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- WLRQDOIDPLOLHVZKRKDYHKHOSHGWRVKDSHWKH'HWURLW-HZLVKFRPPXQLW\RYHUWKH\HDUV$OOSURFHHGVZLOOEHQH¿WWKHFKDULWDEOHPLVVLRQRIWKH'HWURLW-HZ- LVK1HZV)RXQGDWLRQDQLQGHSHQGHQW F QRQSUR¿WRUJDQL]DWLRQWKDWLVGHGLFDWHGWRFDSWXULQJDQGVKDULQJWKHRQJRLQJVWRU\RIWKH'HWURLW-HZLVK 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.