The Southern Israelite. (Augusta, Ga.) 1925-1986, November 25, 1929, Image 5
The Southern Israelite Page 5
Dr. Cyrus Adler Heads American Jewery
Aillrr s and St«*rn s Election as llrn<ls of American Jewish
Committee Insures Continuance of Capable
Leadership in Vmerican Jewry
liy 1U\ ID J. G ALTER
,'lection of Hr. Cyrus Adler to
.iimn of President of the Amer-
.Iruish Committee—the position
vacant by the sudden and un-
( t h of Louis Marshall—
t ,, this distinguished scholar
rnmunal leader the highest
, > a inn American Jewry can be-
a favorite son. It also
, „ * [ic climax ot a career rich in
• achievement and truly dedi-
the welfare of his people.
, -tion of Judge Horace Stern
|„i>ition of Chairman of the
<- Committee of that body sig-
• he entry, into the arena of
nit .ona 1 activity of one of
:i ’s most prominent Jewish
,;.t 1 hat the two hail from
town Philadelphia is no
ident. In a sense it may be
• > Minmunally Judge Stern
!, :icd :n the lap of Dr. Adler.
\ a- about these men is not at
:ii' ult. There is nothing elusive
vmatic about them. The records
-: .-ir service in their respective
: are easily available. Of Dr. Ad-
n.well has been written. In age
■ point of service he is a veter
\ believer in and an exponent of
nal Judaism. Dr. Adler car-
:n addition to other symbols of
la-tic attainment, an honorary de-
< from the Hebrew Union College,
"Home Office” of Reform Judaism
\nurica. Frequently he speaks of
Israel a phrase I believe
■ ’aily coined by the late Solomon
• liter, his predecessor in the of-
the President of the Jewish
'■vi al Seminary of America.
Hr. Adler this is more than a
• uit h-phra-e. To him it has a
meaning and has figured con-
. in all his activities. Once
1 ’ 1 v re.igious one is almost
’■ d to say the sectarian element,
|: mated, Dr. Adler recognizes no
,!| e between Jew and Jew. He
'd the affairs and understands
”’'tude of the extreme Left as
the extreme Right in Jewish
•ws it regardless of whether
Philadelphia. New York, War-
rimalem or Tel Aviv. Now that
Marshall is dead it would be
1 ’ to find another man who
slu ’h intimate touch with the
"■ world Jewry. If judged
■'«m this point of view the man-
Marshall could not have fallen
’be shoulders of any other man
mom grace and greater ease.
many years Dr. Adler has been
man of the Cultural Committee
Joint Distribution Committee.
■ ,< ition. like so many others he
re took seriously. There were
• especially in the early days of
' l:ef work, when this was quite
f ulture is a broad word, made
broader by the interpretations
‘ u P°n it by the various shades
1 ' -s and pleaders in the Jewish
■ ln >ty. If Dr. Adler was not able
My the demands of all of these
bing that would have been im-
c\en if he had at his disposal
,nies s um actually allocated
for his department he was able to
make them feel that all were receiv
ing a square deal and that the distri
bution was on a basis of fairness and
equity. T his was no mean accom
plishment.
I hough the head of a seminary and
the editor of the Jewish Quarterly lie-
view—the only magazine in this coun
try dedicated to Jewish scholarship
Dr. Adler refers to himself as a lay
man.
Though not a business man in the
commonly accepted use of the word,
he is an extremely practical person
with an unusual amount of executive
ability. A year ago when his monu
mental biography of Jacob H. Kchiff
appeared, many mu veiled at the
grasp of matters purely business man
ifested by him in these two volumes.
Dr. Adler was never a Zionist. Were
the question put to him directly today
it is fairly certain he would still an
swer in the negative. H.s attitude, his
approach to Palestine and to all prob
lems pertaining to Palestine, however,
have (hanged considerably in recent
years. A man of discipline, of organi
zation, he invariably plays the game
aceoiding to the rules. Following the
Agency compact he accepted member
ship on the administrative committee
of the United Palestine Appeal in
Philadelphia. His visit to Jerusalem
the second visit, though the first was
made many, many years ago -did
much to bring him closer both to the
land as well as to those engaged in
its upbuilding. In answer to a re
quest by Mr. Louis K. Levinthal, then
campaign Chairman in Philadelphia,
he wrote from Jerusalem under date
of April 7. “I was very glad
at this distance to get a word from
1 hiladelphia and to know that you
were undertaking the chairmanship of
the Philadelphia campaign of the Uni
ted Palestine Appeal. We have been
in Palestine for only one week and
I had decided not to express any opin-
Berlin (J. T. A.) The newspapers
comment extensively upon the anti-
Semitic excesses in the Berlin Uni
versity, committed hv the Voelkischo
students who thus give expression to
their solidarity with the Viennese an
ti-Semites. The students expressed
their sympathy with the former Rec
tor of the University, while they
greeted the New President with
“Nieder” (Down). The new President
of the University, the world famous
mathematician Dr. Krhart Schmidt,
in his inaugural address, declared that
he will do everything in his power to
guard the University from racial in
citement.
For hours the anti-Sem'tic students
stormed through the corridors, shout-
ion about the work here until the end
of our month’s stay which in itself
is, I recognize quite insufficient to
form a deliberate judgment.
‘‘However in this one week 1 have
seen a number of colonies, a number
of schools, primary and secondary,—
the University—and 1 have seen the
people. 1 feel warranted in saying that
a worthwhile effort is being made
here with sincerity and intelligence. 1
should like to have the privilege of
contributing Two Hundred ($200.00)
Dollars to the fund this year and I
venture to express the hope that all
of my co-religionists in Philadelphia
will contribute according to their
means and their obligation to all oth
er worthy causes.”
Upon his return and since he has
given a great deal of time and mind
towards the problems of Palestine.
In all he did and said one finds a
fine sense of judgment, a sympathetic
understanding and a keen desire to
accelerate the rebuilding of the Holy
Land.
Fully informed, an able administra
tor known to and respected by world
Jewry, Dr. Adler will experience no
difficulty in continuing the work of
thi* American .Jewish Committee along
the line laid down by his predecessor
in office.
A different type is Judge Horace
Stein. Though comparatively new too,
he is not altogether strange to Jew
ish endeavor on a national scale. It
has been more or less of an open sec
ret for sometime that Mr. Marshall
was deeply interested in the develop
ment of Judge Stern. On a number of
occasions, Mr. Marshall went out of
his way in order to bring Judge Stern
to the front. Every time he did he
was successful. For Judge Stern is a
man of rare qualities. Earnestness of
purpose, a deep understanding of the
subject under consideration, a fokstim-
lich interpretation of difficult prob
lems and a felicity of diction combine
ing “Out with the Jews,” “Germany
awaken”, “Perish Judas”, ‘‘Live Hit
ler”. The doors of all classrooms were
torn open, the lectures disturbed some
of the Jewish students had to jump
through the windows to save them
selves. The Chief of Police Zoergiebel,
appeared personally and tried to re
establish order but when a number of
Jewish students were thrown upon
the floor, trod upon and thrown out
of windows, the police entered the
University and ejected the rioting
students.
The Right press encourages the
students while the Democratic press
warns the students against following
the Viennese example and demands
that the government take energetic
steps.
to make his addresses noteworthy.
Where he is one of a number of
speakers, his is not just another ad
dress.
The writer still retains the impres
sion this eminent jurist made upon
the men seated at the press table at
the time of the first conference cal
led by Mr. Marshall and Dr. Weiz-
mann, for the purpose of taking the
initial steps leading to the forma
tion of the Jewish Agency. The word
Zionism was then like the proverbial
sore thumb. In keeping with true
Jewish custom, speeches, many speech
es, were made. Pretty nearly every
body who is anybody in Jewish life
spoke on that occasion. There was a
sameness about these addresses that
gave them monotony and robbed them
of interest. Mr. Marshall called upon
Judge Stern to say a few words. Be
fore he had spoken m iny minutes, the
press table which had been silently re
posing for sometime, suddenly awoke.
1 here was an exchange of glances.
Notes were being taken. A dark horse?
Some of the men ventured in interro
gation form. It was not his eloquence
on that occasion, though it cannot be
said that the Judge is entirely lack
ing in that direction, hut his power
of analysis, his method of approach,
his sincere desire to get somewhere,
his successful attempt to rid the issue
of the useless verbiage with which
it had been infested. The next day
the Jewish press of the country was
unanimous in characterizing his ad
dress as a contribution to the subject
under consideration.
At a subsequent conference—the
writer does not recall at this moment
whether it was at the final confer
ence or not Mr. Marshall again cal
led on Judge Stern. Again his re
marks stood out for their clarity, for
their pointedness, for their simplici
ty. The question under consideration
then was the extent to which the non-
Zior.ists would be expected to partici
pate in Palestine upbuilding. Judge
Stem summed it up succinctly in one
sentence. We in America , he said,
were taught that taxation without
representation is tyranny; similarly,
representation without taxation is ar
rogance.
At a meeting in Chicago several
years ago where the subject under
discussion was the delinquency in the
payment of United Jewish Campaign
pledges, Judge Stern in the course of
a brief address, threw out the follow
ing thought which was caught up by
the press throughout the country and
served as a stimulus to collections:
“The man, who being able to give, re
fuses to subscribe to the cause of the
Joint Distribution Committee, shows
thereby that he is without heart.
“The man who signs a pledge, and
being able to pay, and being asked to
pay, refuses, shows thereby that he
is without heart and also without
honor.”
His approach to Jewish public life
was via the charities. When he still
practiced the legal profession he was
recognized as one of the ablest law
yers of his time —this in the city
known for its legal lights. Now that
he is president Judge of Common
(Continued on Page 14)
German Press Proicns On Anti-Semitic Riots In Berlin
U nicersity