r( 2 Friday, August 24, 1984 s: 1; THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS PURELY COMMENTARY PHILIP SLOMOVITZ Kuf-Lamed of 'Israelite' and Memory of Truman's Jewish Press Century Role Unheralded, with a commendable modesty, Cincin- nati's English-Jewish weekly last month marked a notable anniversary. The American Israelite of Cincinnati became 130 years old. Its first issue was dated July 15, 1884, and it thereby represents a most interesting chapter in American Jewish history. Making proper and deserved note of this occasion, with these accompanying congratulations to the Cincinnati newspaper and its editorial and publishing factors, inspires a look into the background of American Jewish journalistic history. When, on Feb, 21, 1949, this commentator presented to President Harry S. Tru- man, at the White House, a copy of the first English- Jewishperiodical, the occa- both the Reform Jewish 'movement and the first Jewish sion was the 100th anniver- weekly newspaper in English gave thelsraelite the status it sary of the Jewish press in needed to survive. America. Accepting a copy The 130th anniversary issue of the contains of that newspaper from this reproductions from early editions of the Israelite paper and an in- writer, who then headed ; as teresting editorial which recalls the predictions that the its president, the American paper could not survive. It did and it continues to serve its Association of English- community with dignity. The Kuf-Lamed, the Hebraic let- Jewish Newspapers, now ters proclaiming life at 130, symbolizes greater power to functioning under the re- survive than most of the American daily newspapers of vived name of American nearly all the eras during which the Israelite functioned, Jewish Press Association, retaining a most commendable continuity. _ — President Truman wel- A note of acclaim is due especially to the long-time comed it as a valuable his- American Israelite columnist and editorial writer, Robert toric asset in his library in Independence, Mo. E. Segal. Able, always on the alert, Segal earns recognition The Feb. 18, 1949, issue of The Jewish News carried a the Jewish writers with a continuity, of genuine bylined story about the English-Jewish press, preliminary among. for his newspaper. to the presentation of the first issue of the first such news- accomplishments An important element in such a lifeipan is the Jewish paper, the Occident, to President Truman four days later. population figure in the year of the founding of thelsraelite. In that front page article, this writer indicated: Demographic studies show that the American Jewish popu- Pricir to the era of Yiddish journalism in lation in the first Meade of the 1800s numbered 6,000 and AMerica; there were a number of German-Jewish increased to 50,000 in 1860. Some estimates limit the periodicals and attempts also were made to foster number of American Jews to under 100,000 in 1854, the a Hebrew press. At present, there is one Hebrew year of the founding of the American Israelite. • weekly, Hadoar, now prospering, in its 26th year, The current Kuf-Lamed anniversary of the, Cin- under the editorship of Menahem Ribalow. There cicnnati newspaper invites congratulations from Jewish are four Yiddish dailies — the Forward, Der Tog, communities everywhere. Yiddisher Morgen Journal and Freiheit. Daily YId- ' dish newspapers at one time appeared in Philadelphia, Chicago, Cleveland and for a very Politicizing religion: 'separation' short period in Detroit. All of them disappeared. on brink of threatened defilement In Chicago and Cleveland, Yiddish weeklies, offshoots of the earlier, daily newspapers, still are It is certainly ironic — and it could also be judged as circulated. But in the main the Yiddish press amusing — that the American Jewish Congress should began to decline with the cessation of immigra- have been asking the platform committee of the Republican tion to this country. A new era, although slow- Party to introduce a plank in the party platform to be moving, therefore began for the Jewish news- adopted by the convention supporting religious liberty. The paper published in English. AJCongress suggestion would recognize the importance of • .The first English-American periodical pub- Church-state separation as a component of religious free- lished in English in this country was The Occident dom. • and American Jewbh Advocate which made its ap- The one enthusing factor in such an approach is that pearance in Philadelphia in. April of 1943 under U.S. Senator Lowell Weicker was chairmqn of the platform the editorship of the able Rabbi Isaac Leesser of committee. His record is one of liberalism and common Congregation Mikveh Israel. The Occident, about Sense rooted in fairness. But that does not erase the fact which Rabbi. Leesser reported that "we circulate that encouragement to aims threatening the very survival scarcely above 510," for 25 years struggled to ad- of the basic tenets of the church-state separation principle vance cultural Jewish ideals and to clarify reli- comes from the White House and its Republican occupant. gious issues. But The Occident, like earlier period- It was from the Republican seats of the U.S. Senate and icals which appeared both in English and in Ger- House of Representatives that the efforts emerged for man, was a monthly publication. changes in the principled ideal of "Separation." The Th e first English-Jewish weekly newspaper frightened Democrats, fearing reactions on matters relat- to make its appearance in this country was The ing to religion at the polls in the November Presidential Asmonean, which was published in New York by and Congressional elections, provided the overwhelming Robert Lyon in 1849. From that year therefore, vote needed for the resolution adopted, approving use of ' begins the history of the Jewish weekly press in school facilities for prayers. . . America, published in the English language. Therefore, the inevitable question whether religion The Asmonean, a "family journal of commerce, was being politicized. The question was properly posed in a politics, religion and literature," lasted only nine New York Times editorial, "Enough of Holier Than Thou," years. Before it suspended publication it added (Aug. 2): occasional German supplements.. These were ... Consider the speech Mr. Reagan made at a indications of the prevalence of German as the Roman Catholic church in Hoboken last week. language used by.the Jews in the United States at He said he did not believe•hat someone can that time. But its beginning marked the introduc- be compassionate and yet support a woman's tion of an important .factor in American jour- right to choose abortion. "How can they parade nalism —the English-Jewish press— which today down the street, wearing compassion as if it were is acknowledged as one of the most powerful fac- a cloak made of neon?" he asked. "They have no tors for good in American and Jewish life in this compassion for the most helpless of God's crea- country. tures." At that time, the American Israelite of Cincinnati al- Some' of those allegedly pitiless people were ready merited special attention as the oldest functioning probably in the President's audience. Catholics English-Jewish weekly. Its importance in evaluating the are as likely to have abortions as members of values of the Jewish press lies in the fact that the news- other religious groups, and just as likely to paper was established by the founder of American Reform endorse the choice. That they may thus differ. ith Judaism, Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise. The scholar who created their church's teaching is a matter for them, their • , clergy, their conscience. It it not the business of the President of the United States. Nor is Mr. Reagan's faith the business of his opponents. "The President walks around calling himself a good Christian," Geraldine Ferraro said recently, "but I don't for one believe it because the policies are so terribly unfair." Mrs. Ferraro was right in her policy judgment, wrong to char- acterize it as pious. But it's been Mr. Reagan who started this competition for the "Holier than thou" award, in. yoking religion not only on abortion but foreign policy, school prayer and other. issues. He has been intruding on the most sacred and private realism, dividing Americans in ways repugnant since the birth of the Republic. The subject is inexhaustible, and scores of columns have been published, pro and con, on the separation issue as it is affected by the latest Congressional action. Neverthe- less, the fact remains that President Ronald Reagan makes religion a major plank in his campaign for re-election and as a basic policy for the Republican Party. This generated another important NYTimes editorial, "School Prayer Windfalls" (Aug. 1), which merits special consideration: Election-year posturing about "tradition and family values" turns out to be a windfall for the religious right on the issue of school prayer. With the Democrats on the defensive, the House has gone along with bills. authorizing prayer in schools under certain conditions. No one seems to care that the measures violate Kmerica's noblest traditions and deepest family values. Enforced wor§hip in the classroom, even if silent, involves the state in religion every bit as much as oral devotion led by the teacher. It's a clear violation of the Constitution:s command that government remain neutral on matters of conscience. Far from threatening tradition and family, that command flaws from profoundly held American values: the community basis of educa- tion, the wholesome separation of church and state and the home-baSed, private character of religious belief and practice. Once again a Senate minority, which beat back a constitutional amendment for vocal school prayer in the spring, will have to resist this pious tampering with religious liberty. - The Supreme Court would never outlaw silent, voluntary prayer by Americans of any age. But it wisely insists that religion is too personal ever to be the business of government. That message ought to transcend politics, even in an election year. It is not the Republican Party leadership alone, in- spired by the White House, that creates the irony and a threat to a basic American ideal. Many Congressmen are frightened by voter reaction and there is evident only a limited amount of courage in the current battle for reten- tion of that great principle. Such are the current political trends: that even religion is politicized. Leo H. Frisch's Inspiration normalizing transliterations If it were only for his concern over the abnormalities in transliterating Hebrew and Yiddish terms into English, and his creative efforts in encouraging normalization of this need in Jewish publications, the name of Leo H. Frisch would, be registered in the most inspired ranks in Jewish publishing. • His passing in early July, at age 94, recalled a most interesting career of a man who early in life earned the title dean of Jewish journalists. As editor and publisher for 60 years of the Minneapolis-St. Paul American Jewish World, he served as a guide in creating an united force in Jewish journalistic ranks in mobilizing the interest that was needed to make the Jewish press a recognized factor in organizing community functions. • He was one of the organizers of the American Associa- tion of English-Jewish Newspapers, which now operates as the American Jewish Press Association. Irritated by the confusions in transliterating Hebrew and Yiddish, Leo Frisch undertook an assignment to cor- rect a situation that failed tp take into account the urgent need for literary conformity. In behalf of. the American Association of English-Jewish Newspaper's, he made a thorough study of the need for correction and his essay "War of Words Is Peacefully Resolved" was widely pub- licized and became a guide for authors and publishers. The Frisch achievement gained so much wide acclaim and recognition, in the general as well as the Jewish press, that, at the risk of the charge of conceit an item from the Detroit News,July. 2, 1966, may merit renewed interest. Continued on Page 11