1957-THE DETROIT JEWISH NEW S-2
,
Purely Commentary
University Heads to Greet General Dori at
Technion Dinner; DrAlitherry on Program
By PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
All Our Holidays Can Thrill Our Youth
Hanukah had an interesting new ledson for American Jewry.
A new spirit was in evidence. Wherever one turned, there were
Hanukah decorations. A sense of pride in a Jewish festival was
in evidence wherever there are Jews.
It may have been stimulated by the Christmas decorations
and songs and by a desire to emulate the beautiful ceremonials
of our neighbors. But, having -taken root, the impressive obsery
ance of Hanukah is a heartening experience.
Now, let us not end it with Hanukah. Purim is coming.
That festival, too; lends itself for family and community cel-
ebrations, in addition to -the observances in schools. Purim can
be utilized for dandes and masquerades, family parties and
celebrations for children and adults - alike.
And after Purim comes Passover—with the beautiful Seder
ceremonies that should be elevated to a very high place on our
calendar. All of us can learn to observe the Seder in a dignified
and traditional manner, in spite of the vulgarization of the
Sedorim in the Wouk and Kaufman novels. The best way to
repudiate those who degrade Jewish traditions is by elevating
the ceremonials and by restoring them to the status they- origi-
nally possessed.
We must not limit ourselves to the festivals we have
mentioned. We list Purim and Passover only because they soon
will be here. All the other Jewish festivals • can similarly be
observed in glorious fashion. The emphasis already placed on
Hanukah proves that what had been done with the . Feast of
the Maccabees can be done with all our holidays.
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Heads of universities in Michi-
gan will join in welcoming
General Yaacov Dori, president
of the Technion—the Israel In-
stitute of Technology in Haifa,
at the annual dinner of the
Detroit Technion Society, at.
Temple Israel, Saturday eve-
ning, Jan. 4.
Dr. Clarence - B. Hilberry,
Are Our Young People indifferent to Jewish Needs?,
president of Wayne State Uni-
We must not, however, be overoptimistic over the so-called versity, will be among the
"religious revival" in our ranks, or what may appear as a university presidents who will
resurgence of interest in Jewry and Judaism.
greet General . Dori.
The fact is that young Jews seldom are seen at Jewish
Dr. Lyle M. Nelson, special
gatherings, that public functions do not attract our _youth; -that_ assistant to the president of the
there . seems to be an abstention from. Jewish 'activities on the University of Michigan, will wel-
part of our younger generation. -
come Dr. Dori in behalf of the
The younger generation of our time may not be less en- U. of M.
thusiastic than were the preceding ones. On the contrary, it may
General Dori will be greeted
be more proud than were our parents and grandparents; it may also
by Dr. John R. Muroy, vice-
be equally as devoted. It has reason to be: anti-Semitism has president
lessened (notwithstanding frequent anti-Jewish manfestations Detroit. of the University of
that are in evidence even today) ; there is greater mutual red
Murray Altman, secretary of
spect among Christians and Jews (the lessening of such an ex-
change of respect among Moslems and Jews is most regrettable); the Detroit Technion Society,
the emergence of Israel contributes towards a sense of inner will preside at the dinner.
Members of the committee as-
satisfaction. .
Yet, when you come to an Israel Bond meeting, or to a sisting " him in arranging the
UJA gathering, or to a congregational function on a day other dinner are: Dr. Joseph N. Epel,
than one of the Holy_ Days, the youth are. missing. Make a nose president; Julius W. Lev, vice-
count at any Hillel function at any of our universities, and you president; Salman Grand, treas-
will 'become disturbed over the lack of interest among. Jewish urer; Benjamin Wilk, Harold
students in Jewish affairs. Even the most glamorous social Goodman, Louis Gelfand, Leon
events arranged by Hillel units fail to draw the interest they Kay, Louis G. Redstone, Jay
are aimed at. Often, in a Jewish student population of thou- Kogan, Karl B. Segall,- Jacob
sands, Hillel is lucky to receive as many as a few dozen re- Schreier, Jack Stone, Sol Lif-
sitz, Nathan H. Schermer, Louis
sponses.
These facts are called to the community's attention not Milgrom, Morris Mendelson and
in a spirit of pessimism. We have no -doubt our youth- will come Samuel Brody.
Altman announced that Gen-
to us—if not immediately then very soon (perhaps, eventually,
through the Jewish loyalties of their own children).- We are
certain that Jewish kinships will survive. Nevertheless, the
current, albeit temporary, passivity, calls for study and correc- Fires Hanukah Candle
tion.
Hillel especially, and the youth movements • associated with for 100th Year in Row
our major national organizations, should look into the problem.
EVERETT, Mass. (JTA)—A
Our elders should think seriously of the issue: they 'dare not 104-year-old retired shoemaker
perpetuate aged leadership; and if the problems alluded to lit the first Hanukah candle
can be solved by substituting youth - leaders for the old, it and read the Hanukah prayers
should be done with the genuine recognition of the urgency of for the 100th consecutive year
such a transformation.
—a performance probably un-
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matched in religious history.
Speaking of Youth: the Sabras of All Climes
-
Speaking of youth, your Commentator would like to turn
once again to the most interesting book, "Letters -frOm Jeru-
salem" ("a non-Jewish woman's love affair with Israel"), by
Mary Clawson. (published by Abelard-Schuman, (404 4th,_ N. Y.
16), reference to which already has been made in this column.
Mrs. Clawson wrote in one of her letters about the com-
plaints often, heard in Israel about the Sabras, the native-born,
and she insists that the "Sabras' members are much maligned."
This is her interesting viewpoint:
"Little Sabras take adults in their stride; they - do not enter
a room, curtsy or bow to adults and then subside, as I am told
is the custom among English and European children. If the
-spirit moves them, they. may say 'Shalom,' and be more or less
respectful; - but if the spirit does not move them, they may say
nothing at all, or they may even stick out their tongues or put
their hands behind them if an unwise parent asks them to greet
a guest. They hasie also been known at times, though not always,
to try to monopolize what was -meant to be an adult conversation
and, depending on their age, protest in various effective ways
at being sent out of the room. Sometimes they push in buses
and shout back and forth to one another or sing, so that adults
cannot hear one another unless they too shout . . .
"This kind of thing does not disturb me a bit; I just think
that Israeli children, like American children, are self-assured.
Why shouldn't they be? They have never been 'hurt; consci-
ously or unconsciously they knOw they are the center of the
world. Intellectual, cultured, sensitive Jews look at their little
Sabras with love and pride, but also they tend to worry because
their children are not as sensitive as they - are and because their
children's world seems to be limited to Israel and to surround-
ing Arab countries . . .
"Somewhere lately I read what I consider a good definition
of sensitiveness; that, at bottom, it is - an intimation of pain and,
of fear, for oneself and for others . . . Perhaps Sabras -will
never be as sensitive as Jews who have lived and suffered in
other countries, but I will be surprised if the best in Jewish
tradition is not carried on in Israel . . . "
These are frank. observations. The optimistic conclusion
should be a lessOn for all Israelis. It offers a good lesson also
for 'non-Israelis whose children, in their healthy upbringing in
a free environment, do not cringe and are Sabra-like. The future
of Sabras and Sabra-like children can not be otherwise than
wholesome.
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GEN. YAACOV DORI
DR. CLARENCE B. BILBERRY
eral Dori's visit to the United
States was to accelerate the $10,-
000,000 capital fund campaign
sponsored by the American
Technion Society to help build
the new Technion Campus ris-
ing on the slopes of Mt. Carmel
near Haifa, Israel. Originally
built to accommodate 300 stu-
dents, the Technion now has an
enrollment of nearly 3,000. The
new campus will house the en-
tire student body and research
facilities. It is expected that the
building program will take an-
other five years to complete.
It has been announced, on
the occasion of this year's
annual dinner, that more than
90 Detroiters have enrolled
as Founders of the Technion
by contributing $1,000 or
more each.
At the Jan. 4 dinner, Gen.
Dori will outline the latest plans
for the building of the Tech-
nion City and Campus in Haifa.
General Dori, Chief of Staff
of Israel's Defense Forces in
the 1948 War of Liberation,
Strategist, organizer and builder
of Haganah, JeWish Palestine's
self-defense force before State-
hood, consecrated his life to
the advancement of his people.
As President -of Technion,
which he considers the most
challenging role of his notable
career, he occupies a unique
position of leadership in the
development of Israel.
American Technion Society
Re-Elects Rose President
David Rose, prominent New
York builder and communal
leader, was- re-elected to serve
for a third term as president of
the_American Technion Society.
Leon Kay, of Detroit, was re-
elected a national vice-president.
MURRAY ALTMAN
Boris Srnolar's
'Between You
• and Me'
(Copyright, 1957,
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)
Fund-Raising Problems
The Jewish Agency committee, which authorizes campaigns
in the United States on behalf of Israel, is impressing on the
organizations authorized to conduct such campaigns that they
must limit their goals- for, 1958 . . :This is done to assure the
priority of the United Jewish Appeal . . . The organizations—
about a dozen of them—are told that the goals they will seek
in 1958 must be proportionate to the need for their services
in Israel . . . They are told to limit their fund-raising costs, so
that every possible dollar render a service . .. Leaders Of the
Jewish Agency in New York have held a conference • for this
pilipose with representatives of the organizations which are
authorized_ to raise funds for various organizations - in Israel . .
This move was made at the suggestion of the Council of Jewish.
Federations and Welfare Funds, whose representatives partic-
ipated in the conference . .„ There is_ solid cooperation between
the Jewish Agency and the Council of Jewish Federations and
Welfare Funds . . . The CJFWF receives frorri the Jewish
Agency not only regular audits, but detailed internal administra- -
tive reports .' .. AS a result of the_ communities' opposition to
additional public campaigns in thiS country, the Jewish Agency :
. .for the
has not - authorized any public campaigns in the U.S.
Bar-Ilan University of Israel . . . The university is limited to
soliciting among Mizrachi sponsors . and. friends . Beyond
the dozen Major - drives authorized in this. country for Israel,
there are scores of appeals for Yeshivoth and similar traditional:
institutions ; The Jewish Agency agreed to set up a special
committee on problems of fund-raising for . these institutions.
Hershel Gregman lit his first
Hanukah candle when he was
four ',years old, m Minsk, Rus-
sia, where he lived through the
periods of three Czars and the
Communist revolution before
coming to New York in 1930.
There, hebecame an Ameri-
can citizen at the age of 101.
Recently he has made his
home in Everett with his son,
Aaron, one of his 13 children:
He credits his long life to
a. powerful physique and a
calm nature, explaining, "I do Comm unal Issues
not get excited."
The question of bringing the American Jewish Committee
and the Anti-Defamation League of Bnai . Brith back into the
ti
MOSCOW Brands Charge ranks of the National Community Relations Advisory Council
is again coming to the fore . . . Conferences of the heads of
of Anti-Semitism 'Lies' the organizations involved have been taking place at . the initia-
LONDON (JTA)—The charge tive of the Council of Jewish Federations and • Welfare Funds
that Jews are persecuted in . . . Indications are that the two leading Jewish • organizations
the Soviet Union is the "worst are not inclined to rejoin the central coordinating body from
lie yet invented against the which they withdrew several years age . . • NCRAC is now
Socialist system," Moscow radio the coordinating body of six national agencies and 37 local and
said in a broadcast monitored regional agencies engaged in combatting anti-Semitism and "
fighting for civil rights . . . The Council of Jewish Federations -
here.
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"Synagogues are functioning and Welfare Funds is determined to find a basis for bringing
in the USSR and books by Jew- the American Jewish Committee and theAnti-Defamation League
ish writers are being pub- into the NCRAC . . A resolution to this effect has been
adopted at the annual national convention of leaders of the
lished," the broadcaster said.
He noted that writer Ilya Jewish federations and welfare funds which took place last
Ehrenburg, violinist David Ois- month in New Orleans . . . The federations' leaders take the_
trakh and pianist Emil Gilels, stand that events of the past five years, since- the withdrawal:
as well as scientists and other of the- AJC and ADL from the NCRAC, have - assumed propor:.
intellectuals whO are Jews, are tions and significance unforeseen at that time . . . They empha-
"looked up to and respected in size that Arab propaganda and boycotts are now being conducted
not only against Israel, but against American _Jewish citizens
Russia."
He neglected to state that no and firms . . . They stress the increasing threats against
books are published in Yiddish church-state separation and the retention of –the opprestive
‘ and other issues, they say, require
and that all Jewish cultural in- immigration laws . . . These
stitutions have been closed an early re-establishment of cooperation among all Jewish
organizations engaged in defense of civil rights. --
down.
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