As the Editor
Views the News .. .
Attention, Uncle Sam!
Strong Novel Appears
In Unexpui-gated Form
Detroit: Age, 250
Detroit's phenomenal growth as one of
the key industrial centers in the world is
becoming evident as its history is reviewed
durinc, the current observance of our com-
b 250th anniversary.
munity's
From a small city on a river bank, this
community has grown to great proportions.
It
has become
the "arsenal of
democracy," the
builder of ma-
chines that are
protecting
American ideals
on the battle-
....I fronts as well as
the creator of
0
tools aimed at
peace and the
raising of hu-
/
manity's stand-
...?
D
ards. In a word,
Detroit today is
O
the great metro-
polis whose factories utilize technical genius
to make life more interesting, to enable the
housewife to be free to contribute to com-
munal welfare by reducing her burdens, to
draw people together by means of the ve-
hicles which are assuming the role of neces-
sities rather than luxuries.
An old and a very famous novel has made
its appearance a few days ago in new dress and
in enlarged form. G. P. Putnam's Sons (2 W. 45th
St., NY) has released an "unexpurgated" edi-
tion of Sholem ..Asch's "Salvation" and even
those who have already read it will find great
value in reviewing the story.
Originally translated from the German edi-
tion (it was written in Yiddish) into English
by Willa and Edwin Muir—who continued as
the translators of the enlarged work—in 1934,
"Salvation" now is without the errors of the
original.
Mr. Asch himself is authority for the state-
ment that the revised and enlarged work con-
tains corrections "mostly concerning the cus-
toms of Jews in Poland in the early 19th cen-
tury and matters of Jewish ritual and teaching."
Mr. Asch states in the foreword to the new
edition that omitted chapters have been res-
tored and that material that tended to over-
load the book were eliminated.
Resurgent Anti-Semitism
One would imagine that it is too late for bigotry, that
we have reached a stage when inhumanity of man to man
should have- ended long ago. Nevertheless, we are now wit-
nessing a resurgence of anti-Semitism.
In Toronto, an anti-Semitic publication is ignoring the
repudiation of the infamous Dearborn Independent articles
and is reprinting them with the subtle comment that "Ford's
apology was abject."
In Hamburg, the German daily "Die Welt" reports that
the "numerous clausus" is being abolished beginning with
the spring term at Kiel University, "except on the faculties
Five prominent Jews, serving as mem- for medicine and the natural sciences." It seems as if there
bers of the Detroit 250th Anniversary Fes- always is an exception to the rule—in order to keep Jews
tival Board, are included in the cross-sec- out of important professions.
tional set-up of the planning organization.
Anti-Semites have made inroads into decent society in
They are :
England. In Germany the situation has become intolerable.
Joseph Davidson, of Davidson Brothers.
There is cause for disturbance in this country. The
Christian
Science Monitor correspondent in Los Angeles, in
Dr. B. Benedict Glazer, Rabbi of Temple
a special article in which he discusses Gerald L. K. Smith's
Beth El.
claims that he is making big gains in California, makes this
interesting statement:
David Idzal, Fox Theater Corporation.
"Today when Americans have a hope-inspiring alternate
Nate S. Shapero, Cunningham Drug Com-
to Communism to offer mankind—the 'self-evident' truth
pany.
that 'all men are created equal'—Gerald L. K. Smith is in-
Henry 'Wineman, Peoples Outfitting Com- jecting an opposite concept into California politics."
pany.
Pointing out that a reporter had described G. L. K.
Outstanding historians, under the leader- Smith_ as a `one-man drama of fear and hate," the Christian
ship of George Stark of the Detroit News, Science Monitor writer asserts that "the 'One-man' qualifier
are making important contributions in the has to be deleted; Mr. Smith is not -alone." The anti-Semite,
gathering of historical material during this who has established his headquarters in California, claims a
festival celebration.
following of 200,000. In the Monitor's expose we are told that
in California, "chock full of political independents, it has
The Detroit Jewish community, now 100 many times been demonstrated that a small voter bloc, rallied
years old, proudly shares in the celebration. emotionally to some issue, could become astoundingly pow-
erful."
These facts must be recognized in order to understand
Smith's attacks on the Administration in Washington ; his
Here is a story worth perpetuating. It accusation that the presence in the nation's capital of Mrs.
is a travel note from Leonard Lyon's Den Anna Rosenberg is proof of "Jewish control over Amerca's
in the New York Post and it reads:
destiny;" his charge that the Dewey-Morse combine" is "con-
trolled by the Jew Machine." While Californians are viewed
Dr. Ralph Bunche tells this story about
as recognizing the fantastic attack upon Senator Wayne
Mary McCleod Bethune, former president of
Morse and Governor .Thomas Dewey, the Monitor's writer
the National Council of Negro Women: Mrs.
admits that "falsehood has shown itself politically expedient
Bethune was riding in a railroad car in the
in recent months."
South, and the conductor _who wanted her to
Apropos Smith's anti-Semitic drive, the Monitor's cor-
move said: "Come on, Auntie." Mrs. Bethune
respondent has the following to say:
continued to read, and the conductor repeated:
By drawing people together, Detroit's ad-
vancement also is evidenced in the field of
human relations. Amity • among peoples is
one of the achievements to the credit of this
community which, for a fleeting period, was
the scene of racial tensions. Qur educational
agencies, our inter-faith groups, continue to
make progress in the advancement of the
highest ideals aimed at the brotherhood of
man.
Lesson In Dignity
"Come on, Auntie." She waited for him to say
it a third time—"Come on, Auntie"—then she
looked up and replied: "And which sister of
mine calls you Boy?"
What can the white man, who has been
affected by bias, say to this retort ? Can it
be anything other than acquisition of new
respect for a courageous woman who knew
how to command dignity for herself and her
people ?
THE JEWISH NEWS
Member: American Association of English-Jewish News.
wipers. Michigan Press Association.
Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publishing
Co. 708-10 David Stott Bldg., Detroit 26. Mich., WO. 5-1155.
Subscription $3 a year; foreign $4.
Entered as seconc class matter Aug. 6, 1942 at Post Office,
Detroit. Mich.. ander Act of March 8. 1879.
Mr. Smith is selling "a limited number of copies" of a book
called "The Plot of the Jews: The Protocols of the Learned
Elders of Zion" This, he claims, bears out his contention that
America's foreign policy is of Jewish manufacture, a claim which
overlooks entirely the deep Christian roots of American prac-
tice in world affairs.
These protocols, as every investigator knows, are forgeries.
They were used in Czarist Russia, then in Hitler's Germany,
later the Rev. Charles E. Coughlin, in the United States, as tools
for opposition to liberalism. After a celebrated trial which turn-
ed on their authenticity, a Swiss jurist called them "nothing
but ridiculous nonsense." Fourteen distinguished American his-
torians pronounced them "rank and pernicious forgeries." ("An
Appraisal of the Protocols of Zion," by John S. Curtiss, Columbia
University Press, 1942.)
During a spell of anti-Semitism for which he afterward
asked forgiveness publicly; Henry Ford published these spurious
protocols. Mr. Smith is giving them a new circulation in Cali-
fornia.
Here you have it: In California it is G. L. K. Smith who
is reprinting the spurious protocols. In Toronto, Canadian
anti-Semites are ignoring Ford's apology and repudiation
and
are again publicizing the notorious fake.
Vol. XIX—No. 2
Page 4
March 23, 1951
Thus, anti-Semites again are riding the plains. They
Sabbath Scriptural Selections
stand exposed, but since there always are gullible people
This Sabbath, the sixteenth day of Adar who are ready to grab at expedient opportunities to capi-
Sheni, 5711, the following Scriptural selections talize on bigotry we are due for unending battles to ward
will be read in our synagogues:
off intolerance and to stem the tide of bigotry which, if it
Pentateuchal portion—Lev. 6:1-8:36.
is not checked, will harm this great land even more than
Prophetical portion—Jer. 7:21-8:3;9:22,23.
the Jewish people.
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ, Editor
SIDNEY SHMARAK. Advertising Manager
Sholem Asch's 'Salvation'
This book first was known as "The Psalm
Jew"—"Der Tehillim Yid,"—a title that better
describes its contents. It is the story of a very
pious man—Yechiel : the Tehillim reader, the
devout man whose prayers came true, who pro-
vided solace for his followers, who became a
guide for entire communities.
Yechiel, orphaned early in life, told that he
did not possess scholastic ability, was advised by
a pious man to read the Tehillim. He followed
that path, read the Psalms, inspired his neigh-
bors with his piety.
There is tragedy in this story. Yechiel's wife
Reizel died in childbirth and he remained un-
wed. But a daughter was born shortly there-
after to a couple for whom Yechiel prayed that
their wish for a child be fulfilled. The child was
named Reizel. When she grew up and great
fuss was made over her marriage, she fled to
a convent to be married to a non-Jew.
Again, Yechiel was called to provide con-
solation. He told the girl's mother to station
herself at the convent and to refuse to move.
The conscience of the girl is touched. She is af-
fected by terror, by pressure from the outside—
her mother at the gate taunted by dogs and
men—and the nuns on the inside who prepared
to have her baptised. On the eve of baptism
and intermarriage, she flung herself from her
window to the pavement and to death.
There is power in this story. Mr. Asch used
all his descriptive .powers in writing "The Psalm
Jew"— "Salvation." It is a story that to this
day • retains all its original attractions. In new
garb, with the added contents, it undoubtedly
will renew its old following and will gain a new
audience.
Facts You Should Know .. .
What does "Purim" mean? What is the
meaning of the name Esther? Why was
Esther's original name said to be "Hadassah"?
The definition of the name "Purim" is ex-
plicitly stated in the Bible (Esther 9:24) where it
is written: "that Pur is a lot." The name "Purim"
in the plural would hence mean lots and indi-
cate the lots that Haman cast to determine the
day upon which to order the destruction of the
Jewish people in his domain. This is associated
with the Babylonian word for lot which is
"Puru," The Bible critics offer other fascinating
but imaginative theories as to the origin of this
name "Purim." Some say that it comes from the
Semitic root "farar" meaning to exterminate,
indicating that the "Purim" festival was one
which • came about because Haman sought to
exterminate the Jewish people. Others fancifully
trace it to the Hebrew word "Purah" which
means wine cask, and erroneously try to asso-
ciate it with a Greek Festival called "Pithogia"
which means the opening of the wine casks.
Above all these attempts, the Bible's own inter-
pretation seems to bear out the truth. Most in-
teresting • of all the fanciful theories is that
which associates the name "Purim" with the
old Persian word "Purti" and hence with our
word "Portion" indicating that Purim is the
day in which each gives "portions" or "gifts" to
one another. The actual association is in the
sense that a "lot" is a "portion" of luck.
The critics claim that the name Esther is
one that comes from the Persian word "Sitireh"
which means a "star" or "The Star of Venus."
Traditional authorities trace the name to the
Hebrew "Seter" which means "secret" claiming
that Esther received this name because she
made a secret of her race and descent and be-
cause in her was the secret of Jewish salvation
at that time which was a hidden ray of light
destined to illuminate the Jewish dark tragedy.
"Hadassah" means "myrtle." The myrtle is
a modest shrub yet its fragrance is far-reaching
and it is always green. Esther, too, was a modest
person, yet her charm reached far into the
realm and won the King's heart. Some claim
the word "Hadassah" is used for "myrtle" be-
cause it comes from a root meaning to "leap"
or to spring up quickly as the myrtle plant will
do. Esther was also so called because she was
always alert and ready to help,