Purely Commentary

By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ

The 'Forebodings' Over Cohn and Schine
Ray M. Cohn and G. David Schine are not really that impor-
tant. But they have become a "Jewish issue" as a result of the
admonition in the U..S Senate ')y Senator Ralph E. Flanders of
Vermont that the two Jews are causing "foreboding" among their
coreligionists. In his address, in which he accused Senator Joseph
R. McCarthy of spreading "division and confusion wherever he
goes," Senator Flanders said: "Note, for instance, the foreboding
he inspires in our fellow citizens of Jewish blood and faith. Among
them this is well nigh universal in spite of the fact that his two
closest associates are Hebrews."
It was to have been expected that this issue would be raised.
Time and again, names of Jews, like Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer's,
have appeared among those questioned. On the other side of the
coin is the Cohn-Schine team—proving that among Jews, as among
all elements, there are the investigators and the investigated.
Wherein, therefore, do the forebodings enter into the picture?
The truth is that the witch-hunts place all Americans in dis-
repute. A normal society does not fear a handful of questionable
characters. The dominant factor in our land is the loyal citizenry
whose quest for justice must triumph. The witch-hunters must be
discredited. That hour is coming—soon.

2—DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Bnai BHA Nanning Four-Day
Institute on Judaism, July 8-1

Friday, June 11, 1954

Pisgah Lodge Elects
Walters as President

A four-day Institute on Ju- the results he became one of the
daism is planned by Bnai Brith proponents of a similar program
of Michigan beginning July 8 in Michigan. This will be the
and concluding on July 11, at first such attempt by Bnai Brith
Waldenwoods, near Brighton, in this state.
The conference will adhere
Mich. A brochure giving corn-
plete details on the retreat will I strictly to dietary laws, and is
be mailed to members in two limited to 1.50 people, both mem-
bers and non-members of Bnai
weeks.
Three eminent rabbis—ortho- Brith. For information or reser-
dox, conservative and reform— vations on the program, call By
will be represented at the In- Crystal, director of Detroit Bnai
stitute, explaining tradi tions ,Brith, WO. 3-7838, or Albert A.
followed by each, while members Berger, WO. 5-4640.
sit as students and informally
observe and take part in dis- Murphy to Adress
cussions.
The three leaders who will Convention of ZOA
head the Institute are Rabbi
Robert Murphy, Deputy Under
Joseph Lookstein, of Cong. Ke- Secretary of State, is scheduled
hiiah Jeshurun, New York, author to address the 57th annual con-
of "Primogeniture in Jewish , vention of the Zionist Organiza-
Law and Society" and an ortho- tion of America, June 23 through
dox leader; Rabbi Bernard Barn- 1June 27, at Waldorf Astoria
berger (reform), prominent lec- Hotel , New York.
Mr. Murphy is scheduled to
turer and author of "Fallen An-
gels" and "Proslytism;" an.d speak at the plenary session on
Rabbi Morris Adler of Detroit's June 24, which will be devoted
conservative Cong. Shaarey Zed- to the theme "The United States,
ek, author of "Selected Passages United Nations and Israel." In
from the Torah" and contribut- his address, he is expected to
ing editor to "Reconstruction- present in behalf of the U.S.
1 State Department a statement
ist" magazine.
The program is in pursuit of a on American policy toward Israel<
national Bnai Brith policy of I A principal speaker at the
adult education, which was un- same session will be Dr. Abba
dertaken in 1948, in North Caro- 1 Hillel Silver of Cleveland, who
lina, to awaken "a generation I will deliver a major address of
uninformed in their tradition." Zionist policy dealing with the
Rabbi Adler last year took lcurrent developments affecting
part in similar institutes in Israel and the Middle - East and
Texas, Oklahoma and Missis- the problems facing the Zionist
sippi, and wag so enthused by movement today.

Beryle Walters was elected
president of Pisgah Lodge, Bnai
Brith at its recent election
meeting. Walters succeeds Mor-
ris Burnstein as head of this
lodge, oldest of Michigan's Bnai
Brith organizations.
Elected to serve with Walters
are Isadore Perlman and Dr.
George V. Leib, vice-presidents;
William Lite
and Jack Leeds,
secretaries; Sam
Selikowitz, trea-
surer; Marvin E.
Reider, assistant
chaplain; Meyer
Littky, warden;
and Hy Gillman,
guardian. As
outgoing presi-
Laying the Ghost of the 'Colossal Innocence of the Senate'
dent, Burnstein
Senator Flanders' speech was entitled "The Colossal Inno- assumes the post
Walters
cence (of the junior Senator from Wisconsin) in the Senate of the of chaplain during the ensuing
United States." After speaking of the "foreboding" of the Jewish year.
citizens, the Vermont Senator said: "I have been led to remember
Voted to membership on Pis-
the part the Senator played in the investigation of the Mahnedy gah's board of trustees were Lee
massacres and the strange tenderness he displayed for the Nazi Feber , Ben Goldhoff, Joe Fau-
ruffians involved." This is a serious charge. But Senator Flanders dem, Sam Wider, Louis Light-
did not stop there. He likened the Wisconsin Senator to Hitler stone, Irving Weinstein and
and made some comments on the attitude of Catholics. He charged Ernest Chayet.
that McCarthy divides "his country and his church." Said Senator
All new officers and board
members will be installed in
Flanders:
"Perhaps this would not have been enough to perpetuate fore-
ceremonies Monday evening, at
boding, but his anti-communism so completely parallels that of the Hotel Detroiter. A banquet
Adolf Hitler as to strike fear into the heart of any defenseless will precede the program. For
minority. We should always remember, by the way, that com- reservations, call the Pisgah
munism, nazism, and other dictatorships resemble each other Lodge officer, WO. 3-3372. -
far more closely than any of them resembles the free world
into which we were born, and in which we hope that our chil- Zionists Bid Farewell
dren and grandchildren will live.
To Lehrmans June 17,
"It was not the Jews alone who had reason to be troubled.
The former chief of staff of the Senator's committee, without a S. Dominitz the Speaker
word of rebuke from his superior, charged the Protestant min-
istry with being, in effect, the center of Communist influence
The Zionist Organization of
in this country. Here the attack was on a vigorous, indignant Detroit announced that a Fare-
well Reception will be tendered
majority, and the chief of staff had to go.
was not laid. Clearer its president , Rabbi Moses Lehr-
"But the ghost of religious in
o the da n ge r of setting I man, Thursday evening, on the
and clearer evidence came to li g ht of
church against church, Catholic against Protestant. At a recent eve of his and Mrs. Lehrman's
communion breakfast of the New York police force, the Senator forthcoming departure for Is-
made a characteristic speech, blaming the Pentagon for not rael and Europe. All members
compelling the release of the remaining prisoners of the Chi- are invited.
nese Communists. He did not say how this could be done, short
This is the evening of the
of renewing the war. Then he referred to his own proudest annual meeting of ZOD. Officers
achievement—the detection of the pink dentist. Loud cheers from and board members will be
most of the audience—others silent.
elected.
"Then Monsignor McCaffrey went into a eulogistic oration
The guest speaker will be .
on the public service of our Senator. More cheers and silences. Shlomo Dominiti, whose prime
"Cardinal Spellman entered during the Monsignor's intro- interest in the last few years
duction and shook hands with our Senator. He arrived late and has been the stimulation of
left early, but he did shake hands. Did this mean that the im- tourism to Israel. In 1934, at the
primatur of `nihil obstat' had been set by the church on these age of 12, he made his way to
debonair campaigns to divide Americans from each other on re-
Palestine from Eastern Europe
ligious lines? It looked like a pretty serious business.
after illegally crossing frontiers
"But soon, thank God, from Chicago another voice was
and stowing away in a Greek
heard. It was that of a high and respected member of the
vessel.
Since 1940 and through
Catholic Church, Bishop Sheil. He said that our Senator is do-
ing more harm than good, and is dividing the United States the war he served on the
instead of uniting it in a cause that of itself is supported by national Jewish hospitality com-
mittee for Allied troops, which
every good citizen. Continuing, the bishop said:
" 'An America which has lost faith in the integrity of the later evolved into the Govern-
the Government, the Army, the schools, the churches, the labor ment of Israel Tourist Center.
unions, and most of all an America whose citizens have lost faith At the height of illegal mass
in each other—such an America would not need to bother about immigration, Mr. Dominitz was
in charge of welfare, education-
being anti-Communist: it would have nothing to lose.
al, and cultural activities in the
"'Such an America—'
British clearance camp for il-
"He added—
'would have nothing to recommend it to freedom-loving men— legal immigrants. at Atlith.
During the War of Liberation,
nothing at all, not even the shining image of its victorious
he was Deputy Civilian Advisor
junior Senator from Wisconsin.'
"Thus it became evident that Dennis the Menace had driven to the Chief of Staff and the
General Headquarters of the
his blundering ax deep into the heart of his own church.
"His success in dividing his country and his church is par- Israel Army, on all matters con-
alleled by his unparalleled success in dividing his own party. cerning volunteers from the
While only a minority leader, his following is faithful and loud. United States, Canada and the
This again raises uncomfortable comparisons with dictators United Kingdom. Since 1948 he
has been associated with the
elsewhere in the world."
Is it any wonder that the country is disturbed, that all faiths effort for the ZOA House in Tel
are united in the demand for an end to McCarthyism? -
Aviv,
We are running into disrepute among the nations of the
of
his
world. The President and his Cabinet, as well as most
Party leaders, know it. This travesty surely can not be permitted
to go on much longer.

Important Names in the Headlines
Dr. Ralph Bunche: The shameful tactics of "investigators"
were exposed in the course of the inquisitory attempt to pin dis-
loyalty charges on one of the most distinguished Americans, the
director of the United Nations Trusteeship Division, Dr. Ralph J.
Bunche. On the first clay of the hearing, Dr. Bunche was quizzed
continuously for more than 12 hours. He was vindicated, as every
clear thinking American had predicted. But the slur was not on
the eminent Negro leader but on those who harbored suspicions.
Dr. Bunche may have, in his youth, in the days when there was
a partnership between the United States and Russia, conversed
with Communists or he may have been present at a meeting that
is now considered suspect. And for that we now revive inquisi
tions that were unworthy even of the Middle Ages! But good
names are certain always to rise above suspicions and to shine
forth as lights to guide a generation that presently is suffering
from a horrible witch-htint.
Anne O'Hare McCormick: Your Commentator first met Anne
O'Hare McCormick, the eminent New York Times editorial writer
and columnist, in 1945, at the San Francisco Conference that pre-
ceded the formation of the United Nations. It was at Molotov's
farewell press conference. She had visited Palestine, had made a
personal study of the Zionist situation and on many occasions her
comments on the issue were considered among the most authori-
tative on the subject. Her articles were not always favorable, but
they also were not always unfavorable. Her death removes from
the scene of one of America's ablest commentators and reporters.

2 Jews Greet
Lion. of Judah

When Emperor ,'Haile Selassie,
the Lion of Judah who takes
such great pride in his Jewish
descent, was officially greeted in
the Security Council Chamber
of the UN, it fell to the -lot of
two "kinsmen" of Judah to ex-
tend the welcome. Dr. Benjamin
Cohen, assistant secretary-gen-
eral, welcomed him in behalf of
the UN, and Dr. Max Beer, dean
of UN correspondents, in behalf
of the newsmen.

To Offer Master's Degree in
Jewish Music Next Fall

NEW YORK — The Hebrew
Union School of Sacred Music
will offer a new graduate course
leading to the Master of Sacred
Music degree effective next fall
it is announced by Dr. Abraha m
N. Franzblaii dean of the SchoOl

Between You and Me

By BORIS SMOLAR

(Copyright, 1954, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)

The American Scene
The Union of American Hebrew Congregations is conducting a •
poll indicative of what is on the minds of leaders of Reform Juda-
ism . . . It seeks answers to 20 "Tercentenary" questions in con-
nection with the observance this year by American Jewry of
years of its settlement in this country . . . The purpose is to estab-
lish what changes American Jewry's analysts anticipate in Ameri- '
can Jewish life.
Washington Arguments
Israel last year received $52,500,000 from the United S tates
under the Mutual Security Program; how much will Israel receive
this year? . . . This is the question that is very much now on the
minds of leaders of Jewish groups in this country interested in the
economic progress of the Jewish state . . . The answer to this
question is very nebulous at the present moment, since nothing is
known of the recommendations made by the State Department on
this matter . . . All that is known is that the Administration this
year requested Congress to continue economic assistance to Israel
and the Arab countries and that the proposed authorization for
the entire Near East is $160,000,000 . Of this sum, $30,000,000 is
and
a re-appropriation for relief and resettlement of Arab refugees
$14,000,000 is earmarked for Iran The remainder of $116,000,-
000 is to be divided between Israel, the Arab states and certain.
African countries . . . How much Israel will get is not disclosed in
the legislation .. . However, Administration spokesmen make no
secret of the fact that they no longer support the principle that
Arab
half of the sum be given to Israel and the other half of the
countries . . . This implies that Israel will get less this year and
the Arab states will get more than last year . . . Administration
officials advance three arguments for a reduction in American.
grants-in-aid to Israel ... They point out that the Israel govern-
ment has taken effective measures in recent months to improve
its economy . . . They stress the fact that there is a substantial
increase this year in Israel's exports ... And they argue that Is-
rael is receiving a substantial income. from German reparations
payments . . . All these, they claim, have brightened Israel's eco-
nomic outlook considerably, although not to a degree where fur-
ther American aid is no longer necessary.

Jewish Counter-Arguments
American Jewish leaders interested in the fate of Israel take
issue with these arguments in the hope that members of Congress
will see their way clear to strengthen Israel's present economic
progress rather than hamper it. . . They are also vigorously at-
tempting to convince the American Government that it is in the
interests of the United States to maintain a high level of assist-
ance to Israel until the latter achieves economic independence
rather than reducing the aid at present.. .. They fight particu-
larly against the argument that because Israel gets reparations
from Germany, American aid can be reduced . .. They empha- •
size that if both German reparations and American grants con-
tinue at top level, then Israel's need for U. S. aid will end sooner
and America will then have achieved its aim of stabilizing Israel
economically . . . On the other hand, a premature reduction of
American aid to Israel now could only have a most injurious
effect .. . Especially since this year Israel is paying back to
American banks about $75,000,000 in short-term loans . .•, They
also point out that if American aid is curtailed now, Israel may
have to cut back production for lack of raw materials which
must be imported from abroad for American currency „ . The
reduction of U. S. grants, they argue, would also retard important
agricultural and industrial development projects in Israel needed
to feed the Israel people . . It might also force Israel to incur
new debts to provide for subsistence needs . . . To top all these . •
arguments, American Jewish leaders point out that some of the --
Arab countries are openly rejecting American aid, while others -
have a huge income from their oil fields and do not need Ameri-!'--
can grants . . . The effects of all these arguments will be known .
soon when the grant in aid allocations for Israel and the Arab
countries are made public For the time being, these alloClit-
'tiOns'4are conSidered "top secret" in Washington;

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