JEWISH WESTEENr.BULLETIN
. Friday, December 22, 1939
The Jewish Western. Bulletm
Official Organ of the Vancouver Jewish Admimstrative Council
S. "W. Ghess_■■■■ • ■__Chairman Administrative Coimcil
Samuel Gillies_____Editor
Harry Musikansky„
-Business Manager and Publisher
Strictly C&nftdential - -
2675 Oak St., BAy. 4210. Business Honrsi 9 a.ni. to 5 pjn., except Satorday and Je^h Holy Day& Entered as Second CIsss Mail Matter at Ottawa
VANOGTJVEE, B.C., FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1339
By PmXE3AS J. BIBON
IJSTE:N KBBE!
Whetoi Hitler loses the war he won't have to run off to Holland. It seems that his retreat at Berch-tesgaden is the ultimate in fortresses, with plenty of food stores, so that he could hold out there against all comers for years: . .. We can't help wondering whether Adolf realized when he had that peace talk with Sven Hedin last week, that the famous Swedish explorer, whom -the Fuehrer is said to admire greatly, has a strong non-Aryan strain in his blood and is the author of a book on Jerusalem . . . With all the plans now under discussion for the finding of territories for the large-scale settlement of Jewish refugees the article which Arthur Meyerowitz has in the current Jewish Forum is most timely indeed. . . Giving a review of the history of Jewish territorialism, the article just fits in with the news of the day, what with President Roosevelt's conference considering the settlement of German Jews "In the Philippines and the Dominican Republic, and Mussilini preparihg once more to breach the plan for a large Jewish settlement in the cbiui-try once ruled by the Queen of She-ba . . .It is told that the reason wiiy Nazi flyers are so daring in the current war is to be found in the fact that they are systenaatically doped before they take off . . . And ttoit those widely heralded steel vests which the Nazi soldiers on the West-
PAITH IN THE FUTURE
LOCAL JEWISH WOMEN AND RED CROSS WORE
The Jewish Women ofVancouver are to be highly commended for the masterly way in which they organized themselves for the purpose of doing Red Cross Work in an efficient pr^tical manner.
Started first by the Vancouver Section Council of Jewish Women, who deserve great credit for the initial work, it was fiound that in order to get the best from the women, that all Jewish Women's organizations should get a chance to participate in the Red Cross endeavor. Therefore, meetings were held by the seven "women's organizations of the community, culminating in the formation of a Federated Jewish Women's Organization, officers lOf which comprised officers of the seven organizations, Mrs. Bemice Brown being President.
The Federated Organization has already settled down to a definite schedule. They meet in the Community Centre every Tuesday from 11:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., the Banquet Hall, and other space being granted free by the Community Centre Committee. In order that material and eqidpment can be stored safely when not in use, a special storage room has been erected in the Centre office. Home nursing course, and sewing group w<ork is carried out in the Centre, while wool is distributed to those members who wish to dd knitting at home.
With a smooth well planned organization in action, the Jewish women in Vancouver will be able to give a good account of themselves in Red Cross work in all its phases. It is most gratifying ern front wear provide only psycho-to our Community to toiow that our v^omen are making sacriUicesi logical protection . .. They're made for such a noble cause. Every encouragement should be given to| of an ersatz that any buuet ttiat them, for their action is a wholesome reflection on the patriotic j knows its business can easily pierce, spirit of the community. fobAiaugh f>
A story that's good even if it maiy not be entirely accurate is told of Ribbehtrop's recent visit to Moscow. ,. . . The Russians, it's reported, couldn't find any swastika banhei^ to decorate the flying field at which the latter-day Bismarck was expecs^T ed to arrive. . . "The situation was finally solved when one of the Soviet leaders rushed to the neariest movie studio and borrowed a few Nazi flags from the prop department. . . They had last been' used in the settings of "Professor Mamlock/^ the famous anti-Hitler film of a couple of seasons ago. : HEBE'S SOMETHING
Toin Mix, who is glad to be back ftov^,.Germany,,jtojd. reportersi.th9;t he had a hard time getting a sailing permit for his famous horse. ..It seems the Germans weren't any tpp anxious, to see a month's supply leave the country . . . One of the most relentless anti-Hitler commentators in the Hearst press is Dr. Paul Schwartz, who until 1933 served ap German Consul-General at New York , . . Those "fearless" pro-Hitler soapbox orators at Columbus Circle will not be there for long ... Uncle Sam is watching them closely, and has the goods oh thein .. . American peace organizations are having a hard time these days living down the fact that Fritz Kuhn's Bundists so loudly support the slogan "Keejp America out of war" . .. Walter Win-chell claims that Seward Collins, the former magazine publisher, could tell ihe Dies Committee where Fritz Kuhn got his $50,000 bail money . . . Alfred Duff-Cooper, England's most articulate anti-Chamberlain leader, who will be lecturing here nes± month, will have an interesting announcement to make on the Jewish Palestine situation. .'. Zionists in this country are very much disappointed because the President didn't mention Palestine in his statement before the Refugee Conference at Washington. ... On this year's Balfour Declaration anniversary a new dramatic group, called the Balfour Players, will inaugurate a dramatic season with a play on the Arab-Jewish problem entitled "On Trial." THIS AND THAT
Thomas Mann, who laid the cornerstone of the Palestine Pavilion at the World's Fair, will also be the
Shocking reports reach us from Europe. If one assumed that the regime of persecution against the Jews in Germany could not be surpassed in frightefulness, the latest reports prove that there is no limit to Nazi cruelty. Jews in Austria, Zcechoslovakia and Germany proper, are hounded from their homes and shipped to the Jewish "reservation" in Poland. The Jews in the German section of Poland are subjected to stark terror.
Many of our people.have succumbed to a mood of utter despair and hopelessness. The feel the Jewish tragedy has assumed unheard of proportions, and faced with Jewish suffering of such magnitude, abandon hope for a brighter future.
We must steel ourselves against such despondent conclusions. Prior to 1933 we were too optimistic. Most Jews felt confident that "the greiit cultured" German nation would not elevate the ex-corporal demagogue Adolf Hitler to the position of supreme dictator and that the Jews in Germany were safely and secmrely entrenched in their position. Today we are erring in the opposite direction. ,We tend to be too pessimistic. Some in their despair are ready to concede that the Jewish losses are irreparable.
This spirit of defeatism is the greatest danger facing our community. It is bound to destroy courage and paralyze our efforts for our suffering brethren abroad. History does not follow a straight line. It zig-zags. During the thousands of years of human history, reaction hEs often followed in the wake of progress. Dark pages alternated with brighter epochs. But throughout, the march of progress has continued.
Mankind is groping toward a new and better order though the way is beset by almost insurmountable obstacles. Slavery of the olden times, the serfdom of the Middle Ages, has been destroyed. The French Revolution inaugurated a period of political freedom for the individual.
We are now entering into the last phase of the struggle for fr'ssijom, economic freedom and security. Millions of young meij^ listening to the blandishments of Fascist or Communist propaganda are willing to secrifice freedom for economic security. This is a passing phase. We must hope and believe that mankind will not be thrown back into a new dark age. We can sense the coming of a better day even for the Jews in Germany. The German peasant has begun to doubt that the Jew is the cause of his misfortune The Jewish merchant gave him credit and paid him more for his grain than the German Government. Hitler promised the German small middle-class the elimination of the department store. Today the small middle-class is no longer deceived. It, as well as the German intellectual class, is nauseated by the brutality of the Nazi treatment of the Jew. They know that the Nazis are discrediting Germany. In the seven years of Nazi regime not lone book published in Germany has received world attention because of its high literary standards. In this short period of the Nazi regime Ger-jnany has become a third-rate power in the field of culture.
The Jew must not relinquish hope and courage. It is our sacred duty to give succor and assistance to the Jews in Europe through these d^cult times. It is Jewish and human duty to inake real sacrifices to enable the Jews in Europe to weather this storm and to survive until a better day arrives.
JEWISH REFUGEES IN ENGLAND PERMITTED EMPLOYMENT
LONDON (WNS).—Jewish refugees in England, considered "friendly all-ens," are permitted to work at special types of work set up by the government under certain conditions so that English workers suffer no loss of jobs. The result of this concession to Jewish refugees in England affects no less than 10,000 former German Jews now living in England.
Aliens with high technical skill will be used immediately. The order becomes effective on December 1st and will apply only to those refugees who arrived in England before September 3. The order signed by Sir John Henderson, Home Secretary, opens
wide prospects for employment not only for refugees but for British unemployed as well. Hundreds of offers for employment of refugees have already been received.
The Lithuanian consulate here- assured executives of the Agudath Israel that the Lithuanian government would mahitain friendly relations with the Jewish minority and would aid tn the establishment of relief agencies for Jewish refugees from Poland.
The Lithuanian consul also said it would communicate to the government in Kaunas the expression of concern voiced by members of the Agudath Israel for Jewish refugees driven out of the Suwalki area and who now live on the Pollsh-Lith f ron_ tier. The Agudath Israel voiced a plea that the Lithuanian government would admit the refugees driven out of Poland by the Nazis.
principal figure at a dinner closing the 1939 season of ♦ the exhibit. . . i Which reminds us that Governor Lehman is one of the staunchest advocates of the continuance of the Palestine Pavilion for next year. . . Jacob Epstein's bust of Dr. Stephen S. Wise, which has been on display at the Pavilion, will be presented to Dr. Wise by a group of friends. . . : Our private opinion is that it's the wisest Wise interpretation yet produced. ... If you see a lady walking down Fifth Avenue in one of those wasp-waisted reefers equipped with a square cape and flaring cuffs of beaver, be advised that she is wearing a Disraeli coat . . . Presumably named after a garment favored by the late Lord Beaconsfleld. ... And if you're not a subscriber to Hey-wood Broun's Connecticut Nutmeg you missed one of the finest cartoons of the season—one showing Hitler sending out a dcve of peace weighed down with all the' implements of war.
MOBE NEWS
Bon mot of the week is attributed to restaurateur Jack White, who describes Hitler's treaties as pi^ of lies. . . . Charlie Chaplin's eagerly awaited "Dictator" film, we hear, will be a Christmas present to American audiences. . . .It's said to cost several million dollars .i . Orchids to the Cohn brothers of Columbia for their latest pictuhe, "Mr. Smith goes to Washington*.. . It's a real contribution to Americana . . . To those readers who may be yearning for the Van Paassen touch we offer the adyice that they watch the Readers Digest, the Red Book and the Living Age for some interesting reporting by the author of "Days of Qur Years? ... Maurice^^^^^S impressions on the outbreak of the war in Eurojpe, which were published in the I»Iew York Post, prove that Maurice can be a dam good news-papennan when he wants to ... Admirers, of Gteorge Gershwin: are asking the Postmaster-General to issue a memorial stamp in honor of the late composer. ■ ABOUT;PI»PtE
That ;;^.fa^ psychologist Max Mann, who has evplved a way of curing insomnia by remote control— via the telephone or radio broadcasts—is none other than. Max Mah-ischewitz, one of the owners of the Matzoth factory . . . Mrs. Edward G» Robinson, wife of the screen star, is the leading spirit in the Polish relief fiind drive on the Coast . . . . Even Winchell can make mistakes . . . his report that Secretary of the Treasury Mbrgenthau is ill was denied by Morgehthau himself, who wrote Winchell that he felt fine until he heard his illness announced over the radio. . . . Among Hollywood's gifts to Broadway this season will be Joseph Schildkraut, who will play John Wilkes Booth in a new Lincoln drama . . . Maurice Schwartz is moving his Yiddish Art Theatre back to Second Avenue . '. . It seems that those stories about the Jews moving up from the East Side are exaggerated . . . Former Magistrate Louis Brodsky, who some years ago had the honor of dravsing Hitler's official wrath, has returned to his private law. practice. . . He will now be able to talk about Hitler to his heart's content . . . Is it true that Jacob Flshman, ace columnist of the Jewish Morning Journal, is contemplating matrimony?
We are pleased to announce the appointment of
DR. HUGO^ FRANCK
as our representative in British Columbia.
Rates for personal or business insurance and Annuities
furnished on request.
Dr. Franck will be pleased to consult with you regarding all insurance problems after which he will submit for your consideration a complete written recommendation.
His phone is BAy. 0856-E or SEy. 9370.
TheD
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JOHN T. McCAT . Manager for B.G.
PLAIN TALK
(Contlnned from Paee IV
GERMAN PRIEST SENDS JEWS HANUKAH GREETINGS ;
LONDON (WNS)—A note of encouragement to Jews in the Reich on the occasion of the celebration of Hanukah was broadcast over the anti-Nazi German Freedom Radio by a German priest.
The broadcast, picked up in various sections of England, described the story of Hanukah and the Mac-cabis, the struggle for freedom and the reason for commemoration of the holiday by the Jews who have sought to keep alive the. traditions of freedom in the diaspora for over a thousand years. ^ The German priest concluded his address with an expression of encouragement to Jews in the Reich, urging them to keep alive their faith in the ideals of freedom. , -
the Jews will be happy to contribute to something new like hating nudists.
Nudists aren't popular anyway. Most people know their naked bodies are horrible to look at and do all they can to conceal them and make them presentable to the world. They can easily be made to hate people who want them to take their clothes off and expose themselves in the sunlight.
I myself do not like nudists who would deprive me of my clothing which is all I have to give me an appearance of dignity. Nobody would read my column if it were known how I really look before I am dressed.
I give this suggestion with no thought of profit to myself, though there may be millions in it for those who may be looking for a new hate to sell now that the market for anti-Semitism appears to be in a slump. There is power in it; for even only a million nudist-baiters would make a sizeable party for a demagogue to start with.
It seems to me that nudist-baiting is a perfect substitute for Jew-baiting. The cause against the nudists has just the same amount of truth in it as the cause against the Jews which is to say no truth at all. The advantage of having a cause without any truth in it is that you don't have to prove anjrthing. The nudists, naked as they are.
are even weaker than the Jews who even where they have lost everything else still have a few rags on toeir backs.^'T weaker the minority, that is attacked, the more are the victories that can be claimed against it, the more powerful seem the leaders of the attack, the more abundant the cash that comes in from people who like to follow successful leaders.
True, the nudists are only a handful but this should be no handicap to racketeers who know how to make the 15,000,000 Jews of the world tremendously potent in a world population of two billion. Sometime, in moments of feeling weak and futile I have taken heart: The anti-Semites say I am one of a most powerful people, a race of gigantic supermen, rulers of the wolrd. Ah, Segal, considering all this you should hold your chin up.
Moreover, nudist-baiting is a popular cause, as was observed this year in our state legislature. .There a bill outlawing nudists was given precedence over the relief bill. The anti-nudist bill was carried by tremendous majorities in both houses while the relief bill languished and a large section of the population knew not where the next meal was coming from.
So the case against the nudists is complete and-ready'for the hands of racketeers who suddenly aire distressed to find anti-Semitism not selling as well as it did.
J. D. 0. CONFERENCE (Continued from Page 1)
with leaders in all European countries.
The Spanish Ballroom was filled, to overflowing as Abe Eugene Rosenberg, of Portland, Oregon, tapped the gavel for order. Rabbi Solomon P. Wohlflemter delivered an invocation.
Alfred Shemanski, honorary chair-inan of the Northwest Regional Convention delivered the address of welcome.
S. Mason Ehrman, president of the Oregon Jewish Welfare Committtee, had the honor of introducing Rabbi Wise and he did it in a graceful fashion, bringing the entire house to its feet in an ovation to the £ruest speaker that lasted fully two minutes.
Dr. Wise was earnest, witty and illuminative and he left no detail untouched in explaining and illustrating the world-wide work of the J.D; C. and he impressed the fact that all parties in interest were always heard on the allocation of funds and that all were in accord at the fairness displayed in the axhounts accorded to the various organizations which looked to J,D.C. for financial support.
A few questions were asked the speaker all of which were answered and before adjourning the chairman appointed a committee on organization and a second on nomination for officers for 1940.
A vast crowd surged into another room in the Olympic where all were ' served with luncheon as guests of the conference.
Richard E. Lang presided at the afternoon session.
Melville Monheimer, on behalf of the organization committee, reported on a set-up similar to the present one and Joseph Shemanski, of Portland, submitted the list of nominees which the committee recommended.
Meanwhile, a most interesting discussion was lead by Sol Eafeld, president of the Seattle Federated Fund, on "The Emigrre and the Community," in which he offered some salient argruments for a liberalization of immigration laws and in which he set forth the duty of local communities in taking care of the refugees who are allocated to each town or city in order to take them out of the larger and overcrowded centres,
"Campaign problems and Techniques" brdught forth a thoughtful address from Max Block, campaign
REV. N. M. PASTINSKY
(Continued from Pa^e I)
he spoke from his heart. DUtf'JblClJLT TEABS
"The twenty years that he has' served have been difficult years, crucial ones in the life of this city. Organized Jewish life here does no' date far beyond the time that Rev Pastinsky came to Vancouver.
"It took years of pioneering t. build up our institution, and tha meant heavy spade work. The twen: ty years were full of difficulty, pi neering and adventure. At all tim he displayed a courageous heart guiding the Jewish people. Thos turbulent years were not easy on' to live, nor was it easy to be a Ugh and a g^uide to a community in Israe
"We must be thankful that, d pite those twenty turbulent ye-we still find the same spirit an courage in Rev. Pastinsky as whe he first'arrived. He has had to far beyond the ordinary functi of spiritual leadership.' He has a most unselfish career and ev now his thoughts are not upon h' self.
"He has merited our eternal lov and we wish him, his wife children, health and strength carry on the great traditions he established among us."
Mr. I. L. Kostman in present! Rev. Pastinsky with a purse of gol declared in his address that Re Pastinsky in the past 'twenty ye had done fifty years work. He that the rabbi was responsible f the building of the synagogue, also lauded his work. among poor and ill. OFFERS PBATEB
Rev. J. Spiro, Confrere of R Pastinsky, gave the prayer for rabbi's health, and Rabbi M. A. J gave the invocation at the openi of the dinner.
Rev. Pastinsky in his. reply stat that he had much to be thankful f in this land. He felt that he much to be thankful for when he landed in Canada, and that he was gratified that the community had grown to become one of the leading groups in the Dominion.
He gave thanks to provincial, fed eral and United States officials fo the aid they had given him in min istering to those who needed help He also said he was grateful to civi officials and the judges of the courts who had heard his pleas for his pe pie with an open mind. Non-Jewis organizations were praised an thanked for the assistance they ha given.
Cantor Sivowich, Miss Hetti Marks and Mr. A. Charkow provide musical entertainment between the' speeches.
Before the banquet opened the-children of the Talmud Torah School] sang a Chanuke festival song under^ the direction of Mr. Zvi Schreiner.
chairman of the recent Federated' Fund drive which went beyond its. quota for 1939. Among other things' Mr. Block made it very emphati that he felt that those who werie in position to give largely should realize that under pressing present problems they should give more. He also felt that appeals to smaller commun ities would bring fine and substantial results.
Another inspiring talk from Rabbi Wise, a closing invocation by Rabbi Baruch I. Treiger, and the singing of "America" brought adjournment to a noteworthy gathering of Northwest Jewry.
The following officers were elected unanimously: Richard E. Lang, Seattle, chairman of the regional com-1 mittee; Aaron Frank, Portland, honorary chairman; Alfred Shemanski, Seattle, chairman executive commit' tee; S. Mason Ehrman, Portland, vice chairman.
Regional chairmen chosen were: Wm. Meyer, Montana; J, B. Amo-i vitz, Utah; Leo J. Falk, Idaho; Geo. Parker, Nevada; Harold B. Kahn, British Columbia. '