THE DETROIT JEWISH NEW S -- Friday, Oc tober 5,' 1962
Purely Commentary
Dame Rumor and a Sensitive Community
Rumor Demolished .
Haggai and Joffe
Tributes ... Yiddish BB
By Philip
Slomoyitz
Mississippi's Sin: Those Who Defy the Human Laws
Mississippi's chief officials have sinned, and they have drawn
into their den of bigots some people who stood ready to renew
the Civil War, to fight' the Federal Government, to labor against
basic human rights.
We would like to believe that these people represent a small
minority of Mississippi's population. There are always people who
disagree with legislation. If it were otherwise, we would be living
under the hammer and sickle. We are not totalitarian, and we
therefore have dissenters. But the land cannot afford to condone
the defying of the law, and desegregation has been ordered by
law.
We have confidence that our Union • will remain unshakable.
We have just experienced tragedy in Mississippi. There may be
some recurrences of such events, but the country as a whole is
too sound. too level-headed, to permit bigotry to raise its ugly
head above the barest attempts at destroying human values.
Human rights will never be abandoned as long as the basic
American ideals, as interpreted by our courts. as enacted into
our laws, are observed and defended. It cannot be otherwise
under our democratic way of life.
Israeli Students
Back U.S. Negro
(Direct JTA Teletype Wire
to The Jewish News)
Dame Rumor is never attractive. She is nearly always an
JERUSALEM — The Is-
ugly female who can wear the garb of man or woman and who
rael Student Association said
causes heartaches and creates despair.
Wednesda y
'Tis true that there are times when a rumor starts from an
it had sent
iota of truth, but a modicum of basic facts is not enough: all the
a cable to
facts must be known in a given controversy to justify whatever
James Mer-
action an individual or a group may pursue.
edith, t h e
Rumor had a field day in the case of a well known Detroit
Negro stu-
restaurant whose five owners—three brothers and two of their
dent at the
brothers-in-lawone a World War I U.S. army veteran and the
University
of MisSis-
others World War II U.S. army veterans—all but one native
Meredith sippi, ex-
Americans—suffered from a spreading gossip that charged them
pressing solidarity with his
with responsibility for acts of one brother's mother-in-law
stand for equal rights.
who was accused of having collaborated with the Nazis during the
(The British anti- Semite
Hitler regime in Hungary.
Colin Jordan, now on trial
It was a tale out of Budapest. Rumor had it that a lady who
for inciting to riots in Lon-
was dining in this restaurant recognized the wife of one of the
don, cabled to Governor Bar-
men and her mother and shouted accusations that they were
nett of Mississippi his en-
responsible for Jewish lives while the elder lady was managing
dorsement of his anti-Negro
an apartment house which was inhabited by JeWs who were under
activities).
curfew imposed by the Nazis. This story has been found to be
*
*
*
untrue. While gossippers were spinning many tales about such an
imaginary incident, no witnesses could be found to corroborate An Arena for Yiddish Through Bnai Brith
Yiddish-speaking landsmanshaften are disappearing. Their Van Cliburn Plants
the tale. But it resulted in great damage to five families who
have many Jewish business associations and many Jewish friends, memberships are declining, many of the Yiddish organizations
the heads of the families possessing honorable records as service- are folding up and some are merging in order to continue mutual Tree in Israel Forest
interests under the names of neighboring European communities
men who fought against Germany.
One of the world's great art-
Mounting evidence now seems to exonerate the accused, and from which they hailed many years ago.
ists, Texas-born pianist Van
The children of landsmanshaften members are not interested Cliburn climaxed his first visit
even the mother-in-law denies that she was a Nazi collaborator.
She admits having served a jail sentence in Hungary, but does in such groups. That's understandable, especially in the instances to Israel last month with a tree-
not concede that it is for collaboration. It should be understood of groups that use Yiddish as their language of discussion and planting ceremony in Jerusa-
that in a Communist-governed country it is easy to hurl charges to conduct the business of the organizations.
lem's Sanhedria Forest.
against a non-Communist accusing him or her of having been a
Now a group of lovers of Yiddish, who until now found an
After scoring a series of tri-
Nazi or Fascist. And just as it is deplorable that Nazis often outlet in landsmanshaften, have set out to form a Yiddish-
fall back on such a defense — charging their accusers of being speaking Bnai Brith chapter here. They hope it will be a means umphs in his appearances with
the Israel Philharmonic Orches-
Communist—such tactics are often heard in Germany today—it is of again popularizing Yiddish. .
equally deplorable when the fact is true: that Communists can
One of the deplorable results of the destruction of East tra and in recital as part of Is-
jail any one they choose by leveling the Nazi charge against European Jewry is the decline of Yiddish. The language is vir- rael's Second Music and Drama
tually disappearing. The Yiddish press is losing ground. Of the Festival, the young American
the victim.
Men who are acknowledged to be honorable in every respect nearly a dozen Yiddish newspapers that were published in this
should not be permitted to suffer from false accusations, but country during and after the World War I period, only two
they should understand that an incident like the one in which remain, and when deaths occur among their readers, there are
they were the victims is not uncommon; that victims of Nazism no replacements for them.
have a moral right to express resentment and contempt for
The question may well be posed: in about 10 years, if the
anyone who was guilty of Nazi collaboration; that even at this Yiddish press remains in its present status, will there be enough
late date-17 years after the defeat of Nazi Germany—there are Yiddish writers in a decade to be able to produce the excellent
many who have escaped punishment and should not be permitted newspapers we still have in that language?
Yiddish haS a rich literature. Its cultural wealth is immense.
to remain unpunished.
Of course, where there is even the least bit of guilt, in
Yet, there are few readers for it. Will the establishment of a
a
Bnai Brith lodge bring new life to Yiddish? Would that it could!
instances in which Nazi atrocities were condoned even
such a
gesture or a glance, there is need for penitence. If such
It is difficult to revive a language when it has no readers. It
factor even as indifference towards the fate of the Jews among
is almost impossible to breathe life into a tongue that is not
whom they lived in Hungary under the Nazis entered the
used by the youth.
Perhaps the organizers of the Yiddish Bnai Brith lodge have
minds of the two women, they, as devout Catholics (the inno-
a way of instilling new life into the Yiddish field. If they can,
cently accused wife of one of the restaurateurs is a physical
education teacher at the Jesu school), should do penance.
they have our blessings.
The fact that the restaurant owners probably will be com-
pletely exonerated very soon, after a completion of the study The 'Herem` ( Excommunication Threat)
of the case by the Jewish Community Council, is proof that our
Israel's Minister of Religious Affairs Dr. Zorah Warhaftig
community is not vengeful, that an untruth, when tracked down, last week made a statement that sounds like a threat of a
stands condemned in the eyes of people who wish to be fair to "herem"—excommunication—against Reform Jews. He said, in
their neighbors. • Jerusalem, that American Reform Judaism's plan to establish
VAN CLIBURN
Fault in this case lies with those community leaders who itself in Israel "smacks of missionary activities," implying that
have been studying the case for some time as well as the Reform Jews are not settling in Israel but that their efforts evinced a desire to plant a tree
restaurant owners. Both should have spoken up at once instead amounted to "them sitting in America and sending a few rabbi as a living souvenir of his first
of waiting until this week. Had the restaurateurs and the accused missionaries to Israel." His contention was that Israel must pre- visit to the Jewish State. Ac-
wife of one of . them made their firm denials publicly and serve its present religious framework so that Jews should remain companied by his mother and
promptly, the entire case might not have taken on the dimensions the age-old Jewish people.
father, Rabbi: Nathan of the Is-
it assumed over a period of many months. and Dame Rumor
These are amazing assertions. The Minister of Religions
Government Tourist Office
might have been driven out of our community in disgrace the would lead us to believe that there have never been any changes rael
and representatives of the Jew-
moment she was seen in the ,witch's garb.
in Judaism! No one with an historical sense could possibly yield
National Fund, Cliburn visit-
We are now told that democracy's processes are slow-moving, to such nonsense. But when Dr. Warhaftig goes so far as to state ish
ed some of the new f or e s t s
that the wheels of justice do not rotate speedily. Let the present that Reform Jewish activities are tantamount to being "mis- which are rapidly changing Is-
experience be a lesson to all of us for the future. Without prompt sionary," he poses a challenge to Jews everywhere who con- rael's landscape from brown to
action in any given case, we invite trouble that often leads to stantly deal with Reform Jews in their numerous classifications. green.
misery.
Some extreme Orthodox leaders have not hesitated to include
In the Sanhedria Forest, on
Conservative Jews among those who have been chosen - for ex-
the
outskirts of Jerusalem, the
communication,
and
there
are
several
types
of
Reform
Jews.
The
The Leader of a Generation
Joseph Haggai
pianist planted a pine sapling
There is a common boast among scores upon scores of two groups—Conservative and Reform—number in the millions. with his own hands and was pre-
Detroit Jewish leaders who, when referring to their early Jewish and if the "herem" were to be applied to them, what Would be sented with a certificate com-
schooling, state proudly: "Joseph Haggai was my teacher." No left of Jewry?
Surely, there would be little left of the large group that memorating his visit.
greater tribute could possibly be paid to any man. The late Mr.
At the conclusion of the cere-
Haggai was the brilliant teacher, the guide of youth, the inspirer provides the funds that are so vitally needed for rescue work mony, Cliburn told Jewish Na-
among
the
declassed
Jews
in
several
lands
for
most
of
whom
the
of his pupils.
tional Fund officials that the
His leadership was not limited to the young. He was looked only hope of survival is in Israel. It is not the dominance of simple. act of planting a tree in
financial
ability
to
provide
philanthropic
funds
that
concerns
us
up to by his many co-workers, by those of his own generation
once barren soil has given him
as well as—in his early years in Detroit—by his elders. One of but rather the humanitarian spirit that induces such support — a strong link with the future
and
we
are
convinced
that
those
who
have
been
branded
as
speakers
of
his
time,
he
drew
many
.
the most effective public
followers into the Zionist movement. The Haggais' home was, for "missionaries" are motivated by a strong Jewish spirit in their of Israel.
many years, a gathering place for cultural discussions, for Zion- interest in Israel.
Hungarian Parliamentarian
Dr. Warhaftig may have some explaining to do to the
ist mobilization, for activities that enriched Jewish life in Detroit.
Koppel
Reich, a Hungarian
With the encouragement and cooperation of his wife, daugh- Cabinet for his rash remarks, but he has much more explaining
and scholar, represented
ter and son—the latter now a leader in his kibbutz in Israel— to perform to his own conscience. If those who are not Orthodox rabbi
the Orthodox Jewish community
Joseph Haggai made great contributions to Jewish life here and are sinners, then there still applies to them the principle that in
the Hungarian Parliament in
"Yisrael of al pi shekhata Yisrael hu"—an Israelite (a Jew),
nationally. His memory will remain a blessing.
even if he has sinned, remains a Jew." But Dr. Warhaftig would the late 1920s. He had been a
excommunicate! He can't be speaking for too many, even among member of the royal council
Great Honor for the Late Boris M. Joffe .
the very Orthodox in Israel, and the late Chief Rabbi Kook wider the reign of Emperor
The Detroit Board of Education is proferring a great honor would have been the first to excoriate him for such rash remarks. Francis Joseph I.
upon an eminent personality by naming a school in his memory.
Boris M. Joffe was . an important factor in our community. Non-
Jews as well as Jews will ever remember the valiant efforts he Nazi Assailant of Negro Leader Gets Jail Term
had exerted in defense of the downtrodden, in support of just
Dr. King did not wish to press
The Nazi, Roy James of
BIRMINGHAM, Ala., (JTA)—
human rights for all, in his work for Israel and the Zionist cause,
in his activities in behalf of the Negroes and their battle for A member of the American Nazi Arlington, Va., is a 24-year-old charges, but Judge Charles H.
party, previously involved in "stormtrooper" in George Lin- Brown 'insisted on trying James,
justice.
Other Jews have previously been honored by having their anti-Semitic disOrders in the coln Rockwell's organization. He terming the incident an "un-
called for, unprovoked assault."
names appended to school buildings. Fred M. Butzel, Julian H. Washington, D.C. area, was sen-
Krolik and others had received due honors. Unlike them, Boris tenced to 30 days in jail and was convicted of punching and James, who said he held the
of lieutenant in the Ameri-
Joffe - was foreign-born. He was an immigrant who knew how to $25 fine here on charges of dis- beating the non-resisting Negro rank
can
Nazi
group, arrogantly plead-
minister
at
a
meeting
of
the
inte-
orderly
conduct
and
assault
and
value American freedoms, and his deep-rooted American idealism
had earned for him the honor that is soon to be acorded his name. battery against the Rev. Martin grationist Southern Christian ed guilty and boasted of his Nazi
affiliation.
Leadership Conference.
Luther King, Jr.
His memory will be blessed by a highly deserved tribute.
—