THE JEWISH NEWS
Incorporating The Detroit Jewish Chronicle commencing with issue of July 20, 1951
Member American Association of English—Jewish Newspapers, Michigan Press Association. National Editorial
Association.
Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publishing Co., 17100 West Seven Mile Road, Detroit, Mich. 48235
VE 8-9364. Subscription $6 a year. Foreign 57.
Second Class Postage Paid at Detroit. Michigan
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
Editor and Publisher
CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ
Business Manager
SIDNEY SHMARAK
Advertising Manager
CHARLOTTE DUBIN
City Editor
Sabbath Scriptural Selections
This Sabbath, the 12th day of Tevet, 5728, the following scriptural selections will
be read in our synagogues:
Pentateuchal portion, Gen. 47:28-50:26. Prophetical portion, I Kings 2:1-12.
Candle lighting, Friday, Jan. 12, 5:03 p.m.
VOL. LII. No. 17
Page Four
January 12, 1968
Our Youth as Guides in Social Actions
Perhaps the critical young generation of gogue, and they must, therefore, be viewed
American Jews is more practical and more with seriousness.
Our community structures need repairing.
courageous than its elders. The young have
been reprimanded for rash actions and un- We live in an age that is entirely different
doubtedly deserved censure. They are be- from the 1920s or even the 1940s and 1950s.
lieved to have acted rashly. But when they We now have specific duties. We must pro-
speak up there is evidence of sincerity, of an tect Israel, we must assure continuity in Jew-
idealism which should be commended rather ish life, we must train knowledgeable Jews.
than condemned. But in the process of adhering to these obli-
Without generalizing one way or another, gations there needs to be understanding, there
taking into account the deplorable acts of has to be appreciation of basic values, there
flag burning—and of draft card burning as must be positive attitudes based on prag-
matic handling of Jewish affairs.
an act of irrationality rather than debate over
We are stronger in the Western world
issues and dialogue with those who differ
than ever before because we have attained
—there is a vast amount of evidence indicat-
unquestioned liberties, but these freedoms
ing the desire of the youth to create a better
have been accompanied by a measure of in-
world, to strive for peace, to reject racial and
difference, by vested interests in organiza-
other prejudices.
tional life, by a threat to our cultural status.
Conservative Judaism's youth, mobilized
There has been over-emphasis on admin-
in the Atid (Future) movement, gave best
istrative establishment and a blindness to
indication of the reality and the practicality of
the fact that the volunteer worker in Jewish
the revolt of youth in Jewish ranks. College movements is becoming a rarity in most ef-
students associated in the Atid, at a New forts except in philanthropy—and fund
York assembly last week, placed blame for
raising alone is not a panacea for Jews.
failures charged to Jewish ranks upon exist-
Now the time has come to re-establish
ing institutions, synagogues, their rabbis and
what we have been praying for and advo-
the lay leaders. Their arguments are potent cating for many years: a return of Jewry
and deserve consideration.
to the status of an intellectual aristocracy. In
It is the contention of these college youths
a community in which the intellect genuinely
in their collective views that what is looked
guides our actions, we can hope for a better
upon as leadership fails to act on matters role for the youth because there could then
involving peace, civil rights, poverty; that be an abandonment of another condition
action is stimulated only after others do some-
charged to the elders by Atid students: that,
thing about the issues. They accuse rabbis of
as one young lady defined her accusation,
first obtaining an assurance that their con- "parents live an assimilated rather than a
gregations approve of what they say or do
Jewish life while expecting us to acquire a
before they themselves act. They charge that substantive Jewish education by merely send-
synagogues have become a place for prayer
ing us to religious and Hebrew school.
and dancing but not for social action plan-
The youth have spoken. What they said
ning. The view of the youth is that there has could have served as a guide in getting our
been extravagance in the construction of house in order. There will have to be com-
lavish synagogue buildings.
bined action by all involved to end the an-
These challenging rebukes to their elders archy that is threatening our Jewish commun-
were not uttered by irrational youth but by ity. In attaining a solution youth can—as it
members of a group affiliated with the syna- must—play a great role.
Israel Bonds: The 1967 Success and a Look Ahead
A per capita evaluation of the responses
to the major investment undertakings in
Israel Bond Organization indicate that the
Detroit Jewish community now occupies a
foremost position. The $5,100,100 cash sale
figure reported for 1967 is an indication of a
deep interest by a community whose response
to the United Jewish Appeal and to the
Israel Emergency Fund is always either the
best or second best in the entire country
among the 10 leading American Jewish
communities.
This is a great tribute to Detroit Jewry,
It is also a challenge to future planning. The
spontaneous answer to appeals last May and
June resulted from the dangers to Israel,
from threats that if the country had remained
unaided by its kinsmen everywhere it might
have gone down the drain as threatened by
its saber-rattling neighbors.
Since the dangers are far from gone, with
the situation in the Middle East remaining
precarious, considering the position of Israel
upon whom there rests the responsibility of
retaining military forces for the country's
protection financed by the nation's tax dol-
lars while the economic and philanthropic
needs continue to depend upon the coopera-
tion of Jews from the entire world—pri-
marily the 6,000,000 in the United States—
the duties to the philanthropies and the in-
vestments remain exactly what they were
seven months ago.
American Jewry remains duty bound to
continue its generosity to the UJA and to
the emergency fund, and there continues in
force the reality of the need to strengthen
Israel's economy. Only an economically se-
cure Israel will be able, out of the country's
own resources, to assure defensive stren
for the land which remains surrounded by
hatred.
There is the general feeling that Presi-
dent Johnson's new policy of curbing foreign
investments by Americans can not possibly
affect the Israel Bond campaigns. The gen-
eral feeling is that such restrictions are inap-
plicable to Israel because Israel Bond sales
are so closely linked with American-Israel
trade conditions. The ratio of imports-ex-
ports between the two countries is five-to-one
in favor of the United States, and much, if
not most, of the money secured through the
sale of Israel Bonds conceivably remains in
this country because of Israel's need to buy
heavy machinery and other products here.
Israel Bond organizations throughout the
land will, therefore, find the old incentives
for their efforts in full force, and the cause
will need our interest on a par with the UJA
and the Israel Emergency Fund.
President Johnson's new program may
seriously affect tourism to Israel. Even in
that respect Israel undoubtedly will share
priority with areas which have a religious
appeal for visitors. Jerusalem is as important
historically for the faithful as is Rome, and
there is reason to believe that the Holy Land
will be an exception to whatever rules may
be enforced to retain American dollars for
travel in this rather than in foreign countries.
In any event, hope must be retained that
Israel's status will not be affected by restric-
tions on Americans' interest in the land that
is so holy in our traditions. And under all
circumstances the devotion of Jews every-
where—to philanthropy and investments—
must remain major in communal planning.
17 Jewish Artists Are Depicted
in Grossman's 'Art and Tradition'
For 25 years a member of the faculty of Yeshiva University, Emery
Grossman specializes in art which became one of his great vocations
as well as avocations. He has written extensively on art as well as
music. His major accomplishment is his "Art and Tradition—The
Jewish Artist in America," which has just been published by Thomas
Yoseloff and includes definitive essays on 17 noted American Jew-
ish artists.
Much of his work is based on personal interviews with the artists
and it is therefore, in the main, an intimate account of their ac-
complishments.
He devotes a chapter to Jacques Lipchitz, who is described as
"philosopher, poet working in stone, visionary, pioneer." An escapee
from Nazism, Lipchitz' grief over the Holocaust is depicted and out
of it emerged the piece "Prayer," described by the author as "almost
frantic." Other sculptured pieces mentioned are "Kapporot" and
"Sacrifice," the latter being one of the listed artists' works included
among the photographs in this book.
The late William Zorach, who is dealt with In the book's con-
cluding chapter, is described as "the dean of American sculptors."
Grossman states that commissions slipped from his fingers, as
was the case with his "Monument to Six Million Jew" which
exists in plaster model since the project has expired for lack of
funds. Grossman states about Zorach: "His wish to execute this
memorial arose not so much from a strong feeling of Jewish idea-
Uty as out of a desire to do something about the Jewish people.
Like many other artists of Jewish extraction, Zorach objected to
sectarianism."
In his introduction, Grossman states that the "tremendous upsurge
of popular interest in art" inspired his work. He writes that some
artists "haVe used Jewish subject matter for their themes, but it Is
not their purpose to create 'Jewish' art.'" He adds: "Indeed, to be-
lieve that a 'Jewish' art exists is to indulge in wishful thinking foe,
whatever it may have been, it has long been submerged by the varied
influences of the Diaspora. Nor has interest in biblical themes been
confined to Jews, as the works of Rembrandt, Michelangelo and many
others have testified through the centuries."
A number of the artists strongly objected to being called "Jewish
artists." Adolph Gottlieb, for example, likened it to being "a profes-
sional Jew" and said that there is no such thing as Jewish art. In the
essay about him the author of this book states that when Gottlieb was
called upon to create a stained glass facade in memory of Rabbi Milton
Steinberg, for the Park Avenue Synagogue, he "not only had to adapt
his conceptions of art to the religious mode, but also had to learn
in depth the technique of working in stained glass.
Samuel Adler, a native New Yorker, son of a doctor, with
whom Grossman commenced his series a essays, did tell Grose-
man that in his work "there may have been some subconscious
motivation, the result of my Jewishness."
David Aronson, still in his early 20s, is a rebel. He refused
to become Bar Mitzva, yet he pursued Hebrew studies, acquired an
intense Jewish background, but he sculptured on Christian and Jew-
ish religious themes.
Another interesting personality is Ben-Zion, a Hebraist who wrote
extensively, whose full name is not known, who disagrees with those
who say there is no Jewish art and who stated that "it is only when
the Jewish throb subconsciously emerges from his work that real
creativity will result."
Chaim Gross is among the distinguished sculptors described here.
The Bible was an inspiring source of much of his material. Grossman
states that "all of the museums in Israel own his work."
Ibram Lassaw did extensive plastic works for synagogues and his
art is called pantheistic.
Fascinating examples are introduced of the works of Jack Levine.
There is a description of the impressive sculptural attainments of
Seymour Lipton. Other noted artists described are Herman Marti.
Sigmund Menkes, Bernard Rider, Larry Rivers, George Segal and
Moses Soyer.
Ben Shahn gets special consideration for his many universal theme
and callgraphic work.
A number of multicolored art works are among the Diustrations
included in Grossman's informative "Art and Tradition."