•

Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Elects Breslau President

NEW YORK— (JTA)—Election
of Dr. Isadore Breslau of Wash-
ington as president of the Jew-
ish Telegraphic Agency was an-
nounced this week.
The Jewish Telegraphic Ag-
ency is the only world-wide

DR. ISADORE BRESLAU

news agency devoted to the col-
lection and distribution of news
and inf or motion concerning
Jewish communities throughout
the world. It maintains ten bu-

reaus in ffey cities and is served
by a network of correspondents
in all news centers.
Dr. Breslau, who is president
of the Washington J e w i's h
Community Council, has been
active in Jewish affairs for
many years and was an inti-
mate associate of the late Jus-
tice Louis D. Brandeis in the
Zionist movement.
Dr. Breslau served as a chap-
lain in the United States Army
in both World' Wars and was
the first Jewish chaplain to en-
ter Berlin in 1945.
A graduate of New York Uni-
versity, Albany Law School and
the Jewish Institute of Religion,
Dr. Breslau formerly occupied
pulpits in New York, Waterbury,
Conn., and other cities. He is a
member of the National Execu-
tive Committee of the United
Jewish Appeal and has been
chairman of the Allocating
Committee of the American
Fund for Israel Institutions.
Dr. Breslau's election follows
the reorganization of the JTA
as a public trust earlier this
year. With the new Board of
Directors now in formation, he
will direct the expansion of the
JTA's worldwide news coverage
and the development of a com-
plete news coverage of the
American Jewish scene.

Purely Commentai'y

By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ

2—THE JEWISH NEWS

Friday, August 11, 1950

1,000 Members
Is Council Goal

One thousand new members
is the goal set by the Detroit
Section, National Council of
Jewish Women, for its annual
city-wide membership drive.
The campaign will officially
start at 1:30 p. m. Wednesday,
Aug. 15, with a garden party for

MRS. ABRAHAM BECKER

workers at the home of Mrs.
Charles Feinberg, 872 Boston
Blvd.
• Mrs. Abraham Becker, 2880
Ewald Circle, is chairman, and
Mrs. Harry Singer, 2688 Oak-
man Blvd., vice chairman, of the
membership drive.
Slogan of this year's drive is
"A member of Council is a
worker for democracy." Any
Jewish woman in the Detroit
area is welcome to become a
member.

Mixed Marriages—Old Resentments, New Acceptances
A short time ago, your Commentator pointed out that there
is a marked increase in the number of intermarriages in this
country. From England now comes the information—in Hamaz-
kir's "Random Jottings" in the London Zionist Review, that "there
seems to have been a definite increase of mixed marriages in the
Anglo-Jewish community in recent years."
Hamazkir states that "they are by no means confined to the
Reform and Liberal sections of Anglo-Jewry, as they appear to
Haganah Cannisters No
occur just as frequently in Orthodox—or nominally Orthodox—
circles"; that "there seems to be an attitude of greater tolerance
Longer Official; Israel
towards such marriages than was the case, say, 30 or 40 years ago."
Finances Its Own Army
This observation applies to the American Jewish community.
We also can well apply to ourselves the following comment by
It has been called to the
Hamazkir: "I well remember the time when a father would sit
attention of The Jewish News
Shiva for a son or daughter who married out of the faith, but I
that a number of neighbor-
have not heard of that act of mourning on the occasion of any
hood stores still display col-.
of the various mixed marriages that have occurred within my
lection boxes labeled "Aid to
knowledge in recent times. After a time the parents seem to
Haganah."
become reconciled, perhaps in the hope that the Christian partner
Inasmuch as the Haganah
will become converted to Judaism later."
became the official army of
But even the hope suggested by Hamazkir does not seem to
Israel at the time of the Jew-
exist in our time. The Zionist Review writer admits it. in this
ish state's declaration of in-
interesting comment:
dependence, it is, of course,
"I have heard of some curious cases lately, where such
financed by the Israel gov-
hope is rendered dubious or impossible by the perverse attitude
ernment. Funds being col-
adopted by the Jewish partner, who expresses strong opposition
lected for the -Haganah at
to the Christian girl or young man adopting the Jewish faith.
that time were turned over to
-4uctiN,,•ri attitude can be explained only on the ground of the loss
the United Jewish Appeal.
of faith by the one who displays it. If it should be argued that
Cannisters which still are
it is ultimately due to lack of parental guidance, or religious in-
marked for the Haganah are
difference in the home, I can only point out that mixed marriages
assumed to be left over from
have been known to occur also in the families of Jewish ministers.
pre-independence days.
I recollect that when a former president of the Jewish Board of
Storekeepers now in posses-
Deputies, Arthur Cohen, K. C., Judge of the Cinque Ports, before
sion of these boxes, or of
the end of last century, was faced by the marriage of his daughter
funds collected in them, are
to a non-Jew, he publicly announced that it would be incom-
urged to dispose of the boxes
patible with his principles to continue to hold any position in
and to turn the money over
the Jewish community and resigned from the presidency of the
to a recognized agency which
Board as well as from the Vice-presidency of Jews' College. I
will forward it to Israel. Fur-
know of no parallel in ' recent times."
ther information may be se-
We, too, know of intermarriages in the households of Ortho-
cured by calling Ben Mandel-
dox rabbis, but we have yet to learn that there have been many
korn at the Jewish Welfare
Shiva observances even in such cases.
Federation, 'WO. 5-3939.
Is this condition really due to religious indifference? Perhaps
it is due more to the widespread assimilation that is evident in
Jewish ranks, to a decline of interest in Jewish affairs, to a
happy-go-lucky attitude on all matters evident not only in our Sosuick Urges Support
ranks but- also among our non-Jewish neighbors.
For Schlussel Forest
Would that we had a cure for this condition, but at the
moment no one has come forth with sound proposals that would
Isidore Sosnick, Mizrachi and
solve this and many more of our problems.
congregational leader, this week
urged support of the project
A Story From Knesset Applicable to Congress
for the planting of a forest in
There is an interesting story about a heated Israel Knesset Israel in honor of Irving W.
debate during which Deputy Eli Elisher was constantly inter- Schlussel, president of Detroit
rupted by Deputy Johan Kossori. When Elisher commented hotly,' Mizrachi. Mr. Sosnick pointed
"I am paid for speaking here and you are paid for listening,"
out that as
Knesset Speaker Joseph Sprinzak said: "And I am paid for cutting
president of
your speeches short."
Mizrachi, as for-
Apply it to the U. S. Congress and we may be blessed with
mer president
thinner Congressional Records and reduced governmental expenses.
of the Jewish
*
*
*
National Fund
and the JNF's
Transfer of Dr. Chajes' Remains to Israel
chairman of the
By decision of the Vienna Jewish community, the remains
synagogue com-
of another great -Jewish ,scholar, preacher and leader will be
mittee and as a
transferred soon to Israel. Vienna Jewry thus is paying earned
vice - president
tribute to its late Chief Rabbi, Dr. Hirsch Perez Chajes, who was
I. Sosnick of the Zionist
.one of the outstanding world Zionist leaders. Dr. Chajes (he was
the uncle of Detroit's composer and pianist Julius Chajes) was Council Mt. Schlussel has ren-
professor in the Florence (Italy) University at the turn of the dered important service which
century and taught at the Rabbinical Seminary there. Later he deserves the community's rec-
became Vienna's Chief Rabbi and one of Zionism's leading ognition. Orders for trees to be
spokesmen, serving for many years as chairman of the Zionist planted in the Schlussel Forest
General Council. He died in 1927. His memory is blessed by the in Israel are being taken at the
contributions he has made for the alleviation of Jewry's sufferings. JNF and Mizrachi offices.

—

'

34

1.1111111111111101111.11111.1 1

Lack of Privacy, Idleness Are Real
Problems of Immigrant Camps

By VICTOR 11. BERNSTEIN

ROSH HAAYAN—This large consists of two: one who fund-
Yemenite immigrant camp, not tons as a medical nurse, and
far from Tel Aviv, is really a the other as chief hospital ad-
complex of three camps which ministrator. The administrator's
a few months ago housed 17,000 chief job, it would seem, is to
souls and today houses about chase dirt.
13,000. The camp is one of those' A tent city can never be love-
scheduled for dissolution by the ly; a tent can never make a
Jewish Agency.
home; a hangar, no matter
I had heard much, before I how well scrubbed, can never
left home, about alleged discrim- make a good hospital. This
ination against the Yemenites much is obvious. But a certain
and in favor of the Ashkenazi amount of order, the ingenious
immigrants from Europe. I can- use of existing facilities, an
not yet report on the whole pic- earnest attempt to keep things
ture, but this much I can say: clean, do make Rosh Haayan a
In the camps, at least, what- seemingly bearable place to live,
ever discrimination exists favors at least in summer. But its real
the Yemenites rather than the faults (and the faults of all the
immigration camps) lie deeper
reverse.
than these appearances. They
In' physical aspects, there is lie deeper, even, than the rag-
not much to choose between ged clothes of the inmates.
Rosh Haayan and many camps
They lie in the overcrowding,
housing Ashkenazim. It is a tent
city covering many, acres of which violates privacy; they lie
bare, undulating countryside. in the idleness, which violates
Very large families have a whole human nature; they lie in the
tent to themselves: where fam- lack of supervising personnel,
ilies comprise four persons or which prevents teachers and
less, two families share a shel- doctors alike from doing any-
thing but the very rudiments
ter.
of their job.
There are camps in Israel
These are the real problems
which are better than Rosh of Rosh Haayan, and of all im-
Haayan. I have also seen worse. migrant camps.
Seen from afar, it looks not un-
like one of the many army
camps which today dot Israel's Sophie Tucker Refuses
countryside. Rosh Haayan for-
merly housed a British air force To Sing on Holy Days
unit.
BOSTON, (JTA) — Sophie
I want to pay particular trib-
ute to Dr. Mary • Gordon, a Tucker, first- lady of vaudeville
South African physician, under and nightclub entertainment,
whose direction a hangar was will not appear in her sched-
transformed into a hospital, uled performances at the Em-
which so far has treated a press Room, London, England,.
thousand patients under inde- because her contract calls for
scribably difficult conditions. appearances during Rosh Hash
Her hospital has 130 beds, of anah and Yom Kippur.
which 30 have had to be closed
The veteran trouper, round-
because of a lack of nurses. She ing out- 45 years in show busi-
has never had more than two ness, told friends that she usu-
physicians assisting her, and ally spends the high holidays
often no more than one.
with me hers of her family in
Her total trained nurses' staff New York.

Between You and Me

By BORIS SMOLAR

•

(Copyright, 1950, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)

Domestic Intelligence •
Pro-Nazi Ukrainian leaders who helped the Gestapo in the
mass-annihilation of Jews in Galicia and in the Ukraine during.
the Nazi occupation there are now active not only in Canada, but
also in Washington ... American Jewish organizations would do
well to look into the matter . . . Particularly in the case of a
certain general who was . the head of the notorious "Ukrainian
S. S. Division" and who succeeded in entering the United States
... This "general" boasts that he, and other pro-Nazi Ukrainians
who were admitted to this country, are now welcomed visitors in
Washington and claim that "negotiations" are being conducted
with them . . . They make no secret of the fact that they speak
on behalf of Stepan Bandero, the notorious Ukrainian Nazi, who
is responsible for "liquidating" 20,000 Jews in Carpatho-Russia
. . • This very same Bandero is the organizer of the so-called
"Bandero police units" of Ukrainians under the Nazi regime who
specialized in carrying out mass deportations and mass annihila-
tion of Jews . . . Instructions issued by his "administration" to all
members of his units specified that Jews in the Ukraine must
mercilessly be destroyed . . Bandero now has his 'headquarters"
somewhere in a palace in Europe . . . His followers who surren-
dered—as part of the Nazi Army—to the U. S. Army after the fail
of Hitler, are now maintained in special .Ukrainian camps in
Germany and enjoy special privileges . . . Quite a number of
them are said to have reached the United States recently, appar-
ently as displaced persons.

Economic Views
The economic situation in Israel is now attracting in Wash-
ington no less attention than the military situation there . . It
is being discussed also from the point of view of President Tru-
man's "Point Four" program which deals with providing Amer-
ican aid to underdeveloped countries . .. In this connection in-
teresting "disdoveries" are being made by American economists
Many of them had been under the impression that Jews in Pal-
estine enjoyed a large inflow of assets from the outside world in
the past 30 years . . . However, a thorough economic analysis of
the country has now provoked a great deal of surprise among
them ... The analysis established that of all the assets and funds
that came into Palestine from abroad between the two world
wars, only about one-sixth came in the form of contributions or
charity . .. Another "discovery" made by the economists is that

almost 70 percent of all the resources that flowed into Palestine
between 1918 and 1943 were brought by the Jewish immigrants
themselves in money, raw materials and equipment . • They also

"discovered" that investments in Palestine by nationals abroad
amounted to no more than 15 percent in Pales•ine's assets during
the between-the-wars period • . Among the other "discoveries"
they made is the fact that during the . last dozen years, the total •
production of the newly-settled Jews has been greater than their
consumption • • . Some of them now, therefore have come to the
conclusion that if immigration to Palestine had ceased at any
time during the last 12 years, the Jews there would have been -
able to maintain their standard of living and raise it gradually _
without any outside contributions.

