THE JEWISH NEWS
7jobifiP4' remkakT.• 6'4 , 60
incorporating the Detroit Jewish Chronicle commencing with issue Of July 20 1951
Member
American Association of English-Jewish Newspapers. Michigan Press Association.
Pnhiished every Friday by The Jewish.,News Publishing Co., 17100 West Seven Mile Road, Detroit 35. Mich., VB.
subscription S4. a year. foreign S5.
Entered as second class matter Aug. 6, 1942, at Post Office, Detroit, Mich., under Act of March 3, 1879
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
Editor and Publisher
SIDNEY SHMARAK
Advertising Manager
VOL. XXIV, No. 11
8-9364
FRANK SIMONS
City Editor
Page 4
y
IrEEP/NG THE
MORN Of PLENTY
NIZED
November 20, 1953
Sabbath Scriptural Selections
This Sabbath, the fourteenth day of Kislev, 5714, the following Scriptural selections will be
read in our synagogues:
Pentateuchal portion, Gen. 32:4-36:43. Prophetical portion, Hos. 12:13 or 11:7-12:12 or Oba-
diah 1:1-21.
Licht Benshen, Friday, Nov. 20, 4.17 p.m.
Battle Against Bigotry: Futile or Hopeful?
At the annual meeting of the National
Conference of Christians and Jews, the Ca-
nadian Council of Christians and Jews and
the World Brotherhood, in Washington, last
week, the delegates were confronted with a
disturbing problem.
One of the lady delegates reported a
troublesome experience. While in a taxi,
with other fellow-delegates, the inquisitive
driver wanted to know what •convention
they were attending and when informed that
it was a conference aimed at advancing
brotherhood, he commented: "Brotherhood?
Who needs brotherhood ? The Jews are do-
ing well and they are all Communists who
are trying to overthrow the government."
The lady who heard this remark was not
happy about it, and neither were the NCCJ
conferees to whom she reported it, and who
seemed to have no cure for the issue raised
at this late hour in the efforts to overcome
prejudice and to educate the American peo-
ple against falling prey to unhealthy think-
ing like the taxicab driver's.
Only Dr. M. F. Ashley Montagu, profes-
sor of anthropology at Rutgers University,
had a sound comment on the problem. Prof.
Montagu, addressing the NCCJ meeting, ex-
pressed the view that "this kind of thinking
begins in the home, before the taxicab driv-
er was born ; it begins with his parents and
their parents."
Recognizing this truth, we must begin
with the ABC's of human relations in tack-
ling prejudice, in seeking solution to the
world's oldest problem : bigotry, suspicion
of one's neighbors, the infiltration into the
minds of people of false notions about their
neighbors, and especially about those who
are unlike themselves.
The root of the problem is well known,
and Prof. Montagu described it realistically
when he traced hatred to the home, to the
parents. Long ago, we recognized the issue
as xenophobia—the dislike of the unlike.
Long ago, also, students of the challenge to
good human relations conceded that the
spread of bigotry must be fought in the
home, that parents must be taught not to
entertain hateful thoughts, in order not to
pass them on to their children.
If we are back where we started, we must
begin to plan anew. We have the instru-
ments with which to fight injustice and
prejudice, but we are not so certain that
they are operating effectively, that they are
succeeding in the sincere effort to overcome
bigotry among the citizens of this land,
whose cornerstones of justice and fair play
call for the eradication of the evil of hatred
and suspicion among racial, religious and
nationality groups.
Wherein lies the solution to this prob-
lem?
The taxicab driver may, inadvertently,
have directed us to the main sources of help
for those seeking true brotherhood. They
are, undoubtedly, the houses of prayer, the
newspapers, the radio and television air-
ways, the schools and our legislative bodies.
It is impossible to eliminate the latter. As
long as Congress is a breeding place for mis-
trust and for justifying guilt by association
with politically-suspect people, we are in-
secure.
We are insecure also as long as minis-
ters of religion fear to condemn bigotry, or
are hesitant in their appeals for justice for
all, regardless of their faith.
Solution may be far removed, and the
educational pocess may require a long-range
program. We should be prepared to be pa-
tient in our expectations for results. But
the machinery at hand must function with-
out hesitation if any results are to be at-
tained in the search for true brotherhood.
We are compelled to ask : are the
churches and synagogues, the schools and
the radio programs, functioning properly to
guide people in the direction of true brother-
hood and away from suspicions and hatreds,
or are the educators in these various areas
missing the points at issue?
One taxicab driver does not create an is-
sue, but if he reflects the thinking of many,
as he may, then we must begin re-evaluating
our programming, we must revise our think-
ing, we must begin to be less sure of our
present steps and must start training for
more effective ways of overcoming hatreds.
Before very long, we will be engaged in
another program for good will, during the
annual Brotherhood Week to be observed in
February. Let us be prepared with pro-
grams that, will lead to productive accom-
plishments in the area of brotherly relations
among all Americans. If we can attain true
brotherhood among ourselves, we shall be
closer to peace with all peoples everywhere.
Tribute to Prof. Louis Ginzberg
If it were only for his monumental seven-
volume "Legends of the Jews," the name
of Prof. Louis Ginzberg would go down in
history as one of the great Jewish scholars
of all times. It was not his only great work.
At the time of his death last week he was
working on the fourth volume of his equally-
great "Commentary on the Jerusalem Tal-
mud." Some consider this work even greater
than the popular "Legends" which have
become source books for students of Biblical
history and folklore.
Dr. Ginzberg's death is a great loss not
only to Jewry but to mankind. His brilliant
scholarship, his research in Biblical history,
his genius as a teacher, have elevated him
to a notable position.
Many universities have recognized his
qualities by awarding him honorary degrees.
The Hebrew University in Jerusalem had ar-
ranged to establish the Ginzberg Chair in
Talmud, which is scheduled to begin func-
tioning next week. Christians as well as Jews
looked to him for guidance and for advice in
their studies of history, the Bible and the
Talmud. -
The group that has best reasons to pay
honor to his name are the men and women
who benefited from his teachings, the stu-
dents who learned Jewish knowledge from
him, the Conservative Rabbis whom he di-
rected towards acquisition of information
about their people, their faith, their history.
There is hardly a work of importance on .
Biblical and Talmudic lore, written_ in the
past three decades, that does not cite Prof.
Ginzberg's views. Every scholar of our time
has found his commentaries indispensable
to his own knowledge of Bible and Talmud.
We have inherited richly from him. In
mourning his passing, we are grateful for his
scholarly legacies to Israel and humanity.
Blessed be his memory.
Our Dear Cousin
We have a dear cousin by the name Ibn
Saud Abdul Aziz who henceforth will be
known as King Saud of Saudi Arabia. On
the first day of his rule in a land known as
being without culture, without modern equip-
ment, as strictly a desert, our cousin took oc-
casion to speak of "aggression" by Israel, of
"Israeli gangs" who are threatening his fel-
low-worshippers of sacred Islam.
Our dear cousin, the eldest of 40 broth-
ers, is painted as a friend of the West, as
having helped in the defeat of Rommel., as
so saintly a fellow! That's what oil does! It
even causes the Saudian himself to forget
the invasion of Israel by his kinsmen, the
attacks upon innocent Jews, the attempt to
destroy young Israel, and the Arabs' pro-
Nazi stand during the last war!
And the western world has begun to
worship another monarch in robe and fez—
because he is dripping with oil, Oil, oh Oil,
crimes, .are. cm.rnitted,gr..thy,
The Great 'Vagrant Viking'
Peter Freuchen's Remarkable
Story of Fight Against Nazis
"Vagrant Viking" is one of the most remarkable stories of our
time. It is a personal account of his life and adventures by Peter
FreUchen, the explorer and fisherman, the authority on life among
the Eskimos, the man who a number of years ago did not object to
being referred to as "the Jewish Eskimo."
His new book, published by Julian Messner (8 W. 40th St., NY
18) is the story of his experience with the Nazis, his defiance of
the Hitlerites who invaded Denmark,
his tribute to his country and people!::
for their aid to the Jews who were::
threatened with death by the invading:
enemies.
A background of Freuchen's life
important. Twenty-seven years ago,
as he was mapping the northern coast'
of Hudson Bay, he was lost in a blind-
ing snowstorm in 60 degrees below zero' ,
weather. His snow knife was only two
feet away from him and he could not,
reach it, else he would still have tw,
feet. Now, because of the frost that
then struck him, he has only one and
a peg leg.
His face was frozen and he has not
shaved since. It took him 11 hours
Peter Freuchen
dig out and another six to get back to
his camp. But he emerged to tell the tale.
He is 67, six feet five, impressive, a great story teller, and those
who have heard and met him retain lasting memories of him.
His full name is Lorenc Peter Elfred Freuchen. His book
"Eskimo" has been filmed by MGM: His "Arctic Adventure" was
translated and published in many languages, including Hebrew.
His new book, "Vagrant Viking," like his other works, is ex-
cellent story-telling. It reveals many facts about the Nazi horrors.
It exposes the pollution of honorable areas by Hitlerites. It is a
tribute to the good people of Denmark who came to the aid of Jews.
Among other things, Mr. Freuchen relates:
"The concentration camps in Germany were the subject of
great public debate . . . particularly at an artists' conference in
Copenhagen which had chosen me as the president. Hitler had
just issued his ban against the participation of Jews in the Olym-
pic Games in Berlin the following summer, and I proposed a ban
against Danish artists going to the games and Danish athletes
taking part. But our swimmers and our runners were too eager to
display their prowess to the Nazis to forego the competition.
"My speech about the German concentration camp was
quickly answered by a German cultural propagandist, Dr. Domes,
who was working at the time for closer literary ties between Ger-
many and the Scandinavian countries. Dr. Domes had the nerve
to declare publicly that there was not a single concentration camp
in Germany."
Then there is this interesting account of the attitude of their
non-Jewish neighbors during the Hitler invasion:
"The long-expected concerted action against the Jews of Den-
mark was suddenly put into effect one day. In Denmark there
were nine thousand citizens of Jewish origin and in addition all
the Jewish refugees who had entered the country in the years be-
fore the war. Seven thousand of them were now smuggled across
the sound to Sweden, where our good neighbor's humanity and
generosity can never be fully repaid by Norway and Denmark.
"For a few weeks the salvation of the Jews absorbed the
energy, the time and the resources of the underground. Some of
the Jewish people were saved by being put temporarily in Danish
prisons where the Germans never thought of looking for them.
Others were entered in hospitals under false names. Sick people
who could be returned to their homes without endangering their
lives were replaced by Jews who took not only their beds but also
their names for the time being. Some Jews ostensibly committed
suicide, death notices appeared and funerals were staged white
they went underground and waited for passage to Sweden. One
wealthy Jew paid a fortune to the underground to refund all the
fishermen who took his people across the sound.
"On their way to their exile in Sweden some Jews passed
through my house where there was always a strange collection of
guests. One of them was a well-known bank robber who had been
taken from prison in order to make forcible entry into factories
that were to be sabotaged. He was • an interesting fellow and we
became good friends. He was just anti-social:"
Hitler burned Freuchen's books. The eminent, explorer was in,
constant danger, but he outwitted mankind's ,enemies.
"Vagrant Viking" not only is history: it is a.tlifiliing nary
abiiut the' i ji4 and
eirientes t:of a great personality.
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