Newspaper Page Text
THE
SOUTHERN ISRAELITE
A MAGAZINE PERPETUATING JEWISH IDEALS
JULY, 1932
Hondo's Governor?
A lioltz, who won tho Democratic nomination for Governor of
Kl"n<l;i <iii(l who is generally expected to win the office in November,
is <>f •Jewish parentage, according to Jewish sources. This news was
jiroinptIv denied by Mr. Scholtz’s friends, who claim that the guberna-
t,»ri;i 1 nominee's liberal attitude toward Jews is responsible for the
iiior. However, somebody discovered that Mr. Scholtz is a relative
•:f the late Philip Wattenberg, the Zionist leade
in ilif Hein
imt lllfilll
. - _r who donated .$100,()()()
•<‘w University, and that consequently Mr. Scholz is not
fw but a “ Galizianer. ’ ’ This rather comical intermezzo does
anything one way or another. It will not improve the posi-
NUMBER XIX.
''onirt iing slionhl have been said on the Republican platform about
I n amentable modus operandi of prevailing immigration regulations.
Something should have been said about the humanizing of said regula
tions. It is common knowledge that the officials in charge of immigra
tion matters show a decided lack of tact in differentiating between
desirable and undesirable types of immigration. It is an open secret
that family tragedies, resultinj
t mu o
'Ilip i:
liulf
Hrictly
Imiunl.
•Imltz
world Jewry if the Florida politician slated for the Governor-
ii Jew or a Gentile. At the same time, we do consider it to he
■ly had taste on tin 1 part of these “Jewish sources” to insist on
<• Jewishness of Mr. Scholtz and to disregard the denials emanating
■"in the Scholtz headquarters. Mr. Scholtz is said to be a very liberal
mill tolerant man. lie has many Jewish contacts and friendships. He
' a commendable public servant from the Jewish point of view re-
-<ir<Ilcsn of tin* fact whether he is Jewish or not. Tlmre is no reason
r embarrassing him. There is no benefit in labeling Mr. Scholtz a
•Jew amiinst his own wishes. We would not be surprised if the Jewish
'lie in the Scholtz campaign is the result of some skillful campaign
work bv the manager of his rival. Without any specific interest in the
local significance of the gubernatorial race in Florida, we feel
mwever, to say to whoever is responsible for this well-known
i" or isn’t he” game. Hands off. The Jewishness of Mr. Scholtz
not enter in this political race. The only question is whether Dave
is a desirable and able public servant.
I hr Strength of Jewish Centers
At the Fourteenth Annual Convention of the National Association
t -Jewish Centres recently, it was pointed out that throughout tin*
which has hit America, and has probably hit American Jewry
i;il, l' r than any other section of the population, not one Jewish centre
in America lias been permitted to close. Good news as this is in it
'll. it is even better news as an index of the deep roots which Jewish
s have struck in the life of American Jewry. \\ hen tin* craze
•Jewish centres began to spread, there were many who looked upon
institutions as a variety of club. Those who saw more clearly
r '!"<l them as the foci of Jewish communal life, playing part of
"!'■ which the synagogue had once played, being at once a clear-
"ise for Jewish interests, a club, an educational institution and
' Vi irk against assimilation. How these centres will fare if the
"ontinues it is difficult to say, but their tenacity indicates that
"■ct a deep need in American Jewish life. W hatever faults they
;| m| all institutions have faults—they have vitality and pur-
nml these are in proportion to the Jewish public problems w ic
N °lve. Were this not the case, they would have been blown away
" first storm in our economic life. The more difficult the turns,
mre we are threatened, the more we cling together, the more we
dn* comfort of each other’s encouragement and fellowship. e
J» centre shares with the religious institutions the task of being
'trument through which this need expresses itself.
..g from the, alas too often, stupid cu
lm cement of the letter ot the law could easily be avoided if more in
telligence and discretion were used in the deciding of individual cases,
and this in strict accordance with the spirit of the law. Hut the Re
publican plank on immigration is silent about these matters. It merely
glorifies its policy ot the closed gate and indirectly casts aspersion on
tin* moral character of our immigrant clement. We therefore feel it
our duty to point out this strange lack of understanding on the part
ot the Republican platform makers. They could have reassured the
labor element in regard to the continuance of the quota and yet
at the same time have pledged themselves to a more human, tactful
and intelligent enforcement of the law.
Jeivish Movies
There has been an epidemic of Jewish movies of late. Stories by
Fannie Hurst, David Freedman and other less-known authors have
been put on the screen with the object of presenting realistic pictures
of Jewish life. That the producers were moved in their Jewish interest
by the hope that Jewish subjects can be made to pay at the box office
is of secondary importance, although it should be stated that the re
cent Jewish talkies were failures not because they were Jewish but
because they were badly concocted films. We are of the firm conviction
that talkies dealing with the universal aspects of Jewish life can be
made to pay, both at the box office and from the artistic point of
view. In order to achieve this unicum it would 1m* necessary to mobilize
writers who know Jewish life sufficiently well to make it palatable to
Jewish audiences, and non-Jewish audiences alike. Men of the type
of Gustave Schacht, a veteran of the Yiddish stage and a connoisseur
1 "'in n 11 \ orner secuon or me population, mn '- v **** ’ .... ,
■rica has been permitted to close, news as this is in it- of real hast Hide, are required for such a task. In other words,
1 i • • T • 1 . a. 1. /inn / nttlni tlln limcf imtlfltllff fllWl I I V J» ! 11 It I I !• fill DMPU III
ti
Jh
Republican Platform . , r , •
°f the planks adopted at the Republican Natrona oll '£ 1
•ago deals with the immigration restriction polic\ now « n 0, ^ ,<
J nited .States Government. The Republican P ar L v a e *^ u
•°r the quota and pledges itself to continue tin* strut in on <
! the immigration laws. In view ot the present economic s amis
ill find fault with these sentiments. It seems to us, however, that
authors who can depict the most gripping and dramatic phases of
Jewish pioneer life in America because they were part and parcel of
it will be able to create Jewish pictures that will show the great
American public the most interesting pages of our history in this
country, be it in the industrial, artistic or spiritual spheres.
Christians Only
There are still a number of hotels throughout the country that carry
on a policy of “Christians Only.” These hotels do not advertise this
Hogan openly but follow it clandestinely. Far from us to argue with
these hotel managers. We are quite satisfied that a time will come—-in
the not too distant future—when they will he pleading for Jewish
customers and advertise their “exclusive” hotels in Jewish publica
tions. We do find fault, however, with our Jews for their meek at
titude. That does not mean that Jewish would-be-guests should try
to force an entrance in the “Christians Only places. \\ hat they should
do, however, is to expose them ruthlessly. Instead of being ashamed
because rejected, they should forthwith make public the names of these
hotels so that an effective boycott by Jews can be put into effect.
These discriminatory gentlemen who insist on a Jewless policy are in
reality the beneficiaries of their shameless tactics. Jews help them—
unwittingly of course—to keep business going. Let every Jew who
knows of “Christians Only” hotels send in the names of these places
to the Southern Israelite or to the Anti-Defamation League, which
in turn will make it its duty to give wide publicity to these exclu
sive hotels. i.r *
Israelite invites correspondence and literary contri , J 301
S- Miller, Editor; M. Stephen Schiffer, Publisher. Executive Oftce. JU1