Council of Jewish Women Raises
Funds for International Projects

Now entering its final month, the $10,000 fund-raising drive of
the Detroit Section of the National Council of Jewish Women is in
full progress. This is the first time that Council Women have at-
tempted to raise funds on a scale beyond that of local community
activities. NCJW projects now include homes for girls in Athens
and Paris, a grant to the Hebrew University in Israel and a scholar-
ship fund enabling foreign students to complete their education in
this country.
Pictured with the Council fund booklets are: (lower step left
to right: MRS. NATHAN BRONSTEIN, MRS. EDWARD ROBERTS:
upper step, left to right, MRS. EMIL ROTHMAN, MRS. SAMUEL
RANDS, PEARL DEVENOW, campaign chairman. Other active
leaders in the drive are Mesdames Stanley Akers, Samuel Grekin,
Dan Krouse, Audrey Roberts, Nathan Schermer and Arthur Gould.

Max Elkin Reports Brotherhood
Evidenced in Mt. Clements Drive

A real expression of brother-
hood has been evidenced in the
Mt. Clements $45,000 United Jew-
ish Appeal campaign, now under
way, according to Max Elkin,
drive chairman.
"We have been deeply gratified
to find that scores of non-Jewish
citizens . . . unsolicited and not
intended to be solicited ... have
sent donations or asked that drive

-

workers call on them," Elkin
declared.
"This, to my m i n d, is real
brotherhood and Americanism ...
These people of the Gentile faith
have gone out of their way to
offer help . . . proving there is
real hope for universal brother-
hood . . . This is the only answer
to strife inside nations and among
nations," he concluded.

Purely Commentary

By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ

A New Minority: The Republican Party
The election is over. Now we can settle down to business. From
this point on, this nation begins to plan its affairs of state without
hindrance of political antagonisms. *- . .
NOW—those who will assume Office in January at the head of
this nation will have an opportunity to make good on their - pledges!
Republicans and Democrats alike are committed to a program in
support of Israel. We shall see whether President Truman will grant
the Jewish State de jure recognition as soon as the Israeli elections
will liave been complete in December; whether the EXport-Import
Bank will grant Israel the long-deferred loan; whether our Govern-
ment will assist in ending Arab aggression in the Middle East.
There were the usual unpleasant incidents in the campaign which
ended with the election on Tuesday. There was less talk about minor-
ities—although some c:ndidates for high office frequently referred
to the existence of "minority groups." Actually, insofar as the Jew-
ish citizens are concerned, we do not recognize the existence of
minorities as the term is applied to Jews, Italians, Poles, Negroes,
Catholics, etc.
There ARE minorities, of course. For a brief period in recent
political history, Democrats were in the minority. NOW, Re-
publicans once more form the political minority. In any other
sense, the people of America MUST be referred to as fellow
citizens rather than as members of minority groups that are
differentiated from Protestant or white or Anglo-Saxon elements.
The campaign's debates are at an end, and the country emerged
as a single, united people, with allegiance due by all to the .newly-
elected government. Naturally, all right-minded citizens reserve the
right to criticize the government whenever it errs and to ask -for
action in matters which the citizens of this land believe to be just.
In this fashion we help rather than hinder our government.

Pressure Groups and 'Eternal Vigilance'
We shall always have difference of opinion in the interpretation
of what is and what is not a "pressure group."
For instance, the Detroit Citizens League may sanctimoniously
consider itself outside the ranks of "pressure groups." In its way, it
exerts pressure and seeks to influence public opinion.
When a group presses for action in support of the cause of justice,
it does exactly what the Detroit Citizens League advocates on the
masthead of its Civic Searchlight: it adheres to the principle inherent
in the ideal represented by the Jeffersonian rule that "eternal vig-'
ilance is the price of liberty."
Prior to the Nov. 2 election, the Detroit Citizens League followed
a line entirely "indePendent" of the viewpoint that was adopted by
the Detroit schools and the Detroit newspapers. It urged the voters
to support Amendment No. 2 and to oppose Amendment No. 5. Detroit
educators and responsible leaders had felt it to be in the best interests
of the Detroit schools that Amendment No. 2 should be defeated and
Amendment No. 5 adopted.
The gentlemen who control the thinking in the Detroit Citi-
zens League have a right to their judgment. They were as much
at liberty to act in passing judgment on these two amendments
as they were in viewing individual candidates for office. We
disagree with them on many of their choices, but we admit their
right to their Opinions. But when the Detroit Citizens League
went on record in favor of the Callahan Act (to regulate and con-
trol the operation of foreignagencies acting within the State of
Michigan), we believe that it endorsed a reactionary measure
inimical to the best interests of this State and that it henceforth
should be judged on the basis of its alignment with biased
• legislators.
Governor Kim Sigler made it clear before the election that he
considered the Callahan Act _"a cock-eyed" measure. He is partly
responsible for it, having signed th(: bill when it first passed the
Michigan Legislature. The act must be judged as "cock-eyed" nev-
ertheless. It is a threat to civil liberties and should be fought to a
finish. We charge the Detroit Citizens League with a very narrow
viewpoint in civic matters, as indicated by its stand on the Callahan
measure and we sincerely believe that in the future its recommenda-
tions should be viewed on the basis of its endorsemnt of reactionary
masures. Its endorsement of the Callahan Act exposes this league
in its true colors.

2

THE JEWISH NEWS
Friday, November 5, 1948

—

Organizations
Asked to Name
JNF Delegates

Detroit organizations this week
began to select delegates to the
annual conference of the Jewish
National Fund, to be held all day
Sunday, Nov. 21, at the Detroit-
Leland Hotel.
Irving W. Schlussel, president
of the JNF Council, announced
that Mendel Fisher, national
JNF executive director, will be
one of the principal speakers at
the conference which will com-
mence with a session at 11 a.m.
at which reports will be sub-
mitted on the past year's activi-
ties and greetings will be heard
from spokesmen for local move-
ments and organizations.
After a recess for lunch, the
afternoon session will be de-
voted to the business of the con-
ference and to the principal ad- .
dresses.
There will be reports on
latest happenings in Israel by
leaders who recently returned
from the Jewish State, panel
sessions for the discussion of
JNF projects and the latest
Israeli movie will be shown.
All Detroit organizations are
urged to send names of their
chosen delegates toil. the JNF
office, 11816 Dexter, TO. 8-7384,
as soon as possible.
Mr. Schlussel reported this
week that all plans have been
concluded for the annual JNF
Flag Days, to be observed Satur-
day night and all day Sunday.
He also announced that semi-
annual box clearance began on
Monday and urged all box-
holders to give a - warm recep-
tion to volunteer workers and
to make sure that their boxes
are filled.

Ann Arbor Honors its Leader

Osias Zwerdling Acclaimed by
Community on 70th Birthday

Ann Arbor citizens, University
of Michigan faculty members and
students joined with members of
his family to pay honor last week
to Osias Zwerdling on. his 70th
birthday.
For nearly half a century one
of Michigan's most distinguished
Jewish leaders, Mr. Zwerdling
became the friend and guide of
Jewish students on the U. of M.
campus. But his activities were
not limited to Jewish affairs. He
served as chairman of Communi-
ty Fund and USO drives and was

president for many years of Con-
gregation Beth Israel in Ann Ar-
bor. He was president of the
Michigan Synagogue Conference,
president of Bnai Brith Michigan
Synagogue Conference, president
of Bnai Brith Michigan Hillel
Foundation, chairman of WA
drives, an active leader in the
Zionist movement, Bnai Brith and
JDC.
At the celebration marking the
silver jubilee of U. of M. Hillel
Foundation, on Oct. 24, Mr.
Zwerdling was presented by Hil-
lel Foundation and the Ann Ar-
bor community with a set of the
Universal Jewish Encyclopedia,
as a birthday gift. The presenta-
tion was made by Rabbi Herschel
Lymon, U. of M. Hillel director.
In addition, his family inscribed
his name in the Golden Book of
the Jewish National Fund in the
State of Israel.
On Oct. 27, his brother- and
sister-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Harry
Kaufman, of Ann Arbor, hon-
ored him at a family dinner.

Hadassah Oversubscribes

Ifs 1948 Honor Roll Goal

OSIAS ZWERDLING
president of the Family Service
An audience that nearly filled
Society of Ann Arbor which re-
the Art Institute Auditorium on
cently elected him to honorary
Oct. 27 acclaimed the announce-
life membership. He was a leader ment that Detroit Chapter of Ha-
in World War I Liberty Bond dassah had oversubscribed its
and World War II War Bond
1948 Honor Roll goal of $135,000
campaign.
by $2,000.
Born in Austrian Poland, he
The program featured a sym-
came to the United States in 1900
and settled in Ann Arbor in 1902. posium with Rabbi Philip Bern-
He was married to the former stein of Rochester, N. Y., as mod-
Hannah Kaufman, in Manchester, erator and the following partici-
England, in December, 1907. pants: Mrs. Sigmund Braverman
They have three sons, Morris and of Cleveland, Rabbi Morris Adler,
Abraham, who are practicing law Dr. Harry August and Mark M.
-Krug, director of Buffalo, N. Y.,
in Detroit, and Joseph, who is as-
Bureau of Jewish Education. •
Judge Welcomes Son
sociated with the Office of Gen-
Mrs.. Harry L. Jones -reported
eral
Council
of
Alien
Property
To Federal Practice
Custodian in Washington; and on progress in the Honor Roll
drive. Mrs. Tobias Garon and
On Uncle's Proposal
five grandchildren.
Mr. Zwerdling, who retired Mrs. Harry Platt were presented
Admission of Charles Levin to from the fur business in 1943, was in a duo piano recital.
practice law before Federal
courts was marked by an unusual
triangle. Oct. 27.
The 1947 graduate from the
University of Michigan Law
By BORIS SMOLAR
School was sponsored for ad-
(Copyright. 1948, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)
mission to Federal Court practice
by his uncle, Saul R. Levin. The Israeli Moods
I am asked to explain why the national elections in Israel have
judge who admitted him to prac-
tice was his father, Judge Theo- been postponed to December . . . There are several reasons . One
is that the census of the population undertaken by the Israeli Gov-
dore Levin.
ernment has not as yet been completed because of the war situation.
Four of Charles Levin's class- • . . Another reason lies in the negotiations which various political
mates at the. U. of M. also were groups are conducting among themselves, manipulating for a coali-
admitted to practice that morning. tion which would secure them a majority in the elections . . . Each
Among them was Ralph L. Selt- of these groups is equally interested in gaining time for greater bar-
zer, whose admission to Federal gaining .. . The most important reason for the delay cannot, how-
Court practice was sponsored by ever, be divulged at this moment . . . All that can be said is that it
deals with the effect which the result of the election may have on the
his father, A. Joseph Seltzer.
attitude of certain countries abroad towards Israel-. . . It may interest
Charles Levin served as law many to learn that the U. S. representative in Israel, James G. Mc-
research clerk to Judge Charles Donald, is seriously watching the election moods in Israel . • . Also
C. Simons of the U. S. Circuit that two Washington officials left this week for Israel for the sole
Court of Appeals. Ralph Seltzer purpose of quietly studying the trends in the election campaign ..
was law research clerk to Michi- All indications point to the fact that the State Department would
gan Supreme Court Justice like to see the present Cabinet of Ben Gurion re-elected . . Any
victory in the elections which would endanger Ben Gurion's present
George Bustin -
position would play into the hands of those in Washington who op-
pose de jure recognition of Israel . . . It is now constantly being
repeated in official Washington circles that the U. S. will grant de jure
All Jewish Veterans
recognition to Israel only after the elections there . . . The major
Hark 'Israel Week'
parties in the Israeli election will be: Ben Gurion's Labor Party,
the Map= Party, which is friendly to Russia, the Zionist-Revisionist
Myer Dorfman, national com- Party which will probably have a joint list of candidates with the
mander of the Jewish War Vet- Irgun-sponsored Freedom Movement, and the Mizrachi-Agudah
erans of the United States has Orthodox groups which have joined forces for the elections ..
proclaimed the week of Oct. 31 There are the General Zionists and other smaller groups in Israel,
as "Israel Week." It will be ob- but their votes will not play a decisive role . . . It is very possible
served by all JWV posts accord- that the key to tipping the scales in one direction or another will be
in the hands of the Mizrachi-Agudah bloc.
ingly.
The Department of Michigan,
Jewish War Veterans, and its News and Views
Menahem Beigin, who has been sought by the British for years
ladies' auxiliary will hold their
next joint meeting on Pearl Har- as the leader of the Irgun in Palestine, is coming to the United States
on
a
special mission . .. William Green, president of the American
bor Day, Dec. 7.
Federation of Labor, refused to lend his name to a committee which
Forty representatives of the
is now -being quietly organized to help Beigin during his visit in this
department attended the Navy country . . . (and so did most of the Michigan Christian Zionists).
Day luncheon Oct. 27 at the Book
One of the reasons why the Vatican came out openly for the
Cadillac Hotel. Over 100 JWV internationalization of Jerusalem is a plan now being considered to
members assisted in the SOS col- put the Jewish-populated section of the Holy City under the trustee-
lections.
ship of the Jewish state and the Old City under the trusteeship of
an Arab state. -
Interfaith Council Adopts
The son of Moshe Shertok, Israeli Foreign Minister, is one of
settlers in the Negev . . . So is the daughter of Golda Meyerson,
$3,500,000 Budget for '49 the
Israeli Ambassador to the Soviet Union . . . Most of the people living
NEW YORK (JTA)—A budget in the Negev are between 17 and 21 years of age.
York Congressman Abraham J. Multer, upon his return
of $3,500,000 for the coming year from New
the Middle East recently delivered to President Truman a con-
—$2,000,000 more than the goal fidential message from James G. McDonald, U. S. representative in
sought last year — was adopted Israel . . . He also brought to the White House special messages from
at a two-day conference of the Dr. Ralph Bunche, acting UN mediator, and Gen. W. E. Wiley, senior
National Council of Christians U. S. military officer assigned to Palestine . . . In his 25-page report
on Israel he emphasizes American policy on Israel is being deliber-
and Jews.
repre-
The new goal includes alloca- ately sabotaged . .. He charges that "too many" of the U. S.
sentatives in the Middle East have spread the gospel that what the
tions for expanded projects in U. S. President says and what the American political platforms an-
the nation's school systems, pro- nounce are merely for home consumption . He also claims that
duction of anti-bias films and many of the American officers, before taking up their duties as UN
special brotherhood programs
observers, were briefed with anti-Jewish information.

Between You and Me

