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, National Editorial
Association.
Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publishing Co., 17100 West Seven Mile Road, Detroit 35, Mich.,
VE. 8-9364. Subscription $5 a year. Foreign $6.
Entered as second class \ matter Aug. 6, 1942, at Post Office, Detroit, Mich., under Act of March 3, 1879

PHILIP SLOMOVITZ

SIDNEY SHMARAK

FRANK SIMONS

Editor and Publisher

Advertising Manager

City Editor

Sabbath Scriptural Selections
This Sabbath, the sixth day of Adar, 5716, the fallowing Scriptural selections will be
read in our synagogues:
Pentateuchal portion, Ex. 25:1-27:19 . Prophetical portion, I Kings 5:26-6:13.
Fast of Esther, occurring on the Sabbath, Feb. 25, will be observed Feb. 23.

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Licht Benshen, Friday, Feb. 17, 5:49 p.m.

VOL. XXVIII. No. 24

Page Four

February 17, 1956

Brotherhood--Practice versus Theory

We are inaugurating another annual ob-
servance of Brotherhood Week. Men of
all faiths will, during the coming week,
preach good will and advance the idea of
brothdrhood among all elements in our
population.
Many interesting statements already
have been made in support of this signifi-
cant undertaking by the National Confer-
ence of Christians and Jews, whose local
arm is the Detroit Round Table. We are
especially impressed by the analysis . of
our obligations as Americans by the Nobel
Prize winner, Dr. Ralph Bunche, who eval-
uates brotherhood in the democratic
framework of our society as follows:

There is widespread knowledge in the
world of the imperfections of American
democracy, of the anti-democratic racial
and religious attitudes which weaken our
unity and sap our strength. We know that
there are these imperfections. We talk about
them; we face them frankly. Indeed it is
a part of our strength that, in the demo-
cratic framework of o-ur society, we are
entitled to point to our shortcomings. Yet
it is unfortunate that they are there. Our
enemies, of course, exaggerate; we couldn't
expect them to do otherwise. But to our
friends, and our friends are many, these
imperfections are puzzling.
It seems to me that our answer must
be, and it is the only answer there is in
a democratic society, to exert every possible
effort to eliminate un-democratic practices
and un-democratic attitudes, to do all that
we can to close the gap between our
.professions of democracy and our practice
of it.
This is the only way that we can achieve
our maximum national strength and unity
discharge our international
and fully
responsibilities. In these critical times, this
we must do. We cannot afford to do less.

Have Faith!

In his reply to the Congressmen who
addressed -an appeal to him for arms aid
to Israel in the latter's defensive needs in
the Middle East, Secretary of State John
Foster Dulles replied that "the foreign
policy of the United States embraces the
preservation of the State of Israel."
This is an encouraging statement. It
reaffirms an established policy and it
offers comfort to an embattled people.
Meanwhile Israel's kinsmen must con-
tinue to provide the solace and consolation
that is necessary in difficult times.
There are specific ways in-which Amer..
ican Jews can encourage the Israelis in
their struggle for survival. One of them
is by means of investments — through
Israel Bond purchases and other similar
avenues. The other is through philan-
thropy, by giving generously to the United
Jewish Appeal, the major beneficiary of
the Detroit Allied Jewish Campaign.

There are other ways of helping, and
perhaps the major one is through tour-
ism. By making Israel their vacation
and study center, by going to Israel and
thereby indicating to the Israelis that
we have faith in the ultimate just solu-
tion of the Middle East's problem,
American Jews can be very vital factors
in lifting the morale of a people that
now finds itself under attack from many
quarters.

These means of helping Israel should
be listed in a category of faith — faith in
Israel's ability to survive all obstacles,
faith in the superiority of ,fair play and
international decency over injustice, faith
in the ultimate triumph of peaceful pur-
suits.
Have faith, and continue to strive for
justice for a people beset by many prob-
lems and dangers. With such faith, we
raise our own morale while offering aid
to kinsmen in a time of tribulation.

The National Conference of Christians
and Jews has compiled a set of utterances
on brotherhood that should be studied by
all who aspire to see Americans of all
faiths live together and work together in
harmony. Here are some of them:

Has not God borne with you these many
years? Be ye tolerant to others.—Hosea
Ballou
The great secret is not having bad
manners or good manners or any other
particular sort of manners, but having the
same manners for all human souls.—George
Bernard Shaw
We have committed the golden rule to
memory; let us now commit it to lit e.—
Edwin Markham
From where I'm sitting tolerance is just
a big word for peace. War can't get going
where there's a sympathetic understanding
of nation for nation, man for man, and
creed for creed.—Bing Crosby
All your strength is in your union
All your danger in discord;
Therefore be at peace henceforward
And as brothers live together.
—Henry,. , Wadsworth Longfellow
To one in whom love dwells, all the
world are brothers.—Buddhist text
The brotherhood of man is not a dream:
it is a fact. And if mankind is to survive
as a species, this fact must be recognized.
This curious point where biology and
religion meet must be our new point of
departure, the only basis for a brave new
world—its alternative being war and chaos.
—Stuart Cloete
Man was created . alone, for the sake
of peace among men, that one might not
say to . -his fellow: "My father was greater
than thine."—Mishnah, Sanhedrin, iv. 37
Prejudice is not held against people
because they have evil qualities. Evil
qualities are imputed to people because
prejudices are held against them.—Marshall
Wingfield
I shall pass through this world but once.
Any good, therefore, that I can do
Or any kindness that I can show
To any human being
Let me do it now. Let me
Not defer it or neglect it for
I shall not pass this way again.
—A Quaker Prayer

In a sense, these may be can the
"theories" of our Brotherhood philoso-
phies. If there is to be true Brotherhood,
they must be put into practice. We have
just quoted the expressions of peoples
from all climes, all races, all faiths. There
is agreement on the basic need for "peace
among men." During Brotherhood Week,
we call them to the attention of all Ameri-
cans. During the entire year, let us put
them into practice, so that Brotherhood
may be more than the symbol of a single
week but a reality for every day in our
lives.

Words to Remember

In a letter to the Detroit Free Press;
Dr. Alvin Johnson, president emeritus of
the New School for Social Research, and
Dean Ernest 0. Melby of the New York
University School of Education, called at-
tention, in connection with the rumor that
Israel yield territory to her neighbors, to
this statement in Secretary of State John
Foster Dulles' book "War or Peace."
"Strong nations which want peace can-
not buy it by throwing pieces of weaker
nations into the jaws of ambitious despots.
That only makes them more rapacious."
The New York educators also remind
Secretary Dulles of this statement made,
Oct. 24, 1952, by President Eisenhower, in
a speech in Detroit: "To vacillate,• to hesi-
tate — to appease even by merely betray-
ing unsteady purpose — is to feed a
dictator's appetite for conquest and to
invite war itself."
Enough said?

Most Exciting and Revealing Book

Kimches' 'Secret Roads'

Jon and David Kimche's "The Secret Roads," published by
Farrar, Straus & Cudahy (101 5th, NY 3) is without challenge
the most exciting and most revealing book published in more
than a year. For the first time, it tells the complete story of the
struggle to rescue Jews who were shut into concentration 'camps,
countries without exit and areas under blockade, for settlement
in Palestine It is the story of a fight conducted by a handful
of people against the powerful British Empire. It is the tale of
a modern David defeating a Goliath in a struggle to save lives.
Those who speak of the Israeli victory over the overwhelm-
ing numbers of Arabs have equal right to refer to the triumph
of a few helpless people against Great Britatin. It was Britain
that set up a blockade against the illegal ships. The courageous
young Jews, who did not hesitate to use any means at their dis-
posal, returned the compliment by branding Britain's acts
"illegal," and they conquered an empire.
"An eternity of conspiracy and danger" is incorporated in
this volume. The Jewish heroes in this battle emerge as a re-
markable lot. They _represented the Mossad Le Aliyah Bet, the
Committee for Illegal Immigration, and they risked their own
lives to accomplish their purpose. They were compelled to deal
with Nazi murderers, and the head of the "Nazi Jewish Section,"
Capt. Carl Arolf Eichmann, at the outset was cooperative and
then became obstructive, making the task of moving immigrants,
from Poland, Romania, Hungary, by way of Italy, and whatever
avenues cduld be forced open, very difficult. But nothing was
permitted to stand in the way of the ZioniSt emissaries. Lives
had to be rescued, and work proceeded, building up a record
that makes "The Secret Roads" a very great historical docu-
ment. The history of Israel is incomplete without the story of
the illegal ship movements.

As the escape movement took shape, at the end of the war,
"a spirit of adventure, dare-deviltry and excitement pervaded

the whole organization. It spread to the refugee camps until
every Jew, every Jewish DP, every Jewish soldier on duty
on the Continent came to feel that he was part of a thrilling
battle againxt odds. Morale rose. You could never tell what
would happen next. An air of expectancy and of imminent
liberation filled the camps. The feeling of being a David
matched in a battle of wits against the British Goliath helped
to maintain the sense of exhiliration, tension and discipline
which was at the root of the Bricha's success."

(Bricha was the Escape branch of the Mossad movement,
the other sections, which played imporant roles in defying British
opposition to Jewish aspirations in Palestine, being Halapala-
Immigration, Rechesh—Arms and Military Equipment, and Hag-
anah—Military Training.)
Men and women led the fight against the closed roads. They
opened them by various tricks. They attracted the interest and
sympathy of government leaders in Italy, of American soldiers,
even of some Britishers. One of the most exciting of all occur-
rences was the "La Spezia Affair" which made monkeys of
British diplomats and put British statesmanship to shame.
There were, of course, tragic consequences. Some ships were
sunk. There were complications which cost the Jewish move-
ment very high prices. But in the long run the battles were
worth their prices: the secret roads opened avenues for the settle-
ment of the future citizens of Israel.
The Kimche brothers have rendered a great service with
their compilation of facts about the illegal immigration move-
ment in their excellent "The Secret Roads." Their concluding
story also carries with it an admonition to workers in public
causes. The Kimches relate that the Mossad Chief "received
a visit from the Commandants of the (ill-fated) Exodus. With
his customary hospitality he asked his guest whether he would
like some refreshments? His guest suggested a glass of tea and
a piece of cake. The Chief ordered two teas. 'On public money,'
he reproved the Commandant, 'you do not eat cake.' "
Later, it is possible that a score of books will be pub-
lished to describe the devious ways of an underground move-
ment that was set upon rescuing the remnants of European
Jewry. In the meantime, the Kimche brothers have • renderefl
a great service by presenting the facts in an historically great
movement.
The entire Nazi chapter in history is being forgotten. Too
many already are unaware of what has happened, vague about
the heroic work of those who helped rescue the persecuted. "The
Secret Roads" is a reminder of what took place only a little
more than a decade ago. It helps us to remember the horrors, and
thereby to serve as a warning not to permit tyranny and genocide
to be repeated; and to recall the deed of those who fought for
the dignity of human life.

