HE JEWIS NEWS
Partnership of
Home, School
and Community
Annual Education
A Weekly Review
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Editorial, Page 4
of Jewish Events
Michigan's Only English-Jewish Newspaper—Incorporating The Detroit Jewish Chronicle
IOLUME 22—No. 1,
708 D avid Stott Bldg.—Phone
WO. 5-1155 Detroit, Michigan, September 12, 1952
-VD,U•
'The Melting Pot':
Inter-Group Amity
and Genuine
Freedom
Read Commentator's
Column on Page 2
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NCRAC Accepts Mather Report;
Committee, AM- Withdraw from
Central Community Movement
Direct JTA Teletype Wire to The Jewish News
which they described as their maximum concession were submitted by
the two agencies but found little or no support outside their ranks.
In a move to end the impasse and provide a basis for action which
would permit the two dissenting agencies to remain within the NCRAC,
the Jewish War Veterans introduced a resolution which, while main-
taining the principles of the evaluative committee's report. nevertheless
was considered to provide a basis on which the two organizations could
remain within NCRAC.
The proposal introduced by Joseph F. Barr of Washington, member
of the JWV executive board, was accepted by the other four national or-
ganizations and by the Community Councils in caucuses Monday night,
but was flatly rejected by the
two dissenting agencies. It was adopted
Tuesday morning by the plenary session with several amendments.
By a vote of 54 to 17, with six abstentions, 10 of the opposition votes
were cast by the American Jewish Committee and the ADL and seven
came from four communities.
The Barr resolution as amended provided for • complete sharing of
program plans among all NCRAC member agencies. NCRAC committees
in which the communities would be represented along_with the National
agencies would continue to formulate policy and program.
In regard to division of labor, the resolution scrapped the assignment
proposed by the NCRAC special evaluative committee and set up a new
procedure under which all agencies in the field would submit their rec-
ommendations to the appropriate NCRAC committee which would deter-
mine • the division of labor within its field by a majority vote. Decisions
would be subject to review by the NCRAC executive committee.
For the concept of "Exclusive responsibility" contained in the
evaluative committee report, the Barr resolution substituted "primary
ATLANTIC CITY—In one of the most dramatic moments in the last
x.•ade of American Jewish history, the 10th plenary conference of the
7 ational Community Relations Advisory Council early on Tuesday voted
I accept a compromise plan of reorganization of community relations
'ork previously rejected by two of its member agencies.
Immediately after the Voting on this reorganization proposal, spokes-
len for the Anti-Defamation League of Bnai Brith and the American
, :wish Committee formally announced that the Council's decision had
Lade continued membership by the two agencies impossible and that
Bey were recommending withdrawal from the advispry body.
At separate meetings Monday night, the delegations of the two or-
..anizations voted to retire immediately from further participation in the
)reference delegations. An ADL spokesman said Tuesday that the dere-
: ition did not consider it proper to participate in the election and budget
i.iscussions of an organization from which it was withdrawing. The dele-
).tes of the two agencies did not participate in Tuesday's sessions
. fficers of both organizations acted to secure speedy ratification by their
- .xecutive bodies of the decision on withdrawal. The American Jewish
committee's formal decision is expected in advance of the semi-annual
eeting of its executive committee next month.
Irving Kane, chairman of NCRAC, who presided at the session, de-
•ibed the occasion as "the saddest moment of my life." He received
trm applause, however, when he declared firmly that the NCRAC would
atinue. He appealed to the delegates of the two dissenting agencies to
consider before taking any irrevocable measures.
' Opposition of the . two organizations to the plan of reorganization
-opbsed by the special evaluative committee of NCRAC had been firm
id uncompromising throughout a day of debate. Alternative proposals
Continued on Page iX
•
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Grim Rosh Hashanah:
Life in a temporary work village in Is-
al's Negev is pretty grim this Rosh Hashanah, as the faces of these newcomers so dra-
rtically reveal. Getting water for the simple necessities of life creates a problem for
ese 'immigrants, who had to haul water in buckets from this water supply point. Through
nds raised in America by the United Jewish Appeal, the United Israel Appeal will be able
build hundreds of vital water wells throughout Israel to relieve the sufferings of the ref-
•ees, and to help in vital agricultural expansion.
Ile in
LUXEMBURG--Israci and Germany on Well-
nesday signed the historic pact which will gram
$822,000,000 to Israel and Jewish - victims of
Nazism. (Detailed story on Page 3).
Unethical Advenising Scheme
Shocks Merchants of Detroit
In spite of efforts made by national Jewish organizations
through the National C.00mmunity Relations Advisory Council to
prevent racketeering in Jewish ranks, evidence has multiplied
in the past few days that irrespOnsible individuals again are
pursuing tactics to mislead advertisers in behalf of periodicals .
that have no circulations here into being billed for advertise-
ments they have not ordered.
The outrageous practice began two years ago when a dis-
reputable group of solicitors clipped the • advertising pages of all
English-Jewish weeklies throughout the country and billed the
advertisers for items they did not order, thereby doing immeas-
urable harm to the existing newspapers which serve their com-
munities unselfishly. It was at that time that NCRAC and its
affiliated national organizations—including- Bnai Brith, American
Jewish Comnlittee, American Jewish Congress, Jewish Labor Com.'
mittee, Jewish War Veterans and all the Jewish Community
Councils throughout the country—stepped in to urge that the
practice be ended.
At the same time, the National and various local Better
Business Bureaus issued warnings against this practice and the
United to Post Office similarly entered the picture in an
effort to prevent racketeering. But in the course of this process
of trying to 'eliminate unfair and unethical practices in the
Jewish community, the sponsors of such tactics have found loop-
holes whereby they continue to send unauthorized bills to ad-
vertisers from local addresses while remaining within the law.
The outrage of this practice is that its sponsors make their..
appeal for .financial support on the false grounds that they are
either fighting anti-Semitism, or are building Israel, or are ce-
menting good will between Christians and Jews. It is a slur on .
existing agencies and is an insult to the intelligence of the Jewish
community whom these periodicals are now serving, since the
circulations of the offenders at best run into a few dozen free •
copies to a handful of people through whom they attempt to
invade the communities affected.
The added misfortune in this frightful scheme is that many
non-Jews; who have received the bills, now are blaming the
entire Jewish community and are shocked that responsible lead-
ers are not stepping in to prevent the spread of unethical meth-
ods of fund-raising for private purposes. This is exactly the
manner in which protesting Detroit non-Jewish merchants have
described the situation in calls to The Jewish News. The im-
pression is left that the billings are for private funds for news-
papers without circulations but with appeals aimed at giving the
impression that they are rendering a service not performed oy•
anyone else. The self-evident unethical approach has brought
forth the "plague on all your houses" comment and the com-
munity at • large has been placed in a bad light, especially in
view of the resort by the irresponsible solicitors to local addresses
in their solicitations.
The Jewish News warns against these unethical methods. It
urges advertisers to ignore the 'appeals, to refuse to pay bias
fpr items they did not authorize and to help end the racket by
exposing it wind x•efiutsiing to condone it.