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Beth Isaac Synagogue
has been in Trenton 28
years.
floor. The burnt star still
hangs in the main sanc-
tuary to commemorate the
fire.
News of the fire made na-
tional headlines. The con-
gregation was flooded with
cards, letters, and tele-
phone calls of sympathy
and outrage. Donations to
repair the synagogue came
from rich and poor and
from people of all faiths.
Beth Isaac members ac-
cepted only the money
needed to repair the
building, said Mr. Ellias,
who was master of
ceremonies at the syn-
agogue's rededication six
months later. The remain-
ing money was used for
interfaith programs in rec-
ognition of the many gen-
tiles who helped the syn-
agogue, including Tren-
ton's clergy who replaced
the congregation's prayer
books.
The intensity of the gen-
tile response may have
come as a surprise,. but
longtime Downriver Jews
say they've always felt
welcome in the area. They
point to Isadore Mulias,
native Trenton resident
and businessman, who
served six years as the
city's mayor in the 1970s.
"I don't feel there is any
anti-Semitism in the
Downriver area, by and
large," said Philip Ellias, a
Trenton native. "I don't
think people care what you
are as long as you are a
good person."
• While he doesn't go out
on the streets of Lincoln
Park with a bullhorn, Neal
Freeling,.president of Beth
Isaac, saidv-when the sub-
ject of religion comes up
people know he is Jewish.
"I don't think there are
any problems," he said.
But, Downriver Jews
only have to look up at the
charred remains of their
Jewish star to be reminded
that anti-Semitism does ex-
ist.
"I'd like to give the
perception of total perfec-
tion," Mr. Stanley Ellias
said. "There is no such
thing."
Mr. Ellias remembers a
few people in the pre-
Depression years who
would not sell Trenton land
to his father, Meyer, be-
cause he was a Jew. Meyer
Ellias helped found the
People's State Bank of
Trenton in 1929, in part
because as a Jew he was
unable to get the credit he
needed from Trenton's
other bank.
But those incidents are
quickly dismissed as aber-
rations. When Meyer
Ellias died in 1952, he was
a well-respected part of the
Downriver community, Mr.
Ellias said.
Yet, despite the accep-
tance they have received,
many Downriver Jews are
keenly aware of their
uniqueness.
"I am very conscious of
that," said Richard D'Loss,
who lives in Romulus.
"Everything you do will be
reflected not only on you,
but on your religion. It
helps keep me on my toes."
"As a Jew in a small
town, you have to put your
best foot forward," Mrs.
Blumberg said.
It's probably easier to be
Jewish in Southfield or
Oak Park, Downriver Jews
said.
Mr. D'Loss, his wife and
four children settled in
Romulus a few years ago
because it was close to
Above:
Congregation members,
Trenton's leaders and
clergy celebrate the
synagogue's 1963
groundbreaking.
Below:
Ralph Aaronson carries
the new Torah into Beth
Isaac at its rededication
ceremony.
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