THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Friday, February 11, 1977
71
From Presidents to the 'Helen Hayes of the Yiddish Theater'
BY DAVID SCHWARTZ
(Copyright 1977, JTA, Inc.)
With the inauguration
of a new President, our
thoughts travel back to
yesteryear. Thomas Jef-
ferson stands out in my
mind.
A President, of course,
has to be sworn in. He has
to travel to the Capital for
that.
In early American
days, there were no buses
or automobiles. Washing-
ton rode in a procession of
carriages. Jefferson di-
dn't believe in making too
such of a tsirnmes of the
residential office. Car-
riages and all that trum-
pery were for kings. Jef-
ferson might have
mounted a horse. He was
a good horseman, but he
just walked. He thought
walking a very good exer-
cise.
It is customary for a
President to be sworn in
with his hand resting on a
particular passage in the
Bible. Rabbi Albert Minda
of Minneapolis once made
a study of the different
passages chosen by the
Presidents for their inau-
gurations and found that
most chose passages from
the Psalsms.
Grant, who had been
commander of the Fed-
eral forces in the Civil
War, however, chose the
verse of. Isaiah, "They
shall beat. their swords
into ploughshares, na-
tions shall not fight
against nations, neither
shall they learn the art of
war any more."
Today, the prophecy of
Isaiah is as unfulfilled as
in Grant's day. The
swords are not being
turned into ploughshares
but into deadlier missiles.
* * *
Consider the oil rich
Arab nations. Their
hearts agonize over the
poor Arabs in Israel. Do
they help them out with
their billions? Do they
help out the poor Arabs in
Egypt? No, they continue
piling up military equip-
ment, spending untold
billions for it.
Cyrus Sulzberger of the
New York Times, after re-
cently visiting Libya, says
it makes no sense. Libya,
he writes, cannot possibly
Participants Cited
on Jerusalem Day
NEW YORK — Cele-
brating the 10th anniver-
sary of the reunification
of Jerusalem, an honor
list of student and school
)anticipants in a special
educational program will
be presented to President
Ephraim Katzir of Israel
on May 16, Yom
Yerushalayim, in
Jerusalem.
The Torah Education
and Culture Department
of the World Zionist
Organization-American
Section will thus high-
light its year-long
"Mivtza Yerushalayim"
program, in which 120
schools throughout the
U.S. utilized specially
selected and prepared
materials on Jerusalem.
"Well, you know,"- re-
make use of all the arma- painter, but his non- meshugeh and don't one time meeting Helen
ments it is acquiring. realism is not of general know you are that there is Hayes she told her that plied Helen Hayes, "some
some people regard her as people have told me that I
"Libya's population is so abstrationist variety. It a problem.
* * *
the Helen Hayes of the am the `shiksa' Molly Pi-
small that it has been derives more from the
con.
Molly Picon recalls that Yiddish theater.
found impractical to keep streak of Jewish mysti-
more than an army of cism in him.
25,000 men in uniform."
"When I see a Jew walk
Yet. Col. Qaddafi can- on his feet," he said, "to
not get his fill of missiles. me he looks like he is
Sulzberger also cannot walking on his head. I
SOUTHFIELD, MICHIGAN
10 MILE & GREENFIELD
understand why Moscow look at anything - and a
is selling Libya so much dybuk comes into me. I
war material since Libya am a little meshugeh," he
is not Communist. concludes.
Int
Perhaps, he concludes, it
Well, being meshugeh
is simply a way of in Chagall's way is not so
threatening Egypt for bad. It's when you are
deserting the Soviet
bandwagon.
Gay Jews Parley
* * *
How can one know Due in New York
whether he or she has ta-
NEW YORK — Gay
lent?
Jewish men and women
It sems it's pretty hard across the country and
to know.
abroad are now making
Marc Chagall, the plans to attend an inter-
French Jewish painter national conference and
who is now approaching Shabaton, convened by 13
his 90th birthday, says he gay synagogues and so-
was not encouraged by cial groups in the U.S.,
anyone in his painting Canada, Britain, Israel,
ambitions. The only one and Australia. The con-
who suspected any talent ' ference will be held in
in him in that direction New York City, April
was his mother and his 21-24.
mother didn't want him
Kabalat 'Shabat and
to be a painter.
Shaharit services, kosher
She thought he might communal meals, and a
be a photographer. She three-day schedule of
couldn't imagine a workshops and discus-
painter, he says. "A sions have been prepardd
photographer had a real by the host synagogue,
job with a house and fur- Cong. Beth Simchat
niture. A painter — what Torah of New York.
• Star Bakery
• The Bootery
was that?"
Members of Beth Sim-
Also, Chagall says, he chat Torah are providing
• Dubbs Country
got little benefit from housing and Shabat
• Doug Hoffman, ltd.
school. Although he thinks meals for out-of-town
Kitchen
he did get some benefit participants. Workshops
from his heder. Chagall and social events, enter-
• The Pickwick Shop
• Efros Drugs
has never been a realistic tainment, and side trips
to points of Jewish in-
• Rigsby Shoe Repair
• The Mop Shop
'U.S. Prejudice
terest will complete the
schedule.
conference
-
Currently Is Low'
• Mr. Alan's
• The New Orleans Mall
For information, and
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expert and a civil liberties
authority have agreed York, N.Y. 10001.
that organized anti-
Semitism is at a low ebb in
the United States but
both advised caution
against the re-emergency
of right-wing extremist
groups.
The experts are Earl
Raab, executive director
of the San Francisco
Jewish Community Rela-
tions Advisory Council,
and Justin Finger, assis-
tant director of the civil
rights division of the
Anti-Defamation League
of Bnai Brith. They spoke
at the plenary session of
the National Jewish
Community Relations
Advisory Council.
Raab said that while
"classical overt anti-
Semitism" is "at a low
level," this should not be
taken to mean that "the
privator reservoir of cul-
tural anti-Semitism held
by so many Americans
has been dissipated." He
said "the latest evidence
shows ithas not been dis-
sipated. '
Finger said that
right-wing activity and
its • potential anti-
Semitism historically
"has surfaced and shown
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