THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Dissident Reform Group Organizes
The Association for a Pro-
gressive Reform Judaism,
an organized dissident
group within the main Re-
form body, the Central Con-
ference of American Rabbis,
held a caucus during the
CCAR national conference
in June in Cincinnati.
The group elected officers
and a board of trustees.
Rabbi Richard C. Hertz of
Temple Beth El was elected
to a two-year term on the
`board.
The APRJ "was organized
last year by a group of Re-
form rabbis from through-
out the U.S. and Canada, to
counteract what they per-
ceive to be a regressive, par-
ochial tendency within Re-
form Judaism," the group
said.
The APRJ said several
hundred Reform rabbis at-
tended their meeting.
The group objects to a
recent vote of the Central
Conference which would
prohibit Reform rabbis
from performing inter-
faith "mixed" marriages.
They said some Reform
Marx's 'Mayer and Thalberg,'
Worthy Volume on Film Moguls
"Mayers-Ganza-Mish-
.. poka" was what one sarcas-
tic observer dubbed the Met-
ro-Goldwyn-Mayer movie
conglomerate headed by
Louis B. Mayer, a Russian-
Jewish immigrant junk
dealer who rose to be one of
Hollywood's most awesome
but respected movie moguls.
Mayer's accession to that
position combined with Irv-
ing Thalberg's tole as
MGM's chief producer, and
their joint making and
breaking of movies and
stars is the topic of Samuel
Marx's "Mayer and Thal-
THALBERG AND MAYER
berg: The Make-Believe
The author recalls how
Saints."
In his Random House- the omnipotent Mayer could
published volume, Marx, he viewed by his contempo-
who was a former story edi- raries as a father, friend,
tor and later producer at teacher, a god or an SOB.
MGM,.recalls with care and He also recalled how Mayer,
intimate detail the 13-year the chief espouser of pro-
association of Mayer and priety, turned in the oppos-
Thalberg, an association ite direction and announced
which ended with Thal- to his cronies his infatua-
tion for starlet Jean How-
berg's death.
ard for whom he would di-
Thalberg was the sickly vorce his wife, Margaret.
son of a German Jewish However, a relapse from
immigrant father and a Margaret's recent surgery
first-generation American and the starlet's plans to
mother. He began his ca- marry a Hollywood agent
reer in the movie profes- turned Mayer's affections
sion as secretary to Carl hack to his wife.
At the same time, Marx
Laemmle, head of Univer-
sal and later became his describes Thalberg's quest
producer. However, when for integrity and perfection,
Laemmle feared Thal- and although he recom-
berg's rheumatic heart mended frequent salary in-
may kill him and leave creases and benefits for
Laemmle without a produ- himself, he never allowed
cer, the movie executive his name to he included
gave Thalberg a jolt to his among the credits of any of
ego. Thalberg was so in- the films he produced.
Marx's "Mayer and Thal-
censed, that he left for
another job — he joined berg: The Make-Believe
Saints" is a worthwhile ad-
Mayer's company.
In an easy-to-follow dition to the volumes on
chronological summary', Jewish contributions to
Marx recalls the Thalberg- American culture.
— H.P.
Mayer creation of stars in-
eluding Norma Shearer,
'who later became Thal- Monument Cites
berg's wife; Clark Gable, Israel Brigade
Joan Crawford, Greta
Garbo, Jean Harlow and
JERUSALEM — Veter-
John Gilbert. Marx recalls ans of the Harel Brigade, a
that when the studio signed unit which fought many
Garbo, Mayer complained decisive battles in and ar-
that her name should be ound the city of Jerusalem
changed because it sounded during the War of Inde-
too much like "garbage." He pendence, and the Jewish
was overruled.
National .Fund, have set up
With much knowledge of a memorial to the Brigade
his subjects and their pro- on "Radar Hill," above Ma'-
fession ; Marx gives the un- aleh Hahamisha.
acquainted a look into
The monument is built in
the movie industry of the the form of a gateway
late 20s and 30s. He traces through which one can see
in simple terms the making the city of Jerusalem, the
of a film from the story surrounding Jerusalem
idea, through casting and hills, and a forest of over
filming to the final result — seven million trees planted
by the JNF.
the motion picture.
-
officials
are
pushing
"toward an unthinking and
uncritical return to a paro-
chial tradition."
"In a broader sense, we
are concerned with the in-
creasing substitution of the
image of the Orthodox Jew
as the only true or authentic
form of Judaism.
"We are aware of the
many limitations of liberal-
ism, but the unquestioning
acceptance of Orthodox
norms of belief and practice
in Reform cannot help but
raise the issue of what it
means positively to be a Re-
form Jew in the way of be-
lief and practice," they said.
The group also voiced ob-
jections to "the fact that the
Israeli government has in-
cruded in its coalition an
extreme Orthodox party
and has legalized and sanc-
tioned Orthodox Halakha on
the question of personal sta-
tus, thus reinforcing and
maintaining policies that
are contradictory to basic
Reform Jewish principles
and alien to the spirit of
Jewish tradition as well."
They went on to say, "The
fact that the Israelis are
themselves divided into con-
flicting factions, the major-
ity of whom are non-practic-
ing Jews indicates that it is
we who must help them de-
velop a non-Orthodox Juda-
ism congenial to Israel
rather than to make Israel
the sum and substance of
our Jewish identity."
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