Purely Commentary
The joy of our heart is ceased .. .
The crown is fallen from our head . . . Woe unto us!
—
A mighty oak has fallen!
The mourners are in all ranks, among all faiths, and tears flow like
water over the passing of a giant in our midst.
Rabbi Moshe Hayim ben Horav Yosef Adler has been taken from us.
But his memory will remain to sustain us—just as it must sustain the family
that is so tragically bereaved.
His rich and creative life, the admirers he left behind, the many pupils
who literally worshiped him, the family with whom he shared a great
love, are the greatest tributes anyone can pay to Morris Adler.
It is we, the living, who now must be comforted.
It is the family that must be given the traditional comfort—mitokh
aveilei Tziyon v'Yerushalayim.
The coming years unquestionably would have been his most creative
ones. He had set forth to do a great deal — to complete his literary works,
to strengthen the educational facilities of his synagogue, to help advance
the community's cultural needs, to raise the standards of the existing He-
brew Day School system.
He was greatly concerned about the future of the Hillel Day School,
and he was determined to help strengthen it. Hillel and the other cultural
agencies that had looked to him for assistance and encouragement have lost
a very great friend.
The entire community has lost a dedicated leader.
Our Negro neighbors lost their best friend, the most consistent advoCate
of their just rights.
The labor movement lost a champion.
A great tribune has been removed from our midst.
Now, if we wish truly to honor his memory, we must carry on where
Stupid Anti-Semites Write on Walls and Do Not
See the Inevitable Handwriting on the Wall
"And Mordecai returned to the king's gate. But
Haman hastened to his house, mourning and having
his head covered. And Haman recounted unto Zeresh
his wife and all his friends every thing that had
befallen him. Then said his wise men and Zeresh his
wife unto him: "If Mordecai, before whom thou host
begun to fall, be of the seed of the Jews, thou shalt
not prevail against him, but shalt surely. fall before
him.."
—Book of Esther, 6:12, 13.
In January, a four-foot swastika was painted on the front wall of
the magnificent Chizuk Amuno synagogue of Baltimore. It was a
shock to the community. Distinguished men and women are asso-
ciated with that synagogue, and its rabbi is one of the eminent leaders
in Conservative Judasim—Dr. Israel Max Goldman.
Chizuk Amuno was struck again a month later, and when the con-
gregants gathered for services on the Sabbath morning of Feb. 5 they
found a defaced synagogue with Nazi slogans, four lines of which, writ-
ten in thick black paint, read: Perish Judea, Communism is Jewish,
Support the American Nazi Party.
Naturally, it was a somber service that morning in Chizuk Amuno,
but that night, ushering in the Purim festival, that same congregation
read the Book of Esther from which we quote the above italicized
warning for all ages to anti-Semites of all climes, all nations, regard-
less where they may be.
The situation is not a happy one—but it is unhappiest for hu-
manity, for democracy, that such occurrences should be recorded in
our time!
The Baltimore Sun editorially expressed the view that these crimes
could have been perpetratd by "minors who are not old enough to
understand what they were doing or by adults who have not grown
up or whose minds are distorted." We agree to the latter: only those
with minds distorted could - possibly perpetrate such atrocities. But
there should not be the delusion that these are acts of delinquents:
they are part of a pattern of hatred, of prejudice that has been en-
gendered through the ages and is difficult to erase.
If the Chizuk Amuno incident were an isolated one, we'd agree on
many views that the overly-cautious introduce. But there were two
incidents at Chizuk Amuno, there were hundreds elsewhere, there
were scores upon scores in Detroit and many communities who con-
tinue to experience the indignities that are imposed upon innocent
people. The type of signs that have been painted, the sort of des-
truction that has been experienced—in attacks on synagogues in De-
troit and elsewhere, on public buildings (damage at one such structure
in Detroit involved costs of thousands of dollars)—leads us to say that
this is not the work of minors or delinquents! They are the insanities
of well-trained Nazis, and they should be treated as such. And when
we decide to treat them as such we'll look upon them as we should—
as criminals!
It is because of such happenings that we resent a new note that
has crept into our press—that of looking upon the insane as brilliant
but with twisted minds. They are of the twisted minds—period—and
any other treatment of them might well provide incentives to gun-
toting, to swastika-smearing, to crime first against us, then our neigh-
bors, who will be the goats and the sufferers!
Insofar as the anti-Semites are concerned, perhaps we should pro-
vide them with copies of the Purim Megillah, with the Book of ESther,
so that Zeresh may teach them that their insanities shall not prevail!
Right to Legal Aid . . . Rockwell Role . . . Bostonian's Realism
A Jewish lawyer's passion for justice has provided George Lincoln
Rockwell with free legal aid in New York. Since we shall be return-
ing to the subject time and time again—in view of the undeviating
attitude of the American Civil Liberties Union—we are pleasU to con-
cur with the view of a distinguished confrere, Joseph G. Weisberg, the
editor of the Boston Jewish Advocate.
We, too, believe that even our opponents have a right to free ex-
pression. In a free world we must never deny the right to speak even
to extremists. We, on our part, must be prepared with the facts, in order
that truth should not be sacrificed on an altar of ignorance. Yet, the
point made by Weisberg demands serious consideration.
Discussing the issue in his weekly column. Weisberg wrote:
"The Jewish Advocate has been loud in its own editorial stand for
the right to every accused in criminal proceedings to be represented
by a lawyer. But, after all, Martin Berger isn't the only representa-
tive of the American Civil Liberties Union available for or capable
of doing the job. And, it would seem, if the would-be Fuehrer has
money for guns and goons, he has it for counsel.
2—Friday, March 18, 1966
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Lamentations 5:15, 16
By Philip
Slomovitz
he had left off, we must rededicate ourselves to the advancement of the
highest Jewish cultural goals, we must raise the educational standards of
our schools, we must support every effort to assure racial equality and
the best living standards for those who labor for their livelihoods.
And we must never forget that we are obligated to be vigilant in the
battle against intolerance, to assist in Israel's upbuilding, to strengthen
the movements that had given birth to Israel and whose goals remain the
defense of Israel.
In a sense, Rabbi Adler's passing is akin to a martyrdom. He was the
victim of a tragic decline in the basic Jewish teachings among a few deluded
youth. It was because of ignorance that continued to be unrecognized that
a criminal act was committed, robbing us of the guidance and leadership
we need so vitally. Only ignorance, especially of that extreme that is accom-
panied by dementia, permits resort to murder — the killing of another
human being—and self-murder--the suicide that is frowned upon in Jewish,
law and traditions.
And because these things occurred, as part of a public desecration oi,\
a house of worship — in a manner never before known in our history — - -
there is need for new realism in facing the developing conditions that have
made possible the spread of ignorance among our youth.
Rabbi Adler's name will not be forgotten; neither will his teachings
be ignored. He pleaded for knowledge, and we shall gather new strength
to provide it. He asked for a united community and he pleaded: al tifrosh
min hatzibur — do not separate yourself from your community. Let there
be fulfillment of his high ideals! Let there be a restoration of the common
bonds that keep us united in behalf of the high humanitarian goals, for the
elimination of want, for the assurance of true brotherhood among all men,
and especially for the elimination of ignorance which leads to destruction.
*
*
*
"Martin Berger's gallant words restating the Voltairian precept,
"I disapprove of what you say, but I would defend to the death your
right to say it," will not be impugned by any true democrat or be-
liever in free speech. However, did the great French philosopher
intend to give license to all verbal expression, even that which pro-
voked hatred of a people or incited to violence? It is relevant to note
that Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes of the United States Supreme
Court, which the Exponent editorial resorts to, recognized that the
right of free speech does not give one the privilege to shout "fire" in a
crowded theater.
"Nor can it be ignored by even the most confirmed civil liber-
tarians that, admitting the right of free speech to once having been
considered so sacrosanct and precious as to permit no abridgment,
it has, since the mad rule of Hitler, been held to be less rigid. Eng-
land, for example, zealous in its guardianship of free speech, recent-
ly enacted legislation curbing utterances spurring racial hatred. So,
too, has Canda. And the Human Rights Commission of the United
Nations has just drafted the declaration of an International Conven-
tion on the Elimination of All Forms of Religious Intolerance. This
now awaits adoption by all the member states.
"Perhaps the Berger incident points up that the time has come
to take a good, perceptive look at the rights we would protect under
civil liberties and to recognize that in this field all is not black or
white, but that there are areas of gray.
"We do not propose compromise of principle. We only suggest a
flexible approach in interpretation and a more realistic grasp of the
purposes of the civil liberties we want vouchsafed to every individual
for the benefit of society as a whole.
"Martin Berger's motivation notwithstanding, he is not a hero
to us."
We, too, advised a new look at the ACLU position, when Berger first
gained the limelight. Weisberg's points are well taken. Neither ACLU
nor Berger are heroes when they provide counsel for a person who will
thus save his money for anti-Jewish signs, for loud speakers in Washing-
ton to advocate the extermination of Jews. The new look must lead to
new treatment of Nazis. They have plenty of freedom to propagate their
views: let us not provide them with additional platforms to advocate
murder and genocide, and let us prevent them from shouting "fire" in
crowded theaters.
Eisenberg, Green
Appointed to UJA
National Cabinet
Announcement was made this
week by Max M. Fisher, UJA na-
tional chairman, of the election
of Sol Eisenberg and Irwin Green
as United Jewish Appeal National
Campaign Cabinet members.
Eisenberg, general chairman of
the Allied Jewish Campaign, of
which the UJA is a major bene-
ficiary, held the same high post in
1965, and prior to that was pre-
campaign chairman for two years.
He is a member of the board of
governors of the Jewish Welfare
Federation which sponsors the
Allied Jewish Campaign, and serves
on the boards of Detroit Service
Group, Sinai Hospital and Jewish
Home for the Aged. He is presi-
dent of Kenwal Products Corpora-
tion, a steel warehouse.
Green also was general co-chair-
man of the Allied Jewish Cam-
paign in 1965, and retains the post
this year. He is a member of the
board of the Welfare Federation,
has served as a cabinet member
of the Anti-Defamation League, a
trustee of Shaarey Zedek and is
acitve in the leadership of the
Century Machine and Dye Com-
pany.
Pope Paul Blesses Abie Nathan's Peace Effort
(Direct JTA Teletype Wire
to The Jewish News)
ROME — Abie Nathan, the Tel
Aviv solo peace emissary who flew
recently to Egypt in an abortive
effort to start peace talks between
Egypt and Israel, was received at
the Vatican Wednesday by Pope
Paul VI who told the Israeli "our
benediction goes to everybody who
makes an effort for peace."
Nathan. presented to Pope Paul
a Bible in Hebrew and English,
and the pontiff gave the Israeli in
return one of the medals struck
last fall by the Vatican to mark
Pope Paul's visit to the United
Nations where he called for global
peace.
Pope Paul received Nathan in
what is formally called "a particu-
lar audience" in Vatican protocol
language. Such an audience is re-
served for "persons of some value
and distinction." Ordinary visitors
are received in "general audience"
while outstanding diplomats and
heads of government are given
"private" audiences.
Nathan came Monday on the first
leg of a trip to various countries to
work up a world movement to take
the issue of peace out of the hands
of politicians, and put such efforts
in the hands of non-political civil-
ians.
Nathan, who had flown in his
own plane from Israel to Port
Said, then was given fuel by the
Egyptians so he could return to
Israel, was greeted enthusiastically
at Rome's international airport
when he arrived Monday morning
as a passenger on an El Al Israel
Airlines jet plane. Scores of Italian
and foreign journalists and radio-
television reporters met him.
Nathan said he would try to see
Italian, French and British ad-
vocates of world peace. "I want
see anybody who would like to se
me," he said. "I am convinced tha
civilians should care for thei
destiny themselves. The hands of
the politicians are sometimes
frozen."
Peace Flight Is Compared by Arabs to Hess Mission
ANKARA (ZINS)—"El Jamari-
ya," the official organ of the Egy-
ptian government, compares the
mission of the self-styled peace-
maker Able Nathan to the mission
of Rudolph Hess during World War
II, asserting that just as the lat-
ter's mission failed, a similar fate
has befallen Israel's peace emis-
Community Called to Action
for 1966 Allied Jewish Drive
Which Opens Next Wednesday
sary.
The newspaper further says that
before there can be any talks of
peace, Israel must first return the
"stolen Arab property," define its
borders in accordance with the de-
cision of the United Nations and
ensure the return of the Arab re-
fugees.
Israel Ambassador to the U. S.
Avraham Harman to be guest
speaker at rally in Temple Israel.
All Detroit Jews are invited to
participate in inaugurating the
drive and in contributing towards
its success.
Detailed story of campaign personalities and objectives on Pages 24 - 25 and 48.
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