.
Our American Heritage
The Test
Bradley Morison, associate editor of the
Minneapolis (Minn.) Tribune, recently wrote
a most interesting column for his newspaper
under the heading "Wherein Papa Explains
FEPC." Morison's question-and-answer col-
umn explains FEPC so lucidly that his col-
umn deserves wide circulation. One of the
country's top editorial writers, Morison has
rendered a real service with the following ar-
ticle:
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Rise of Community Councils
THE JEWISH NEWS
Member: American Association of English-Jewish News-
apers, Michigan Press Association.
Services: Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Seven Arts Feature
Syndicate, King Features, Central Press _Association, Palcor
News Agency.
Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publishing
Co.. 2114 Penobscot Bldg., Detroit 26, Mich., WO. 5-1165.
Subscription $3 a year; foreign $4.
Entered as second class matter Aug. 6, 1942 at Post Office,
Detroit, Mich., under Act of March 3, 1879.
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ, Editor
SIDNEY SHMARAK, Advertising Manager
RUTH L. CASSEL, City Editor
VOL. XVI—No, 6
Page 4
October 21, 1949
Sabbath Scriptural Selections
This Sabbath, the tuienty-ninth day of Tish-
ri, 5710, the following Scriptural Selections will
be read in our synagogues:
Pentateuchal portion—Gen. 1:1-6:8.
Prophetical portion—I Sam. 20:18-42.
On Sunday and Monday, Rosh Hodesh
van, Num. 28:1-15 will be read during morning
services.
wards unification of the national agencies concerned with
Jewish life. As long as the unification was not majorized
by one particular` group and devoted to a precise program,
the movement for unification, constructive as it was, held
out. Such is the Nationaly Community Relations Advisory
Council (NCRAC), which, in the six years of its existence,
has grown in importance. The Detroit Jewish Community
Council is represented in the NCRAC.
One national organization has made a big contribution
towards unification, particularly in the field of fund-raising
and budgetary research. This is the Council of Jewish Fed-
erations and Welfare Funds, which has given inestimable
service to the Welfare Funds, advising on fund raising, as
well as planning for communities. However, the Council of
Jewish Federations is not satisfied with counseling and ad-
vising as to budgeting and programming alone, but is begin-
ning to influence the right of communities to make their
,own decisions. In this, the CJWF is meeting the opposition
of most of the national agencies and democratic community
organizations. Important as unity is, it should not eliminate
diversity, which is the incentive in the life, of a people.
The idea of Community Councils is based on unity ver-
sus totality; it does not eliminate diversity. The Community
Council idea is primarily based on self-expression of diverse
ideologies. The survival of Jewish people, their continuation
and advancement, nationally; culturally and spiritually;
their historical and cultural oneness, expressed through their
democratically elected organizations, is the unifying force
of the Community Councils.
The existence of the Community Councils, their growth,
their impact on Jewish life in general, is such that we are
certain that they will become as strong and responsible in-
stitutions as were the Kehillas of the past. The challenge
of the time for a stronger, more progressive Jewish com-
munity in America will be met.
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'The Root 'on'cl the Bough'
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Question. Papa, what' does FEPC mean?
Answer: Why, that means Fair Employment
.Practice Commission, Sonny.
I
Question: What does that mean, Papa?
Answer: It means, Sonny, that everybody
gets an equal chance at jobs, whether he is
white or—
Question. Is that good, Papa?
Answer. Heavens no, dear; it's very bad.
Question. Why is it bad, Papa?
Answer. Because a lot of radicals and trou-
QUOTAT/Olv Or 7--
blemakers are behind it. They want to
Question. You mean like Communists, Papa?
AMERICAN 0 REArIVE55
Answer. Yes; that's it, exactly; like Com- '
AND WILL BE AiE45uRED
munists. They want to—
8N1 THE DEGREE or oufi,
Question. Papa, it says here that Governor
Dewey, of New York, is for FEPC. Is he a Com-
RECOGNITION OF EQUAL
munist, Papa?
RIGHTS AND FREEDOM
Answer. Of course not, Sonny. Don't be a
FOR ALL PEOPLE
fool
IRRESPECTIVE
OF REL160y
Question. It also says, Papa, that Nelson A.
__
OR RACIAL
Rockefeller, Paul G. Hoffman, Eric Johnston
and Beardsley Ruthl have all supported FEPC
PRES. TAVA-uty
legislation. Are they radicals and troublemak-
ers, Papa?
OJTWISM YEll bAAPNW AGEWV
Answer. Don't be silly, my dear child. Why
THE TEST—
they are some of our most highly respected—
Question. Papa, it says here that the Repub-
Guest Editorial
lican Party approved the principles of FEPC
at its 1948 convention. Is the -Republican Party
awfully radical, Papa?
Answer. No, indeed, my son. As a matter of
fact, it's quite-
By DR. SHMARYA KLEINMAN
. Question. And, Papa, it says here that the
President, Jewish Community Council of Detroit
American Legion Department of Minnesota
passed a resolution favoring FEPC at its last
The American Jewish community of today has to meet
State convention. Is the American Legion ter-
a
challenge.
The disappearance of centuries-old communities
ribly radical, Papa?
in Eastern and Central Europe, at one end, and the estab-
Answer. Why, of all the absurd ideas. The
lishment of Israel as a state, at the other, brought to the
American Legion is one of the most patriotic
fore the problem of integration and consolidation of Ameri-
and
Question. Papa, it says here in the New
can Jewry.
York Herald Tribune that the FEPC has been a
Organizationally, until recently, the Jewish communities
big success in New York State. Is the New
in America were in a chaotic state. The last 25 years has
York Herald Tribune a Communist newspaper,
seen a strong movement, primarily in the field of fund rais-
Papa?
ing and social agencies, towards centralization of effort and
Answer. Well, I should say not. I can't ima-
planning.
gine a more
Question. Papa, it says here in the Decla-
In the field of community relations and cultural work,
ration of Independence that "all men are cre-
in the broad sense of the word, very little had been done
ated equal, that they are endowed by the Cre-
up to 12 years ago, when the idea of community councils
ator with certain inalienable rights, that
took form, and began to spread over the country. The force
among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of
behind the movement was the broad masses of our people,
happiness." Is that communism, Papa?
who were striving towards democratic expression, as well
Answer. Now, don't be a silly goose. Why,
as toward militant resistance to the Fascistic and anti-
its the very opposite of—
Semitic tendencies which began to spread in this country
Question. But, Papa, if all men are created
equal and are entitled to life, liberty, and the
with the advent of Nazism in Europe.
pursuit of happiness, why shouldn't they have
The immigrants of yesterday and the first generation
an equal chance at jobs?
of their children, already born in this country, began to re-
Answer. Because, sonny. That means inter-
alize that the time had ,come for them to find an expres-
fering in other people's business, and in this
sion to their aspirations and for a popular representation in
country every man has a right to do exactly as
the existing organizations, as well as creating new forms
he pleases without some bumbling bureaucrat—
of self-determination as a people, socially and culturally.
Question. You mean that we can drive down
Nicollet Avenue 80 miles an hour if we want to,
Thus came about the council idea, which now has grown to a
Papa?
formidable force in the entire Jewish cmmunity.
Answer. Oh, heavens, no, dear. You see, the
The Detroit Jewish Community Council has the distinc-
law says we can't do that because we might
tion of being one of the first and most forceful steadily
seriously injure someone if we—
growing democratic organizations of this kind. The chal-
Question. Well, Papa, if it's O.K. to have
lenge of the democratic forces in Jewish life have been met
speed laws to keep people from getting hurt, I
by some existing community organizations, through inte-
don't see why FEPC is so awfully, terribly—
Answer. Oh, shush, son! Be still. Can't you
gration of existing agencies by merging them together; in
see I'm trying to help your sister Mary write
others, the process of such consolidation has been delayed.
her theme on Our American Heritage of Free-
The last decade has also seen a strong movement to-
dom?
There is a lot of meat and real honest-
to-goodness American thinking in this ar-
ticle which should serve as an expose of
bigotry. Those who are in the habit of
branding everything liberal as Communistic
—simply because it is experimental in hu-
manitarian action—will be jolted by what
Morison wrote, but they should be led along
the path of sane thinking. Morison and the
Minneapolis Tribune are to be congratulated
for writing and publishing such effective and
true American thinking.
•
Schwarz's Anthology
Leo W. Schwarz, noted anthologist whose
works have made the best seller list, has . oro-
duced another great work—"The Root and the
Bough: The Epic of an Enduring People."
Like his earlier works, this book, published by
Rinehart & Co. (232 Madison Ave., New York 16),
is an anthology—but Of a different sort. It con-
tains the autobiographical and philosophical
writings of survivors from Nazism. The essays,
stories and personal recollections embodied in
this book—a book which indeed "has prophetic
meaning for our time"—were translated froth.
the French, Yiddish, Hebrew, Polish, Hungarian
and German. They are testaments of heroism
and human endurance, of sufferings and of a
refusal to die.
The entire book is the record of Jewish •ari-
tyrdom and of the will to live. In the secOnd
part of the book, fOr instance, which_ is lab0041,
"Flame of the Spirit," Josef Betari writes On .(4i
Found the Answer." Betari, who taught in the
Warsaw University, became an ardent Zionist,
was in several concentration camps during the
war and was liberated at Dachau, states:
"Today I found the answer, amid the torn
barbed wire, amid.the heaps of human bones,
at the bottom of broken gallows and dyna-
mited crematories. We continued to live be-
cause the specter of death put us to sleep and
arranged us, every morning, in rows of five. We
lived because death was behind us, before us,
and within us, because the world began and
ended with roll call, on a camp square where
prisoners were whipped, hanged and shot.
"We lived this senseless, aimless life, we •
loved it, although within us surged hate for
the oppressors and disdain of ourselves."
Mr. Schwarz, who described his experiences in
Europe and Israel where he gathered the mas-
terpieces for his new volume before Hadassati
and to a radio audience during the J. L. Hudson.
Co. Hour on Oct. 6, describes his own voltinie
perfectly when he states in his preface:
"The surviving remnant of an enduring people.
which speaks in these pages has written an epic.
whose echoes will resound for generations. I dO
not mean only the Last Stand of the Warsaw
Ghetto which surely will live with the glorioUs
record . of Dunkirk and Stalingrad; rather, the
heroic resistance and survival of indomitable -
men, women, and children in the face of a dia-'
bolical plan of extirpation. They have outlived
the masterpieces of barracks and carnage; they
are the embodiment of man's triumph over the
forces of evil."
Professional men and artisans, Christians:-
and Jews, tell their stories. Heroes who haVe'
become famous—Dr. Zalman- Grinberg and' abr.'
ers—were consulted by the author.
Among the great contributions to the boOlt
are Henry Lilienheini's "Mine Eyes Have' Seen,"
Buchenwald," the thrilling stories in the third
"Homecoming in Israel"; "The Story of Kibbutz
Buchenwald," the thrilling stories in the third
book—`The Undying Spark—" in fact every. Me
of the magnificent collection of essays which
form a volume of great merit.
'Letters to My Son'
Dr. Runes' Philosophical
Ideas on Life's Purposes
Dr. Dagobert D. Runes, in his new book, "Let-
ters to My Son" (published. by Philosophical Li-
brary, 15 E. 40th St., New York. 16), makes a
strong appeal for the highest Jewish ideals.
For instance, he points out that the one thing
that will endure is the Book; that Jews are the
Am Ha-Sefer—the People of the.. Book—that, ac-
cording to legend: "The Hebrew religion refuses
to crown its priests, unlike the other churches of
the Western world, which adorn their priests and
ministers with crowns and rings and purple cloth.
The Hebrews place their crown upon the Torah."
Dr. Runes deplores the existence of the Ezra
Pounds in literature, of charlatans in politics,
)who usurp "monetary rewards that are due the
truly creative."
His philosophic letters deal with friendship.
They condemn anti-Semitism and race prejudice.
He acclaims courage. of the mind and deplores
the type of success the road to which "is crimson
with crime and corruption."
The entire volume is steeped in learning and
is marked by the influence of Hebraic teachings.
The able author declares that "the only true and
perfect definition Of Deity is the Hebrew "Shmah
Israel . . . Hear, 0 Israel, the Lord is God, the
Lord is One." The ideas imparted in letters from
father to son are replete with brilliant ideas and
the book will be of interest to all who seek high-
er standards in life.
Facts You Should Know .. .
Why do pious Jews wear a "garter around
their waist? What is the derivation of the term
"gartel?" •
The term "gartel" evidently comes from -the
same origin as the term "girdle" which comes
from a root meaning. "to bind" or "to tie." It its
actually a kind of sash or belt which is "bound"
or "tied" around the waists of pious Jews, called
"Chasidim," especially when they are engaged irt •
prayer. Wearing this item is a form of. piety.
Sonic trace it to the special form of "Girdle"
called the "Avnet" which the High Priest wore
around his waist. This would indicate that every
pious Jew strives to attain the perfeption and th§
piety of the High Priest.