Purely Commentary

Deutsch Named Allied Jewish Campaign Chairman;
United Jewish Charities Cited; Women Plan Institute

By Philip Slomovitz
Reverberating Anti-Semitism in USSR

Alfred L. Deutsch has been
named chairman of the 1967 Allied
Jewish Campaign, Hyman Safran,
Our issue of Oct. 23, 1964, carried an appeal from a Russian Jew president
of the Jewish Welfare
who poured out his anguish over the status of Jewry in the USSR Federation, announced.
and pleaded for justice.
Deutsch has been active in the
It was a typewritten, Russian document that was given to a Detroit
woman while she was in Kiev, by a man who approached her with his campaign for many years and in
urgent appeal that his message should be brought to the Jews of 1966 was chairman of pre-cam-
America, in the hope that some relief will be provided for them paign, the division which solicits
special gifts. Prior to that he had
through American Jewry's intercession.
That message is reproduced in this issue together with the attack served as co-chairman of the real
on Israel and Zionism in a Ukrainian Communist paper, based on the estate division.
He is on the boards of Fresh
appealing message that had been brought to us two years ago.
The Detroit woman to whom the message originally was given Air Society and United Hebrew
chooses to remain anonymous out of a desire to shun publicity. She Schools, Allied Jewish Campaign
now reassures us that she had never met the man who had given beneficiaries. He is past president
her the appeal for justice prior to his handing her the printed appeal, of Cong. Bnai Moshe and serves
and she had not seen him again; that she did not know his name, on the board of overseers of the
JeWish Theological Seminary.
which now is revealed in the Communist attack.
Now it is evident that tourists are being watched as Elie Wiesel
A director of the Tuberculosis
and others are indicating in their revelations about Russia — and that
and Health Society and past
the man who sent his message to American Jewry has been identified
president of the Children's
and that he and his wife may be suffering tortures for having chosen
Orthogenic School, he also serves
on the Boys' Committee of De-
to speak out against oppression.
The issue of The Jewish News of two years ago with the message
troit.
from the Russian Jew also carried our editorial expression in which
President of American Savings
we stated:
and Loan Association and chair-
A RUSSIAN JEW'S PLEA TO HIS GOVERNMENT
man of the board of the Citizen's
If The Jewish News editor had not seen the original of the
Mortgage Corp., he is a past presi-
appeal that was brought here by a prominent Jewish woman from
dent of the Michigan Savings and
Kiev, with the deeply moving rebuke to the Russian government for
Loan League.
its failure to permit the emigration of Jews from Russia and for
He resides on Ardmoor in Birm-
the antagonistic Communist attitude toward Israel, he might have
ingham with his wife, the former
been skeptical about its origin.
Bernice Rosenberg, and his three
But he did see the Russian-typed statement; he knows the
sons, Robert, Dennis and Morris.

Detroit woman who was asked to bring the appeal to American
Jewry, and the pleadings that will be found in this issue must be
viewed as one of the most effective bits of evidence about both
Russian antagonism to Jews and the desire of Jews to settle in
Israel and to escape from the humiliations that are a heritage in
Russia from Czarist times.
The statement we are publishing is an indication that not all
in Russia have fallen prey to the false propaganda spread by the
Soviet government. It proves that there is a desire on the part of
Jews to retain their Jewish identity, that there is a kinship with
Israel, that many would emigrate if they could get out of the un-
friendly environment that has been perpetuated even under com-
munism.
It was by mere chance that this statement came to us. It took
courage on the part of the pleader to approach an American Jewish
woman and to ask her to make it public. She has brought it to her
community's newspaper and we offer it as evidence of existing con-
ditions in Russia and as part of the urgent appeals all of us join in
addressing to the Soviet regime to change its antagonistic anti-Jewish
and anti-Israel policies.

This sentiment now is confirmed. The Russian attitude towards
Jews quite evidently remains antagonistic to Jewry aiming at the
perpetuation of the bigotries that stem from Czarism. It is a deplorable
situation, and it is most regrettable that we must again plead with
public opinion in this country, in the hope that it will reach out to
the Russian people, in the hope that the bigotries will end and that
there will be a restoration of justice in the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics.

Changes in Political Thinking

Republicans were clever. Even in answering phone calls at political
headquarters the salutation during the past few months was not
"hello" but: "It's a Republican year." This did not swing the over-
whelming vote reversing Democratic trends, but it may have helped.
What helped more than anything else was, of course, the war, the
fears over a possible recession and, perhaps more than anything else,
the race issue.
All of the causes, of course, are unreal. Former Vice President Rich-
ard Nixon stated bluntly that the contributing factors were manifold—
but he excluded the war. He did not blame President Johnson for it.
On the contrary: many Republicans, like many of their Democratic
antagonists, would want LBJ to escalate rather than reduce activities
in Vietnam.
It was a combination of circumstances that brought about a partial
change in the American political scene. The "revolt"—if it really was
a rebellious act by the voters — stemmed from the available freedom
of action made possible by a two-party system for which we should
be very grateful.
What the result of an election like the most recent one accom-
plishes is that it serves as a guide to legislators to be cautious, not
to be complacent, to be on the job in fulfilling their responsibilities
to those who trusted them with public offices.
Even the disturbing "backlash" factor could not be judged as a
cause or as an effect in the last election. It existed and it persists.
There is blame for prejudices that can be accredited to many elements
in our population, and one of the major obligations devolving upon
all citizens is to strive to eliminate tensions, to abandon the existing
hatreds, to recognize and to admit that all citizens are co-equals and
that peoples of all faiths, all races, all nationality backgrounds, must
work together in harmony for the good of America.
Some of the results of the last election which definitely were the
result of a "backlash" are most deplorable. They increase the citizens'
duties to overcome them.
Regrettably, prejudices exist in too many quarters. A recently-
televised program in which Negro spokesmen expressed violent anti-
Semitic sentiments was among the very shameful evidences of the
existence of a two-edged sword in the battle that is raging between
libertarians and racists. It is difficult enough to stem the tide of hatred
from the latter. The nation cannot afford an added element of bigotry
from the former.
The Nov. 8 election will be discussed for a long time — leading
up to the time when the major plums are to be plucked from the
political trees — in 1968 and then in 1972. It would be a blessing for
America if the rational and pragmatic forces, the teachers of justice
and decency, were to unite forces to stem whatever tides may be in
evidence from the ranks of the rabble-rousing bigots. That's the chief
lesson from the last election. A victory for one or another candidate,
a defeat for one party or . another, is of least concern, compared with

2--Friday, November 18, 1966

* * *

Shroder Award Goes
To Detroit Agency

The Jewish Community Founda-
tion of the United Jewish Charities
has won the 1966 Shroder Award
presented annually by the Council
of Jewish Federations and Wel-
fare Funds. The United Jewish
Charities is the property manage-
ment and capital resources arm of
the Jewish Welfare Federation of
Detroit.
The award is given by the Coun-
cil for "superior initiative and ac-
hievement in the advancement of
social welfare by voluntary health
and welfare agencies under Jewish
auspices in the United States and
Canada."
The award was made to the
foundation for the creative em-
phasis of its en- .-
dowment fund
grant program
in stimulating
and financing ex-
perimental pro-
grams. In the
past two years
$ 1 5 0 , 0 0 0 in
grants have been
awarded by the
foundation.
Zivian
Max J. Zivian
is chairman of the Jewish Com-
munity Foundation Committee.
Committee members are Mandell
L. Berman, Max M. Fisher, Hyman
Safran, Alan E. SchWartz, Erwin S.
Simon, USC president, Louis Taba-
shnik and Stanley J. Winkelman.

William Avrunin, executive
director of the Federation, and
Safran will accept the award
Saturday evening during the 35th
general assembly of the Council
of Jewish Federations and Wel-
fare Funds in Los Angeles.

The Detroit award was for cities
with a Jewish population of over
40,000. The Norfolk (Va). Jewish
Community Council received the
Shroder Award for those cities
under 40,000.

the duty to assure for America
an era of righteousness and fair
play for all.
Let it not be forgotten that it
was the American way that was
at play on election day, that our
citizens voted freely—as they chose
—without intimidation, and that
there were no dictators at their
backs to compel them to vote for
a single party, as is the way of the
authoritarians. Because we have
this system, because we possess
our liberties to choose as we
please, without dictation, we should
rejoice that our way of life gives
us the guarantee to elect one year
and to reject the next, but to act
in best judgment in the best in-
terests of people and country. May
we ever defend the multi-party
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS system!

The Jewish Community Founda-
tion developed against a back-
drop of a long-time program by
United Jewish Charities. It was es-
tablished in 1964 to review applica-
tions for grants from unrestricted
income realized by United Jewish
Charities earnings.
Agencies under Jewish auspices
in Detroit are specifically en-
couraged "to dream up," develop
and submit proposals for demon-
stration projects.
The first grant was made in
1965. Grants have been made to:

Enable the communal United
Hebrew Schools in Detroit to
finance the intensive training of
professional public school teach-
ers in Jewish content and sub-
ject matter so they will be qual-
ified to teach in the afternoon
Hebrew schools.
Enable the Fresh Air Society
to establish an educational pro-
ject for campers with counselor
potential.
Enable the Detroit Jewish
Community Council to assist the
Detroit Archdiocese in develop-
ing one of the country's first
interfaith projects to assure
compliance with fair employment
practices.
Assist Sinai Hospital to ex-
plore systematically and to ex-
periment with the involvement
of patient's families in the nurs-
ing care of hospitalized per-

sons.

Assist a group of Jewish
faculty members of the Univer-
sity of Michigan in establishing
a Jewish education program for
their children.
Finance a Jewish "scholar in
residence" to help enrich Jewish
educational programs for college
students through Hillel Founda-
tion on the University of Mich-
igan campus at Ann Arbor.
Finance preparation of a series
of four Hebrew text books orient-
ing students in the Hebrew

schools to the American-Jewish
community.
The Shroder Award honors the
first president and founder of the
Council of Jewish Federations and
Welfare Funds which is the co-
ordinating body of 220 Jewish cen-
tral organizations in the United
States and Canada which annually
raise the bulk of Jewish philan-
thropic funds.
The award committee includes
Judge Theodore Levin of Detroit.

* * *
List Speakers
for Women's Institute

Dr. Abraham Kaplan, Universit
of Michigan professor, named by
Time Magazine as one of the great
teachers of the nation, will speak
at the 1966 In
of the ;
Women's Division
of the Jewish
Welfare Federa-
tion, Dec. 1 at
the Jewish Cen-
ter.
Dr. Kaplan,
U-M professor of
philosophy, will
speak on "The
Influence of Af-
fluence", the
theme of the an-
nual institute,
during the after-
noon session of
the all-day meet-
ing. Dr. Kaplan
Keynote speaker at the in-
stitute will be Dr. William
Haber, dean of the College of
Literature, Science and Arts at
the University of Michigan. Dr.

Haber, an economist, will delve
into the economic aspects of our
affluent society.
The institute will open at 9:30

a.m. with registration in the lobby
of the Center. The opening session
is at 10 a.m.
Mrs. Joseph H. Jackier is chair-
man of the institute.

1.11.0 ■ 0 IMMO

Boris Smolar's

'Between You
. . and Me'

By BORIS SMOLAR
(Copyright, 1966, JTA, Inc.)

CJFWF ASSEMBLY: The general assembly of the Council of Jew-
ish Federations and Welfare Funds is like a parliament of American
and Canadian Jewry . . . Here hundreds of representatives of Jewish
communities from all over the U.S. and Canada make major decisions
on problems affecting Jewish communial life ... This year, the assembly
gathers in Los Angeles this weekend, and its agenda embraces all ques-
tions of importance to development of Jewish communal life in the
United States and Canada . . . One of the major topics of discussion
will be the primacy of the Jewish Federation and Welfare Fund cam-
paigns, which raise over $130,000,000 annually for the services of their
beneficiary agencies . . . A substantial part of this huge sum is
allocated to the United Jewish Appeal for meeting needs in Israel and
in other Jewish communities overseas . . . But the larger part of the
funds raised goes for serving major Jewish needs locally and nationally
. . . The agencies and institutions they support spend $700,000,000
annually, including income from government funds, endowments and
payments for services . . . Close to 800 communities, which constitute
over 95 percent of the Jewish population in the U.S. and Canada, are
being served by the federations and welfare funds to which more than
1,000,000 individual Jews contribute each year.
THE PRIMACY ISSUE: There is no question in the mind of any
important Jewish community leader in this country as to the primac -
of the federations and welfare funds . . . Through the Council of Jewish;
Federations and Welfare Funds—their central body—they streng,th&__
their community services, pool the best experience to upgrade their
financing, budgeting and planning programs, and work together on
common problems, meeting them effectively by joint action ... By estab-
lishing joint campaigns and by concentrating their fund-raising in a
single federated appeal, they reduce the costs of fund-raising, so that
more dollars go into services . . . They also reduce and avoid duplica-
tion and overlapping of services among Jewish communal agencies.
. . . They are the backbone of the aid which American Jewry gives to
Israel and to other Jewish communities overseas through the United
Jewish Appeal, Joint Distribution Committee, and other agencies in
this country engaged in raising funds for institutions in Israel.
GREAT ACHIEVEMENTS: In order to get an idea of the accom-
plishments of the federations and welfare funds and of their bene-
ficiary agencies over the past years, it is sufficient to take a brief look
at their enviable record ... They aided in the resettlement of more
than 1,250,000 Jews in Israel since 1948, when the Jewish State was
established . . . They helped hundreds of thousands or more Jews to
find new homes in the United States, Canada and other Western coun-
tries . . . They assisted financially in the post-war reconstruction of
shattered Jewish communities in Western Europe, with synagogues,
schools, homes for the aged and community centers . . . On the home
front they advanced the interfaith and intergroup relations, financed
the work Of combating anti-Semitism, and pressed for equal rights for
all . . . They performed life-saving services to hospital patients and
provided medical education and research..

