THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
November 7, 1975 25
NYC Financial Crisis Hurtful to Jews, AJCommittee Told
NEW YORK (JTA) — The
federal government's re-
fusal to provide prompt and
effective aid to New York
City in its financial crisis is
a particular threat to the
city's Jewish poor, working
people and middle class. It
could also have a negative
impact on Jews throughout
the United States, according
to warnings by a Congress-
woman and two Jewish
leaders.
The warnings were issued
by Rep. Bella Abzug (D.-
NY), Jerome Becker, presi-
dent of the Metropolitan
New York Coordinating
Council on Jewish Poverty,
and Bertram H. Gold, exec-
utive vice president of the
American Jewish Commit-
tee.
Gold, speaking last week-
end at a meeting of the
AJCommittee's national ex-
ecutive council in Chicago,
said that, over and above the
immediate problems facing
New York City "is the ripple
effect we are likely to face if
New York City defaults — a
wave that will touch every
major city in the country.
Since Jews live mainly in
the major cities and their
immediate environs, Jews
will feel the impact first-
hand and directly."
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Rep. Abzug said the re-
cession, inflation and in-
creasing joblessness had
affected large numbers of
New York Jews. She de-
clared that New York City
has a larger proportion of
its Jewish community in
the lower middle class and
working class and poor
than any other Jewish
community in the United
States.
Meanwhile, Elmer L.
Winter, president of the
AJCommittee, warned that
an oversupply of arms to the
Arabs — specifically to
Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi
Arabia — could undermine
the peace effected by the
recent interim agreement
between the Israelis and
Egyptians.
Speaking at the four-day
AJCommittee meeting,
Winter stated that the Com-
mittee would endorse the
economic aid package under
consideration for Egypt but
added: "We feel certain that
only if the Arab nations re-
main convinced of Israel's
capacity to repeal any at-
tack will they be ready to
work towards peace rather
than toward war."
In another development,
Gold condemned Egyptian
President Anwar Sadat's
attack on Zionism during
his current visit to the
United States as an echo of
"the inflamatory stereo-
typing that has been the
hallmark of anti-Semitism
through the ages."
Such an attack, Gold con-
tinued, reduced the chances
of achieving peace in the
Middle East and exacer-
bated the tensions that have
kept that part of the world
in turmoil.
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The AJCommittee leader
charged that the Egyptian
President was aligning him-
self with "the slanderous
campaign against Zionism
now under way in the
United Nations" which dis-
torted the Zionist ideal of
national liberation in order
to isolate and malign the
state of Israel. He termed it
"most unfortunate" that
Sadat was using his visit to
the United States "to give
currency to some of the old-
est and most discredited li-
bels against Jews."
At the same time, Karen
DeCrow, president of the
National Organization for
Women declared that na-
tions and groups that dis-
criminate against Jews are
also prone to discriminate
against women, and vice
versa. Ms. DeCrow, who was
re-elected to a second term
as president of the feminist
organization, told the meet-
ing, "In many ways, we have
a joint fight on our hands."
She cited as an example
the fact that the Interna-
tional Women's Year Con-
ference in Mexico City last
June, where the majority
of delegates came from
Arab and Third World
countries, refused to en-
dorse a statement con-
demning sexism but
passed a resolution con-
demning Zionism.
"It was disgraceful," she
said, "but it was also unfor-
tunately part of a pattern.
Even though the delegates
to the conference were
women, they couldn't en-
dorse a statement condemn-
ing sexism because most of
the nations of the world,
which they represented,
approve of sexism and prac-
tice it. On the ,other hand,
they could endorse a state-
ment condemning Zionism
because, tragically, the
same nations are anti-Semi-
tic and practice anti-Semi-
tism."
At another session of the
Council meeting, it was re-
ported that almost 100 col-
leges and universities
throughout the country
have assured the AJCom-
mittee that they would not
discriminate against Jews
were that a condition fof ob-
taining lucrative contracts
from Arab countries.
Meanwhile, a former
American Ambassador to
Uganda called on the United
States and other member-
states of the United Nations
to start action that would
establish a UN commission
to investigate "grgss viola-
tions of human rights" in
Uganda.
Dr. Thomas P. Melady,
who represented the U.S.
in Uganda when the U.S.
Embassy thereevas closed
in 1973, urged other na-
tions to withdraw their
diplomatic missions from
Kampala, as the U.S. had
done, and also called on
member-states of the Or-
ganization of African Un-
ity to force the resignation
of Idi Amin, Uganda's
President, as its chair-
man.
Referring to President
Amin's Oct. 1 speech in the
UN General Assembly, in
which he called for the ex-
tinction of the state of Israel
and charged that the Ameri-
can government and society
were "controlled by Zion-
ists," Dr. Melady, a special-
ist in international rela-
tions, Afro-Asian affairs,
and developing societies,
asserted that President
Amin was an unfit spokes-
man for the developing Afri-
can nations, and that he was
"stained with the blood of
thousands of innocent peo-
ple." He added that Presi-
dent Amin had maintained
a "four-year reign of terror
over the Ugandan people."
It also was reported that
Catholic teaching materials
are today more positive to-
ward Jews and Judaism
than they were a decade ago
because of the impact of
Vatican Council II, the Jew-
ish-Christian dialogue
movement, and various self-
critical studies of religious
textbooks.
This conclusion, by Dr.
Eugene Fisher, consultant
for teacher training of the
Archdiocese of Detroit's
Religious Education Office,
is contained in an overall re-
port on "Vatican Council II
— Ten Years Later," sub-
mitted to the AJCommittee.
According to Dr. Fisher,
the allegation that Jewish
suffering across the ages
was the result of divine
retribution for the "re-
jection" of Jesus — a
charge found frequently in
earlier materials — is not
only gone but is explicitly
repudiated in several cur-
rent textbooks. At the
same time, however, Dr.
Fisher found that major
elements of the ancient
Christian polemic against
Judaism persist in both
students' textbooks and
teachers manuals, espe-
cially in lesson material
treating the period and
themes of the New Testa-
ment.
In another portion of the
report on the consequences
of Vatican Council II, Rabbi
Marc H. Tanenbaum, na-
tional director of AJCom-
mittee's interreligious af-
fairs department, declared
that the current state of
Jewish-Christian relations
was much improved over the
past decade as a result of
the positive impact of Vati-
can Council II.
"The fact that there are
today networks of Jews and
Christians in practically ev-
ery major city in the United
States who meet regularly,
share common and respec-
tive concerns, is a develop-
ment of unprecedented,
even historic, importance.
To my knowledge there has
never been such an extensive
interaction on a personal,
social, and professional ba-
sis between Jews and Chris-
tians it any period of his-
tory during the past 1,900
years as there is today,
especially in the U.S."
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Honors Famous Jewish-American Patriots
ABIGAIL MINIS 1711-1807
She provided sorely needed goods for the Continental Army
bigail Minis was the matriarch of a dis-
t inguishsid family in the early history
of Georgia, and was a Revolutionary
A
patriot of classical note. Born in Eng-
land in 1711, Abigail at age 22, left the security
of London to settle in the new colony of Georgia.
She came with her husband, Abraham, two
daughters, Leah and Esther, atid a brother
Simeon.
Abraham was a man of means and followed
mercantile pursuits in the new world. His
name is on the first real estate deed recorded
in Georgia, and his son Phillip was the first
European child born in that colony. Abraham
died in 1757 leaving his estate and business to
the capable Abigail who increased the inheri-
tance manifold during her long and fruitful
life of 96 years.
In 1779, the American high command decided
to recapture Savannah from the British. Gen-
eral Lincoln selected Phillip Minis and Levi
Sheftal to help the expedition. After the attack
was launched, supplies were sorely needed and
the commanders applied to Abigail for
provisions.
A tradition in American-Jewish homes
for half a century
K CERTIFIED KOSHER
The keen old woman knew the Continental
Army to be a poor credit risk, but her beloved
state and Independence came first. She "deliv-
ered the goods" without hesitation. The retak-
ing of Savannah was an American failure,
leaving Abigail in a very precarious position.
The British suspected her loyalty. But before
they acted against her. she managed to leave
for Charleston, S.C. with her five daughters.
Her son, Phillip, early in the Revolution, was
branded a "vile rebel" and blacklisted; he could
never hold office under any Royal governor.
Phillip Minis acted as Pay Master and Com-
missary General of the Continental Army in
1776. He personally advanced $11,000 for sup-
plies to Virginia and North Carolina troops.
He later served as President of Mikvah Israel
and as City Warden of Savannah.
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