Constantine: the Arch Anti-Semite Constantine was the first Chris- tian Emperor and was one of Rome's most colorful rulers. Rom- an rule in the third and fourth centuries are described in the bi- ography "Constantine," by Ram- say MacMullen, published by Dial Press as part of the Dial Cross- currents in World History Series, and the role of Constantine and his wife are depicted here in all their dramatic details. MacMullen describes Constan- tine's religious fervor. He points out: "His was a predominantly Chris- tian court, it was slowly but visibly becoming a Christian empire, and proof lay in the privileges showered on the church; hence a law of 329, restricting rights to join the clergy. Holy orders had become a refuse from burdensome taxes and muni- cipal duties. Before the reign was over, pagans and Christians alike LETTER BOX Claims New Data on Michigan History Editor, The Jewish News: The first historiographer of the Michigan and Detroit Jewish com- munities was David Emil Heine- man, who told the story of Ezekiel Solomon, Michigan's first Jewish settler, and related Heckewelder's account of Chapman Abraham, be- lieved to be Detroit's first Jewish resident. He was the author of other brief biographical sketches of early Michigan Jewish settlers, and recorded the names of Jews appearing in a number of Detroit directories published prior to 1850. However, later students interested in the history of Detroit's Jewish community felt that Heineman's list was incomplete, believing that more Jews resided in Detroit be- for 1850, even though their belief could not be documented. Contemporary research by the present writer in the United States decennial reports does indeed con- firm the earlier hypothesis; the "missing gap" has been filled. Not only do the decennial census rec- ords list Jewish names, but also give new dimensions to the study of Detroit and Michigan Jewish history. The census records both Jews and non-Jews, their families, ages, places of birth, and occupations. The census of 1850, for instance, records the name of the man who was probably the first Polish-born Jew who settled in Detroit. A list of Jewish individuals and families residing in Detroit on July 15, 1850, will appear in the January 1970 issue of Michigan Jewish History published by the Michigan Jewish Historical Society. The 1850 and subsequent census reports contain a mine of informa- tion concerning Jews and non-Jews who came to Detroit from different parts of Europe. ALLEN A. WARSEN Editor, Michigan Jewish History, 21721 Parklawn, Oak Park could discern, with pretended or genuine distress, the contamination of the Church by persons convert- ed only on the surface, or for the wrong reasons. lie was Constantine the anti- Semite. MacMullen explains that Constantine was personally press- ing for reform of the Easter , "which some churches celebrated on the same day as the Jewish Passover. The emperor's pas- sionate anti-Semitism would not suffer this, and a date already in use in Egypt and elsewhere was agreed on by all ..." There is added interest in Mac- Mullen's biograph in the following references to his and his wife Helena's interests: "Constantine never saw the Holy Land, but through his and Helena's work it became, within a genera- tion or two, the center for Chris- tian pilgrimage that it has ever since remained. "In his own efforts to provide Christian worship with a suitable architectural setting, he circular- ized the eastern bishops in 342, in- structing them to repair what had been ruined or neglected under Holocaust Library Formed at Dropsie A special section for books deal- ing exclusively with the Holocaust has been established in the library at Dropsie University by the Sho- lom Aleichem Club of Philadelphia, it was announced by Dr. Abraham I. Katsh, president of the post- graduate university. The collection will be named in honor of Dr. Emanuel Rigelblurn, historian of the Warsaw Ghetto and founder of the ghetto archives. Dr. Wililam M. Glicksman, a sur- vivor of the Holocaust and a 1957 graduate of Dropsie University, was the prime mover in the estaL- lishment of the special library sec- tion. Max Rosenfeld, representing the Sholom Aleichem Club, local cul- tural organization stated that Drop- sie University was selected to house the book collection because of the "strong interest in this pe- riod" manifest by Dr. Katsh. The university president is the transla- tor and editor of "The Scroll of Agony," the diary of scholar Chaim A. Kaplan which is the most comprehensive account of the Warsaw Ghetto. Originally pub- lished in this country in 1965 by the Macmillan Company, the book has since been published in seven foreign languages. It is a day-by- day journal begun in September 1939, on the day that Germany de- clared war on Poland. Dr. Katsh emphasized the sig- nificance of this period in Jewish life in announcing the establish- ment of the special book section. "No other period in the memory of contemporary man," said Dr. Katsh, "can match the Holocaust in sensitivity of Jews. There is much that all humanity can learn from this episode and Dropsie Uni- versity is proud to be the reposi- tory of literature dealing with this period." Dropsie University is the only non-theologcial, non-sectarian grad- uate university in the United States completely dedicated to the study of Hebrew, Biblical, and Middle Eastern cultures and languages, and higher Jewish education. 'that serpent' Licinius. The prae- torian prefect and governors stood ready to provide everything neces- sary in the way of a work force and money. One of his counts, Jos- eph of Tiberias in Palestine, hav- ing been interestingly converted from Judaism by 'divine visions of every kind', obtained drafts on the treasury and special authority to go about in predominantly Jewish regions erecting churches." There is an element of retribu- tion in the Constantine story. Mac- Mullen relates: Friday, December 12, 1969-35 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Status of Peru Jewry Is Outlined by Leader NEW YORK—Dr. Azi Wolfenzon, press is divided in its approach to dean of the school of industrial the problem of the Middle East. science at Peru's National Engi- neering University, was in New York last week and, in his capacity as head of the Association of Jew- ish Societies in Peru, met with leaders of the World Jewish Con- gress, with which the association SEE PAGE 19 is affiliated. The association is composed of the three communities, Ashkena- FOR THE BEST IN zim, Sephardim and German, each MUSIC AND ENTERTAINMENT of which has its own synagogue "Few of the essential elements and rabbi. There are between 6,000 and of Christian belief interested And His Orchestra Constantine very much—neither 7,000 Jews in Peru, the majority of 358-0938 God's mercy nor man's useful- East European origin or descent. ness, neither damnation nor sal- Almost all live in Lima. A Zionist vation, neither brotherly love Federation embraces all Zionist nor, needless to say, humility. groupings; there is a Hebrew So- Ardent in his convictions, he re- cial Club and a Bnai Brith lodge. mained nevertheless oblivious to There is a Jewish day school, Now Booking - their moral implications. Modern which has an enrollment of ap- historians have been bothered by proximately 900. Practically all this; ancient pagans turned it to Jewish children of school age good account. According to their attend. and His Orchestra The Jewish press in Peru con- stories, the emperor experienced no change of faith until after he sists of a monthly, Nostros Good Music NEED WALLPAPER ? SAM EMMER BY POPULAR DEMAND! . ED BURG had put to death his son and wife, whereupon he sought for purification from the old gods. (now approaching its 40th birth- day), and a bulletin published by the Ashkenazi community. There is no significant anti- for All Occasions LI 4-9278 Denied it by their lofty justice he resorted to Christianity, through Semitism in Peru. The Peruvian Classified Ads Get Quick Results which he obtained a spurious substitute. Retribution at last caught up with him. His brothers poisoned him in revenge for the killing of Crispus (his son)." DAVID FREDRICK Ramsay MacMullen, one of the leading scholars among the young- er generation of American histori- ans of the Roman Empire, was born in New York City in 1928. He attended Exeter (1942-1946) and Harvard University (MA 1959; PhD 1957). Having taught . at the University of Oregon and Brandeis University, MacMullen has been a professor of history at Yale University since 1967. He has been the recipient of several grants for research in Rome — a Fulbright grant (1960- 1961) and a Guggenheim grant (1967). In 1967 he also received a grant to the Center for Advanced Research at Princeton. Invites You To See The Extensive Collection of Antiques and Modern Jewelry. FREDRICK JEWELERS OF BLOOMFIELD 869 W. Long Lake Road at Telegraph Daily 9:30 to 8:30. Saturday 9:30 to 5 646-0973 From Italy With Brevities SCHOSTAK BROTHERS AND CO., Inc., realtors, announce the opening of new offices at 21311 Civic Center Dr., Southfield. The move was part of an over-all expan- sion of the firm's business, which includes real estate brokerage, property management, mortgage financing, construction, and real estate development. * * * The CHAMBER MUSIC WORK- 1 SHOP will hold its third monthly I program-meeting 8 p.m. Sunday at the Detroit Institute of Musical Arts. * * * Dr. LEON LUCAS. a certified marriage counselor and professor, and Mrs. DAVID (RUTH) GOLD- BERG, associate professor, both on the faculty of the Wayne State University School of Social Work, have had their book, published by Whitehall Co. in Northbrook, Ill. FUNDAMENTALS OF FAMILY COUNSELING reflects their long- standing interest in experimenting Ben-Nathan at Farewell: with and developing methods of Germany of Today more effectively helping troubled families and their individual mem- `Quite Another Germany' bers. Methods of teaching and cur- BERLIN (JTA) — Asher Ben riculum for preparing counselors Nathan, Israel's outgoing ambas- Israeli Electronics Firm are presented. The research work sador to West Germany, was given Wins at World Hotel Fair was assisted by a training grant TEL AVIV—An exhibition of new from the National Institutes of a farewell reception here by the German publisher,- Axel Springer. types of multiline telephone sys- Mental Health. Ben Nathan will conclude his tour tems designed for hotel and insti- Of duty at the end of the year. He tutional use by Telrad of Lydda Center Theater Tryouts will be succeeded by Elyashev was awarded the Grand Cup at the Ben Chorin, deputy head of the first International Hotel Fair here to Be Held This Week Tryouts for "You Can't Take It foreign ministry's information sec- recently. Tetrad Telecommunications and With You" by Kaufman and Hart. tion in Jerusalem. Center Theater's second produc- Ben Nathan told his well-wishers Electronics Industries, Ltd. is Is- tion of the season, will be held at that he thought he had achieved rael's largest producer of tele- the Jewish Center 2-5 p.m. Sun- phone lines and equipment. It has much of what he had set out to do day; 8-10 p.m. Monday; and 8-10 to improve Israel's relations with patented a new type of fully elec- p.m. Tuesday. which is the Federal Republic. He said it tronic multi-line system install The play, which is to be directed and was understood in Israel now that efficient, economical to by Hal Youngblood of WJR, will be the present Germany is quite has minimum breakdown incid- presented Feb. 14, 18, 19, 21 and 22. ence. "another Germany." ° pan rfattance., CDecokativtjkamohin 1800 S. Woodward. Birmingham (2 bike. north of 14 Mi., West side—cor. of Smith) • 647-6233 For your convenience ... we have hot coffee 7 days a week, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays from 12 to a p.m. • Gift Certificates • Layaways ALL MAJOR CREDIT CARDS HONORED THE BEST PRICES IN TOWN QUALITY GOLD JEWELRY Imported from Italy Complete Line: Cameos Rings Watches Necklaces Broaches Retail and Wholesale We Buy By Weight and Sell By Weight is (Venetic) -_9mporteri Fine Jewelry From Italy & Switzerland User & Sons Phone 642-9449 344 HAMILTON (East of Demery's) BIRMINGHAM Open 8:30 to 5, Mon. thru Sat.