Rallying Around
The Israeli Flag

Bill Carroll
Special to the Jewish News

T

he boys of Habonim and
Hashomer, who were fervent
Zionists fighting for Israel's
independence in the 1940s, are mostly
in their 70s and 80s now, but they
have pleasant memories of their pro-
Israel youth.
And they are looking forward to
the modern-day rally, "A Fair To
Remember," at the Michigan State
Fairgrounds on Thursday, Aug. 21. The
event continues the celebration of
Israel's 60th birthday.
Several of these men were among
approximately 15,000 people who
attended the first fairgrounds rally
Sunday, May 15,1949, in the State
Fair Coliseum to celebrate Israel's
first birthday. Members of about 160
synagogues and other organizations in
the Detroit Jewish community partici-
pated.
Main speakers were Sidney Shevitz,
president of the Detroit Zionist
Council; Ben-Zion Ilan, a former
Haganah leader; Rabbi Morris Adler of
Congregation Shaarey Zedek, Detroit;
Michigan Gov. G. Mennen Williams
and Detroit Council President George
Edwards, who compared Israel's found-
ing with that of the United States.
Ilan described Israel's statehood
as "the greatest miracle of modern
times," and said the nation "will flour-
ish as a result of the collective efforts
of world Jewry."
The event was followed by two more
fairgrounds rallies, in 1950 and 1951,
with Golda Meir, then Israel's labor
minister, speaking at the latter. These
rallies matched the enthusiasm exhib-
ited by Detroit Jews on May 16,1948,
when they marked Yom HaAtzmaut,
Israel Independence Day, at Detroit
Central High School.
Many of the young Zionists of
the mid-20th century belonged to
Habonim, an international Socialist
Zionist movement, and others to
Hashomer Hatzair, a similar organiza-
tion that was "even further to the left
than Habonim," according to a former
Habonim member.
Habonim, originally formed to
found and inhabit Israeli kibbutzim,
later merged with the Dror Socialist
Zionist movement and now is called

A14

August 7 • 2008

Rabbi Morris Adler of Congregation Shaarey Zedek of Detroit, far right, listens
to speakers at the Israel Independence Day celebration at the Michigan State
Fairgrounds on May 15,1949.

Habonim Dror,
at both."
still sponsoring
"We had 60-70
summer training
members in our
camps around
Habonim group
North America.
and, as young
Hashomer was
Zionists, we were
formed as a
excited that Israel
Jewish defense
had achieved its
group in the early
independence,"
20th century and
he said. Katz and
Bernard Schiff
Jerome Katz
was the driving
others had pick-
force behind the
eted the British
Warsaw Ghetto uprising during World
Consulate in Detroit several times,
War II.
leading up to the independence dec-
Jerome Katz, 75, of Detroit, a
laration. "We figured it all helped the
retired psychologist, attended both the pro-Israel cause," he said.
'48 and '49 rallies as a teenager and
Bernie Schiff, 83, of Huntington
remembers "large, enthusiastic crowds
Woods, a retired pharmacist and a

staunch Habonim member in '49, was
a security guard at that fairgrounds
rally "to make sure nothing untoward
happened during the celebration; there
were many anti-Zionists in those days
and we didn't want them to cause any
trouble," he said. "Fortunately, there
was no trouble."
Schiff recalls that followers of
Father Charles Coughlin, the anti-
Semitic radio priest in Royal Oak, had
threatened to protest the rally, but the
threats didn't materialize.
He recalled speakers, music and
plenty of camaraderie at the '49 rally.
"We were young, happy and enthusi-
astic, and we just wanted to have a lot
of fun," he said.
Schiff had attended Habonim train-
ing camps in New York state and
New Jersey, and met his future wife,
Sally, of Boston, at one camp session.
Schiff has been president of the Labor
Zionist organization, now known as
Ameinu, and has made 50 trips to
Israel.
"Our whole family has always been
strongly involved in pro-Israel causes,"
Schiff said. "I think the upcoming
fairgrounds rally will be great for our
Jewish community. Anything that
brings attention to Israel is wonder-
ful, although I don't think today's
young people have the same feelings
for Israel's importance as we did. It's
surprising that even many non-Jews
also are enthusiastic about the Israel
birthday celebration."
Evelyn Noveck, 89, of Novi remem-
bers a "large crowd" at the '49 rally
as she joined her fellow members
of the Labor Zionist organization to
celebrate. Through the years, she has
expressed her Zionism through mem-
bership in the former Pioneer Women
(now Na'amat USA).
"I've been a Zionist since I was 9
years old," she said. "There really
were no babysitters in those days, and
my parents used to take me to their
Zionist meetings at night."
Another strong Israel supporter,
Cookie Koblin, 70, of West Bloomfield
is happy the Jewish community will
celebrate Aug. 21, but she's upset that
she won't be there.
"I'll be on my 21st trip to Israel,
volunteering for three weeks to work
behind the scenes at an army base,"
she explained.

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