Jewi s h Mayors In Michigan
A 'Nom-Sentimental' Deal Pays Off
First Car Off Kt' Assembly Line
Is a Great Day in Israel's History
By FRANK SIMONS
"Although our hearts a n d
minds are close, it was a straight
business deal, a strictly non-sen-
timental proposition."
In these few words, Hickman
Price, executive vice-president
of the Kaiser-Frazer Automdbile
Corp., explained why the embry-
onic and re-born state of Israel
was selected for the site of that
company's auto assembly plant,
the first located in the Near
East.
Every day, as increasing num-
bers of shiny automobiles roll
off the company's Israel as-
sembly line, evidence is shown
that Kaiser-Frazer's $500,000 in-
vestment in Israel was not a
gamble.
In May the building was fin-
ished, in June the first Kaiser
car was completed; now, in July,
orders for new cars are being
filled for shipment to Finland,
France, Turkey, British Africa
and other destinations.
From the first, this gigantic
project which is the largest,
individual foreign investment
made in Israel, had the sanc-
tion and the blessing of Hick-
man Price, Kaiser - Frazer's
young and dynamic export
vice-president.
Price, working with the United
States. government in the Middle
East during World War H, be-
came familiar with the country.
But, at that time, he entertained
no such idea as "non-sensical"
as an automobile plant in that
area.
With the Israel declaration of
independence, however, the
scheme did not look so improb-
able. As Price explains, "Here
was a country similar to the
United States in democratic
principles, in its humanity and
in its pioneering spirit."
A trip to the Near East in No-
vember, 1949 was reported back
to Kaiser-Frazer's board of di-
rectors, Price continued. "At
that time there was only one
vote cast for a project in Israel.
Mine. But, 1 was determined be-
fore I left the room, they would
hear my story on Israel."
•• The directors listened. In
March, 1950, another trip was
made by Price—this time to sign
a pact with the Israel govern-
ment for building a Near East
plant in Israel.
A dramatic story could be
• unfolded about the construc-
tion of the building itself. Suf-
fice it to say that the build-
ing was started in September.,
1950. Materials, difficult to
obtain, were scraped together,
and in May of this year the
plant emerged complete. Of
. all the buildings Israel had
constructed since its statehood,
none so vast and complicated
had been completed in as
short a time.
While the building was being
accomplished, Kaiser-Frazer ex-
, perts were on their way to Israel
to demonstrate to the raw, un-
skilled Israelis how cars are
produced. FOr three months jobs
were explained, and then the
experts, satisfied that the Is-
raelis had achieved "that Ameri-
can know-how," returned to the
U. S.
When production began 200
workers, now skilled craftsmen,
began assembly operations. The
laborers represent 26 different
, countries, and over 57 per cent
have been in Israel less than one
year.
The different backg rounds
pose a minor problem that we
had never faced before, Price
pointed out. "We have signs
posted in German, Romanian,
• Arabic and English, 'but' basically
we stick to Hebrew."
"Our best welder is a coal
black Indian Jew, who only re-
cently emigrated, and our best
trim man is a Romanian, a sort
' of small United Nations in our
own midst," he added.
"The cooperation of the Israel
government during the entire
venture was excellent," Price as-
serted. One of 4-1.te major govern-
ment aids was arranging trade
agreements with ohter countries.
On June 14, Flag Day in
America, banners were also
flying in Israel. People flocked
to Haifa by cars, by buses, by
the truckload and on foot, to
see the unveiling of the first
Kaiser car made in Israel.
2,000 a year. "Already," Price ex-
plained, "the plant is sold out
until April, 1952," • and in the
near future will rival the citrus
industry as a source for obtain-
ing foreign dollars."
S
HICKMAN
PRICE, export
vice - president
of the Kaiser-
Frazer Co., who
turned from
Israeli after tak-
ing part in the
celebration of
t h e completion
of the first
Kaiser car. to
roll off the new
Israel plant's
assembly I i n e
In picture be-
low, Prime-Min-
ister David
Ben-Gurion ad-
dresses t h e
crowd who at-
tended the his-
tory - making
event. Price is
standing ad-
jacent to the
platform, s e c -
a d from the
left.
0 •
the fact that this car sym-
bolized an achievement.
The investment of the
Kaiser-Frazer Co. means the
start along the long and un-
even road toward economic
stabilization. All profits real-
ized from this plant will come
from foreign countries to
whom the cars will be export-
ed.for hard currency, the kind
of hard currency Israel needs
to stabiliie her pound value.
The project will also be the
forerunner of other sound, in-
dustrial investments needed to
get Israel on its feet. While, to-
day Kaiser-Frazer, Ltd. of :Israel
employs 200 men and produces 7
cars a day, by the end. of this
year 400 men will be working in
the plant, which will then be
producing 20 cars a day, over
Abraham Kahle n s t e i n was
elected president of the village
of Otsego, Mich., in 1903. Born
abroad in 1865, he came to the
United States in 1888 and.shortly
thereafter settled in Otsego. He
established an enviable reputa-
tion and was elected on the
Democratic ticket.
Edward Frensdorf, an early
banker in Michigan, was Mayor
of, Hudson, Mich., in 1907.
Meyer B. Netzorg served as
mayor and president of the
school board of Elsie, Mich., from
1910 through 1912. Mr. Netzorg
was born in Russian-Poland and
came at an early age to Green-
ville, °Mich., where his uncle
Jacob Netzorg was a resident. He
resided for awhile in . Ithaca„
Mich., and in 1886 became a resi-
dent of Elsie where he remained
until 1917. He was responsible
for the installation of the elec-
tric light system in Elsie. In
1917, Mr. Netzorg moved to De-
troit where he died in 1939.
After World War II, he was re-
sponsible for the settling of
about 200 ex-servicemen in De-
troit and vicinity on farms in
the district of Elsie; Mrs. Sol
Blumrosen of Detroit is the
daughter of Mr. Netzorg.
Joseph Zeif was mayor of
Ludington, Mich., in 1917.
Communist Anti-Israel Attitude
Exposed for 3,000,000 Readers
recently re-
There were 200 policemen as-
signed to handle the crowd, but
this number proved far too few.
After 10,000 people had gathered,
the police stopped counting, but
their estimate was over 50,000.
The number, 50,000, just the
amount that would witness a ball
game in this country; might
seem. insignificant, but with a
population of only 1,400,000 scat-
tered . throughout Israel, this
was a • gigantic turnout — and
also an important one.
It was important enough to
force tears to the eyes of gov-
ernment officials when they
spoke on the speakers' platform,
it was significant enough to
have men stroke the car affec-
tionately and it indeed meant a
great' deal to the women who
kissed it and little children who
chorused shouts of glee.
The shouts heard that day in
Haifa were not because the
Israelis fancied themselves rid-
ing about in sleek, new Kaisers,
although each probably would
have liked to. Each person knew
that he would not be driving a
Kaiser for perhaps many years
to come.
The joy was derived from
By IRVING I. KATZ
Editor's Note: This is the last in a
series of articles on Jewish Mayors in
Michigan, written by Irving I. Katz, exec-
utive secretary of Temple Beth El and
historian of the Jews of Michigan.
And what of Mr. Price, now
that he is through with the
task of establishing an auto-
mobile plant in Israel. His job
for Israel has not ended. Only
last week Price cabled ac-
ceptance to the Israel embassy
in Washington in answer to
its request that he speak at
Israel bond drive meetings in
the Middle West.
Price has put aside 15 days in
July to tour in Chicago, Cleve-
1 a n d, Milwaukee, Cincinnati
and St. Louis on behalf of the
bond drive, and tell a very dra-
matic, first-hand story of the
upbuilding of Israel.
INDIANAPOLIS, (AJP) — The
3,000,000 circulation American
Legion Magazine leads off its
current issue with a pro-Israel
article by author Victor Lasky in
which the former newspaper-
man, just returned from the
Jewish state, concludes that Is-
rael can be counted upon to
fight on the side of the Allies
against any Soviet aggression.
More than 3,000 special re-
prints of the Lasky article werle
dispatched by the American Le-
gion here to leading newspapers,
radio stations, and national fig-
ures.
Lasky, a former Scripps-How-
ard newsman and co-author of
the best-seller "Seeds of Trea-
son," charges that the Soviet, re-
buffed by the Israelis, is becom-
ing increasingly hostile 'toward
the Jews."
Under the title "Israel vs. the
Soviet," Lasky charges that a
series of purges between 1949
and 1950 eliminated Jews from
cultural positions within the
USSR. A noteworthy exception,
reported Lasky, was Ilya Ehren-
burg, a leading Communist
propagandist and agitator.
Lasky tells how "strong-arm
men in the Romanian capital of
Bucharest invaded the head-
quarters of 14 Zionist organiza-
tions in the city and ejected all
the personnel."
The Romanian Zionist or-
ganization went out of business,"
Lasky reports. He writes that
the Israeli ambassador, a noted
artist named Reuven Rubin,
called upon Ana Pauker, the
Communist woman-boss of Ro-
mania. They discussed various
subj ects.
Finally, the ambassador
turned to the renegade Jewess
and said, "I came to talk to you
about other and urgent prob-
lems which must be solved."
Smiling benignly, Mrs. Pauker
asked, "what problems do you
refer to?" When the ambassador
indicated that he wanted to dis-
cuss emigration to Israel, slip
Stringing Along With The Army
asked, "Oh, is that really an im-
portant matter?" She then
glanced at her watch and in- •
Ehrenburg
Pauker
formed him that the interview
was at an end.
From then on, reported Lasky
in his article, Israeli representa-
tives got "nothing but a very
elaborate run-around."
Gottheil. Archives
Donated to Zionists
NEW YORK—In the presence
of a distinguished company of
American Jewish leaders the
personal papers, files and other
documents of the late Prof.
Richard Gottheil, a founder and
first president of the Zionist
Organization of America. were
presented to the ZOA by Miss
Eva Leon, sister-in-law of Prof.
Gottheil.
The valuable deposit of his-
torical materials was accepted
by Benjamin G. Browdy, ZOA
President ► at the ZOA office
here, for ultimate transmittal to
the Zionist Archives and Libra-
ries in Israel and the United
States.
Prof. Gottheil, who occupied
the post of Professor of Semitics
at Columbia University from
1892 until his death in 1936, be-
came the first president of the
Federation of American Zionists
in 1898. He was the author of a
classic work on the History of
Zionism and attended many
Zionist Congresses.
The Gottheil Archives are now
beinc, studied and catalogued by
Carl Alpert, director of the ZOA
Education Departme. nt. Among
the valuable papers are more
than 150 hitherto unknown let-
ters from Theodor Herzl, as well
as illuminating correspondence
with Israel Zangwill, Max Nor-
dau and 'many other leaders of
the Zionist movement.
Hirschmann to Direct
JNF Ussishkin League
NEW YORK, (JTA) — Ira A..
Hirschmann was elected presi-
dent of the National Ussishkin
League, organ-
ized by the Jew-
i s h National
Fund. Dr. Harris.
J. Levine, presi-
dent of the JNF,::
announced that
a departm e n t
for living lega-
cies, wills, be-
quests and in-
surance, h a s
been set up un- Hirschmann
der the chairmanship of Mr,
—American Jewish Press Photo
Hirschniann. O t h e r officers
elected include: Dr. Harris J.
Kenneth Gordon, 2lyear-old Jewish concert violin protege of Levine, honorary president7,
Fritz Kreisler, plays a parting tune for other Army inductees with Mendel N. Fisher, secretary and
whom he was sworn in for military duty. He made his profes- Charles Wolf, treasurer:,
sional debut in 1943 with the NBC Symphony under the baton of
Leopold Stokowski and since then has played 853 concerts. As-
signed to Camp Kilmer, he was advised to leave his violin at home,
in Rego Park, N. Y.
16
—
THE JEWISH NEWS
Friday, July 6, 1951