Eisenhower Pledges Control of
Arms Sent to Middle East States

"I know," the President con •
tinued, "that I am speaking to
the people who deeply love
peace. I know that, with all
other Americans, you share a
profound thanksgiving that,
for the first time in 20 years,
there is no active battlefield
anywhere in the world."
After reiterating America's pa-
cific intentions and desireS for
peace, Mr. Eisenhower turned to
the history of the Jews in the
United States and told his audi-
ence:
"We have come together in
memory of an inspiring moment
in history—that moment, 300
years ago, when a small band of
Jewish people arrived on the
ship, St. Charles, in what was
then the Dutch colony of New
Amsterdam. It was an event
By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
meaningful not only to the Jews
of America but to all Americans
The 'Yiddish-German' Taught in Russia
—of all faiths, of all national
In his autobiographical book, "Invisible Writing," (Macmillan), origins.
Arthur Koestler relates how German was taught by the Com-
"On that day there came to
munists. He tells this story about a visit he and other writers paid
these shores 23 people whose
to a school in Merv:
"Over the entrance-gate a streamer greeted us: 'WELCOME distant ancestors had, through
OUR HEROIC PROLETARIAN REVOLUTIONARY WRITER COM- the Old Testament, given new
RADES FROM AMERICA AND EUROPE.' We were first taken dimensions of meaning to the
to the advanced class who were having a lesson in German. At concepts of freedom and justice,
a sign from the teacher, the class rose and chanted in a chorus: mercy and righteousness, kind-
ness and understanding—ideas
" 'A guten Tog.'
and ideals which were to flower
"They should have said: Einen guten Tag.'. I glanced.at the on this continent. They were of
teacher, and had to take a hard bite at my tongue. He was a a people who had done much to
gentle, young Bylo-Russian Jew from Minsk. The future intent- give Western civilization the
gentsia, of the oasis of Merv, near the cradle of the Aryan principle of hum an dignity'
race thought that they were learning German—but they were in they came to a land which would
fact learning Yiddish."
flourish—beyond
17th Cen-
This tale is reminiscent of the days when Jewish youngsters tury dreams—becau
allse it foster-
who enrolled in German classes brought their Yiddish with them ed that dignity among its citi-
and used it as German, resorting to such phrases as "wifiel a zens.
zeiger?" But teachers knew their language lessons, unlike the re-
"Of all religious concepts, this
port by Koestler on Russia. His anecdote may reveal a condi- belief in the infinite worth of
ton on a vaster scale—the irresponsible approach to culture by a the individual is beyond doubt
nation that has seen fit to interpret science, literature and history among the most important. On
to serve its specific purposes.
.
this faith our forefathers con-
*
*
*
structed the framework of our
Zivion—Stormy Petrel
•
Republic.
Among this Commentator's dictionaries and encyclopedias is "In this faith in human dig-
the "English-Jewish Encyclopedic Dictionary." Published in 1915, nity is the major difference be-
it was edited by Dr. Paul Abelson and one of its three associate tween our own concept of life
editors was Dr. Ben-Zion Hoffman, who gained fame for his arti- and that of enemic of freedom.
Il es in the Forward, under the pen-name "Zivion." The chief of these enemies a
He was an interesting personality. He was the Jewish Socialist decade and more ago were Nazi
movement's stormy petrel. He was the inevitable critic who did and Fascist forces which de-
not permit a single issue to pass unscrutinized. stroyed so many of our fellow
An anti-Zionist, he was also anti-Hebrew, although himself men. The Communist conspiracy
well versed in the sacred tongue and when he came to the United is the principal influence that.
States in 1908 he edited a Hebrew daily newspaper, the short-lived derides the t r u t h of human !
HaYom. He was one of the chief defenders of Yiddish and a
be- worth and, with atheistic'
Dever that the language can and will survive all obstacles. ruthlessness, seeks to destroy
His death last week, at the age of 80, removes from the Amer- the free institutions established
scan Jewish scene a most colorful individual. He was just that: an
individual. He defied everybody. His criticisms were ,sharp, often on the foundation of that truth.
"Asher Levy and his party
bitter.
came to this land oil that long
He was full of power and wrote his weekly columns for the
ago day because even then
Forward until nearly his dying day. A - Latvian by birth, he ac-
quired his education in German universities, earned a Doctor of they had to find a country
where they could safely put
Science degree, being an engineer by training, but turned to Jew-
into practice their belief in
ish journalism.
the dignity of man,
The 1750-page Yiddish encyclopedic dictionary of which he
"In this respect—as in so
was co-editor was one of his outstanding achievements. But he
was known for his biting wit and his tendency to be contrary. many others—they were no dif-
ferent
from s c o r es of
other .
However, he was often constructive. Dynamic-
personalities
like
groups that landed on our
him are rare occurrences among all peoples.
shores.
Only 34 years earlier,
*
*
•
another p arty had landed on
H. C. L. Jackson: A Tribute
Plymouth Rock. That group , too ,
H. C. L. Jackson, whose name always worked like magic in the came here in the hope of es-
affeetion it inspired for the able Detroit News columnist, will be caping pbrsecution—of gaining
missed by all Detroiters. Our friend and one-time co-worker religious freedom — of settling
possessed genuine wit. He had a keen quietly in the wilderness to build
sense for the unusual and for human in- their homes and rear their fam-
terest stories, and he perpetuated them ilies.
in his columns.
"And there was another novel
He wrote a few pieces for us, on im- concept of our common Judeo-
portant occasions in the Jewish com- Christian civilization shared by
munity, and his articles in tribute to these two groups and by all
Fred M. Butzel were especially note- others who have come to this
worthy. We join in paying tribute to a land: the ideal of peace."
good man who always aimed to create
President Eisenhower was in-
ae43 good feelings among his neighbors. As troduced by New York State Su-
H. C. L. Jackson a spreader of good cheer he not only preme Court Judge Edgar J. Na-
endeared himself to all of us but has written his name indelibly than, Jr., a descendant of Abra-
in Detroit's history.
ham de Lucena, one of the 23
Jews who came to New Amster-
Ferguson's Record on Israel Question
dam in 1654 and established the
Economic, foreign policy and political issues can and should first Jewish community in this
be debated pro and con during the current election campaign, country. The dinner was presid-
and there is justification for inquiries regarding candidates' posi- ed over by Joseph Willer, of
tions on Israel and the arming of the Arabs. Amon°. Michigan's New York.
Members of both Houses of Congress, fortunately, b there is no
Ralph E. Samuel, chairman of
problem on that score. ,There are members of Congress from our the Tercentenary Committee,
State who are against any form of foreign aid but who make an was one of the speakers.
exception of Israel and favor support of this bastion of democracy
An invocation was delivered by
Rabbi David de Sola Pool of
in the Middle East.
The issue involving the arming of the Arabs has been in- Congregation Shearith Israel of
jected in the current Senatorial campaign. In justice to Senator New York. The benediction was
Ferguson it should be stated that he has consistently supported given by Rabbi Barnett R. Brick-
Israel's position, that he has been a leader in the movement to ner of Cleveland, president of
give to the Jewish state maximum economic aid and that he was the Central Conference of
the first—in a discussion with this commentator three years ago— American Rabbis. A Tercenten-
to point to the danger of sending arms to anyone in the Middle ary prayer was delivered by
East, thereby endangering Israel's position. Surely, a man who Rabbi Israel Goldstein of Con-
Was the first to warn against the danger of arming the Arab gregation B'nai Jeshurun of New
states can. neat S be called a supporter : of the arms-to-the-Arabs York. Irving Berlin, noted corn-
effort. • poser, sang "God Bless .keeerica."

NEW YORK, (JTA)—President
Dwight D. Eisenhower pledged
)efore 2,000 members of the
American Jewish community at-
',ending the Jewish Tercentenary
Dinner, that the United States
will "continue to contribute to
peaceful relations" between Jews
and Arabs. Touching upon the
situation in the near East, the
President, in his half-hour
speech, said:
"We are all regretfully aware
that the major differences be-
tween Israel and the Arab
states remain unresolved. Our
goal there, as elsewhere, is a

just peace. By friendship to
ward both, we shall continue
to contribute to peaceful rela-
tions among these peoples."
The Pr esident quoted "the
wonderful prophecy" of Isaiah:
"And the work of righteousness
shall be peace; and the effect of
righteousness, quietness and as-
surance forever." Mr. Eisenhower
added: "The pursuit of peace is
at once our religious obligation
and our national policy. Peace
and freedom—where all men
dwell in security—is the ideal
toward which our foreign policy
is directed."

Purely Commentary

Beth Hamidrash School of Judaism
Starts 5 Courses at Young Israel

Beth Hamidrash, the School of
Judaism, constituting a merger
of Young Israel Institute of
Jewish studies with the Bnai Da-
vid Adult Institute and several
adult education classes conduct-
ed by Congregation Beth Abra-
ham and the Mogen Abraham
Men's Club, will open -with regis-
tration at the Young Israel Cen-
ter on Monday evening. There
will be a registration fee of $3
for one semester and $5 for two
1
semesters.
Israel I. Tas-
litt, of Cleveland,
vice - president
of the Midwest
section of the
Union of Ortho-
dox Jewish Con-
gregations, will
address the
opening session
of the Beth
Hamidrash Mon-
I. I. Taslitt
da y
Courses will be offered from
8 to 9 and 9 to 10 on Monday
evenings at the Young Israel
Center. For information call TO.
8-8776 gr TO. 8-7174.
The following courses will be
offered:
The Bible series, for which a
knowledge of Hebrew is not re-
quired, will include an interpre-
tation of the Book of Samuel by
Rabbi M. J. Wohlgelernter and
the Book of Exodus by Rabbi
Samuel H. Prero.
Dr. Max Kapustin will teach
a course on the beginnings and
Biblical backgrounds of Jewish
history.
"The Philosophy of Judaism"
will be taught by Dr. Kapustin
and Rabbi Hayim Donin will I

teach a philosophy course,
Survey of Judaism."
A course on the prayer-book.
"Our Siddur," will be given by
Rabbi Israel I. Halpern.
A reading course also will be
offered to acquaint the students
with the contents of the prayer-
book, the instructor to be an-
nounced.

Detroit Greeted by
Oldest Congregation

A delayed message, received
by the Detroit Tercentenary
Committee from the oldest Jew-
ish congregation in America, in-
tended for the Tercentenary
Dinner held Oct. 17, reads:
"Congregation Shearith Israel
in New York, observing the Ter-
centenary of its founding and of
300 years of religious and civic
freedom in America, greets the
Detroit Jewish community on
the occasion of the celebration
of the American Jewish Tercen-
tenary. During the past three
centuries, the American Jewish
community has played its part
in our American national life,
nurturing it, nurtured by it, and
enjoying the blessing of our
democratic liberty. May we face
the years to come with strength
drawn from loyalty to our noble
herita e "
The telegram was signed by
Dr. David deSola Pool, Minister,
and Edgar J. Nathan, Jr.. presi-
dent, of Congregation Shearith
Israel.

2—DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Friday, October 29, 1954

Between You and Me

By BORIS SMOLAR

(Copyright,- 1954, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)

Community Trends

About 40,000 Jews are now making a living of "Jewishness w
in the United States . . They are employed in Jewish religious,_
cultural, philanthropic and social institutions and organizations
. . . This is about 10,000 more than the number of civil servants
in Israel, which reached 29,198 this year . . . The Jewish National
Welfare Board claims that there is room for another 40,000
employees in American Jewish communal life . . . There is an
acute shortage of social workers, modern rabbis, teachers and
others whose work requires a good American education coupled
with Jewish knowledge ... The shortage is especially felt in the
Jewish centers, as well as in the new synagogues which keep on
growing throUghout the country . . The existing rabbinical
seminaries and colleges do not provide the number of rabbis
needed, although it cost the community more to train a rabbi in
these institutions than it costs the government to train a cadet
at West Point . , . Of the small number of rabbis graduating yearly
from the Jewish Theological Seminary, or Hebrew Union College,
or Yeshiva University, few are inclined to remain in the rabbinate
. . . A good many of them seek executive positions with Zionist
and other Jewish organizations . . . This despite the fact that the
income of a rabbi in the United States is higher than the income
of spiritual leaders of other religions . . . According to data
published this month by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the
average income of a Protestant Minister is $2,500 a year . . A
young rabbi just graduated from a Jewish theological school gets
a starting salary •of $5,000 a year, in addition to income from
officiating at marriages, bar-mitzvahs and funerals . . . Somewhat
similar is the -situation with Jewish social workerS, since Jewish
organizations usually pay higher salaries than non-Jewish groups
because they need people with a good Jewish background, which
is not so easy to find . The poorest paid employee in American
Jewish communal life is the teacher . . . This explains why
practically no one in the teaching profession wants to enter the
Jewish field •' . There are today several thousand graduate
Jewish teachers in the New York public school system . . They
prefer to work for the city rather than for Jewish educational
institutions ... Nevertheless, the fact that 40,000 Jews are engaged
professionally in Jewish communal activities and that 40,000 more
are needed, illustrates best the tempo of Jewish life in this country
• • . It certainly dispells the fear that Judaism in America may
be swallowed -up by assimilation • . . A corps of 80,000 Jews earning
their livelihood from Jewish communal work is the best guarantee
that Judaism in America feces no danger of evaporation.

Inside Israel

Israel is determined to attract more tourists from the United
States . . . Although statistics on expenditures by tourists in Israel
have not yet been compiled for this summer season, it has been
established that tourism has made a relatively small contribution
to the country's economy . • . Altogether tourists spent $800,000
on hotel accommodations during the months of April-June, the
peak of the tourist season . . . The 10 first-class hotels in Israel
were occupied only to 46 percent of their capacity in April, which
is the leading tourist month . .. During the same month, the 41
second-class hotels were occupied only to the extent of 33 percent
of their capacity . . . In May and June these figures were even
lower . . . This despite the fact that the price of a room and board
at the highest class hotel ranged from $6 to $14 a day, in the
second class about $5 per day and in the third class less than $4
• . . The slow tourist season came as an added disappointment to
the already sOrefully tried hotel owners •. . . Despite the abolition*
of controls on hotel rentals, the hotels did not raise their prices.
• • • When controls were removed the hotel owners nreed not to
raise prices unless compelled to do so by a sharp rise in costs • • .
This agreement was prompted by a desire to • stimulate and
encourage tourism . . . Now that it is evident . that tourism wau
not attracted by these measures, some hotel owners -. have even
notice of their intention to raise prices.

