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 Printed in a 100% Union Shop Tragedy of Arab Hatreds MIGi--11GAtV Chronicle Editorials Page 4 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 (Continued on Page 3)