Purely Commentary
By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
Col. Hoskins' New Role—Weizmann's Impressions of Him
`Greatest Citizen Detroit Will Ever See'
Thus Community Evaluates Services of Fred M. Butzel,
Acclaimed 'Historic Citizen of the Month' at Museum
On March 8, Secretary of State John Foster Dulles adminis-
(Photo on Page 1)
tered the oath of office to Harold B. Hoskins who has been named
director of the U. S. Foreign Service Institute, to be in charge of
William Norton, for many
training State Department employees and foreign service per- years a close associate of the
sonnel. Mr. Hoskins, who is president of the board of the Ameri- late Fred M. Butzel in numerous
can University of Beirut, whence come the most rabid anti- local communal affairs, Monday
Zionist and anti-Israeli American officials, recently a consultant night paid his departed friend
to the Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, is a great tribute by asserting that
known as one of the outspoken supporters of the Arabs' position he. was "one of t h e greatest
in the Middle East. He was a member of the executive committee citizens Detroit will ever see."
of the anti-Zionist "Holyland Emergency Liaison Program" which This sentiment echoed the feel-
was denounced by Governor Christian Herter of Massachusetts ings of the entire group that
as a group with "political objectives" to harm the welfare of Israel. gathered in the Hall of Citizen-
Harold B. Hoskins undoubtedly is the same Colonel Hoskins ship of the Detroit Historical
who was referred to by the late Senator Arthur H. Vandenberg as Museum to mark the inaugura-
a very authoritative person on Near Eastern affairs. The late tion of the Butzel. Month dur-
Senator quoted Col. Hoskins' views to your Commentator on several ing which the late leader is
occasions in proof of the difficulty of the Zionist position. This being honored as the Historic
Commentator had no comeback, other than the knowledge, from Citizen of the Month.
well-informed sources, that the U. S. State Department official
Mr. Norton described the en-
was unfriendly to the Zionist cause, until the appearance of Dr. thusiasm with which Mr. But-
Chaim Weizmann's autobiography, "Trial and Eror," in 1949. This zel espoused unpopular causes.
Commentator quoted the following from "Trial and Error" (pages He compared the late Jewish
432-3) and submitted it to Senator Vandenberg:
leader to Miss Jane Addams as
"In America I met a Colonel Hoskins, of the Eastern Di- an early endorser of the Juve-
vision of the State Department, whom I understood to be the nile Court movement.
President's personal representative in the Middle East. Colonel
"Butzel always was the ad-
Hoskins was not friendly to our cause: on the other hand, he
vocate of some good cause,
was not as hostile as his colleagues of the Eastern Division;
of better building codes, pub-
in fact he was, by comparison, rather reasonable. In his opinion,
lic recreational systems, work-
something could be done in Palestine if the Jews would, as he
men's compensation and other
called it, 'moderate their -demands.' He spoke of bringing half
ideas," Mr. Norton said. "With
a million Jevis into Palestine. in the course of the next twenty,
Tracy McGregor and James
years, quite a 'concession' for one who was opposed to Zionism.
Couzens he was very vocal
"Colonel Hoskins left for the Middle East, and when I saw
in getting t h e Community
him on his return his tone was very•different. He said he visited
Chest to retain an item in
Ibn Saud, who had spoken of me in the angriest and most con-
its budget to support efforts
temptuous manner, asserting that I had tried to bribe him
for child labor legislation."
with twenty million pounds to sell out Palestine to the Jews.
Robert E. Palmer, Curator of
I was quite staggered by this interpretation put on a proposal Metropolitan Services • at the
I had never made, but a form of which had in fact been made Museum, presided at the pro-
to me by Ibn Saud's representative—St. John Philby. Mr. Hos-
gram and outlined the reasons
kins reported further that Ibn Saud would never again permit for the selection of Mr. Butzel
Mr. Philby to cross the frontiers of his kingdom. Some time
for this month's honors. "We
later I told St. John Philby of Colonel Hoskins' report. Philby honor ourselves with this se
dismissed it as 'bloody nonsense.' The truth was that the rela-
lection," he declared, after des-
tions between Philby and'Ibn Saud had never been better, and . cribing Mr. Butzel's unique
these relations, I might add, remain unchanged as I write this.
place in Michigan history.
What was one, what is one, to make of all this? Did Ibn
Samuel H. Rubiner, president
Saud deliberately misrepresent his position to Hoskins? Or had
of the Jewish Welfare Federa-
he said something which could be interpreted as 'a complete
reversal of his previous position? And to whom else besides my-
self did Hoskins give this account of the conversation with Ibn S. Haber to Address
Saud? And what effect did it have in the State Department?
2 Campaign Events
How was one to get at the truth—if there was a truth?
"Nothing came of the 'plan,' as we know today: what pros-
Two important Allied Jewish
pect of realization it at one time had it is hard to say."
• Campaign functions will hear
Senator Vandenberg expressed appreciation for the informa- an outstanding figure in the
tion offered him .3 Perhaps the Weizmann expose came just a few field of refugee welfare and re 7
years too.late, else Senator Vandenberg's efforts in Israel's behalf habilitation—Samuel Haber, di-
might have been warmer. We had hoped that he might be a rector of the
modern Cyrus'. But the Cyrus mantle was instead inherited, with- Joint Distribu-
out challenge, by Harry S. Truman.
tion Commit-
Colonel Hoskins' -influence in: the State Department . does not tee's life-saving
offer the serious note it did a decade ago. But it may continue welfare pro-
to contribute to a tense situation. That is why it is so vital that all gram in Moroc-
the facts be known about the men who share in moulding world co.
opinion.
The food serv- 1
ice council will
be addressed by
Deserved Honors for Judge Patrick H. O'Brien
Haber at
A grateful community this week honored Judge Patrick H. Mr.
their fifth an
O'Brien at a dinner, on his 87th birthday. It was a deserved nual
dinner at
tribute to a man who has opposed all manifestations of bigotry, t h e Sheraton-
who is a democrat in the true sense of the word, whose liberal Cadillac, M o n-
thinking is in support of all efforts to assure the perpetuation of day, March 28,
Haber
human values in American life.
5:30 p.m. He will be guest speak-
We recall with appreciation the, part Judge O'Brien played, er at the apparel trades dinner
in 1931, in the battle against the proposed Michigan Alien of the mercantile division, at
Registration When Theodore Levin (now one of the U. S. 6 p.m., Tuesday March 29, at
Federal District Court Judges) commenced the legal battle against the Statler Hotel.
that bill, challenging its constitutionality, Pat O'Brien was among
Haber has observed at first-
the first to come forward with offers to help defeat it through hand the critical changes in
the Federal courts. They won that battle, Michigan legislators the lives and outlook of the
having attempted, with Governor Brucker's approval, to pass Jews in Morocco and adjacent
laws that were strictly within Federal jurisdiction.
areas. He has visited Israel and
It is true that today a law like the one proposed in our state speaks with intimate knowledge
in 1931 is a small matter compared with the dangers inherent in of the Jewish State's achieve-
the McCarran-Walter Immigration Act. But 24 years ago an ments and problems. He was
effort was made in this state to introduce legislation that would JDC Country Director • for the
have made living here a nightmare for aliens. And Pat O'Brien American Zone of • Germany
came forth to oppose such steps in an inhuman direction. from 1947 until he came to Mo-
rocco.
Therefore we honor him for his sense of fairness.
* * *
Dr. ,Greenstone's interesting Literary Career
.
. The death of Dr. Julius Hillel Greenstone, distinguished
Philadelphia author and rabbi, occurred only a few days • before
the publication by the Macmillan Co. of Dr. Joseph. Klausner's
"The Messianic Idea in Israel." In the 'atter, now available in an
English translation from Hebrew by the noted Christian scholar,
Dr. W. F. Stinespring, Prof. Klausner wrote, in his introdUction
to his book which first appeared in Warsaw, that "the book of
Greenstone is too brief and summarizing."
•
The fact remains, however, that Dr. Greenstone was among
the pioneers who devoted themselves to the Messiah topic, in his
scholarly work, "The Messiah. Idea in Jewish History," which was
published in Philadelphia in 1906.
. At the age. of 82, Dr. Greenstone, at the time of his death,
had to his credit many notable works. His last published book,
."Jewish Feasts and. Fasts," appeared in 1944. His "The Religion of
Israel" appeared in 1902. He was the author of "Methods of
Teaching the Jewish Religion, 1915, and several Commentaries on
the Books of Numbers and Proverbs.
Ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary, he received his
Doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania and for many
years was a member of the faculty of Gratz College.: He will be
remembered as an able religious teacher and author. • '
2—DETROIT JEV4I.S1-t-_NEWS
'Friday, March 18, 1955
Bar4lan to Honor
Dr. Alvin C. Eurich
Dr. Alvin C. Eurich, vice-
president of the Fund for the
Advancement of Education, will
receive an award fot outstand-
ing service to higher education
at a lunch forum, Match 23,
sponsored by the American
Academic Advisory Council for
Bar-Ilan University M. Israel,
at the Savoy-Plaza Rotel, New
York.
Participants will include Miss
Fannie Hurst, novelist; Dr.
Kenneth Holland, president,
Institute of International Edu-
cation; Dr. Jacob I. Hartstein,
dean, Graduate School of Long.
Island University, and Dr. Pink-
hos Churgin, who is retiring as
clean of the Teachers Institute
of Yeshiva University of New
York to• become president of
Bar-Dan University.
tion, describing Mr. Butzel's
contributions to the Jewish
community, said "he belonged to
the rare spirits who enriched
our community with his great
abilities. He was more than a
man: he was a community by
himself, a one-man institution."
Mr. Rubiner utilized the oc-
casion to present an engrav-
ed citation from the Federa-
tion to Henry D. Brown,
director of the Museum, in
appreciation of the civic merit
of the Museum's sponsorship
of the exhibition "Jewish Life
and Culture in Detroit" as an
outstanding event of the
American Jewish Tercentenary
celebration.
W. Calvin Patterson, presi-
dent of United Community
Services, speaking of Mr. But-
zel's contributions to communi-
ty welfare in Detroit, told of
the inspiration left by Mr. But-
zel and declared that "he or-
ganized, he counseled, he sup-
ported, he served—and he did
all his good deeds humbly. For
30 years he served on the board
of the Urban League and as
John Dancy said, he was in-
terested in all humanity and,
not only in segments of it. He
was active in the Ford Republic,
Parkside Hospital and other
movements and he was a pion-
eer in human rehabilitation. He
helped establish the Community
Fund. He was a man of great
vision, of great capacity, of
great generosity."
George W. Stark, Detroit
historiographer, reminisced
about Butzel, the man who sup-
ported causes far-too-numerous-
to-mention. He saluted "this
dean of Michigan Jewry as a
Volksmensch—as a man of the
people." He asked Mr. Butzel's
brother, Michigan Supreme
Court Justice Henry M. Butzel,
and John Dancy of the Urban
League to take bows, and in-
troduced the concluding speak-
ers, Mr. Norton and Judge
Theodore Levin.
Judge Levin, reminiscing,
told of Mr. Butzel's deep interest
in immigrants, of his aid to
hundreds of newcomers to this
country, of his assistance to
youth.
Members or the Fred Butzel
Chapter of AZA acted as ushers.
Refresments were served by the
Detroit Historical Society. and
hostesses were Mesdames Harry
L. Jackson and John Hopp.
Between You and Me
By BORIS SMOLAR
(Copyright, 1955, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)
Washington Affairs
The "double talk" policy which the State Department has
adopted with regard to Israel is giving American Jewish leaders
some food for thought . . . This system of talking through both
sides of the mouth has found its expression when high officials
of the State Department have appeared before the conference
of Jewish organizations in Washington . . . While ASsistant
Secretary of State George Allen stated that the State Department
is now re-examining its attitude toward Israel, indicating that
improvements are to be expected, Deputy Assistant Secretary
John D. Jernegan said quite startling things against Israel . .
Jewish leaders are now inclined to take Jernegan's word as
reflecting the policy of the State Department, and not the
assurances of Mr. Allen, his superior officer . . . The near
future will show whether the ugly mood. which the Gaza affair
precipitated in Washington will affect th-eir intentions . . . Eyes
are therefore directed now toward Secretary of State John Foster
Dulles . . It is he who owes an answer to the presidents of 15
Jewish organizations who visited him some time ago with regard
to issues concerning Israel . . • There is ground to believe that the
negative reaction which the Gaza incident provoked in Washing-
ton is only of a temporary nature . . . However, such developments
make the difficult task of Ambassador Abba Eban in Washington
even more difficult.
Communal Affairs
A code of fund-raising practices, approved by the Council of
Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds, is considered a self-
policing measure to assure high standards among the community
councils, federations, welfare funds, and national and overseas
agencies . . . It provides that the direction of the organization
or agency shall be in the hands of a voluntary board, serving
without- compensation . . Fund-raising promotion should be
conducted in an ethical manner with budget control and annual
audits . . . Fund-raising techniques should similarly be conducted
in an ethical manner and should exclude doubtful methods < .
No unordered tickets or other merchandise should be sent by any
organization or welfare agency through the mail . • . No fund-
raising should be conducted on a commission basis . . No
"boiler room" operations, where solicitors phone the "general"
public for contributions, should be carried out . . . Financial
affairs of the agency should be handled in an efficient manner
with budget control and annual audits . . . Honest reporting of
fund-raising . costs; and periodic distribution of such reports to
contributors and the public should be effected . . . The Council
of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds also endorsed a bill to
increase from 5 to 10 percent the amount which corporations may
deduct from their income taxes for charitable purposes .
The CJFWF has asked member organizations to support the bill
and urge Congress to act favorably on it . . . The bill was intro-
duced in Congress by Rep. John W. McCormack, House majority
leader.
Israel Affairs
An American tourist company is now conducting negotiations
with the Nordau Plaza Hotel in Tel Aviv for the leasing of the
hotel . . • The American company is ready to invest more than
$500,000 which will be used for the purpose of completing the
building of the hotel in exchange for a three-year lease . .
A total of $1,200,000 has so far been invested in the building of
the hotel . . • The Israel. Ministry of Transportation is to import
60 automobiles of the DeSoto type in order to renovate Israel's
fleet of taxis .. . The vehicles to be imported will be used cars,
mainly 1952 models, which will be purchased in the United States
at low prices . . . They will be distributed among drivers whose
taxis have become obsolete . . .- American long-playing records
may now be imported by Israeli firms for payment in Israel
currency ... Arrangements have just, been completed under which
classical and semi-classical recorded m'isic performed by Ameri-
can artists, or written by American composers, will be included
within the Information Media Guarantee Program of the U. S.
Information Agency . . . This program was originally confined to
books, periodicals and educational aids • . . It was initiated in
1951 as a means of making these materials available to the Israel,
public, without depleting Israel's foreign currency exchangt
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