t,
Israel Reports on Passover
w
DBTROii 1Wt I NE
Friday, Apra • 16, 1954
Self-Sufficiency Through Bond Funds
•
Israel bonds have been a factor in helping to
are shown many of the new industries which, with
put the Jewish state on a solid economic footing
by providing the funds whereby a myriad of enter-
prises have been opened and revitalized to bring
much-needed sources of foreign exchange. Above
bond support, are bringing Israel closer to the days
of complete economic solvency. Frorn the left: a
beautifully dean dairy, the Tnuva Dairy, has been
constructed at Tel Aviv; a technician adjusts a
Simon Saeloff Sounds Call
For New Approach to Judaism
Miami's Jewish Mayor
They Call Hun Honest Abe
(Excerpts from an address before the 22nd Annual Assembly
of the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds.)
By OSCAR LEONARD
Author of "Americans All"
By SIMON SOBELOFF
U.S. Solicitor General
. . I distinctly recall a visit from Harry Lurie more
than 25 years ago when he was beating the drums in an ef-
fort to get this organization started.
The conception of such a council was logical, even al-
luring, but its birth and - growth were surrounded by diffi-
culties. That it wasn't still-born is a tribute to excellent mid-
wifery on the part of some who sit before me; that it has
grown to strong adulthood in
the face of titanic struggles generation American Jews en-
over such issues as national tered the scene. A new type of
budgeting, local needs vis-a-vis native Jew began to emerge and
those of Israel, and more recent- assume leadership. European in-
ly the Maclver report, is one of fluences, so powerful with their
those latter day miracles that forebears, became attenuated
deserves full treatment by a and receded further and further
future historian of the Ameri- into the background. It became
can Jewish community.
more important that we were all
As the federation is a purely here together in America than
voluntary body, there are some that we had arrived at different
things we cannot do; but this times, or that through acciden-
weakness is also our strength. tal circumstances some of our
The voluntary character of the ancestors were persecuted by one
federation means not only that rather than by another set of
the constituent agencies need barbarians in Europe.
Whatever we may think of
not join, but that they are free
the limitations of the first
to withdraw at any time.
generation Jewish Americans,
Yet we do remain together.
Such a community spirit grows their Jewish loyalties were not
only when leadership has the only intense but informed. The
wisdom to appreciate that all grave responsibility falls upon
us their sons and grandsons,
elements in the community are
precious, and that their unity to raise up leaders in their
place who will be broadly and
is a supreme objective.
intelligently informed and
The attainment of unity in concerned for the major in-
fund-raising and in social plan- terests of "Klal Yisroel." Other-.
ning involves essentially the wise our community conscious-
give-and-take of compromise.
ness will be in danger of be-
,
What makes the Russian
business so perplexing is that
this spirit of accommodation
is completely absent In their
negotiations. Even upon pro-
posed minor and temporary
organizational arrangements
their delegate to the United
Nations announces, "the word
`compromise' is not in the
Soviet glossary on this issue."
It is not often that uncom-
promisable principles are at
stake. More often "principle" is
stubbornly asserted as a bar
to concession and adjustment
when nothing more is at issue
than the wilfulness of opponents.
Federationscould be establish-
ed and grow in strength only
because those who created them
wanted to find, and succeeded
in finding, a basis of unity for
important and concrete objec-
tives among a highly diversified
Jewish population, differing in
time of immigration, in the ex-
tent of Americanization, in reli-
gious views and in social and
economic interests.
The difficulties that had to be
surmounted in finding a basis
for unity can be illustrated by
our own experience in Baltimore
where up to about 30 years ago
there was one federation for up-
town Jews and another for
downtown Jews.
Gradually the old leaders
passed on, and second and third
coming atrophied and degen-
erated.
We may maintain our separ-
ate organizations in the reli-
gious, ideological and other
. fields, but these differences do
not prevent us from working to-
gether constructively for recog-
nized over-all interests on a
common platform of communal
service.
At first our unity was on the
basis of group responsibility for
the welfare of those individuals
and families among us who were
in economic want. The next
stage. in our development was
concerned largely with organiz-
ing aid for overseas. The third
stage in our development is even
more recent. Its distinguishing
mark is a recognition of respon
sibility to endow our community
with purpose and dignity.
This, I would say, is the cur-
rent focus of our communal
program. It has taken the tan-
gible form of planning and res-
ponsibility for Jewish education,
for Jewish culture in the Amer-
ican environment and for the
adjustment of our group rela-
tions.
While progress has been most
substantial in our local .organ-
izations, we are experimenting
and t es t i n g ways to integrate
efforts in respect to problems of
national scope, through the
Codicil's Committee on Nation-
transformer on a new high tension line from TO
Aviv to Jerusalem; more textiles will be manufac-
tured because of a record flax crop at Beer Tuvia;
cement exports are rising steadily through expand-
ed production at the Nesher plant and two other
new factories.
SIMON SOBELOFF
al-Local Relations, through the
National Community Relations
Advisory Council and through
other means.
We have made some advances
but no one can be satisfied that
we have gone a long way. We
have not achieved a solution to
the deeply ingrained problem of
particular organizational loyal-
ties and alleged organizational
prerogatives. That these insist-
ently asserted private rights are
untenable each national body
readily acknowledges as to the
claims made by its rivals, but
not as to its own. We must
continue patiently to seek an-
swers to this perplexing problem.
Almost immediately after we,
and other so-called "charitable"
organizations, were relieved in
the early 1930s of much of the
load of caring for the economi-
cally needy by government's as-
sumption of responsibility, we
were plunged into a series of
colossal struggles.
The first was our fight against
extermination as a people; the
second was the re-establishment
of the State of Israel. Again it
was dramatic and exciting. The
organized communities respond-
ed at a new level of generosity
and partnership.
In a sense we have helped to
save Jewish life and we must
now address ourselves to living
it worthily.
This is not the time for
pedestrian aims. Our quest
must be of loftier design. Re-
lief and defense against per-
secution are laudable indeed,
but they beg the question, be-
cause combatting anti-Semit-
ism may be a practical neces-
sity, but it cannot be regarded
a.s the totality of a "way of
life."
If our federations limit them-
selves to defense and philan-
-thropy, ignoring other commun-
ity interests, they will fail to
achieve the full measure of their
possibilities. There are, in fact,
clear evidences that our federa-
tions are reorienting and mov-
ing toward a Judaism that is
positive—a Judaism embracing
the concepts that our sages have
taught, that envisages something
beyond the material and infuses
life with the value of the spirit.
That a Jew should be elected
were compelled to live. It be-
Mayor of an important city in gan a movement which se-
America is no longer a rare oc-
cured better Negro housing.
curence. But that a Jew should
Where did Abe Aronovitz hail
lead over all other candidates in from? He came to Miami from
a city where the Jewish popu- Key West. His father had come
lation constitutes a bare seven to Key West, via New York,
percent, is something else again. when the family left Jassy, Ro-
When the city under considera- mania. Aronovitz, senior, and his
tion happens to be in the South business partner were the only
where the Ku Klux Klan was Jews in southern Florida for
noisily influential until recently, many years. But Abe Ardnovitz
the election of Abe Aronovitz as 'was given a Jewish education
Mayor of the City of Miami be- and the ideals of democracy
comes very significant.
taught him have molded his life.
Many are unaware that Miami
When I called on him at City
Beach and Miami City are sep- Hall, the Mayor was engaged in
arate municipalities. M i a m i a press conference. The door to. (
Beach has a very fine Mayor his office was wide open. No fuss
who is a Jew. Miami Beach's or feathers about him now, not
Jewish population is upward of any more than when he was a
70 percent.
Abe Aronovitz is an active Jew.
He is not merely a Jew by birth.
He has been active, and still
participates in all worthy Jew-
ish endeavors. The non-Jews who
voted for him knew they were
voting for a Jew. Why did they
do so in such overwhelming
numbers? Why did they elect
him in spite of the fact that
public service corporations had
every reason to oppose him?
Corporations find ways and
means_ of defeating a candidate
for any office, especially Mayor,
who they know, from sad experi-
ence, will fight for the rights of
the people.
Then how did Abe Aronovitz
MAYOR ABE ARONOVITZ
manage to lead the ticket and
win by so large a majority in
student at college. When I sug-
spite of the fact that he helped
to all but destroy the Klan? gested to his secretary that we
I might get some biographical ma-
Surely the Klan must have
terial from the press department
gone all out to oppose him.
Or, did many of the decent and thus save time, she smiled
citizens who had, at one time and said: "The Mayor has no
or another, belonged to 'this press department." Where most
un-American group recognize municipalities maintain public-
that in this Jew, Abe Arono- ity departments with budgets
running into five .figures and
vitz, Miami had an honest and more, one
of the first steps
upright public servant? It
Aronovitz took after be-
must be so, for they do call Mayor
ing inducted into office, was the
him Honest Abe. And Honest
abolition
of the press depart-
Abe he certainly must be, for
ment. He feels that official acts
he has been in one kind of pub- should speak for themselves. -
lic service or another for more
Another change which Mayor
than twenty five years.
Aronovitz made was the discard-
Through the efforts of Abe ing of "parties" paid for out of
Aronovitz, a few years- ago, the taxpayers' money. Liquor used to
law making bodies in the City of flow freely at such parties and
Miami passed legislation making Mayor Aronovitz saw no reason
the wearing of a mask illegal. why taxpayers who objected to
Now how could a klansman flat- liquor should pay for drinks..
t e r Jews or Catholics during That did not make for friends.
business hours while selling in- Or did it? .
surance to them if he couldn't
As a parting word, Mayor
wear a mask while on parade Aronovitz said:
during the night?
"The outside world hears all
In a community where Ne- sorts of things about us here.
groes are still classed a.s sec- Burning crosses, dynamiting
ond:class citizens Abe Arono- Jewish Centers, etc. These things
vitz could' not rest until he make people believe we are wild
helped ,secure better housing and uncivilized. Please tell oir
for them. To fight the opposi- people that only the very small-
tion, he hired buses and filled est segment of our population is
them with decent citizens so ever involved in such acts. You
that they might see for them- can judge for yourself how talk
selves the slums in which their against having a Jew as Mayor
fellow-citizens of darker hue Sell on deaf ears."