Christian and Jewish Civic, Labor, Community
Groups Join in Salute to Jewish State Sunday
This Sabbath Proclaimed as
Day of Prayer in Synagogues
Religious, civic and labor organizations join-
ed in sponsoring the demonstration to be held at
3:30 p. m. Sunday, May 16, on Central High School
athletic field; Linwood and Burlingame, to herald
the rebirth of the Jewish State and to salute the
fighters for freedom in Palestine.
Congressman Howard Coffin will be
gone of the principal, speakers at the dem-
onstration. Rabbi Leon Fram will be the
main Jewish speaker and there will be
brief greetings by spokesmen for local
Zionist organizations. Christian leaden in
the community will appear on the pro-
gram to express their endorsement of
Jewish aspirations in Palestine,
One of the main features of the after-
. noon will be the blowing of the Shofar to
proclaim Jewish independence in Pales-
tine by a - rev ered orthodox leader who
will wear the Talks. Appropriate Psalms
will
-read and there several thousand
participating children, from the local
congregational and cominunity . schools
will march to the athletic field.
-
The colorful protram to be enacted in-
cludes a march of the Jewish War Veterans,
• -one of the co-sponsoring organizations, ,after
which flags of 53IJN member nations will be
brought in, followed by the White and Blue
Flag_ of Zion. A selection from the Psalms
will be read by Rabbi Isaac Stollman and a
Detroit cantor will chant the El Molei Racha- -
mint in memory of the martyrs who gave
their lives in the fight for Palestine's freedom.
Plans for the great demonstration were form-
ulated at a conference of representatives - of more
than 150 local organizations last Sunday, at the
Labor Zionist - Institute.
Called by the Zionist Council of Detroit, the
event has th,0 co-sponsorship of the Jewish Com-
munity Council; the Bnai Brith Council and their
affiliated 200 organizations.
The conference, at which Seymour Tilchin
presided, heard a call for solidarity with the Yi-
shuv from Dr. B. Benedict Glazer. Tilchin, to-
gether with Sidney Shevitz and M. Pokempner,
-are co-chairmen of the arrangements committee
of the Zionist Council.
"The May 16 demonstration will give us an
opportunity to express our solidarity with the
Yishuv," Dr. Glazer said. "It will afford us the
chance of-declaring that the people of the United
States are with them and will give us the opportun-
ity- of emphasizing our appeals forfavorable ac-
tion in behalf of the Palestine Jewish community
by the United States and the United Nations. The
affair on May 16 should be a solemn, dignified
Young -Adult Council Schedules
First Major Conference in June
"The Challenge. to American
Jewish Youth" will be the theme
of the first 'annual';-conference of
the Detroit Jewish; Young Adult
Council, Rabbi l 'Irwin Gordon,
chairman of the . COunciI confer-
ence committee, announced this
Week.
The conference, in the form of
a , 'Aveek-end camp institute will
take place the weekend of June
18 to 20 at Fresh Air . Camp, near
Brighton, Mich.
Details for the institute are
being arranged by .,the confer-
ence committee, augmented by a
delegation of 25 members of the
Junior Service Group. Cultural,
eductiorral,. recreational and re-
ligious events are planned for
the weekend. The conference will
be open to members of all or-
ganizations affiliated with the
Young Adult Council.
Four member groups will take
the• floor at the next Council
delegates' meeting, Sunday after-
noon, May 23, at the Jewish
Community Center. These or-
ganizations will be the first con-
stituent groups to present infor-
mation about their purposes and
activities to the delegates. Future
programs ai.*e planned to offer
similar opportunity to other
member groups.
2—THE JEWISH NEWS
Friday, May 14, 1948
In an unprecedented ceremony
at the New York City Hall,
MAYOR WILLIAM O'DWYER
formally accepted, for the city
of New York, a set of the new
10-volume Jewish Encyclopedia
•
By PHIUP SLOMOVITZ
':.'liber'ation Week—Its Trials and Tribulations
.-
,
-
7.Solufe40:14440-10
lit- 'Bless Me, My Brother'
SundWkdgPonstration also will serve as a salute to Haganah,
the4rght4.:. 1-(g•cg: -Zor freedom. There are people in our midst who
raise.tlie4-.:, :of - religion:versus nationalism in the present struggle
for juStiCe:',ThereiS a deeply religious note in the Haganah struggle,
..:Since-Slayeipul§i4.relzspiritually as well as physically.
Terre -iS an excellent stdry about the spiritual power of Haganah.
ewspaper "Haaretz" recently recorded a
,.story thdt-wag aganah guard to one of its reporters. The
Haganah man sal
-My way from guard duty. I met-an old
man corry in .40-p-Ailia. and tephillin. bag. He stopped me, held
on to iny hands.and
'Bless me, my brother.'
"I reftisid: 'What tvtil my blessing do you You are now on
the way :to prayers„. iVhile I am going to sleep .
"But the old man was -adamant: 'You are more important
than I. You are fulfilling the con-In/lands of God with all your
heart, all your soul - and all your life. I have not reached that
stage of-piety yet : .
"What could I do? I had to bless him, and since then Hag-
__ anah work is 10 times dearer to me."
There is something spiritually powerful in this incident. Would
that some of the critics of the "irreligious" in Palestine were as re-
ligious as these "irreligious.b
-
Off the Record
New York City Gets
Jewish Encyclopedia
Purely Commentary
ThiSis Libereation.Week in Palestine.. On Sunday, the Jewish
community will take over control of the country. A - de. facto JeWash
;government already exists. A Jewish republic is functioning. Barring
'obstacles from the British and the massing of Arab troops on isolated
Colonies, it .is safe to say. that this is the end of Jewish statelessness.
With liberation will come many trials and tribulations. There
will be difficulties in Palestine, since internal conflicts are not al-
ways avoidable. There will be the prolems of financing government
prOjects. The postal, .telegraph and to phone systems will have to be
reconstructed. We are.,Confident that the Yishuv __will know how to
.face the issues: :Would that Jews outside Palestine could face prob-
)ems as bravely.. •
. Thus—the Jews in the Diaspora will: be faced with issues which
.eve - Mast be prepared to meet. There already haVe been incidents
of a rather • unpleasant nature in this country. Anti-Semites are
:'..resorting to the taunting cries of "go to Palestine" in attacking our
:peOple. A Jewish woman :was accosted by a non-Jewess at .a- fruit
Counter in a local store with the shout "why don't you go to Tel
AviV?" She received. the proper reply: "You belong with the Nazis
•- at. the bar of justice-in'-Berlin."
As we.prepare to greet the Yishuv on its statehood we also must
.be prepared.. to lace all issues in this country. The preSent adminis-
-tratioir:.haS played a ..shabby trick on justice and fair play with its
atterripttiirtia
. •kelan about-face in the Palestine matter. The defeat
of the alportiVe::trilsteeship plan may be held against us, but we
should he- i eady,=to indicate that we have saved the good name of
America :16:..y :..effeeting a •defeat for injustice.
ed- :*e'deiriOnstrate on Sunday, in celebration of Liberation
teSolVe•Ahat we shall continue to fight for justice and
.cle,genct.Y:t.hug_upholding.the highest principles of Americanism. And
Jet us"all tin Out:len . masse for the demonstration. No . one should
be :thissitig.#46 Deti:oitlw_gath ering in honor of the Jewish State. •
*
*
appeal to the conscience of our own country and
to the world at large to fulfill the promises that
have been made to us."
Jewish War Veterans, Boy Scouts, congrega-
tional groups, non-Jewish labor and civic organ-
izations pledged their cooperation in the May 16
demonstration.
At a meetjng on Tuesday, the Vaad Ho-
Rabonim, the Council of the Orthodox Rabbis
of Detroit, decided to dedicate the Sabbath
preceding Liberation Day—May 15—as a sol-
emn day of prayer:A special order of service
has been arranged and will be sent by the rab-
bis to all local synagogues.
To mark the establishment ofd a Jewish State
in Palestine on May 16, one day after termination
of the British Mandate, Mizrachi, the religious-
Zionist organization of America, will hold public
mass meetings throughout the country that Sun-
day afternoon at which religious-Zionists will
affirm their "moral support and spiritual sol-
idarity with the new Jewish State and the Yi-
shuv," Leon Gellman, national president of Miz-
rachi, announced.
In Detroit; Mizrachi will join in the city-wide
demonstration with the rest of the community.
Arrangernents are being made, however, by a
committee headed by Irving W. Schlussel to mob-
ilize Detroit Jews for Sunday's demonstration dur-
ing Sabbath services. Rabbis and heads of con-
gregations are asked to have Palestine Jewery's
Delaration of Independence read during services.
By NATHAN ZIPRIN
Copyright -Seven Arts Feature Syndicate
-May 16
f
Will May 16th see the proclamation of the Jewish State? _
Terrific pressure is being brought to bear on the Jewish Agency to
agree to a postponment . These inducements are being offered: (1)
Jewish immigration into Palestine at the rate of 4,000 monthly (2)
The right to buy land (3) Jewish control of the Jewish areas ... If
this plan is adopted the present situation will be frozen in order to
prevent the emergence of the Jewish state . • British troops will re-
main to guard the status quo . . It is now clear why the British
suddenly sent troops to Palestine again ... It was not just for a two-
week period, notwithstanding British assurances to the contrary . .
Zionist leadership is facing a most crucial situation . . . If it accepts
the plan advocated by France and backed by the U. S., the dissident
forces in Palestine will revolt ... They will be joined by members
of the Haganah . . . They will claim that acceptance means the doom
of the Jewish state and the re-emergence of the Morrison Plan—and
that Bevin will finally triumph ... Zionist and Jewish ranks may
for the first time be seriously split.
Walter Lippman is again giving advice to the Jewish people . ...-
In his column of May 6. he stresses that British mediation is indis-
pensable .. . British with the help of the United States should trans-
rm Transjordan into a center of power, influence and authority .
rppmann, who in the last 10 years has not found one word of sym-
pathy for the Jews of Europe, would do infinitely better to have con
tinued his silence.
*
*
Latin America
in English hailing it as a "symbol
of the rich and enduring con-
tributions made by -the Jewish
people to civilization, to world
morality, to interreligious fel-
lowship — and to the higher
values in life."
He urged the United Nations
to . examine the record of the
world's debt to Judaism, as de-
picted in the enclyclopedia, in
order to safeguard Sawish sur-
vival and aspirations.
The presentation was made by
MRS. ISAAC LANDSMAN,
widow and co-worker of the late
Rabbi Landsman, originator and
editor of the Enclyclopedia.
Women Workers
Contacted 11,000
AJC Contributors
Workers in the Women's Divi-
sion of the 1949 Allied Jewish
Campaign, under the leadership
of Mrs. Joseph H. Ehrlich_ and
Mrs. Henry Wineman, have al-
ready called on over 11,000 con-
tributors this year: The group,
which is bending every effort to
get all possible slips covered,
hopes to reach at least 12,000
women before the drive ends.
Mrs. Seymour J. Frank,' chair-
man of general solicitation, has
scheduled a luncheon meeting at
12:30 p.m. Friday, May 21 at the
Old Wayne Club for all division
chairmen, secretaries and ' cap-
thins. At this time, the women
will discuss the problems that
arose in the campaign, hoping
to outline a pattern of procedure
for next year that will make • for
smoother, more even fUnctioning,
and for more complete coverage.
On April 14, Peron stated to a group of American journalists:
"Argentine has succeeded to free itself from the domination of Jew-
ish bankers and financial trusts" . . . This was reported by the AP
but somehow was missed by the Jewish and general press in the
U. S. A. . . Three weeks before the recent revolt in Bogota, an anti-
Jewish manifestation took place there . . • It was quickly suppressed
by the police ... The situation in Latin-America needs careful watch-
ing . . . American Jews who are naturalized citizens still encounter
difficulties in obtaining visas to some Latin American countries ..
In the days of the Marshalls and Schiffs our country broke off com-
mercial relations with Russia because it refused visas to American
Jews.
Truth is Stranger Than Fiction
Robert Best, the Bostonian who was recently convicted for
treason in connection with his broadcast activities for Hitler during
the war, hated Jews a shade more than his country . . But there
is one Jew who will never forget him . . . He is a Boston tailor . .
On July 7, 1944 the tailor was notified by the War Department that
his only son was missing in action ....The frantic parents could not
make peace with the idea that their son was dead . . . Once, while
turning on the shortwave, they heard a German broadcaster annonuce
that he would read off the names of American prisoners of war at
the end of his talk . . . The tailor's son was not mentioned ... But
the parents of the missing boy were still hoping for a miracle .
for weeks and weeks they kept on listening to the Nazi broadcasts,
suffering agony and humiliation while the Nazi broadcasters ; kept on
heaping abuse and insults on Jews . . . On September 8, 1944, they
heard an announcement that Robert Best of Boston would talk to his
fellow Americans .. 4est got on the air and immediately proceeded
with a bitter anti-Jewish tirade ... The desperate parents were no
longer able to take the abuse against Jews ... Just as they were about
to shut off the radio they heard an announcement that a letter would
be read from a Roxbury boy . . . It was from their son Irving . .
When the Nazi military machine was collapsing Irving escaped the
prison camp . . . He reached a Soviet outpost and was later turned
over to the American military authorities . . . On his return to the
C. S. Irving received a number of high decorations.
•
A Jewish Problem
When the Jewish community in Madrid was driven out by
Franco in 1938, the first thought in the mind of the Jews was what
to do with the Holy Scrolls, some of which were the handiwork of
scribes before the Inquisition ... A leader of the community carried
off- the scrolls to a Franciscan church in southern Spain, where the
overseers promised to hide them . . . When the Jews returned to
Madrid after the war, they recalled the incident about the sacred
Scrolls and communicated with the Franciscan church authorities
. . The church offered to return the scrolls but only on the condi- ..--
tion that the man who deposited them for safekeeping call for them
. . . But the Jew who was so concerned about the Holy Scrolls in
1938 had in the meantime become converted to Catholicism and his
identity had been drowned under a new name . . . Now the Jewish .
community in Madrid is faced with a delicate problem whether or
not to take legal action against the church.