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. )TA •• • • • • • • 3 MILLION JEt4w / a • • 1 K • R'USSIA 6 ♦ a "'"•-41100 - - • 411 a t•-• `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.