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."