into this country in the post-
war period.

East Lansing Women
Aid Chaplain Project

The Jewish women of East
Lansing have adopted the "Serve.
a Chaplain Overseas" project.
They will provide gifts which
will enable a chaplain to give
comfort to and make life more
pleasant for the servicemen and
women in his area, and will at-
tempt to fulfill all of the re-
'quests of their particular chap-
lain.
Mrs. Jerome I. Udell, of the
women's division of the Na-
tional Jewish Welfare Board,
presented the project to the
women, who, „under the chair-
manship of Mrs. Maurice Gold-
stick, readily accepted the pro--
j ect.

Gutstadt Speaks
At Keidan Lodge
Charter Meeting

Henrietta Szold

-

Mother in Israel

The author of this tribute to Henrietta Szold is a native of Baltimore.
where the Hadassah founder was born, Dec. 20, 1860. He has lived in
Detroit more than 20 years. He knew Miss Szold and other members of
her family. The concluding part of the poem appeared in the December,
1944, issue of Hadassah Newsletter, which was dedicated to Miss Szold,

Richard E. Gutstadt, national-
director of the Anti-Defamation
League of Bnai Brith, will be the
BY ABRAHAM CAPLAN
,-
principal speaker at an open
meeting of Harry B. Keidan The maid Miriam, watching in the river's reeds the whimpering
babe,
Divined that one day his would be a bright but perilous mission.
Miriam the woman, fulsome in years, strode beside her brother
Moses
As he led his bewildered people out of the bondage of Egypt.
Sensing her part in the noisome welter of liberation
And knowing the snares which menace an erstwhile horde of slaves
Who daily writhed under the savage blows of taskmasters' whips,
She rallied the timorous women of her people into song—
Not a mean feat when Freedom's voice was hushed so long.
With tinkling timbrels (how did they contrive such instruments?)
They danced and shouted in an impassioned, exulting refrain,
In frenzied reiteration they sang to God who ever champions the
free.

Then an epoch later, another woman rose in Israel,
Another stalwart one—a mother,. a judge, a warrior,
Deborah. Can you not perceive this heroic leader,
Her face bronzed by sun and wind, her eyes brandishing sharp skills
Scorning the petty quarrels among the fledgling ,tribes
Which should have been mortared willingly into a nation
RICHARD GUTSTADT
Now quailing in terror before one of the vilest of their foes?
Lodge, Tuesday evening, March Can you not see her, a general in full command in battle
Superbly challenging her armies to achieve an epic triumph
6, in the Crystal Ballroom of the As
they route the Philistines into contemptible dispersal?
Masonic Temple.
The occasion will mark the Something of Miriam and much of Deborah mingled within you,
presentation to this lodge, the Mother of the new nation unfolding among the hills of Judea.
newest Ti. S. Bnai Brith chapter, The blood of brave Hebrew kings and fiercely eloquent prophets
of its charter from national Flowed in the veins of your erstwhile restless limbs;
headquarters. The presentation And the compassion of a long line of ancestral saints
Bade you gather together numberless young children
will be made by Isaac Wagner of Bereft,
until they looked into your unin.00dy and reassuring eyes,
Chicago, president of District Of fathers' stout protection and the tender love of mothers—
Grand Lodge number 6.
Because of the plundering Teutons' savage rage.
Judge William Friedman, a
lifelong friend of the Keidan How much time must pass before a woman such as you
family, will present a resolution Can be moulded by the groping hands of the ages?
to Mrs. Harry B. Keidan, honor- Thrice one thousand years and more it took since Deborah
fashion a Jewish mother greater than Jewish woe
ing the memory of her late hus- To
And as great as Jewish hope and will and courage.
band after whom. the Lodge was Amidst these endless heaving waves of time you slowly rose,
named.
A builder for the centuries, a strong beacon for latter time,
Aaron Droock, past president Another Mother in Israel, sharing with the ancient Mothers
of District Grand Lodge, No. 6, The love, the mercy, the pain and the amplitude of tears
will install the newly-elected For the children—for those of Rachel who are no more,
officers. Sidney Karbel, presi- And for those, too, who are coming home again.
dent, will announce the various
000,000 as a result of mounting
committees.
Red Cross Increases
With the flaring up on anti-
demands for services in the
Semitism throughout the world National Drive Quota
European and Pacific theaters of
in the wake of Hitler's rise to
WASHINGTON—The goal of war, Chairman Basil O'Connor
power, the executive committee
the
Red Cross War Fund cam- announced after conferring with
of Bnai Brith drafted Mr. Gut-
stadt to head the extended pro- paign in March has been increas- Colby M. Chester, national chair-
gram of its Anti-Defamation ed to $200,000,000 from $180,- ,man of the campaign.
League, with headquarters in
Chicago.
The meeting is open to the
public. No admission tickets are
needed.

JSSB Head to Address
University Area Women

Harold Silver, director of the
Jewish Social Service Bureau and
the Resettlement Service, will be
the speaker at the next meeting
of University Area Women's
Boy's Marionette Show
Club, \ Wednesday evening, Feb.
28, at Bagley School. His sub-
At Library Tuesday
ject will be "Jewish Family Life
A marionette show for child- in Detroit." Young Women in
ren by a 14-year-old boy will the 6-7 Mile road district are in-
be presented by the Public Lib- vited.
rary, Tuesday, at 4:15 p.m. as
the next event of the Detroit
Youth Festival.
An operetta, "A Dream Comes
True," written and designed by
Ralph A. Philbrook, 14, will be
given at the Main Library audi-
torium. "Rover's Big Day" is
also on the program.

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WEDNESDAY EVENING, MARCH 21, AT 8 P. M.

1

For The

ANNUAL MEETINGS

of the Following Agencies . .

JEWISH WELFARE FEDERATION

An interesting program
is planned for this
evening.

JEWISH SOCIAL SERVICE BUREAU

FRESH AIR SOCIETY

NORTH END CLINIC

contributors to the
Federation agencies are
invited to attend this
meeting.

JEWISH VOCATIONAL SERVICE

RESETTLEMENT SERVICE

At The Jewish Community Center

