. ii(J1,(tH t , 2 Friday February 7 1986 — THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS , , PURELY COMMENTARY PHILIP SLOMOVITZ Shlichim In Dilemma, Agency Responsibility, `Week' In Prospect Carl Albert In one of his most illuminating col- umns from Israel, which also becomes a very challenging one to Diaspora'as well as Israeli Jewries, Carl Alpert poses the ques- tion of practicality in the services of the shlichim, the emissaries from the Jewish state to the Jewish communities. Alpert, who is unquestionably among the best informed correspondents to this and many other American Jewish periodi- cals, exposes the failures in the tackling of the aliyah problem and, pointing bluntly to the failures to encourage fulfillment of the needs for increased settlement of Ameri- can Jews ipilsrael,, assails the bureacracy responsible for the shortcomings. Carp Alpert reported on his efforts to secure the factual data on Jewish Agency responsibilities toward Aliyah and the role of the shlichim with this indictment: The Jewish Agency has of late been subjected to considerable criticism, ranging all the way from "The Jewish Agency is just a build- ing in Jerusalem with a bunch of Volvos out in the front" to more serious critiques of its financing and actual operations. No department of the agency is more vulnerable to criticism be- cause of its faulty administration than the one which is supposed to be devoted to encouragement of aliyah to Israel. Few people are more deserv- ing of sympathy than many of the devoted, competent and hardworking shlichim (emissaries) sent overseas by this department, who fail to receive the cooperation and backing from Jerusalem which they require in order to do a good job. Ever since the flagrantly Polit- ical a ointment of Haim Aharon as c an of the aliyah depart- ment 1 ere has been* steady deter- ioraton bath in the operations and moral* • tif the Vrtnient and in the statistics of eh to Israel. In the first half of 1985 immigration from North America declined by 20 percent after a 30 percent drop in the previous year. The decline from Latin American was 25 per- cent. Yet bureaucracy reigns sup- reme in the head office where no less than 62 persons are engaged in office and administrative work, not counting those working in ul- Two Notables Of The Last Generation This is a "once upon a time" story about a cherished friend and a great De- troit personality. Recollections about him are provided in a biography by one of his eminent contemporaries. The duals story of the two famous men — Fred Butzel and Reinhold Niebuhr — is told in a truly great story, surely among the best biographies published in this de- cade. Reinhold Niebuhr by Richard Fox (Pantheon Books) is an appreciative disci- ple's tribute to an admired teacher. A noted historian, currently a history professor at Reed College, Richard Fox produced a set of revealing accounts about Detroit and Detroiters in hisNiebuhr. But- zel shares in them in relation to a tragic event and the consequences. It was in the post-World War I era when the black popu- lation in Detroit increased from 5,700 n 1910 to 81,000 in 1925. With that growth also developed a rising Ku Klux Klan movement in the city. A racial incident in 1925 added to the emerging race issue when a black physician, Dr. Osian Sweet, bought a home in a predominantly white district. On Sept. 9, a white mob assembled and threatened to remove Dr. Sweet and his family. In an exchange of gunshots one of the crowd was killed. Clarence Darrow and Arthur Garfield Hays were the suc- cessful defending attorneys. The Detroit mayoralty campaign fea- tured at the time the ensuing debates over the issues. The Ku Klux Klan was con- demned by liberal preachers, notably Reinhold Niebuhr, Lynn Harold Hough and Joseph Vance. According to the Detroit Times, the listeners to the sermons were urged to "administer a body to that hooded organization." John W. Smith, the sue, cessful candidate for mayor who was op- posed by Charles Bowles, had the support of both the Detroit Times and the Detroit Free Press. Niebuhr's sermon in his Beth El Evangelical Church was featured on the front pages of both newspapers and they quoted Niebuhr: "We fairminded Protestants can not deny that it was Protestantism that gave birth to the Ku Klux Klan, one of the worst panim, absorption centers, chil- dren's institutions, retirement and nursing homes, social workers, etc. It is also reported that the head office provides 20 of these func- tionaries with cars for the per- formance of their duties which in most cases is paper work in the office. The chairman of the depart- ment is always available for televi- sion interviews or for issuance of statements to the press, or for his feud with the ministry of absorp- tion, but remarkably silent when it comes down to the actual business of promoting aliyah. A series ,let, ters, not just one, dispatched to his office by this writer, seeking litera- ture, information and.promotional material to enable the writing of a series of articles to encourage aliyah, all went unanswered, even when sent by registered mail. There is much more to the Alpert in- dictment. To his credit it should be stated that he comes to the defense of the shlichim, who are to be viewed as victims of the bureacracy. But the major guilt is evident. Somewhere in Jewish Agency activities there is a laxity that permits the function- ing of a bureacracy. Shlichim are an expensive item in Jewish Agency, Israel and Zionist obliga- tions. So also are messengers and emis- saries in many other functions, including , specific social phenomena which the reli- gious pride and prejudice of peoples has ever developed . . . I do not deny that all religions are periodically corrupted by bigotry. But I hit Protestant bigotry the hardest at this time because it happens to be our sin and there is no use repenting for other people's sins. Let us repent of our own. We are admonished in Scripture to jute men by their fruits, not by their roots; and their fruits are their characters, their deeds and accomplishments." Re-elected, Mayor John W. Smith took seriously the admonitions of Niebuhr and appointed him chairman of the Inter- R acial Committee. It is at this point that Kebuhr began to share secular as well as religious interests with his fellow citizens, and this role also has a relationship to the growing efforts against race prejudice in thig country. That introductory move has a reference to Detroit leadership at the time and the Fox explanatory note is worth quoting: Unlike philanthropist Tracy Fred M. Butzel fundraising. Carl Alpert may have in- spired a demand for a proving of proce- dures that have caused continuity of er- rors, and resort to squandering and mis- management by officialdom. This should be a major responsibility of Jewish Agency and associated leader- ships in the Diaspora and associated lead- erships in the Diaspora and Israel and if the Carl Alpeit charges are not treated with respect it will be to the discredit of leadership. Yet, Jewish Agency spokespeople ap- pear to be aiming at "pat on the back," inviting applause from Jewish com- munities everywhere through the obser- vence of a "Jewish Agency Week" toward the end of February. The heads of the Agency and its constituent Zionist organ- izations, with an endorsement from the Council of Jewish Federations, are all hon- orable and highly respected personalities, and what they say, whenever they invite constituents' participation in their calls for action, are always treated with acclaim, respect, commitment. Therefore, they will surely be highminded to permit a snicker in consideration of the introduction of an- other "week" on the calendar of Jewish events. There are many "days" and "weeks" on the calendar of human events. When the United Jewish Appeal in the process of conducting fundraising, during that period a UJA Sabbath to encourage geneoristy is understandable. When Bar-Ilan Univer- sity is in such a process, adherence to a McGregor and Circuit Judge Ira Jayne, the first two chairmen of the committee. Niebuhr brought energy and commitment to the job. Charged by Smith to determine the causes of the "dangerous civic condition" and propose "such a cure as seems best," the committee used its $10,000 grant from the De- troit Community Fund to sponsor a four-month research project by sociologist Robert Lansdale of the University of Michigan and social worker Forrester Washington, former director of the Detroit Urban League and author of a 1920 report, The Negro in Detroit. For all his doubts about the ultimate validity of "scientific reason," Niebuhr was an eager sponsor of the plan to produce an empirical study of black community organ- ization and living conditions here "We are going to employ experts to Continued on Page 26 Reinhold Niebuhr Bar-Ilan Sabbath to encourage support for a great university is commendable. Everybody observes Father's Day and Mother's Day, and Grandparents's Day may also take root soon. And it is consid- ered a realism for manx often to comment, why one day for Mother or Father, what about the rest of the year — and that's accompanied with a snicker. Therefore, the snicker about Jewish Agency Week. The Jewish Agency was organized in 1929 by Louis Marshall and Chaim Weiz- mann in Geneva. It became a symbol for Jewish unity. It developed into an endless effort, first in Israel's commencement, al- ways in efforts to encourage aliyah, a con- tinuing month by month, week by week, day by day, hour by hour commitment to I abor for the Jewish Renaissance, for the uplifting of the Jewish spirit, and for the never-ending battle for justice for Israel and Jewry. Where does a "week" come in if these obligations are to be dutifully respected? Is a special week's observance needed to exonerate faults (see Carl Alpert's indict- ment above) and to whitewash bureauc- rats? Or is it to be another means of resort- ing to fundraising? The leaders who signed the call for a Jewish Agency Week are honcirable people. That doesn't mean they have not erred, as charged, or misjudged in search- ing for gimmicks. Let them explain whether they think the new "gimmick" really represents our people's vision.