Council Wires McGrath for FBI Action

Murder of NAACP Leader
`Shocks Decent Americans'

Dr. Shmarya, Kleinman, pres-
ident • of the Detroit Jewish
Community Council sent the
following telegram to Hon. J.
Howard McGrath, U.S. At-
torney General:
Shocked and appalled by the
terroristic murder of Harry T.
Moore, executive secretary,
Florida State Conference of
NAACP branches in Mims,
Florida. No life of any decent
American is safe until perpe-
trators of this hideous un-
American crime are appre-
hended and punished. Mis-
guided murderers and terrorists
playing into the hands of Com-
munists by furnishing addi-
tional proof of alleged Ameri-
can intolerance to people of
different color and creed. This
murder, coupled with numer-
ous instances of bombings of
synagogues in Miami and now
an attempt to bomb a Catholic
Curch, constitute undeniable
proof of terroristic conspiracy
to deprive some Americans of
their constitutional civil rights
and thus is definately a matter
for U.S. Department of Justice
to investigate and prosecute.
VVould appreciate your advice
as to steps your department
is undertaking to combat these
un-American terroristic acts."

Meanwhile, the Jewish Tele-
graphic Agency reports from
Miami, center of the bombing
incidents, that criticism has b 4 n
levelled at police authorities for
inability to stop terrorist activi-

ties which led to the murder of
Moore, and which was preceded
by another attempt to dynamite
a Jewish Center. Moore was kill-
ed when a bomb was exploded
beneath his house.
Jewish groups, the JTA reports,
while critical of police, are divi-
ded in their evaluation of the
situation.
Some think terrorists are Ku
Klux Klan iiiembers since attacks
have been directed against Ne-
groes, Jews and Catholics. Other
groups think that the anti-
Jewish incidents are separate
from the other acts of terror.
Police report that the bomb-
ings of the Miami Jewish centers
were done by "amateurs," while
the bombing of Negro quarters
was the work of "professionals."
Two police officers said they
believe an _attempt to dynamite
the Hialeah Jewish Center was
foiled. The officers surprised
three men in a car after they
saw• a flare in the car. They ap-
proached with drawn pistols, but
the auto sped away.
An unexploded stick of dyna-
mite was found on the steps of
a Catholic C h u r c h over the
week-end of Dec. 23.
FBI officials have still not re-
ported their findings to national
headquarters in Washington.
Local police are equally quiet,
having found no clue to the
criminals, thus far involved in
t e n bombings or attempted
bombings.

Purely Commentary

By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ

A Hebrew Chair in Our City's University

For several years, Louis Panush has been performing a com-
mendable _ job teaching Hebrew—as a credit course—at Wayne
University. It may amaze the Jewish community to learn the
personal sacrifices he makes in having undertaken this task. He
has accomplished wonders with his students. Non-Jews (fewer in
number) as well as Jews have learned in his classes the language of
the Bible sufficiently to be able to write it, to read it, to understand
some of it when spoken.
But it is, in the main, a one-man accomplishment which
may not be duplicated should Mr. Panush find it difficult to
continue his labor of love. Yet, the community could not afford
to • drop the courses now included in the Wayne University cur-
riculum under the heading Hebrew. Therefore, Mr. Panush's job
should be made easier and a way should be found to guarantee
the future of these courses.
There is, of course, only one guarantee: the establishment of
a Hebrew Chair at Wayne University. A sum of nearly $15,000 a
year would undoubtedly be needed for that purpose, but a com-
munity that spends $300,000 a year to support its Jewish schools
certainly ought to find a way of allocating this additional sum
for such an important purpose. The creation of a Hebrew Chair
would assure an established progrpm at Wayne. It would guar-
antee a full-time professor for the Hebrew courses. It would lend
dignity of our community through its concrete contribution to
a University's educational program.
We have no hesitation in stating that Mr. Panush would
make a deserving full time Professor of Hebrew. Until such time
as the Hebrew courses are assured continuity at Wayne this
Commentator desires to pay due respect to a young man who
has put heart and soul into enlivening the study of the language
of the Bible in our city's university.
Meanwhile, here is a bit of uninvited advice to the Zionist
Organizations of Detroit: Hebrew's revival is part of the scheme
of things accompanying Israel's rebirth. Zionists owe a respon-
sibility to the movement's cultural aspects which include on top
of the list of objectives popularization of the Hebrew language.
How about making the creation of a Hebrew Chair at Wayne
a chief aim of the Zionist movement in this community?

Jacob Ben Ami's Confession About Yiddish

-

When a person gets farther away from home he speaks with
greater ease about shortcomings and disappointments. This ap-
pears to be especially true about the noted actor, Jacob Ben-Ami,
and his confessions about the status of Yiddish in this country.
Now appearing in English-language plays in South Africa,
the eminent actor, who is described in the South African Record
as "a stalwart of Yiddish," made some interesting comments in
an interview he gave the Zionist Record's Cape Town corres-
pondent.
..._...
"Gloomily," he said, "the American JewiSh theater is on the
doWn-grade. - As for those large audiences of yester-year, they are
to be found only in Brooklyn and the cemeteries . . The young
people in the States don't understand Yiddish. The movement is
weak. Some people are trying hard to forestall its decline, but
assimilation is like an avalanche."
So—here you have not only a confessional on Yiddish but
also the view that the cause for the decline of • the language is
Assimilation. It .would be foolhardy to deny. it. Assimilation exists.
Yet, if that is the cause for the death-blow of Yiddish, why not
be prepared for further assaults by this country's absorptive pro-
cesses upon other Jewish qualitative values, including Hebrew,
our literature, our customs, marriages within our fold, even the
synagogue? It is something to think about, with a view of avert-
ing disaster in the struggle for self-preservation, in the best
interests not only of the entity of Jewry but also of America
whom we benefit with our multiple civilization and the value of
cultural pluralism.

Damage to Jewish, Negro
Buildings Is $250,000

NEW YORK, (JTA)—Terror in
Miami "is at least intense as that
caused by the Nazis' first forays
from the beer cellars in Munich,"
reported Stetson Kennedy in the
current issue of Nation magazine.
Kennedy declares that "racial
violence now rife is worse than
anything Miami has known in
the past" and estimates that a
quarter of a million dollars has
resulted from blasts to Negro
and Jewish buildings.
The terrorists, Kennedy adds,
have received "aid and comfort"
from the lenient treatment given
five youths last Spring despite
their confessions that they have
been guilty of bombings, and
from "police sanction" given the
KKK. He quotes Police Chief
Walter Headley as insisting the
Klan is "an American law-abid-
ing organization chartered by
the state of Florida."

Ceremonies in Forest of Martyrs

Shown participating in recent ceremonies in Israel which
marked the inauguration of the American section in the Forest of
Martyrs on the hills of Judea are IRA A. HIRSCHMANN, Dr.
ABRAHAM GRANOTT, world president of the Jewish National
MIAMI, (AJP) — A new at- Fund; and Ambassador MONNETT B. DAVIS. The forest, dedi-
tempt to blast a house of wor- cated to the 6,000,000 Jews slain by the Nazis, is located in the 45
ship in the tense-ridden Miami mile corridor between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

Christian • Church Is
Miami Vandals' Target

area, this one aimed at a Catho-
lic Church, was thwarted a day
before Christmas because the
dynamite fuse was incorrectly
sealed.
Police immediately established
a definite link between the lat-
est blast attempt and five pre-
vious moves against synagogues
and temples in the area.
Officials said that the stick
of dynamite used to dynamite
the church was of the identical
make and strength of those pre-
viously used in attacks against
Jewish centers.
The dynamite was found on
the steps of Sts. Peter and Paul
Catholic Church.

Technion Group Hears
Dr. Gomberg, Atomic
Energy Expert, Jan. 16

Dr. Henry Jacob Gomberg, as-
sistant professor of electrical en-
gineering at the University of
Michigan, will address the De,
troit Technion Society on Wed-
nesday evening, Jan. 16, at the
Zionist House, on the subject
"Atomic Energy and Its Appli-
cations."
All are invited to hear this in-
formative address by one of the
best informed men on the sub-
ject. -
Dr. Gomberg, who joined the
faculty of the University of
Michigan in 1943, is chairman
of the university's nuclear en-
gineering committee. He is as-
sistant director of the University
of Michigan Memorial Phoenix
Project and is consultant for the
Atomic Energy Commission.
Benjamin Wilk, president of
the Detroit Technion Society,
whose aim is to assist the He-
brew Institute of Technology in
Haifa, announces that Dr. Syd-
ney Goldstein, one of the world's
outst a ndino. aerodynamicists,
vice-presidentb. of the Haifa
Technical Institute, will address
the annual dinner meeting of
the local society on Feb. 2.

JDC to Discuss 1952
Budget This Saturday

A proposed budget of $23,507,-
300, to meet the most essential
needs of 250,000 Jews in Eur .ope,
the Moslem world and Israel
during the coming year, will
head the order of business for
delegates to the 37th Annual
meeting of the Joint Distribu-
tion Committee, which will take
place Saturday evening, at Hotel
Astor, New York.
The announcement of the •
meeting's agenda was made by
Edward M. M. Warburg, newly
re-elected general chairman of
the United Jewish Appeal and
JDC chairman.
:Moses A. Leavitt, JDC 'execu-
tive vice-chairman, will review
JDC's achievements during .1951.
Dr. Joseph J: Schwt rtz, UJA
executive vice-chairman, and
Morris Laub, JDC assistant sec-
retary, will review conditions of
overseas Jewry.

Hebrew University Inaugurates
Chair of Yiddish Literature

JERUSALEM (JTA)—A chair
of Yiddish literature was inau-
gurated at the Hebrew Univer-
sity by Prof. Dov Sedan who
delivered a lecture on Yiddish in
the creative work of Chaim
Nachman Bialik, the great He-
brew poet. The lecturer said
that Bialik had considered Yid-
dish to be a potent means of
preserving and reviving Hebrew
as the national language. He
emphasized that the influence
of Yiddish was clearly discern-
able in some of Bialik's writings.
Prof. Moshe Schwabe, Rector
of the University, in introduc-
ing the lecture, stressed the im-

portance of research and in-
struction in Yiddish. He referred
to the controversy which had
arisen when it had first been
proposed, to establish a Yiddish
chair at the University and said
that "now, as Hebrew has struck -
such deep roots in Israel. Yid-
dish is no longer feared as a
dangerous rival to Hebrew as
the national language." The
chair was made possible by the
Jewish National Workers Alli-
ance of the United States.

2

—

THE JEWISH NEWS

Friday, January 4, 1952

Between You and Me

By BORIS SMOLAR

(Copyright, 1952, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)

Defense Moods:

After a spate of confusing reports regarding Israel's possible
participation in the defense of the Middle East now being planned
by the Western Powers, clarity has finally been achieved . . . The
entire idea of creating a Western-sponsored Middle East Command
is for the time being nothing but a pious hope . . . Originators of
the idea face disagreement in their own ranks over the organiza-
tion of the projected Command .. Indications are that it will
take several months before the disagreements are straightened
out . . . In the meantime, it seems that Israel will not be re-
quested formally to join the Middle East Command when it is set
up .. , It is considered certain that Israel will be included in the
defense plans, but will not be invited into the Command ... Such
an arrangement may be welcomed by Israel since it would make
things easier for the government ... The left-wing Mapam Party
is attacking the projected Command, and it will not be easy to
get Israel's explicit adherence to it . , Meanwhile, Arab fear of
Israel "expansionism" is gradually evaporating . Contributing
to this development is the let-up in Israel's immigration and the
cessation of talk about a 2,000,000 population in Israel by -1953 .
This fear seems to have grown quite real among Arabs in the last
two years, although it is unjustified , For political purposes,
Arab politicians gave wide currency to this fear.

Communal Trends:

Jews in the United States on the average spend more than
twice the general average for religious and charitable purposes<
. . According to data published by the Russel Sage Foundation,
the average American family spends about two percent of its in-
come, approximately $97, for all religious and charitable causes ..
The average Jewish family, it is believed spends from $200 to $250
a year for philanthropic and religious purposes, with more than 40
percent going for overseas purposes . There is no basis for
determining to what extent this fact represents a greater basic
generosity on the part of Jews, reflects a better than average
economic status, or is the result of more effective fund-raising
organization among Jews . . . However, it is known that Jewish
philanthropic giving in relation to income is larger in urban than
in rural areas . . Also that it is about 50 percent higher on the
average in the state of New York than in the country as a whole.
. To have a concrete idea of the value of a -, $250 contribution,
one must compare it with the fact that the average family spends
$111 yearly for tobacco, $120 for the Marshall Plan, $218 for alco-
holic beverages and about $376 for national defense . An illus-
tration of the current trend in Jewish giving is one well-organ-
ized city with a population of about 90,000 Jews . . In the first
centrally - organized campaign tar funds, held about 30 years ago,
about 2,000 contributors were reported ... In the 'intervening years
the Jewish. population has increased about 50 percent . . . This
city now reports about 30,000 annual contributors to its Welfare
Fund ... The above information - is culled from the text of a talk
given by Harry L. Lurie, executive director of the Council of Jew-
ish Federations and Welfare Funds, at a Menorah Journal dinner
in New York . . . Incidentally, there were more than 130,000,000
contributors to Jewish welfare f ,unds in this country in the year
just concluded.

