As the Editor .
Views the News
1
Teachers' Seminar
Sunday's Religious School Teachers' In-
stitute deserves more than passing attention.
The fact that teachers of all the Reform and
Conservative schools, as well as of the Mid-
rasha, are to meet on common ground is of
lesser importance than the major objective
of unifying curricula and planning more in-
tensive studies in our religious and commu-
nity schools.
It would not be out of order for the
teachers who will confer on Sunday on their
various probems to take into consideration
the need for injecting new interest in the
schools among the teen-agers and young
adults. Too many of our young people aban-
don the Jewish schools after Bar Mitzvah
and confirmation. It is a grave problem
which is carried into the general community
by virtue of the fact that we are not building
informed leaders and are not advancing Jew-
ish cultural values. •
While a number of our synagogues are
solving the issue partially through adult in-
stitutions, their effectiveness is, as yet, limit-
ed. Adult education will become an effective
instrument in creating a thinking Jewish
constituency only when the young people
are imbued with a desire to continue their
studies in later years and our people are
The 1951 Allied Jewish Campaign commences officially
encouraged to read Jewish books and to on Tuesday,
with the scheduled address by Supreme Court
study Jewish history. Perhaps the confer-
Justice
William
0. Douglas. Large advance sums already
ence on Sunday will find some ways out of
have been contributed to the drive—at the meeting last
existing dilemmas.
month in Miami Beach, Fla., and by direct solicitations since
that time. As a result of these efforts, the opening meeting
of the campaign is certain to record a very large initial sum
towards an unspecified goal. It is hoped that the amount
Two noted Jewish scholars are currently raised this year will exceed the $6,000,000 mark and that a
new high will be set in fund-raising.
being honored on their 70th birthdays.
In the past few weeks new problems have arisen making
Dr. Julian Morgenstern, president emeri-
tus of Hebrew Union College, last week was it imperative for American Jewry to give larger sums than
ever to rescue funds. The rehabilitation efforts aren't over
feted in Cincinnati.
by
a long shot. New crises have arisen as a result of the
On April 17, a testimonial banquet will be
given in honor of Prof. Mordecai Kaplan, tragic position of Iraqi and Iranian Jewries. Threats of
founder of the Reconstructionist movement. pogroms are following the inhuman treatment accorded the
Jews in those two countries—in the ancient Babylonian and
Both are outstanding leaders who have Persian areas which already are so intimately bound up
won important places for themselves in with Jewish history. First, Jews were robbed of all their pos-
Jewish ranks with their scholarly works. sessions, then they are molested physically, now their very
Each, in his own right, has created a school lives are threatened.
of thought during the long years of their
Immigrants arriving in Israel from Iraq revealed that
. teaching at Hebrew Union College and Jew- extreme brutality is resorted to by Iraqis in suquestering
ish Theological Seminary.
property from the emigrants. A convoy that proceeded from
Both leaders have guided scores of young Sheikah Harban to the Baghdad airport was fired upon and
men along the path to the rabbinate, and as the police escort was compelled to return the fire. The Jew-
their teachers have inspired them with their ish quarter of the town of Kut was ransacked, Jewish-owned
wisdom and their sincere devotion to Jewish property was seized without giving receipts to the owners.
In Iraq parliament, Mahadi Kubba, a member of the Is-
ideals.
tiqlal party, even proposed that all Jews be placed in con-
We join in greeting the two distinguished centration camps pending their settlement in Israel in order
leaders whose contributions to Jewish life to prevent them from selling their property.
are recorded indelibly in Jewish annals.
These incidents indicate the seriousness of the existing
situation. Meanwhile Israel carries the brunt of responsibility
in providing homes for the persecuted. The Teheran-Lydda
airlift service brings new settlers not only from Iraq but
Israel's dangers have not diminished. also from Iran, Afghanistan and Kurdistan. These move-
Last week Arab Legionnaires killed a young ments have to be financed. Israel can not stand the burden
Jew near the "no-man's-land' area in the alone. The new state has borne the major share of costs
Musrara Jerusalem quarter. In the territory for the settlement on hundreds of thousands of Jews for
adjoiriing the Egyptian-held Sinai desert, nearly three years, with the result that its economic po-
5,000 Bedouins infiltrated into Israel and sition is weakening.
American Jews always have come to the rescue in chal-
clashed with Jewish troops.
lenging periods when Israel needed to be defended and Jews
These are only two instances of existing had to be rescued. This year is a most serious one—from
difficulties. Troubles will mount if Israel an immigration point of view perhaps the most serious of
will be unable to protect her borders. This all time. Nearly 100,000 Jews must - be rescued in 70 days
means that the Jewish state will be compell- and other problems are emerging gradually as a result of the
ed to spend the major portion of its income persecutions in Moslem countries and the difficulties in Iron
for defense purposes.
Curtain countries.
In Detroit, the solution to the problems must be provided
For American Jewry these conditions
mean that we must provide the funds that through larger gifts to the Allied Jewish Campaign. Our
are needed for immigration and resettle- opportunity is at hand in the drive that will start on Tues-
ment work in order that Israel should be day. We shall have additional duties soon—to make a suc-
free to spend her tax dollars for - the protec- cess of the bond drive. The sooner the Allied Jewish Cam-
tion of the land and the people. It means that paign concludes its trying tasks, the better for Israel and
the UJA must be given larger funds and for the oppressed emigres for whom immediate cash is neces-
that the forthcoming bond drive will have to sary to effect their rescue. The speedier the Allied Campaign
be supported to the full in order to guaran- the more encouraging will be the prospects also for the
tee the new state's unhampered industrial bond drive.
development.
Our Campaign's Signal for Action
Septuagenarians
Israel's Dangers
THE JEWISH NEWS
Member : American Association of English-Jewish News-
papers Michigan Press Association.
Publishec every Friday by The Jewish News Publishing
Co. 708-10 David Stott Bldg.. Detroit 26. Mich., WO. 5-1155.
Subscription S3 a year; foreign 54.
Entered as second class matter Aug. 6, 1942 at Post Office,
Detroit Mich.. under Act of March 8. 1879.
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ, Editor
SIDNEY SHMARAK. Advertising Manager
Vol. XIX—No. 3
Page 4
March 30, 1951
Sabbath Scriptural Selections
This Sabbath, the twenty-third day of Adar
Sheni, 5711, the following Scriptural selections
will be read. in our synagogues:
Peiztateuchal portions—Lev. 9:11-47; NUM. 19.
Prophetical portion—Ezek. 36:16-38.
Taubman's 'The Maestro'
`Yes, It's Little Enough'
Juniors Stay-at-Home Sunday
The Junior Division of the Allied Jewish Campaign has
hit upon an excellent method of achieving its goal in a single
day. It has set the coming Sunday—April 1—and they are
not fooling about it—as a single campaign day on which 500
volunteer workers will attempt to reach all prospective
contributors.
A call has been issued to all prospects to remain in
their homes until after the arrival of the solicitors and the
presentation of their pledges.
In this fashion, the Juniors hope to reach all contribu-
tors, except those who may be out of the city, and to attain
their goal in a single day.
Their elders bless them in this effort. May they succeed
to the full. Perhaps their experiment will prove a guide to
all other divisions for a similar one-day action in the great
humanitarian effort known as the Allied Jewish Campaign.
Biography of Toscanini:
Story of Man of Justice
Arturo Toscanini, who celebrated his 84th
birthday on March 25, emerges as one of the
very great men of our time in Howard Taub-
man's life story of the eminent musician which
was published by Simon and Schuster under
the title "The Maestro."
As music editor for 20 years of the New
York Times, Taubman has collected material
for a Toscanini biography, finallyf
crystallizing his research while ac-
companying. the great conductor'
on a several weeks' transcontinen-
tal tour, which included Detroit.
Toscanini's childhood, his rapid
rise to fame, his determined will
to activate his ideas, are excellent-
ly presented by the able biogra-
pher. Taubman has collected the
anecdotes about Toscanini, a n d
"The Maestro" reveals the sharp Toscanini
wit of the conductor.
Of particular interest to our readers is the
eminent musician's strong stand against Mus-
solini, who was his friend in the days when
Toscanini respected him for his Italian patriot-
ism, and his anti-Nazi attitude which made him
a leader among the liberal anti-Hitlerian forces
in the world.
When Toscanini realized the menace of
Fascism, he openly opposed Mussolini in Italy.
He risked his freedom in the position he took
against the dictator, but he did not falter; he
was blatant in his opposition to tyranny and
spoke his mind. On one occasion the interces-
sion of the United States was necessary to get
him out of Italy.
Mr. Taubman recounts how Toscanini had
told Wilhelm Furtwaengler that he did not
want to see him "because you are a Nazi."
When Furtwaengler denied it, Toscanini said:
"Yes, you, whether you have • a, party card or
not. In London you lunch with Jews to make
a good case for yourself so that you won't
lose your position in the West. In Germany,
you work for Hitler."
At SalZburg, Toscanini consistently took an
anti-Nazi stand and refused to condone Nazi
ideas. We learn from the Taubman biography:
"The performances led by Bruno Walter
were not to be airwaved from Salzburg, since
the Nazis did not wish to have music conducted
by a man of Jewish antecedents. When Tos-
canini heard of this plan he sat on it hard.
Broadcast any Salzburg performances to Ger-
many, he told Austrian officials, and he would
leave the festival for good."
When the Nazis marched into Austria, Tos-
canini was heart-broken. At a great personal
sacrifice, he was finished with Salzburg. He
advised Walter to get out of Austria. Taubman
writes:
"When the war ended, officials at Salz-
burg immediately appealed to him to return.
`I said no,' he remarked recently. 'I would
not mingle with Furtwaengler, Karajan, and
others who had worked for Hitler and the
Nazis.' "
There are touching references to Toscanini's
interest in the Palestine Symphony Orchestra,
his visit to the Jewish settlements, the help
he gave to the musicians in Israel. "Palestine
touched his emotions most profoundly." The
late Bronislaw Hubermann interested Toscanini
in the Jewish 'pioneers and in the Palestine
Symphony and the Maestro conducted con-
certs. in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa and •
then took the orchestra to Cairo—in 1936—
something impossible now.
Toscanini was literally in love with Tel
Aviv, with the Jewish children, with the build-
ers of the new state. He remained loyal, to this
love throughout the years and on his most re-
cent visit again conducted the Israel Symphony.
He "refused to accept payment for any of his
concerts in both Palestinian visits. It was a
privilege to him to contribute his services and
to reveal publicly his solidarity with the per-
secuted."
Taubman's "The Maestro" is a magnificent
work that does justice to a great man. The
book is certain to win acclaim everywhere.
Facts You Should Know .. .
Why do some people burn the shoes of the
dead?
It is a traditional custom on the part of
many observant. Jews not to have any use for
the shoes of the dead, certainly not to wear
them. Some explain this custom on the basis
of the "Sever Hachasidim" which considered
it a danger to the health of the person who
would wear them later, for fear that the death
was caused by a contagious cause. It is quite
logical to understand that shoes, unlike other
clothing apparel, cannot be perfectly laundered
and sterilized. Others claim that the source
mentioned applies only to those who die of
contagious diseases. Others see in the custom
the feeling that no one is to "fill the shoes" of
the deceased, thus considering his departure
an irreparable loss. Some limit the restriction
only to the shoes worn at the time of death.