Vacation Time THE JEWISH NEWS . Incorporating the Detroit Jewish Chronicle commencing with issue of July 20, 1951 Member American Association of English-Jewish Newspapers, Michigan Press Association. Puhtsheti every Friday by The Jewish News Publishing Co.. 17100 West Seven Mile Road, Detroit 35, Mich., VE. 8-9384 subscription $4. a year, foreign • $5. Entered as second class matter Aug. 8. 1942. at Post Office, Detroit, Mich., under Act of March 3, 1879 PHILIP SLOMOVITZ Editor and Publisher SIDNEY SHMARAK Advertising Manager FRANK SIMONS City Editor Sabbath Scriptural Selections • This Sabbath, the sixteenth day of Tammuz, 5714, the following Scriptural selections will be read in our synagogues: Pentateuchal portion, Num: 25:10-30:1. Prophetical portion, I Kings 18:46-19:21. Scriptural Selections for Fast of Tammuz, Sunday • Pentateuchal portion, Ex. 32: 11-14: 34: 1-10. Prophetical portion, Is. 55:6-56:8. Licht Benshen, Friday, July ib, 8:05 p.m. VOL. XXV, No. 19 Page 4 July 16, 1954 Training of Teachers: Jewry's Major Task Stillness of the summer must not lull us into false security in facing our major issues. It is too easy to be soothed into smug com- placency . and righteous indifference during months of inactivity. But it is now that one must think of the problems ahead. Jewry has many issues to deal with. We are faced with tasks that challenge our meth- ods of approach to Israel and our attitudes towards those in our own Government who are playing inconsistent roles in matters in- volving foreign policy and Middle Eastern affairs. We are defied in our efforts by a minority of Jews who, with their destructive tactics, are harming not only the established Jewish communal structures but are at the same time endangering the security of all American Jews through libelous attacks on their loyalties. Our internal affairs constant- ly call for vision and for devoted support of the great institutions we have created—our –synagogues, our philanthropic agencies, our Centers, our social agencies. But by far our major responsibility is to our educational agencies. Our communities will be strong as long as our people will be well informed. Our future will be secure only when our heritage is protected and our tra- ditions are adhered to. Active participation in the upbuilding of Israel will be assured by the spread of knowledge of the position of the Jewish state and of our obligations to our kinsmen. Similarly, our duties to synagogues and social service will be better understood through proper information. All of these things hinge upon good school systems, since training for public service must begin with the very young—and also because the young so often inspire their- elders. to action. There- fore this reminder to our community, at the risk of repetition, never to forget that our major obligation is to our schools and to Jewish education. And in the interest of this obligation we must begin to act with in- creased vigor in the solution of a serious problem-: the shortage of teachers. This problem will be dealt with in the fall at a special conference of the National Conference of Jewish Education. It is a uni- versal one. Our Canadian neighbors are try- ing to tackle it and this statement in the official organ of the Canadian Jewish Con- gress is worth studying: "The Canadian Jewish communities' Grati- fying activity in Jewish. education would seem Weak Negotiations Departure of Jewish negotiators from Vienna, after a month's discussions with the Austrian government of claims for heirless property and individual indemnification and restitution for Nazi victims, was accom- panied by a sense of "deep disappointment," in the words of Moses Beckelman, who headed the team of Jewish spokesmen. It is believed that the fear of losing votes of former Nazis in the coming election has motivated some of the actions of the Aus- trian leaders who have reduced their original indemnification offers. It is believed also that Austrian Chancellor_Julius Raab aims to force the Jews into a position of breaking off negotiations, instead of retaining respon- sibility for Austria for the failure to fulfill obligations to the victims of Nazism. Lame excuses have been offered by the Austrian authorities for the collapse of the negotiations.. After more than a year's dis- cussions, it is a bit untimely now to state that legislative measures are necessary, thereby necessitating postponement of all considerations until October. The Austrians are beating around the bush when they state that their government has pledged ad- herence to a principle of no discrimination in restitution and indemnification between Nazi victims now living in Austria and those residing abroad. Thus, Austria defies Jewish claims and yields to' pressure from former Nazis. It is not a pretty picture and it may have its effects, in fomenting anti-Semitism. • to lay the ghost of • the oft-repeated charge that parents are apathetic. Leaders who are in- different to many important community en- deavors have certainly given considerable at- tention to ways and means of educating the younger generatiori. The Canadian Jewish Congress has given Jewish education a high priority in its agenda and thereby reflects public opinion, if indeed it was not to some extent ahead of it; modesty forbids a value . 'Judaism in Islam' judgment. "Loud huzzahs however are premature and could prove to be embarrassing. There re- main many very serious problems. Parents may be enthusiastic (Particularly since they are not called upon to study nor to take classes) but there is little doubt that children are much less so. Young Canadians are not interested in continuing beyond the barest minimum of Hebrew studies and most certainly evince lit- tle desire to engage in the teaching profes- sion in our Jewish schools. Herein lies our greatest concern! In past generations the corn- *unity could rely on newcomers to form the teacher corps. More recently, when the immi- grant source from overseas was less avail- able, lay-boards, principals and committees were alarmed and a Teachers' Seminary (two in fact operated for the first years) was estab- lished to prepare foreign-born residents for the profession. No Canadian-born. were appli- cants. We are now at the second stage where no foreign-born reservoir exists and we must look for other 'applicants. Israel as a Source presents many formidable obstacles. There is a teacher shortage in, Israel: it is to be ex- pected that the better `teachers will remain in Israel; it is too expensive to bring them to Canada; and to use an inelegant maxim, "who wants to buy a pig in a poke?" The third stage will face us in a few. years. There will be an= alarming teacher shortage here and in the United States: Only the Willingness of Ca- nadian youth to become teachers can prevent a crisis. "Looking ahead it seems. obvious :that there is little relationship between the desires of the Jewish community to instil Jewish education and plans for a supply of teachers. There is even less relationship between the desires , of educators and lay boards, who are not con- . tent merely with a system which gives a smat- tering of knowledge and a general familiarity with Jewish tradition, and this problem of Jewish teachers. Thoreau agreed it is fine to build castles in the air if you can - find the foundation stones to support them. Canadian plans are mostly in the 'build-the-roof-first' blueprint. - "Taking all factors into consideration, it is realistic to confess that there is no call for heady optimism. All interested parties will have to recognize that education generally is a dif- ficult program, restoring a classical language even more so and educating beyond a very superficial level in a western culture most •dif- Pettit of all. Perhaps it is 'necessary to reach for the stars even to succeed in scaling a few peaks. If. so, we should know where we are going and realize the formidable nature of the obstacles. Teacher training of Canadian youth who don't want it is the priority prob- lem. It is a good thing that we can obtain some comfort from the Talmudic injunction that we are not required to complete the job though we must not desist from it altogether." This is an analysis of the problem. It is not a solution. But the recognition of the existence of the need for teachers should in- spire the sort of thinking which must, in the near future, bring a desired :solution. Rabbis' Convention Leading spokesmen for orthodoxy will convene here next week. On the agenda of the annual convention of the Rabbinical Council of America are items calling for dis- cussion of the orthodox rabbinate's concern with Israel, Jewish learning and the Ameri- can Jewish community. , The prominence of many of the visiting rabbis and the importance of the issues to be reviewed lend importance to these sessions. The deliberations here will be watched with keen interest by all who seek the solidifica- tion of Jewish ranks in support of Israel and the advancement of Jewish lemming. Biblical and Talmudic Backgrounds' Of the Koran and Its Commentaries Growing out of his doctoral dissertation submitted to Dropsie College is Abraham I. Katsh's "Judaism in Islam." For the first time in English, this book, published by New York University Press and distributed by Bloch, presents a verse- by-verse study of the Koran and the Islamic commentaries. Dr. Katsh, who is chairman of the Hebrew department at New York University, has traced the background of the Koran in the Old TeStament as well as in Jewish legends and in rabbinic folklore. Thus Dr. Katsh reveals that Islam owes a great debt of gratitude to Judaism. The author's acquaintance with the original sources assists in substantiating his conclusions. He outlines the early stages of Islam and he points out that "Arabic sources abound in incidents attesting to the friendly relations between the Jews and the Arabs in the pre-Islamic period." Dr. Katsh paints out that "the southwestern part of the Ara- . bian peninsula, known as Yemen, was generally considered a Jewish state ... The Jews of Yemen wrought a tremendous change in the religious life of the Arab people, hundreds of years before the advent of Mohammad." Some Arab tribes had accepted Juda- ism, and we are informed by Dr. Katsh that "Jewish customs and traditions were known to and practiced by many Arabs, and Mo- hammad who knew many of these laws and customs incorporated a considerable number . of them into his religious teachings." The fundamental teachings of Islam, analyses of verses, transliterations of Arabic and Hebrew letters are extensively de- veloped in this book. It is a timely•wori'i'Well annotated. It is appropos in an era -of - strife, and it would be well if all elements involved were to read it, in the best interests . of an Arab-Jewish peace. - The Jew in American Sports Ribalow, who has gained fame as a book reviewer, Harold son of the late editor of Hadoar, himself an able Hebraist, has emerged in recent years as an authority on Jews in sports. He has revised his book, "The Jew in American Sports," and it is now available, as a Bloch publication, in a revised and en- larged edition. .A deserving tribute to the young author is incorporated in a preface to the revised edition by Barney Ross, to whom a chapter is devoted in this book under the title "The Frail-Waisted Champion." A sad note creeps into the revised edition. Ribalow writes in his introduction: "This new edition has nowhere been con- tracted, except in the basketball section. Nat Holman, an in- terview with whom had appeared in the earlier book, has been omitted because of the tragically unsavory conclusion of his glorious coaching career. No stigma attached to' Holman per- sonally, but it became impossible, to judge fairly the teams under his command when a basketball betting scandal broke and revealed that some of his finest players succumbed to the gamblers. Nevertheless, basketball, like many other sports, is dealt with in detail." We wonder whether this is not an unfair approach to an im- portant issue. The right. thing to do is to come to the defense of a great player and coach, and . if he is guiltless he deserves to be defended. Ribalow's book is replete with fascinating stories—about Hank Greenberg, Johnny Kling, Saul Rogovin, Goody Rosen, Andy Cohen, "Dolly" Stark, Benny Leonard, Al Rosen, Samuel 'Resliev- sky, Sid Luckman, Sidney Franklin, Benny Friedman and many others. It remains the outstanding book available on the subject of Jews in sports. Dr. Slaughter's 'Song of Ruth' Dr. Frank G. Slaughter makes use of all available Biblical studies of the Book of Ruth in the material he • has gathered for his novel "The Song of Ruth," published by Doubleday . (575 Madi- son, NY22). • Embellished, greatly enlarged upon, taking into account con- ditions of the times, Dr. Slaughter's panoramic view of the famous old Testamern, story portrays the heroes—kings and slaves—the women of fame—Naomi and Ruth—and gives an interesting ac- count of the land and the people. • The author points to the disagreements over the story's .au- thenticity, but he treats the facts on the basis of their origin in the Old Testament. Interestingly enough, he gives his story a Christological twist, and the concluding lines are a quotation from the New Testament, Acts 13:23, with reference to Boaz, thus: "Of this man's promise, raised unto Israel a Savior, Jesus." He therefore leads his story away from the Old Testament into the New Testament, making his novel a Christological work.