THE JEWISH NEWS
Incorporating The Detroit
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Association.
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PHILIP SLOMOVI'TZ
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CARMI M. SLOMOVITZ
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CHARLOTTE DUBIN
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Sabbath Scriptural Selections
This Sabbath, the 10th day of Tamuz, 5728,
the following scriptural selections
will be read in our synagogues:
Pentateuchal portion, Num. 19:1-22:1. Prophetical portion,
Judges 11:1-33.
Candle lighting Friday, July 5, 8:53 p.m.
VOL. LIH. NO. 16
Page Four
July 5, 1968
Grave Errors in Supreme Court Issue
All fair-minded Americans must adhe re Jewish citizen in the land to rise to the
to the hope that the sad issue which dev el- highest post attainable by an American next
oped when President Woodrow Wils on to the Presidency. When, therefore, in rela-
appointed the first Jew to the United Stat es tion to that appointment there are being used
Supreme Court, Louis D. Brandeis, will n of such terms as "sharpy," "smooth operator,"
escalate into an anti-Abe Fortas campaig n. as well as a beneficiary of "cronyism," the
When Michigan's U.S. Senator Robert Griff in matter assumes a tragic note.
first announced that he would conduct a
It is on this score that our hopes are that
campaign against the confirmation of t he Senator Griffin and those associated with
appointment of Mr. Justice Abe Fortas as him in his campaign against the confirmation
Chief Justice of the United States and Willia m of the President's latest appointments will be
Homer Thornberry to succeed Mr. Fort as cautious and will refrain from permitting the
as a member of the highest court in the lan d, situation to develop into what some already
because of his expressed convicition that a call — unjustly, we admit — anti-Semitic.
"lame duck" President should not ma ke Senator Griffin certainly is not a bigot. He
appointments to the high court, his positi on has shown high regard for human values in
was understandable. He holds certain vie ws many of his political activities. Therefore
and he is entitled to them.
while the Supreme Court issue most unfor
But in the course of the campaign against tunately has become a political football, there
President Johnson's appointments several is an obligation that men in high office
vital issues developed. In the first place, it should not permit religious issues to affect
"An Annual on Jewish Themes" has just been introduced by
is now generally emphasized that a President a matter so vital to our nation and that the
Quadrangle
Books (12 E. Delaware Pl., Chicago., Ill.) The first volume
who voluntarily chose not to run for re- Supreme Court indeed should not become a
in
the
series,
titled "Explorations, edited by Chaim Bermant and
road
to
"ward
politics."
election is not a "lame duck." Secondly, when
the charge developed into a campaign based
A basic fact to be taken into account is Murray Mindlin, contains such a wealth of material, essays on such
on accusations of "cronyism" as well of a the following culled from a news story about a wide variety of subjects of Jewish interest, that "Explorations"
President's lack of right to make appoint- Mr. Fortas's appointment in the New York immediately earns recognition as a remarkably fine contribution to
merits which will affect the nation after he Times of June 27:
Jewish anthological efforts.
will have left his high office, there are these
Albert E. Jenner of Chicago, chairman
Commencing with studies of the arts and the sciences, leading off
factors to be taken into consideration: the
of the American Bar Association Committee
President selected for the Chief Judgeship
on the Federal Judiciary, said that the with an article on "Boy-man, Schlemiel: the Jewish Element in
12-member panel had conferred on a con- American Humor," by Albert Goldman; proceeding with essays on
a man who is not being chosen at 'random
Holocaust, Jewish experiences in this country, in Europe, Israel;
but is being elevated while already a member
ference telephone call early this morning the
concluding with poetry—we have in "Explorations" what the editors
of the high court; and on the question of
and unanimously found both men qualified. describe as "a search for identity" and out of the search emerges
President Johnson's favoring a "crony" the
The Government traditionally asks the an excellent collective guide to Jewish thinking.
New York Times demolished the argument
bar committee to rate prospective judicial
nominees for the lower Federal judiciary,
It is interesting to note that while these articles deal with the
by stating editorially on the morning after
Mr. Fortas' appointment:
community of Jews and its personalities, they do not ignore the
and avoids appointing persons who are
deemed unqualified.
non-Jewish friend, the philo-Semite and the Christian neighbor's
"Mr. Fortas' record in three years on
Chief Justice Warren was in San Fran-
relationship. For instance, there is the recollection about an eminent
the bench has shown qualities that tran-
cisco today. In a statement issued through
scend political shrewdness and Presiden-
Christian Zionist, a noteworthy essay by a distinguished author:
itl gratitude."
his office here, he praised Justice Fortas
Christopher Sykes writing in "Memories of My Father" about Sir
as a scholar, an administrator and "a great
Mark Sykes who throughout his parliamentary career was among
This is both a compliment to the appointee
lawyer, and I know he will be a great Chief
and an exoneration of the President, although
the most consistent supporters of Zionism.
Justice."
it is to the credit of our President that he
There are essays on Jewish authors and artists and one by Murray
does not forget his friends.
He also commended Judge Thornberry
Roston
which interestingly evaluates "The Agnon Paradox." Another,
for his record in Congress and on the
But there are other disturbing factors in
by Gabriel Pearson, is devoted to "Bellow, Malamud and Jewish
the situation that have unfortunately devel-
bench. "I feel confident he will serve well Arrival" and offers material for interesting group discussions on the
oped in the matter involving both Mr. Justice
in the Justiceship vacated by Mr. Justice status of the most popular Jewish writers.
Fortas and Judge Thornberry. In the instance
Fortas," he said.
Revealing, also, is the essay "The Orthodox Jewish Scientist" by
of the appointee to the Chief Justiceship
Surely, these facts attest to the wisdom of
there already is appended the assertion that President Johnson's selections for the high Cyril Domb who points out that "the path of the young Jewish student
he would be the first Jew to be named the positions on the Supreme Court. Now we must who wishes to remain loyal to tradition is far from smooth, and one
U.S. Chief Justice. The fact is that if Mr. hope that a sacred matter affecting all Ameri- of the important practical duties of the Association of Orthodox Jewish
is to provide an advisory service in regard to any problems
Justice Fortas is confirmed by the Senate cans will not become a basis for "ward Scientists
which may arise." The status of this association emerges in
as the President's nominee he will be the first politics."
interesting light in this article.
'Explorations' Introduces New
Literary Annual of Jewish Themes
U. S. Pl anes: F or All But Israel?
Perhaps this is a time for showdown
regarding the morality of arming nation
against nation.
Because of the threats to Israel's very
existence, a pledge was believed to have
been made to the Jewish State that a limited
number of Phantoms would be made avail-
able to assure the nation's security.
In the interim Russia stepped into the
picture, replaced all if not many more of
the Arab planes that were destroyed by Israel
in the crucial six-day period of June 1967
and the neighbors that continue the threat
to wipe Israel off the face of the earth again
are believed to be building up immense mili-
tary machines that can again become a threat
to the peace of the entire world. Adding to
the complexity of an intolerable situation
is the position taken by the U.S. State Depart-
ment that Israel has enough planes to defend
itself and on that basis is giving weapons
to the Arabs.
On that basis, men like Congressman 'Wil-
liam Broomfield of Michigan feel very
strongly that Israel can not be eliminated
from a program of adequate defense pro-
visions in an area in which the other states
are receiving U.S. planes. Therefore he has
called for fullfilment of the pledge to Israel
that this country will provide the embattled
nation with Phantoms.
This issue is beginning to assume a test
to political and international morality. If
pledges were made to Israel they should be
adhered to.
Our State Department has not freed itself
of the charge of prejudice against Israel. It
has pursued a policy approaching antagonism
to the Jewish State and apparently it advises
the President in the matter of providing
Israel with arms for defense. Rep. Broom-
field consistently urges that such a policy
should be abandoned and that Israel should
not be treated differently from the Arab
states.
That our government should be a party
to a negation of such a principle is a matter
for deep concern to this nation
Marie Syrkin's "Diaries of the Holocaust" is a splendid review
of Holocaust literature available in diaries. It is a definite contribution
to the study of the published material dealing with the tragedies
of the last war.
The section devoted to community studies has three valuable
essays. Bermant reviews "Anatomy of Glasgow." J. W. Carrier
comments on "A Jewish Proletariat." In "A Jewish 'Mayhew' " June
Rose treats the subjects of Mikva, Shadhan, Tahara, Beadle, Wacher-
the watcher over dead bodies. These are definitions that will be
welcomed by Jewish readers who seek information about Jewish mores...
One of the sections of this significant anthology of Jewish themes
deals with "The Past Recaptured." It, too, is a remarkable collection
of essays, containing Richard Barnett's "Samuel Montefiore'
Diaries," "Dreamers: a Memoir" by Isaac Bashevis Singer a
articles on two survivors—"Mother and Child" by liselotte Then
and "Escape to Sweden" by Kurt Lindenberg.
The latter (translated from the German by Andrea Mindlin) is
especially valuable as an historical document at this time, on the
eve of the 25th anniversary of the rescue of Danish Jewry. It is
an important chapter to be added to the story of experiences in
Scandinavian countries during the Nazi reign of terror.
The fiction and poetry section—the story "The Pagan Rabbi" by
Cynthia Ozick and the poem:. by Walter Kaufmann, T. :. ithaniel Tarn,
Dennis Silk and Dannie Abse add color to a most cc,1:rful volume.