2
Friday, November 16, 1984
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
PURELY COMMENTARY
PHILIP SLOMOVITZ
Much yet to be said about exciting election and the voter's judgment
Monday morning quarterbacks are
unlimited in all spheres of divided opin7,
ions, on the morning after a football game
as well as the Wednesday after a
Presidential election. Therefore, the af-
tereffects will draw more printer's ink and
lots of opinionating.
Taken for granted, the Ronald Reagan
image emerged as expected: the person
generally liked, admired by many, with a
record that was good for business, promis-
ing prosperity. It's difficult to beat such a
candidate. Give it added emphasis; say it is
impossible to defeat an incumbent as ap-
pealing as the man who will be on the scene
for another four years. The nation's hope is
for his health and retention of dynamic
leadership.
There are other matters of lasting
interest. A primary one is about voter
judgment. In several important instances,
the voter came through with flying colors.
Even the magic of Ronald Reagan did not
deter voters, in several important in-
stances, from splitting from the total party
line. Splitting the ballot proved that many
voters knew the value of ability and the
merit of granting re-election to tried and
ability-proven candidates for re-election.
This was evident in the Michigan Senator-
ial race and in the rejection of an appeal for
support on religious grounds for the oppo-
nent of a Jewish Congressman.
There should be no qualms about
Jewish candidates, in the oft-repeated
quandary about Jew voting for Jew, just as
there surely will arise the question of black
voting for black. In the main, there is rea-
son to believe that voters cast ballots for
candidates with good records.
Two occurrences in Michigan require
attention.
One involves the heavy vote for an av-
owed Nazi and anti-Semite. He had
hitherto opposed the well-tested Con-
gressman William Ford and never received
more than the nominal vote that assured
his being on the ballot. This time the vote
was in the tens of thousands — because
people voted the party line. To the credit of
the Michian Republicans, it should be said
they rejected him. It was when the
President and his associates urged a party
vote in the interest of securing Congres-
sional control that a Nazi gained notoriety
in this state. This is where splitting the
ballot became an obligation. Let the inci-
dent always be remembered.
Then there was the candidacy for a
judgeship of a man who embraced Arafat
and who now claims that Jewish — Jewish!
— opposition caused his defeat. Are Jews
expected to support an Arafat-embracer?
Wasn't this the basic complaint against
Jesse Jackson? Let it be recorded: the
Arafat-embracer was defeated by a Jew in
a predominantly WASP district. 'Nough
said.
One more point need be made; that the
new attempts to brand liberalism as if it
were extreme leftism (Communism?) must
never be condoned, else there will be a re-
turn to the most reactionary era in history. -
Indeed, there was much to learn from
the 1984 Presidential election.
Samuel Haber: Indelible
record as a leader
in rescue and redemption
Samuel Haber was among the very
distinguished leaders in rescue work dur-
ing the tragic years of persecutions and
Nazi terrorism. He was a dedicated guide
in the settlement of thousands of the perse-
cuted in the Jewish Homeland.
He was not
only a replica of
his elder brother,
Prof. William
Haber, but actu-
ally his counter-
part.
The history
of the American
Jewish Joint Dis-
tribution Com-
mittee is replete
with the record of
his three decades
of humanitarian
services, his de-
Samuel Haber
votion to the
needs of the survivors from Nazism and
especially the dispersed in many lands who
needed refuge, many of them receiving it
under his direction.
His interest in Israel was never sepa-
rated from the rescue work in which he was
engaged in his capacity on behalf of the
JDC. His experiences with the survivors of
Hitlerism in the camps where the settlers
were sustained by the one hope of settling
in the Jewish state were marked by com-
passion. It was such a vital necessity in
dealing with the redeemed from the tor-
tures that were imposed by barbarians in
an era that has gained the tragic connota-
tion of Holocaust.
He performed his tasks in many other
ways, especially in the manner in which he
inspired American Jews whose support has
become so vital in providing comfort for the
relieved from suffering, He charmed the
audiences who heard his appeals. He was
an admired personality. He added glory to
the modern recorded history of rescue and
rehabilitation.
He left
Irwin I. Cohn
a mark of distinction -
on a grateful community.
Irwin I. Cohn leaves marks of distinc-
tion on so many movements that it would
take an entire bookshelf to record them.
There wasn't a movement of value,
either in civic or Jewish ranks, that did not
include his participation.
This is not an exaggeration. It is a mild
tribute to a man who helped fellow beings,
who rose to a high role in philanthropy,
who inspired fellow citizens with a deter-
mined will to achieve the highest human
goals.
In the last two
decades he was espe-
cially linked in the
efforts of the tradi-
tional community,
was a protector of
every aim to assure
strict kashrut ob-
servance, and he de-
voted himself to the
multiple activities of
the Chabad, as an
identified associate
of the Lubavitch
Irwin Cohn
Hasidim.
These facts are not minor in a distin-
guished career of ah eminent lawyer who
gained acclaim wherever he went. It is not
only in the Allied Jewish Campaign and
the Jewish Welfare Federation, but in the
Urban League which he served as chair-
man and in a role of protective work for the
blacks, and in many other functions. When
it is realized that the personality being
honored was a founder of a country club
(Knollwood) and also a Chabad leader, it
will be understood that he was a leader
with a vision. The tributes accorded him
are well-earned in the life of a man who
leaves indelible marks of glory on his
community.
Butzel ranks depleted
The ranks of winners of the Fred M.
Butzel Awards of the Jewish Welfare Fed-
eration were sadly depleted this week. The
passing of Celia (Mrs. Hyman) Broder and
Irwin I. Cohn left a void in these honored
ranks.
Celia Broder , \\ A
had deep devotion,
linked with a social
sense and a philan-
thropic spirit. She
was an inspiration
to the Broder family
and to her many
associates in the
community. She will
long be remembered
and honored for
services well per-
formed.
Celia Broder
There is some-
thing of special distinction in the Celia
Broder record. She was a member of one of
the pioneering families here, the Meyers,
and she bore the name Meyers together
with the married Broder title with great
dignity.
The community at large surely
mourns the passing of these two noble
members of the Detroit community.
Young Judea:
Anniversary with memory
of an era of activism
Carl Alpert, in one of his multi-
faceted, highly-informative columns in his
role as a veteran Israeli correspondent,
calls attention to the 75th anniversary of
the Young Judaea movement. He men-
tions Detroit among the important com-
munities, with strong attachments to the
youth activities that were inaugurated in
the early part of this century.
Alpert had served as national
president of Young Judaea and is therefore
qualified to recall the aims of what had
been a very effective activity with a large
enrollment of young people. They were
enrolled in tasks in support of what had
then been the Zionist dream and primarily
in tasks to encourage and advance Jewish
studies with emphasis on education as a
primary aim in Jewish life.
Carl Alpert pursued another self-
imposed duty by fulfilling his advocacy of
aliya to the Jewish National Home in what
was then Palestine and was soon to become
the State of Israel. He settled in Haifa and
later became an active vice president of the
Technion, which retains the famous posi-
tion among the leaders in technical uni-
versities in the world.
Young Judaea retains an interest in
many quarters and for many scores it is a
memory of a period during which young
people were among the dreamers of a re-
demption for Jews seeking rebirth of
Jewish autonomy in the ancient homeland.
On nearly every occasion when there are
assemblies of Jews who continue an active
interest in Jewish causes dating from
childhood, there is heard the reminder: "I
was a Young Judaean." There were scores
of such clubs of young people here. They
specialized in discussion groups and in de-
bating. They were in all fields of athletics.
It is well to recall that when Bernard
Isaacs was invited to come to Detroit in the
second decade of this century, to become
the superintendent of the United Hebrew
Schools, he assisted in makng many of the
school branches the headquarters for
Young Judaea activities.
It was an era when youth clamored to
be active, when they identified and were
proud in their pioneering for a great cause.
The many who still recall that period in
local history remain among the important
factors in Jewish associated services.
It is a responsibility to such pioneers
not to forget the 75th anniversary of the
national Young Judaea movement and its
local identifiers.
The 'Blood Drop' emblem
that could resolve
the Red Cross issue
Some weeks ago, a dilemma con-
fronted the Red Cross. It became a local
problem, and it may have been concern for
many people on a world scale, wherever the
Red Cross insignia is evidenced.
A large-scale blood donor was con-
fronted by challenges from many strictly-
observant Jews regarding the cross on his
lapel. He thereupon objected to the Michi-
gan Red Cross authorities, explaining the
embarrassment created for him, among his
friends and fellow worshipers — that he, a
Jew, was wearing the cross.
It became a matter
for deeper considera-
tion and this column
was devoted, in the
issue of Sept. 7, 1984, to
the consideration of the
problematic issue af-
fecting one of the
world's most
humanitarian causes.
Samuel Haber of
Samuel Haber
Troy, Mich. (not related
to Prof. William Haber) raised the issue. At
73, he has already given more than 12 gal
lons of blood to the Red Cross. He continues
to give blood and is an ardent advocate of
the cause among friends and associates.
But the cross m the emblem accorded him
in the blood-drop shaped pin and the 12-
gallon record indicated has raised renewed
concern. Therefore, he continued to advo-
cate a change.
Samuel Haber pursued the matter and
may have secured an interesting solution.
He was not satisfied with this commen-
tator's appeal to the reasoning that the Red
Cross is not a crucifix. Then came a fol-
lowup and a suggested cure to the issue as
this message from Red Cross PR executive
Noreen Petersen indicates:
Thank you for clarifying the
non-religious connotations of the
cross in our signature. Maybe we
need to adopt a single blood drop
as an emblem for our multiple gal-
lon donors. Surely a blood drop
would not be offensive.
With an understanding for facts and
realities. Mrs. Petersen sent Sam Haber a
Magen David Adorn (Israeli equivalent of
the Red Cross) pin with a Blood Drop.
Sam Haber wears his new pin with
great pride. He is a Detroit College of Law
graduate who practiced law for nearly four
decades and then became a Wayne County
administrative law examiner, a post he
hopes to retain, although he is past retire-
ment age at 73.
A B'nai Moshe activist, dedicated to
many local and national movements, in
addition to assisting his wife in Hadassah
affairs, Samuel Haber makes the Red
Cross his chief concern in human
endeavors. He may have encouraged a
solution to a painful problem. The sugges-
tion in the Petersen letter may have led to
it. Perhaps the Blood Drop on a Magen
David will be the aimed-for resolve to a
dilemma. After all, there is a close associa-
tion between Red Cross and Magen David
Adom.
Noreen Petersen, Duane Johnson and
Samuel Haber may have jointly, solved an
unnecessary dispute.