looking back

The Jewish National Worker’s Alliance, a mutual aid society for Labor Zionist
Jewish immigrants, is pictured here at its annual convention in Detroit in 1928.
The group was affiliated with the Labor Zionists, who believed the creation of a
Jewish state rested on the efforts of a Jewish working class. The Detroit chapter
of Labor Zionists was organized in 1906. Prior to World War II, the Labor Zionist
Organization (Poale Zion) developed a fraternal order (the Farband), the Pioneer

Women’s Organization, the League for Labor Palestine and the Histadrut
Campaign. And through a network of Jewish Folk Schools, summer camps and
Habonim (now Habonim Dror), a progressive Zionist youth organization (found-
ed in 1935), the children of members and friends became acquainted with the
goals and ideals of labor Zionism. •

Jewish National Workers Alliance, Eleventh Convention, Detroit, Mich., May 1, 1928. Courtesy of Ameinu
Detroit Records, Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan

From the DJN

Davidson Digital Archive

N

ot all front-page material in the 1942 JN relates to World
War II. For example, consider the photograph on the
front page of the June 26, 1942, issue. It is a bit hard to
see — it is an image from 75 years ago lifted from microfilm for
the Davidson Archive — but the title for the
photo is clear: “Our Future Standard Bearers:
1942 Graduates of United Hebrew Schools.”
There were only 55 of them that year, but,
for the time, it was a very good showing. An
article on page 3 cites that, overall, there were
1,389 attending Hebrew school in Detroit,
divided among nine branches. There was also
a complete list of the graduates on page 3 if
Mike Smith
Detroit Jewish News
you would like to see if Grandma or Grandpa
Foundation Archivist
graduated from the Hebrew United Schools.

54

June 22 • 2017

jn

The editorial page also had a congratulatory note.
Inside this issue, there were, of course, several interesting items
about the war. Two advertisements, however, were a bit different
from past issues because they brought the war to the homefront.
One from the Industrial National Bank warned: “Get Ready for
Gas Rationing, It’s Bound to Come.” They were indeed correct.
And, this may sound a bit ridiculous today, but another ad
from the William Hordes General Insurance Agency offered
this friendly advice: “Free Bombing Insurance, Offered by the
Government” would end on July 1. It was early in the war for the
United States and Detroit was America’s premier industrial city,
so it would be a likely target. Luckily, we were never bombed. •

Want to learn more? Go to the DJN Foundation archives,
available for free at www.djnfoundation.org.

Historic photos are curated by the
Jewish Historical Society of Michigan.

