Speaking at the double cele-
bration of the completion of 25
years of the Jewish Community
Council of Utica, N.Y., and the
111 years of the founding of the
Utica Jewish community, Dr.
S. Joshua Kohn, of Trenton,
N.J., called for the formation of
a National Jewish Community
Council, to be composed of local
Jewish Community Councils that
are democratically organized and
have proportional representa-
tion of the Jewish groups within
the community. Dr. Kohn said:
"There have been several at-
tempts to create a central or-
ganization for American Jewry.
As early as 1841, Rev. Isaac
Leeser worked out a plan for a
general union. In 1859 the Board
of Delegates was established,"
Dr. Kohn continued.
"In 1878 the Union of Ameri-
can Hebrew Congregations want-
ed to assume national leader-
ship. In 1891 it was the Jewish
Alliance of America. In 1906
the American Jewish Commit-
tee was born. In 1918 it was the
American Jewish Congress. In
1938 it was the General Jewish
Council and the final unsuccess-
ful attempt was the American
Jewish Conference in 1943.
"All these attempts failed be-
cause American Jewry was an
incohate mass. divergent in ori-
gin, varying in speech as well as
in religions, clutural, economic
and social backgrounds. The
democratic ideal in Jewish com-
munal life had not been able to
penetrate and influence Jewish
community living. We were
segmentized. The Hitler era,
with its enormous tragedies, the
catastrophic World War II, the
re-establishment of the State of
Israel has focused a new and
luminous ideal--the peoplehood
of Israel based upon all its
component parts.
"No one group, however in-
fluential. has the right today to
speak representatively in the
name of the Jewish people un-
less it has a democratic man-
date from the Jewish people. I
say publicly that at the present
time our national organizations
only represent segments. made
up of individuals. not demo-
cratically chosen. The leaders of
our national organizations make
up groups of interlocking direc-
torates. The time has come for
a fundamental change.
"Our Jewish communities
must be organized as Jewish
Community Councils. The Jew-
ish Welfare Funds and Federa-
tions should merely be the
financial arm of the commu-
nity. The community relations
organizations should be directed
from a national organization.
The youth and welfare organi-
zations should have the intelli-
gent guidance of our great spir-
itual and educational leaders.
Our great cultural institutions
should not he pauperized and
forced to beg for a pittance be-
cause local leaders are inter-
ested in their pet hobbies."
Dr. Kohn is the author of
"The Jewish Community of

Repays 'Life' Debt
to Jewish Hospital

N

MORDECAI ISRAEL, a
Denver photographer, pre-
sents a check to MORRIS
BINSTOCK, former president
of the Ex-Patients' Sanator-
ium of the National Jewish
Hosptial at Denver, in repay-
ment for treatment given
seven years ago. At that time,
Israel came to the hospital
from India suffering from
tuberculosis. After 14 months
of treatment, he was trans-
ferred to the Ex-Patients'
Sanitorium for rehabilitation,
and while there his medical
visa expired. He would have
been deported except that
he married an American citi-
zen in 1957, permitting him
to stay in this country. Israel
credits Binstock, the Ex-
Patients' Sanitorium and the
National Jewish Hospital for
being alive today.

London Paper Warns
of Danger in Germany

LONDON (JTA)—The Lon-
don Daily Mail, in a full-page
report on anti-Semitism in Ger-
many, concluded that hooligan-
ism aside, there is growing
uneasiness, self-criticism and
heart searchings in govern-
ment circles that the moral re-
habilitation program has still
not affected a small, hard-core
of entirely unrepented Nazis
within Germany; that the vigi-
lance of the courts in pursu-
ing such cases of anti-Semitism
that have come before them
is not entirely above suspi-
cion; and that an underground
route exists by which war
criminals and rabid anti-Sem-
ites awaiting trial have suc-
ceeded in reaching Cairo from
Germany.
The newspaper reported that
"dangerous influences are at
work" ' in Germany. It de-
scribed them as incorrigible
Nazis working from a base in
the United Arab Republic, and
Communist agent provocateurs
believed behind recent acts of
anti-Semitism such as the daub-
ing of swastikas on the Dus-
seldorf synagogue.

Utica's History: Enlightening Record of Growth

Dr. S. Joshua Kohn, rabbi of
Adath Israel Synagogue in Tren-
ton, N. J., held a rabbinical post
in Utica, N.Y., from 1930 to
1946. As organizer of the Utica
Jewish Community Council in
1933, and as a student of com-
munal developments, he acquir-
ed a thorough knowledge of the
community he served. The re-
sult is his book, "The Jewish
Community of Utica, N.Y., 1847-
1948," which has just been pub-
lished by the American Jewish
Historical Society, 3080 Broad-
way, N.Y. 27.
The Utica Council was formed
after the dissolution of the New
York City Kehillah. As the first
Council to be organized by an
American Jewish community, it
served as a pattern for other
communities.
Rabbi Kohn proposes the
formation of a National Jew-
ish Community CounciL In
his interesting book, he re-
calls having suggested it to
the late Simon Shetzer when

Progressives Peril
Israel Coalition

Direct JTA Teletype Wire
to The Jewish News

JERUSALEM — The Progres-
sive Party on Tuesday blew up
a new political storm by threat-
ening to walk out of the Ben-
Gurion Cabinet unless the coali-
tion supported its proposals to
amend the income tax law in
favor of middle income groups.
If the Centrist Party, with
its five seats in Parliament,
withdraws, the coalition still I
will be in command of a small
majority-64 seats in the 120-
member house.
But to hold that control the
Mapai - Mapam - Achdut Avodah
partnership would have to lean
heavily on five deputies from
three splinter Arab parties.
The Progressives, whose chief
strength comes from profes-
sionals and middle class voters,
are apparently concerned that
if they continue to go along
with the austerity heavy tax-
ation regime without affording
relief for their adherents, they
will suffer at the forthcoming
national elections.

Punish German Seaman
for Painting Swastika

ELATH (JTA)—Officials of
this port city reported that
a sailor on the German ship
Pelion, anchored here. was
seen by port workers painting
a swastika on the ship: The
workers notified the captain
who took disciplinary action
against the sailor. including
Utica, New York (1847-1948)," cancellation of shore leave.
just published by the American
Jewish Historical Society (3080 BB Adds 44,284 Members
Broadway. N.Y. 27), as part of
Bnai Brith enrolled 44.284
its American communal his- new adult members last year.
tories series.
A preliminary review of 1958
The book tells of Utica's pio- membership statistics disclosed
neer Jewish settlers, their prob- a gross increase of 26,195 in
lems and adjustment, their in- male membership. Bnai Brith
ternal life and the building up Women enrolled 18.089 in its
of their religious, fraternal and American and Canadian chap-
educational institutions.
ters.

he was president of the De-
troit Jewish Community
Council. Mr. Shetzer had en-
dorsed the idea.
In his analysis of the history
of Utica, Dr. Kohn refers back
to the activities of the earliest
settlers in that community. As
he indicates in his preface, he
knew some of the Utica resi-
dents who came there as chil-
dren in the late 1840s and early
1850s, and therefore was able
to secure first hand information
about the founders of Utica's
Jewish settlement.
In his interesting analysis of
integration a n d adjustment,
Rabbi Kohn shows how an im-

Ask Zionists to Stand
Ready to Assist Israel
Emergency Immigration

NEW YORK, (JTA) — An
appeal to all branches of the
World Confederation of Gen-
eral Zionists to devote any con-
ferences already convoked, or
to be especially convoked if
necessary, to the consideration
of practical plans to help Israel
meet the immigrantion prob-
lem which will soon confront
it, was issued by Dr. Israel
Goldstein and Mrs. Rose Hal-
prin, co-chairmen of the Con-
federation.
These conferences, they point-
ed out, must have "immediacy"
as their key-note. All-out ef-
forts must be made to enlarge
the income from Keren Haye-
sod and UJA campaigns in
order to help the Jewish Agency
and the government of Israel
cope with the severe tasks
ahead. "In view of the emer-
gency situation," the appeal
stated. "our branches must be
alerted to the great responsibil-
ities now developing upon the
entire Jewish world."

Dag Plans Translation

of Buber into Swedish

UNITED NATIONS, N. Y.
(JTA)—Secretary General Dag
Hammarskjold disclosed that
he is definitely planning to
translate into Swedish several
of the essays in the work,
"Pointing the Way." of Prof.
Martin Buber of the Hebrew
University.

migrant group fitted into the
American environment; he de-
scribes the institutions they
built, the synagogues they cre-
ated, their lodges, welfare and
fraternal orders.
While the developments as
outlined by Rabbi Kohn are
symptomatic of other commun-
ities, the uniqueness of this,
one of the smaller of the Jew-
ish communities in America, lies
in the readiness it showed to
organize the demociatic Com-
munity Council — long before
other cities had planned such
actions.
Searching for "the roots" of
the Utica Jewish community,
Rabbi Kohn traced a recently
found letter from Mordecai Man-
ual Noah, the first American
Zionist, who sought to establish
the Hebrew City of Ararat on
Grand Island in the Niagara
River, to Erasmus H. Simon, of
Utica, who responded favorably
to Noah's appeals.
Other Jewish communities
will find this volume interest-
ing, from the point of view of
its analysis of the Jewish edu-
cational trends, Jewry's integra-
tion within the community at
large, immigration and adjust-
ment, Zionist and philanthropic
activities, and other aspects of
Jewish communal life.
There are 16 pages of illus-
trations, but of special value
are the 39 factual tables in the
appendix. All conceivable de-
velopments in the Utica com-
munity are incorporated in these
tables.
Dr. Kahn's book may inspire
other Jewish communities to en-
courage similar tasks of pub-
lishing histories of their devel-
opments.

Ccrnoratuiations

and Best Wishes

to the New Management of

The Rainbow
Caterers

Mr. z. Gothiel and
Mr. Robert Rosenberg

Our sincere thanks and apprecia-
tion for the manner in which
they catered our last banquet.

Mizrachi—Hopoel Mizrochi
of Detroit

Will You
Take An Infant Into
Your Home?

WE PAY FOR BOARD AND MEDICAL COSTS

YOU SUPPLY CARE, LOVE AND AFFECTION

Call or Write to Mrs. Barbara Mandell

JEWISH FAMILY and
CHILDREN'S SERVICE

13327 Linwood Avenue, Detroit 38

TOwnsend 8-2490

THE TWENTY-FIRST ANNIVERSARY DINNER OF THE
COUNCIL OF ORTHODOX RABBIS AND MERKAZ

TUESDAY, MARCH 3rd, 1959 6 p.m. -

MAYFAIR ROOM, 19161 SCHAEFER

GUEST SPEAKER:

Rabbi Joshua
S. Sperka,

Chairman
Anniversary
Dinner

RABBI PINCHAS M. TEITZ

World Renowned
Orator and Talmudic Scholar

David J. Callum

Newly Re-Elected
President Merkaz
Chairman
Steering & Program

For further information, call either of the above-listed chairmen:

Rabbi Joshua S. Sperka
WEbster 3-9060

or

David J. Cohen
UNiversity 4-7521

1 3 -THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS—Fri day , February 13, 1959

Centricity Asked
for U. S. Jewry

