U.S. Census and Ilie
Relidious Queries
Weizman,' Institute Acquires
Valuable Historic Documents
Controversy Revealed in
Smolar's Column, Page 15
Conversational
Hebrew
Guide Book
'David and Goliath'
Noteworthy
Children's Book
Resistance to Nazis
in Local Annals
Detailed Story, Page 3
30-Year-Old Document Recalled
in Conzmentary on Page 2
HE JEWISH NEWS'
0 I 7'
A Weekly Review
Reviews
on Page 4
N/11C I—I I
rN
XLVI I I, No. 25
Printed in a
100% Union Sbop
17100 W. 7 Mile Rd.—VE 8-9364—Detroit
48235—Feb. 11, 1966
Recurring
Anti-Semitic
Dangers
Self-Defense and
Physical Judaism
of Jewish Events
Michigan's Only English-Jewish Newspaper — Incorporating The Detroit Jewish Chronicle
Vat.
Young Men Among
Literary Scholars
Editorials
Page 4
$6.00 Per Year; This Issue 20c
Israelis Informed They Can Pray
'At Any Place, In Any Form'
A Lincoln Episode: Letter Recalls
Start of U. S. Jewish Chaplaincies
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Israel's Cabinet decided unanimously Sunday that everyone in
Israel is entitled to pray "at any place in any form." The decision followed a report to the
government by Prime Minister Levi Eshkol about alleged pressures against a group of Re-
form Jews who held worship in a hall belonging to the Bnai Brith, in Tel Aviv, and then
were said to have been expelled from the hall.
Eshkol told the Cabinet that he had investigated the development in response to many
letters on the issue from Israelis and from other sources abroad. He said his findings
showed there was no pressure against • the Reform group, arid that the Tel Aviv municipal
authorities had not threatened to increase taxes on the Bnai Brith building if the hall had
been permitted for use for Reform worship.
Dr. &rah Warhaftig, minister for religious affairs, added that his ministry had not
threatened to withdraw its kashruth certificate from the management of the Bnai Brith
building. He said the hall had been leased for one evening only, and that the management
of the Bnai Brith building never leases its hall on a permanent basis.
In reply to a question by newsmen, a spokesman for the government said that the
question of "freedom of religion" was mentioned by the Cabinet only in connection with the
(Continued on Page 5)
Cong Leader Supports
Arabs Against Israel
Col. Maurice S. Kleinberg, highest ranking Jewish chaplain, exhibits
photo of Rabbi Arnold Fischel and the 1861 letter which introduced
Fischel to President Abraham Lincoln to plead for the establish-
ment of a Jewish chaplaincy in the Union Army. Fischel succeeded,
and three rabbis served as chaplains for the North during the Civil
War. The historic letter was placed on permanent display on
Lincoln's Birthday in Klutznick Exhibit Hall, Bnai Brith Building
Washington.
In December 1861, the Dutch-born rabbi of a New
rk synagogue came to Washington to petition President
Lincoln.
His mission: to persuade the President to. alter the
Volunteer Act that limited Union Army chaplains to those
of __"some Christian faith."
Veteran lobbyists were amused by the determination of the
mild-mannered Rabbi Arnold Fischel. What chance would such
a petitioner have of seeing the President during those first dark
months of the Civil War?
Even John Nicolay, one of Lincoln's White House secretaries,
politely told Fischel that the President could not be expected to
even read his documents, much less meet with him.
But on Dec. 11. — less than a week after arriving in Washing-
ton — Fischel sat face to face with the Chief Executive in the
White House. The President, Fischel later wrote, "fully admitted
the justice of my remarks . . ."
Two days later, Lincoln wrote Fischel that he would try "to
have a new law broad enough to cover what is desired by you
in behalf of the Israelites."
•
On July 17, 1862, the President signed into a bill permitting
"any regular ordained minister of some religious denomination"
to serve as a Union Army chaplain. Under this new statute, three
rabbis served as chaplains during the Civil War.
Among the documents Fischel brought with him to Washington
was a letter of introduction to Lincoln from E. Delafield Smith,
the U.S. district attorney for New York, who praised the rabbi
as "a gentleman of great worth and importance."
Smith's letter of introduction was recently acquired by Philip
D. Sang of River Forest, Ill., a prominent collector of Judaica
and a member of the Bnai Brith Jewish Historical Committee.
He and Mrs. Sang have loaned the letter to the Klutznick Exhibit
Hall in the Bnai Brith Building in Washington. It goes on perm-
anent display there on Lincoln's Birthday.
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Chairman
Nguyen Huu Tho, of the central committee
of the National Liberation Front for the
Liberation of South Viet Nam (the Viet
Cong) has condemned Israel as "the aggres-
sive tool of imperialism" and voiced sup-
port of the Arab struggle against Israel,
according to Egyptian broadcasts reported
here.
The Cairo radio said the Viet Cong
leader cabled Ahmad Shukairy, head of the
Palestine Liberation Organization, that the
Viet Cong "wished the Palestine (Arab)
people further success in their struggle
against Israel, the aggressive tool of im-
perialism, and the realization of their hope
of returning to Palestine."
(A Tel Aviv dispatch to the Jewish Tele-
graphic Agency reported that the Israel
Communist Party received an Oriental New
Year greeting from the Viet Cong. The
message had been sent by the Viet Cong to
the section of the Israel Communist Party
led by Jews, instead of to the Communist
dissident group in Israel composed chiefly
(Continued on Page 5)
Reveal U.S.-Israel Arms
Deal Preceded Escalated
Assistance Given Arabs
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Israeli sources here made
it clear that the deal between the United States and Israel
under which the American government consented to supply
Israel with a number of M-48 Patton tanks — revealed
by the State Department — had been made prior to the
recent escalation and intensification of the re-armament
of the Arab states.
The Israeli sources voiced their comment after the
State Department reported here that the U.S.A. has been
selling tanks to Israel. The State Department confirmed
the deal with Israel after Al Ahram, an influential daily
newspaper published in Cairo, had claimed that Israel
had received 200 of the Patton tanks from the United
States. However, the State Department did not indicate
the number of tanks sold to Israel.
The American consent to the tank deal with Israel,
the Israeli sources said, had not been given recently, since
the negotiations on this matter had been concluded a long
time ago. The U.S.A. decided to provide Israel with these
tanks, the sources said, after the American Administration
was convinced that the tanks were needed for the de-
(Continued on Page 6)
`Drop Out,' Lack of Interest' Reported in United Synagogue
Survey Revealing Congregational Membership Resignation
NEW YORK—(JTA)—A survey by the United Synagogue of America, the associa-
tion of Conservative congregations, disclosed that Jewish families tend to "drop out" of
congregational membership after their children become Bar Mitzvah or graduate from
elementary religious school.
The survey found that of 7,817 families in 398 Conservative conaregations who re-
signed for reasons other than death or removal from the area, 3,718 left when the son,
and in some cases, the daughter, became Bar Mitzvah or Bat Mitzvah or graduated from the
elementary religious school they attended.
The survey found that an additional 1,459 families left their congregations because
of a "lack of interest." The survey indicated that more than 5,000 families "could not be
persuaded to retain their synagogue affiliation." Of the 323 congregations replying, a total
membership of 102,522 families was reported as contrasted with an estimated 238,367
Jewish families in their areas "who are not members of any congregation."
(Editor's Note: There is no comparable problem in the Detroit area, The Jewish News was told in
a spot check of seven synagogues this week. Of the three suburban congregations. Shaarey Zedek has seen
some 130 new families affiliate each year. bringing it to a total membership of 1,900; Bnai Moshe, with a
membership of 725, rose from 440 when it first moved to Oak Park and has kept on an even keel; Beth
Shalom, which limits its membership to 600. has risen to 460 families, keeps its dropout rate low with an
intensive membership-training program. Within the city, neither Adas Shalom-1,075—nor Beth Aaron
— 500— sees serious dropout problem, although a high percentage of membership has moved to the
suburbs. Beth Moses-255—and Ahavas Achim— 450—also have kept members. If anything, the con-
gregations see some reduction in active participation, rather than in membership, when families move. All
seven synagogues insisted Detroit area Jews are more loyal to their congregations than are Jews in
other cammunitie.5 and, on the basis of their experience, predicted that the wave of younger couples will not
"drop out" when their children graduate from religious school.)