THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS -- Friday, November 2, 19 62
co
_Paris Conference Observes Eyes of World Jewry
Focus on Israel, France
VITAS 25th Anniversary
of the Paris UJA Mission
(Continued from Page 1)
in those countries, and the gatherings.
leaders from the several repre-
LOD, Israel — When grown
sented countries reviewed the men and women weep at the
work of the American Jewish sight of people whO had un-
Joint Distribution Committee in dergone persecution and who
the course of the sessions held finally have landed on soil
in the Crillon Hotel, in the they can call their own, where
room where the late President they can live as free human
Woodrow 'Wilson and the heads beings, it is a sign of an emo-
of the Allied Powers after tion that results from deeply
World War I met to plan the moving experiences.
peace that was later sealed at
A group of 145 American
Versailles.
Jews, witnesses to the landing
The organizations whose rep, by air, of large groups of Jews,
resentatives joined in acclaim- from eight countries, was in
ing. the UJA's 25th anniversary such a mood when they saw a
included the JDC overseas lead- variety of kinsmen, young and
ers, the Standing Conference old, some in their 80s, some
on European Jewish Community being breast-fed by young
Services, the Fonds Social Juif mothers, emerge from areas of
Unifie (FSJU) and Jewish lead- perSecution. into this Israeli
ers from Denmark, Sweden, the sphere of challenge, hard work
British Isles, Italy, Israel and and sacrifice. But the Israeli
other countries.
difficulties are marked by free-
Joseph Meyerhoff of Balti- dom to raise one's head high,
more, UJA general chairman, for the first time to act without
presided at several of the ses- inhibitions—to be. at home at
sions, including a dinner at the last.
famous Le Pre Catelan that was
The American Jews saw men
preceded by a reception at the and women kneel and kiss the
home of Baron Alain de Roths- soil of Israel, in gratitude for
child, grand-nephew of the late having been brought out from
Baron Edmond de Rothschild slavery into fredom—m'avduth
who became famous as the l'heruth. Many of them still feel
"Nadiv Hayeduah," ("the famed the touch of the lips of Jews
benefactor")—a title given him from many climes on their
for his generosity towards the hands: as the people who came
Jews of Palestine in pre-Israel to their new freedom went past
years.
the Jews from America, they
An address by Edward M. M. grabbed their hands and kissed
Warburg, in which the Ameri- them — in gratitude for their
can Jewish leader reminisced help to establish the Israel
about the beginnings of rescue homes for them. Many of these
work in Europe and the forma- kissed hands will soon be raised
tion of the UJA, featured the in appeals to their communities
dinner. Other speakers included to be aware of the new historic
Charles H. Jordan, JDC general developments: the constant flow
director; Dr. Astorre Mayer of of Jews from all parts of the
Milan, Israel Ambassador to globe into the haven of Israel.
France Walter Eytan and Rabbi
This year, the newcomers are
Herbert Friedman, UJA execu- from 62 countries, speaking
tive director who, with Meyer- many languages, possessing a
hoff, headed the UJA mission. variety of characteristics. Yet,
The evaluators of the work of for each group, there is a new
the JDC portrayed the heroic environment, newly built homes,
work of the relief organization's an expanded school system.
representatives in various areas,
Speaking to the 145 Ameri-
including "out of bounds" terri-
tories, behind Nazi lines during cans on the 1962 United Jew-
the • last war and in Moslem ish Appeal Mission to inaugu-
rate UJA's 25th anniversary
countries.
year of rescue and rehabilita-
Tours of hostels where Al- tion, Israel's Finance Minister
gerian and other refugees pres- Levi Eshkol predicted that
ently are housed in France the present Israel pOpulation
gave the UJA Mission members
of 2,300,000 will grow to
an idea of the tasks that face
3,000,000 in 1970.
the UJA and JDC.
As Eshkol, the second highest
In his address, Dr. Mayer
stated that 11 European coun- ranking Israeli -official, spoke
tries are represented in the of the hundreds of thousands of
European Jewish Community Jews who are on the march
Services Conference . He from many lands, away from
stressed that, while the Stand- humiliations, into the freedom
ing Conference" cannot yet be of Israel, representatives from
compared in scope to the UJA, a score of American Jewish
it has manifested its collective communities vowed to return
concern for the crisis facing home and to give this little land
one of its member by creating the financial encouragement it
a Mutual Aid Fund to help care needs that the work of rebuild-
for the influx of North African ing and redemption should not
and other newcomers into be slowed.
France. To this, six communi-
Wherever the visiting Ameri-
ties have already made con- cans turned, they had the op-
tributions in excess of $150,000, portunity to see progressive
he said.
steps forward — thousands of
Summing up the significance new homes being built, a vast
of the UJA Study Mission's water reserve being planned by
visit to Paris, Rabbi Friedman means of harnessing the Lake
said that meeting the hard- Tiberias resources, new indus-
presed leaders of the French tries emerging, an expanded
Jewish community and seeing railroad system planned.
and talking with new arrivals
Yet, the warning that accom-
to France had been a deeply panies the reports of progress
moving experience.
is: the standard of giving by
"Today we do not haVe the Jews outside Israel does not
sense of desperation and agon- measure up to the needs! It is
ized impotence that over- no wonder that Charles Gersh-
whelmed us 25 years ago," he enson, who is about to assume
said. "In the past quarter of a the Detroit Allied Jewish Cam-
century we have raised $1,- paign chairmanship, and his as-
367,000,000, with it we have re- sociates here, who will be
paired the shattered lives of among his chief pleaders for
3,000,000 men, women and chil- continued aid for Israel, when
dren. From this achievement they conduct the approaching
we have a feeling of confi- Detroit drive for what will have
dence."
to be a much larger fund than
On the dais at the dinner that has ever been asked before, are
concluded the Mission's visit in in such a serious mood! They
Paris were Joseph Holtzman have an urgently pressing task
and Max Fisher of Detroit.
facing them, and unless the ob-
Detroiters participated in dis- ligations are fulfilled, it will not
cussions at the various sessions be Israel alone that will be
handicapped, but the Jewish
people will be on trial to an-
swer to . the question whether
they remain rahamonim bnai
rahamonim — the merciful who
are pursuing a tradition for
mercy and justice to their fel-
low men.
*
*
HERZLIA. Israel — From the
Accadia Hotel, headquarters of
the 145-person UJA Mission,
numerous studies have been
made by noted leaders who
have come here preparatory to
fulfilling their obligations as
American Jews to the historic
development of Israel as the re-
cipient of hundreds of thou-
sands of dispossessed and often
dishonored and humiliated Jews.
Under the very able guidance
and direction of Joseph Meyer-
hof of Baltimore and Rabbi Her-
bert Friedman of New York,
the members of the Mission
have toured the most important
immigrant reception centers
and scores of new developments,
as well as JDC installations
(Malben, mental health hospi-
tals, etc.).
They were witnesses to occa-
sional rebellions on the part of
the newcomers, some of whom
wanted larger flats, more rooms
for themselves and their chil-
dren, different jobs.
But even for those who come,
there is not a sufficient number
of flats; yet all are housed.
Everyone gets a job. Profes-
sionals are immediately sent to
schools to learn Hebrew and to
be able to practice their profes-
sions. The Israeli officials are
patient with the obstinate and
they give them time to become
acclimated here. There is some-
thing saintly about the—recep-
tion given the new settlers!
The full story can not be told
adequately by the current his-
torian. The scope is too great,
the means with which to meet
the . challenges too meager, yet
the job is being done. This is a
very serious period in Jewish
history, but it is a glorious one
—thanks to the determined will
of a new nation that refuses to
recognize any obstacles and that
is determined that whoever
among needy Jews seeks haven
in Israel is to be provided its
blessings.
* *
(Continued from Page 1)
Less. than 50 years ago,
France had less than 100,000
Jews. With the influx in excess
of 300,000, now, due to the Al.
gerian influx, France has more
than 500,000 Jews, and for the
first time the French Jewish
population now exceeds the
number of Jews in the British
Isles.
The Algerian Jews who are
now in France are a different
type of "refugee." They have
no language problem, since they
speak French. They do not have
a nationality problem, being
French nationals. They are as-
sured of relief from the French
government, which provides
stipends for the escapees from
Algeria. But the aid that is
provided for them is so nominal
that the American Jewish Joint
Distribution Committee has had
to step in to provide supple-
mentary aid and to give assist-
ance in establishing Jewish
schools for the escapees' chil-
dren, and synagogues and reli-
gious and cultural functions for
the elders.
Hostels are provided for
the refugees, but the lack of
proper housing has resulted
in such tragedy that the slums
in which these tens of thou-
sands of people live present
a horrifying sight.
Is it any wonder, therefore,
that the UJA, and its benefi-
ciary, the JDC, must come to
American Jewry with heart-
rending appeals for help, with
a cry for mercy for those who
have been made homeless by
the horrors of a deteriorating
world situation and by mount-
ing international tragedies!
The manner in which the in-
flux of Jews into France, main-
ly from Algeria, has altered
Jewish population figures is in-
dicated in more than two score
communities. In the period of
1957 to 1962, Marseilles' Jews
increased in number f r o m
12,000 to 60,000; in Toulouse,
from 3,500 to 13,500; Paris,
175,000 to 250,000; Nice, 2,100
to 3,600; Lyons; 6,300 to 12,300,
and so on down the line.
In a number of communities
where there previously were no
Jews at all, there now are Jew-
ish communities, as in the fol-
lowing French cities, with fig-
ures of newcomers now residing
there: Rennes, 150; Blois, 175;
Poitiers, 150; Annecy, 125; La
Rochelle, 500; Angers, 250; and
a number of other cities.
A revolution has taken place
here, and only Israel either is
ready or willing to recive many
of those who live here as "ref-
ugees," although most of them
are merely uprooted French
nations. But their lot remains
tragic—one of the results of
the upheavals in a changing
world.
* * *
The recent issue of L'Arche,
the organ of the Fonds Social
Juif Unifie (FSJU), copies of
which were distributed among
members of the UJA Mission
in Paris, contained an article
on synagogue architecture by
Percival Goodman. Included in
it are two illustrations of the
new Shaarey Zedek synagogue
in Detroit, with explanatory
notes. Goodman is the architect
of the new Shaarey Zedek.
* * *
Here's one of - the anecdotes
from the UJA Mission's experi-
ences in Paris.:
While Baron Alain de Roths-
child was welcoming the guests,
at the reception at his home,
23 Avenue Marigny, Paris, one
of the members of the Mission
asked him: "Are you the Roths-
child who is in the furniture
business?"
Hebrew Corner
How Dr. Hera
Became a Zionist
While still in the city of his birth,
Budapest, where he attended school,
and also later when he was a stu-
dent at the University in Vienna,
the young Herzl was heavy-hearted
over the oppression of the Jews.
Although he was loved by all, he
felt as a stranger. He could not for-
give the German teacher in school
who insulted the Jews. Later, he
resigned from the students organiza-
tion because it was decided not to
accept Jewish members.
Herzl was in Paris during the days
of the Dreyfus Case, and he wrote:
"The Dreyfus Case of 1894 made me
a Zionist. Until this day I hear
people shouting in the street: 'Death
for Dreyfus! Death to the Jews!"
How did this happen? And where?
In France, the country of freedom!
I understood: the hatred against
Jews lives in the hearts of all na-
tions. The only solution to the Jew-
ish problem is — to return to the
country of our fathers, to Eretz-
Israel!"
It was then that Herzl wrote in
his book, "The Jewish State":
"There is no other solution to the
problem of Jews suffering amongst
nations — only a new Egyptian
exodus. The time has come to go
forth from all the countries of the
diaspora to Eretz-Israel."
Translation of Hebrew Corner
Published by Brith Ivrith Olamith,
Jerusalem.
The group of Detroiters in
the UJA Mission represented a
dedicated group of Americans.
They trudged their way across
the areas covered in the study
period — at airfields, viewing
new pumping stations which are
expected to help solve Israel's
water problem, in JDC instal-
lations.
Pioneer Zionists like Israel
Davidson, • tried and tested
campaigners like Joseph Holtz- "Tv ;11 ,47 41iR ritp,;7 ' 1894
man and Jack - Lefton, leaders
.
in the Allied Jewish Cam- , 171.$4
paign Women's Division
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(among them Mrs. Max Fisher
who soon is to occupy a major
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paign), physicians (Drs.
Jerome Hauser and Samuel
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lems—these were part of the
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delegation that probed deeply
into the needs of a people
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struggling to protect itself
and to rescue all Jews who
may be. under the heel of an
oppressor.
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Detroiters as a group were
linked with the activities of the
larger group. They adhered to a
principle of non-separation from
its peoples interests. Some of
them were in the small minyan
that was formed for Sabbath
services and three of the eight
aliyoth at that service went to
Detroiters. Theirs was a leader-
ship that has gained respect
through Detroit's high ranking
position among the best UJA
communities,
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