THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS -- Friday, -June 12, : 1959-40
Reverse Mt. Clemens Decision
Michigan Supreme Court Rules Out
Mixed Seating; Ends 4-Year Suit
By FRANK SIMONS
The Michigan .Supreme Court
ended a four-year dispute in-
volving Cong. Beth Tefilas
Moses in Mt. Clemens when it
voted unanimously last Friday
to forbid mixed seating during
religious services at the syna-
gogue.
The move, whieh caught
members of the congregation
by surprise, reversed a decision
rendered last year by Circuit
Judge Edward T. Kane, who re-
fused to hear the case on the
grounds that the court lacked
jurisdiction in a religious dis:
pute.
•
The Supreme Court
opin-
ion, written by Justice Thom-
as M. Kavanagh, hinged on
a definition of the congrega-
tion as Orthodox, at the same
time establishing that one of
the tenets of Orthodox Ju-
daism. is separate seating for
nd women.
a nd
Also involved in the case,
which was appealed at its con-
clusion by only one man —
Baruch Litvin — was the issue
of the property rights of an in-
dividual.
Litvin, who claims to have
spent $12,000 in battling the
suit for four years, stated that
the court's decision was not a
personal triumph, but a vic-
tory for OrthodoX Judaism.
"No synagogue in Michigan,
which is constitutionally desig-
nated as Orthodox," he claimed,
"can now attempt to seat men
and women together. Other Or-
. thodox synagogues can now
. fight against mixed seating."
While Litvin won his case,
however, the cost appeared to
have come high.
One member of the board of
trustees said that,-his triumph
signalled "a one-man victory
and the breaking up of a con-
gregation."
The board spokesman said,
"We will never let the syna-
gogue go; we owe that much
both to ourselves and our child-
ren."
But he wasn't referring to
Cong. Beth Tefilas Moses —
the synagogue on South Ave.
•and Maple. He meant that in
the future, nearly every one of
the '75 member-families would
join in forming a new congre-
gation.
"Mr. Litvin's victory has
won him a congregation but
lost him the congregants; has
won him a decision that ha
cost him the friendship of the
rabbi of the synagogue and
nearly every family in the
Mt. Clemens community; has
won him a court case that
gives him use of a building
that prohibits mixed seating
but lost him a minyan to
conduct services," the board
member concluded.
The mixed seating contro-
versy has raged at the Mt.
Clemens synagogue since 1954,
when the original vote for seat-
ing men and women .together
was rejected.
In 1955, however, a commit-
tee reporting to the congrega-
tion in favor of mixed seating,
found that its resolution was
adopted by the majority.
An injunction, issued prior
to the High Holy Days of that
year, restrained the congrega-
tion from effecting the change
until Judge Kane's ruling, when
mixed seating was put into
practice.
Listed as appellants in the
Supreme Court suit with Lit-
vin were Meyer Davis, now de-
ceased, and Sam Schwartz, who
had, since the suit began,
joined the majority in favor of
• mixed seating and even accept-
ed membership on the board of
trustees.
In carrying out the battle
alone, Litvin and his counsel
called for testimony on Rabbi
David B. Hollander, honorary
president of the Rabbinical
Council of America, and Dr.
Samson R. Weiss, former dean
of the . Yeshivath Beth Yehudah
in Detroit and a leader in the
Union of Orthodox Jewish Con-
gregations of America.
Rabbi Hollander was asked
by the court if any difference
between Orthodox or Reform
and Conservative worship could
be noticed. He answered that
"the most observable thing is
seating," since Reform • and
Conservative do not require
separate seating while Ortho-
dox does.
In his own testimony, Litvin
claimed that the congregation
was _never anything but Ortho-
dox and that only Orthodox
rabbis had been called to the
pulpit.
He showed - a plan adopted
when the synagogue was, built,
indicating that the balcony was
erected as .a mechitzah,- to sep-
arate the men from the women.
In further testimony, Lit-
vin said that : after mixed
seating was introduced he
and others left the synagogue
because they could - not wor-
ship contrary to. Orthodox
law, where men and women
prayed together.
The major issue, as intro-
duced by the appellant, thus
became the approach that the
Michigan Supreme Court, on
other cc-asions,- has estab-
lished: that "a change in relig-
ious practice, not conformable
with the origin and historic
character of the faith of the
church of which the local con-
gregation is one member, as
against those who faithfully ad-
here to the characteristic doc-
trine of the church, thereby
deprive the minority of the use
of the church property."
T h e defendants, 'mean-
•while, at a meeting prior to
the hearing, determined by a
vote -of 40-0, with three ab-
stentations (Litvin's • three
sons who are still members of
the synagogue), that they
would rely on -the court to
dismiss the case as not with-
in its jurisdiction — as they
had done in the previous
hearing before Judge Kane.
(According to one of the de
fendants, who is a . 30-year Mem-
ber of the synagogue, a past
president and currently a mem-
ber of its board of trustees, it
was felt that airing religious
problems in court • is like wash-
ing dirty linen in public.
(By taking any other tack, it
was feared the trial would de
velop into a notorious feud that
would bring injury to the en-
tire Jewish people and also en-
ter into a battle of personalities
which could be avoided).
The Supreme Court, charging
that the defendant board mem-
bers had the opportunity to re-
fute- the testimony of Litvin and
other witnesses for the plain-
tiffs, ruled:
L That Cong. Beth Tefilas
Moses - was an Orthodox Jew-
ish congregation;
2. That under Orthodox
JeWish law, Jews cannot par-
ticipate in services where
there is mixed seating;
3. That if mixed seating
was enjoyed in this congre-.
.gation, Orthodox Jews would
be prohibited from partici-
pating in the services there.
"Clearly," the opinion read,
"the plaintiffs would be de-
prived of their right to the use
of their synagogue — in other
words, deprived of their prop-
erty and the use of their prop-
erty by the majority group
contrary to law."
The court cited many refer-
ences for previous precedent,
in Michigan and other law. In
the case of Borgman vs. Bulte-
ma, the State Supreme Court
had decided.
"No one disputes, where
property is dedicated to the use
of -a religious denomination, it
cannot thereafter be diverted
to the use of those who depart
from that faith, but must re-
main for the use and benefit
of those who still adhere to
the faith." • •
Because- the Supreme Court
decision was unanimous, it is
doubtful whether any appeal
will be made.
• Either . of the two options—
appeal to the U.S. Supreme
Court or request for a re-hear-
ing •13y the Michigan Supreme
Court—would be too costly and,
because of the unanimous vote,
it is doubtful whether either
court would hear the case.
Rome Mayor Refuses to Celebrate
Fall of Nazism; Evokes Protest
ROME (JTA)—Members of statement earlier, declaring
four opposition parties in the that the city will not partici-
Rome City Council will request pate in the celebration of the
the resignation of Mayor Urbano
Cioccetti for his refusal to per-
mit the city's official participa-
tion in the celebration of the
liberation of Rome from Nazi-
fascist rule.
Announcement that the May-
or's resignation will be sought
was made here at a protest
meeting by Councilmen repre-
senting the Socialist, Commu-
nist, Republican and Radical
parties. One of the speakers at
the meeting urged the govern-
ment to remove Mayor Cioccetti
under a law permitting such re-
moval for "acts contrary to the
Constitution."
Another of the speakers at
the protest meeting recalled
the suffering of Rome's Jews
during the Nazi-fascist regime,
and accused the Mayor of
"betraying the spirit- of the
solidarity shown the Jewish
fellow-citizens" by Christians in
Rome. The group conducting
the protest meeting invited to
the stage a representative of
Rome's Jewish Youth Center. A
number of anti-fascist organ-
izations participated in the rally.
Mayor - Cioccetti had issued a
Jerusalem Calling
•
Shavuot Festival
Translation of Hebrew Column
Published by Brit Ivrit Olamit
A short time ago, my nephew in-
vited me to come to his kibbutz
for the festival of Shavuot. I ac-
cepted the invitation gladly (will-
ingly).
The Festival of Shavuot is also
know as Festival of the First-fruits,
since in ancient days the Children
of Israel used to bring on this day
to the Temple in Jerusalem from
the first-fruits of their land. In our
day Jews once again dwell on their
own land and again they rejoice
with the first-fruits of the field.
Members of the kibbuti decorate
the tractors and the wagons with
greenery and flowers, and seat
the children upon them. The chil-
dren are dressed in white clothes,
with wreaths of flowers: on . their
heads. Within the wagons the mem-
bers of the kibbutz place the first-
fruits: from the fields, from the
wineyard- and from the citrus grove;
even little chickens and a calf born
a few days before the festival.
The entire procession -makes its
way with song from the field to
the dining-hall. After - a nice • cere-
mony the children go forth in dance,
which after a short time draws in
the adults, too.
In the city, -too, of course, the
residents of Israel celebrate the
Shavuot festival. In the schools
there are special celebrations on
the eve of the festival,- the syna-
gogues are full of worshippers, and
thousands of pilgrims come to
and go up to Mount Zion
to pray at the Tomb of King David.
WRY Chief Advances Six-Point
Solution to Arab Refugee Issue
NEW YORK (JTA) — Con-
crete recommendations for the
settlement of the Arab refugee
problem were advanced in:con-
nection with the World Refugee
Year, which goes into effect on
July 1, under a mandate from
the United Nations General
Assembly.
The recommendations were
outlined in a report presented
at a press conference by Elfan
Rees, chairman of the executive
committee of the International
Committee for the World
Refugee Year (WRY). They
suggested:
1. To accept as "practical"
and "hopeful" the offer which
Israel made in the UN last year
to compensate the Arab refu-
gees under certain' conditions;
2. As part of the over-all
settlement of the refugee prob-
lems in the Middle East, ac-
count must be taken of property
abandoned in Arab lands by
400,000 Jews who "have been
forced to leave their homes in
Iraq, Yemen and North Africa"
for settlement in Israel;
.3. To consider the repatria-
tion of the Arab refugees to
Israel as "physically and politic-
ally impossible, and culturally
undesirable;"
4. Israel should admit some
Arab refugees, "under inter-
national .control, on a quota
basis, over a period of years;"
5. The world "should be
ready -to support Israel finan-
cially in its compensation
plan;" and
6. The United Nations Relief
and Works Agency for -Arab
Refugees from Palestine change
its title to "Works and Relief
Agency," so as to emphasize
the need of rehabilitation of
the refugees through work,
rather than through relief
activities. UNRWA's mandate
expires June 30, 1960, and the
UN must decide at the next
General Assembly whether to
continue aiding the Arab
refugees and how to perform
that task beyond 1960.
Among the participants in
the press conference at which
Dr. Rees' report was issued was
James P. Rice, executive direc-
tor of United Hias Service, who
lauded America's contribution
to World. Refugee Year. He
cited plans for fresh congres-
sional action in regard to immi-
gration, and pointed to - the
recent White House conference
on the refugee problem, where
proposals were voiced for
active American participation
in WRY. -
* * *
Ask UNRWA to Ready
for Liquidation in 1960
JERUSALEM (JTA) — In-
structions to prepare for
liquidation of its activities were
received from United Nations
headquarters by the main office
of the UN Relief and Works
Agency for Arab Refugees, at
Beirut. The Agency's mandate
expires officially, on June 30,
1960.
The liquidation orders are
believed to be merely a formal
step, since there is virtually no
doubt that either UNRWA, or
an agency similar to it, will
continue to aid the Arab
refugees beyond the summer
of 1960.
15th anniversary of Rome's lib-
eration because "no demonstra-
tion should- be held which
might rekindle hatreds, or re-
open new wounds now healing."
The Mayor also refused to
accept the honorary chairman-
ship of an exhibition now being
prepared here, commemorating
the Italians who were deported
to Nazi concentration camps.
After making the announce-
ment, the Mayor left for Paris.
A manifesto issued • by the
National Association of Italian
Partisans condemned the May-
or's attitude. The organization
pointed out that. 3,850 persons
were deported by the Nazis from
Rome, including 2,091 Jews.
Only 32 -of the deported Jews
returned from the camps, stated
the manifesto. "Cioccetti is not
entitled to be the Mayor of
these people, nor does he repre-
sent Rome," the manifesto said.
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