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.