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.)