Jewish University Students .
Their Jewish Backgrounds
Dramatic Louis Brandeis Story:
Vindication of American Spirit
Commentary, Page 2
SmoTar's Column, Page 40
Rahel Ben--Zvi's
Reminiscences
Franklin
Memorial Lectures
Edited by
Prof. Seltzer
Reviews, Page 4
Vol. XLV, No. 17
Jewish Identity:
Helpless
Leadership
HE JEWISH NE
DETROIT
A Weekly Review
of Jewish Events
Michigan's Only English-Jewish Newspaper—Incorporating The Detroit Jewish
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17100 W. 7 Mile Rd., Detroit 48235—VE 8-9364—June 19, 1964—$6.00 Per Year; Single Copy 20c
Sponsor of Prayer Amendment
Out to Force Issue to House Floor
Deletion of Crucifixion
Charge Still in Doubt
ROME (JTA)—Obviously perturbed over a report pub-
lished in the United States that the Vatican draft of a
declaration on the attitude of the Catholic church toward
the Jews—to be adopted at the forthcoming session of the
Ecumenical Council in September—has been drastically
watered down, and that the part in the drafted declaration
absolving Jews of the responsibility for the crucifixion of
Jesus has been deleted, the Vatican issued a statement
which reads:
"Referring to certain information published in the
press concerning the project of the Declaration de Judaeis
(Declaration on the Jews), the Secretariat for Christian
Unity specifies that the text of this declaration is still
under study and has therefore not been sent to the Council
fathers. If modification should have to be made, they
would have the purpose to harmonize its terms with the
whole of the Council's doctrinal schemata."
The statement was issued by the Secretariat for the
Promotion of Christian Unity of which Augustine Cardinal
Bea is the head. The Declaration on the Jews, as drafted
under Cardinal Bea's direction, stated that the Jews as a
people could not be held solely responsible for Jesus'
death on the cross, but that the responsibility rested on all
"sinful mankind." The statement issued by Cardinal Bea's
office leaves open the question of whether the portion on
Jewish responsibility in the Crucifixion might be deleted
or even undergo a change.
Competent observers here consider it unthinkable that
the part absolving the Jews from deicide should be elimi-
nated from the Declaration, since this would actually
nullify the sense and the intent of the document on
Catholic-Jewish relations. The text of the Declaration is
still to be discussed by the Vatican Coordination Commis-
sion for approval prior to being printed and distributed
among the 2,300 prelates who will attend the Ecumenical
Council session to be reconvened in September. The Co-
ordination Commission is scheduled to meet on June 26.
The reason for the possible elimination of references
to the crucifixion was reported to be the belief in some
Vatican circles that any statement openly favorable to
Jews might be misconstrued by Arabs as implying sup-
port for Israel. However, it was pointed out here that the
crucifixion issues is irrelevant to the Moslem religion.
(Direct JTA Teletype Wire to The Jewish News)
WASHINGTON—Rep. Frank H. Becker, New York Republican, appealed in the House
Monday for signatures to force out of the House Judiciary Committee, for a vote in the House,
his proposal for an amendment to the Constitution to permit prayers and Bible readings in public
schools.
He told his House colleagues that he needed 52 more signatures to make his discharge
petition effective, indicating that he had 166 names. He asserted that "time was running out" and
that "to date we have had no result" from the seven weeks of hearings before the judiciary
committee on his and related proposals.
After the open hearings from April 22 to June 3 the judiciary committee was scheduled to
begin closed hearings, but Chairman Emanuel Celler, Brooklyn Democrat, has indicated he is in
no hurry to schedule the closed hearings. The testimony at the open hearings reportedly has left
committee members still divided on the wisdom of the proposed amendments.
The 166 signatures total was about the same as it was when Rep. Becker halted his campaign
for signatures when the judiciary committee began the hearings. The petition would take the issue
from the committee to the House floor for a vote.
Bonn Parliament Gets Bill Designed to Halt
Activities of German Scientists in Egypt
(Direct JTA Teletype Wire to the Jewish News)
BONN—The opposition Social Democrats submitted to the West German parliament Wed-
nesday a bill designed to spur government actio n to restrain the activities of West German rocket
and missile experts now working on such weapons in Egypt. Israel has repeatedly denounced those
activities and asked the West German government to act against them.
The bill, an amendment to Article 26 of the West German Federal Constitution, would amplify
the second paragraph of the article which reads that "weapons designed for warfare may be manu-
factured, transported or marketed only with the permission of the federation government."
Chancellor Ludwig Erhard's Christian Democratic Party has been considering for months
an amendment to the West German passport law permitting withdrawal of travel documents of
nationals engaged in war productions in sensitive overseas areas. The cabinet, however, has not
made a decision and government spokesmen have referred several times to legal difficulties involv-
ing basic constitutional rights of West German citizens.
Representatives of West Germany's major political parties met with the chancellor Monday
night to discuss the problem. Foreign Minister Gerhard Schroeder and Justice Minister Ewald
Bucher participated. The government was understood to be anxious to work out an agreement
based on the consent of all parties. The Socialis t amendment was the basis for the discussion at
the meeting at which the Christian Democrats reportedly expressed some misgiving. Social Demo-
cratic officials, however, contended that the amendment would not involve any restrictions of the
basic rights of West Germans.
Anti-Semitic Incidents in West Germany
Reported Decreasing, but Nationalistic
Publications Show Increases in Circulation
BONN (JTA)—The West German Interior Ministry reported that Nazi and anti-Semitic incidents
'in West Germany decreased again during 1903 after reaching a peak during the trial of Adolf Eich-
mann in Jerusalem.
The report, which contended that the epoch of fascism had been ended for the German people
for all time, said that, during 1963, there had been 177 cases reported of such incidents as threats
or insults to Jewish citizens, wall daubings, circulation of illegal anti-Jewish pamphlets and nine cases
of Jewish cemetery vandalism.
Ninety-one of these cases had been cleared up by police, the report said, and 115 persons
arrested. The report added that 57 per cent of those arrested were tinder 30 years of age and that an
analysis of the cases showed that the culprits were acting from "deep political motives.'
The data on anti-Semitic incidents was part of a broad survey of reactionary groups in West
Germany. The report said that at the end of 1963 there were 24,600 members of such groups, 3,000
less than in 1962. Interior Minister Hocherl warned, however, against underestimating attempts by
"certain people" to vindicate National Socialism by misusing discussion about responsibility for
World War II.
The report said that some 17,600 of the total membership of right-wing groups belonged to
four organizations and that there were four more groups with 3,000 members. The remaining 4,000
belong to 115 splinter groups each with an average membership of 35.
A "disturbing fact" cited in the report was the increased circulation of nationalistic publications
from 191,010 to 223,000. In addition, the report said, 60 fascist periodicals and a large number of
pamphlets came into West Germany from 16 countries, including Britain, the United States, France,
Belgium, Italy and Sweden.
The report said that the most dangerous of such publications were those not identified with
any group which presents extreme attitudes on such issues as war guilt, the expellees and their
"right to the homeland" and war criminals. The report stressed that such efforts must be checked,
particularly where there was a risk of influencing young Germans.
CCAR Told Over-Organized
Community Is a Hodgepodge
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.—The assimilation of America's Jews in a
few generations was forecast Tuesday unless the Jewish community shifts
its direction from an emphasis on organizational competition and fund
raising to a program of Jewish values of learning, worship, culture and
family life.
This alarm- was sounded by Rabbi Leon I. Feuer, Toledo, president
of the Central Conference of American Rabbis at the rabbinical- associa-
tion's annual meeting here at the Ambassador Hotel.
The CCAR president, in his keynote address, told his colleagues that
the time has come to reevaluate the relationship of the rabbinate to
the Jewish community. He deplored the "duplication of expenditures and
the waste of funds."
"The so-called organized Jewish community, locally and nationally,
is a kind of hodgepodge of inntunberable organizations, federations, agen-
cies, institutions and power structures, vying for funds, manpoWer and
time for program schedules in a complex of areas—religious, philan-
th•opic, recreational, defense, educational, overseas and Israeli aid and
investment. These stumble all over each other with their activities and
meetings and often wastefully duplicate each other's efforts," Rabbi
Feuer observed.
He felt that the "poor, bewildered average Jew is confused by all
this and by the conflicting claims upon his attention, loyalty and financial
support." pointing out that "there are not enough evenings in the week
or energy for the earnest, interested Jew to attend all of the organiza-
tional programs and committee meetings, let alone worship at sabbath
services."
"Each organization claims prime consideration and the cause it
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