Purely Commentary
By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
There Is Yet Time to Prevent Religious Bankruptcy
Jewish attitudes on Christmas have changed considerably. We
are happy to have opportunities to greet our Christian friends on
the occasion of their sacred festival. We entertain hopes, on the
occasion of the strictly Christian holy day, that old hatreds will
be forgotten, that, while preaching brotherhood, sensible Chris-
tians will refrain from undermining good will by repeating the
old crucifixion libel. By the same token, greetings to our Christian
friends are sent in a spirit of friendship but by eliminating any
direct Jewish affilations with the festival.
Thus, we believe it was utterly foolish on the part of the rabbi
of the largest Jewish congregation in America to undertake to
censure Christians for the commercialization of Christmas by
advising them to put Christ back into Christmas. It really wasn't
any of his business, because there: is so much reproving to be done
in our own ranks. Let us correct our own mistakes, and let the
Christians attend to their religious needs and duties.
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There Is' Yet Time to Oreiterit.Religious Bankruptcy.
There is, indeed, 'much to be done towards guiding our own
people towards paths of devotion and loyalty. Some of us are
straying from the right paths too rapidly, and some parents are
permitting their children to adopt ways which must lead to our
own destruction; Here is one bit of evidence:
. On the eve of the New Year, a columnist in • one of our daily
newspapers spoke of "Christmas carolers" who "are gallant kids."
He named seven youngsters, all obviously Jewish, who "made $12
by their Christmas caroling. They sent their money to the March
of Dimes, With this note: `On'behalf of our friends who have had
polio, we want you to have this money.' " This is a mighty nice
sentiment—but it was bought at a price approaching defection
from faith—and we are confident, that none who was involved,
directly or indirectly, children or their' parents, wishes to see
Jews flirting with another religion. If we were Christian, we
would resent Christmas caroling by Jewish youngster&
In truth, this whole business may be a mockery. It is possible
that some of the "gallant kids" involved in this enterprise could
easily have provided the magnanimous sum of $12 out of indi-
vidual allowances spent for movies, candy and personal vanities.
But that might not have gotten the notoriety that comes out of
Christmas caroling—a new. and shocking threat to religious bank-
ruptcy in Jewish ranks.
Your Commentator entertains the hope that parents will be
more cautious in the future to guide* their children away from
such defections. But it is - possible that teachers in our religous -
schools are equally as guilty. It wouldn't hurt to have stronger
influence upon the child's religious feelings from our communal
and religious schools.
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A.1.A
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Mrs. Shiloah to Address; Luncheon in Honor
Of Mrs. Theodore Bargm an Next Thursday
Mrs. Reuven (Betty) Shiloah.
wife of the Israel Minister to
the United States, will be the
guest speaker at the Mina Barg-
man testimonial, on Thursday,
at Cong Shaarey Zedek, it was
announced by Mrs. Milton Mah-
ler and Mrs. Joseph Katchke,
testimonial chairmen.
With a degree from the Grad-
will honor Mrs. Theodore Barg- sored by the Detroit Israel Bond,
man for her many communal Women's Division. These - in-
a n d philanthropic activities. elude:
Besides serving as chairman of
Women of Rlpha Omega Dental Frater-
C
m Congress;
eo nn ;
Greater
r
:tero American
the . Detroit Women's Division nity;
for State of Israel Bonds since ter of Hadassah; Hebrew Cultural
I St
Infants Service Group; Ladies'
the drive began in 1951, she is ciety;
Auxiliary of Jewish National Fund: Jew.
1 active in the United Foundation,
Hadassah, Jewish Welfare Fed-
eration and the Jewish Social
Service Bureau,. which she now
heads_ as president.
Mina Bargman recently
gained national prominence by
being singled out, „Along with
three other women throughout
the United States, to receive the
"BIG Wheel" Award in Wash-
ington, D.C., for leadership in
the Israel bond drive.
A group, of outstanding local
and national figures has been
selected to serve as honorary
sponsors of the tribute, accord-
ing to Mrs. Samuel B. Danto,
honorary committee chairman.
Those listed are:
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AIRS. REUVEN SHILOAH
uate School for Jewish Social
Work in New York, American-
born Mrs. Shiloah attended the
Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
from 1933 to 1934. She took up
permanent residence in Israel in
1936, working first as a social
worker 'for the Vaad Hakehillah
(Jewish Community Council) in
Jerusalem, and later as a med-
ical social worker in Hada.ssah
Hospital.
Mrs. Shiloah is presently the
Women's Editor of the Jerusa-
lem Post, English language daily,
a position she has held since
1946. She has also worked for
Youth Aliyah. She married the
Israeli Minister in 1936, and is
the mother of two children.
The testimonial, which will be
in the form of a noon luncheon,
SR World Travel Calendar Lets Israel Down
The distinguished literary magazine Saturday Review has pub-
lished an impressive World Travel Calendar. Various folk festivals,
in this cou,Ary and throughout the world, are given consideration
in the advice. offered to travelers for every day in the new year.
- Israel appears to be limited to the following note for April
20: "Passover, Jerusalem. Second seder for tourists. Apr.. 18-24."
There isn't even the reference here to the Israel part of Jeru-
salem, in view of the fact that Jerusalem—undoubtedly the Arab
portion—is mentioned for Palm Sunday.
Saturday Review could have done better by Israel—the land
that represents the greatest miraculous occurrence of our time.
SR's editors should have known better. Fortunately, the El Al
Israel Airlines advertisment in this issue at least calls attention
to Israel—a term otherwise conletely overlooked in SR's World
In a community-wide call for
Travel Calendar.
all Detroit Jews to honor the
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3,000th anniversary of the found-
Nashville Observer's 20th Anniversary: Its Eminent Editor
ing of Jerusalem, an initial
The size of a community does not necessarily decide the planning conference has been
eminence of its citizens or the prominence of its newspapers. While scheduled for 10 a.m., Jan. 17,
New York City's. immense growth has influenced the values and at the Woodward Jewish Center.
the great advances of its daily newspapers, it is not alone in - Phillip Stollman, chairman of
journalistic distinction. There are many small cities which have the planning committee. for the
developed truly great• -newspapers and which have produced celebration of the anniversary,
brilliant editors.
said in a letter
This is applicable to the Jewish field. There are large Jewish t 0 community
communities with mediocre periodicals, and in some areas with leaders that this
small Jewish populations there are writers and editors whose event will take
genius surpasses those who reside and function' in very large place at Mason-
cities.
ic Auditorium,
It is an error to place emphasis on New York and Chicago Sunday evening,
and Los Angeles and Philadelphia and Detroit and Pittsburgh in
thinking of the cultural centers in this country. While the larger Feb. 14, and will
cities have better opportunities to attract scholars and have the feature such
means of building libraries and schools out of proportion to those world renowned
which the small communities are able to afford, it is wrong to artists as Jan
Stollman
ignore the historical fact that the growth of American Jewry Peerce and oth-
er
internation-ally
known fig-
emanated from many small Southern communities, and that the
,
spread of Jewish organizational efforts, which developed loyalty ures.
Presidents of participating or-
and devotion to Jewish causes, commenced in this great land with
a few Minyanim in small cities— Minyanim that served as the ganizations are asked to bring
two additional delegates to the
bases for an expanded American Jewry.
This Commentator takes these basic facts into consideration conference. Breakfast will be
on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of a periodical published served preceding the meeting.
Stating that the seriousness
by a distinguished colleague—the Nashville, Tenn., Observer, which
is edited very ably by Jacques Back. The Observer, under Mr. and semi-religious character of
Back's direction, has consistently encouraged the advancement of t h e forthcoming celebration
the highest Jewish ideals. The Observer is not a heavy advertising would demand the thinking and
periodical, it is not loaded with classified ads, but it is- a falsehood- cooperation of all organizations
and sections of the community,
defying, truth-loving, liberty-defending newspaper.
Jacques Back represents the type of editor whose thinking Stollman predicted that 5,000
and life's work was never measured by population numbers or persons will attend the Jerusa-
factory • smoke stacks. Few in our field have expressed the highest lem presentation, sponsored by
ideals of Judaism and Americanism as ably as he has. He is facing the Detroit Committee for. State
issues fearlessly. He defies advertising pressures in the battle for of . Israel Bonds.
truth and justice. He possesses the quality of judgement which
Germany Extends Courts
makes him stand out as a peer among men. We acclaim him as
WASHINGTON, (JTA) — The
our type of editor because no one can possibly hope to dictate to
a person of his courage and his strength of character whose ideals State Department announced
are so rooted in the finest principles of Our Land and Our Faith. that the United State High
Commissioner in Germany sign-
We salute him - on the 20th anniversary of his. Observer.
ed two laws, extending the juris-
diction of German courts over
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Our New Common Pleas Court Judge
Judge Nathan J. Kaufman, the latest judicial appointee, who persons in Germany, including
took office on Monday, has the good fortune of looking forward Jews, who are not United States
to 15 months of service before the expiration of his term of office personnel or dependents.
The new laws had been under
under appointment by Governor Williams. Until April of 1955,
when he must run for election, he has an opportunity to establish study for several months and
a record that should assure him the community's vote confidence. "are the latest in a series of
We congratulate him on his appointment . and we _Wish him steps taken since 1951 with the
a successful term-in .are. confident that ,he aim of eventually inactivating
will succeed in his earnest efforts to set the type of record which_ the HICOG courts," the . an-
no. unceinent said.
must assure iIPl1 ketation in office by the voters of Detroit.
3,000th Jerusalem
Anniversary Event
Is Set for Feb. 14
Rabbi and Mrs. Morris Adler, Mrs.
Philip A. Adler, Miss Mary V. Beck,
Louis Berry, Clark W. Blackburn, Mrs.
A. E. Chesler, Miss Laurentine B. Col-
lins, Mr. and Mrs. Israel Davidson,. Mrs.
Dora B. Ehrlich, Samuel Feldstein, Mrs.
Fred A. Ginsburg, Peter S. Goldstein,
Joseph Holtzman, Mrs. William B. Isen-
berg, Mrs. Harry L. Jones, Miss Myrtle
Labbitt, Mrs. Joseph M. Markel, Miss
Esther Beck McIntyre, Miss Mary Mor-
gan, Miss Mary Morris, Miss Vera Nolan,
Dr. Laura P. Osborn, Max Osnos, Miss
Leurena Pringle, Mrs. William. Reveno,
David Safran, Morris L. Schaver, Sidney
M. Shevitz, . Harry Schumer, Mrs.' Carl
Schiller, Miss Jean Sharley, Harold Sil-
ver, Samuel S. Simmer, Mrs. Philip
Slomovitz, Mrs. Irving Small, Mrs. George
Stark, Miss Pauline Sterling, Phillip
Stollman and Mrs. Beaulah Whitby.
MRS. THEODORE BARGEMAN
ish Women's European' Welfare Organt.
zation; Jewish War Veterans Auxiliary;
League of Detroit Jewish Women's Or. -
ganizations; Maimonides Medical Society
Auxiliary; Neugarten Medical Aid So.
ciety; Mizrachi Women, Fannie Gluck
Chapter; Pioneer Women; Sisterhoods of
Adas Shalom, Bnai David, Bnai Moshe
'
and Shaarey Zedek; Sisters of Zion Miz
rachi; United Hebrew Schools Women's
Auxiliary; Women of Gemiluth Chasso-
dim, and Zedakah Club.
TwentyLtwo organizations will
participate in the Mina Barg- 2—DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Friday, January 8, 1954
man Testimonial, which is spon-
Between You an
By BORIS SMOLAR
(Copyright, 1954, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Washington Moods
Economic experts in Washington who have been helping the
the State Department in keeping an eye on Israel's economic
problems, have come to la. number of conclusions on what American
Jewish contributions can do to hasten Israel's economic progress
. In their opinion such contributions should be used more than
they have in the past to finance additional agricultural research
and agricultural extension work ... Also, to help in rehabilitating
the existing olive groves and in the planting of new olive and carob
groves rather than to carry on with past types of afforestation . „ •
to provide draft animals instead of new tractors . . and the
financing of the importation of sheep to Israel . . . They recom-
mend the expansion of the production of rice in Israel as a sub-
stitute for wheat . . . They believe that Israel needs a shift in
agricultural production from meat products to vegetables . And
they strongly urge encouragement of Israel in its efforts to expand
irrigation . . . Their views coincide with the recent shifts of policy
made by the Israel government . „ . They emphasize that their
suggestions carry with theni a 'claim for continued large-scale
support for Israel which American Jewry is expected to supply
.. . On the industry side, theseo experts suggest that aid to Israel
would be given in the form of improving existing enterprises
rather than in establishing new industries of the United States
variety . . . They are of the opinion that most, if not all, future
industrial investments should be in those which rely on highly
skilled labor . . . These they consider anti-biotics, fine china and
glassware, delicate machine tools and instruments:
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Communal Trends
More than a third of the leaders of the Conservative congre-
gations in this country either received no Jewish education at all
or a sub-standard version of it ... For two-thirds of those who
direct the destinies of these congregations, the process of Jewish
education ended with their Bar Mitzvah . Only a fraction of
the officers and board members of the congregations had in
opportunity for more intensive study during the period of formal
schooling . . . This has been established by a national survey on
synagogue leadership undertaken by the United Synagogue of
America in cooperation with the Bureau of Applied Social Re-
search of Columbia University . . The picture is very depress-
ing .. . On the other hand, about 50 percent of the leaders of
the Conservative synagogues are college graduates, and another
18 percent received some college education ... Half Of the board
members of the synagogues are businessmen and 30 percent are
.professionals . . . A third of them enjoy an income of over $15,000
a year, and about 25 percent of them have yearly incomes of more
than $10,000 . The survey establiShes that the synagogue leaders
lead their membership in not attending synagogue services .. . .
Only one-third of them attend the.main Sabbath service . . . Only
about one-third of them keep a kosher home in the traditional:
sense of the term . . . Some of :then' consider' themselves "not :
religious" while others. just lack a . deep religious feeling and are
not inclined to live up to what they consider minimum religious
standards ... Only about 25 .percent of them regularly read books
or magazines of Jewish interest ... Three-quarters of the elite in
the Conservative congregations are not sufficiently concerned with
reading about Jewish affairs beyondthe usual newspaper coverage.
... About 26 percent of all board members are not active in any
national Jewish group . The others are active 'in' local. Jewish
federations and in fund-raising for the United, Jewish Appeal
Twenty-fiVe percent of all the board members declared that they
are active in Zionist organimtions .. . The survey reveals that'
there is "leadership fatigue" among the congregational leaders
Some of them complain that they are overloaded with never-end- 4
ing jobs. . ...Others ,claim that the Congregational work affecW'
their health or interferes severely with their fathily 411,thist
points to the fadt that Synagogue :leadership ins .the .Conservatille
movement niustiindergO - a:vigorous change if the irio'lieziietit wants
to bccupy-an 'important' placciwAiherican Jewish community life.