Friday, March 30, 1945
Page
THE JEWISH NEWS
Jerusalem Urged to Rotate
Mayors of Different Faiths
High Commissioner of Palestine Proposes Municipality
- Solve Complicated Problem by Appointing Jew,
Christian, .Moslem Annually
JERUSALEM, (JTA) — The Palestine High Commis-
sioner has submitted to the municipality of Jerusalem a
proposal to solve the complicated problem of the appoint-
ment of a mayor acceptable to Jews, Moslems and Christians.
The proposal suggests that the municipality adopt a
system of triple rotation by appointing successively for one
year a Moslem, a Christian and a Jew to the mayoralty post.
This arrangement would constitute a further step in the
development of local self-government in Palestine, the High
Commissioner believes.
District Commissioner James Pollack, who delivered the
proposal to members of the municipal council, appealed to
them to display good-will and tolerance . and to accept the
plan. The. Palestine government, he added, is ready to ex-
tend every assistance in carrying out the project.
In official Jewish circles here there is keen disappointment over
these proposals. The rotation system, limiting the mayor's term
to one year, the Jews say, can only handicap the development of
self Government as the terms would be too short and far between
to enable any mayor to manifest his initiative and assume respons-
ibility for the management of municipal affairs. The actual man-
agement of the city's affairs would, under such a system, be under
the control of the British Town Clerk, the Jews charge.
Detroit Launches Campaign
For Clothes for War Victims
Weekly Review of the News of the World
(Compiled From Cables of Independent Jewish Press Service)
AMERICA
American-Jewish soldiers and officers
from places all over the world have sent in
thousands of dollars for Palestine "because
they have come to the conclusion that the
Jewish people must have its own home,"
Rabbi Nathan Witkin, National Jewish Wel-
fare Board representative, told Mrs. Rachelle
S. Yarden, director of the Latin American
Department of the Jewish Agency for. Pal-
estine, who stopped in Panama City enroute
to the first Latin American Zionist confer-
ence in Montevideo.
"The Arab countries are worried by the
strong backing given the Zionist. cause abroad,
particularly by the major American political
parties," Sam Pope Brewer reports in a Cairo
dispatch to the New York Times. The future
status of Palestine is the most important of
the immediate problems facing the newly
formed Arab League, Mr. Brewer reporta.
Seventy-two year old Mordecai Chaim
Rumkowski, oldest Jew in the Litzmannstadt
(Lodz) ghetto, where at one time 200,000 "se-
lected" Jews were employed making uniforms
for the German Army, chose to. accompany this
seventy year old brother to an extermination
camp rather than remain at Litzmannstadt to
await his turn to be called, C. L. Sulzberger
reports in a Moscow dispatch to the N. Y.
Times.
PALESTINE
"So far as is known to me there is no basis
for the report circulated by the United Press,
from Cairo, and by the New York Times re-
garding an alleged Arab proposal" with re-
gard to the Jewish position in Palestine, David
ben Gurion, chairman of the Executive Corn-
mittee of the Jewish Agency,, declared in a
speech to the Central Committee of Mapai,
Jewish Palestine's Labor Party, on the eve of
his departure to Britain and the United States.
Eliezer Kaplan, treasurer of the Jewish
Agency for Palestine, told the Central Com-
mittee of Mapai that three main tasks con-
front him in connection with his mission to. the
United States: to assure the budget of the
Jewish Agency; to regulate relief for Jews in
Europe, and to establish broad economic ties
between Palestine and America." He revealed
that an agreement has been reached here be-
tween the Jewish Agency and the American
Jewish Joint Distribution Committee concern-
ing relief in Eastern Europe, but it was neces-
sary to reach closer co-operation.
OVERSEAS
An anonymous Rome booklet, Confessions
of a Convert, which seeks to "explain" the
reasons that brought 2,000 Italian Jews to the
baptism font last year, is believed to have
been authored by former Rabbi Zolli.
There are some forty to fifty thousand
Jewish slave laborers engaged in agricultural
and war work in Danzig.
Soviet Ambassador Gousey and First
Councillor Koukin received, in London, in be-
half of Marshall Joseph Stalin, a Hebrew trans-
lation of Stalin's work, "Problems of Lenin-
ism," issued by the Workers Book Guild, pub-
lishing house of the leftist Hashomer Hatzair
organization of Palestine. The book, a copy of
which was also gifted to the Ambassador, was
presented by Mordecai Orenstein of the Hista-
druth • delegation to the World Trade Union
Conference in London, and Ben Israel, both
representing the Hashomer Hatzair.
(See Also Page 51)
Mrs. Welt on Committee Directing. Local Phase of Drive
in U. S. for 150 Million Pounds of Garments;
City's Quota Set at 10 Million
A nation-wide used clothing drive with a goal of 150,000,000
pounds will open here April 1 under the chairmanship of former
Senator Prentis M. Brown.
Henry J. Kaiser, -record-breaking shipbuilder of the west coast,
heads the national committee sponsoring the drive for UNRRA.
The appeal is for good serviceable used clothing for destitute
men, women and children in war-ravaged countries.
Detroit is asked for 10,000,000 pounds of clothing. Convenient
bins and collection depots, locations to be announced later, will
be available all during April for deposit of clothing.
Mr. Brown stressed the need of good, substantial used clothing
in the drive but was emphatic that Detroiters must not buy new
articles (bought especially to contribute). Clothing • is needed - for
winter and summer wear and although it need not be in perfect
repair it should be useful to the wearer. Underclothing and all
types of cotton garments must be washed but need not be ironed.
Coming at the propitious time of spring housecleaning Detroit
housewives are asked to share with our allies ,clothing in seven
different categories: infants' garments, men's and boys' garments,
shoes (tied together), .usable remnants and piece goods of one
yard or more in length.
Mayor Edward J. Jeffries is honorary chairman a n d Mr.
Brown is assisted by the following vice-chairmen: George T. Chris-
topher, Most Rev. Edward Mooney, Mrs. Dorothy Kemp Roosevelt,
Fred Sanders, E. A. Schirmer and Mrs. Joseph M. Welt.
7 Chaplains in Philippines
Regret Dissolution of UJA.
Rabbis Adler and Gordon of Detroit Among Signatories
of Letter to Srere; Thousands of U. S. Jewish Soldiers
Saddened by Split, Note Reveals
.
.
Abraham Srere, chairman of the board of governors of the
Jewish Welfare Federation of Detroit, has received a copy of a
letter addressed to the United Jewish Appeal by seven Jewish
Chaplains, all stationed "Somewhere in the Philippines," express-
ing disappointment over the dissolution of the UJA and the setting
up of separate campaign organizations for the Joint Distribution
Committee and the United Palestine Appeal.
Two of the signatories to this letter are Detroiters—Chaplains
Morris Adler and Albert Gordon. The others are Chaplains Charles
Shulman, Abraham Winokur, Lawrence Charney, Samuel M. Silver
and Sidney Strumpf. All are serving with the U. S. Army, except
Chaplain Shulman,- who is with the Navy.
Their letter follows:
"It was with pain and disappointment that we learned of the
dissolution of the UJA. Being far from home, we are entirely ignor-
ant of the imm.pliate issues and personalities which brought about
the collapse of- American Jewry's greatest united effort.. However,
precisely because we are so far removed from the scene, we see
the whole matter in a. new perspective. We regard that which
has happened as a serious setback and can testify that it has sad-
dened thousands of American Jewish soldiers to whom we minister
as Chaplains.
"Without exaggerating what the Chaplains have accomplished
and without seeking to further augment the myth of a great re-
ligious revival that has been fostered in some circles, we do be-
lieve that the impact of the war and of the religious program that
has been in effect in most military installations, has stirred latent
Jewish loyalties in many a heart. There has been a wholesome
weakening of partisanship and parochialism as together, Orthodox,
Conservative, Reform, Zionist, Non-Zionist, Hebraist and Yiddish-
is t, we met in Jewish fellowship. Our men have begun to develop
a sense of K'lal Yisroel, a kinship with a collective Israel greater
than that represented by any one sect or group.
"When 'they return home and find a community pitably frag-
mentized, hopelessly segmented and divided, they will not only
suffer disillusionment but we fear that they may surrender to a
. negative reaction against organized. American Jewish life.
"We do not know all the LT-tors in the situation. We are not
committed to any one agency within the UJA. We plead for a
reunited effort, so that our hard work, conscientiously performed
not without sacrifice and hardship, should not be completely
vitiated.
"With an earnest hope that our voice may be heard and with
best wishes for an inspiring Passover, . we remain, etc‘"
The moment is at hand for Ameri-
can soldiers to give everything
they've got in a supreme effort.
Depend on them. They will write
history . . . write it with their blood.
Financially, too, this is the most
important, most urgent phase of the
war for America.
This is the moment our soldiers
depend on us to make our supreme
effort in this war! We've got to make
history too!
Passover Greetings from-
Don't fail America now. Buy
Bonds. Buy Bonds and keep on buy-
ing Bonds even though it begins to
pinch.
ANK & SEDER
WOODWARD. BETWEEN GRAND RIVER
AND
CLIFFORD