Page Four
THE JEWISH NEWS
As the Editor
Views the News
He Has Much to Learn
The Seventh War Loan
Within a few days, the Seventh War Loan
will open officially.
It is good to know that this campaign to
help finance the war comes on the eve of a
great victory for mankind.
And it is encouraging to know that the
hearty responses to previous bond drives
were in a great measure responsible for the
acquisition of the means with which to carry
on the war.
The great American people is rising to
event greater heights as the hour of triumph
over the enemies of humanity approaches.
We are confident that the coming bond
drive will be a great success and that our
people will unite in a supreme effort to res-
tore sanity to the world upon the defeat of
the terrorist nations which have oppressed
more than half the world during the past
decade.
No Bigotry in Foxhole
Friday, May 4, 1945
Facts You Should Know
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Courtesy Apprecitde America _ , Inc.
With permission of R. A. Lewis and Milwaukee Journal
A recent issue of American Unity, pub-
lished by the Council Against Intolerance
in America, quotes one of the leading Jew-
ish Navy officers, Vice Admiral Ben Moreel,
Chief of the Navy Bureau of Docks and
AU eyes are on San Francisco.
Yards, as relating this story of a Seabee unit
From all corners of the globe, the small nations, the
to illustrate his contention that "there is no downtrodden, the forgotten men and women who were the
bigotry or hatred for each other in a fox- victims of Hitlerism only a little while back, are placing all
hole.". . This Seabee unit won a Presi- hopes for a decent future in the hands of the men and wo-
dential Citation after sustaining 30 casualties men who are serving as the emissaries of mankind for the
on Los Negros Island: "Here were some of ,,establishment of a new and better order on earth.
the names," explains Admiral Moreel: "Ras-
The Jews have a greater stake than any other people in
mussen, officer in command; Adams, Berger, San Francisco's deliberations.
Bronstein, Carboneau, Ciambrello, Crum,
It is estimated that more than 5,000,000 Jews were
Church, Crutchfield, Feingold, Gallagher,
murdered,
and one Russian estimate boosts this tragic figure
Kelly, Knieciak, O'Brien, Rashkov, Rosen-
zweig, Smith, Sontorella. In the mud and to 7,000,000.
It is still possible to save another 2,000,000, and their
blood of the battlefield, you can rest assured
that these men didn't stop to inquire into the fate is in the hands of the world powers.
The citizens of Michigan have reason to feel proud that
racial and religious antecedents of their
their senior U. S. Senator, the eminent statesman Arthur H.
comrades in arms."
Such stories can be multiplied a thou- Vandenberg, holds a key position in the San Francisco
sand-fold to show that men of all faiths, all conference.
racial and nationality backgrounds, work
May the deliberations now in progress result in assur-
and fight together to help win the war.
ing not only permanent peace and security for all, but also
Cooperation among all elements in our the elimination of hatreds and the eradication of causes
population in war efforts as well as in civil- which force millions of Jews into a position of homelessness
ian activities is being recorded daily as and statelessness.
proof of the genius or America which ex-
cludes bigotry in the consideration of true
Americanism. But a lunatic fringe, a de-
structive minority, always tries to undo the
Throughout the period of Nazi domination of Europe,
good that is inherent in American life. The we had hoped_ that the peoples in subjugated countries would
elimination of the destructive minority from rise up, when the proper time came, ,to destroy anti-Semit-
influence in the life of this .country is the ism as completely as they are certain to destroy Nazism.
major need if true good will is to be es-
But we were too sanguine.
tablished as a criterion of a just peace for all
A
report from Brussels stated that a letter appearing
mankind.
in the left-wing democratic newspaper Het Patrol gives an
indication of the deep-rooted -anti-Semitism left in Holland
as a result of four years of German occupation.
The letter, commenting on the attack in the anti-Semitic
Not so long ago, the names of great Jewish
communities figured in important war dis- newspaper "Veritas" on the inclusion of a Jew in the Dutch
patches. Warsaw and Vilna; Lodz and Military Cominission for Civil Administration, says: "Every-
Dwinsk; Lida and Nowogrodek; and scores where one hears complaints about the many Jews on this
of others were reported to have been liberat- commission. Despite the terrible. sufferings which our Jew-
ed. They were cities without Jews, and ish compatriots had to endure during the occupation, con-
only a handful of our people survived the sciously, or unconsciously, an anti-Semitic train of thought
Nazi slaughter.
has arisen among the majority of the people. This is cer-
Now, there is a new series of names in the tainly due in no small measure to the insidious German pro-
news. Cologne and Nuremberg; Munich and paganda.
"It, therefore, appears to us very tactless," the letter
Berlin; the centers of Nazi barbarism are be-
ing occupied by the forces fighting for the goes on, "for our government to appoint so many Jews to
democracies.
posts on the military commission. The small percentage of
The capture of some of these cities, in- Jews in Holland can certainly form no basis for these ap-
cluding Berlin, represents an act of justice pointments, and they will inevitably be a cause of new diffi-
avenging the wrongs done the Jews and culties and frictions. We are writing thiS," it concludes,
all others who have suffered at the hands "without in any way wishing to detract from the good qual-
of the Nazis.
ities of our Jewish compatriots, which are beyond praise."
This and. other reports reveal the continuation of a state
The end is approaching for tyranny. The
of tension in liberated countries, with a tendency to "pick on
new day is dawning.
the Jew" and to continue to use our kinsmen as scapegoats.
How is this menace to be fought?
The battle against anti-Semitism must be carried on on
Member of Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Independent
a worldwide basis. Anti-Semitism must be outlawed b y
Jewish Press Service, Seven Arts Feature Syndicate,
Religious News Service,- Palcor News Agency, Bressler
international decisions, making it a crime for anyone to
Cartoon Service. Wide World Photo Service. Acme
Newsphoto Service.
still up religious or racial bigotry, or to 'deprive his neighbors
Member American Association of English-Jewish News-
of the right to life,, iberty and the .pursuit of happiness.
papers and Michigan Press Association.
-
Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publish-
Until this is achieved, the position of our people may
ing Co., 2114 Penobscot Bldg.. Detroit 26. Mich. Telephone
remain precarious.
RAndolph 7956. Subscription rate, 53 a year: foreign
All Eyes on San Francisco
. Anti-Semitism—Even in Holland
Dawn of Better Days
THE JEWISH NEWS
$4 a year. Club subscription of one issue a month,
published every fourth Friday it the month, to all
subscribers to Allied Jewish Campaign of the Jewish
Welfare Federation of Detroit, at 40 cents a club sub-
scription per year.
Entered as second-class matter August 6, 1942, at the
Post Office at Detroit. Michigan, under the Act of
March 3. 1879.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
MAURICE ARONSSON
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
FRED M. BUTZEL
ISIDORE SOBELOFF
THEODORE LEVIN
ABRAHAM SRERE
MAURICE H. SCHWARTZ HENRY WINEMAN
PHILIP
SLOMOVITZ, Editor
A. R. BRASCII, Advertising Counsel
VOL. 7—NO. 7
MAY 4, 1945
The Week's Scriptural Selections
This Sabbath, the twenty-second day of lyar,
5705, the following Scriptural selections will be
read in our synagogues:
Pentateuchal portion—Lev. 25:1-27:34.
Prophetical portion—Jer. 16:19-17:14.
Wise Community Planning
The extensive plans being formulated here for the ad-
vancement of Jewish educational standards, as a result of
the Self-Study that was conducted in Detroit during the past
few months, are proof of the wise planning initiated by the
Jewish Welfare Federation.
Hitherto, there has been a considerable amount of. con-
fusion in the various educational systems functioning in De-
troit.
It may be a very difficult task to secure the widest
possible cooperation for the betterment of our educational
media, but the planning of our Federation was the wisest
that- could possibly be inaugurated under the circumstances,
and the Federation leaders and the director of the Self-
Study, Israel B. Rappoport, deserve our thanks and com-
mendations.
Answers to Readers'
Questions About Jews
What is the origin of the Hebrew alphabet?
Is it the oldest on record, or does its deriva-
tion stem from other alphabets?
—Mrs. S. Adinoff, Port Huron.
The Hebrew alphabet IS one of the very oldest,
but it may well have been derived from another
somewhat older Semitic alphabet.
Vallentine's Jewish Encyclopedia, published in
London, edited by Albert. M. Hyamson and Dr.
A. M. Silbermann, states regarding the Hebrew
alphabet:
"Like other Semitic alphabets, the Hebrew
alphabet consists of consonantal characters. It
probably came into being about the middle of the
second millenium B. C. and ranks—in its original
form — among man's oldest phonetic-character
systems. The Hebrew alphabet, or a Semitic one
closely akin to it, served as a basis—through the
Phoenicians and Greeks—of all European alpha-
bets. The word alphabet itself, derived from the
names of the first two letters of the Greek 'alpha-
bet. Alpha and Beta (Hebrew—Alef and Bet), as
well as the names and shapes of most of the
other Greek characters, recall this Semitic origin.
There are conflicting opinions concerning the
origin of Hebrew and Semitic alphabetical writ-
ing. From Tacitus Onwards many have assumed
that the Egyptian hieroglyphics lay at its basis.
Others think it necessary to go back to a Baby-
lonian source; although admitting an Egyptian
influence to be beyond dispute. Others again sup-
pose that the Hebrew alphabet is derived from
old Cretan characters, supplemented by Egyptian
ones. Among the Jews of the Babylonian exile
the old Hebrew alphabetical symbols were super-
ceded by the Aramaic scripts (later also called
"quadratic" or "Assyrian"—Ketab meruba). How-
ever, in the period of national struggle the old
script also reappeared (on the coinage of Simon
Maccabaeus and the Hasmonaean princes). It was
also generally retained by the Samaritans."
The magnificent volume "Prelude to a New
Art .for an Old Religion" by A. Raymond Katz,
published by L. M. Stein, 913 W. Van Buren St.,
Chicago 7, Ill., contains an explanatory note by
Shlomo Marenof of the Chicago College of Jewish
Studies, which - Contains the following information
on the Jewish alphabet:
"It is a well accepted fact that the ancient
Semitic peoples were the first to create the alpha-
bet as a medium for conveying ideas. The phoen-
icians and the Aramaeans were responsible for
spreading the alphabet to the western world.
They used it, however, only for simple business
records and inscriptions on tomb stones. The
people who first saw that the alphabet can be
used for more creative writings were the He.
brews, their contemporaries and the ancestors of
the Jewish people who, at the time, lived in Pales-
tine. They produced, through the medium of the
alphabet, one of the greatest collections of poems,
stories and philosophical treatises—the anthology
which the western world inherited as the Old
Testament."
We recommended this volume very highly for
the artist-author's interpretations of the alphabet
as well as the accompanying articles explaining
the development of the Hebrew alphabet.
*
*
*
A correction: The answer to the question
regarding the origin of Kashrut in our issue of
two weeks ago should have given the translation
of the Biblical phrase as follows: "Thou shalt
not boil a kid in its mother's milk."
Children's Corner
Dear Boys and Girls:
Another war drive—the Seventh War Loan
—will open soon, and you will have a chance
to help in the great war effort by buying bonds
with your savings - and by encouraging your par-
ents, friends and neighbors to buy bonds.
There remain
Eager Beaver
many other
ways of helping
in the war ef-
fort. One of
them is by sav-
ing waste paper.
Every scrap
helps. Every old
news paper
serves to pro-
vide paper
which is a vital
necessity. You
can save paper
in your home,
you can collect
paper through
the Boy Scout
and other or-
•
ganizations.
Be sure to
WE'RE SURE TO WIN
save and collect
WITH KIDS WHO BRING
paper.
THE PAPER IN !
In a very
short time, many
of you will pre-
pare for con-
firmations, graduations and consecrations. With
the approach of Shevuoth, and the closing of
schools—public and Jewish—many of you will be
planning your vacations in camps. Let us hope
that we will have peace on earth by the time
vacation rolls around.
A- pleasant Sabbath to all.
UNCLE DANIEL.
HOW TO ACQUIRE THE.LOVE OF GOD
A learned, but stingy, man once approached
Rabbi Abraham of Stret.yn: "They say that you
have very effective medicines. Give me, then,
one for acquiring the Fear of God."
"There is no medicine for that," Rabbi Abra-
ham replied, "but I have one for acquiring the
Love of God."
"That is even better. Let me have it."
"It is the love of mankind," the Tza.ddik re-
plied.