Newspaper Page Text
Page 7
Friday, October 31, 1952
THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE
BETWEEN US by Boris Smolar
ELECTION NOTES
If there is one Jewish organi
sation which will feel happier af
ter November 4, when the Presi
dential election is over, it is the
American Zionist Council. Rep
resenting all Zionist groups in
this country—and pledged to a
non-partisan stand during the
Presidential election campaign—
the American Zionist Council
was quite embarrassed by Rabbi
Abba Hillel Silvers attack upon
Truman in defense of Gen. Eis
enhower. It was also greatly em
barrassed by the endorsement
which the American Zionist La
bor Party gave Governor Steven
son. A meeting was, therefore,
called by the Council of its mem
bers in order to prevent further
embarrassing acts either by indi
vidual Zionist leaders or by Zi
onist groups. However, the meet
ing was cancelled at the last
minute.
ilncidentally, it can now be re
vealed that Rabbi Abba Hillel
Silver’s meeting with General
Dwight Eisenhower—which cul
minated in Dr. Silver’s blast
against President Truman—was
arranged several weeks earlier.
It was scheduled primarily for
the purpose of discussing the
stand of the Republican Presi
dential candidate toward Israel.
And it seems that some Israeli
leaders knew well in advance of
the forthcoming meeting.
However, it happened that the
Eisenhower-Silver . talk took
place on the day when President
Truman assailed Gen. Eisenhow
er’s silence on the McCarran Im
migration Act. Dr. Silver’s pur
pose in seeing the Republican
Presidential candidate was thus
overshadowed by his statement
against Truman, which he made
after leaving Eisenhower’s home.
Persons close to Dr. Silver
were not happy over this fact,
but it is now considered as cer
tain that Dr. Silver will play no
small role in Jewish Affairs if
Eisenhower is elected President
. . . This might bring about basic
changes in the entire Zionist
movement in the United States.
It might also affect the compo
sition of the Israel Cabinet, since
the bargaining position of the
General Zionists in Israel—who
are pro-Silverites—would then
become stronger.
NCRAC Problem
As a result of the withdrawal
of the American Jewish Commit
tee and the Anti-Defamation
league from the National Com
munity Relations Advisory Coun
cil, the NCRAC will be $17,500
short on its 1952 operational
budget. The NCRAC has been
operating, this year, on a budget
of $145,000, of which $70,000
was to be supplied by the Amer
ican Jewish Committee and the
Anti-Defamation League. The
two agencies agreed to pay dues
on this basis for the first nine
months of the year alone and
made no commitment for the last
three months of the year, ap
parently anticipating their with
drawal. This immediate problem
of the NCRAC was discussed by
the executive committee of th’e
Council of Jewish Federations
and Welfare Funds. The commit
tee expressed the opinion that the
member community welfare
funds of the CJFWF had made
their allocations to the two agen
cies for 1952 on the premise of
a full year’s dues from the A.1C
and ADL. It therefore voted to
take up the question of complet
ing their 1952 payments to the
National Community Relations
Advisory Council with the two
agencies. The NCRAC budget
for 1953 will be $160,000. It will
seek the support of all federa
tions and welfare funds rather
than restricting itself, as in the
past, to its own member agencies.
NEW ISSUE
A new and important issue is
looming on the horizon of Amer
ican Jewish life ... It will, no
doubt, become one of the major
subjects dominating the Jewish
communal scene.
The issue is: Should the com
munities throughout the country
have a direct say in the affairs
and policies of national and ov
erseals agencies for which they
allocate millions of dollars?.
Are they entitiled to make sure
that the millions of dollars they
contribute annually are well
spent by the national and over
seas agencies ?
Leaders of the Jewish federa
tions and welfare funds have
been requesting, for some time,
an opportunity to share in the
formulation of policies of the na
tional and overseas agencies.
Now they are bringing this re
quest into the open and inviting
public discussion on the subject.
Their major argument is that
there is no logic in the fact 'that
while the communities carefully
weigh every cent they allocate to
local agencies—with a view to
squeezing every ounce of value
from it—they are at the same
time allocating millions of dol
lars to national and overseas ag
encies and practically end their
relationship when the checks are
sent out.
The federation and welfare
funds leaders claim that they are
funds leaders claim that they are
trustees for every dollar given by
each contributor and not merely
cash registers for the agencies
which receive allocations. They
insist that the federations and
welfare funds have the respon-
The smallest book ever pub
lished contained seven pages—
including title and credit pages.
The text itself had only three
pages.
Its contents were so significant
at the time that the Rev. L. M.
Birkhead, national director of
Friends of Democracy, had them
published in a book.
The text contains a letter from
Dr. Birkhead to John Steinbeck,
the noted author, calling his at
tention to the spread of propa
ganda by ‘'extreme reactionary
religionists,” claiming that Stein
beck is Jewish and his “Grapes
of Wrath” is “Jewish propa
ganda.”
Steinbeck’s reply said that he
had received many letters indi
cating the extent to which the
propagandists had attempted to
m'ke him the scapegoat in their
campaign of bias. He outlirv* d his
German lineage, condemned
Nazism, and made this statement:
“It happens that I am not Jew
ish and have no Jewish blood but
it only happens that way. I find
that I do not -experience any
pride that it is so.”
Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor:
A few weeks ago, Stephen A.
Mitchell, Chairman of The Dem
ocratic National Committee, ask
ed me if I would be able to drop
my own activities and work with
him on varied matters in the
campaign to elect Governor Stev
enson as President of the United
States. I readily agreed to this
sibiFtv for assuring the best of
'Die - >ilar that go out of the
comr lities to the national and
over- agencies, just as they
assure it in their own cities.
They want to check overhead
costs and duplication as well as
much of the funds received by
national and overseas agencies is
spent for propaganda rntherthan
service. They also insist on
knowing how the funds are used
and what is being accomplished.
They want to see whether the
most efficient methods are devel
oped by the national and over
seas agencies, and whether the
funds which these agencies re
ceive from the federations and
welfare funds are concentrated
on top priority projects. On the
other hand, leaders of the na
tional and overseas agencies ar
gue that the responsibility of the
federations and welfare funds
ends with the allocation of the
funds which they raise.
The difference in the views be
tween the two groups of leaders
is, as one can see, quite substan
tial. And it is because, of these
basic differences that the issue
will become one of the hottest on
the American-Jewi8h scene.
VICA & VERSA
Plans for distribution of the
reparations which the Confer
ence on Jewish Clartns .Against
Germany will get from the Bonn
Government through Israel are
now being prepared in New York.
Each organization represented
on the Conference is submitting
its own proposals to the praesi-
dium of that body. The Confer
ence wiTl get $8,000,000 annually
and it must spend this sum. This
is one of the conditions stipulat
ed by the West German Govern
ment. Jewish organizations are
also making preparations in New
York for the forthcoming rep
arations talks with Austria.
In order to influence the Aus
trian Social Democrats to give
uptheir opposition to the pay
ment of reparations to Jews, the
Big Four Jewish organizations
—Jewish Agency, Joint Distri
bution Committe, American Jew
ish Committee and World Jew
ish Congress—decided to co-opt
the Jewish Labor Committee to
participate in the talks with Aus
tria.
There is quite a difference be
tween German and Austrian leg
islation on restitution. Austrian
legislation provides only for the
return of traceable property,
whereas legislation in Western
Germany calls for restitution or
compensation of identifiable
properties. One important differ
ence is that there is no compen
sation for property which has
taken from Jews but which has
since disappeared. There is also
legislation in Austria for the re
payment of the very large
amounts of monies extorted from
the Jews in the form of special
taxes or levies.
The Austrian law also requires
that claimant must still be an
Austrian citizen to acquire com
pensation. Thus, all Austrian
Jews who have Tied the country
and have since settled in the
United States, or Britain, or Is
rael, cannot collect. Moreover,
the procedural •regulations re-
piiire that only those residing in
Austria can apply for compen
sation.
because I am convinced that the
future of our country as a free,
prosperous nation is dependent
upon the election of this won
derful man, who has demonstart-
ed such great statesmanship, in
tellect and enlightened liberal
ism.
My work in this campaign has
been a source of deep satisfac
tion. All the individuals associat
ed with Governor Stevenson and
Chairman Mitchell believe
strongly in progressive social
legislation, in a strong civil
rights program, in honesty and
integrity in government. 1 have
seen eye to eye with them on ev
ery major issue facing our coun
try. My own observation on the
manner in which this campaign
is being conducted convinces me
that Adlai Stevenson will be one
of the truly great Presidents in
American history.
I have been impressed with the
contrast of Governor Stevenson’s
firm adherence to the principles
he holds dear, and which I share
with him, and 'the compromise
of principle by his opponent. In
West Virginia, Governor Steven
son’s opponent urged the elec
tion to the Senate of former Sen
ator Chapman Revercomb, co
author of the 1948 Displaced
Persons Act, which President
Truman rightfully declared “cru
elly discriminated against Cath
olics and Jews” and which indi
cated “a pattern of discrimina
tion and intolerance wholly in
consistent with the American
sense of justice.’ Governor De
wey, in 1948, was so repelled by
the bigotry of Revercomb that he
refused to enter the State of
West Virginia so as not to be as
sociated with Revercomb. Fortu
nately, Revercomb was defeated
in 1948, but is now running for
election with the blessing of the
Republican Presidential candi
date.
The endorsement by Governor
Stevenson’s opponent of men like
McCarthy, defender of the Nazi
murderers at Malmedy, Belgium,
men like Jenner of Indiana and
many other individuals in Fed
eral and State Government of
similar views causes me tremen
dous concern for the future of
our country should the Republi
cans be victorious in November.
On the other hand, Governor
Stevenson has made clear exactly
what he would do if he were fac
ed with a similar situation. In
response to the Eisenhower en
dorsement of Jenner, he declared
in one of his major speeches:
“Nothing could have persuaded
me to be here tonight if any of
the local Democratic office seek
ers had called General Marshall
a ‘front man’ for traitors.”
This will be a close election.
Its outcome will depend upon the
energy and devotion with which
men and women who believe in
enlightened progress, who believe
in no compromise with bigotry
and intolerance, will put their
shoulders to the wheel to work
for the election of Governor Stev
enson.
I hope that you will join not
only in voting for Governor
Stevenson but in urging your
friends and neighbors not to
neglect this important duty on
November 4th.
RABBI JEROME M. PINES
ATLANTA COUNCIL
(Continued from page 3)
practices of a number of nation
al Anglo-Jewish weekly and
monthly publications in solicit
ing ads by means of sending in
voices for ads never authorized
or for renewals never agreed to
in the first instance.
Adolph Rosenberg, editor and
publisher of The Southern Israe
lite, told the delegates of the
fight which The 'Israelite and the
National Association of English-
Jewish Newspapers are making
against the same unethical solici
tations the Atlanta Council con
demned.
Members of the Council receiv
ing the invoice type solicitations
are asked to communicate with
the Council office.
RUMORS
(Continued from page 6)
away from political extremism
such as “McCarthyism” because
history has taught the welfare of
Jews is based on the survival of
democratic freedoms as a whole.
He feels that it is only such a
free climate which can guaran
tee safety to any minority.
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