2 Friday, December 24, 1982

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Purely Commentary

The Calendar and Its Uses;
The Sabbath and Abuses

The Calendar as a Guide for Jubilation and Respectful
By Philip
Living, and the Appeal It Now Holds Out for Religious
Slomovitz
Respectability, With Emphasis on the Eve of the Sabbath
State Department records confirm the report of the
and the constant reminder of it should serve in counteract-
Jackson mission.
ing the ill effects.
This would give an indication that Nasser also desired
In the fascinating history of the Rothschilds, geared by
to make peace with Israel. His enmities which resulted in
the personality of Baron Guy de Rothschild, the chief in-
the Six-Day War and the Egyptian defeat by Israel em-
heritor of leadership in the world-famous family, the emi-
phasizes the collapse of whatever peace effort may have
nent French Jewish leader is indicated as having played a
been planned in the early years of Arab-Israeli conflicts.
This registers an interest in a comment on the subject concerned role in condemning the murder of six Jews at the
Goldenberg Restaurant in Paris.
by an eminent Detroiter, the late George F. Pierrot.
On Nov. 6, 1970, Mr. Pierrot wrote to this commen-
Thus, the restaurant attack has become a concern for
tator:
all identified Jews, including visitors from the United
I very well re-
States. Peggy and Stanley Winkelman are one such Couple.
member my afternoon
They went to Goldenberg's on their recent visit in Paris,
with General Naguib
and they brought back a paper napkin from the restaurant
there in Cairo. He was
to which world attention was drawn by a barbarically
anti-Semitic act.
much too liberal for
Nasser and associates.
They also perused the
He wanted to return to
c (HMS CII/,17:5
neighborhood and on a
a complete democracy
I
nearby shop they saw a
and felt Egypt was
placard, reproduced here,
ready for that. Nasser
and they provide the trans-
favored dictatorship.
lation of it:
It was widely be-
To our dear clients
lieved that Nasser
and friends?
would have liked to
have him assassinated,
The courage and
GEORGE PIERROT
but was afraid to be-
good-will of every indi-
cause of his great popularity. Further, he was
vidual fond of justice,
born in the Sudan and Nasser hoped that the fu-
of love, and of peace
ture plebiscite would bring the Sudan under
should never weaken
Egyptian rule. It didn't, as you remember.
before any system of
The Pierrot visit with Naguib was in 1954. His recol-
extortion or of ter-
lections added much to the attitudes then generally known.
rorism in order that a
liberated world might survive!
These episodes do not obviate hopes that peace efforts
may yet prove successful. What they emphasize is that they
What it means in essence is the concurrence with the
remain difficult.
declaration of "Never Again." It doesn't necessarily mean
A Parisian Aftermath:
that the resistance will end the terror. But the unity in
Jewish ranks is apparent: it is the affirmation by Guy de
The 'Never Again' Echoes
A miniature pogrom in Paris is not forgotten. What is Rothschild in Paris and Peggy and Stanley Winkelman in
miniature today can become monstrously big tomorrow, Detroit that barbarism and terrorism will not be accepted
without rejection. It spells resistance.

.Calendar time fascinated many generations. This time
of year, the distribution of calendars had been a major
advertising meay. It was so, in usage by many organiza-
tions and fund raisers at Rosh Hashana time, and was when
the quest for the Jewish calendar was universal; and it was
emphasized anew on a wider scale just before the civil New
Year.
The art calendar always serves as a major appeal, in
behalf of important community movements and in fund
raising.
Germany provides special attention to this perennial
"document," and the ones just produced and distributed by
the Axel Springer presses are especially impressive as art
treasures.
Now comes the application of the printed calendar to
community services. This is a need that has always been
most pressing.
Example: Many firms and community agencies protect
themselves with Jewish calendars, some more than a year
in advance; to be protected against sponsoring important
events which may conflict with the Jewish Holy Days and
with other festivals. That's the kind of responsibility that is
to the credit of concerned people in responsible positions.
Another example was in evidence most recently with
respect to universities dating important occasions at a time
when they affect the observant student and the parent.
Much more is needed than an assurance that the Jewish
student will not be penalized. Resulting from an exchange
of letters on the subject published in this newspaper, sev-
eral students and parents called to say they have been
humiliated in some local schools with demands that they
submit to tests scheduled on very sacred Jewish days.
This is where the civic protective Jewish agencies have
a major duty: to have the calendar at hand, to make it
available, to emphasize in advance and on all occasions
that the religious feelings and attitudes must not be sub-
jected to prejudicial treatment in schools, as well as in other
public institutions.
Since the calendar is a subject for consideration, a
point must be made regarding the most sacred time in the
Jewish week — the Sabbath. There are justified protests
Homer Ferguson Memo: I ncident in Roosevelt- Decades
against abuses of Jewish sacred days in respect to schools
Homer Ferguson left many memories, among them an
and universities, yet abuses of the Sabbath by Jews them-*
involvement recalling the controversies in the Franklin D. national conference of the Jewish National Fund was held
selves receive little if any attention.
in Detroit, at the Book Cadillac Hotel, with Vice President
Roosevelt decades.
Example on this score:
Alvin Barclay as guest speaker. Homer Ferguson was
The
death
of
the
former
U.S.
Senator
from
Michigan
in
On the higher scale of social entertainment, in the
among the distinguished guests at that JNF national con-
his early 90s brings to mind an incident that stemmed from vention
country club, the Sabbath Eve is all-too-often chosen for
dinner.
some of the bitterness that marked the opposition to FDR.
important family functions. Every once in a while, some-
This Commentator did raise a serious question with
It was on the day after the crucial 1942 election, when
one will call to express concern over such date selecting. A
Homer Ferguson defeated Prentiss Brown to gain a seat in the Senator-elect at the luncheon meeting on the day after
while ago, children of parents planning the social functions
the U.S. Senate that Homer called this Commentator and the November election: he asked how Homer reacted to two
for the Sabbath Eve spoke bitterly about the parents' selec-
shocking political facts involving his brother Frank: First
asked
if he could have lunch with him.
tive date preferences, yet found themselves helpless to cor-
he
defeated Charles Rubiner, who was running for re-
(There is much to be said also as a recollection of
rect what has become an established country club policy in
Jewish ranks.
Prentiss Brown who, as a U.S. Senator, was one of the election in the Common Pleas Court; then he ran and de-
feated William Friedman who ran for re-election to the
The country club has much of the highest values in the staunchest advocates of the Zionist ideal, in the Senate, in Wayne County Circuit Court. In both campaigns, against
association with the larger community. It is offered as an addresses at Cong. Shaarey Zedek and on other occasions.) Judges Rubiner and Friedman, anti-Semitic pamphlets
The suggested chat was arranged for lunch the very
example for philanthropic dignity by requiring contribu-
next day and was held at the Book Cadillac Hotel. Ferguson were widely distributed. Homer's reply was that he did not
tions to the major needs provided by Jewish movements for
approve of the anti-Semitism which, it was generally
commenced by explaining his anxiety for that meeting:
Israel and the many social agencies as a condition for mem-
agreed, defeat& I both Charles Rubiner and later William
"I
have
not
been,
am
not
and
will
not
be
an
anti-Semite.
bership. This is an excellent recommendation for going
Friedman.
another step forward: to give the Sabbath Eve the sanctity That's why I called you to emphasize it."
It should be noted that as U.S. Senator, Homer Fergu-
of its role in Jewish life.
He proceeded to explain, and the following is the gist son supported
the widely-condemned McCarran-Walter
but
not
his
actual
words,
no
notes
having
been
necessary,
If the calendar is to be respected, so also must be the
immigration bill and was a great controversy on the U.S.
memory
serving
the
purpose:
treatment accorded the most sacred period of the week for
"About two weeks before the election," Homer related, Senate floor over that bill which the late Senator Herbert
Jews. The Sabbath Eve is for services in all Reform, many
"I
was
approached in the County Building by a very dear H. Lehman, who led the fight against that bill which has
Conservative synagogues, and the time for family joys in
generally been described as "vicious and inhuman."
all homes, emphasizing the Orthodox jubilation in faith friend Harry Keidan, and he said to me:
Homer Ferguson also was co-author of the Joint Con-
and in undiluted legacies.
" 'Homer, we have been close friends, associates on the
gressional
Bill which added "Under God" to the Pledge of
Circuit Court bench, fellow Republicans. I am voting
Since the calendar as a tradition is timely, a
Allegiance
to the Flag of the United States. Co-author of
reminder of the Sabbath Eve on the Jewish calendar may against you come November.'
that bill was Congressman George A. Dondero of Royal
"I was stunned and asked, 'Why?'
serve a good purpose for the country club affiliate.
Oak, also a Republican, who served in the U.S. House of
" 'Because you are an anti-Semite.' "
This was followed by Ferguson's expression of deep Representatives from 1937 to 1957. Dondero took a deep
Record of Egyptian Leaders
hurt, his denial of being prejudiced, his insistence that his interest in The Detroit Jewish News articles on Separation
Who Desired Peace-Making
lifelong association has been with Jews, his avowal of ad- of Church and State, inserting some in the Congressional
Record, with emphasis on one by Dr. Norman Drachler,
miration for Judge Harry B. Keidan.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak appears to be de-
former superintendent of Detroit Public Schools, whose
The
cause
of
it
all
is
in
the
bitterness
that
predomi-
nigrating much of what had been achieved in the negotia-
doctoral thesis was on the Separation Principle.
tions his predecessor, Anwar Sadat, conducted with nated at the time, relating to hatreds for Franklin D.
Roosevelt
and
the
echoes
of
them
in
the
Republican
cam-
Menahem Begin, with the assistance of President Jimmy
Carter. There are indications that he is turning the clock paign tactics. Ferguson followed his party lines in the many
radio addresses he delivered — radio then was the chief
back, especially with his hints that he had begun to prefer
means of campaigning — he constantly resorted to the use
the policies of Gamel Abdel Nasser.
of names of Roosevelt's Jewish associates — "Sammy"
Should this prove a definite commitment, it'll be sad
Rosenman as he referred to Judge Rosenman, Henry
for the entire Middle East and for the peace of the world.
Morgenthau and many others. In some Jewish ranks the
The pages of history are being retraced.
It is not revealed that in 1955 Elmore Jackson, a_prom- impression was left that by such usage of and emphasis on
Jewish names, the users showed their prejudices.
inent American Quaker, was asked by the Egyptian gov-
Ferguson not only denied the accusation: he gave a
enment to undertake a secret diplomatic assignment in
pledge to this Commentator: He would always support
quest for peace with Israel.
Zionism, and he did; he would assist Jews seeking
Jackson maintains in newly-revealed documents that refuge in this country, a bit later, when members of the
there was encouragement in his mission from the State Twersky family were stalled in their tracks in Europe in
Department as well as the Egyptian authorities. He had search of refuge during the war, Ferguson arranged
the personal backing of Nasser as well as Moshe Sharett, through response to this Commentator's appeal to provide
who then was Israel's Prime Minister, and David Ben- passage for them on an American ship, without charge.
Gurion.
Less than two months after that 1942 election, the
HOMER FERGUSON

'4

•

HARRY KEIDAN

