THE JEWISH NEWS
6,1\02E
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 Offic,.., Detroit, Mich.. under act of Congress of March
3, 187t, .
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
Editor and Publisher
SIDNEY SHMARAK CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ
Advertising Manager
Circulation Manager
FRANK SIMONS
VOL. XXXIV. No. 13
Friday, Nov. 28, 4:45 p.m.
Page Four
THE YAHIVEIT
City Editor
Sabbath Scriptural Selections
This Sabbath, the seventeenth day of Kislev, 5719, the following Scriptural selections will
be read in our synagogues:
Pentateuchal portion, Vayishlah, Gen. 32:4-36:43. Prophetical portion., Obadiah 1:1-21.
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Religious Observances in Our Schools
Pursuing a national policy adopted.
over a period of several years by the
Synagogue Council of America and the
National Community Relations Advisory
Council, the Jewish Community Council
of Detroit has cautioned Detroit Jewry
not to participate in or to encourage the
promotion of religious celebrations in
our public schools.
This admonition, coming as it does on
the eve of Hanukah, is a timely reaffirma-
tion of a policy aimed at avoiding "in-
trusion of religion in Public education."
When the policy was adopted orig-
inally, the two national organizations took
their stand as follows:
"The American democratic system is found-
ed in large part upon ethical and moral concepts
derived from the great religions of mankind.
The preservation and fostering of these con-
cepts are essential to the fullest realization of
the American ideal and their growth and devel-
opment as major forces in American life should
be the deep concern of every citizen.
"Religion has always been and continues to
be the central core of Jewish life. The Jewish
community of America is deeply concerned with
secularistic tendencies in contemporary Ameri-
can life, which, if permitted to grow unchecked,
may work great harm to the moral and spiritual
basis of American Democracy. We urge all re-
ligious groups to unite in an intensified national
program designed to enroll all the children of
our country in religious educational institutions
of their respective faiths. We urge religious
bodies to avail themselves of all media of mass
communication for this program, such as the
press, radio, motion picture, speakers' platforms
and special dramatic projects.
"We reaffirm the position enunciated in the
joint resolution of the Synagogue Council of
America and the National Community Relations
Advisory Council on religious instruction in the
public school, that the maintenance and further-
ance of religion is the responsibility of the
synagogue, the church, and the home, and not
of the public school system, the time, facilities,
funds, or personnel of which should not be
utilized for religious purposes."
The Synagogue Council of America,
which represents all of the religious Jew-
ish groups in this country, clarified its
position with the following additional
statement of principles.
"We are opposed to the oliservance of
religious festivals in the public elementary
and high schools because in our view such
observance constitutes a violation of the tra-
ditional American principle of the separation
of church and state.
Refugee Challenge
Israel's Ambassador Abba Eban said
this week that his proposal to the United
Nations, in behalf of his government,
for action in solving the Arab refugee
problem, is "the challenge of movement
against immobility."
But Shukairi, the Saudi Arabian ob-
structionist. with the aid of Soviet Russia,
and with the encouragement of bigots in
this country and in the Middle East. in-
sist on maligning Israel and in standing
in the way of progress.
The challenge also is to the United
Nations and all her member nations.
Either there will be an end to the tragedy
by action—and Israel is prepared to co-
operate in action—or misery may be per-
petuated, with all its attendant horrible
by-products.
This is another opportunity for the
UN to prove that it is an active move-
ment, not merely a paper organization.
Regrettably, expediency plays a more
important role than realism or justice.
But time solves many problems, and
patience usually pays off. What else can
srael do but be Patient?
"Joint religious observances such as Christ-
mas-Hanukah and Easter-Passover, are in our
opinion no less a breach of the principle of
separation of church and state and violate the
conscience of many religious persons, Jews
and Christians alike.
"Where religious holiday observances are
nevertheless held in public schools, Jewish
children have a right to refrain from partici-
pation. We recommend that the local Jewish
communities take such action as may be
appropriate to safeguard this right of non-
participation."
These views remain valid in all con-
siderations of issues involving religious
observances in their conflict with general
community practices. If the principle of
separation of church and state, is to be
adhered to, there must be total avoidance
of all religious observance in our public
schools. The moment one group is permit-
ted to observe religious tenets, all others
will have a similar right, and an inter-
change of religious celebrations will only
serve to confuse and thereby also to pro-
vide for a wide open dOor for all religious
practices in areas whence they hitherto
were barred.
There is a mighty weapon on hand to
guarantee our liberties by keeping our
schools separated from religious dogmata
and secure from conflicts that may arise
from religious differences. Let us keep
it so, and let us guarantee the right of
every person to worship as he pleases—
at home, in synagogue or in church, but
not in state supported buildings where
citizens meet on equal ground regardless
of race or creed. This is the only way of
guaranteeing liberties on all fronts in
government and on home gr/ound.
Need for Consistency
A bit of consistency could go a long
way in solving many international prob-
lems.
Take, as an instance, Dr. Charles
Malik, Lebanon's representative in the
United Nations, who is currently the
president of the UN General Assembly.
Dr. Malik does a lot of pontificating about
the UN as an instrument for - peace. But
the moment he gets on the question of
Israel, he resumes the role of being a
tool of the destructive forces "in the Mid-
dle East. If the UN is a force for peace,
and Dr. Malik is the spokesman for the
UN, - why doesn't he practice what he
preaches by striving for peace in one of
the war-threatened areas in the world?
Then, take the matter of Syria. Last
week, the wife of the British Air Attache
in Israel. was killed by Syrian snipers.
The New York Times report of the trag-
edy called attention to numerous such
incidents in the past and its correspond-
ent reported: "Several Israelis have been
killed or kidnapped and there have been
many clashes between Syrian troops and
Israeli border police units."
It's a matter of record that Israelis
responded with fire only when they were
attacked by Syrian army units. It's a
matter of record that Israel desires to
develop its borderlands by making them
fruitful, but the Syrians are interfering
and the UN spokesmen have gone along
with the obstructionists.
UN observers know full well that
Israel's activities are in the direction of
drying up swamps, of bringing health
to her people. The UN representatives
know that health in Israel also spells
health for those on her borders. But
expediency again has brought rulings
against Israel. Arabs seem to inspire only
fear in the hearts of the Westerners.
Consistency, where is thy sting?
Pictorial Record
Schappes' U. S. Jewish History
The pictorial history, "The Jews in the United States," by
Morris U. Schappes, dealing with the period from 1654 to the
present — in other words, covering the Tercentenary years —
justifiably has attracted a considerable amount of interest.
Published by Citadel Press (222 4th, N. Y. 3), this large
sized (9 x 12) volume, illustrated by more than 400 photographs,
is certain to have a popular appeal.
Schappes has incorporated in this work the major episodes
in American Jewish life. The fact, however, that he, unlike many
other historians. has given greater consideration to the Jewish
labor movements and to unionization of Jewish workers, will
give this volume special significance.
It is evident that he leans towards the masses, and such
preference gives his history special tone.
The author also has caught the spirit of the Jewish com-
munity when Jewish patriotic groups were organized in 1917,
during World War I. How would Jews today react to a "Jewish
League of American Patriots," which was formed in 1917? Yet,
the letterhead of the League, reproduced in one of the photo-
graphs in Schappes' book, has such names as Samuel Untermeyer,
Gedaliah Bublick, Herman Paley, Herman Bernstein, William
Edlin, Peter Viernick, and others. Today, Jews might object to
specifying Jews as patriots: our people no doubt would want to
take it for granted, rather than assist in forming a class-conscious
group of patriots.
Schappes makes special note of the language question, of
the development of the Yiddish press and the rise of the English-
Jewish press; of social and economic problems of the Jewish
community and of the emergence 'of a strong Zionist movement.
His work is not altogether factual. When, for instance, he
states that 12,000 paraded in Detroit in 1933--in protest against
Nazism, he exaggerates a bit. But he does show ingenuity by
including among the photographs a portion of a Detroit business
directory of 1853 to show that Jews were in business here at
that time.
Schappes' is an interesting work. We could not recommend
it as a textbook. But it supplements the available histories with
its photographs and its socio-economic facts.
Spinoza's 'The Book of God'
"The Book of God" was one of the earliest works of Baruch
Spinoza and was written in his youth. In the newly-edited edi-
tion of this series of brief philosophical essays, edited by Dr.
Dagobert D. Runes and published by Philosophical Library (15
E 40th, N.Y. 16), it is pointed out that the Spinoza manuscript
came to light in slightly varying Dutch texts only 100 years ago.
In his introductory essay to this work, Dr. Runes makes
this comment:
"Spinoza's youth was dedicated to study of the Hebrew
scriptures—the Torah, Talmud, and Cabbalah. Preparing for a
rabbinical career, he spent his nights in the perusal of early
wisdom literature, but in the days following he was a horrified
witness to the religious savagery of his period with all its
bestial implements of torture and auto-de-fe.
"Priestly pretensions drove him from the dogmas, and
man's inhumanity to man, from society. When he was only 24,
he withdrew into himself. The condemnation by Jews and Chris-
tians was a natural sequence of his refusal to submit to either
public observance or at least silence.
"The heretic they expelled was a mere youth, but one whose
sagacity was a thorn in the side of a bigoted world.
"While Europe was in uproar over the right church, Spinoza
was seeking the right God.
_- "The book before us is the first known report of his find-
ings."
In "The Book of God" are incorporated Spinoza's views
on hate, joy and sorrow, the existence of God, esteem and con-
tempt, gratitude and grief, hope and fear and many other
subjects—all briefly and succinctly stated.