As the Editor
Views the News

r •

Bertrand Russell's Wisdom

PLENTY TO GIVE THAN

Remarkable Collection of
Noted Philosopher's Wit

Thanksgiving

Proclaiming next Thursday as "a day of
national thanksgiving, President Truman
stated:

"Let us all on that day, in our homes and
in our places of worship, individually and in
groups, render homage to Almighty . God. Let
us recall the words of the Psalmist, '0 give
thanks unto the Lord, for He is good: for
His mercy endureth forever.' Let us also, on
the appointed day, seek - divine aid in the quest
for peace."

We have much to be thankful for and to
rejoice that, as Americans, we enjoy the
bounties of a great land and the liberties that
were secured by men of vision. Only the
threat of war mars our tranquility. May the
peace we seek be attained for the sake of
the amity of America and the world.
For the advantages with which we are
blessed as Americans, we render thanks and
pray that they may never be tampered with
and that they may also be given to all man-
kind for the sake of world peace and se-
curity__

FOR

Communism emerges in a bad way: "These
four passions—acquisitiveness, vanity, rivalry,
and love of power—are, after the basic in-
, stincts, the prime movers of almost all that
happens in politics . . Of the four passions
. . . only one, namely, acquisitiveness, is con-
cerned at all directly with men's relations to
their natural conditions. The other three .. .
are concerned with social relations. I think
this is the source of what is erroneous in the
Marxian interpretation of history, which tacit-
ly assumes that acquisitiveness is the source
of all political actions."

North End Clinic

North End Clinic's 25th anniversary, to
be observed on Nov. 28, marks an interesting
landmark in Detroit Jewry's history.
Established with funds contributed by
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch sounds a serious warning
the Wineman Family, North End Clinic has to all lovers of liberty in the following editorial under the
gained an important place in the health heading "Dietrich Is Back":
services of our community. Operated as a
Remember Otto Dietrich?
Jewish Welfare Federation agency, and sup-
As a brilliant and well-connected young German editor, he
ported by the Community Chest, the Clinic became an early convert to Nazism. He had begun his career as
continues to render important services on a business agent for the Rhenish Steel-Goods Syndicate in the
Ruhr. Through his connection with the Ruhr industrialists,
non-sectarian basis to all who are in need.
he helped arrange Hitler's contacts with the steel and coal
Tens of thousands of people have been barons who financed the Nazi party's rise to power.
helped at the Clinic by the volunteer staff of
Dietrich quickly became a favorite of Hitler. In 1931 Hitler
doctors who have labored unselfishly to pro- appointed him deputy editor of the party's newspaper in Essen,
vide health services for families that have and as such his personal ambassador in the industrial region.
been unable to pay for private medical care. Later in the same year Dietrich became press chief for the whole
Thousands continue to derive benefits from party in Munich. When Hitler came to power, Dietrich moved
the volunteer efforts of a large staff whose in with Goebbels as one of the key propaganda agents of the
diligent efforts continue to keep North End Nazi regime. He and Ernst (Putzy) Hanfstaengl were so close to
Hitler that the party heirarchs nicknamed them Hugin and
Clinic on top of the ladder as a great service- Munin,
for the two ravens who sat on Wotan's shoulder and
rendering Detroit community service agency. whispered
words of wisdom into his ear:
As Reich press chief, Dietrich stood at the very core of Nazi
North End Clinic's accomplishments are
due in great measure also to the untiring politics in peace and war. In April, 1949 a United States war
service of a large number of men and women crimes court at Nuernberg convicted him of crimes against hu-
manity; atrocities and offenses committed against civilian popu-
who have assisted in guiding its destinies.
lations." The court held that Dietrich fostered, implemented
We join in congratulating North End and directed "a persistent campaign to arouse the hatred of the
Clinic on its 25th anniversary and in com- Germans against the Jews," and thus "participated in crimes
mending its medical and social service de- against humanity."
After serving 16 months in prison, Dietrich was freed in
partments and its lay leaders.

Fascist Swing in West Germany

Notable Anniversaries

A series of important anniversaries will
be observed this year on the occasion of
Jewish BO-0k Month, scheduled for Nov. 23
to Dec. 25.
George Eliot's "Daniel Deronda" Was
published 75 years ago, and this will be an
excellent time to re-evaluate the worth of
this significant book. • ,
This year also marks the 25th anniver-
sary of the death of Israel Zangwill. Other
anniversaries in 5712 include. the 100th
birthday of Judah L. Peretz, the great Yid-
dish writer; the 100th anniversary of the
death of the Hebrew poet Micah Joseph Leb-
ensohn; the 70th anniversary of the crea-
tion of the Yiddish daily press; the 30th an-
niversaries of the deaths of the men who
developed Hebrew as a modern spoken
tongue, Eliezer ben Yehuda, and the noted
writer David Frischman.
These events provide excellent material
for discussion and study during Book Month.
They should serve .to stimulate greater in-
terest in Jewish learning, in the purchase
of books, in acquiring knowledge about Jew-
ish events and personalities.

August, 1950 under a relaxation of rules which permitted some
war crimes prisoners extra time off for good conduct.
Dietrich is now back in German public life. He has been
appointed to the editorial staff of an official trade publication
in Duesseldorf—"Mitteilung," the news organ of the central coal
sales organization. And the dispatches from Bonn report that
as West Germany moves toward sovereignty the extreme right or
Facist wing of political life shows signs of renewed activity.

We present this in full as commentary upon the pro-
jected negotiations between world Jewry and tjae West Ger-
man Government for reparations to the survivors from
Nazism. If the trend is for renewed activity by the Fascists
as West Germany moves toward sovereignty, we are begin-
ning to wonder whether the gestures that were made by
Chancellor Konrad Adenauer for atonement of his people's
crimes will not remain mere gestures. Dr. Adenauer spoke
of ''German ability to pay." If there are conditions with
regard to reparation, , then there should be serious examina-
tion of German intentions.
Either the debt to the survivors and to their rescuer,
Israel, where more than half a million of the Germans' vic-
tims found refuge, is paid promptly or we shall witness an-
other travesty on justice. The Jewish leaders who met recent-
ly to act on the issue owe a great responsibility to mankind
to force the issue to the fore and to assure speedy action in
the cause of elementary justice.

A New. Problem Plagues Israel

More disquieting news comes from Israel. In addition to
the distressing problem created by the food shortage, the
Jewish state now is faced with the issue created by the move-
ment of new settlers away from rural into city areas. It is
reported that several thousand newcomers have packed their
belongings and moved out of the camps set up for them to
Incorporating the Detroit Jewish Chronicle
seek new homes in the large cities, especially in and near Tel
commencing with issue of July 20,1951
Aviv. An additional number applied to the Jewish Agency for
Member: American Association of English-Jewish News- transfer into the cities.
papers, Michigan Press Association.
Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publishing
This has created another acute problem and it may be-
Co 108-16 David Stott Bldg., Detroit 26, Mich., W0.5-1155.
Subscription $4 a year; foreign $5.
come necessary for Israel's authorities to enforce discipline
Entered as second class matter Aug. 6, 1942 at Post Office,
and to insist that the new settlers should stay put for a time
Detroit, Mich., under Act of March 3, 1879.
until
they can adjust themselves either in new settlements
PHILIP SLOMOV1TZ, Editor
that are being established for them or in homes they will be
SIDNEY SHMARAK, Advertising Manager
FRANK SIMONS, City Editor
able to build for themselves.
Vol. XX—No. 10
The new trend among settlers who shun responsibility
Page 4
November 16, 1951
on farms must not be permitted to react against Israel. The
Sabbath Scriptural Selections
struggling Jewish state should not be penalized for helping
This Sabbath, the eighteenth day of Hesh- people, some of whom refuse to cooperate in a great state-
van, 5712, the following Scriptural selections building venture. On the contrary, Jews must recognize a
will be read in our synagogues:
great responsibility to help make this state secure so that the
shortcomings should be corrected and acts of irresponsi-
Pentateuchal portion—Gen. 18:1-22:24.
bility by backward elements who must be trained for citizen-
Prophetical portion—II Kings 4:1-37.
Licht Benshen, Friday, Nov. 16, 4:50 p.m.
ship reduced to a minimum.

THE JEWISH NEWS

Beacon Press has enriched its Wits and Wis-
dom series with a new volume, "The Wit arid
Wisdom of Bertrand Russell," edited, with an
introductory essay, by Lester E. Denonn.
In his splendid evaluation of Earl Russell's
life and work, Mr. Denonn points out that the
award to him, in 1950, of the Nobel Prize for
Literature was "not for one of his works but for
their general excellence." The selections in the
new Beacon volume emphasize anew the genius
of the fearless philosopher whose ideas are
guides in many fields of thought.
We quote him on Character: "I will take four
characteristics which seem to me jointly to form
the basis of an ideal character: vitality, cour-
age, sensitiveness, and intelligence."

There is so much to fascinate the reader in

this book that it is impossible to cover even a

small fraction of the titles covered in it. Liber-
tarians will be especially delighted with the
guides contained in this collection. Historians
will be aided in their search for truth and for
facts.
The Jewish reader will find interesting ma-
terial on the question of race, religion and civili-
zation. In the section on Race we read:
"It is possible that the Jews are inferior to
the Germans, but it is just as possible that the
Germans are inferior to the Jews. The whole
business of introducing pseudo-Darwinian jar-
gon in such a question is utterly unscientific.
Whatever we may come to know hereafter, we
have not at present any good ground for wish-
ing to encourage one race at the expense of an-
other."
Then there is the quotation on the request.
- of Western Civilization:

"Western Europe and America have a prac-
tically homogenous mental life, which I should
trace to three sources: (1) Greek culture;
(2) Jewish religion and ethics; (3) modern
industrialism, which itself is an outcome of
modern science. We may take Plato, the Old
Testament, and Galileo as representing these
three elements, which have remained singu-
larly separable down to the present day."

_ "The Wit and Wisdom of :Bertrand Russell"
is a truly remarkable book. Perhaps no one can
be called completely instructed in our day with-
out the training offered in this valuable work.

'Spinoza Dictionary'

Runes' Book Also Relates
His Views on Judaism

Dagobert D. Runes, who has edited "Spinoza
Dictionary," (Philosophical Library, 15 E. 40th
St., N.Y.16), in his introduction discusses frank-
ly the antagonisms to Jews and Judaism of the
eminent 17th century philosopher. He reviews
interestingly the "semi-tragic events in Spino
za's life" and points out:
"Spinoza remained a Jew, although he walked
about propagating a threatening gospel, namely,
that. the Jewish Torah, the Book of Law, was
written as a state law and was to be regarded
only as such and nothing else, and inasmuch as
the Jewish state ceased to exist, the Jews of the
world were no longer bound by the laws of the
TOrah."
Dr. Runes' refutation is, in itself masterful.
He presents the practical side of the question
and even quotes Jesus who said: "I did not
come to destroy the Torah, but to fulfill it." As
an aftermath, Dr. Runes states:
"Well, the Jewish state has been re-created,
and the Torah is valid again, even according to
doubting Baruch (Spirioza), and all is well that
ends well. The Jews have long forgiven Spinoza
his juvenile paradoxisms and at the 300th anni-
versary of his birth, in 1932, he was publicly
taken back into the Jewish fold by a duly rep-
resentative assembly at the Hebrew University
in Jerusalem."
The 307-page "Spinoza Dictionary contains
the most valuable selections from Spinoza's
works. It is a most enlightening volume.
: Under the sub-title Hate he is quoted: "Ha-
tred comes . . '. from mere hearsay, as we see
in the Turks against Jews and Christians, in the
Christians against the Jews and Turks, etc. For,
how ignorant is the one multitude of the re-
ligion and the morals of the others!"
The entire structure of Spinozaism is out-
lined in the quotations in this volume on every
conceivable subject. It is a powerful work which
is commended in a foreword by Prof. Albert Ein-
stein.
"Spinoza Dictionary" is an invaluable work
for students of philosophy. Dr. Runes' introduc-
tory essay makes it also invaluable for students
of Jewish history and religion.

