SAVE THE DATE
jewish 1942–2017
news
75
Diamond
Anniversary
Legacy
Gala
May 3, 2018
Congregation Shaarey Zedek, Southfield, Michigan
Recognition of the Davidson/Gerson/
Wetsman/Saulson family
Rollicking performance by the
Grammy Award Winning Klezmatics
Birthday recognition of community members
born in 1942
Strolling Dinner: 5:30 pm
Event Program, Concert and Aerglow: 7 pm
Additional information, including sponsorship
opportunities and tickets are available at
www.djnfoundation.org
Proceeds to benefit the independent Detroit Jewish
News Foundation, a 501-c-3 non-profit organization
The Detroit Jewish News Foundation is proud to present an evening of celebration for the Jewish News’ 75th anniversary and to highlight multi-genera-
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community and the individuals and families who have helped to shape it. The centerpiece of the foundation’s work is the William Davidson Digital Archive
of Jewish Detroit History, which comprises the entire contents of the the Detroit Jewish News and its predecessor publication, the Jewish Chronicle.
From the DJN Davidson Digital Archive
T
he good stuff, the items that catch my eye from 75 years
ago, are not always reflected in JN’s headlines. Such is
the case for the Feb. 26, 1943, issue, where I found three
great essays on page 4, in the section “The Editor Views the News.”
The first piece was about a Sunday protest in Detroit against
Nazi atrocities. The main speaker was Dr.
Stephen S. Wise, president of the American
Jewish Congress. This tells you that, for the
local Jewish community, this was a big deal.
However, what was also heartening was
the list of supporters: the Detroit Council
of Churches, the Polish Central Citizens’
Committee, the Detroit Round Table of
Catholics, Jews and Protestants, the Greek War
Relief Committee, the Czech-Slovak National
Mike Smith
Alliance and the Detroit Anti-Axis Council. As
Detroit Jewish News
Foundation Archivist
the editor suggested, this was “not a one-sided
affair.”
66
March 1 • 2018
jn
The next item suggested that a fellow I have written about
before was a “Modern Maccabee.” Indeed, Meyer Levin had
fought in the Pacific since the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor
and had earned three medals for valor. But, there was some very
sad news in the essay — Levin had been killed. He was a hero,
no doubt, and as the article pointed out, there were many other
modern Maccabees now fighting in Europe, Russia, North Africa
and the South Pacific. Still, after reading about Levin in the JN
since I started these columns that look back 75 years, it was a
sad thing to see in print.
The third essay was entitled “Jews in the Armed Forces,” but
it was the first paragraph that was most interesting. It referred
to seven sons of Mr. and Mrs. Max Lieberman from Manistique,
Mich. (an eighth son was under military age). All of the sons
were serving in the U.S. Army. That is commitment. •
Want to learn more? Go to the DJN Foundation archives,
available for free at www.djnfoundation.org.