50 YEARS AGO... Campaign Day Includes Big Rally This column will be a week- ly feature during The Jewish News' anniversary year, look- ing at The Jewish News of to- day's date 50 years ago. SY MANELLO Special to The Jewish News T he subject of all atten- tion at this time was the nearing of the Jewish Campaign Day, mark- ing the largest drive in the his- tory of the metropolitan area. Dr. Abba Hillel Silver was scheduled to be the featured speaker at the upcoming ral- ly at the Hotel Tuller. Other prominent figures had ad- dressed preliminary meet- ings: Dr. Alexander Loudon, Netherlands ambassador; Jan Ciechanowsky, Polish ambas- sador; and Cimon P. Diaman- topoulos, ambassador from Greece. A forerunner of today's Holocaust Museum was the exhibit at the Weirs building which documented the con- trasts of old world beauty and the Axis devastation. Includ- ed were pictures of wanton de- struction by the Nazis, the glass-topped wall confining the Warsaw Ghetto and bod- ie,s of patriots being hanged. An interesting proposal was made for the Detroit area by a national leader. Dr. Israel Goldstein, president of the Synagogue Council of Ameri- ca, supported Dr. Glazer, rab- bi of Temple Beth El, in forming a Detroit Synagogue Council. Detroit was thought to be the best choice to be first for such a group being " one of the best organized Jewish communities in America." Neighboring communities had their share of important events. In Ann Arbor, Dr. Abram Sachar was guest speaker at the dedication of the new Hillel building. The Flint Hebrew School graduat- ed seven pupils in a Sunday ceremony. The Michigan B'nai B'rith Council held its semi- annual meeting in Bay City with Rabbi Jerome Folkman as main speaker. Our community had at least two "famous" people, who also brought nachas to their parents. Dorothy Nathan, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Nathaniel Nathan, was the only Jewish girl from Michigan to be secretary to a congressman; she also was supervising George CYBrien's reelection campaign for the 13th District. Rabbi Morton A. Bauman, son of Harry Bauman, entered the Har- vard University Chaplains School. Many Detroiters in the armed services were reading The Jewish News even if they got the issues somewhat late. They also were writing to tell us how much they enjoyed the "good tidings from home." This issue reprinted a letter from Pvt. Ralph Bernstein, who had just received the Rosh Hashanah issue. Some well deserved recog- nition for funds raised went to the Detroit Fruit Vendors Association as President Mor- ris H. Goldberg reported that the group had sold $50,000 worth of war bonds and stamps. In addition, Emil Kahn, president of Congre- gation Beth. Moses, reported the synagogue sold $57,000 worth of bonds. The ads fifty years ago told that we were pursuing the same things to make our lives more enjoyable: food, creature comforts, home fashion and entertainment. Sampson's Jewish Super Market on West McNichols offered one- stop shopping; Wayne Baths at Second re-opened as Detroit's only natural miner- al baths; Pupko's on 12th Street was offering spreads and drapes for children's rooms for $3.95 and $4.95 each; and the Telenews The- ater was showing 49 world news events, Letter From Bataan and a trip through the Japanese war front in Pa- cific Frontiers. It was just before election time, and the paper was filled with political ads. The most important statement, then as now, was the editorial with headline "Be Sure To Vote On Tuesday." Fisher Labels Clinton Poor Choice For Jews KIMBERLY LIFTON STAFF WRITER M ax Fisher, one of Detroit's most in- fluential Jewish community leaders, says he first got involved in Republican politics because "Jews were captives of the Democratic Party." For that reason, Mr. Fisher said, he has remained active and a close friend and adviser to GOP presidents throughout the past four decades —Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and George Bush. Now, Mr. Fisher said, he is fearful of any repercussions of a huge percentage of the Jewish voting bloc going to Democratic candidate Bill Clinton. Jewish Democrats are predicting that Mr. Clin- ton will secure the largest percentage of Jewish votes since FDR garnered 90 per- cent in 1940 and 1944. Last week, Mr. Fisher issued a four-page memo to the media which blasted Mr. Clinton as a poor choice for the American Jewish com- munity. Mr. Fisher said his views are "the definitive statement on issues of con- cern to Jewish voters." "In more than 40 years of activity in Jewish affairs and Republican politics, I have never seen the Jewish community so readily place itself in lockstep with a can- didate so lacking any real experience with the vital re- lationship between the United States and Israel," Mr. Fisher wrote. "Meanwhile, the Jewish community demands no real answers from Bill Clinton on any of the Jewish agenda's tough questions." The statement, written on Bush-Quayle campaign sta- tionery, said Mr. Fisher is the dean of American Jewish community leadership. Mr. Fisher was the founding chairman of the Jewish Agency and has chaired both the United Jewish Appeal and the Council of Jewish Federations. Lewis Roth, spokesman for the National Jewish Dem- ocratic Council, warned that Mr. Fisher's views do not represent the entire Jewish community. "Bill Clinton and Al Gore deserve the Jewish commun- ity's strong backing because of their unshakable support for Israel and a vision for revitalizing the economy and their belief in a woman's right to choose, among other issues," Mr. Roth said. "This letter is a pathetic diatribe by a Republican campaign desperate for votes, determined to distort the truth," Mr. Roth said. "Max Fisher ought to be ashamed of himself for len- ding his name to such nonsense." Reached through Bush- Quayle campaign workers who contacted Mr. Fisher at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, Mr. Fisher said he sent out the letter be- cause "the most important thing is that the Jewish community be taken seri- ously as a political force. "When 90 percent of the Jews were voting Democrat- ic (1940 and 1944 for Franklin Delano Roosevelt), Jews had no influence in the Republican Party," he said. "When I first got involved in Republican politics, there was no Jewish voice in the Republican Party." In this election, Mr. Fisher said, "Jews are being taken for granted by the Democrat- ic Party." In the letter, Mr. Fisher accused Mr. Clinton of avoiding the Jewish corn- munity by not making any public appearances since he received the Democratic Party nomination. Among many accusations, Mr. Fisher pointed fingers at two people working for Mr. Clinton: Harold Ickes, depu- Max Fisher: Backing GOP. ty chairman of the Dem- ocratic National Committee, whom he says helped "manage the pro-PLO Jesse Jackson forces at the 1988 Democratic National Con vention"; and retired Admi- ral William Crowe, a defense adviser who opposed the,- Gulf War because he feared it would offend the Arabs. In Arkansas, Clinton-Gore staffers called the letter, "preposterous." Mr. Clinton's national Jewish adviser and deputy political director, Sara Ehrman, worked 11 years for AIPAC, and his cam- paign chairman, Mickey, Kantor, serves on the AIPAC board of directors. During the High Holy Days, 110 people from the H Clinton-Gore campaign at- Deadlines The Jewish News is permanently changing its local news deadline to noon Thursday for the following week's publication. The change will allow more time to copy-edit and proofread material sent to the newspaper. The deadlines are: Local news, noon Thursday Birth announcements, 10 a.m. Tuesday Out-of-town obituaries, 10 a.m. Wednesday All materials to be published must be typewritten, double-spaced, on 8 1/2 by 11 paper, and include the name and daytime telephone number of the sender. For com- plete information on submitting press releases, marriage or other announcements, call the News Department, 354- 6060.