`Z-Day' Termed Challenge to Jewry;
Rabbi Fram Has National Shekel Post
Ben WeisS, membership chair-
man and planning and opera-
tions chief for the Detroit Zion-
ist Organization's "Z - D a y,"
termed the coming operation as
a "challenge to Detroit Jewry"
at the Zionist-Hanukah festival
held last week at the Northwest
Synagogue.
With "Z-Day" only two weeks
off, plans have been completed
for a kick-off brunch on Sunday
Jan. 8. Rabbi Leon Feuer, of To-
ledo, will be the speaker at this
opening, of the 1950 member-
ship mobilization drive for the
Zionist Organization of Detroit.
The "Z-Day" brunch will be
held at the Mayfair, 13305 Dex-
ter, at 10 a.m. All participating
members are invited without
charge. Deadline for reserva-
tions is Friday, Dec. 30. For in-
formation, call WO. 5-1484.
Word has been received from
the headquarters of the Zionist
Organization in New York, that
Daniel Frisch has appointed
Rabbi Leon Fram of Temple Is-
rael, national co-chairman of
the Shekel campaign:
Rabbi Fram has for many
years been a national leader in
the Zionist movement. He served
on the national executive com-
mittee of the Zionist Organiza-
tion of America. He will head
the shekel drive in this section
of the country, one of seven na-
tional sub-divisions.
2—TH E JEWISH NEWS
Friday, December 23, 1949
Judge Simons
Speaks at UJC
50-Years Fete
Judge Charles C. Simons, of
the United States Court of Ap-
peals will address the 50th an-
niversary celebration of the
United .JeWish Charities at a
Workmen's Circle Cooperates with
Norwegians in Israel Village Project
The Workmen's Circle an-
nounced that it would cooper-
ate with the Norwegian Labor
Party in the building of an en-
tire village in Israel dedicated
to the memory of the 28 Jewish
children bound for Israel, who
died in an airline crash 20 miles
south of Oslo on Nov. 21.
Ephim H. Jeshurin, president
of the national executive com-
mittee of the Workmen's Circle,
reported that the project origi-
nated with Haakon Lie, secre-
tary-general of the Norwegian
Labor Party, whose members
To express its appreciation
for the Norwegian Workers'
project of creating a 30-bui/d-
ing- colony in Israel, the Is-
rael Histadrut has launched
a drive to send 1,000 cases of
oranges to Norwegian school
children.
Purely Commentary
By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
Grumbling Tourists
,.?
So many tall tales are being told about- Israel that one begins
to wonder whether some American Jews have not been bewitched
into either a skinflint or panicky state. There is no other way of
explaining the fright with which people are heard to say, "busi-
ness is getting worse, we can't give as we did in the past"; or
"we already have exceeded our capacity for giving." Since these
are uttered as advance notice with relation to the approaching
1950 United Jewish Appeal (in Detroit UJA is a part of the Allied
Jewish Campaign), we should not be accused of being too sensitive
if we interpret such comments as being directed against Israel.
Therefore it is high time -to sit up and to take notice of what is
happening in our midst.
Israel unfortunately is being afflicted by rumors—practically
all of them false—and by shortsighted observations which mis-
represent the true state of affairs in the Jewish state. All sorts
of nonsense is heard from tourists who, after a two or three
week visit in Israel, find themselves incapable of writing a book
and therefore must let loose vituperative gossip in order to at-
tract attention.
The Jewish state, being a genuine democracy created out of
the trials and tribulations of a people that has been tested by
many fires, can stand its ground, through the emergencies it
is plunged in by international complications, provided it is not
burdened unduly with the duties of caring for tens of thousands
of newcomers who must be assured of homes and economic se-
curity. The new settlers—must the obvious be repeated?—are the
obligation of all Jewry and not of Israel alone. But tourists—so
many among them become such experts through wealth!—find
fault. They don't like the Histadrut, they accuse—unjustly!—the
government of being a tool of Histadrut, and because foreign
exchange must be registered upon arrival and departure and.
food must be rationed, they are unhappy and seek to penalize
Israel for their own temporary irascibility.
We Must . Not Shirk Responsibility
There is a famous Mark Twain story which may have some
bearing on the advance warnings given to UJA by those who
would like to shirk responsibility in the coming campaign. In
a set of Twain's works was found a letter in which the famous
humorist wrote: "I can do no literary work the rest of this
year because I'm meditating another lawsuit and looking
around for a defendant." That's what the unfortunate attitude
of some of the grumblers amounts to: they are contemplating
shirking responsibility and are looking for a defendant. Since
they are having a tough time proving that they should dishonor
an American-Jewish tradition of living up to the responsibility
of completing the historic job in Israel, they are resorting to
false claims that they had already done more than they should
have,' or that business is bad.
We can't help thinking that a little more faith in America
would be helpful to those who already anticipate that they
won't be able to give. The privilege of Americanism is so great
that it ought not to be minimized by panic. And there also is
the equally great privilege of building Israel. Our generation is
blessed with being the witness of Israel's liberation and rebirth
and it must prove its worth.
Israel can't wait for financial miracles to keep her wheels
of reconstruction moving. In defense, in the people's determina-
tion to keep the state strong, Israel is replete with miracles. But
in the resettlement of tens of thousands of new settlers practical
effort is required to prevent setbacks. Another famous Mark
Twain story is applicable to the situation in Israel. The humorist
was sitting opposite a nervous woman on a train from Hart-
ford, bound for New York. As the train approached New York's
suburbs, she asked him: "Will the train stop at Grand Central
Station?" To which Mark Twain replied: "I hope it will, madam.
I do hope to heaven it will, for if it does not there will be a devil
of a smash."
Our Honor At Stake
In Israel's instance, if American Jewry does not increase its
gift for the speedy upbuilding of the Jewish state—in whose rise
we played a big role—there may be a devil of a smash right here,
in our midst. Our own morals and honor is at stake, and we had
better guard it zealously.
Those who hear rumors about Israel, from the false prophets
who report ill tidings about the self-sacrificing building of the
infant state, should first run down the gossip before believing it.
When they get the true facts they'll know that Israel is better
and more inspiring than some misled reporters would lead us to
believe. And having arrived at the truth, we had better make up
our minds that we won't let Israel down in order that our own
honor should not be soiled. The sooner we• make up our minds
on both these scores, the better for American Jewry's self-respect
and the respect we await from our neighbors who know the role
we played in Israel in the past and expect us to pursue it until
the job is done.
JUDGE CHARLES S1MONS
dinner Wednesday, Jan. 4, in the
Michigan Room of the Hotel
Statler, Judge Theodore Levin,
president of the UJC, announced
this week.
"A no more appropriate speak-
er than Judge Simons, who has
given .,magnificent legal, religi-
ous and communal services to
his native city, could have been
chosen to speak at this occasion,
which marks 50 years of phil-
anthropic workfin Detroit by the
United Jewish Charities," Judge
Levin added.
The United Jewish Charities is
now the property holding cor-
poration of the Jewish Welfare
Federation and its purpose is to
support the Federation program
and that of its member agencies.
Federation By-Law
Amendment Slated
For February Vote
A proposed amendment tathe
by-laws of the Jewish Welfare
Federation providing for the
election tcothe Federation Board
of Governors of all former
presidents of the Federation
and former chairmen of the Al-
lied Jewish Campaign has been
submitted by Morris Garvett,
chairman of the committee on
by-laws.
Members of the Federation—
all contributors to the 1949 Al-
lied Jewish Campaign—will vote
on the amendment at the Fed-
eration's annual meeting, at
8:30 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 15,
at the Jewish, Center.
The amendment, is an addi-
tion to provisions calling for
election to the board of 27 mem-
bers-at-large, selected by the
general membership; one board
member each designated by the
institutional members of the
Federation; and not more than
25 members designated by "the
Detroit Service Group, the Jun-
ior Service Group, the Women's
Division and such organiza-
tional groups as may be desig-
nated from time to time by the
Board."
Nine members-at-large will be
selected at the Feb. 15 meeting.
Nominations may be made by
petition, to be signed by not less
than 25 members of the Federa-
tion and filed with the execu-
tive director of the Federation
not less than 10 days prior to
the meeting.
Deduct CARE Packages
Off Your Income Tax
The U. S. Bureau of In-
ternal Revenue has ruled that
any amount spent on CARE
"general relief" food and tex-
tile packages is deductible
from taxable incomes, wheth-
er they be individual or cor-
porative, like other charitable
contributions made by the
taxpayer.
will finance the village through
their contribution of one hour's
pay. This was made known in a
cable sent by Mr. Lie to the
Jewish Labor Committee with
which the Workmen's Circle is
affiliated.
In this cable, Mr. Lie asked
American Jewish labor support
for the building of two of the
homes, as well as contributions
for the other homes of scarce
materials, unobtainable in. Eu-
rope, such as plumbing supplies.
Mr. Lie revealed that the Dutch
Labor Party would underwrite
the cost of three homes, in the
name of the three Dutch crew
members who also died in the
crash.
The memorial village in Israel
will include a community cen-
ter, a school and a hospital, as
well as the 34 homes dedicated
to the dead children, nurses and
crew.
The Norwegian government,
in which the Labor Party plays
the leading role, has committed
itself to aiding an unlimited
number of young Jewish DP's
preparing for life in Israel. To
date 600 youngsters have been
trained under this program.
Farband Branch 114
To Install Leaders
Branch 114 of the Farband
will hold installation of officers
at 9 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 25, at the
Labor Zionist Institute. Dele-
gates to the January national
convention will be elected.
New officers of the branch
are: M. G-oldoftas, president; J.
Domowitz, L. Jacobs, vice chair-
men; A. Cirlin, T. Krashin, B.
Naimark, secretaries; S. Kane,
treasurer; J. Newman, Pffefer-
berg, M. Gelfand, Mrs. Domo-
witz, hospitalers; Mr. and Mrs.
L. Rasnick, Mr. and Mrs. A.
Beitner, Mr. and Mrs. J. Burn-
stein, Mr. and Mrs. M. Gelfand,
Mr. and Mrs. S. Kane; Mr. Kar-
bal, B. Kumove, H. Hearshen,
J. Chaetz, J. Lawson, executive.
A talk on Hanukah, a reading
from Sholom Aleichem by Nach-
man Drachler and refreshments
will complete the program.
ADL Gives Award
To Probe Prejudice
LOS ANGELES, (JTA) — The
Anti-Defamation League of Bnai
Brith has awarded a $1,000 Sig-
mund Livingstone Fellowship to
the University of California at
Los Angeles for the academic
year 1949-50 to carry on experi-
mental research into problems
of prejudice and intergroup re-
lations.
Between You and Me
By BORIS SMOLAR
(CniaYWright, 1949, Jewish Telegraphic Agency -Inc.)
Diplomatic Notes •
There is a silver lining in every cloud .
And there is also
a silver lining in the decision adopted by the UN General Assembly
to place Jerusalem under international trusteeship . .. This de-
cision, it is believed by many experts, will lead to an early and
separate peace between Israel and Transiordan- . Much is
already being done behind the scenes to achieve such a peace
between the two countries which are directly interested in Jerusa-
lem . .. Once an Israel-Transjordan. peace is achieved, the entire
Arab "united front" will collapse — And the United Nations
will similarly realize that it was not to its credit to adopt a de-
cision which cannot be carried out against the- will of Israel and
Transj ordan.
A poll taken at the UN General Assembly 24 hours before
the internationalization resolution was adopted showed that it
would not _receive the necessary two-thirds: majority of votes .
However, it is now established that the Catholic Church made
an overwhelming last minute effort which succeeded in complete-
ly reversing the picture . . . Gen. Romulo, of the Philippines, who
presided dyer the UN Assembly. session, received_ a telegraphic plea
from none other than Cardinal Spellman, •
The Soviet stand for internationalization of Jerusalem was,
according to Israel diplomats, aimed more against Britain than
against the Jews . . . The implication is that Russia regarded
the Transjordan regime as British . . . However, sitting at the
historic session of the UN Assembly and listening to the argu-
ments there of the Soviet delegate, Smyon Tsarapkin, I did not
gain this impression ... In his speech advocating internationaliza-
tion of Jerusalem he blasted the United States no less than
Britain .. There is no secret that the United States has at pres-
ent a great interest in the development of Israel: and practically
no interest in Transjordan.
Washington Trends
Vatican circles are now concentrating on Washington with
regard to the Jerusalem issue . They know that with America's
opposition to the internationalization of Jerusalem, little will be
achieved in implementing the internationalization decision adopt-
ed by the UN General Assembly Vatican officials speak open-
ly of the fact that implementation depends primarily on America's
attitude . . . Their talk is intended to pressure the United States
into changing its negative attitude toward internationalization ,
However, all indications show that the U. S. Government will
not yield to Vatican pressure . . Neither the U. S. nor Britain
want Soviet Russia to have a foothold in Palestine, and if Jeru-
salem were placed under international trusteeship, Moscow would
insist on becoming, one of the trustees inasmuch as the U.S.S.R.
is a member of the UN Trusteeship Council.
Communal Affairs
`Immigration experts expect that the year 1950 will see the
peak and the beginning of the decline of the emergency program
for bringing Jewish refugees to the United States ... It is esti-
mated that about 25,000 Jewish immigrants will enter this coun-
try in 1950 . . . Of this total, approximately 21,000 will come during
the first seven months of the year .. .However, should Congress
amend favorably the present DP Act, which expires June 30, 1950,
then this estimate will have to be revised upward . . . The United
Service for New Americans, in anticipation of a decline in immi-
gration, will begin a retrenchment program in the summer of
1950 . .. By October of that year its staff will be about one-third
of next June . In December, 1950, over-all USNA expenditures
will approximate a small fraction of the estimated expenditures
for January, 1950.