Commercial Banks Virtually Ban
Jews From Top Jobs—AJCommittee
NEW YORK (JTA) — New York Jews were found to total just under
City Finance Administrator Roy 2.5 per cent among the more than
M. Goodman disclosed that he 400 officers in these mutual sav-
was investigating the possibility of ings banks.
bias by New York commercial
The report recalled two prior
banks against Jews after the inquiries into the involvement of
American Jewish Committee had Jews in management levels of com-
charged that there is a marked mercial banking in individual com-
• lack of Jews among the top man- munities.
A survey made public last May,
agement positions in those banks.
Speaking on a television pro- conducted by Wayne State Uni-
gram, Goodman said there was a n versity, in Detroit, for the U.S.
\ "implication" that anti-Semitism is Equal Employment Opportunity
71ved. But he stressed that th e Commission, found only one
amittee's report conceded th at among 152 senior executives and
:s may have shunned the ban ks two Jews among 281 other offi-
/ because of greater financial oppo r- cials-0.7 per cent in each case
—in nine banks in Washington,
tunity elsewhere.
D.C.
Goodman said that, if it is
A study of Jews in Philadelphia's
proved that commercial banks are
leading commercial banks, con-
discriminating against Jews, he six
by the AJC in 1960, dis-
would be "reluctant" to continue ducted
i depositing in such institutions city closed 12 Jews among 1,216 execu-
tives in all categories, or approxi-
\,revenues which amount to more mately 1 per cent.
/ than $100,000 daily in peak tax
The report disavowed any ad-
collection periods.
vocacy of "hiring or upgrading ac-
A survey of management posts cording to a predetermined quota,"
in the 50 largest commercial banks but pointed to several sets of stat-
in the United States, made public istics to emphasize its underlying
here by Morris B. Abram, New contention that Jews are qualified
' York attorney who is president of for executive positions in the na-
\ the AJC, disclosed that 45 of these tion's banks. The AJC noted that:
banks had no Jews among their
(1) Almost all banking officials
senior officers; each of four of the have a college background, and
remaining five banks had one Jew Jews account for about 8 per cent
In such top posts; while the fifth of all college graduates up to aie
had four Jewish senior officers. 50 in the U.S.
These figures—eight Jews out of
(2) Ivy League colleges account
a total of 632 bank officers—repre- for a high ratio of banking execu-
sent 1.3 per cent.
tives; Jews make up 25 per cent of
Out of 3,438 middle-managemen all Ivy League graduates of the
officials in these banks, execu past five or six years and more
tives below the senior level dow n than 15 per cent of all such gradu-
through the vice presidentia 1 ates up to age 50.
bracket, 32 Jews — approximatel y
(3) Among the executives of the
0.9 per cent — were identified, th e
50 leading U.S. banks, 528 are
survey disclosed further. Yet th e Harvard Business School graduates,
talent shortage in "the boomin 44 per cent of them in top man-
field of banking" is so acute, th e agement posts, and banking report-
report added, "that a top U.S. offi edly is the most popular business
dal says it is forcing some bank S career chosen by Harvard Business
to seek to merge with other bank s School graduates.
and thus go out of independent
Jews make up 12 to 15 per cent
existence."
of the living graduates of the Har-
The report was made public vard Business School, yet fewer
on the heels of the Johnson ad- than 1 per cent of the young men
ministration's announcement that who go into commercial banking
approximately 95 per cent of the from Harvard Business School are
nation's 15,000 commercial banks Jews. Those Jews interested in
would be considered government finance find their way to careers
contractors under regulations in investment banking, securities
taking effect Nov. 30, since they and commodities.
handle federal funds, and as such
would be required to refrain
from discriminating . against em- Congressman Urges
ployes or applicants because of Shazar Interception
race, color, creed, or national
origin.
on U.S. Study of MIG
The AJC has persistently urged
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Israel
federal officials to enforce the President Zalman Shazar was
religious - discrimination provision urged by a member of the U.S.
of this ban against companies en- Congress to use his influence to
joying U.S. contracts.
arrange inspection and study by
The report. one of a series stem- the U.S. Air Force of the Soviet-
ming from AJC studies of ethnic built MIG-21 jet fighter flown to
barriers in the selection of execu- Israel two weeks ago by an Iraqi
tives in U.S. business and industry defector.
was based on a year of intensive in-
Rep. Thomas C. McGrath, Jr.,
vestigation carried out by the 18 New Jersey Democrat, in an ad-
area offices of the committee.
dress on the floor of the house,
' --It was prepared by Lawrence
noted that the Soviet Union dis-
omgarden. director of the AJC's closed that North Vietnam pilots
.;iness and discrimination divi- are being trained - in Russia to fly
' sion and a long-time student of ex- MIG-21 jets against the U.S. air
ecutive-suite bias, under the direc- effort in Viet Nam. He pointed out
tion of Nathan Perlmutter, direc- that "the MIG-21 which was flown
tor of domestic affairs for the to Israel is the only plane of that
American Jewish Committee.
advanced model in the free world,
A "particularly extreme" sit-
and thus offers the only possibil-
uation was revealed by the study ity for study by our air force ex-
in New York City, the nation's perts."
financial capital, where nine of
The Congressman voiced dis-
the 50 queried banks are located. agreement with "sentiment within
One lone Jewish banker was
the Israeli military to prevent ob-
found among 173 senior officials
servation of this MIG-21 by mili-
in these nine banks—represent-
tary experts of any foreign govern-
ing just one-half of 1 per cent ment." He therefore sent Presi-
—in a community where almost
dent Shazar a personal appeal for
25 per cent of the population
intercession because of the Presi-
and 50 per cent of the college-
den's recent pro-American state-
graduate population are Jewish.
ments, and "in view of the stake
The report added that "banks, freedom-loving peoples everywhere
unlike many other large business have in the Vietnamese conflict."
organizations, employ most of their
Rep. McGrath said that Presi-
personnel in a single locality, or, dent Shazar, who met recently
at most, in one state, and thus may with President Johnson as a guest
\ reasonably be expected to reflect of the White House, expressed ad-
/=" -ethnic configurations in their miration for the United States and
staffs."
appreciation for military and ec-
The report recalled that a 1965 onomic assistance provided to Is-
AJC analysis had found Jews to be rael. Accordingly, Rep. McGrath
markedly underrepresented in New suggested that President Shazar
York City's 50 mutual savings "intercede" to provide the secrets
banks, although not to the same of the MIG-21 to "those fighting
degree as in the commercial banks. for democracy in Southeast Asia."
-
Welfare Federation Inaugurates 700-Family
Study of Jewish Attitudes in Detroit
A study of 700 Jewish house-
holds is being made by a research
team from Wayne State University
to gather data on the elements
composing Jewish life in the Met-
ropolitan Detroit area. It is to be
a new phase of the continuing Jew-
ish Community Study initiated by
the Jewish Welfare Federation and
financed by the Jewish Community
Foundation of United Jewish Char-
ities.
Dr. Albert .J. Mayer and Donald
I. Warren of the WSU department
of sociology a n d anthropology
conduct the study.
Seven hundred Jewish house-
holds have indicated their will-
ingness to participate in the
study. The households are a
scientifically drawn sample of
the entire Jewish community,
Dr. Mayer said.
There will be interviews with
husbands, wives, senior citizens
and youth to obtain a wide range
of information on traditional influ-
ences of family, work activities, at-
titudes of retired people, and the
relationships of individuals to their
families and community.
Results of the study will give a
scientific insight into the many in-
fluences making up Jewish life
Zim Subpoenaed by Court
on Failure to List Cargoes
NEW YORK (JTA)—The Zim-
Israel Navigation Co. has been
ordered by the United States Dis-
trict Court here to show cause why
it should not comply with a sub-
poena issued by the Federal Mari-
time Commission, calling upon the
Israeli shipping line to produce
billing records since 1964, showing
"any known misdeclarations of
freight."
The subpoena was issued in re-
sponse to a complaint by five Jap-
anese marine insurance companies
and two American insurance firms
who claimed that Zim and certain
shippers in Japan had "conspired"
to misdescribe the cargo.
In ocean shipping, steamship
companies sometimes permit ship-
pers to misdescribe cargoes to
have their goods carried at lower
freight rates on ships that might
otherwise sail with a large part
of their capacity unused.
today to attain an understanding
of heritage and institutions and to
determine the future role of Jew-
ish life in the region and the na-
tion, the researcher revealed.
Directing the field staff profes-
sional interviewers is Mrs. Claire
Lipton. Interviewers are Mesdames
Rose Boone, Betty Dizik, Marilyn
Handler, Doran Rosenberg and
Bernice Soskin.
Dr. Mayer said that the inter-
viewing would take at least two
months.
He stressed that results of in-
dividual interviews were highly
confidential and that only the
compilation of the data and the
final statistics would be released
in the study.
The Federation and United Jew-
ish Charities have sponsored sim-
ilar studies on population trends,
economic conditions and other as-
pects of the Jewish community con-
tinuously since 1955. Erwin S.
Simon is president of United Jew-
ish Charities, and Max J. Zivian
is chairman of the Jewish Com-
munity Foundation.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Friday, September 9, 1966-9
Don Sovel
reaches million
mark at the end
of first 6 in '66
Donald B. Sovel, C.L.U.
Utilizing Don Sovel's services for estate
conservation, business insurance and pen-
sion planning, his substantial business
clientele has purchased a million dollars
of life insurance at the end of the first
half of this year. In our business, a million
dollars of production is considered an ex-
cellent achievement for an entire year of
business. Special congratulations are in
order for Don Sovel's outstanding six-
month record.
Mr. Sovel is a graduate of the University
of Detroit, a member of the Farmington
JC's and of the Livonia Jewish Congrega-
tion.
Charles P. Davey & Associates
NEW ENGLAND LIFE
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