As the ,Editor
Views the News

In Defense of Major Principle

Give Her a Flying Start

Moehiman's Book Urges
Church-State Separation

G-Day

The Women's Division of the Allied Jew-
ish Campaign literally takes over the com-
munity for a day on Sunday, which has
been designated as the G-Day in the cam-
paign to provide the necessary funds for
Israel, for overseas relief, for national and
local causes.
Many hundreds of women are volunteer-
ing their time for a house-to-house canvass
of funds for the emergency needs which can
be solved only if all of us will share in the
great responsibilities that face us at present.
Volunteer workers should be given the
community's respect by means of cordial re-
ceptions and liberal contributions. In this
way we build bonds of cooperation and loy-
alty and aid, movements which strive
to save lives and to elevate the position of
our people everywhere.
G-Day calls upon all Detroit Jewish wom-
en for service and for liberal giving. It is to
be hoped that its success will inspire the
entire community to greater action for the
efforts which are aimed to strengthen the
spirit of Israel, to rescue the oppressed, to
provide homes for the homeless and to give
courage to those who battle for justice.

Campaigns Major Need

As the Allied Jewish Campaign progresses
it is daily becoming more evident that the
major need is for workers.
There are many thousands of prospects
to be solicited. But they can not be reached
unless there is a sufficiently large army of
volunteers to cover the field.
Approximately $2,500,000 already has
been subscribed to the drive. But if the
coveted goal of $6,000,000 is to be attained
a great deal more effort than has been ex-
erted so far will- have to be shown.
It is a source of disappointment that
many men who should be counted among the
volunteer workers are not participating in
the drive actively. The women are showing
a better response and it is encouraging to
see so many of our young people in the front
ranks of the campaigners.
If only a few hundred more men could
be enlisted as campaigners, the success of
the drive would then be assured, and less
time would be required to complete the
great task.
It is not too late for the men in our com-
munity to enlist in this great effort.
This call goes forth to the men in our
community: Enlist NOW as volunteer work-
ers in the Allied Jewish Campaign and help
complete the great humanitarian drive!

"The Wall of Separation Between Church
and State," by Dr. Conrad H. Moehlman, another
in the series of Beacon Studies in Freedom and
Power, published by Beacon Press (25 Beacon
St., Boston 8), adds significantly to the available
literature on the subject and strengthens the
hands of those who seek to perpetuate the
ideals of Jefferson and Madison for the estab-
lishment of a "wall of separation between church
and state."
It is regrettable that Mr. Moehlman should
have had to resort to appeals e against the influ-
ence of Catholic officials who have labored to
nullify decisions of the Supreme Court against
the introduction of religious teachings in the
schools and in support of the basic principles of
the 1st and 14th Amendments to the Constitu-
tion. But the eminent scholar maintains that
"the great majority of the American Roman
Catholic laity certainly endorse" the creed that
was enunciated by the late Alfred E. Smith.
The Smith credo was contained in a state-
ment issued during his candidacy for the Presi-
dency on the Democratic ticket. In it he de-

clared:
"I believe in the absolute separation of
Church and State and in the strict en force-
I114 /frutzi6.44_.
ment of the provisions of the Constitution
that Congress shall make no law respecting
an establishment of religion or prohibiting the
free exercise thereof . . . I believe in the sup-
port of the public school as one of the corner.
Editor and Publisher, "the spot news paper of the news- stones of American liberty."

Speak Up for Democracy

paper and advertising fields, made some blunt comments
Dr. Moehlman contends: "Democracy is not
on suppression of the free press by Peron, in Argentina, in a fiction. It is an inheritance from the ancient
the following editorial under the heading "This Was Action": Graeco-Roman civilization and the Judaeo-
Late in 1943, the Argentine Government then headed by Christian religion. It is government of, by, and

President General Pedro Pablo Ramirez suppressed all Jewish_ for the people. It believes that 'tyranny begins
where law ends.' It emphasizes duties and obli-
language newspapers in that country.
The U. S. State Department ordered its Ambassador in gations as well as rights and privileges. The
Constitution of the United States has spoken;
Buenos Aires to protest to the Argentine Government.
President Roosevelt at his press conference issued the fol- the case is closed. Similarly, religion is not a
lowing statement: "I have been informed that the Argentine fiction. If at times in this study of the relation
of church and state, we have appeared to be un-
Government has suspended the publication of Jewish news- duly
harsh in our criticism of certain religious
papers, some of which have been in existence for many years. traditions,
it is because we are convinced that
While this matter is, of course, one which concerns primarily the the essence of the religious spirit cannot be corn-
Argentine Government and people, I cannot forbear to give pressed in any organizational pattern but must
expression to my own feeling of apprehension at the taking in -arise from the impact of prophetic individuals
this hemisphere of action obviously anti-Semitic in nature and who represent distinctive religious achievement."
of a character so closely identified with the most repugnant
author points out that the public schools
features of Nazi doctrine. I believe that this feeling is shared are The
for all American children, regardless of race,
by the people of the United States and by the people of the other color
or creed; that while private schools may
American republics."
limit their matriculants, public schools may not
A few hours after this statement had been made public the discriminate; that the people control public
Argentine President announced the ban had been lifted.
schools; that private schools are privately
It is probably too late to do anything about saving LaPrensa owned; that public schools do not impose or
now. But we wonder if it might have been saved had our Presi- require religious tests, etc.
dent and government taken similar direct, vigorous ; protesting
The able author points out with appropri-
action when Peron started the chain of events leading to its
ate emphasis that "formal religious educa-
suppression. Certainly, the absence of official comment from
tion is the task of the home and the church.*
the White House and the almost do-nothing policy of the State
Department contributed little toward the preservation of a free
He points out that separation of church and
press in the Southern hemisphere.
state means "absolute liberty, just and true lib-
La Prensa has now been expropriated by the Peron Govern- erty," and declares:
ment as if it were a railroad or a steel mill. The name will
"If we as Americans may not vote for men
continue, when and if the government renews publication, but
for public office from ecclesiastical reasons,
its powerful voice for freedom has been silenced at least until
how can our representatives impose taxes
the end of Peron and the peronistas.
The Jewish angle of 1943 is incidental to the major which ultimately are used for the mainten-
issue involving freedom of the press. The point made by ance of parochial schools?"
Further, he says that "the appeal to the
Editor and Publisher is well taken. If you speak up for
documents of the colonial age and the
Tulsa, Okla., with a Jewish population democracy, you have a better than even chance to gain the source
transition years, 1776-1789, demonstrates that
rights
that
are
inherent
in
democratic
principles.
If
you
are
of less than 2,000, is reported to have started
the United States Supreme Court is absolutely
the Israel bond drive with subscriptions to- silent, the forces of reaction will gain the edge.
correct in interpreting the religious clause of the

The Bond Drive

talling more than $800,000.
Pittsburgh, with less than half the num-
ber of Jews in Detroit, already has subscribed
more than $1,000,000 towards the $500,000,-
000 Israel bond issue. Seventeen Pittsburgh
Jewish leaders purchased $605,000 worth of
bonds.
What will Detroit do?
Many groups are forming bond commit-
tees and it is sincerely to be hoped that the
movement in support of Israel will be set
into motion without delay.
In order to share in the countrywide ef-
fort to present Israel Premier 'David Ben-
Gurion with the sum of $50,000,000—as pro-
ceeds of the initial bond sales—on May 10,
Detroit Jewry is asked to mobilize at once
for the bond drive. Our community is asked
to subscribe an initial sum of $2,000,000 by
May 10. It is urgent that all Detroit Jews
get down to business to assure the success
of the bond issue.

THE JEWISH NEWS

Member: American Association of English-Jewish News-
papers, Michigan Press Association.
Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publishing
Co. 708-10 David Stott Bldg., Detroit 26, Mich., W0.5-1156.
Subscription $4 a year; foreign $5.
Entered as second class matter Aug. 6, 1942 at Post Office,
Detroit, Mich., under Act of March 3, 1879.

PHILIP SLOMOVITZ, Editor
SIDNEY SHMARAK, Advertising Manager

Vol. XIX—No. 7

Page 4

April 27, 1951

Scriptural Selections for
Concluding Days of Passover

Pentateuchal portions — Friday, Ex. 13.17-
15:26, Num. 28:19-25; Saturday, Dent. 15:19-
16:17; Num. 28:19-25.
Prophetical portions—Friday, H Sam. 22;
Saturday, Is. 10:32-12..6.

We are today in the throes of uncertainty bordering on
reaction in many parts of the world. We are too close to an-
other world war to have a right to feel complacent. In the
event of a war there is danger that the fate of democratic
thinking and action will be sealed for many years. Now is
the time to fortify the position of freedom-loving people. It
can be done only if we fortify the ideas and the ideals in-
herent in the American way of life:
Fortunately, the spokesmen for. the Fourth Estate are
speaking up in defense of a free press. They are thereby
strengthening the most vital instrument for peace and d
mocracy in the world.

First Amendment as signifying complete separa-
tion of church and state."
Dr. Moehlman, who is professor emeritus of
the history of Christianity at Colgate-Rochester
Divinity School, goes farther in his contention
by declaring :

"The United Nations can function effec-
tively only so long as it maintains neutral at-
titude toward ALL the religions of the world
and their ever-increasing divergent sects. Any
attempt to return to the union of church and
state in America, would introduce a parochial-
ism in our thinking that would militate against
all our efforts at fair, international-minded
relation with other countries . . . Religious
institutions - MUST be allowed to function in
an atmosphere of freedom, but they must
never be allowed to become the basis of an
ecclesiastical state."

Bible Lesson for Detectives

An Associated Press cable from Haifa, Irael, offers ad-
vice to sleuths: for maximum efficiency, study the Bible.
The AP report:

And it came to pass that a policeman in Haifa, while read-
ing the Holy Scriptures, came upon the very words which led
him to solve a nettling crime.
The authorities of the land of Israel had apprehended a
caravan of asses, laden with contraband from the unfriendly
lands of the Arabs across the river Jordan. But those who did
own the asses and did smuggle the contraband slipped away in
the night and were not known.
A wise policeman read the words of the prophet Isaiah, and
in the third verse of the first chapter beheld wise words.
The asses were held for several days without food and then
were allowed to wander. The starved and braying beasts led
the policeman to the den of the culprits in an Arab frontier
village.
The culprits were sore amazed, as were the village folk and
admiring fellow policemen.
So it was that the inspired policeman read them this mes-

"The Wall of Separation Between Church and
State" is a powerful instrument in defense of
one of the most vital American principles. Dr.
Moehlman and his publishers have earned the
gratitude of all Americans of all faiths for pro-
ducing this valuable work.

Facts You Should Know .. .

Is the Kohen permitted to return the five
dollars given him for the Pidyon Haben (Re-
demption Ceremony?)
Kohanim do this frequently today. It was

sage:
"The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib."

a popular custom even in the days of the Talmud
when learned rabbis like Rabbi Tarfon and Rabbi
Chanina, who were Kohanim, used to return the
money to the family as a gift. 'f the father of
the child only presented it to the Kohen as a
loan, the child would not be considered re-
deemed. The Talmud (Bechoroth 51b.) cites the
case of Rabbi Chanina who told the father, who
indicated that he expected the money back,
that his child could not be considered redeemed

Ingenuity plus Scriptural application seems to get re-
sults in Israel. It has helped the fighters for freedom who
retraced the steps of their forefathers in their struggle to
regain a homeland. It seems to be working for the police.
The moral: know your Bible.
.under such circumstances. - -

-

