THE JEWISH NEWS
Progress Report
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, 1952 at Post Office, Detroit, Mich., under Act of March 3, 1879
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
Editor and Publisher
SIDNEY SHMARAK
Advertising Manager
CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ
Circulation Manager
FRANK SIMONS
City Editor
Sabbath Scriptural Selections
This Sabbath, the tenth land of Iyar, 5717, the following Scriptural selections will be read
in our synagogues:
Pentateuchal portion, Behar, Lev. 25:1-26:2. Prophetical portion, Jeremiah 32:6-27.
Licht Benshen, Friday, May 10, 7:22 p.m.
VOL. XXXI—No. 10
Page Four
May 10, 1957
Is Discrimination Becoming U.S. Policy?
This is a harsh question, but it must
be asked in the best interests of American
principles.
Is John Foster Dulles incorporating
discrimination against Americans of the
Jewish faith as a basic American policy?
There is no other way of facing the
issue involved in the Saudi Arabian dis-
criminations against Jews.
All Americans who possess a sense of
fair play must join with the American
Jewish Committee, the American Jewish
Congress, Bnai Brith, the Jewish War
Veterans and many other Jewish organ-
izations, together with Christians who
sense the dangers in Dulles' stand, in con-
demning his latest pronouncements in
which he said that the exclusion of Amer-
ican personnel of the Jewish faith from
the Dhahran Air Base was "partly" due
to New York Mayor Robert Wagner's re-
fusal to greet King Saud upon his arrival
in New York.
The protests are now a matter of
record, but the case has not been closed,
much as the Secretary of State may wish
to see it closed. Therefore we return to
some of the arguments. We deliberately
undertake to revive them, in the hope
that Americans of all faiths will join in
mobilizing protests against the new State
Department policies.
*
*
*
The American Jewish Committee,
known as a very conservative and very
cautious body, did not hurry into the
matter. It studied the situation and found
it intolerable. When Secretary of State
Dulles made his shocking explanation that
Saud was acting anti-Jewishly because of
Mayor Wagner's stand, the Committee ex-
pressed its amazement, pointed out that
Saudi-Arabian discriminations did not date
back to last January but were in practice
for six years and declared: "Secretary
Dulles has employed an irrelevant cir-
cumstance rather than acknowledging our
own government's failure to prevent as-
saults on American citizenship."
This is calling a spade a spade, and we
commend the Committee for its actions;
just as we endorse the actions of the other
national organizations in calling Dulles'
bluff. The Committee charged in its state-
ment that "the U. S. Government has ac-
quiesced in a flagrant policy of discri-
mination by the Arab states against Amer-
ican citizens of Jewish faith," and added
that by negotiating treaties with Saudi
Arabia which explicitly "excluded Amer-
icans from that country on the basis of
their religious beliefs" our- Government is
"upholding discriminatory policies."
Anyone who dares to forget our State
Department's affront to all American Jews
by pursuing such policies is inviting trou-
ble for future generations. Any American
who permits the condoning of religious
discrimination as established American
policy helps to write a death warrant to
our Bill of Rights.
We therefore invite organized protests
against such actions, and we encourage
condemnation of Dulles' acts and policies.
New York's Republican Senator Jacob
K. Javits has called the "concession"
to King Saud, to discriminate against
American Jews, "intolerable." To us it is
incredible. What is more, it is un-Amer-
ican.
We protest against the anti-American
acts in Saudi Arabia, and the toleration
shown their bias by American officials.
*
•
*
*
Full credit must be given the Ameri-
can Jewish Congress for its courageous
efforts to forbid the Arabian American
Oil Company (Aramco) to discriminate
against Jewish applicants for jobs in Saudi
Arabia and elsewhere. A 31-page legal
brief has been filed by the Jewish Con-
gress with the New York State Commis-
sion Against Discrimination (SCAD). In
it, attention is called to the fact the plat-
forms of both the Democratic and Repub - .
lican parties contained protests against
such discriminations; and that the U. S.
Senate, on July 26, 1956, unanimously
adopted a resolution sponsored by Senator
Herbert H. Lehman,, which declared:
" . . It is a primary principle of our
Nation that there shall be no distinction
among United States citizens based on
their individual religious affiliations and
. . . any attempt by foreign nations to
create such distinctions among our citi-
zens in the granting of personal or com-
mercial access or any other rights other-
wise available to United States citizens
generally is inconsistent with our prin-
ciples." Secretary Dulles' letter declares,
"The Department of State has made
known to foreign governments on many
occasions that the United States does not
recognize discrimination based on reli-
gious faith among its own citizens, and
that we do not condone the practice of
discrimination among American citizens
which certain of these countries follow."
But public sentiments and the view-
point of the United States Senate are
being flouted.
It is not pleasant for Americans to
be so critical of their Secretary of State.
But the intolerable situation calls for
severe condemnation. -
It is sincerely to be hoped that the
l'sresident will take matters in his hands
and will strive to put an end to this shame-
ful episode in his administration.
Stirring Our People's Cultural Loyalties
Commencing its 70th year as the "non-
profit educational institution devoted to
Jewish culture," in the field of publishing
the most valuable books of Jewish inter-
est, the Jewish Publication Society of
America, at its annual meeting on Sunday,
directed an appeal to the Jews of this
country to enroll at least 100;000 homes
as members in the society.
Having attained marked progress
during the past few years, both in in-
creased memberships and book sales, the
society's leaders realistically admit to
having merely scratched the surface. They
direct a plea to American Jewry that the
society's creative efforts, now reaching
into less than 10,000 homes, should be
multiplied ten-fold.
Dr. Solomon Grayzel, the able editor
of the Jewish Publication Society, aptly
described the JPS objectives as being "to
stir the loyalties of our people to Jewish
life." It is not too much to ask.that JPS
295 JEWISH CgNTERS
445, 0 00 MEMEMRS
Birnbaum's New Anthology
'A Treasury of Judaism'
Dr. Philip Birnbaum, who already has gained wide recognition
for his preparations of prayer books, with traditional texts and
English translations, and for a number of scholarly books, is the
author of a new anthology of Jewish ethical lore, under the title
"A Treasury of Judaism," just issued by Hebrew Publishing Co.
(77 Delancey, NY 2).
This volume has special value in the wisdom of the selections
made by the author for inclusion in the compilation. Seventy
classics, covering 30 centuries of Jewish teachings, are drawn
upon for this work.
In his foreword, Rabbi Birnbaum refers to some of the
basic principles taught by Judaism. He calls attention to the
influence of Judaism "felt in the moral, social and religious
behavior patterns of millions of people throughout the world,"
and explains, in relation to his new literary work, that "empha-
sis has been laid on the unity of Jewish teachings which testily
to the age-old struggle for peace and brotherhood."
Commencing with the Bible, Rabbi Birnbaum includes in
his anthology selections from the Talmud, the Zohar, the Prayer-
book, Maimonides and many other scholars and Apocryphal writ-
ings.
The explanatory notes are valuable. In the instance of the
Biblical selections, Dr. Birnbaum has written a prefatory note for
the Holy Scriptures and introductory comments on each of the
Biblical books.
In addition to the five books of the Torah, "A Treasury of
Judaism" contains the basic teachings culled from the Former
Prophets (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings), the Major Prophets
(Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel) and the 12 Minor Prophets. These
are followed by selections from—and explanatory notes of—
the Sacred Writings, the 12 other Books incorporated in the
Holy Writings.
Preceding the Talmudic, Mishnaic and Midrashic quotations
are selections from the Apocrypha (Tobit, Ben Sira, Twelve
Testaments, Second Maccabees, Hasmonean Scroll) and Josephus.
Of special interest is the explanatory note on "The Twelve
Testaments": "Originally written in Hebrew or Aramaic, the
Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs are represented as a rec-
ord of the dying declarations and instructions of the twelve sons
of Jacob. Each in turn recounts the story of his life and asks
his descendants to emulate his virtues and shun his vices."
The Zohar, the Siddur, quotations from Saadyah Gaon,
Solomon Ibn Gabirol, Yehudah Halevi, Maimonides and others
are in the next section. The Moses Maimonides selections--
from his Mishnah Commentary, Letter to Yemen, Mishneh
Torah and Guide to the Perplexed—are followed by "The High
Ways to Perfection" by Abraham Maimonides, Maimonides
"who succeeded his father as head of the Jewry of Egypt and
physician . to the Sultan. He was 18 years, old when his father
died.- Rabbi Abraham diStinguished himself as Biblical com-
mentator, Talmudic scholar, and religious philosopher."
Jewish homes. It is asking very little to
expect that at least a thousand Detroit
households should be counted in the JPS
family. Such increases would reduce pub-
The works of a number of other scholars follow—including
lication costs and would make it possible
for JPS to produce more books for more Joseph Karo, Jacob Emden, Israel Salanter, Abraham Isaac Kook,
Leon of Modena, Glueckel of Hameln, Israel Baal Shem Tov
people.
and others.
Meanwhile, under the dedicated lead-
"A Treasury of Judaism" is a highly scholarly anthology.
ership of Edwin Wolf II, the society's It adds
immeasurably to the collections of basic literary Jewish
president; Judge Louis E. Levinthal, the creations.
chairman of the publication committee,
and their associates, JPS is rapidly ad-
JPS Announces Titles for 1958
vancing the movement's needs to the
benefit of the reading public, as well as
At the annual meeting of the Jewish Publication Society' of
of the authors who are encouraged to America, held last Sunday in Philadelphia, Judge Louis E.
produce outstanding literary work and to Levinthal, chairman of the publication conu -nittee, announced
that the titles to be published in 1958 will include:
carry on research in Jewish' fields.
It is sincerely to be hoped that our
"The Jews in Christian Spain," by Yitzhak Baer; "Judaism
community, together with the rest of and Christianity," by Leo Baeck, and "Jews and the Renais-
American Jewry, will continue to give sance," by Cecil Roth.
JPS the support it merits, especially
The meeting approved, for early pUblication, Prof. Harry
through currently needecl.ipar4ased.mem ,, J. Leon's "The Jews-of- Ancient Rome" and Grace Goldin's
-