Claims Israel Is Center of Scholarship
Editor. The Jewish News:
It was with a great deal
of interest that I read your
recent editorial Rn the state
of Jewish scholarship (Feb.
2, 1973).
As a former Detroiter, now
teaching American Jewish
history at Tel Aviv Univer-
sity, I am vitally, concerned
about the spiritual and cul-
tural strength of the Ameri-
can Jewish community. There
are no easy answers to the
problems of apathy, aliena-
tion and the rising rate of in-
termarriage, which seem to
have become an all-too-com-
mon feature of Jewish life in
the United States. I only hope
that all the talk about these
problems will be translated
into action—or the future
could be bleak indeed.
With regard to the question
of Jewish scholarship, your
readers might be interested
in.the result of a study which
I and a colleague, Dr. Roger
Mark Selya, of the depart-
ment of Geography at Tel-
Aviv University, undertook.
We sought to answer the
question, "Where is the cen-
ter of Judaism?" As one pos-
sible means to empirically
•
Are Kosher-Killed
Chickens a Thing
of the Past Here?
Editor, The Jewish News:
We the Jewish housewives
have no one to turn to, so
we all appeal to you. We
want to be kosher. and eat
kosher meat and chickens
but now we must accept
these already-koshered chic-
kens without any giblets —
not even a complete chicken
for our 90 cents a pound.
And after they are cooked,
the bones are so black, even
the dogs won't look at them.
Please tell us who is behind
this racket. Not our govern-
ment? Why can't we have a
complete chicken and kosher
it ourselves; like we know
what kosher is? It would be
a real disgrace if an inves-
tigation would occur.
MRS. SADIE HAUT
President
Jewish Women European
Welfare Organization
(Editor's Note: According
to Rabbi Chaskel Grubner,
Council of Orthodox Rabbis
(VAAD), only one small
slaughterhouse remains of
those who supplied local
housewives with kosher-killed
chickens. The stringent re-
quirements of state and fed-
eral governments have made
it financially impossible for
most shohetim to remain in
business, he said. At this
point, the national packaging
plants (Empire, Grossing-
er's) supply the majority of
kosher-killed chickens in this
area.
(However, Rabbi Grubner
said, the Vaad will give
"every cooperation" to a
businessman who would like
to open a slaughterhouse ) .
Many trained shohetim are
available. The Vaad, which
supervises kosher butchers
here, "is willing to assist in
any way possible in the set-
ting up of such a business-
1n ase,"
c
said Rabbi Grubner.
(To that end, the Vaad has
-.5- Med a meeting of interest-
1.d persons for 8:30 p.m. Sun-
day at the Council of' Ortho-
ltm Rabbis offices, 17071 W.
Mile, Southfield. Members
the Kashrut Advisory
. : - .mmission and other con-
1..- ned individuals are in-
- T'Z ed.)
measure this, we simply
counted number of publica-
tions in specific areas of
Judaica—Talmud, rabbinics,
ment, of geography at Tel-
sermons and liturgy, Kabala
and Hasidism — for selected
years since 1925. We felt that
these categories minimized
the possibility of subjective
interpretation regarding the
source, content and purpose
of the literature.
We used as our source,
the bibliographic quarterly
Kirjath Sepher, which has
been appearing since 1924
and which contains practical-
ly all new publications deal-
ing with all aspects of Ju-
daica regardless of language.
We accounted for the fact
that a number of works are
reprints and also that some
works by American Jewish
scholars are published in Is-
rael presumably because of
lower costs.
We conclude, that by this
one measure Israel is and
has been, since its establish-
ment as a state, the center of
Judaism..
LETTER BOX
—
33 27 33
8 —
3
11
17
— — —
1
1
2
2
2
3 — 9 3 — — — —
1 —
5 — —
3
5
1
1
•
10
2
2
1
Princeton Student Says. University
Restricting Jewish Enrollment
6
6
6
If Our democracy is to
flourish, it must have critic-
ism; if our government is to
function it must have dis-
any major religious commu- sent.—H. S. Commager.
4
nity, and that such encour-
agement relates only to those
chaplains whose denomina-
tional identity permits them
Fine Clothes For Over 36 Years
to participate.
24750
TELEGRAPH
He went on to say, "I want
At 10 Mile Next to Dunkin' Donuts
. . . to allay any concern in
Open Daily to 6, Thursday to 8
the Jewish community that SUNDAY 11 to 4
Key '73 . . . would be used
by chaplains to either pros-
elyte those of another faith,
MAKE A
or to reflect in any way on
them."
CLEAN SWEEP
I call this to your attention
for the sake of fairness. I
have held a reserve commis-
sion in the Navy Chaplain
CALL 862-3200
Corps since 1956, and have
always found that the leader-
GUaranteed Control of
ship of the Chaplain Corps is
Roaches, Mice, Spiders,
fair, unbigoted and concerned
Clover Mites and A nil
about the welfare of all its
A-OK
men and women.
PEST CONTROL SERVICE, Inc.
MORTON M. KANTER
E. John Klein
RABBI
Rabbi Defends Navy Chaplain
Editor, The Jewish News:
I have read with concern
your front page article of
March 9, which indicates that
the American Jewish Con-
gress rejected as a "contra-
diction in terms," a state-
ment by the U.S. Navy that
it supports Key '73.
The facts are far different.
The chief of chaplains of the
ROBERT A. ROCKAWAY U.S. Navy is Rear Adm,
Dept. of Jewish History
Francis L. Garrett, whom I
Tel-Aviv University, Israel have known for more than a
dozen years.
Total Number of Publications in Selected
Chaplain Garrett, in reply
Areas of Judaica for Selected Years
ing to critism of his state-
ment on Key '73, said that
Compiled from Kirjath Sepher.
1925 1930 1935 1940 1945 1950 1955 1960
1965 1970 that criticism failed to recog-
19 35 43 44 49 70 242 209
330
519 nize that a chief of chaplains
Iof,md. States
18 53 37 37 23 52
104
96
140
88
properly supports religious
Poland
13 71 49 74
1
1
6
—
Great Britain
10
20
19
13
9
14
21
11
In
9 programs which originate in
France
4
8
6
4
2
9
13
13
Germany
Argentina
Soviet Union
Italy
Mexico
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS di
14—Friday, March 23, 1973
•
Knock on Wood
Editor, The Jewish News:
Do Jews know what it
means when they use the
expression "knock wood" or
perform the act of "knocking
on wood?"
1.) Ancient belief that when
you touched wood—you were
thereby touching the cross,
for sustained happiness.
2.) Also in the realm of
religion, run for the church
in time of trouble (protection
of the cross.)
So, if Jews want to express
the hope that some expressed
thought will come true, or
if they want to say good
luck or so may it be, etc.,
they can use instead of knock
wood the expressions alevai,
amen, please God, or mit
mazel.
L.S.
(Editor's Note: According
to the Dictionary of Word
and Phrase Origins by Wil-
liam and Mary Morris, both
the ancient Druids of Eng-
land and the early Christians
saw in trees and wood a
symbol of good luck. How-
ever, the Morrises also were
advised by a contributor,
apparently Jewish, that
knocking on wood could be
interpreted as a Jewish prac-
tice. He said that during the
flight of Jews from Torque-
mada's Spanish Inquisition in
1493, they frequently found
haven in churches and syna-
gogues, constructed of wood.
The signal for admission was
a code knock on the door.
Because this act resulted in
many lives being s a v e d,
knocking on wood became a
common practice for good
luck. Amen.)
Editor, The Jewish News:
'there are more than twice
Princeton University is us- as many intelligent Jewish
ing a quota in order to hold women as Jewish men?
Jewish undergraduate enroll-
But admissions is not the
ment down to about one- only area in which Jews at
third of what the enrollment Princeton suffer from dis-
figure would be were adniis- crimination. Last spring, re-
sion s of Jewish students not sponding to an inquiry from
restricted.
the New Jersey Civil Rights
Though the university does Division, the university an-
not admit that a quota is nounced the addition of He-
being used, several pieces of braic studies—courses which,
information. point with cer- in fact, are not being offered
tainty to its presence: and have not even been pro-
1. According to the Annual posed before the faculty.
Reports to the President During the past 2 years
from the Dean of the Univer- Princeton'has maintained an
sity Chapel, the a.vera.ge per- agreement for the develop-
m
of the College of Pe-
centage
deviation from
mean enrollment
mean
of any the
re- troleurn and Minerals of Dha-
ligious group on campus is hran in Saudi Arabia, a
180 per cent of the corres- country which, by law, bans
ponding figure for the Jewish Jews.
The university whose pres-
group. The extreme constan-
cy of Jewish enrollment indi- ident and trustee secured
American acquiescence in
cates that it is controlled.
2. A survey of three re- the murder of 6 million
(see Henry Feingold,
cently graduating classes re- Jews
"
veals that the grade point The
Politics of Rescue")
average for Jewish students has changed little since 1943
is far higher than the cam- when Princeton President
pus average ; with a devia- Harold Dodds, leader of the
lion from the norm 2 1 /2 times American delegation to the
as great as the deviation for Bermuda Conference, decid
any other group. These high e that efforts to save Jews
grades suggest that Jewish marked for extermination by
students must have better relief shipments to concen-
academic qualifications than tration camps, diverting ship-
non-Jewish students in order ping for rescue, or govern-
to matriculate. (The higher ment financing of resettle-
grades were achieved with ment "would not only be
study-time equal to the cam- foolish, it would be crimin-
al." (Feingold, p. 174).
pus average.)
ARTHUR COOPER,
3. Jewish students consti-
Princeton '74
tute about 14 per cent of the
•
male student body at Prince-
ton, though percentages at
Harvard and Yale, schools
rorists would carry out a re-
with similar admission stand- Editor, The Jewish News:
Is it fair that the Interna- cent threat made before Feb.
ards, are about twice as
large. This occurs despite the tional Civil Aviation Organi- 21, to stage a suicide aircraft
fact that Princeton is at least zation meeting in the UN crash and explosion in the
as close as the other schools Feb. 27-March 2 should have heart of an Israeli city. Also
are to the greatest concen- introduced a resolution con- t he Israelis could have feared
tration of Jewish population demning the Israeli govern- the use of civilian aircraft
ment for the shooting down was a bluff to commit some
in the United States.
of the Libyan plane on Feb.
4. There is little evidence 21, without condemning the electronic espionage.
In other words, Israel com-
to indicate that there is a terrorist acts of Arab nations
mitted
the crime in self-
quota in use for the small in sending mail bombs, in
She did not commit
number of women now being sponsoring the ma chinegun t defense.
his criminal act to create
admitted. This, in turn, pro- assault at Lydda Airport, in mischief
as do the .Arabs.
vides further evidence of a killing the Olympic athletes, Would the
Arabs allow an
male quota. Jewish women and above all without con- I sraeli passenger
plane to
constitute well over 30% of demning the many hijackers ravel
over Arab territory?
the female student body; is who blackmail and commit
Had the Libyan plane land-
it reasonable to believe that crimes against civilians?
e d as requested, there would
And the Arab crimes have n of have been the disaster
End of Sinning
no legal justification, as did c ondemned by the ICAO.
How can we tell when a the Israelis in preventing
PHELPS PHELPS,
sin we have committed has foreign planes from violating
Former U.S. Ambassador
been pardoned? By the fact her air cover.
to the Dominican Repub-
that we no longer commit
The Israelis also were fear-
lic and Governor of U.S.
that sin.—Rabbi Bunam.
ful that the Palestinian ter-
Samoa.
ICAO Resolution One-Sided
HA RY THOMA
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