Boris Bogen—the Man Who Saved a People
Even in an era of billion-dollar bankers were determined to make him as JDC agent. His experience
famine and war relief like our own, farmers out of immigrants.
played a major role in the broader
Dr. Jacob Marcus, the director of
The important change for Bogen U.S. famine and refugee relief
Cincinnati's American Jewish Ar- and world Jewry was his decision effort.
chives, points out Boris D. Bogen in 1904 to enter philanthropic work
Bogen finally returned to the
deserves recognition for his pio- as director of the United Jewish United States and in 1925 was
neering efforts to meet the unend- Charities in Cincinnati. He left named international secretary for
ing and tragic needs of uprooted Cincinnati to become field secre- the Bnai Brith, while serving as
20th Century Jews.
tary of the Conference of Jewish superintendent of the federated
Born 100 years ago in Russia,
Bogen emigrated to the United
States and began a career that was
ultimately to save hundreds of
thousands of Jews from death by
starvation and disease during and
after World War I.
Bogen was 19 when he graduated
from Moscow University, a rare
achievement for a Jew in Czarist
times, and when he arrived in New
York, he studied English at the
famed Jewish Education Alliance.
His quick mind and administra-
tive abilities moved him swiftly
to a teaching post at the Alliance
and then the job of librarian in
this vital institution which helped
produce so many American Jew-
ish leaders from the "huddled
masses" of the Eastern European
immigrants. He also taught at
two New York trade schools.
From these schools, Bogen went
to Woodbine, N.J., a Utopian Jew-
ish comunity, where he was ap-
pointed superintendent of the Baron
de Hirsch - Agriculture School. In
those days the Wall Street Jewish
Charities and, as the horrors of
war in Europe became apparent to
the American public, was asked by
the newly founded American Jew-
ish Joint Distribution Committee
to serve as their director general.
They nedeed Bogen to organize a
life-line to Eastern European Jews
(and non-Jews) caught between the
warring Russian, German, and
Austrian armies and battered by
hostile civilians as well.
All things considered, the life-
saving accomplishments of the
Joint Distribution Committee add
up in many respects to the greatest
philanthropic achievement in all re-
corded history. It is no exaggera-
tion to make such a statement, and
Bogen played no small part in this
remarkable exploit.
By DAVID SCHWARTZ
(Copyright 1969, JTA, Inc.)
What would have been the fate
of Israel if she had lost the war?
Three members of the editorial
staff of Newsweek magazine, who
were in the Middle East at the time
of the Six-Day War have thought1
about it. They tell what would have
happened in a book called, "If
Israel Had Lost."
According to the writers, the
Jewish Museum and all the new ,
hotels would have been destroyed; 1
Mayor Teddy Kollek of Jerusalem
killed. Moshe Dayan would have
been captured and brought to pub-
lic trial as a war criminal and he
would refuse to testify beyond say-
ing that he denied the legality of
their procedure. Nasser would an
nounce gleefully that the wealth
brought by the Zionists would be
divided equally among the Arabs.'
Abba Eban would fly to America
to ask the aid of Washington but
Russia would threaten if America
intervened, she would intervene in
behalf of the Arabs. Ben Gurion
would fly to see de Gaulle but de
Gaulle would blame Israel for hav-1
ing fired the first shot and do noth-
ing. Jews born in Israel would be
permitted to remain, but those who
had immigrated to Israel, a ma-
jority, would be given a month to
leave. Most of them would have
no place to go to. America would
reluctantly consent to accept about
15,000 of the refugee Jews.
The writers say they base their
visions on statements made by
Arab leaders on the eve of the
war. There is just one point that
we would like to raise. Where
would Shukairy hold that great
dinner he planned to have when the
Egyptians took Tel Aviv if the
hotels are destroyed. Presumably
they would have left one hotel.
The moral of the story, accord-
ing to the authors, is Israel could
not count on any foreign salvation
in case of an emergency. She must
rely solely on herself.
The hangings in Iraq give us a
less theoretical picture of what
would have happened had Israel
lost the war.
But the Iraqis are entitled to
some credit. It is due largely to
the persecution of the Jews by the
Iraqis in the 19th and early 20th
centuries that we owe the develop-
ment of Jewish centers in in any
parts of India and the Far East:
Bombay, Calcutta, Singapore, Ran-
goon and so on. Not only did many
Jews profit but non-Jews too. For
instance, before the Sasoons fled
from Baghdad around 1832, Bom-
bay had no port facilities. It was
the Sasoons who built the Bombay
port. They also gave the town its
first public hospital and other faci-
lities.
The Sasoons came to be known
as the Rothschilds of India. Later
they moved to England and be-
came members of the British aris-
tocracy. One of the women Sa-
soons, Fliora, was very religious
and aristocracy coming to her
social functions, whether Jew or
Gentile, wore yarmulkes. A later
member of the family, Siegfried
Sasoon, was a well known met. He
served in the first World War, was
wounded and became a pacifist.
In the present persecution in
a political scapegoat by the regime
in power to save itself.
It was bad news these past weeks
But there was some good news. It
is reported in the Israeli press that
a team of researchers at the Weiz-
mann Institute have found that
tumors sometimes regress. If
means can be found to stimulate
the process, this may offer hope
for the cure of cancer.
Hasidism Course Added at Dropsie
A new course in Hasidism has
been introduced at Dropsie College
for Hebrew and Cognate Learning,
Philadelphia, it was announced by
Dr. Abraham I. Katsh, president
of the post-graduate institution.
Dr. Solomon Zeitlin, professor of
rabbinic law and history, will con-
charities in the growing Jewish duct the new course which he last
metropolis of Los Angeles.
taught at Dropsie College more
In 1926 Hebrew Union College
conferred on him the honorary than 30 years ago.
The course will embrace the his-
degree of doctor of law, and
and
this pioneer world-scale human- tory, literature, philosophy
which
itarian was honored in Palestine, development of Hasidism,
a
religious
too, with a forest in his name was the name given to
long before Israel became a state. and mystical movement originated
The ways Bogen enriched three at the end of the 18th Century. The
American cities—New York, Cin-
cinnati and Los Angeles—and the
world are documented in a major
collection of the American Jewish
Archives on the Cincinnati campus
of the Hebrew Union College-Jew-
ish Instiute of Religion. Dr. Jacob
R. Marcus, director of the Archives,
points out that Bogen died 40 years
ago, but the work he did is daily
recalled by Jews everywhere who
are alive because Bogen and the
JDC were there to help them.
He was so successful in this
relief work that hundreds of
thousands of Jews survived the
war and the horrors of those Bonn Cabinet to Seek
terrible days in Eastern Europe. Court Ban on Anti-Israel
When Herbert Hoover went to
Eastern Europe to see what Amer- Neo-Rightist Paper
ica could do to help, Bogen joined
BONN (JTA)—The West German
If Israel Had Lost the Wa r
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
10—Friday, February 14, 1969
Cabinet authorized the ministry of
interior to start action to ban the
neo-Nazi weekly newspaper. Deut-
sche National Zeitung and Soldaten
Zeitung, an extreme right-wing or-
gan that has viciously attacked
Israel. The paper, published in
Munich, accused Israel of "geno-
cide." Israel formally protested
this and previous articles.
Legal proceedings against the
paper will be brought before the
Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe.
The government will contend that
the paper "abuses freedom of ex-
pression" in violation of the Fed-
eral Constitution. The suit will be
the first government attempt to ban
a newspaper in the 20-year history
of the Federal Republic. The pro-
ceedings could last several years.
The paper has a circulation of
about 120,000. An interior ministry
official described its attacks on
Israel as an "unspeakable, taste-
less concoction."
Rabbinical College
in Miami Beach to Be lit
MIAMI BEACH — A $5,000,000
campaign fund to build here the
first Jewish seminary south of the
Mason-Dixon line was launched
Sunday.
The 12-story Talmudic Theologi-
cal College is to be erected on the
site of the Agudath Israel Hebrew
Institute, 7801 Carlyle, according to
Dr. Isaac Hirsh Ever, president of
the school and the spiritual leader
of the synagogue, which will be
housed on the first floor of the fa-
cility.
The college will offer accredited
rabbinical training on a scholar-
ship-financed basis. "Plans for the
college grew out of a dearth of
opportunity for young Jews to go
into the rabbinate mainly because
these colleges are only in several
major northern cities and the re-
sulting lack of rabbinical leaders
for American communities," he
said. Actual construction is - expect-
ed to begin by summer.
Dr. Katsh also announced that
an annual fellowship will be avail-
able for an outstanding student en-
rolled in the Hasidism class.
Emanuel Alexander, a prominent
New York attorney, will provide
the funds for an Emanuel Alexan-
der Fellowship.
(4 M BUICKS
THE BEST
FOR LESS
AT
great centers of Hasidic influence
were wiped out by the Nazi holo-
caust, but a number of dynasties
have re-established themselves in
Israel and in this country -- the
most popular of which is the Luba-
vicher movement.
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FORESTS
that bear your name
Long after you have gone, forests in Israel
renewing themselves in the cycle of sea-
sons, will keep your memory ever green.
When making your Will, provide that a
forest in Israel be planted in your name or
in that of someone dear to you, handing
down your last wish from generation to
generation.
A bequest to the J.N.F. is a bequest to the entire Jewish
people, linking the name of the Testator with Israel in
perpetuity.
For information and advice
in strict confidence apply to
THE FOUNDATION FOR THE
JEWISH NATIONAL FUND
22100 Greenfield Rd.
Oak Park,-Mich. 48237
399-0820
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