Page Two

THE JEWISH NEWS

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Purely
Commentary

Americans All: Triumph of Decency

By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ

YOM KIPPUR SELF-STUDIES
Yom Kippur, being a day of atonement
and repentance, is a major day for in-
trospection by Jews.
Throughout the year, we have occasion
to be angry. We are sometimes irritable
with ourselves, with our neighbors, with
our friends. We dislike some practices
by our own people, and frequently we
place blame where it does not belong,
and more often than not we expect "the
other, fellow" to correct the evils. that
enrage us.
That fellow, for instance, who is .angry
because he could not get a seat. "in a
certain synagogue", because only mem-
bers are admitted . tO that synagogue,
should do a little' inner searching. He
expects that' congregatioh to function 'on
his benevolent willingness to purchase
tickets for the three-day-a-year period
when most Jews go to synagogues. He
fails to consider that synagogues, if they
are to function, must have year-round
support. How about becoming a mem-
ber, friend, so that you may have full
advantage of a synagogue?
You can't blame Detroit's or Windsor's
synagogues for limiting attendance to
members and for desiring to enlist mem-
bers for an entire year rather than for
three days of special repentance services.

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JEWS AS FARMERS
Or—take the gentleman who is angry
because Jews did not respond to his ad-
vertisement for the sale_ of a farm.
"There are opPortunitieS for Jews in
agriculture," he informs Us.
Indeed, there ARE such opportunities.
But, why blame -Jews for not buying
farms, when the, real _problem is to di-
vert some of our people from small busi-
ness pursuits into other activities?
For this reader, - we have additional ad-
vice—to study the trends in Jewish life
today, to realize that there are .vocational
guidance projects aimed at directing the
interests of young Jews tb pursuits"other
than those which they have been fol-
lowing until now.
If young Jews should follow the ad-
vice mapped for them, it will not mean
that they will escape the difficulties of
the big city, that, they will avoid anti-
Semitism, that a back-to-the-land move-
ment will suddenly make us a more
virile people.
Only Palestine and Russia have until
now succeeded in attracting large num-
bers of Jews to the soil—for the obvious
reason that their environments have been
factors in leading them to agriculture. In
Palestine, the national - ideal has been to
create a people that will provide for its
own needs by reclaiming the soil; in .
Russia, the outlawing of anti-Semitism
and the Soviet idea have. encouraged Jews
to become farmers.
In this country, we certainly should
have had more than 100,000 Jewish
farmers—the number now accounted for.
But we must take into. Consideration the
rapid growth of our population :this
land, the difficulties newcomers have en-
countered, the necessity for acclimatiza-
tion.
Furthermore, our complaining reader
'may wish to take into consideration an-
other fact---:that JeWs are not the only
ones.- shunning the farms; that the trek
to the cities is a problem for non-Jews as
well.
We depend upon time to be a great.
healer. If anti-Semitism can be kept at
its lowest point, there be better
chances of diverting-• Jews to other pur-
suits than they are now following, and
we may expect more of our people to be-
gin to till the soil.
But we must also be fair about the
entire business. The :truth. is that a great
mar-4. JeWs have purchased farms in , re-
cen• yeors. If•th.e :purchasers are wily
the "gentlemen farmers" then -our Cori.-
plaining witness is pleading for a not-
too-desirable condition: The 'problem is
not of selling and buying fOrms:' it is one
of creating a strong Jewish rural group.
That DOES' require time, doein't it?

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By DR. MAEANNA CHESTERTON-MANGLE
Light-hearted boys were these Yanks from Brooklyn to San Diego,
from 'Frisco to Cape Cod, but the stark reality of life in the German
prison camp had come upon them.
That night word spread that at dawn the Jewish prisoners were
to be separated from the rest and to be detailed to further privations
and hard labor. The boys talked it over. • "Why some'?" "We're all
Americans, aren't we?" "What can we do?" The Jewish boys, who
totaled 75, heard it and urged them to "Forget it." "Don't stick out
your necks .for us." "It's not your fault. There's nothing you Can do."
Came the dawn, and the Kommandaont. "Achtung! All prisoners
of Jewish blood' advance one pace from the ranks."
They did—every one of the 250!

H eard

The Lobbies

By ARNOLD LEVIN

(Copyright, 1945. Independent Jewish
Press Service, Inc.)

CONDOLENCES
To Pierre Van Passen whose mother
died in a Nazi concentration camp in Hol-
land. His "Days of Our Years" was on
the Nazi blacklist, with grave conse-
quences for anyone caught reading it. A
bronze plaque has been placed by the
mayor of liberated -Gorcum,- in- Holland,-
on the house where Pierre was born. His
forthcoming. bool., ."Earth Could Be Fair,"
is . set in Gorcum..
• * *
REUNION
There may be a reunion in Washington
soon, with Maxim Litvinoff returning to
his old post 'as Soviet AVassador to the
U.S.

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ORCHrDS •
To WDNC of Durham, N. C., which h_as
pitched an inning against race-bias, by
employing a Negro announcer, the first
radio station in the South to do so.

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MOVIES -
We hope the latest Soviet movie of-
fering, "Girl No. 217", now showing at
the Stanley-Theater. in the Times Square
section of New York City, gets around
the country. It is the finest anti-Nazi film
yet, and not dated by ;events. Directed by_
one of the great = Soviet Jewish movie
directors, it depicts the war-guilt of the
average German family, in telling the
story of grocer Kraus, his wife, daughter,
son and son-••ixi-law, their mistreatment of
"Soviet slaves," their greed and their
brutality towards each other . Inci-
dentally, Duffy's Tavern, one of 'the
goofier films, has a "Jewish slant" to it.
Archie does. to the King's English what
Sholem. Aleich6m's "Tevye der Milchiger"
did to Biblical quotatationi.
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ATTENTION LaGUARDIA
This is strictly for Mayor LaGuardia's
Unity Conimittee. Stroll into one of the
East 86 Street bookshops in New York's
Yorkville and you'll find that hate is
once again sold across the counter.
* * *
CREATIVE
Palestine ' is beginning to preoccupy
some of our finest creative artists . .
Arthur Koestler, the brilliant writer with
the Sovietphobia, having spent consid-
erable time in Palestine is reported - near-
ing the completion of a new novel, deal-,
ing with the Stern gang and its assas-
sinations, which included the shooting
down of Lord Moyne, British Minister
Resident in the Middle East . . . Terror-
ism is a fascinating theme % for writers,
but there are more things than terror to
Write about - in Palestine. Palestine is a
dynamic country and terror has been the
conqueror of frustration .brought about
by the British administration . . . Tosco-
nini may visit Palestine again, soon . . .
Arnold Zweig, author of "Case. of Ser-
geant Grischa" and other works, a - resi-
dent .of Palestine since fleeing the Nazis
in the early 1930's, preceded Koestler 'by
several years with his novel "De Vriedt
Returns Home", dealing with the assas-
sination. _.of De Haan, Dutch poet , and
Agud4th Israel leader, whose murderers
were .never • apprehended:

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Between
You and Me

By BORIS SMOLAR

(Copyright, 1945, Jewish Telegraphic
Agency, Inc.)

POLITICAL TRENDS:
Zionist leaders know that something
definite is cooking in London with regard
to Palestine, but they don't know what . .
They are less certain of British Prime
Minister Atlee than they were of Wins-
ton Churchill because Attlee stated pri:
vately that he is "pro-4e\Vish birt not'
pro-Zionist."
A Zionist plan to force the British Gov-
ernment to settle the Palestine issue once'
and - forever was killed by the sudden
defeat of the Churchill cabinet . . . The
plan was to have been put into action
during the recent World Zionist Confer-
ence in London at which Dr-. Weizmann
was to resign the presidency of the Jew-
ish Agency as a demonstration against
British policy . . 'His resignation would
have served notice to the British Govern -
ment that real anti-British trouble •ould
be expected in Palestine and elsewhere
... But the World' Zionist Conference was
ill-timed, the Churchill Government
having given' place to the Labor Cabinet
. . . The plan to have Dr. ;Weizmann re-
sign with a bang had to be dropped since
it would have been useless to demonstrate
against a cabinet which had just come to
power . . . Zionist leadership is awaiting
the results of the consultations which
British Foreign MiniSter Bevin is holding
in London with British diplomats from
Arab countries . . . Moshe Shertok, head
of the political department of the Jewish
Agency, will remain in London for -sev-
eral weeks. to watch the situation . . . So
will Ben-Gurion, who no longer sees eye-
to-eye with. Weizmann and suspects. that
Dr. Weizmann is inclined to accept some-
thing less than a Jewish' State.
Hadassah is the only Zionist group in
America which does not Support the view
of the Emergency •Council that Zionist
political 'work in Washington should be
conducted by American Zionist leaderS
only.

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INVENTIONS AND "INTENTIONS"

Read it and laugh . . . Gerald L. K.
Smith is .disseminating a report that the
Anti-Defamation League and the Anti-
Nazi League are using. a special invention
to listen in to private talks' of persons
whom they suspect of condutting sub-
versive and anti-Semitic_ activities in this
cotmtry . . . The invention is credited by •
Smith to the Gestapo and was allegedly
revealed by a German diplomat now in-
terned in' Stockholm. . . . It consists of a'
playing-card-size metal plate tuned to a
portable listening apparatus 'in a man's
pocket .. The plate even picks • up
whispers and, according to Smith's report,
it enabled Gestapo agents standing as far
as five-eighths of a mile away to listen
to conversations . . . The contraption, the
report says; was 'the undoing of • many
Germans, • including two Nazi diplomats,
who, following the July plot against Hit-
ler's life, wanted to discuss what. Should
be done next . . . They decided to talk in
a moving automobile . . . The Gestapo,
which was keeping a close watch on all.
German diplomats, smuggled one of the
metal plates into a laundry package • in
the back seat and followed in another
car ... The two'.diplomats 'were 'arrested
at the end of their ride •and shot within
48 hours . . . It seems that Gerald L. K.
Smith has • good reason to be jittery about
such- an invention, if it really exists .
Smith is now 'boasting that he is creating,
a coalitiOn of Organizotions in California
which, he says, will bring his West Coast
followers up to beyond one million.
We advise a certain Jewish organization'
which actively combats Zionism in this
country to be 'very careful of what it
publishes in its news letter . . . Part of
'its material - is being quoted by anti-Jew-
ish publications in various "parts of ' the
country to the detriment of "Jews in the

NAME-CALLING: A PROBLEM
One other problem is that of name-
..tions, indifference to the needs of or-
calling.
ganized Jewish "life, are responsible.-
A reader quotes from a card sent to
Let's - stop...zoning names. 'We'll accom-
a Jewish merchant who closes his store plish
• More by being reasoning and
on Monday, instead 'of selecting Saturday reasonable.
as • the day of rest.
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The complaint is justified. The Sab- WISHING YOU AN EASY FAST
i bath 'is the most important day on' the
This 'Commentator hopes that you don't
Jewish calendar. But you won't make niind these:introspective observations:
Sabbath observers by calling the dese-
, Let's reason' things out together, for
crators "Japs, Nazis, atheists, Com- the good of ourselves • and our -com-
munists."
munity.
In the main, a lack of understanding,
In this _spirit, we -wish you an .easy
the bad habit created by economic condi- fast on Yom- 'Kippur.
United. States.
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Friday, September f4, 1946

Strictly
Confidential

By PHINEAS J. BIRON

Copyright, 1945. Seven Arts
Features Syndicate, Inc.

NEW YEAR GREETINGS

We're sorry that our first column
of the new year is rather pessimistic in
tone . . • Domestic Fascism until re-
cently obscured by the headlines from
the battlefields is lifting its visor. • and
shamelessly baring its ugly face . . .
Today's column reflects a sombre pan-
orama . . . The only way to change its
complexiOn is to expose the source of
the darkness . . .

THE PICTURE'

Let's face the facts . . . Anti-Semitic
incid.ents, are on: the increase thrOughbut
the country . . Brooklyn and the
Bronx, N. Y., report gang beatings of
Jewish youngsters and extremely ' lax
police protection, not to mention negli-
gence of police action after the deed
.
From Boston comes information
concerning the desecration of a Jewish
cemetery . . In Springfield, Mass., city
of the widely. overpublicized .Springfield
Plan, the windoWS of a synagogue and
of a JeWish Center were smashed re-
cently a . Summer resorts in Northern
Michigan have witnessed anti-Semitism
. . e In Philadelphia and vicinity beat-
ings of Jewish kids occur regularly .
And the_ same 'complaints reach us from
Newark N. J. . . These incidents are
perhapS not. very serious when viewed
singly- • . -But there is a pattern—an
identical pattern—used by the culprits
. . . In the localities where these inci-
dents occur the police - and press insist
on calling these anti-Semitic orislatights
"hoodlumisin" and "youthful pranks."
So let's resolve to call a spade a spade
in this new year of 5706, and to label
these incipient pogroms as what they
are . . . The only way to destroy anti-
Semitism is to fight it in the open.
s •
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MORE OF THE SAME

The first "New Year card" we re-
ceived thiS season was an interesting
'one ... It was addressed to Jew Phineas
J. Biron, c/o The Sentinel, Chicago .
The card reads as follovis:
Phone 6-8411
J. B. Stoner
Ku Klux Klan Organizer
204 Temple Court Bldg.
Office Hours: Thurs.-Fri.-Sat.
11:30 A. M. to 1:30 - P. M. 3:30 to 6 P. M.
Chattanooga 2, Tenn.
Mr. Stoner is operating openly, it
would seem.. . . As a matter of fact, he
is preparing to run for public office on
his KKK record . . . Attention, district
attorneys in New York and Chicago:
Those brand - new copies of "The Pro-
tocols of the Elders of Zion" (the foUlest
anti-Semitic propaganda ever concocted)
that are now being distributed in your
cities are being sponsored by the Gentile
Cooperative Association, with headquar-
ters in Chicago.
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WARNING

-* No, Victor Riesel is not exaggerating
when he warns us that . a gigantic poli-
tical campaign by the Old America-
Firsters is on the 'way ... John T. Flynn
and Upton Close have already begun a
national smear campaign against the
memory of Franklin D. Roosevelt . .
They will try to hammer into the heads
of millions of Americans a fantastic tale
that Roosevelt, as the tool of interna-
tional JeWish bankers, was responsible
for the war; 'the dead, the maimed and
the jobless . . .. • After Flynn, Close & Co.
will haVe their propaganda going Gerald
L. K. Smith will inaugurate his political
campaign, which will feature Huey
Long's share,the-wealth proposals, the
Townsend plan; and of course Father
Coughlin's "Social Justice" principles
. .' Smith, Flynn,. Close & Co. believe
that the country will go for this 111-out
prosperity and pension program hook,
line and sinker.
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'TRANSATLANTIC

• Here's an exclusive flash: The British
Labor Govermrient's
statement on Pal-
,
estine, due within 60 .days, will call forth
Mternational Zionist protests ... The' po-
litical: formula,
the Attlee men are' pre-
.
paring will be a most tragic -disappoint-
ment to those Zionist leaders":who have
been proclaiming that the Jewish com-
monwealth is just around the _corner.
Sam Jacobson of Nova Scotia writes
us that he is ready to sponsOr a book on
the contribution made by Jewish scien-
tists to 'the discovery of the atomic
bomb . . He is looking for a good
scientific author who knows how to write

for a wide reading public.