The Canadian Jewish News, Friday, August 13, 1976 - Page 5
Opinion
a
years ago.
James F. Kay holds two important national positions. Here, he wears the hat of president of thfe Canadian Society of the Weizmann Institute. He is also president of the Jewish National Fund of Canada. He will be 1976 Negev Dinner honoree in Toronto.
Plan to institute fo
has its negative points along with the good
By J.B. SALSBERG
As you, my patient readers, will recall, my uncle Eliezer and his group of old-timers envisaged the restoration of the Jewish monarchy as a brilliant solution to many of our problems.
The Thursday night steam-bath regulars are of one mind, that a revived royal court in Jerusalem, with its attendant nobility, would first, put an end to the juvenile game of make-believe senators, lords etc.; second, that.the active involvement of Israel's royal family in the social life of our far-flung Jewish communities would make life in the dispersion even more bearable than it is now. And third, it would free Israel of its present dependency on financial help from the Diaspora.
But believe me, my gentle readers; it took more than one round of tea-and-lemon servings before uncle Eliezer .and his loyal supporter, Meiidle, revealed how Israel would benefit financially from the revived monarchy in the old city of David — Jerusalem.
You shduld know, though, • that neither I nor uncle Eliezer ever laid claim to any special distinction in the nitty-gritty of social architecture (like wiring, plumbing etc.) but we do shine in the designing of a structure. So we will skip the details of the Eliezer, Mendle and Associates conception of an Israel without Diasporic fuiiding but I will try to preserit to you a miniature of their grand design. Here it is.
As every grown-up person knows, one doesn't receive royal titles for nothing. Oh yes, great generals, scientists, writers, artistic etc., people not usually renowned for their wealth, do receive royal honors. "But do you think -that a certain Canadian received his British title because he raised beavers in some brook in an Atlantic province? Or another one got his because he operated a tiny fleet of rental boats in Northern Ontario? No, my charining innocents, it doesn't work like that at all. So why should a Je>yiSh monarchy be different?
Uncle Eliezer must have noticed a look of amazement at the very hint of the idea that titles should be bought and sold in the royal chancellory of Jerusalem. He hastened to assure nie that I have no reason to suspect such practices resulting from his plan. '
What uncle Eliezer has in mind Is that before one would get a title, one wd^ld be expected to have cstabUshed, (w^th
income-tax receipts to prove it) an endowment for Israeli schools, universities, specific branches of art, science and culture, yeshivot, orphanages, homes for the aged, hospitals, clinics, co-operatives, land reclamations, town building, park and recreation centres, deserted mothers and children, youth groups that want to drop-it-all and retreat to desert caves and so on. "Wouldn't that, sort of take care of things in Israel." he asked with pride?
"Of course." uncle added, ''there will have to be grades." The market for titles", Mendle believes, will be very brisk and competitive, and an endowment that will make one, say, Ihe Earl of Eglinton or the Baron of BathurSt (in Toronto), or the Viscount of Westmount (in Montreal), or Lord Shmuel of Selkirk (in Winnipeg), or the Duke of Edmonton will, of course, have to be much more substantial than that which will bring a common variety titie like, say. Sir Saul.
I smiled but without the enthusiasm that my uncle evidently expected from me. So he added."the; possibilities are unlimited." and his eyes pleaded for my approval. Alas,- I couldn't join in their enthusiasm.
To explain my hesitations I spoke to them more solicitously than 1 ever did before and said that while their grand plan may solve many of our present' problems I am afraid that it may create a frighteningly large number of new ones.
The far-out, extremist Orthodox sectors in Israel. New York and elsewhere, I explained, who refuse to recognize Israel now would engage in a more frenzied attack on the monarchy and would brand it as defiance of God's will and design. The left in Israel and elsewhere would demonstrate against a monarchy. Israeli political parties would,split and splinter on this issue.
The enormous fund-raising niachine everywhere would campaign to prevent the liquidation of the traditional funding drives, since fund-raising has proven to be a major force in building the Jewish character.
Uncle Eliezer and Mendle were shocked by my hesitation to endorse their'super-plan. "Are you against us," asked my surprised uncle? "No, no," I hastened to assure them. "I'm ready to go to any length to attain more maturity in our sociail merry-go-round.'* I added, "but we must give due consideration to the negative aspects of your proposals too."
In order to raise the spirits all around I reminded them of what my mother always tells me. She says thiat Jews have learned not to pray for a new king because he may prove to be worse than the old ones. ^
At this uncle Eliezer smiled/ Men-die's lips seemed to endorse juncle's ^smile and we all agreed to meet again and'take a second look at the plan. ^ In other words, my dear friends, it's Tiot yet "yes" about a revived Jewish monarchy, but. it's definitely not yet "no". Let's say that it is receiving active consideration.
By LEWIS LEVENDEL CJN Associate Editor
TORONTO— -
Of all the new, "younger" men in leadership positions in the Canadian Jewish community, probably no man has had a greater impact in the last five years than James F. (Jimmy) Kay. the clothing industry giant who heads two national organizations — the Jewish National Fund of Canada and the Canadian Society for the Weizmann Institute: .'
Looking 10 years younger than his 54 years, the ruggedly handsome native of Winnipeg five years ago was nowhere to be found on a World Jewish Congress list of Toronto's 20 most powerful Jewish community leaders. Yet; today, the hard-driving, dynamic Kay is one of the most highly-regarded leaders, and will.be paid tribute by the community at its most prestigious affair of the year — the Negev Dinner at the Roval York On Nov. 30.
Kay is chairman of*~Dylex Ltd., the largest clothing specialty retailer in Canada with 300 stores and sales over $200 -million ahniially. The empire includes Tip Top Tailors; Fairweather. Big Steel. Thrif-ty's, Town and Country. Suzy Shear, Family: Fair, Braemar, Harry Rosen and Ruby's Shoes.
He is being honored not only for his community accomplishments, but because he's the JNF president in this, its 75th anniversary year. Kay is receiving the tribute as a representative of the new generation of community leadership, said a JNF source.
In discussing the tribute, Kay elaborated on his involvement in comrhunity work. "We give service for the sake of giving service. It's a personal fulfilment... We're lending ourselves as a catalyst. My thrust has been to assist in the development of the broadening of our organizations."
He stiir seems overwhelmed at the news of his honor. "'If some;body had told me five to 10 years ago I'd be a Negev Dinner
rom
honoree and still be" active in the community, 1 wouldn't have helieved it." he told The Canadian Jewish News during an hour-long interview m his spacious, wood-panelled office full of photographs, paintings and plants. "I'm the person around which we really can do honor to an organization.'•'
Elaborating on the honor, the JNF sources said Kay came to Toronto 12 years ago. "practically as a stranger and he has made a large impact on the community. He brought new strength and a new group of i people into the community. He represents a newer generation of leadership — very articulate, well educated and market conscious."
A graduate of the University of Manitoba with honors in econorhics, he joined the Canadian army and spent four years overseas with the Third Division in general headquarters until he returned at the. end of the war in 1,946.
After a few years in the industrial field.
By SHELDON KIRSHNER CJN Staff Reporter
TORONTO —
Hymie Schwartz, a nice Jewish boy from Montreal, is living proof that anti-Semitism in the auto industry is either on the decline or has disappeared altogether.
Twenty or 30 years ago. the executive offices and boardrooms of the great Detroit auto manufacturers were all but bereft of Jews, and tycoon Henry Ford was known throughout the land as a rabid anti-Semite whose Dearborn Independent reprinted the notorious forgery, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
Times have changed and. as Detroit editor Philip Slomovitz noted recently, "the heirs of the Ford Motor Company legacy are so devoid of the prejudices that were fostered by the founder of the great firm that soine are embarrassed when the hatred for Jews by the elder Henry Ford is linked with the fair-minded namesake, his grandson Henry Ford 11."
Hymie Schwartz, who was appointed assistant treasurer of Ford of Canada in Jiine,. tells a reveajing stor\- to illustrate the extent to which talented Jews haveibecome part of the corporate establishment in the Motor City.
Twelve years ago. the pricing department of Ford almost closed down because its key members were praying in syna-igogues. It was Yom Kippur. Schwartz, who has been with Ford for 14 years now, suggests that such a scenario would have been absolutely inconceivable before World War II. when corporate anti-Semitism was practically an accepted mode of behavior in big business.
A graduate of McGill and the University of Chicago, Schwartz. 37, says he never had any misgivings about joining a company whose past was so suffused with anti-Semitism. "I looked upon it as a challenge."he said. "I felt I could do as well as anyone else. Nothing matters except my abilities, and as long as you take that attitude you can get ahead."
It is no coincidence that Schwartz found his way to Ford. His mother. Bessie, wanted him to be a pharmacist; And his father. Lithuanian-bom Sam; a shopkeeper, hoped he woiild be a lawyer.
But Schwartz disappointed both of them because the worid of business fascinated, him. After one working year at Ford, he abandoned the idea of becoming a university professor of finance. "I had intelligent, exciting bosses," he explained, citing the reasons for jettisoning an academic career. And the lure of the auto business was ir-resistable. "It's more exciting than selling cereal or soup. You have to, anticipate futurie trends, you mustn't make the mistakes of the past and you have to adjust yourself to the consumer."
As assistant treasurer. Schwartz is in charge of 125 people in four departments. He oversees treasury operations (cash investments, fringe benefits), general accounting, corporate studies (car and truck sales projections, directors' reviews) and accounts payable.
In evaluating his job, he says he derives much satisfaction from the knowledge that he can complete an assignment well within the sharp deadlines. Once, however, he was a little late in finishing. He handed his superior the report as he was boarding an airplane.
In analyzing the frustrations, he says: "In some respects, it's easier to do the ' work rather than manage it. You're counting on the talents of your subordinates, and frustration sets in when they can't achieve what you thought they could." He also admits that the company's attention to the minutest details of a report can on occasion be somewhat bothersome. But he tempers that criticism quickly. "We're all striving
for an excellent paper."
Schwartz joined the company in 1962 as an analyst in the parts and accessories division, and by 1968 he had worked his way up to section supervisor, operations analysis, in the Windsor transmission and Chassis plant. Then he was transferred to the American office, where he held a variety of positions with the finance staff.
Five years ago, he returned to Canada as manager of marketing analysis in the Controller's Office. Before being named to his present post he was jiianager of the treasury and accounting department.
Although he is based in Oakville. Schwartz lives with his wife Ellie and three children (Mark. Cara and Debra) in the BayvieW area of Toronto. He has two sisters -r- one married to a kibbutznik in Israel, another to a doctor in Pennsylvania — as well as a younger brother, Wolfe, who lives in Montreal.
Schwartz is not involved in Jewish_ organizational activities; though he is a member of the Kidney Foundation of Canada. During his leisure hours, he likes to play squash; fiddle in his garden and read mysteries and non-fiction.
Ford Company executive Hymie Schwartz
he expanded in 1948 with the inception of a plastics business in polyethylene. This became the largest of its kind in Canada. In 1958 he sold his interests out to Canadian Industries Ltd. and became a senior executive with CIL.
Besides his JNjF and Weizmann Institute involvement, he. serves on the boards of Mount Sinai Hospital, Baycrest Centre, the Retail Council of Canada, the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews and the National Retail Merchants Association.
This summer, Kay is busy brgahizing a trip to Israel in cotinection with the November opening of the Canadian Centre for Nuclear Physics at the Weizmann institute. About 200 to 300 Canadians are expecte'd to attend.
Expanding on his involvement in nonbusiness activities, the gravelly-voiced executive says he thrives on working with people. He praised the support he received from his wife, Elaine, their four chilr dren and the "wonderful" association with the Posluns family.
The JNF has been part of his life since he was a child in Winnipeg. His parents still reside there. He vividly recalls the "blue box — the pushka" — and JNF drives on Yom Kippur for funds for the purchase of land in Israel.
He's a battler for the JNF, even to the ^ point of meeting Premier Yitzhak Rabin, who reaffirmed the state's support of the agency. "We feel the JNF should be better recognized in Israel." he told The CJN. .''It needs\i higher profile.
' 'The premier in declaring his government's strong support told me if the JNF didn't exist, we would have had to create ■ it."
There's still a need for land, Kay continued; JNF is involved in ecological development, recreation (Canada Park is a major project), basic preparation of land and reforestation.
When questioned on the multiplicity of fund-raising drives for Israel and Israeli institutions, the community leader declared the primacy of the United Jewish Appeal drive.
"But I think the JNF is about as basic and intrinsic as the UJA. It runs with it. It doesn't take away from the UJA. United Israel Appeal funds go towards settlement and the JNF helps prepares the land."
A co-ordinating body to regulate campaigns is under "continuing discussion," he added. Kay had laudatory words for community leadership — "they lend themselves to combined involvement — and others can participate and reach the level thev want."
Letters to the Editor
Mexico, Air Canada and Maclean-Hunter all in one week 1)it too much' for readeF
Dear Editor:
When 1 opened my Canadian Jewish News and looked at the front page, I nearly flipped: Miexico, Air Canada and Maclean-Hunter all in one go; a bit too much.
Through our professional organization^ Men's Wear of Canada, we aire connected with Maclean-Hunter, and 1 have already been in contact with Harvey Gold, general manager of this division. He did not know anything about your revelations and was horrified about the implications on the publishing company he is part of. " As tip Mexico, after recent events; I am not surprised at all. Although I lived there before coming to Canada; I never encouur tered any anti-Semitism. In regards to Air Canada, all of us in the business do a certain amount of flying, and from now on we will not necessarily choose Air Canada for our trips.
About Maclean-Hunter, they have several trade publications in which Jews are very much interested, such as Men's Wiear, Ladies' Wear, Furniture; etc. and the subscriptions and advertising could be' very adversely affected by their rgnoring Israel in another publication of theirs.
George J. Beer, Toronto.
It has been brought to our attention that material and pictures for the three part series by J.J. Jeffries on Jewish Olympians was taken firom th^ Enclopedia of Jews in Sports without permission. Thie''bo^.~by Roy and Jesse Silver and/Bernard Postal was published in 1965 by Block Publishing of New York. The Canadian JleMvish News apologizes for this overs||ght.
Dear Editor:
The comments by Rabbi Moses Tendler on family purity (CJN. July 9, '76) appear inherently self-cOntradictory, unhistorical and. in the view of your correspondent, patently unfair to the great traditions to which the Jews are heirs.
By castigating, oh the one hand, those \yho search for the "good points" in the ■ Torah by a process of rationalization, and by claiming, on the other hand, that th& Torah has always met the needs of men and Women, and that the dangers of cervical cancer are eliminated by the Mikvah and the avoidance of promiscuity, Rabbi Tendler has recourse to the very process which he condemns.
To argue that "for the first time in histoi3L.we must choose whether or not to li\«^like Jews" is tot«illy false to the facts of history. The problems facing Jews in the Western world have been with us certainly since the Jewish Eiiropean enlightenment of the 18th century ,^nd in a similar fashion prevalent in Graisco-Roman Judaea and Alexandra. Amoraic Babylon and Golden Age Spain. "\
Finally, to many thinking Jews, the whole basis of Judaism (both practical and theoretical) lies in its positive and unique qualities: the purity of the monotheistic concept, the indissoluble link of the reli; gion with ethical ideals, the perfect fusion of flesh and spirit and the vital intellectual thrust which has characterized it through the ages. It is precisely these "good points" that provide the rationale for.our acceptance of this beautiful religion and constitute a testimony of its divine origin.
Moreover, to eschew the approach of reason represents a flagrant denial of that most preicious heritage of the "people of the book' - — the intellectual tradition. Let us never forget that the Greeks referred to the Jews as a "nation of philosophers." and that the greatest tribute which has been bestowed upon our people has been that the nations of the world shall say: "surely -this gre^t nation is a wise and understanding people" (Deut; 4.6).
' Dr. L.J. Sanders, Department of Classics, Concordia University, Montreal.
Munich tribute
Dear Editor:
I would like to express my sincere regrets at not being contacted by those who were putting together the "Victims of Munich" memorial in your July 16 issue.
I, of course, would have been honored to join with my leader. Premier William Davis, as well as the leaders of the other two parties" in participating in that very tasteful, appropriate tribute.
■ Not only are the "victims of Munich" not forgotten, but to this viewer at least, their memot7 haunts and,.casts a shadow on this and perhaps all the Olympiads to follow.
Lany Grossman, MPP, St. Andrew — St. Patrick.
Masada funding
Dear Editor:
What has happened to the community organizations who sponsor the Jewish Student Federation and the Hillel Foundation?-Hovv could they have allowed the funding of Masada magazine to be discontinucTd?
During the past year we have t^en trying to find out why; why a Jev^sh in-
dent magazine dedicated to combating anti-Zionist propaganda on the campus was summarily deprived of its operating budget;Why our community organizations — the Welfare Fund/Toronto Jewish Congress and B'nai B'rith — seem to be unaware of the aibsolute necessity for encouraging a strong Zionist voice on campus. Where is the commitment to Jewish youth that should be the responsibility of these local bodies who sponsor the'JSF and Hillel, and who decide where community funds should be allocated? We have yet to hear from them one specific valid reason for cutting off Masada! ■ A resolution unanimously adopted by the Toronto Zionist Council on April 28, 1976, recognized "the vital necessity to state forcefully the Zionist point of view; especially to the student body of Canadian universities, in order to counteract the well-firiahced Arab propaganda against Israel, Zionism and the Jewish people," and requested "ample funds to be provided for the widest distribution of Masada to Jewish and rion-Jewish students on all unive:rsity campuses in Canada."
Copies of that resolution were submitted to the Toronto Jewish Congress, B'nai B'rith, the Canada-Israel Committee and the Canadian Zionist Federation. To date, only the CZF has responded positively, in the form of a substantial contribution. However, that is hot enough.: and Masada's financial position is still insecure.
Although the CZF, as well as a number of private individuals, are to be commended for having demonstrated their concern by contributing toward the publication of Masada, the responsibility must still rest with the leaders of the JSF and Hillel, and their sponsoring agents.
The era in which we live dictates our priorities.. At this particular time, when universivies are inundated with anti-Jewish propaganda, a campus publication that states the Jewish position clearly and accurately should receive first consideration. We are. therefore, deeply shocked by the insensitivity of the Jewish community leadership in their failure to endorse the efforts of the editors and staff (all volunteers) of Masada.
We simply cannot afford the luxury of such disinterest during these difficult days. We urge every contributing member of the Jewish, community to insist that Masada be given top priority in the allocation of communal funds in order to ensure that Masada shall indeed livel
. Helen Smolack and Jndy Feld, Toronto.