Orthodox Leaders Avoid
Action on Court Ruling
(Continued froin Page 1)
Amendment manifests the deep
commitment of American society
to religious values. In the heat
of this controversy, those ex-
pressing their agreement with
this decision have sometimes
been labeled enemies of religi-
ous faith and charged with the
•attempt to drive religion out of
American life. We deplore the
attacks on the integrity of the
Supreme Court, the highest ju-
dicial body in our land.
"At the same time, our con-
cern with the importance of the
appreciation and understanding
of the role of God in the world
on the part of all children, par-
ticularly the hundreds of thou-
sands of Jewish children and
millions of non-Jewish children
who have no such opportunity
either in the religious school, the
house of worship, or the home,
leads us to state that we would
deem it appropriate and consist-
ent with the First Amendment
to afford the pupils of public
schools the opportunity to set
out on their day's task with a
moment of devotion.
"We therefore see no objec-
tion if the school day were to
start with a period of silence.
In this period of silence, let
every pupil think in terms of his
faith and his parental religious
heritage of the Almighty and
thusly invoke his protection for
himself, his family, his country
and all mankind." .
Four Orthodox lay leaders
took part in discussion of church-
. state separation involving sec-
tarian practices in public schools
and the issue of government aid
to religious schools. They were
Pual Vishny of Chicago, secre-
tary of the board of the Jewish
University of America; Herbert
Berman of Ne* York, secretary
of the Synagogue Council of
America, and also of the UOJCA;
Reuben B. Gross of New York,
a UOJCA national board mem-
ber; and Samuel Brennglass of
New York, a UOJCA vice-presi-
dent.
-
Vishny, Berman and Brenn-
glass strongly - endorsed the
June Supreme Court decision
banning the recitation in New
York state public schools of a
Regents Prayer. They agreed
that the high court's endorse-
ment of the church-state sepa-
ration principle was vital to
continued religious freedom in
this country. Gross, however,
said that the doctrine of sepa-
ration had become for some
Jews "a slogan of escape from
the need for Jewish identifica-
tion."
Berman warned his Orthodox
colleagues who favor federal aid
to religious schoOls that this was
a stand based on "expediency"
and that the Orthodox Jewish
community should not, by seek-
ing federal funds for its network
of day schools, sacrifice "princ-
iple for financial assistance."
(See Commentary, Page 2)
Avraham Harman, Israel's Am-
bassador to the United States,
told the delegates that "the ex-
. traordinary revival of Judaism
- in Israel and the United States"
in the postwar period was "only
in ifs early stages." He said "its
full impact and influence" were
. still to come. _•
Rabbi Ralph Pelcovitz, former
president. of the Rabbinical Alli-
ance of America, said the Amer-
ican synagogue needed "an
elevation of standards, a higher.
- level in all areas" of its program
if it was to attract and hold the
college-trained .layman who, he
said, was becoming the "norm"
in synagogue membership. He
added that "mediocrity has too
.
4 11'666
I long been the mark of the syna-
gogue on all levels."
Rabbi Hans I. Gruenwald, of
the Hamburg Jewish community,
told the delegates he could see
no possibility for the survival of
the Jewish remnant in Germany.
He said the older generation of
some 25,000 Jews was now about
MOSES I. FEUERSTEIN
Re-elected President of UOJC
90 per cent of the Jewish popu-
lation there and that it was
"rapidly dying out." With only
a handful of Jewish births each
year in all of Germany, he
added, "the deterioration of
Jewish communal organization
is already much in evidence."
Dr. Walter Duckat, supervisor
of the • vocational guidance 'di-
vision of New York's Federation
Employment a n d Vocational
Service, said it was "shocking"
that "so few of our well-qualified
Jewish youth select careers as
rabbis, Jewish educators, social
workers and other Jewish com-
munal vocations."
-
The convention called on
the Soviet Union to imple -
ment their "often repeated"
declarations on the rights and
equality of Soviet. citizens. It
. deplored the fact that Soviet
Jews "have been singled out
for harrassment and strictures
going far beyond those applied
to other religions." -
The resolution charged that
"synagogues are not permitted
to form a central body and are
isolated from each other. No
contact with Jewish religious
leaders or organizations in other
countries is allowed," the resolu
tion declared.
Feuerstein appealed to the
Soviet Union to permit Chief
Rabbi Yehuda Levin of Mos-
cow to visit Europe to meet
with European Jewish religi-
ous leaders.
In other resolutions, the dele-
gates hailed the United States
decision to sell Hawk missiles to
Israel and called on the Presi-
dent to "intensify the efforts of
our Government to bring about
the complete cessation of all nu-.
clear arms tests and subsequent
general disarmament."
The delegates also scored prac-
tices of American humane so-
cieties which reflect anti-Semitic
attitudes "while ostensibly lobby-
ing for humane slaughter laws
on the_ grounds of humane
treatment of animals." 0 t h.e r
resolutions called upon Jewish
federations and welfare funds to
support local Hebrew days
schools and Talmud Torahs "in
a manner permitting these in-
stitutions to maintain their full
and untrammeled spiritual inde-
pendence."
Lubavitcher Rebbe Urges
Reversal of Supreme
Court Ban on Prayer
NEW YORK, (JTA) — A re-
quest that all legal means be
employed to obtain a reversal
by the United States Supreme
Court of its ruling of last June,
when the New York State Re-
gents Prayer was banned as a
requirement in the public
schools, was made public by
Rabbi Menachem H. Schneerson,
the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
Multi-Million Dollar UJA Fund
Proposed to Conference Dec. 7-9
Establishment of a multi-mil-
lion dollar United Jewish Ap-
peal Special Fund in 1963 to
supplement the regular cam-
paign in an effort to meet new
refugee and immigrant emer-
gencies in France and Israel,
will be proposed at the 25th an-
nual national conference, to be
held Dec. 7-9, at the Americana
Hotel, New York.
- The decision to set up the
Fund follows a fact-finding sur-
vey by the eighth UJA Study
Mission to Europe and Israel,
which was headed by Joseph
Meyerhoff, UJA general chair-
man.
The group, consisting of 145
top community and UJA lead-
ers, got a first-hand view of the
heavy influx of North African
refugees into France as a result
of the political uncertainties in
the Moslem countries. Refugee
assistance has been taxing the
financial resources of the Joint
Distribution Committee, a ma-
jor beneficiary of UJA funds, as
well as the French Jewish wel-
fare agencies.
In Israel, the Mission exam-
ined the problems being en-
countered by the Jewish Ag-
ency, the principal UJA bene-
ficiary organization, in coping
the heavy immigration of 1962,
which promises to continue next
year.
Conference delegates will be
called upon to _ set the specific
fund-raising goals for 1963
after hearing reports from top-
r a n k i.n g representatives of
UJA's beneficiaries — the New
York Association f or New
Americans, as well as the Jew-
ish Agency and JDC.
The three-day Conference
also will mark the official in-
auguration of the nationwide
observance of the UJA 25th an-
niversary year, to be observed
by 3,200 communities associated
with the UJA during the cam-
paign year, at a series of na-
tional, regional and community
meetings, and by many other
special events.
Tops Lit13
M alaita/Kai
. .
•
•TOPS IN
PERFORMANCE!
•TOPS IN
VALUE!
--•••••
MANUFACTURED BY
SOI3ERMAN & MILGROM CO.
7741 LYNDON AVENUE
DETROIT 38, MICHIGAN
with all these
ADVANTAGES
you'd expect
ELECTRIC HEAT
to cost more than it does!
ROOM-BY-ROOM CONTROL
clean and QUIET
as electric light
SFIV ES SPflCEI
You get fug use of All floor space.
There's none taken up for fuel
storage, chimney.
.
Dial the exact warmth you want, in the
room you want. Turn the heat down in
rooms not in use—lower heating costs.
0
EFFICIENT!
WITH ELECTRIC HEAT, ALL OF' THE
HEAT IS USABLE-NONE GOES
UP A FLUE.
Quick!
even heat!
No told spots or drafts, no blasts of hot air.
Turn a dial and the heat's on
when and where you want it.
No waiting for heat to build
up elsewhere in your home.
There's little to wear out,
nothing to rust out, no
burners to replace.
EASY ON THE BUDGETS
lowest upkeep!
How much
will it cost -
to heat your-bome
electrically?
Your cost of operation can be spreted
over 11 months with an adjustment in
the 12th month.
A qualified Electric Heating Contractor
will gladly come and estimate the cost
to install and operate electric heat in
your home. It may surprise you how
easily you can enjoy all the comfort
and convenience of electric heat.
ask
DETROIT
EDIS ON