Strictly
Confidential

By PHINEAS J. BIRON

(Copyright, 1947. Seven Arts)

THE WHOLE STORY
In the shuffle on our editor's desk, the
most important part of last week's lead
item was somehow omitted . . The item
told of the surprise and indignation of
Toronto's Jewish community when a pri-
vately owned skating rink, "The Icelan-
dia," refused admission to a young Jew-
ish girl because she was Jewish . . .
What was omitted is the fact that the
Torpnto Jewish community should not
have been surprised .. . Six months pre-
vious a Negro boy was barred from the
very same rink, and the Jewish defense
agencies remained silent . . . We cannot
believe that this was censorship . . . We
know that our editor is fully aware that
anti-Semitism and Jim Crow are two sides
of the same fascist coin.
a •
•
PERSONALIA
One of New York's top law firms,
"House, Grossman, Vorhaus & Hemley,"
has added Naomi Ransom as a member of
the firm . . . Naomi is one of America's
legal topnotchers, and a sister of Rabbi
Marius Ransom.
Mischa Elman was the soloist at a re-
cent Havana concert sponsored by the
Cuban Federation of Labor.
Ex-Governor Lehman seen at the
"Years Ago" benefit for the Downtown
Community School in New York.
Leonard Bernstein under the influence
of Orson Welles . . . He'll conduct, write
the score and act in Mary Pickford's film,
"The Beckoning Fair One."
Barney Ross in Los Angeles, living with
Monte Proser of New York's Copacabana
. . Proser's west for the picture on his
nightspot, Barney is a victim of the hous-
ing shortage.
Glad to hear that Dinah Shore's -run in
with a tractor at her California ranch
didn't hurt . .. Please don't take chances
with that beautiful voice, Beautiful.

•

lit

•

SISTER ACT
Two Jewish sisters, Rebecca Kiang and
Zita Kiang Handelman, wife of psychia-
trist Dr. Sydney Handelman, have just
completed two novels, "God Send Sun-
day" and "Peter Our Spouse" . . . "God
Send Sunday" is a serious psychiatric
novel about the mental rehabilitation of
a New York girl, and "Peter Our Spouse"
is a psychiatric novel about the trials and
tribulations of a psychiatrist with in-law
troubles' a rul.,.,b.ow his home was almost
turned into a violent ward . in a state
hospital. New York's best agents are
fighting for the rights . . . Twentieth Cen-
tury is considering "Peter Our Spouse"
. . . Rebecca is a well-known contributor
to leading magazines, including "Red
Book." and one of Zita's short stories ap-
pears in the first Short-Short Omnibus,
an anthology of short stories,
•
•
•
FOR NIEMOLLER APPLAUDERS
Norbert Wollheim spent a long time in
the concentration camp of Ausschwitz
. . . He was a youth leader and organizer
of children's transports in Naziland, and
helped save 7,000 Jewish children from
the Nazis . .. Now he is in this country
on a lecture tour and speaks for 23,000
Jews living in the British German zone
. . Wollheim says, "The Germans have
not changed . . . They forgive Hitler all
but one thing: that he lost the war . . .
They have no feeling of guilt whatso-
ever" . .. Wollheim states authoritatively
that "Jews are still living in the same hor-
rible, memory-haunted camps, while
many of the Nazis comfortably live in
luxurious villas . . . In the camp Bergen-
Belsen 30,000 Jews died AFTER the lib-
eration ... Anti-Semitism is still flourish-
ing in Germany under the benign smile
of Bri`isivAmerican occupation . . . The
Jews in Germany are disillusioned and
bitter," continued Wollheim . . . "They
say 'The Nazis extinguished us, the de-
mocracies don't let us live'." ... And Pas-
tor Niemoller is rather satisfied that Ger-
mans today are oh so sympathetic to the
Jews.

Eternal Lesson

A man was removing stones from his

•

Friday, February. 14, 1947

THE JEWISH NEWS

Page Two

own to public property. A sage noted this
and said, "0 man, why dost thou remove
stones from the property of others to
thine own?" The man, however, laughed
at him.
Time passed. The man sold his field
t one day, and as he was walking away
he stumbled over some of the stones he
had thrown Into the roadway. He said
to himself: 'The sage was truly right
when he declared that I was casting
stones from the property of others upon
mine own. That which belongs to all, be-
longs to each."—(Baba Kamma.)

Jacob H. Schiff—A Statesman

By JACOB BILLIKOPF

Jacob Schiff, the 100th anniversary of whose birth now is being commemor-
ated, was a great deal more than a generous contributor to public welfare. He was
not merely an anonymous giver, doing his works of kindness in secret; he was
above all else a great statesman in philanthropy, and he brought to his multitudin-
ous tasks of humanity a rare and personal touch which was. as inspiring as it was
unique.
Some years ago Mr. Schiff was one of the few men vision in America, who,
impressed by the enormous problem that the influx of Europeans was creating in
our country, bestirred. himself to find a solution that would be at _once fair and
generous to the immigrant and mindful of the interest of the new world. Mr,
Schiff was thoroughly aware of the fact that not only was America capable of ab-
sorbing the millions of Europe's overflowing population, but that this influx of new
blood from the Old World was of the utmost value -to the New: he was no less alive
to the tremendous dangers that were bound to come in the wake of this vast move-
ment.
A precious memory is worth recording.
When Mr. Schiff arrived in Kansas City, where I was director of the Federation
of Jewish Charities, the Jewish and non-Jewish local notables tendered him a
splendid banquet. They gathered at the banquet in expectation that he, the all pow-
erful financier, would soon arrive too, and two hours passed and Mr. Schiff did not
appear. When the crowd began to disperse, full of disappointment and at a late
hour, Jacob Schiff turned up with a bouquet of flowers in his hand. "You see,"
he said to the local notables, "these flowers were given to me by the Jewish immi-
grants with whom I spent the evening and they are dearer to me than any-
thing others can give me." '
Later on I again became very intimately associated with Mr. Schiff in the
work of relief for the war-stricken in Europe. During the great campaign of 1917-
1918, when the country attempted to raise for Jewish war sufferers the greatest
sum that ever had been brought together for any Jewish cause up 'to that time,
Mr. Schiff worked daily and at all hours, writing letters, sending telegrams, urg-
ing this leader and that community to lend a hand and make a sacrifice.
For more than two years he, Louis Marshall and others, wrote personal letters
to the great and influential men in the country exhorting them to do their duty
and participate in this great and humane undertaking. Thanks to these letters and
personal visits of Jacob H. Schiff, it was possible for us to organize tremendous
campaigns and to collect more than $30,000,000.
A few weeks before his death, the great financier told me of his plan to raise
a loan for Palestine. He was corresponding on the subject with Sir Herbert
Samuel, High Commissioner for Palestine. He believed that it would be possible
to finance the Palestine project and that the country would be rebuilt in accord-
ance with Balfour's Declaration. Only those who know how difficult it is to cause
conservative bankers and financiers to finance such an undertaking will be able to
appreciate the greatness of the task which he had assumed. His death unfortunately
put an end to this work.
It was the blending of statesmanship and of a stateman's vision with the
urgency of his heart that rendered Schiff incomparable among the philanthropists
of his period.

Purely
Commentary

Agency, Inc.)

POLITICAL TRENDS
The trans-Atlantic telephone lines have

been buzzing during the last 10 days with
long talks between Zionist leaders in the
United States and London . . . American
Zionist leaders, particularly Dr. Silver,
have been extremely active in Washing-
ton . . . Dr. Silver is definitely against
continuing the informal talks with For-
eign Secretary Bevin, since it is now clear

By ARNOLD LEVIN

( Copyright, 1947, Independent Jewish
Press Service. Inc.)

MARSHALL SPECULATIONS

Martial law in Palestine, as threatened,
will suit the purposes of two diametrically
opposed groups — the British military and
the Jewish terrorists. It will be a victory for
Gen. Sir Evelyn Barker, known for his con-
tempt for the Jewish "race," - and for Mena-
hem Beigin. leader of the Irgun Zvai Leumi.
The British military want no solution
implying finality—they want a base where
they can enjoy unfettered authority, unlike
Egypt and other Middle East states.
Under martial law. the Irgun figures
factories would stop. causing unemployment,
the Jews would increasingly resent the
British, and more Jews Would join them.
In the end, under such a cycle, the British
would have to negotiate — as in Ireland —
and with Irgun, instead of moderate ele-
ments.

This viewpoint is of more than pass-
ing interest. It is an indication that only
extremists stand to gain from trouble in
Palestine. It should serve to enlighten
both the British and the Irgunists---who
are labeled as being of the same cloth
by Mr. Mowrer—that their policies are
destructive and must be abandoned.

• • •
"KAPUTT"—"WHAT ELSE CAN
WE DO?"

By BORIS SMOLAIi

(Copyright, 1947. Jewish Telegraphic

Heard in
The Lobbies

By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ

MARTIAL LAW—EXTREMISTS' GAIN
It is good to know that Richard Mowrer,
noted foreign correspondent who was
among those injured in the King David
Hotel blast, is back on the job. The per-
sonal hurt he suffered, the fact that he
was bed-ridden in the Jerusalem Hadas-
sah hospital for months, did not blur his
vision on the Jewish issue and he has
remained our friend.
Mr. Mowrer on Feb. 4 sent the follow-
ing cable to his newspaper, the New
York Post, from Jerusalem:

Between
You and Me

Accompanying the publication of the
digest of the best seller "Kaputt," the
editors of the New York Post point out
in a note on the author, eurzio Mala-
parte, that he was "the literary figure-
head of the Italian Fascists," that: "En-
fant terrible of the party, he put a cloak
of respectability around the vicious
movement using literature as his means."
"Kaputt" is described at: "a shocking.
obscene and sickening chronicle of
German rule and cruelty on the continent
during these years," that it is "valuable
as an unimpeachable record of what the
Nazi and Fascist rtgimes perpetrated in
Europe. It will help us to know the en-
emy—Malaparte among them — better,
though our understanding may be further
put off than ever.'
There is the story in "Kaputt" of the
persecution of Jews, and the most re-
pelling tale is that of the Jews who were
locked into cattle care and were suf-
focated on a trip which ended in Po-
duloea, on the Bessarabian border in
Romania. It is difficult to believe that the
story of "two thousand corpses stretched
out under the sun" was the result of an
occurence in our twentieth century civili-
zation. The Italian consul, Sartori,' does
not appear in good light—either as a
human being or as an Italian. He was a
Fascist — and that explains it.
One paragraph in "Kaputt" is of par-
ticular interest. Having removed the

Dr. -Abba Hillel Silver met Secretary of
State Marshall last week. The meeting
was not reported in the press, and no com-
ment was made by either party as to the
drift or content of the conversation. There
is a great deal of speculation as to where
the general stands on the Palestine issue.
According to some, he may be persuaded
to see the British viewpoint, because as a
general he is likely to place strategy first.
This is an erroneous- assumption. Many
strategists, including British, believe that
a Jewish- state and the armed force of
Jewish Palestine are a prerequisite for
the democracies' position in the Middle
East. Disturbing is the appointment of
Goldwaithe Dorr as special adviser to
General Marshall on DP problems. Mr.
Dorr was a member of the Morrison-
Grady Committee which disembogued a
still-birth. General McNarney's statement
blaming on Zionist indoctrination the de-
sire of Europe's Jewish DPs to go to Pal-
estine, but stressing that nothing can be
done about it and that they should be
transferred to Palestine, is likely to affect
any decisions General Marshall makes
. . . We'll wait and see . . . The general's
handling of the Chinese situation should
indicate that Foreign Secretary Bevin is
in for some hard disappointments if he
entertains any hopes of duping the
general.

• •

•

BOOKS

Read Leon Huhner's The Life of Judah
Touro (The Jewish Publication Society)
for a portrait of the man and his times.
It is the first and only Touro biography,
and familiarizes the reader with some
early American Jewish history. Fascinat-
ing.

corpses from the cattle train, a Jewish
delegation from the Poduloea community
having made an appearance, Malaparte
relates this incident:

"Suddenly we' heard the sounds of a quar-
rel. A crowd of peasants and gypsies who
had gathered from all over were stripping
the corpies. Sartori made a gesture of pro.,-
test, but the rabbi put a hand on his arm.
•It can't be helped,' he said. 'It is a custom.'
Then with a sad smile he added in a low
voice, 'They will come tomorrow to sell us
the clothing stolen from the dead and we
shall have to buy it. What else can we do?"

In this paragraph is epitomised the
entire tragedy of oppressed Jews, of help-
less Jews in exile, of a people that first
is stripped of its belongings and then is
compelled to buy back its own posses-
sions. Isn't this practically the case with
the manner in which Jews were robbed
of their belongings and now find it diffi-
cult if not impossible to regain their
properties in countries which have been
regained by military victory from the
Nazis?
"Kaputt" appears tc be the answer—
with the tragic commentary: "What else
can we do?"—when the world's victor-
ious powers are so indifferent?

that he is the chief obstacle to a favorable
cabinet decision on Palestine . . . How-
ever, regardless of what the cabinet de-
cides, the Jewish Agency will have to

make preparations in anticipation of the
Palestine issue being brought before the
United Nations .. . Everything points to
the Palestine problem occupying a good
deal of time at the next general assembly,
of UN in September . . . At present all
parties involved are still reluctant—for
varying reasons—to bring the issue to the

UN . . The reasons why the Jewish

Agency does not want the problem
brought before the UN are not the same
as those behind Britain's reluctance . .
The Arabs, too, have their special reasons
for wanting to avoid the UN . . . Never-
theless, it seems that Palestine will be-
come one of the major issues on the UN
agenda. Interested Jewish organizations
should be aware of they fact that the Nor-
wegian government may soon propose to
the United Nations that it deal with the
problem of homeless Jews as a whole and
work out an international solution . . .
Some members of the Norwegian govern-
ment are thinking in terms of compact
Jewish settlement in AuStralia, on the
basis of the Kimberley plan that was ne-
gotiated shortly before the outbreak of
the war.

•
•
•
THE DOMESTIC SCENE

Gen. Eisenhower will be the principal
speaker at the big donors conference
which the United Jewish Appeal will hold
in Washington the end of this month.
The National Jewish Welfare Board
and Bnai Brith are unhappy over the
convention dates of the
two organizations . . .
The Welfare Board an-
nounced several months
ago that it would hold
its national convention
the week-end of May 10
. . . It has now learned
that Bnai Brith has set
its convention for the
same week-end. . . How-
ever, they will not be
Eisenhower able to attend both con-
ventions, since Bnai Brith will meet in
Washington and JWB in Pittsburgh.
Everything seems to be peaceful on
the American Jewish front . . . This could
be seen at the general assembly of the
Council of Jewish Federations and Wel-
fare Funds . . . The discussions there did
not reveal the existence of even a single
controversial issue in American Jewish
life . . . The situation was quite diffeirent
a year or two ago, ' when the national
budgeting issue led to differences of opin-
ion among Jewish leaders throughout the
country.

•
•
•
MEN AND DEEDS
The first "Atomism" paintings in this
country are the works of James N. Ro-
senberg, well-known Jewish leader, who
is also a well-known artist . . . His recent
paintings, including three "Atomisrns,"
are now being exhibited at the Wilden-
stein Galleries in New York . . -They are
attracting considerable attention and
have been highly praised by art critics
. . . Mr. Rosenberg is well represented in
the most important museums throughout
the country . . . His paintings can be
found at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
in New York as well as the Museums of
Fine Arts in Boston and Cleveland .. .
They are on the - walls of the Carnegie
Institute in Pittsburgh and in the Fogg
Museum of Art at Harvard University ...
The Museums of Art in Cleveland and in
Philadelphia have acquired some of Mr.
Rosenberg's works, as have a number of
institutions in Washington, Omaha, Bruns-
wick, Kansas City, Hartford, Tulsa and
other cities . . . Mr. Rosenberg spends
much of his free time at work in his
studio . . . His "Atomism" canvasses fol-
low a series of paintings of Pittsburgh,
portraying the role of what he can
"Ironism" in contempotary life . .. Be-
sides these paintings of "social signifi-
cance," Mr. Rosenberg has done a good
many excellent paintings of the "Romas-
tic Realism" school, 15 of which are is-

eluded in his current exhibition-. •

