THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Btographies Volume Thscusses U.S. Jewish
Max M. Fisher and U.S.
Senator Carl Levin have
earned inclusion in a list of
American Jewish notables.
They are biographically
recorded in "American
Jewish Biographies" (Facts
on File. Publications).
This volume cannot be
considered a Who's Who in
American Jewry. Factually,
it is a collection of the most
noted names on a national
and world scale, in the sci-
ences and the arts, litera-
ture and politics.
An introduction to this
volume by Prof. Henry L.
Feingold of the City Uni-
versity of New York
commends the task of
gathering so notable a list
of American Jews. In his
recognition of the contri-
butions to America and
to Jewry by those listed
in this volume, taking
into account the impor-
tance of chronicling the
achievements of Jews
who advance Jewish
knowledge, Dr. Feingold
also accounts for the di-
versity of Jewish back-
grounds as they emerged
from immigrant status
into national leadership.
He states:.
"At least part of that
energy and the uncanny
ability to retain some form
of separate group identity
can be traced to the con-
tinuous flow of Jewish im-
migrants to these shores
until 1921. Immigration
has been the most central
fact of the American Jewish
experience, since, in order
to survive as a distinct
community, American
Jewry has been dependent
on biological and cultural
supplementation from
abroad. The pe4odization of
American Jewish history,
which. is based on three
major waves of immigra-
tion, is a recognition of that
fact.
"The Sephardic Jewish
culture, established by Jews
migrating originally from
the Iberian peninsula,
would have vanished with-
out the timely arrival of a
second wave of Jewish im-
migrants from central
Europe, beginning in ear-
nest in 1820. This group too
eventually required
supplementation. It - came
from the Jews of eastern
Europe — about two and a
quarter million of whom
sought a haven in the
United States after 1881.
"Most contemporary
American Jews trace their
ancestry to this last great
wave of immigration. The
distinctive political culture
of today's Jewish commu-
nity, its general style and
the way it now comes to
terms with its religion are
rooted in this group. The ar-
rival of this group in such
great numbers allowed
American Jewry to gener-
ate'a distinctive culture and
gave - it the numerical
strength that is important
in a democracy where major
decisions are reached by
counting heads.
"It is not, possible to
understand the dynamics
of American Jewish life
without referring to the
three waves of immigra-
tion superimposed on top
of each other. The diver-
sity of cultures created so
sharp a conflict that'
sometimes it seemed as if
not even the common
religious bond would be
sufficient to keep the var-
ious groups from tearing
each other apart.
"The division of Ameri-
can Judaism into three
branches reflects this diver-
sity. The Reform branch
was originally anchored in
the German-Jewish migra- -
tion; the Conservative
branch was the most ethnic,
and serves as a halfway.'
house for eastern European
immigrants; the Orthodox
branch remained for those
who wished to retain more
of the religious culture.
These religious divisions
aggravated deeper class and
national division that also
could be traced to the waves
of immigration they be-
longed to.
"So distinct did these di-
visions become that in the
early decades of the 20th
Century it was difficult to
speak on the existence of
only one Jewish commu-
nity. The conflict between
German Jews, who were
sometimes called 'uptown,'
and eastern European Jews
— 'downtown' — was in fact
a reflection of the conflict
between Teuton and Slav in
the larger society.
"Paradoxically, Jews
were fighting battles and
Israel's Chief Rabbis to End
Terms in Office This Month
JERUSALEM (JTA)
The Knesset voted 47-40 to
reject a government-
sponsored bill that would
have deferred the chief rab-
binate elections scheduled
to be held Tuesday.
Defeat of the measure,
despite intensive lobbying
on its behalf by Premier
Menahem Begin, means
that Shlomo Goren and
Ovadia
Yosef,
the
Ashkenazic and Sephardic
Chief Rabbis, respectively,
will end their terms later
this month.
The present law limits
the chief rabbis to one 10-
year term. Goren and Yosef
were elected in 1972. Efforts
retaining loyalties to two
national cultures — Ger-
many and Russia — that
had rejected them. For sev-
eral decades the residual
influence of these cultures
helped keep American
Jewry divided, but
gradually the common ex-
perience of the immigrants
and their children in
America furnished a base
for developing a more un-
ified Jewry.
"In the period after
World War II the old di-
visions became merely
memories. Swelled in
numbers by an infusion
of survivors of the
Holocaust — 17 percent
of the Jewish population
in the United States in
1950 was foreign born —
American Jewry never-
theless faced the future
as Americans.
"The class and cultural'
diversity that was the
hallmark of American
Jewry inthe first half of the
20th Century sometimes
concealed experiences
which the various groups
had in common. All three
groups had undergone the
immigration experience; all
shared a loyalty to Judaism
even while they approached
the tenets of faith dif-
ferently; all made the con-
cern for and nuture of be-
leaguered Jewish com-
munities abroad a basic
preoccupation; all held
philanthropy, the sacred ob-
ligation to give what one
had been fortunate enough
Friday, March 11, 1983 11
-Consu m pti o n -Up -
=
tversity.
,
TEL AVIV (ZINS) — De-
spite high inflation, retail
sales of foodstuffs rose nine
percent in Tel Aviv and ,
Haifa last year, and 11 per-
cent in Jerusalem.
to receive, as a cardinal
tenet; and most importantly
all shared in common their
remarkable economic
achievements in the new
society."
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.
by the Chief Rabbinate
Council to have the law
amended so that they could
stand for re-election failed.
Defeat of the govern-
ment's bill was attributed
to large scale absen-
teeism by Knesset mem-
bers of Likud's Liberal
Party bloc who appar-
ently stayed away delib-
erately.
Shlomo
Meanwhile,
Eliahu, a member of the
Sephardi Supreme Rabbini-
cal Court, announced he is
running to replace Yosef. A
prominent Ashkenazic
rabbi from Tel Aviv, Yit-
zhak Kolitz, iS expected to
run for Goren's office. -
The Haggadah was read.
The goodbyes were said.
Cup after cup,
The coffee was Brim.®
Fill your cup to the rim
With the richness of Brim.®
t iuri tsuu to
nom', - 11332
€2) 1983 General Foods Corporation
GENERAL F0008