THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Friday, October 7, 1966-13
Dr. Fram Joins
Peace Pleaders
Rabbi Leon Fram joined the in-
terfaith cooperative demonstration
for peace by urging Detroiters to
make last Tuesday a day for
prayer to end wars and the month
of October as a period for peace
prayers by all faiths.
He signed the "Petition for
Peace" which was : issued by him
together with Catholics and Pro-
testants asking "all of our brothers
to join with us in asking that the
world be spared the tragedy
threatening it."
I
Men's Clubs
I
AHAVAS ACHIM MEN'S CLUB
has organized the Sunday Minyan-
naires, a weekly prayer and break-
fast series for fathers and sons,
which will hold the next service
and breakfast 9:15 a.m. Sunday in
the Ahavas Achim chapel and so-
cial hall. Bernard Whiteman, presi-
dent, and Meyer Lullove, break-
fast committee chairman, invite
the public.
* * *
Temple Beth El Men's Club will
present Mayor Cavanagh, in an
address on "Cities in Crisis" at the
paid-up dinner 7 p.m., Oct. 18, in
the social hall_ There will be no
charge to men's club members and
a nominal charge for wives of
members.
OP Chess Club Elects
Herman Rosenberg
Oak Park Chess Club at its an-
nual membership meeting, elected
Herman Rosenberg, president;
Jerry Levold, vice-president and
liaison officer; Paul Sheridan, sec-
retary; and Joseph Schreiber,
treasurer.
The chest club, sponsored by the
Oak Park Parks and Recreation
Department, holds game sessions
7:30 p.m. Thursdays at the Oak
Park Community Center. Advanced
players and beginners are invited.
Branch 7 to Hear Aims
of School Board Hopefuls
Branch Seven, Labor Zionist Or-
ganization, will meet 8 p.m. Sun-
day at the home of Mr. and Mrs.
Sigmund Kikoler, 18221 Hubbell,
to hear the candidates for the De-
troit Board of Education who will
appear on the November ballot.
Henry Fargon is program chair-
man.
Discussion and a social will fol-
low. For reservations call the Ki-
kolers, VE 6-2793.
Cruising U. of M. Alumni
to Pay Call on Israel
The University of Michigan,
which has hired the luxury liner
S.S. President Roosevelt to carry
126 U. of M. officers and alumni
to 24 ports of call, will stop in
Haifa on its round-the-world voyage.
On Wednesday, the ship will
leave San Francisco to carry the
university's 150th anniversary story
abroad.
Among the passengers will be
Mrs. Albert Krohn of Detroit.
Yiddisher Kultur Farband
to Hear Itche Goldberg
Itche Goldberg, educator, lec-
turer and author, will address
the Yiddisher Kultur Farband
(YKUF) 8:30 p.m. Oct. 12 at the
Jewish Music Center.
Goldberg, whose latest book, a
compilation of Yiddish stories for
young people, was recently pub-
lished, will speak on the 50th
anniversary of Sholom Aleichem.
The public is invited at a nominal
charge.
The COURT THEATER will
open its 1966-67 drama season with
Jean Anoulh's "ANTIGONE"
Wednesday in the Detroit Waldorf
School auditorium at 2555 Burns,
in the Indian Village section,
Vineland, N.J. Synagogue Damaged; Funeral Held for Burned Tora Scroll
VINELAND, N.J. (JTA)—Beth
Israel Synagogue here was broken
into Sunday night by anti-Semitic
vandals who burned a Tora scroll
and some 200 religious books and
did other damage to the building
and its furnishings.
Both police and synagogue of-
ficials said the vandals were ob-
viously motivated by anti-Semitism.
Vineland was notorious in the 1930s
as a center of the Nazi Bund. It is
also a noted center of Jewish poul-
try raising.
Damages were estimated at sev-
eral thousand dollars. Police, who
opened an immediate investigation,
said they had no clues as to the
identity of the desecrators. Mayor
Henry Garton visited the vandal-
ized synague Monday, and ex-
pressed shock at the outrage.
The vandals started several
small fires in the synagogue and
smeared swastikas on the walls.
The slogan, "Jews, Get Out" was
smeared on the children's class-
room. The Tora was removed
from the Ark and burned in what
officials called a "sadistic man-
ner." Flags bearing the Star of
David also were set afire.
More than 500 residents of Vine-
land, including several ministers
and many other non-Jews, attend-
ed a funeral service Monday for
the scroll and books burned in the
attack.
A congregation spokesman said
the desecration was the first in
the 40-year history of the congre-
gation.
AN OPEN LETTER
TO ALL THE MEMBERS OF
CONGREGATION SHAAREY ZEDEK
ABOUT THE PRESENT EMERGENCY SITUATION
We, the undersigned members of Congregation Shaarey Zedek, who have become aware
of a very critical and dangerous development that is threatening the continued existence
of our Congregational school, feel under obligation to bring the following facts to all
friends and members of Shaarey Zedek:
1) The President and Vice-President of the Shaarey Zedek Hebrew Teach-
ers Associations have precipitously, been dismissed and serious charges
have been preferred against them, on the eve of a representation election,
that was held on the following day under the auspices of the Michigan
State Labor Mediation Board. The teachers of Shaarey Zedek have inter-
preted these dismissals, perhaps wrongly, as an effort to intimidate them
and prevent them from exercising their legitimate right of organizing to
bargain collectively with our synagogue.
2) Although we believe in the good faith and good intentions of our syna-
gogue administration, who claim that such dismissals were only coinci-
dental to the election, we nevertheless feel that the very serious charges
that have been brought against the teachers who have given six and
twenty-five years, respectively, to our synagogue in teaching capacities
have not been proven nor substantiated. Under our system of justice, the
accused should have had a fair and open hearing with specific charges
brought against them, the right to face their accusers and the opportunity
to defend themselves before any action was taken. This was not done.
Instead, the same charges were given wide circulation, copies of a dis-
missal telegram were sent to the entire staff, and the many years of serv-
ice and devotion given by these individuals to the synagogue were en-
tirely ignored.
3) Under these circumstances, not only the teachers of - Shaarey Zedek, but
also the teachers of other religious schools in our city, have felt that this
is an affront to their professional status and integrity, and have expressed
their consternation and concern,
4) More specifically, the teachers of Shaarey Zedek have notified the ad-
ministration of their intention to strike on October 23, 1966. They feel
that unless these two men are reinstated, with the opportunity to answer
the charges, and, further, that unless the synagogue negotiate in good
faith with their elected representatives, they cannot continue to serve as
teachers in our school.
While we do not wish to prejudge the merits of either side in this dispute, it is clear that
the future life of Congregation Shaarey Zedek Religious School is under imminent threat.
We reluctantly involve ourselves in this controversy because we believe that the implications
and consequences are far-reaching, and much more important than any specific charges
and counter-charges brought by either side. We are convinced that Jewish survival in this
country is dependent to a large extent on the quality of Jewish education available. Such
education is directly related to the quality of the teachers, and for this reason we believe
that a Jewish teaching profession that is proud of its achievements and standing, with self-
respect and the respect of the community, is an essential ingredient to our future as Jews.
We welcome, therefore, the awakening professionalism among the Hebrew teachers of this
city, and believe that it speaks well for our future. High morale is a basic requirement for
the enthusiasm which is required for their work. By undermining such morale, we are threat-
ening the quality of education that our children will receive and upon which our future is
dependent.
We are convinced that the actions taken by our synagogue have been in good faith, even
though without due consideration of all their consequences. These two teachers must be
reinstated without delay. The teachers must be dealt with as professionals deserving of
our respect, without paternalism and without condescension.
We call upon the entire membership of Shaarey Zedek to consider these facts seriously, and to
express their concern by coming to the semi-annual meeting on October 13 at 8:30 p.m. at our
synagogue. In that forum we shall have an opportunity to consider our present course of action.
The issue is greater than a local labor dispute. It is in the hands of every member of our congrega-
tion to prevent the demise of our school. Let us rise to the occasion, take the personal interest in
this issue that it deserves, and on October 73 instruct our elected officials to reverse their course
before the school is closed.
Dr. and Mrs. Reuven Bar-Levav
Dr. and Mrs. Ralph Cash
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph F. Savin
Mr. and Mrs. William Shulevitz
Mr. and Mrs. William Schumer
Mr. and Mrs. Sherwin Tukel
We are obliged to use this public medium because of the urgency of the situation and because no other
means were made available to us for reaching the membership individually.