nt un1Kul1 M111 5t1 NMI

friday, March 71, 1915

57

Jews Living in Small American Towns Face Pressure by Gentiles' Prejudice

By BEN GALLOB

(Copyright 1975. JTA, Inc.)

The Jew living in the
small towns and rural areas
of America's Middle West is
in a situation of high visibil-

ity in which everyone knows
his affairs and in which he
feels he has to defend his ac-
tions every day.

Mrs. Sharon K. Hull re-
ported on life for the 41

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Jews in Winona, Minn.
(population 26,000) from a
unique perspective. A Crow
Indian, she is a convert to
Judaism. She described her
experiences in Sh'ma, the
journal of Jewish opinion.
Describing Winona as "a
conservative river town with
a history reflexted in its Vic-
torian architecture and its
anti-Semitic attitudes,"
Mrs. Hull posed the ques-
tion: "Why would any Jew
deliberately choose to live in
a place like that?"

The answer, she said,
was that some Winona
Jews were second genera-
tion descendants of earlier
settlers — iron yard work-

MONTGOMERY

ARD

A J oyous

ers and others like therh,
for whom Winona is home
despite its drawbacks.
Others are professors
"seeking college positions
in less competitive situa-
tions, and still others are
professional men like doc-
tors who came in to find
better equipped clinics in
less populated places."

-

-

Only one event binds the
Winona Jews together, she
reported: the minyan for the
annual memorial meeting
for the dead. Other than
that, she declared, the Jews
"feud, quarrel, have nothing
to do with each other and
actively oppose each other's
viewpoints."

Non-Jewish pressure has
a great deal to do with this,"
she added. "The millionaire
industrialist belongs to the
country club and does all his
business with gentiles. If he
were a shopkeeper or iron
yard worker, the country
club wouldn't let him in past
the front door." The cloth-
ing store owner waits on
everyone "with unheard of
courtesy and decorates his
show windows with Easter
bunnies and Christmas dec-
orations at the proper sea-
son." He was named the
first Jewish president of the
Chamber of Commerce,
"principally for his down-
town promotions during the
holiday season."

which they have tried to for-
get."
It may be the 20th Cen-
tury but in Winona there
are Catholic children at
the neighboring parochial
school "who are convinced
my husband can put spells
on people and give them
the 'evil eye.' There are
pulpits in Winona where
anti-Semitism is preached
nearly every Sunday. And
there are a lot of scared
Jews who wouldn't call in

the Bnai Brith and make a
test case if they could. For
the Jews of small town
America, the Bnai Brith
and the Anti-Defamation
League are causes to con-
tribute to, but not to use."
Mrs. Hull contended that
"one Jew who tried to start
anything would bring down
the town on the rest, so they
pressure each other and
argue and fight to keep
everyone from being too
noticeable."

ACC

Jriench

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Cuitomer3'

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f or

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and _Wealth y

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No.utiquiL

She reported that conver-
sion is a sore topic among
Winona's Jews. "The Ortho-
dox hold converts to be less
than ligitimate and the non-
observant find it embarrass-
ing that someone would
willingly embrace a faith

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O ur ge

g or a63over

May this

Passover

O ur Pa33over wi34 made luit for you

very warm, and veciai too-

,

be filled with Joy

M ay 4appirte33, good LIM,

and Happiness

g ood (Ler fill mi3 Pa3iover

for You and Yours!

and all Me

ear . . .

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