Purely Commentary Committee Formed Were to Assure Northwest
Quarters for Detroit Chapter of Hadassah
By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
The Fright of the Russian Jews
Haim Shurer, in an article in the Davar of Tel Aviv, describing
his recent visit in Russia, made some interesting revelations.
it is evident that Jews tl.ere are frightened. The very men-
tion of the word Israel or Zionism scares them away from the
messenger from both.
He relates several interesting stories. He had met "three men
with definite •Sernitic features" and asked .them to be directed to a
synagogue. It 'surprise, they asked him, "Why,- do you have to
say Kaddish?": When he replied, "No, but I'm from Israel and I'd
like to visit a synagogue," one of the men started to get away,
pulling another with him, and "only the third paused long enough
to tell me how to get there."
• Another incident: In the Moscow "Metro" he struck up a
Conversation with a -woman "with a Jewish face" whom he told he
was from abroad. " 'Where are you from?' she asked. 'Israel,' I
answered. She looked around her as soon as I had said that and
made a quick get-away."
Jews, apparently, are not the only ones who are frightened.
Shurer tells about a non-Jewish woman who evidenced an inter-
est in his visit: "When she suggested that we get together to talk
about it the next day, I asked whether, as a Party member, she
could make a date with a foreigner. Surprised and angry, she
affirmed th1 4 she would come. She did not."
Shurer's article also relates the following incidents that are
most revealing about Russia and her Jews:
"At a hotel in yet rtnother city a Jewish youth asked me
whether I really meant it that I came from Israel. A few min-
utes later he invited me to lunch with him. 'And you are not
afraid of inviting me to your house?' I asked, the wiser by my
earlier experiences. He jumped in anger. 'Why? What is there
to be afraid of? I am a Party member, and I do not see why I
should be forbidden to talk to you!" Then he excused himself,
saying that he'd be back In half an hour to take me to his home.
He did not come.
"And somewhere else I had a short conversation with my
neighbor at a restaurant table. 'Come over to my shop tomor-
row,' he said, don't see why yoil. shouldn't.' When I got there,
a woman came forward to meet me. The man was sick, she
told me . . .
"But as I passed a market where kolkhoz farmers sell the
produce from their private plots one late afternoon, all of a
sudden I heard the snatches of a conversation in Yiddish, and,
unable to repress my curiosity, I came closer. There were five
young Jewish cart-drivers, sitting in their Wagons and standing
about them. They were young and strong, and they reminded
me of Zalman Schneur's Noah, Pandre.
" 'Where are you from, Yidden?'
" 'From here. And you?'
'4 'From Eretz Yisrael.'
"They laughed. They thought that I was joking. Then they
surrounded me and started asking me how many Jews there
were 'over there,' how they lived 'over there,' what the situation
was between us and the Arabs, and so forth.
"I replied briefly, and they were Surprised to hear that I had
been 'over there' for over 40 years. And they found it difficult
to believe that I had simply asked to visit Russia as a journalist,
and been granted permission.
"All of a sudden they started to whisper among themselves,
and. I told myself 'There it goes. They've remembered that it is
dangerous to: Carry on this conversation in public.' Aloud, I asked
What was gOing on.
"'Come over and have a drink with us,' said one Of them.
"It was an out-and-out surprise. It never occurred to me
that in the _market place of a Soviet town - Jewish cart-drivers
would want to invite me to a glass of wine. I Made no secret of
my second thoughts about the wisdom of this genial offer, They
had some too, but stood their ground.
t 'And where do you want to go to drink?'
" `Not a long way from here. Two streets down, at a Jewish
: stand.
"One of them went before 'me, the rest put their carts in
order and came along too.
"They filled large glasses with red wine and each took up a
-
piece of brinzza cheese. We drank `Lehaim.'
" `Come over, Moishe,' they called out to the owner. 'It's a
Jew from Eretz israel. Have a drink too!'
"He had a drink too.
"I looked at those friendly, healthy lads. They did not talk
much, they did not ask many questions, they told no stories and
they did not complain. They were simply expressing their
brotherhood in an invitation to have a glass, of wine and cheese
with them.
"It was getting dark. I said goodbye and each of them shook
my hand. There was sadness in their eyes, and one of them
said longingly:
"You couldn't take me along inside your trunk, could you'?"
A committee of Detroit lay-
men was mobilized here last
week to assure the completion
and remodeling of the building
acquired on Seven Mile Road at
Murray Hill, to serve as head-
quarters for Detroit Chapter of
Hadassah.
Heading the committee are
Israel Davidson, Frank Wets-
man, Bert Smokier and Theo-
dore Bargman.
Domestic Problems
Dr. Abraham J. Feldman, rab-
bi of Temple Beth Israel,
Hartford, Conn., was elected
president of the Synagogue
Council of America, at a na-
tional plenary
meeting in New
York. Orthodox,
Conservative
and Reform
American -con-
gregations are
represented i n
the Council.
Rabbis Theodore
L. Adams, New
York, and Max
D. Davidson,
Dr. Feldman Perth Amboy,
N.J.; were elected vice-presi-
dents; Rabbi Jesse Cohen,
Uniondale, N.Y., treasurer; Rab-
bis Joseph Schlang and Marvin
Berger, secretaries, and Marc H.
Tannenbaum, executive direc-
tor.
Central Senior Wins
$4,000 Scholarship
Jerry Kazdan, Central. High
School senior, has been awarded
the $4,000 Alumni Scholarship
to Rensselaer Polytechnic Insti-
tute, at Troy, N.Y., it was an-
nounced this week by Bertha M.
Robinson, school principal.
The scholarship, Centrars top
award, is the largest to be grant-
ed by the Institute, and covers
full tuition for four years of
study. Mr. Kazdan will major in
physics.
Mr. Kazdan and his twin sis-
ter, Rita, will both graduate
with honors from Cental this
month. Both seniors have earn-
ed Phi Beta Kappa awards.
2 — DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
,
k
t4.1
'.'t
::
t
undertaking.
-
The dramatic shift of the Jewish population in recent years,
Rabbi Feldman Elected
Synagogue Council Head particularly since the close of World War II, is being evaluated
'
*
Architect's Sketch of
Proposed Hadassah Building
Between You and Me
The Canadian Jewish Standard carries this news item under
the heading "Yevsektzia Spirit Still Lives On":
"The spirit of the Yevsektzia still lives on • years after its
liquidation. (The Yevsektzia was the 'Jewish' section of the Bol-
shevik party whose assignment in the early years of the Russian-
Revolution was to eradicate all elements of religion and tradition
from Jewish -life). In a Yiddish-language broadcast from Radio
Warsaw on the occasion of the 12th anniversary of the Ghetto
revolt, the speaker, Yitzchok Gordon, laid the blame for World
War II on the 'obscurantists, cosmopolitans, Bundists, the Zionists,
lackeys of imperialism who wouldn't listen to Moscow's warnings.'
Yitzchok Gordon was a Communist in pre-war Poland escaping
to the USSR in 1939. Despite his record he was arrested as a 'Polish
spy,' his wife was executed, and he was sentenced to ten years
imprisOnment. After the war he was released and returned to
`People's Poland' to resume his political career as a Communist."
Thus—an echo from the days when Jews persecuted Jews.
But the bigots who began as henchmen of the Bolshevik$ still
hold on to the stupid view. that Jews were responsible. for the war:
Jews caused a War Which. culminated in the death of six million
of their kinsmen! How stupid can people be? Cairo would wel-
conn ,Yitzchoit,Gorision as ally .gainst Israel. , What's he
,
Pointing out that additional
sponsors are being invited to
join in the realization of this
project. Mr. Davidson said that
the gifts towards the Hadassah
Building fund are intended as
extra contributions, in no sense
to affect the normal fund-raising
processes of Hadassah.
"Hadassah needs quarters for
larger meetings, for gatherings
of committees, for study groups,
and it is our feeling that by
providing the movement with
this building in the area that
counts the largest percentage. of
Detroit's Jewish population we
are rendering a real service to
our community's educational
programs as well as to the effort_
to assist in Israel's upbuilding,"
Mr. Davidson said.
The provisional committee for
the completion ofthe Hadassah
building has expressed the hope
that a group of additional men,
who are interested in Israel and
in Hadassah, will join with it in
assuring the success of their
Viscount Herbert Samuel has
given up leadership of the
Liberal party in the British
By BORIS SMOLAR
House of Lords ; after holding
•
(Copyright, 1955, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)
this position for 14 years.
The
American
Scene
It was announced in London
Increased anti-Israel propaganda in this country, which is
th at Lord Sam-
uel, who is a making itself felt in various parts of the land, is provoking seri-
noted statesman ous concern among Jewish community leaders who are not even
and philosopher, Zionists . • . This is because anti-Israel propaganda is utilized by
▪as decided, at some propagandists for attacks against American Jewry ... The
die age of .84, to NatiOnal Community Relations Advisory Council has placed the
levote • himself question -of anti-Israel propaganda at the head of the agenda at
Wore. to writing, its annual conference which opens today in Atlantic City _
).ut he will still Jewish leaders from various parts of the country will report to
uttend . occa- the conference on the experiences in their communities with Arab
sional House of and other anti-Israel lecturers and propagandists . . . They will
report on the impact of anti-Israel propaganda upon the non.,
7 ,ords meetings.
The New York Jewish population and the Jewish community in their respective
✓imes' London cities .. . The delegates will then discuss measures to counter or
correspondent offset this - propaganda.
Lord Samuel says of him, in
There is a good deal of resentment_ among Jewish leaders
his report of Viscount Samuel's against the Foreign Policy Association and Town Hall for import-
relinquishment of Liberal Party ing to this country a number of Arab leaders for "lectures" . . .
leadership: "His opinions are Some of these Arab "lecturers" have gone out of their way to .add
widely respected in the nation. fuel to the fire of intensified anti-Israel propaganda in.this coun-
His personal authority out- try . . . They spoke not only before students and. teachers in
weighs the numerical weakness American universities, but also before men's. and women's clubs
of the Liberal party, which he and at press conferences . . In Toledo, the Jewish Community
first represented. in the . - House Council had to make a public protest against an editorial in a
of .Commons in 1902. He has held local daily newspaper as a result of statements by the visiting
several important. cabinet of- Arabs . . . Under the sponsorship of the Foreign Policy Associa-
fices.. He was Britain's first high tion and. Town Hall, the visiting Arabs also appeared at public
commissioner
for
Palestine forums in Detroit, St. Paul, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Kansas
from 1920 to 1925. He became City and other cities.
a peer in 1937."
Yitzchok Gordon Keeps Yevsektzia's Spirit Alive
4 Orr
Davidson
-
Samuel Quits Liberal
Party's Leadership
know, he is not the only one.
!'i( 1•
Mr.
"This :building, when com-
pleted, remodeled and fur-
nished, will be the gift of a
group of m e n in our com-
munity, who knovii and under-
stand the merits of Hadassah,
to this great women's Zionist .
And so—there was a redeeming feature in the affirmation of
the belief that freedoms are taboo in Russia. Our visitor did - find
some Jews who dared make a "Lehaim" with him. And we learn
from his report a very important fact: At least one Jew wanted
to be taken along to Israel "inside your trunk." Knowing what we
in.Y14:P4401
• • • A
organization,"
Friday, June 114 1955
44 4 4
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4,
• -
by affected Jewish communities . The ..population movement
has brought about marked neighborhood ,changes . . In some
cases, Jews have moved in greater or: lesser numbers into com-
munities that have long_ been exclusively or predominantly . non-
Jewish . . . In other cases they have created new communities,
virtually exclusively Jewish in composition . . . The Jewish flight
to - suburbia is being studied in Cleveland, Boston, Buffalo :and
Philadelphia . . . The purpose of these.studies is to establish What
are the relations between the Jews remaining in the urban areas
and the non-Jews who acquire the homes of Jews moving to the
suburbs . .. How much hOstility or welcome do new Jewish f•mi-
lits encounter - when they move to the suburbs? . . What prospect
is . there for smooth and wholesome integration for the Jewish
unit in the new environment? ... What about relations- with the
schools? . . . How does it affect the existence of Jewish institu-
tions in the urban areas? . What happens to Jewish communal
buildings when the Jews move out of the area? . . . The results of
these studies will be presented to the National Community Rela-
tions ,Advisory Council assembly for wider discussion in an at-
tempt to find the proper approaches for adjustment of inter-
group and inter-personal relationships that arise from the move-
ment to the suburbs.
Eyes on Israel
CJFWF estimates that there are no less than 760 social wel-
fare institutions in Israel maintained by donations from local and
foreign sources .. . Of these, about 670 receive grants from the
Israel Ministry of Social Welfare . . . With regard to social wel-
fare services in the Maabarot, the immigrant transit camps,
CJFWF says that effective coordination between the operating
agencies is needed. . . . It quotes a study of youth services in the
camps by the Henrietta Szold Foundation to the effect that as
many as 20 to 30 different agencies, governmental and non-goV-
ernmental, operate in a single Maabara . . Analyzing the work
of health agencies in Israel, CJFWF reveals that there are about
2,000 salaried physicians in Israel . . . Some 1,400 of them are
employed in Kupat Holim, the medical insurance organization of
Histadrut which provides a comprehensive medical service to its
own membership and dependents, a total of 975,000 persons
About 300 physicians are employed by the Ministry of Health,
which maintains 14 district health offices . . . The remainder are
employed by Malben, Hadassah, OSE, Red Mogen David and vari-
ous hospitals supported in part by philanthropic contribution&
Interesting data is given by CJFWF on education in Israel
. . . While 232,205 children are registered in elenientary schools,
only 32,000 attend secondary schools of all types, including 22,000
in academic institutions and about 10,000 in vocational and agri-
cultural schools . . . The principal reason for this lOw percentage
is high tuition fees . „ Most high schools are private institutions
financed by fees which. run about 200.. Israel pounds a year . • .
Vocational schools are maintained by OR T; Histadrut, Hadassah,
WIZO, Ministry of Labor and others . . Tuition there is lower
to make, ArlIffi-
than, in the high schools, but still
_
cult for loF income groups; °
•