Friday, August 9,1946.
THE JEWISH WESTERN BULLETIN
ELSIE ELFENBEIN THE NEW DIRECTOR OF JEWISH WOMEN
By MARTIN SILVER
A 26-year-old Jersey City house-v/ife, whose only interests were sewing and music, joined the local Section of the National Coimcil of Jewish Women in 1925. Through Council's program, her interests broadened imtil—
Today, u-pon her appointment as Executive Director of the National Council of Jewish Women, Mrs. Elsie Elfenbein can look back upon a career of broad social usefulness, which she attributes to the guidance she received in the local Cotmcil Section.
The wide experience she brings to the professional direction of the organization's 300 Senior and Junior Sections was gained through a score of other organizations, in addition to Coimcil, devoted to the promotion of civic reform, social legislation, and world peace.
Her ai)pointment, which was announced by Mrs. Joseph M. Welt, of Detroit, President, at the organization's National Offices, 1819 Broadway, New York City, climaxes two decades of service as a volunteer in Council.
"When I look back to the time when I joined Council in 1925," Mrs. Elfenbein said in accepting the appointment, "I am truly grateful for the new vistas of social responsibility which Coxmcil opened up to me."
During her first year in the Jersey City Section, she became Section Secretary, She has since served as Section President, National Board Members, National Executive Committee Member, National Chairman of the Social Legislation and Publicity Committee, and National Vice President of Evening Groups. She is currently National Vice-Chairman of the Public Relations Committee.
Through her activities in Council she deveolped wide interests in other organizations. She aideoL. the Jersey City Jewish Oormnimily Center in its building fund drive, and Sex ^ed as chairman of its concert and lecture series. She served on the Industrial Committee of the local Young Women's Chritspjan Association. She became District Legislative Chairman of the Birth Control League of America; and Chairman of Civics and Public Welfare of the Ninth District, New Jersey State Federation of Women's Clubs. She was appointed Hudson County Women's Division Chairman of the National Recovery Administration.
Coimcil's program for International Relations and Peace led her to join the Women's Inteniational League for Peace and Freedom, of whidi she is now National Vice-President. Currently, she is serving on the Steering Committee of the National Peace Conference, of which Coimcil is a member organization.
A promotional assignment for the Southern Electoral Reform League in 1942 i^-tarted her on her professional career; and later that year she J>ecame Associate National Secretary of the Workers Defense League. The foUowing year, she joined the Post War World Coim.-cil as Executive Director, which position she is resigning to accept her new duties with Council.
"Council's board program," Mrs, Elfenbein holds, "offers the Jewish woman of' America her best op-pcirtunity for understanding and action on. current social issues, and thorugh it she makes a vital contribution to the solution of those problems which must be solved if democracy is truly to exist in the world. This conviction has governed my acceptance of the aijpoin|:-ment."
The keynote of her social philosophy is her abhorrence of exploitation, whether it concerns an individual, a group, or a nation. Council's program for better interracial relations will receive lljer full energies, for she believes that the mission of the Jew in society is to fight for the rights of all minority peoples.
Mrs. Elfenbein as the daughter of Mary and Harry Reitman, of New York City. At the ago of five, she moved to Jersey City, where she graduated from Dickinson High School in 1917. She later attended the Institute of Musical Art (now Julliard School of Mi^c) end taught music during her free time. She still plays the piano, mostly as an accompanist, at local . ^affairs. Her interest in sewing continues; despite all her activities; and she makes most of her own clothes.
She is the wife of Hiram Elfenbein, Jersey City civil liberties and labor lawyer, who has led a long fight for Negro rights in New Jersey and was one of the three attorneys who drafted the original Fair Employment Practices Commission Bill. A son, Laurence, 19, .is now serving in the Medical Corps with the U.S. Delegation, Allied Control Commission, in Bulgaria.
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Silver Calls Plan Plain Treachery
NEW YORK (WNS)—Dr. Abba Hillel Silver, Chairman of the executive Committee of the American Zionist Emergency Council and President of the Zionist Organization of America, attacked the "Federalization Plan," recommended to the American and British Governments by the^ Anglo-American Cabinet Committee on Palestine, as a "conscienceless act of treachery, dooming the helpless Jewish survivors in Europe to fiu:-thev death and humiliation and driving the Jews of Palestine to further desperation,"
Speaking for the entire Zionist movement in the Unitfed States— the Zionist Orgariization of America, Hadassah, Mi2xachi and Poale Zion—Dr. Silver denotmced as ,'re-volting" and "immoral" the Cabinet Committee's recommendation that the admission of 100,000 homeless European Jews to Palestine, first urged almost a year ago by Pj.-esident Truman and imanimous-ly recommended as an immediate step by the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry, be niade, "conditional" on the adoption of the "federalization" proposal.
"In plain English, this means that 100,000 helpless refugees are to be used as hostages by Britain and the United States in order to extort from the Jewish people acceptance of a political formulation which clearly repudates every international commitment made to the Jewish people with respect to Palestine—a formulation which the governments concerned surely know the Jews cannot accept," Dr. Silver said.
Argentine Govt. Oppose Race Discrimination
BUENOS AIRES (WNS) — No racial or religious differences exist for the Argentine Government or the Argentine people, declared Foreign Minister Bramuglia in a statement to Rabbi Samuel Woihl of Cincinnati who has been vasit-X ing here, "The basis of the Government is the Constitution of the country. Since this dharter grants equal rights to all inhabinants, xe-gardess of their race or religion, there can be no question of racial or religious disciamination on the part of our Government," he said.
Restoration of Property in Austria Not Complete
NEW YORK (WNS) — "The ment will do everything to uproot aiiti-Semitism," declared President Zoltan Tildy of Hungary in a recent m-esage to the Federation of Hungarian Jews in the United states. The President also stated that his government will propose a law to provide compensation to Jews "for all the humiliations and persecutions they suffered from the Nazi barbarians."
Polish Jews Flock to Austria
BRUN (WNS) — During the fust two weeks of July a total of 6,074 Jews chiefly from Poland,
entered Austria and a further influx of Polish Jews to that country is expected, said Rabbi Philip S, Bernstein, advisor on Jewish a-ffairs to Gen McNamey, after his return from an inspection trip to
. Austria.
Rabbi Bernstein praised the attitude and "sympathetic imderstand-ing" sihown by Gen Marfc Clark, American commandeu: in Austria, and other military officials towards the Jewish problem in that coun-that A'.tstr/mi Jews are not satisfied with the maxmer in whidi their government is handling the program for restoring to the Jews property taken by the Nazas. Austrian Jews, he said, complain that the govamment has done nothing to make good the damages suffered by the Jewish population, that friendly words are riot followed by deeds.
Delegate Sent by A.J.C. to Paris Conf.
NEW YORK (WNS)—The American Jewish Committee announced that four 'of its representatives would submit the committee's proposals for human rights and provisions for their enforcement to the twenty-one-nation peace con- • ference opening in Paris this week.
The committee's representatives consist of its president, Joseph M. Proskauer, former State Supreme Court Justice; Jacob Blaustein, executive committee chairman; Philip Forman, United States District Dr.' Simon Segal, associate director Court Judge, Trenton, N.J., and one of the foreign affairs department of the organization.
The committee's recommendation call for including in the treaties to be signed with Bulvaria, Italy and Rumania basic civil-liberty and anti-discrimination guarantees. They urge the twenty-one nations at the conference to recognize that "it is indispensable from the point of view of enduring peace and international order to eliminate racial, religious and national discrimination."
16 Welfare Workers With U.N.R.R.A. In Italy
ROME (WNS) — A group of 16 Jewish welfare workers, the second of sucihi groups to work here under the direction of UNRRA, has arived from Palestine. Two welfare workers will remain in Millan to aid Jewish refugees passing througji the city, while .the remainder will be assigned to the camps for dislaced Jews.
The British administrator of the camp for displaced Jews at Turin-Gruliashka Captain Lancastor, has been dismissed by the UNRRA ad-miifistration in Italy, following an investigations of complaints against him by displaced Jews, Jewish leaders ftiad demanded that Capt, Lancast-ar be tried, charging him with anti-Jewish actions.
British Commander Shows His Anti-Semitic Hatred
JERUSALEM (WNS)—"Punishing the Jews in. a way the race dislikes, "especially" by striking at their pockets," was urged last week by Lieutenant General Sir Evelyn Barker, British commander in Palestine.
Bulgarian Jewry Only Community Left Intact
NEW YORK (WNS) — Arthur Fishzolhn, Joint Distribution Committee dir:;ctor in Bulgaria and the first American relief worker permitted to carry out assistance activities there since the war, reported today that the Jewish com-mimity of Bulgaria is the only oner in Nazi-occupied Eiurope to ttiavt sm-vived intact and that the most important nseed for Bulgaria's 47,-000 Jews is tools and raw materials to repair their shattered economy.
In an interview at New York offices of the J D, C, Mr. Fishzohn declared that although povaorty and distress among Jews in Bul-giarda is widespread, the present government has granted the Jews greater civil and political Iber-ties than they enjoyed before the war. It has also made every effort h-. pointed out, to restore homes, funds and realty stolen from Jews diu-ing the Nazi's two year domination of the country, although the personal property of the Jews is irretrieveably scattered.
German Sentenced To One Year
MUNICH (WNS) — For calling an officer of the military government "a dirty Jew", an American militaa-y court has sentenced Kaii Crcpfort, a mxmicipal coim.cillor at Rosenheim, Bavaria, to one year's imprisonment and the payment of a $500 fine. Gopfort was found guilty, of "atempting to infringe tba authority of the military government and making mean and libellous' insinuations as to the racial ancestry of an officer of the military government,"
In a circular barring British sol-diers from fraternizing with Palestine Jews, Barker diarged that "without the support, actual or pas-ive, of the general Jewish public, the terrorist gangs who actually carry out these criminal acts would soon be unearthed, and in this measure the Jews in the cotm-try are accomplices and bear a sliare of the guilt." He said he was "determined that they shall suffer punishment and be made a-ware of the contempt and loathing with which we regard their conduct" and that he was convinced that if the reasons for his "measures" are "fully explained" to the British soldiers "they will understand their propriety and will be punishing the Jews in a way the race dislikes-by striking out at their pockets."
Charging that the bombing of the King David Hotel was the culmination of " a long series of outrages" for whose "responsibility" the Jewish community "cannot be absolved," Barker's orders decreed that "no British soldier is to have any social intercourse with any Jew and any intercourse in way of duly should be as brief as possible and kept to the business, at hand.
United Jewish Ptople basket picnic at Belcarra park on' Sunday, August 18th.—See the ad .in this week's issue of The BuUetin.
Rosh Hashanah - Sept 26-27
Yom Kippiur - October .5
Note: Please remember that each of the above-onentioned holidays begins the night before^ at simdown.
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