Friday, February 2 1, 1964—THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS- 2
Purely Commentary
The Case of a Jewish Segregationist
When consternation set in at one time, upon the revelation
that a Jew or a group of Jews were involved in unethical dealings,
the late Fred M. Butzel rejected the spirit of panic and Com-
mented that Jews, who are a normal part of the community, are
entitled to their due percentage of prostitutes and pimps, to a
share in the criminals as well as in the geniuses who make up
American life. How else, he asked, are we to expect normalcy?
This, apparently, was not the opinion of the Free Press edi-
torial writer who went off on a strange tangent of misunderstand-
ing of human values, displaying in a recent editorial an especially
deplorable lack of knowledge of events that are transpiring in the
tragically divided South.
The Free Press editorial selected as its target a Jewish res-
taurant owner in Atlanta who would not integrate his establish-
ment and who could not understand why there were demonstra-
tions at his eatery. A portion of the editorial stated:
"Charlie Lebedin, a Jew, a refugee from Russia, the victim
of persecution. In his adopted country, and in his adopted state,
he has made a good life. (Curiously, despite his feelings about
Negroes, the South is probably as free of anti-Semitism as any
other section of the country.)
"And now he says he cannot understand .. .
"All evidence indicates that he would lOse nothing, and gain
for himself a new world. But that is his decision.
"We only know that of all the white people in Atlanta, Charlie
Lebedin, escapee from persecution, successful restaurant owner,
should understand best why his fellow human beings share the
same desires he once had."
This is the singling out of a case that shocked an editorial
writer who only saw the mirage of a Russian Jewish immigrant
but failed to state that rabbis in the South risked their pulpits
to speak up in defense of the Negro, that synagogues and Jewish
centers—notably in Atlanta—were bombed by the segregationists
out of protest against Jewish "radicalism."
Perhaps it is good that the F. P. editorial writer went out on
a limb. Now we have the chance once again to remind our good
friends that Jews were and are in the front ranks of the fighters
for civil rights and for justice for the black men wherever they
may be; that Jews played a great role in the historic march in
Washington; that Jews—from many states—including Michigan—
are among those who have joined protesting groups in Southern
communities in a spirit of kinship with the Negroes, and a num-
ber of them were arrested and some still are under arrest.
It may be useless to recall the benefactions of the late Julius
Rosenwald and other Jewish philanthropists to the Negroes. Suffice
it to say that our people have been and are in the front ranks of
the liberals in the civil rights struggle, and for that we have been
branded "Communists," and some, who seek an axe to grind, have
even maligned a secred Jewish cause by speaking about "Zionists-
Communists."
Now we are given an added rap—because one Jew did not
integrate his restaurant. What does that prove? There are white
Southerners who undoubtedly say that Charlie is a great guy, that
he has learned well from them. Therefore we ask, in turn, why
there should be such a howl over the wrong lesson for a single
Jew who seeks what he believes will be his protection. in an atmos-
phere of hatred.
Actually, Mr. F. P. writer, the Jews are between the - devil
and the deep sea. Negroes and whites threaten to boycott their
businesses if they don't go the way of one or another. And so the
Jew is in a vise either way. But that's how many businesses owned
by people from all faiths are affected. And the Jew is just a normal
cog in a wobbling wheel.
How little the F. P. writer seems to know when he drags
into the discussion - the glories of freedom from •nti-Semitism!
No matter how extensive the Jewish pro-Negro activities have
been, there has crept into their ranks a measure of anti-Semitism
resulting. from misunderstandings. In the South there have been
occasional anti-Semitic evidences, just as there frequently emerge
biased people in all states.
To select a single man as a symbol of one who should know
how to act in the struggle for integration simply because he is a
Jew smacks of a lack of good taste in a land where every one who
is an American should be judged as an American. When one is
bigoted, he is not a good American. That doesn't mean that his
entire family is bad—but in the selection of a Jew as the symbol
that can happen. It can happen because it has happened—and in
the instance of the F. P. editorial episode, ill will could so easily
be aroused among Negroes themselves against Jews by gener-
alizing. Indeed, the F. P. man did not generalize, but his readers
might. He probably didn't stop to think this over when he created
the sensation about the Atlantan that "Surely He Should Know."
In reverse, we now apply it to the F. P. editorial writer.
'Murphy' or No ... "Jews Always Blamed'
The New York Herald Tribune carried an expose of "Anti-
Semitism Among Harlem Negroes." In it, it was pointed out that,
"according to an official of a Jewish organization active in civil
rights: 'In Harlem, whether a landlord is a Jew or a Gentile, he is
called a Jew landlord. Even if his name is Murphy."
In that article, Leopold Phillipp, president of the Uptown
Chamber of Commerce, is quoted as saying: "Whenever you have
a problem up here, it seems that the rank and file put all the
blame on the Jews. To them, as long as it's Woolworth's or Grant's
on 125th St., as long as they're in this neighborhood, they become
Jewish-operated stores . . ."
And so we say to the F. P. writer: you must take into account
a reaction from anything involving Jewish-Negro relationships that
could lead to the anti-Semitism which was believed to have van-
ished in our midst.
We have the added problem in the struggle for civil rights to
avert the spread of prejudice in unrelated areas and we must
exercise caution lest emphasis on an invalid case will bring more
trouble.
The Self-Avowed Blunders
It could be said that the episode to which we have just alluded
is a result of a blunder by the Atlanta Jew himself, the former
Russian who raised the question of Jewishness.
By the same token also, it was Jack Ruby himself who raised
the Jewish .issue in what was at first a "Rubenstein Case." That
didn't make the Ruby act one of sanity—even if it was a case
of temporary derangement on the part of a Jew who took the law
By Philip
Denominator
m s
Fro Race Relations . • •
SiOMOVitZ
Tribute to Mr. I. D.
into his own hands and provided fuel for anti-Seniites.
(Addressing the recent national Anti-Defamation League
Meeting in New York, the ADL chairman, Dore Schary, said:
("To the radical right's cry of 'Communist plot,' and the
extreme left's cry of 'rightist plot,' was added the professional
anti-Semite's old babbling of 'Jewish-Communist plot' because
of the involvement of Jack Ruby."
(An ADL survey gave these examples of a "deliberate and
cynical" effort by extremists to sell their propaganda line of
"plots and conspiracies":
("Among anti-Semites, speaker after speaker at a rally of
Gerald Smith's Christian Nationalist Crusade linked 'the Jew
Rubenstein and the Communist Oswald.' Claims were also made
that President Johnson would be dominated and influenced by
what was called the "Jew-controlled" press.
("Retired Rear Admiral John G. Crommelin, a perennial
candidate for public office in Alabama and an outspoken anti-
Semite, charged that 'Communist Jews' had killed Christ, Lincoln,
Garfield and Kennedy.
("The Dallas press, almost without exception, and many
radio stations, used the phrase 'alias Rubenstein' to describe Ruby.
("Right-wing fundamentalist preacher, Rev. Carl McIntire,
who reaches a large audience through his '20th Century Reforma-
tion Hour' broadcasts over more than 500 stations and his publi-
cation Christian Beacon, went out of his way to use Jack Ruby's
original name and to describe him as a Jew.")
The pity is that any deviation from pragmatism or from
avoiding the linking of Jews with intolerance aids the cause of
the anti-Semitic rightists. By dignifying them, we aid them. By
giving credence to deluded Jews, we encourage the crackpots
in their inanities.
When a Joke Ceases to Be Humor
This is a good time to take into account the role of humor
in our life. We often deplore the humorlessness of our daily
activities and the shortcomings in resort to genuine jokes. There
has been too much of the Borscht Belt and too little of Sholem
Aleichem.
Because we reject some of the banalities of the former, it
does not mean that we only search for the life currents that
streamed through the writings of Sholem Aleichem. We can ap-
preciate a good joke: let it even be at our expense. But when
jokes incite suspicions and create the danger of arousing hatreds,
they become menacing.
Take, as a typical example, a joke that was told last week in
Portland, Ore., by a son of one of our kinsmen—none other than
U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater. Writing from Reno, Nev., for the
New York Times, to describe how Goldwater is "gambling on
japery," Charles Mohr reported that "Goldwater told an Irish-
Negro-Jewish story of the sort that politicians have shied away
from in recent years." Here is the story reported in the Times:
"As Mr. Goldwater tells the story, an Irishman, Negro and
Jew appear at the gates of heaven and are told by St. Peter that
he will grant each one wish.
'The Irishman asks for a supply of Irish whisky to last through
eternity.
"The Negro says that, since he has been segregated and mis-
treated in life, he would like a large white house, a solid gold
Cadillac and $2 million.
"When. St. Peter asks the Jew what he would like, he
answers:
"Just give me $30 worth of costume jewelry and that colored
boy's address.'"
"Mr. Goldwater got a boisterous laugh from his audience
of hardware store managers."
Your CoMmentator can use japery and be as irreverent as
the Arizona • Senator, but he must insist that there is a time to
draw the line—that so much nonsense has been peddled around
to give the impression that a Jew with cheap jewelry can cheat
a Negro or an Indian or any other non-Jew, that in an era when
there is so much suspicion and hatred anything of the sort the
Arizonian has resorted to adds fuel to fires of hatred.
If Barry Goldwater thinks he is helping his cause by punning
about his Jewish ancestry, he has another guess coming. When
he said, as reported by Mohr, in reference to Senator Ribicoff's ill-
fated amendment to the tax bill which would have allowed tax
reductions for children's college expenses that "at least one of
our boys will make it," he proved that he does not even know
how to tell a Jewish story well.
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The Butzel Viewpoint
To revert back again to the old Butzel opinion:
This Commentator does not agree with him. He dislikes hear-
ing about Jewish lawbreakers. Indeed, the People of the Prophets
must reject the idea that we are entitled to a share in criminals
as well as in saints. This Commentator differed with Butzel in his
lifetime on this question, and he rejects his having brushed aside
concern over the existence of illegalists in our ranks.
In the same fashion, we reject selfish business tactics that
lead a Southerner into the ranks of the segregationists.
But we know the conditions there and we know that it can
happen—and it did. That doesn't justify the singling out of a Rus-
sian Jew for a rebuke, as a Jew: we reject his attitude as an
American.
The Late Israel Davidson
Israel Davidson — I. D. to his many friends—always stayed
in the background. He refused to be exposed to the limelight.
He labored for Jewish -causes behind the scenes, and his gifts
to major causes were generous.
Because he was so *genuinely modest, he may not have been
as widely known among the masses as he was in leadership and
national circles, and in the merchandising field. But he was a
truly distinguished personality—if only by virtue of his dedica-
tion to the Zionist cause. He was a very good American, and
his loyalty to our conutry and our traditions was very great.
It was because he was such a good American that he never
tolerated prejudices; and because of his dedication to American
principles and his Jewish devotions he made it one of his major
life's ambitions to work for the reconstitution of Jewish state-
hood.
He was a lover of Zion. He will be counted among the
builders of Israel. His memory is blessed by all who knew him
and learned to respect him.
Purim Quiz
By RABBI SAMUEL J. FOX
Why do many take special
care to light candles during
the feast of Purim?
Generally speaking, a happy
occasion in Jewish life is al-
ways accompanied by lighting
candles. Light and Joy in Jew-
ish tradition go hand in hand.
This is especially the case on
Purim because the Book of
Esther relates: "The Jews had
light and gladness" (Esther
8:16) when describing the cele-
bration that prevaded the atmo-
sphere when the Jews averted
the evil decree of Haman. In
Algiers the Jews would have
their children light many
candles, similar to Hanukah,
during the Purim Feast. The
lighting of candles seems to
underline the Jewish feeling
that ideal happiness is the result
of enlightenment through Torah
rather than being blind frivolity
or careless glee.
Why has it become an
accepted tradition to drink
liquor on Purim even to the
point of intoxication?
This practice is based upon
the statement of one of the
rabbis in the Talmud who said
that one is to become intoxi-
cated on Purim to the extent
that he would not be able to
distinguish between "Cursed be
Haman and Blessed be Mor-
decai" (M egillah 7b). It is
claimed by some that this would
symbolize the fact that the
major events which formed the
critical turning points in the
story of Purim seem to be con-
nected with drinking parties in
the palace of King Ahaseurus.
It should be noted. however,
that the commentaries on the
Talmud are divided into three
categories on how to apply this
practice. Some take it quite
literally (Maimonides, Tur,
Joseph Kam, Jacob Emden). A
second group interprets this to
mean that one should be slightly
intoxicated. The Tosagot com-
mentary feels that the state-
ment of the Talmud means only
that one should drink up to the
point when he will not remem-
ber the verses of the poem that
begins with the words "Cursed
be Haman and Blessed be
Mordecai."
The Maharil indicates that the
two phrases "Cursed be Haman"
and "Blessed be Mordecai" have
letters whose numerical count
is equivalent and that the ex-
pression in the Talmud merely
means that he will drink until
he is too confused to be able to
count the value of the letters.
Some state that these two ex-
pressions were refrains to a
poem and he should drink until
he forgets which refrain to offer
after each verse. There is a third
category of rabbis who claim
that one should not become in-
toxicated on Purim (Rabbenu
Nissim, Meiri, Rabbi Aaron ha-
Levi). They claim that the
Talmud meant to drink "up to"
the point of intoxication and
not to be intoxicated. Some of
them warn of the great dangers
of becoming intoxicated. As is
the case in Judaism, the Golden
Mean of Moderation prevailed.
Ben Bella Kicks Off
Anti-Israel Propaganda
Campaign in Algeria
ALGIERS, (J T A) — Premier
Ahmed Ben Bella attended a
mass meeting and an exhibition
here to launch a week of anti-
Israel propaganda throughout Al-
geria. Similar meetings were
staged under government spon-
sorship in all major centers.
T h e government - controlled
press and radio urged Algerians
to support "the just cause of
Arab Palestine." Although an
office of Palestinian Arabs was
set up in Algiers last year, the
events here marked the first
time that the government had
put its propaganda machine in-
to action in support of that
cause.