THE JEWISH NEWS
Page Twerify-four
GUEST EDITORIAL
Our Letter Box
Jewish News Readers' Views on Issues
Concerning Local and World Jewry
Rabbi Wohlgelernter States
Case for Vaad Hatzala Drive
Editor, The Jewish News:
In your editorial columns of
the March 15 issue you deplored
the overlapping campaigns for
the rescue and rehabilitation of
European Jewry, voicing criti-
cism of Vaad Hatzala which asks
for funds in support of its pro-
gram among our surviving breth-
ren across the sea. I should like
to point out that the work of
this agency has been recognized
by Jewish and governmental
bodies and given a status of its
own alongside that of JDC, the
World Jewish Congress, the Jew-
ish. Labor Committee and similar
organizations. Vaad Hatzala has
been especially effective because
of its religious nature and the
fact that it is directed by dis-
tinguished orthodox rabbis and
scholars, here and abroad. Cer-
tain avenues of rescue and relief
were opened to it that could not
have been utilized by other agen-
cies.
Rescued Thousands
Proof of Vaad Hatzala activity
in one ,direction has been amply
supplied some time ago by the
President's War Refugee Board,
which reported that next to
JDC's $15,000,000: contribution
for rescue work, came the Vaad
Hatzala's $1,000,000 which was
responsible for the saving of sev-
eral thousand Jewish souls from
extermination during the last
months of the Nazi regime. In
another field, that of reconstitu-
ting religious life in European
Jewish communities and among
the displaced persons, Vaad Hat-
zala—because of its recognition
by our own State Department,
UNRRA, and European govern-
ments, as a religious body—has
performed a unique job. It is
not just a matter of sending Sifre
Torah and other religious arti-
cles to the camps and reopened
synagogues; there is the matter
of Kosher food, in many instan-
ces such as in Sweden, provided
by the government after inter-
vention; the location and ransom
of Jewish children from monas-
teries and Christian homes; the
organization of Yeshivoth and
Chadorim in Germany, Italy,
France and elsewhere, and the
revival of religious communal
life among Polish Jewry.
Review Religious Needs
To all of these tasks the Vaad
Hatzala has directed itself with
particular zeal through its Euro-
pean committees and several
emmisaries sent from the United
States. Several weeks ago, at the
American Jewish conference ses-
sion in Cleveland, I had occa-
sion to speak to Dr. Zalman
Grinberg, head of the Jewish set-
tlements in Bavaria, and he des-
cribed with great elation the joy
of many religious Jews in his
sector when visited by Rabbi
Abraham Kelmanovitz of New
York and my brother, Rabbi
Solomon P. Wohlgelernter of
Seattle, Wash., who toured the
American Zone Of Occupation in
behalf of Vaad Hatzala.
My brother and Dr. Solomon
Schonfeld of London also spent
several months in Poland, visit-
ing practically every large or-
ganized Jewish community, re-
viewing their religious needs and
assisting them in the tremen-
dous task of reconstruction.
Vaad Hatzala has received, on
occasion, subventions from JDC
for some special projects, but the
overall requirements of the pro-
gram of relief' and rehabilitation
for which JDC is responsible are
so vast and varied that it is not
possbile, nor advisable, for it to
undertake these particular efforts
in the religious field. The place
of Vaad Hatzala has, therefore,
been generally accepted, and I
am greatly surprised that you
have raised the issue now. Local-
ly, the Vaad Hatzala Committee
is not conducting its drive dur-
ing the period of the Emergency
Allied Jewish Campaign, to
which we must all give of our
best means and energies.
you published in the very same
issue relative to the Gewerkshaf-
ten campaign, which has just
concluded its local appeal for
$125,000. The beneficiary of that
drive is the Histadruth in Pales-
tine which, of course, receives the
bulk of its support from UPA,
since the labor colonies and in-
stitutions are among the fore-
most in the new Yishub. Yet you
rightfully acclaim the Detroit
friends of t h e Palestine Jewish
Labor movement for their inde-
pendent activities in behalf of
the special projects supported by
the Gewerkshaften. On the
other hand, all the workers in
the local Labor Zionist move-
ment will no doubt dedicate their
organizpd strength to the com-
munity effort for the United
Jewish Appeal during the next
few months. That is as it should
be. For the sake of developing
a healthy communal spirit and
cooperation among all groups, let
us not raise at this time any issue
of "over-lapping" which in real-
ity does not exist.
M. J. WOHLGELERNTER.
■
Rabbi
•
Editor's Reply
HIAS, reporting last week on
its annual meeting, opened its
news release with the statement:
"The 2,500 delegates to the an-
nual meeting of the Hebrew
Sheltering and Immigrant Aid
Society instructed their officers
to continue conferences with the
American Jewish Joint Distribu-
tion Committee in an attempt to
work, out a means of eliminating
duplication and over-lapping in
the field of migration service,
with the inevitable waste that
must follow."
Our contention is that there
should be elimination of ALL
waste on ALL Jewish fronts.
That applies to relief, to Pales-
tine reconstruction and to domes-
tic U. S. Jewish affairs. It ap-
plies to JDC and Vaad Hatzala,
to Keren Hayesod and Gewerk-
shaften. We praise Gewerkshaf-
ten just as we commend Vaad
Hatzala for their good deeds, but
we are anxious to see speedy
elimination of all over-lapping
activities, especially those apply-
ing to our relief efforts.
Our contention is that if it is
possible for JDC to distribute
Sifre Torah, Taleisim and • Tefil-
imi, it ought to be possible, in
cooperation with religious lead-
ers, also to provide kosher food
and to take care of the needs of
the observant Jews. If JDC
activities are faulty, let them be
corrected. But let us avoid over-
lapping.
Asks Respect for Guest
Speakers and Hatikvah
Editor, The Jewish News:
On March 17 the ,Histadrut
held its 25th anniversary meeting
at Cass High auditorium.
I was pleased to see the large
audience which responded and
attended this important gather-
ing of Histadrut. It was grati-
fying to observe that so many
people showed so much interest
in that affair.
A few things impressed me,
however from a critical stand-
point.
Hatikvah is the official Jewish
National Anthem. It is common
to all the Jews all over the world,
be it in the United States, Brazil,
France, Poland or Palestine. It
is the custom to stand at atten-
tion, -facing the flag or the stage
wherever the National Anthem
of any nation is played, and cer-
tainly more so when this National
Anthem happens to be our own.
Actually it makes a difference of
only a few minutes, so why not
pay due respect to our colors
and our National Anthem and
stand quietly instead of making
a dash for the door? Respecting
Hatikvah is a fine way of show-
ing culture and intelligence.
People are all different, of dif-
ferent opinions, different likes
and dislikes. Some people ap-
Illustrates Argument
preciate . a certain musical num-
I might cite, as an illustration ber, others do not. In the same
of my argument, the editorial manner, people appreciate a
Friday, March 29, 1946
speaker, others do not. Respect-
ing a guest speaker is very im-
portant. It is not necessary for
one reason or another to create
disturbance of any sort. It is
proper to respect a fellow man
who is listening and pay due res-
pect to the guest speaker on
the platform. So why not try
to be tactful and attempt not to
make any noise or walk out?
It is those little things that so
often mean so much.
TOBI GOLDOFTAS
Billikopf Compares 1917
Drive With U. J. A. of 1946
Editor, The Jewish News:
On March 4, 1917, in my capac-
ity as director of the American
Jewish Committee, I appealed to
the late Julius Rosenwald on be-
half of the suffering Jews of
Europe and asked him to con-
tribute $1,000,000 toward the pro-
jected campaign for $10,000,000.
This he readily agreed to do. His
response was thoroughly in keep-
ing with the modesty, the vision
and the utter selflessness of the
man. The gift, he said, was be-
ing made in the hope that the
urgency of the situation would
be brought home to the Jews of
the United States. His offer
evoked a message from Wood-
rdw Wilson in which the Presi-
dent uttered sentiments as true
today as they were then:
"It is to America that these
starving millions look for aid and
out of our prosperity, fruit of free
institutions, should spring a vast
and ennobling generosity. Your
gift lays an obligation even
while it furnishes inspiration."
Impressive Action
And that great leader in Am-
erican Jewry, who was then
president of the American Jew-
ish Relief Committee, wired
Julius Rosenwald:
"Your impressive action cannot
fail to be a source of inspiration
to every right-thinking man and
will undoubtedly call into activ-
ity the latent energies of our
co-religionists and arouse them
to a realization of their obligation
to their suffering brethren."
Mr. Rosenwald's generosity
certainly stirred the conscience
of his fellow Jews throughout
the country. In virtually every
Jewish community there was
someone who, emulating the ex-
ample of Julius Rosenwald, of-
fered to contribute 10% of the
amount to be subscribed by his
fellow citizens. The $10,000,000
was oversubscribed by nearly
$1,100,000, of which $1,000,000
was contributed, at my sugges-
tion, to the Jewish Welfare
Board. The following year $15,-
000,000 was raised.
More Tragic Now
This story has a poignant sig-
nificance today. If the condition
of the Jews in Europe was tragic
in 1918, it is infinitely more
tragic now. If $25,000,000 was
needed in 1917-18, the quota of
$100,000,000 set by the three
great agencies—Joint Distribution
Committee, United Palestine Ap-
peal and National Refugee Ser-
vice—is indeed a modest one.
True to the noble example set
by their father, the children of
the late Julius Rosenwald have
just contributed $1,000,000 to this
great cause. The family of Felix
M. Warburg have given $500,000,
the family of Edmund I. Kauf-
man, $250,000.
These gifts, generous as they
are, are only a beginning.
Throughout the length and
breadth of the United States, the
conscience of Jews must be
stirred once more to the end
that the cry of the 'uncounted
hundreds of thousands of Jews
in Europe may not go unheeded.
JACOB BILLIKOPF,
Chairman, Special Clem-
ency Board,
Var Department,
Washington, D. C.
Dr. Goldstein Explains
Jewish University Plans
Editor, The Jewish News:
My attention has been called to
As I See the $2,000,000 Drive
By ABE KASLE
President, United Hebrew Schools of Detroit
The Emergency Drive for $2,000,000 in Detroit must
succeed and can succeed, providing we "stop pretending
and comparing." As a subscriber and solicitor I came
to this conclusion.
Some of us are guilty of pretending poverty and saying
we cannot give, and some of us are pretending, in a most
disgusting manner, of being wealthy and
when the drive comes along we claim that
charity begins at home.
Most of us are guilty of comparing—com-
paring ourselves with people who are prob-
ably over-estimated in wealth. It is often
pointed .out to the solicitor that if "so-and-
so" gave "such-and-such" an amount, "I"
shouldn't even be approached. Or the pros-
pect gives as little as he possibly. can.
This year of all years we must set a new
Abe Kasle
standard of actually giving, because in order to save our
people in Europe we must. do something or let them perish.
In other words, it a question of DO or DIE.
Instead of giving as we did in the past, approximately '
5% of our income, we should give this year at least a min-
imum of 5% of our actual capital worth. Some of our sub-
scribers may fear that by giving a large sum this year they
will establish a precedent for years to came. There is only
one answer to that. If we do the right thing this year we
will give the people of Europe a chance to live and be on
their own, and if we don't do the right thing this year most
of them will die and we will not need that much money
next year.
Their fate is in our hands. WE and WE alone, can solve
their problem.
Welles Film 'Battle for Survival'
Available for Detroit Programs
A dramatic movie presentation lied Jewish Campaign head-
of the emergency needs of the quarters in the Hotel Tuner,
Jewish people overseas is now RA. 9887.
available for showings at meet-
Orson. Welles, the celebrated
ings of organizations and other stage and screen, star, serves as
gatherings.
the narrator for the picture en-
Arrangements for obtaining
titled, "Battle for Survival,"
the film, projector and operator which has just been produced by
should be made through the Al-
RKO Pathe for the $100,000,000
United Jewish Appeal fo,r Refu-
reports which have appeared re- gees, Overseas Needs and Pales-
garding the interest of a Jewish tine.
group in Middlesex University.
"Battle for Survival," written
The reports, apparently based on by Ardis Smith and edited by
rumors, are garbled and distorted. Gene Milford, is one of the first
Since my name has been men- film records of the struggle for
tioned, may I state what is being survival of the 1,400,000 Jewish
proposed?
A Jewish group has been or-
ganized which is interested in es-
tablishing a university to sup-
ported primarily by Jewish funds,
to be open to Jews and non-Jews
without any quotas, on merit only.
There are scores of colleges and
universities in the United States
which have been established by
Protestant and Catholic denomi-
national groups. It would be con-
sistent with these precedents for
a Jewish group to undertake a
similar project, conducting it
without any quota system. The
100-acre campus and buildings of
Middlesex University at Walth-
am, Massachusetts, are under con-
sideration as the possible site.
The proposal is still in the
ORSON WELLES
earl:• stages of exploration. If it
succeeds in gaining support and men, women and children who
sponsorship, the first step will be escaped annihilation at the hands
the development of a first-class of the Nazis.
College of Liberal Arts and a
The new film contains drama-
School of Veterinary Medicine. tic scenes of wandering, homeless-
The opening of a Medical School ness and persecution in Europe
would be available for a school and the measures that are being
whose standards would be such taken for relief and rehabilitation
as to leave no doubt regarding in overseas lands. The role of
the approval of authorities in the Palestine as a haven for large
field of medical education.
numbers of the oppressed is also
The sponsorship and support depicted in scenes which show
must be broadly represented, not the arrival of refugees in box cars
limited to any one ideological and the building of new settle-
group in Jewish life nor to _any ments to give them a new life.
geographical area. The good-will
"Battle for SurviVal" portrays
and cooperation of leading non- the arrival and integration of ref-
JeVish educators throughout the
country will be sought. It is to be ugees in the United States and il-
a project in the best American lustrates how a systematic pr
tradition • as a constructive con- grain of adjustment will be ca
tribution to American education ried on for all those displaced per
at a time when there is a desper- sons who will enter the countr
ate need of adequate facilities in
the field of higher education and in the coming months under Pres
ident Truman's directive.
training for professions.
One of the most stirring se
We have received encourage-
ment from a number of leading quences in the new film that pic
educators and other men of af- tures the vast needs and activi
fairs, Jews and non-Jews, in va-
ties of the agencies represented i
rious parts of the country.
A more detailed announcement the $100,000,000 United Jewis
will be forthcoming as soon as Appeal is the departure of sev
the plans have matured further. eral hundred children from th
Sincerely yours,
notorious concentration camp o
DR. ISRAEL GOLDSTEIN,
Buchenweld with Palestine
270 W. 89th St.,
their ultimate destination..
New York 24, N. Y.