•
U.S. High Court Upholds Exemption
on Taxes for Church's Property
Temple Emanu-El, located on 65th
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The operate apartment houses on the
Street and Fifth Avenue. Emanu-1
Supreme Court declined Monday lower East Side, where there
El flanks Central Park and is gen-
has been a disturbing rash of
to overturn the New York State
erallv ranked the wealthiest of all
anti-Semitism among Blacks and
tax exemption for church-owned
Jewish congregations. "Of course
Puerto
Ricans
who
feel
exploited
property "used solely for religious
we are concerned about losing our
by the landlords.
worship."
exemptions." said Henry Fruhauf,
The
assets
of
the
United
Chief Justice Warren E. Burger,
financial administrator for the
speaking for the 7-1 majority, de- Lubavitcher Synagogues in Brook-
clared. "Nothing in (the) national lyn, whose members are thought to temple, noting the mood of ag-
gressiveness toward religions.
attitude toward religious tolerance scorn secular involvements, is re-
'Why? There are two aspects. One'
and two centuries of uninterrupt- portedly the most substantial of all
is, naturally, the real estate taxes.
ed freedom from taxation has Jewish congregations.
"Traditionally, Jews have used It would eat heavily into our bud-
given the remotest sign of leading
to an established church or reli- their wealth to buy land, expand get. The other is that some of our
gion, and on the contrary it has property or establish ethnic wel- heaviest contributors might not
to hell, fare societies. During World War give without important exemptions.
operated affirmatively
guarantee the free exercise of all , II, much of the wealth was used The tax-deductible feature is very
forms of religious; beliefs." to rescue Jews from Nazi Germany important for contributions. Those
Referring .to— the First Amend- and buy land in Palestine. Abuse who give the larger annual con-
tributions might think twice about
ment's barring of governmental is rare.
recognition of "an establishment
"The implications of attacks on making contributions if they were
of religion • " dissenting Justice Wil- church immunity have reached not tax deductible' ".
liam 0. Douglas asserted, "It (the
ruling) is, I fear, a long step down
the establishment path . . . . I
gathered that independence was
the price of liberty."
Julius Berman. president of
the National Jewish Commission NEW YORK (JTA)—An Israeli ish Palestine 1939-1945" just is-
on Law and Public Affairs historian who heads the Hebrew 1 sued by the Jewish Publication So-
(COLPA), an Orthodox asso"ia- University department of Holo- ' ciety of America. In this volume,
heroic
rt ruling,
tion, endorsed the court's
caust studies in Jerusalem is en- too, Dr. Bauer deals with e
efforts of Palestinian Jews to aid
saying "It vindicates the impor-
gaged in the immense task of
tant role of religion in the life
piecing together a record of Jew- their kinsmen who were suffering
of America's pluralistic society."
ish resistance to the Nazis during under the Nazis. In the JPS voume
he deals extensively with the ac-
A United Press International World War II.
tivities of the resistance move-
survey in 1968 estimated the value
That record is being culled from
of U.S. church-owned real estate underground newspapers, surviving ment in pre-Israel Palestine and
at 5100 000,000.003. In New Cit y documentation from local Jewish describes the roles of Hagana and
lopment s.
the estimated figure is 5692,000.- councils, diaries, letters and oral
g
000, taxes on which would come testimony from survivors, Yehuda
to $36,000,000.
Bauer told a New York Times in- NY Attorney Heads
• • •
terviewer, Israel Shenker.
In an article in the current issue
Hebrew U. Institute
It is a slow and arduous process
of Look Magazine, an article on
but Dr. Bauer believes it is neces- International Group
"Should We Tax Church Wealth,"
sary to refute the widespread be-
explores the entire issue, estimat-
lief that European Jews went "like
ing that the Roman Cat holic
sheep to the slaughter." That was
Church and its orders alone own something Israeli youth found hard
$20,000,000,000 in stock, not count-
to understand. So far "Dr. Bauer
ing other wealth.
and his colleges, who are studying
"One church has become a
34 ghetto resistance groups, have
wholesale distributor of popular further identified 21 Jewish parti-
phonograph records. Another has san groups that operated outside
acquired at least seven sportswear the Polish ghettos and the thou-
— and clothing manufacturing sands of Jews who fought in Polish
businesses. A third manufactures and other partisan groups," Shen-
mobile homes and operates a drill- ker reported.
ing business." One Ohio church
"European Jews went to the
owns a girdle company, and many
slaughter." Dr. Bauer said. "but
have become slumlords.
not
like sheep. They went because
With regard to the Jewish com-
munity, the article says the fol- they often had no alternative. They
went in families, they tried to pro-
loss ing:
tect and encourage each other. It
"What happens to Jewish eon-
was what my predecessor at the
tfthutions is frequently different
University called 'the
Hebrew
from what happens to Roman
dignity of the destroyed'."
Catholic and Protestant ones.
Dr. Bauer is the author of
The structure of Jewish con-
"Flight and Rescue: Bricha," pub-
gregations, designed to survive
New York attorney Daniel G
lished by Random House. It is an
alone as isolated outposts dur-
Ross has been appointed chair-
account of the movement that
ing the diaspora (dispersion).
man of the international com-
brought 300.000 Jews from Eas-
would not support the kind of
mittee of the Institute of Con-
tern and Central Europe to Pales-
capital expansion more unified
temporary Jewry of the Hebrew
tine after World War II. His book
denominations have embarked
University, succeeding Philip M.
is based in part on 997 oral testi-
upon. Still, the wealth is there.
Klutznick of Chicago. The inter-
"In a study of 677 congregations monies collected by the Institute
national committee is fostering
— of which only 181 responded — of Contemporary Jewry at the He-
the subject of contemporary
just 35 of the administrators were brew University.
Jewry as a major field of aca-
"But there were only 53 sur-
even willing to discuss: in detail
demic endeavor on university
their investment program. The vivors of the ghetto of Tuczyn, Po-
campuses around the world. Hon-
study was conducted in 1968 by land, to give an account of how
orary governor of the Hebrew
the Commission on Synagogue 2.000 Jews broke through a
University, Ross is former pres-
Administration and the National cordon of Germans and Ukrainians
ident of the American Friends of
Association of Temple Administra- with sticks, staves and axes. Over
Hebrew University.
tors of the Union of Arnerican half of them were killed in the es-
Hebrew Congregations. Of the 35 cape attempt and of the escapees
synagogues willing to discuss the who made the forest, practically all UN Observers Urge Israel
subject. all indicated heavy in- were killed or handed over to the
vestment portfolios, ranging fromGermans," Dr. Bauer said. "We to Win Over Egyptians
UNITED NATIONS (ZINS) —
securities to cash deposits in saw-'interviewed almost all of the sur-
ines accounts. vivors and recreated the event on Veteran experts on the Middle
"The business of death also which there was no written mater- East, who returned recently from
a visit to Egypt, believe there is a
yields profit. A disturbing re- ial."
Dr. Bauer told of Jewish rebel- substantial number of • Egyptian
sponse," commented the report on
cemetery privileges, "was the one lions in four German death camps intellectuals who favor a policy
which indicates that 24 congrega- —Treblinka, Sobibor, Auschwitz of "isolationism" and who wonder
Lions (from the smallest category and Plaszow. At Treblinka and So- why Israel fails to exploit this
to the largest) require retention bibor most of the prisoners escap- sentiment in her propaganda.
of membership in order to utilize ed to the forest but they were kill-
They suggest that Israel ought to
burial space . . . one (New York) ed afterwards by Germans and mount an intensive radio and tele-
congregation does not require con- Poles.
vision campaign to persuade the
"One of the terrible things," Dr. Egyptian public of the possibility
tinued membership; it charges an
additional 51.000 burial fee to a Bauer said, "is that in the United of reaching a separate peace ac-
person who purchased a grave States there are over 50,000 surviv- cord which will safeguard legitim-
while a member, and who is no ors of the Holocaust, and no work ate and vital Egyptian interests,
longer affiliated at the time of at all a. been done to collect
The UN observers note that if
death!" The report termed the their testimonies," Shenker re-
Israel's aircraft would shower
orted
practice "unconscionable," al-
UAR
soil with propaganda mater-
(Editor's
Note:
Dr.
Bauer
also
though it is common in many reli-
is the author of ."From Diplomacy ial, this would have a much
gions.
greater
impact than bombs.
"Hasidic Jewish sects own and to Resistance: A History of Jew-
Hebrew U. Historian Unearths
Many Instances of Resistance
THE DETROIT JEWISH HEWS
18—Friday, May 8, 1970
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