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 .‘" ilt;e1.` '"•• 4. r vs* e. Pagfilkolow . 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.