THE JEWISH NEWS
Will They Be Allowed to Emigrate?
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 Congress of
March 3, 1879.
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
SIDNEY SHMARAK
Editor and Publisher
Advertising Manager
CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ
Circulation Manager
FRANK SIMONS
City Editor
UL
Sabbath Script ural Selections
This Sabbath,, the twenty-fourth clay of Tammuz, 5718, th e following Scriptural
selections will be read in our synagogues:
P entateuc hal portion, Pinhas, Numbers 25:10-30:1. Prophetical p ortion, Jeremiah
1:1-2:3.
Licht Benshen, Fridday, July 11, 7:20 p.m.
VOL. XXIII. Na. 19
Page Four
July 11, 1958
Jewish Pioneers in Our 49th State
Admission of Alaska into the Union final act of admitting Alaska as the 49th
as our 49th State calls to light the fact State of our Union was Ernest Gruening,
that Jews have pioneered in that territory, who served as Governor of Alaska for
that there were Jews there in the early several years, after appointment in 1939.
days of our -country's acquisition of that Gruening, who is now 71, was born in New
area and that all new enterprises always York City. He received his medical degree
attract the interest of Jewish travelers from Harvard in 1907, at the age of 20,
but chose newspaper work as his career,
and pioneers.
There were Jews in Alaska in the and made his mark in journalism.
One of his major accomplishments as
1830s. Jews settled in Alaska during the
1897 gold rush, but they also were there an editor was to expose events in Latin
American countries and he is credited
before and after the Klondike rushes, as
with having inaugurated the good-neigh-
merchants, fur traders and fishermen.
When Alaska was purchased by the bor policy with southern countries in our
United States from Russia in 1867, it was hemisphere. He was the first director of
revealed by Senator Cole, of California, the Federal Division of Territories and
that Lewis Gerstle and his . partner in fur Island Possessions and he has helped
trading, Jack Goldstone, first came to him eliminate many abuses in these areas.
with the idea. Goldstone purportedly in- With his career as Governor of Alaska
began an active campaign for Alaska's
spired the American purchase.
Jews served as Mayors of Alaskan admission as a State. •
Alaska has grown from a population
cities. Isadore Goldstein was Mayor of
'of 65,000, when it was purchased by the
Juneau six times.
Dr. Rex M. Swartz was Mayor of United States, to the present 260,000.
Nome. He was succeeded by the young That population is now all-American, as
American Edward Seidenverg who was are the Jews who have settled there. The
Mayor of Nome twice. There were several rejoicing that marked the Senatorial
action last week is widely shared, and is
Jewish judges in Alaska.
The man who may have contributed certainly acclaimed by the Jews who pion-
more than any other person towards the eered in the area's interesting ventures.
Proper Interpretation of Term 'Jew'
A short time ago, we published a re-
port about the expurgation from the
Portuguese dictionary in Brazil of the de-
rogatory definition of the word "Jew."
But the substitution for it is a regrettable
one, as is indicated in a communication
that was published in the London Jewish
Chronicle. Jennie Z. Gilbert, of Rath-
mines, Dublin, Ireland, president of the
Dublin Talmud Torah Ladies' Committee,
wrote to the Chronicle:
Appreciation is assuredly due to Professor
Hamilcar Garcia, who, charged with the re-
vision of the contemporary Portuguese dic-
tionary, has expurgated its former defamatory
definition of the word "Jew" as "usurer, person
of bad character, Satan," in the campaign
against disparaging and archaic definitions in
Brazil's school dictionaries. His assertion that
"such definitions definitely poison the minds
of children" upholds truth and amends a long-
standing injustice.
But I am perturbed — as Jews throughout
the world will be — that the "absolutely up-
to-date" definition of the word will be "citizen
of the State of Israel" (as reported in your
-issue of May 23). This is, of course, quite
inaccurate, since the basic meaning is "a He-
brew or Israelite." It would not be right to
let children grow up with this erroneous refer-
ence, which would defeat one of the true aims
of education — to enlighten. It would confuse
adults, too, and again the Jew would be mis-
represented — albeit not in a malicious man-
uer.
A citizen of Israel is an Israeli, who may
be a Jew, Arab, Christian, Christian-Arab,
Druse, Bahai, etc. But a Jew is a Hebrew or
Israelite irrespective of where he is born or
domiciled, and only becomes a citizen of Israel
upon settling there.
Before it is too late, I hope some "author-
ity" will make the necessary approach to have
this correction made, and, while on the job,
it is high time to get derogatory references to
"Jew" removed from all dictionaries in every
language. Then I shall feel satisfied in having
drawn attention to this pertinent report from
Rio de Janeiro, which seems to have passed
unobserved despite the gravity of its conse-
quence.
The issue raised is not a new one, but
the manner of correction made in Brazil
is regrettable. It grew out of misunder-
standing, not of malice, and it may cause
as much harm as if it had prejudice in
view.
The position of Jews everywhere
would be jeopardized if the idea were
spread that a Jew is a "citizen of the
State of Israel." A debate, also marked by
acrimony, is in progress even in Israel
over the definition of the term "Jew."
The Cabinet decision was that one who
chooses. to be considered a Jew has the
right to that designation.
The issue there is far from clarified,
but it is certain . that even in Israel one
can be either a Jew or a member of any
other group that is eligible for citizenship
there. Thus, all the citizens of Israel are
Israelis. Outside of Israel, however, there
are no Israelis, except those who are away
from their Israeli homeland on temporary
visits, and any designation of Israelism
for Jews outside of Israel is inaccurate,
and should be indicated as such.
We join in the hope that the issue will
be clarified and that corrections will be
made in proper fashion in all dictionaries
and encyclopedias where the term "Jew"
is misinterpreted.
A Heartening Decision
A decision handed down by the United
States Supreme Court last week, by a vote
of 7 to 1, barring the State of California
from requiring officials of churches and
synagogues to take a non-Communist oath
as a condition for asking tax-exempt status
for their religious institutions, should
prove heartening to all who are craving
for the elimination of witch-hunting.
- While the Supreme Court did not nul-
lify the California law denying tax-exempt
status to institutions whose officers ad-
vocate forcible overthrow of the govern-
ment, it did require that the state accept
the burden of proof against such officers.
Not only clergymen, but all Americans
are entitled to a - certain amount of confi-
dence that they are loyal to our govern-
ment. The requirement of oaths to indi-
cate non-Communist status has become
somewhat ridiculous. No one would be
readier to swear falsely when it served his
purpose than a Communist. The Supreme
Court ruling is an encouraging element
in what we hope is a changing condition
away from fear and witch-hunts.
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`The Service of the Heart'
'Guide to Jewish Prayer Book
Dr. Evelyn Garfiel, who formerly taught religion and
psychology at the University of Chicago and the Chicago
College of Jewish Studies, and who now is teaching at the
Women's Institute of the Jewish Theological Seminary of
America in New York, has compiled an interesting guide •to
the Jewish prayer book and her book was published, under
the title "The Service of the Heart," by Thomas Yoseloff (11
E. 36th, N.Y. 16).
Dr. Garfiel views the Siddur as the best textbook of
Judaism. She defines the Siddur, the name for the prayer
book, the word meaning literally "order" or "arrangement" and
points out that it is, in fact "an abbreviation for the full
phrase 'Seder Tefillot', Order of Prayers."
In addition to guiding her readers through the prayers,
Dr. Garfiel traces the history of the Siddur, the type of services
that were conducted before there was a Siddur, the sacrifice-
services of olden days and the development of a service
composed of Psalms—all still found in the Siddur.
The rise of the . synagogue as a Jewish institution also
is described in her scholarly book. By the time of the
destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E., "the habit of
meeting for prayer and for the reading of The Torah had
already become an established custom upon which the Jews
could draw when the need for a service without sacrifices
became urgent." she points out. There is also an interesting
description of the manner in which the synagogue services
were democratized.
*
*
*
In her evaluation of the Sidd.ur's history, Dr. Garfiel
explains how and when translations became necessary. The
first translation was in Italian but in Hebrew characters in
the 16th century. The first English translation was made
200 years later. "When, in 1766, another adventurous person
tried to get a new English translation published, permission
was withheld and no publisher in England would take the
book. Nothing daunted the author, who turned to printers in
America. That is how it happened that the first translation
of the Prayer Book to. be printed in the New World
appeared in New York 10 years before the Declaration. of
Independence."
Then came the Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist
prayer books, but the author emphasizes that "the old Siddur
endures," that it "expresses in language at once poetic and
very simple a rich variety of human needs and aspirations."
*
*
Guiding the reader through the Siddur, Dr. Garfiel explains
the order of the service, the Shaharit, the Amidah, Minha and
Maariv.
There are chapters dealing with the Sabbath eve and
Sabbath morning services, the Sabbath. evening prayers, the
Havdalah and other ceremonials.
A chapter entitled "The Grace" includes explanations of
the Hamotzi, the prayers after meals, the short form of grace
and its English text.
There also is a chapter on "The Marriage Service," with
explanations of the Ketubah, the evolution of the Jewish
marriage ceremony and its ceremonials, including the breaking
of the glass.
Thus, Dr. Garfiel outlin es "the rich tapestry of religious
ideas which the Siddur exhibits."
Appended to her book is "A Note on Transliteration and a
Guide to Its Use" in this volume. It is a valuable explanation,
and equally valuable is the glossary of Hebrew words and
phrases.
This is a much-needed book. It will serve as an excellent
textbook for adult classes and as a true guide to those who
seek complete understanding of their prayers.