At the Keshenever Clinic in Israel 2 — THE JEWISH NEWS Friday, August 25, 1950 Detroit Hadassah Honored at Parley; Rush H-Day Plans An Israeli nurse gives a patient first aid at a Kupat Cholim clinic completely furnished by the Keshenever Bassaraber Society of Detroit, through the Detroit Israel Histadeut Committee. Detroit's Israel Histadrut Labor Committee is receiving numerous inquiries regarding the establishment of clinics in Israel and it is expected that a number of additional organiza- tions will assist Kupat Cholim in this fashion. Between You and Me By BORIS SMOLAR (Copyri ght, 1950, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Ine.) Plans and Dollars Now that Premier David Ben Gurion revealed that Israel is seeking a billion-dollar loan from Jews abroad, the news is no longer secret . . . We can, therefore, reveal that this request was the subject of the recent talks in Jerusalem to which the Ameri- can members of the Jewish Agency were summoned . . . It was to these talks that Henry Montor, director of the United Jewish Ap- peal, and Dr. Joseph J. Schwartz, European director of the Joint Distribution Committee, were similarly summoned . . . Details of the conference have been considered top-secret, and only a few of the top Jewish leaders in the United States were kept informed about them . • . Actually, it means that the Israel Government ex- pects American Jews to raise $1,000,000 : 000 for the Jewish State within a period of three years to help, in the absorption of thousands of immigrants pouring into the. Jewish state ... This sum is needed since all indications point to the fact that countries behind the Iron Curtain--Romania, Hungary and Poland—have suddenly adopted a more liberal policy with regard to permitting Jews to emigrate to Israel . . . This policy must be taken advan- take of by Israel while it lasts . . . There are also optimists in Israel today who predict that contrary to all expectations, Jews in the near future may be permitted to emigrate to Israel even from the Soviet Union . .. It is on the basis of this belief that the Israel Government will soon address itself with an appeal to Moscow to permit the emigration of those Jews from the USSR who might wish to go to the Jewish state . . . Nobody is. opti- mistic enough to expect that Stalin will permit young Jews to leave Russia; however, some well-wishers hope he may permit at least the emigration of old and aged Jews who have relatives in Israel . . . If this should happen, Israel's burden of absorbing non- productive elements will become even heavier than it is at present . . Of course, everything is based on the assumption that the Korean conflict will not develop into a world war . . . This ex- plains why Israel's plan for the billion-dollar loan is a three-year plan . . . Within three years a good many thousands of Jews can be taken out of the Soviet-dominated countries before these countries may be involved in a war ... The reaction of American Jewish leadership to the idea of raising a billion-dollar loan for Israel among U. S. Jews remains to be seen. Domestic Affairs Last week we spoke here of contributions made to Jewish education in the United States through the publication of books in English, linking the Jewish past with the present . . . The Jew- ish Publication Society of America has been doing exactly this kind of work for 62 years as a non-profit organization . . . It has published to date about 250 books with a total distribution of approximately four million copies . . . These books include basic works such as the six-volume "History of the Jews" by Prof. Graetz, or the 17 volumes of Hebrew Classics • . . The JPS has also published a one-volume "History of the Jews" by Dr. Solomon Grayzel, its editor, and a "Century of Jewish Life" by Prof. Ismar Elbogen, covering the period of Jewish life for the past 100 years . . It introduced Israel Zangwill to the American reader and published Alex Bein's biography of Theodor Herzl, • which is con- sidered the best study of the life of the father of political Zion- ism . . . Its universally accepted translation of the Bible in Eng- lish has been distributed in approximately 500,000 copies, and its anthologies of Jewish holidays are no small contribution to the education of the average American Jewish family . . . The JPS has been following a policy of encouraging Jewish writers by pub- ishing books that do not necessarily appeal to commercial pub- lishes s . . And one can find on the list of its books a variety of titles ranging from "Yiddish Tales" translated into English to Maurice Samuel's "Prince of -the, Ghetto," or the works of Soma Morgenstern, the distinguished German novelist . . . Not to speak of scholarly works such as "History of Jewish Medieval Philosophy" . And, last but not least, it is the JPS which, in cooperation with the American Jewish Committee, publishes the American Jewish Year Book, the most authentic -handbook on Jewish life and activities the world over .. . It should be noted that these books are distributed to the Society's members at an amazingly low cost, and that membership in the JPS is open to everyone in this country . . . One of the finest compliments was recently paid to Judge Louis E. Levinthal in his capacity as president of the Jewish Publication Society . . . Judge Levinthal, who needs no introduction to our readers, has been designated—together with General Eisenhower, as president of Columbia University, and Dr. Harry N. Wright, president of the City College of New York—as a member of the committee which will distribute the $2,500,000 Jacob R. Schiff fund among charitable and educational institutions which "further the ideals of American democracy" ... "I regard this as a real compliment to the JPS and I hope to be able to help many worthy projects through this fund," the distinguished Jewish leader told me this week. Detroit chapter of Hadassah was honored at the organiza- tion's national convention in. New York, when the president M r s. Theodore Bargman, re- ceived a badge of honor in rec- ognition of Detroit's having fully subscribed its quotas for all Israel projects during the past year. The badge was presented at a plenary session Aug. 22 in the grand ballroom of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. News of this honor is spurring on the large corps of Detroit Hadassah women in their plans for a one-day membership cam- paign, Sunday, Sept. 17, desig- nated as "H" Day. Prominent in this campaign are: Mrs. Ralph Davidson, chapter vice presi- dent; Mrs. Milton Prag and Mrs. Adolph Lowe, "H" Day chairman and co-chairman. Also at work are group mem- bership vice presidents: Mes- dames Stanley Akers, Benjamin Arkin, Benjamin Bond, Clarence Jacobs, Kopel Kahn, David M i r o, Louis Redstone, Morris Schiff, Leonard M o r e i n and Benjamin Weiss; and g r o u p membership chairmen and com- mittees: Mesdames L. Berkowitz, Alfred Bleier, Joseph Deutsch : J o e. Ellis, Bernard Feldman, Paul Friedberg, William Gelb,- Gerald Girard, John Horwitz, George Keil, Julius Kraft, Philip Levant, Albert Pines, Harry Pinsky, Kolman Sachse, Harry Sloan, Harry Spector, Manuel Stolen, Sam Sugerman and Jack Windshall. Sobeloff, Avrunin Participate in CJFWF Executives' Conference More than 60 Jewish commu- nity executives from the United States and Canada will attend the fifth annual executive's in- stitute sponsored by . the Council of Jewish Federations and Wel- fare Funds to be held Sept. 4 to 9 at French Lick, Ind., it was announced by H. L. Lurie, CJFWF executive director. This year's institute, he add- ed, is built around three major points of interest—the overseas picture, analysis of 1950 cam- paign and budgeting experience, and community organization and planning. In addition, there will be small meetings by popu- lation groups on specific prob- lems confronting these commu- nities. Harold Glasser, director of the CJFWF Institute on Overseas Studies, will report on the eco- nomic situation in Israel at the overseas session. Isidore Sobeloff, executive di- rector of the Detroit Jewish Welfare Federation, will serve as chairman of the session devoted to directions in central organi- zations in meeting problems in 1951. William Avrunin, JWF associate director, also will par- ticipate. A basic long-range survey of American Jewish communal life has been initiated by a newly organized committee on com- munity organization of the CJFWF. The committee is operating under a mandate given by the Jewish communities at the 1950 CJFWF general assembly to an- alyze the current status and un- derlying principles of Jewish community organization in the United. States and Canada, dis- cern the direction in which the organized Jewish communities are moving, and assist in strengthening community or- ganization generally. Purely Commentary By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ is Reprisal EVER Justified? Arthur Gordon, 23, an unemployed truck driver and a former welterweight fighter, lost his head when he was taunted as a- Jew by his drinking companions. He killed one of the men who ragged him and injured another. His explanation to the police: "I couldn't take it any longer. I lost my head. I pulled the gun and let go." This isn't as extreme a case as that of Nathan Hamilton in Arthur Gordon's powerful novel. "Reprisal" (Simon and Schuster) which was reviewed in this column last week. But it raises once again the question of the morality and the wisdom of seeking recourse to insults—even murder—in violence. As a general rule, resort to reprisal is not commendable. "Re-. prisal" proves it. Loss of temper is harmful. In the long run, injustice affects our entire social structure and it must be fought with reason and in an effort to eliminate prejudices. Samuel Liebowitz and 'Courtroom' Experiences Quentin Reynolds' magnificent book "Courtroom," the story of the career of Samuel S. Leibowitz as lawyer and judge (Farrar, Straus publication) throws additional light on the subject of reprisals. Judge Leibowitz, reminiscing about the cases which made him famous—he lost only one in 140, only because a judge whom he once licked in a trial case insisted that he handle the case that marred his record, when Leibowitz asked to be excused from it—emphasized that "there is no excuse for a lawyer to lose his temper." He had spoken out of turn in the Scottsboro Case and lambasted the southern jury as a group of "lantern-jawed men whose eyes pop out." Reynolds quotes Leibowitz: "What did the Scottsboro case mean to me? I like to thing . that I helped a little in convincing the public that a Negro is a citizen, entitled to the full privileges of citizenship. Every time I see Jackie Robinson and Don Newcombe and Roy Campanella out there in Dodger uniform, I get a kick out of it. Baseball wasn't worthy to be called our national game until it recognized that a Negro had every right to play in the big leagues. I like to watch Jackie out there playing alongside of Pee Wee Reese of Louisville, Kentucky; each giving the other harmonious sup- port; each encouraging the other." As this Commentator indicated in his review of "Reprisal," Robinson, taunted, could have lost his head. He exercised mar- velous self-control and became a national hero as a Brooklyn Dodger. Jackie Robinson proved that reprisal is unwise. Judge Leibowitz, who, as attorney, "won 139 consecutive games" before being "finally knocked out of the box" in his un- lucky 140th experience, emerges as a most interesting personality in Quentin Reynolds' well-told book. For lawyers, "Courtroom* should serve as a splendid textbook. For the layman, it will be fascinating reading, each chapter representing an individual experience and reading like a fairy tale. It is truth that becomea stranger than fiction. There is an interesting story about our hero's name. The Leibowitzes—parents and son, Samuel—arrived in this country on St. Patrick's Day, 1897. Their name in Romania was Lebeau. Quentin Reynolds writes: "`Lebeau' was a strange-sounding name on Essex Street in New York. Kindly neighbors told Papa Lebeau that he'd never get anywhere with that foreign name; he should find himself a good old American name, then automatically his status would change from that of newly arrived greenhorn to that of Ameri- can citizen. Papa Lebeau didn't much like the idea of changing the name that his forbears had always worn, but another in- genious neighbor resolved his indecision. "`-You don't have to change your name,' he urged. 'Just Americanize it. Your name is pronounced Lee-Beau. Just add an i-t-z to it and you get Lee-beau-itz, which is the American ' version. You spell it L-e-i-b-o-w-i-t-z.'" The "witz" didn't hurt the great lawyer—now equally as great as a jurist—in New York. Read Reynolds' story about him and you'll be convinced he would have made good anywhere, with any name. Genius won't be downed. - He defended cops—although all his life he had to expose "third degree" measures, and he upheld the right of the underdog to a fair deal in our courts. He saved the life of a frightened Jew —Harry L. Hoffman—who perjured himself unknowingly because he was frightened that he might suffer the fate of Leo Frank, the innocent Jew who was lynched in Georgia. He defended with equal skill a crazed policeman—Alvin Dooley ("Dooley Was a Cop . . .")—who killed a Jewish mayor and in an insane moment abused the Jews. But his fame sterns primarily from the Scottsboro • Case. In Alabama they spoke of "Jew money from New York" which was used to defend the accused Negroes. Leibowitz told the Alabama court: "'Now, as for the "Jew money from New York," let me say this: I'm not getting any fee in this case and I'm not getting a penny toward expenses for myself and my wife, who was here with me. - "'Mobs mean nothing to me. Let them hang me; I don't care. Life is only an incident in the Creator's scheme of thinas, but if I can contribute my little bit to see that justice is served, then my mission is fulfilled.'" And Quentin Reynolds comments: "For the first time in Ms life Leibowitz realized that he was a Jew and that being a member of a minority race entailed a responsibility that hitherto he had ignored. Haywood Patterson had been found guilty merely be- cause he was a Negro. Another man might be found guilty merely because he was a Jew—or for that matter a Catholic or a Quaker.* Leibowitz succeeded. Negroes, due to his efforts, now are serving on juries in the South. This is one of the great points in the noted jurist's career. The reader of "Courtroom" will find interesting evidence of the manner in which Communists operate; how they used funds collected for the defense in the Scottsboro case to feather their nests; how the Daily Worker suddenly acquired new machinery. Whose money was it, Reynolds asks? "Courtroom" is a great book about a great lawyer by an able author. And it is not too distantly related to the original issue posed by this Commentator: of placing restraint above reprisal. 5 Months Report: $55 Million Is Spent By UPA in Israel United Palestine Appeal agen- cies spent more than $55,500,000, the major portion provided by American Jews in Israel from January through May of this year for immigration, resettle- ment and development, Judge Morris Rothenberg, JPA nation- al chairman, announced. Note Special Deadlines Approaching holidays make necessary the following special deadlines for The Jewish News editions of Sept. 8 and Sept. 15. Contributors are asked to make careful note of these dates and times. For the edition of Friday, Sept. 8, the Rosh Hashanah edition, deadline for all copy and photographs will be at 3 p.m. Friday, Sept.- 1. The regular deadline of 11 a.m. on Wednesday will apply to classified advertisements. Rosh Hashanah greetings will be accepted until Tuesday, Aug. 29. For the edition of Friday, Sept. 15, deadline for all copy and photographs will be at 3 p.m. Friday, Sept.- 8. Deadline for classified advertisements will be at 11 a.m. Monday, Sept. 11.