lie Friday, September 21,1919
THE INTROIT JEWISH NEWS
Philanthropist Jakob Michael
Dies, Was Yeshiva U. Backer
Readers Forum
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Jewish Contributions to Modern Society
Editor, The Jewish News:
It is time for the Ameri-
can Jews to present a united
front and make both the
young Jewish people aware
of their heritage, and
Americans aware of the re-
markable contributions this
small minority has made to
this country and the world.
It is time for the gentiles
to know that if anti-
Semitism interfered with
the benefits gained from the
Jews, they would refuse a
blood transfusion — be-
cause Dr. Landsteiner, a
Jew, made it possible by dis-
covering how to type blood.
Also, they would not want
their children to be im-
munized against polio —
the vaccine was discovered
by two Jewish doctors:
Jonas Salk and Albert Sa-
bin.
It would be most unfortu-
nate if anyone contacted
syphillis, because Dr. Was-
serman, who found a test to
determine the disease, and
Dr. Ehrlich, who ,was the
first to find a cure for it —
were Jews. Maybe they
won't want to drink pas-
teurized milk — because it
was a Jew by the name of
r
Nathan Straus who first
learned about Louis Pas-
teur's methods, and intro-
duced pasteurized milk to
America by establishing
milk depots for the poor
throughout America.
Lillian Wald, a nurse who
founded the Henry Street
Settlement House on New
York's East Side — estab-
lished the "Visiting Nurse
Service" which was copied
throughout the country. As
for nourishing diets, the
concept of vitamins came
from Casimir Funk, a re-
search chemist in London.
It was Dr. Selman Ab-
raham Waksman, at Rut-
gers University, after
many years of research
who conceived the theory
of anti-biotics and dis-
covered the "wonder
drug" — streptomycin.
Dr. Samuel A. Levine was
the first doctor to diag-
nose coronary throm-
bosis. Dr. Albert Ab-
raham Michelson, who
found how to measure
the speed of light, was the
first American to receive
the Nobel Prize.
Julius Rosenwald was the
first American to recognize
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the needs of the black corn-
munity'and made huge con-
tributions to establish wel-
fare and educational pro-
grams for the Negros. In
1862 the first children's
clinic was established by
Dr. Abraham Jacobs.
Among the musicians
rank George Gershwin, Irv-
ing Berlin, Leonard Berns-
tein, Jascha Heifitz and
Vladmir Horowitz. The man
who was the first person to
make a breakthrough for
the treatment of mental ill-
ness, was Sigmund Freud,
whose theories were intro-
duced to this country by Dr.
A. A. Brill, also a Jew.
In every century Jews
have been invited to settle
in countries to help develop
them, then they have been
turned upon, tortured, and
murdered, and forced to flee
to other havens.
The concept of Zionism
was not born from idle
ambition — but from de-
spair, and a knowledge
that Jews are secure
nowhere in the world.
During World War I, in
Great Britain, Chaim
Weizmann, a Jewish scien-
tist discovered a method for
producing TNT — which
was vital to England's vic-
tory. As a reward the Bal-
four Declaration was issued
— it promised to establish
Palestine as a Jewish state
and a British protectorate,
where all Jews could enter.
Palestine was a land of
swamps, sand and stones. It
was made habitable and fer-
tile by people who had few
funds and no knowledge and
experience in farming, be-
cause they had been re-
WEI JUST
moved from the soil -long
ago.
Schools and universities
were built — the Hadassah
Hospital was established
through the voluntary ef-
forts of Jewish women in
America, and for the first
time, modern medicine was
introduced to the Middle
East, and extended impar-
tially to both the Arabs and
Jewish settlers. After cen-
turies, ancient diseases
were abolished from this
part of the world.
The Jews comprise
about one quarter of one
percent of the entire
population of the world
— and yet the contribu-
tion of the handful of
these people cannot be
measured.
From the ancient world
came the Law of Moses —
The Ten Commandments
which is the simplest set of
laws to guide human rela-
tionships.
In the modern world, the
father of the atomic age is
the Jewish genius Albert
Einstein. This great man
once said, "Today in Ger-
many, I am hailed as a
German man of science, and
in England, I am pleasantly
represented as a foreign
Jew.. But if ever my theories
are repudiated, the Ger-
mans will condemn me as a
foreign Jew, and the
English will dismiss me as a
`German.' "
The Jews are a remarka-
ble and glorious people. It is
time to dispel the unfortu-
nate, persistent, distorted
vision of the ugly Jew, and
enlighten the world with
the truth.
Ann Barnett
* * *
Involve Kids for Israel
Editor, The Jewish News:
Give our children and
youth the proper tools of in-
formation and they will join
us with head held high.
Children are our future.
Who is responsible for the
burden of guilt we have
placed on our children, forc-
ing them to closet their
identity? We are combat-
ting $40 million of Arab
propaganda and our own
un-unified position because
we are not informed of the
facts, therefore, unable to
rally united strengths. Is-
rael is the only democracy
in the Middle East, the only
U.S. friend in the zone to
combat Soviet dominance.
Focus on our children;
prepare, educate, discuss,
reinforce. Make them
aware, include them in con-
versation and discussion on
current events. Read to
them, support educational
efforts, take them to public,
From
Paste in old label
NAME
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Where no wise direction
is, a people falleth; but in
the multitude of counsellors
there is safety.
community-sponsored per-
tinent lectures and debates.
Younger children are never
too young to begin hearing,
listening, being aware and
involved.
Esther Pastor
WZO Appointees
NEW YORK — Dr. Jacob
Freid has been appointed
director of the public infor-
mation department of the
American Section of the
World Zionist Organiza-
tion.
Dr. Freid was -formerly
director of the Jewish
Braille Institute of
America, and of the Ameri-
can Jewish Congress Office
of Jewish Information
where he also edited the
"Jewish Affairs" series. He
was chairman of the faculty,
and of the Department of
Political Science of the New
School for Social Research.
Dr. Mordecai S. Chertoff,
the former director of the
WZO department, has been
appointed editor of the
WZO's "Herzl Press."
NEW YORK — Jakob
Michael, industrialist,
philanthropist and bene-
factor of Yeshiva Univer-
sity, died Sept. 7 at age 85.
A trustee of Yeshiva Uni-
versity since 1967, Mr.
Michael provided the in-
stitution with a $1.25 mil-
lion gift to establish the
Erna Michael College of
Hebraic Studies. The
school was named in 1966 in
memory of Mr. Michael's
wife, who died in 1964. Mr.
Michael was awarded the
honorary Doctor of Humane
letters degree by Yeshiva
University in 1967.
Mr. Michael was known
as an authority on Jewish
ceremonial music as well as
for his collection of Jewish
ceremonial objects. In 1967,
acting with the American
Patrons of the Israel
Museum, he gave the
museum a Psalm book from
Spain dating to 1492 and a
Jewish music collection said
to be the largest private as-
semblage of its kind.
Mr. Michael's benefac-
tions also made possible
the Jakob and Erna
Michael Institute for
Biomedical Research at
Yeshiva University's Al-
bert Einstein College of
Medicine and the Erna
and Jakob Michael Mic-
rofilm Center in Jewish
National and University
Library of the Hebrew
University in Jerusalem.
Mr. Michael donated the
ancient Italian Synagogue
of Vittorio Veneto to the Be-
zalel National Museum in
Jerusalem. Other buildings
donated in Israel included
the Erna Michael School
and the Nevi Michael Chil-
dren's Home in Parades
Hanna; Wingate Youth
Aliya Children's Home, Tel
Aviv; World Academy for
Higher Jewish Studies,
Jerusalem; Ozar Hatorah
School in Shiraz; Yeshiva
Torah Um'locha, Tel Aviv;
Torah Schools for Israel in
Natanya, Keren Yeldenu in
Erin Karem, Jerusalem;
and the Erna Michael In-
stitute of Nuclear Science at
Weizmann Institute in Re-
hovot.
Mr. Michael was s foun-
der of the Jakob Michael Li-
brary of Mosak Kook,
Jerusalem and the Jakob
Michael Collection of
Jewish Music. He was a
founder of Albert Einstein
College of Medicine; the
new Hebrew University
Campus, Jerusalem; Boys-
town Jerusalem; and Yav-
neh, the national religious
Jewish student organiza-
tion.
He was an alternate
governor of the Hebrew
University, a member of
the board of overseers of
Albert Einstein College
of Medicine, and co-
chairman of the men's
committee of Women's
Social Services for Israel.
His other cultural and
educational organization
affiliations included mem-
bership: board of trustees,
World Academy for Higher
Jewish Studies, Jerusalem;
Encyclopedia Judaica
search Foundation and Th._
Jewish Center, both in New
York; board of directors,
American Friends of the
Hebrew University; Jewish
Music Forum; Shaare Zedek
Hospital in Jerusalem;
Joint Distribution-,Commit-
tee; United HIAS Service;
United Jewish Appeal of
Greater New York; Otzar
Hatorah, Inc., and the Na-
tional Advisory Committee
of the Synagogue Council of
America.
S. Levison,
Rights Activist
NEW YORK — Stanley
David Levison, a New York
lawyer and businessman,
who was a key adviser to Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.,
and a behind-the-scenes
figure in the Southern
Christian Leadership Con-
ference, died Sept. 12 at age
67.
According to the New
York Times, Mr. Levison
played a prominent role in
civil rights, peace and labor
causes.
A real estate investor and
Ford dealer who was active
in the American Jewish
Congress, Mr. Levison
influenced the financial
policies, strategy and tac-
tics used by Dr. King and
the SCLC, the New York
Times reported.
Book Presents
Modern View
of the Torah
"Ever Since Sinai," by Dr.
Jacob J. Petuchowski (B.
Arbit Books), propounds a
philosophy of Judaism
which is based upon the mil-
lennial Jewish faith as well
as the findings of modern
scholarship.
In the book, various poe-
tic images are projected by
the author to reveal the
many-faceted nature of
Torah concept.
First, the Torah
envisaged as a metaphysi-
cal marriage contract be-
tween God and Israel. Sec-
ondly, the meaning and re-
levance of the Torah are al-
legorized by means of the
blessing recited before the
Max Friedman,
reading of the scripture les-
son-.
of Shoe Chain
The third metaphor
NEW YORK — Max L. contemplates the Torah
Friedman, former president as a "tree of life" and
of the A. S: Beck Shoe Corp. stresses the organic
and a benefactor and char- growth of Judaism
ter member of the board of through its written and
overseers of the Albert oral versions.
Dr. Petuchowski is a re-
Einstein College of
Medicine of Yeshiva Uni- search professor of Jewish
versity, died Sept. 18 at age theology and liturgy at the
Hebrew Union College.
93.