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JEWISH WESTERN BULLETIN
Friday, June 12, 1936
The Jewish Western BuUetin
Published Every Thursday by from the office of The Jewish Western Bulletin 342 West Pender Street, Vancouver, B.C. BULLETIN COMMITTEE
WILLIAM STEINER____________________________________________________.Chairman
BERNICE BROWN_________________________________________________________________ .Editor
_________________________________________Business Manager
HARRY MUSIKANSKY...-.
For advertising rates, phone Seymour 1909
A UNIQUE MEMORIAL
Yizkor, age-old memorial chant of the Jews, was said on Shabuoth in Tel-Aviv for the produce that has been burned in Jewish settlements of Palestine during the past six weeks.
The auditorium of the local Working Youths' Organization was crowded with members as a young boy read a special Yizkor scroll, saying:
"Let us remember the outrage against the golden wheat in the fields of Israel, which went up in flames.
"Let us remember the souls of the blazing forests and the agonies of the uprooted trees.
"We shall create myriads to replace each burned sheaf and plant thousands for each uprooted tree, which will give fruit and shade to coming generations.'*
"A GOOD COLLECTION OF EXCUSES" This was Rabbi Zlotnik's comment—product of his ever-ready wit—on results of the attempt, on the part of the Community Chest Committee, to stimulate payment on Welfare pledges of 1936. It brought forth a blast of laughter from all who overheard the remark, which was good for everybody. But all of us know that when, in June, the Community Chest Committee is forced to report that one hundred and thirty-four Jewish subscribers have not paid one cent on their Welfare pledges, this is no laughing matter.
Some of the typical excuses "collected" ran as follows: "I didn't know I had pledged"; "The family is out of town on holiday"; "Phone me a week from now"; "Please send me a statement of my Welfare pledges for the last couple of years so I'll know where I'm at"; "Oh! I thought I had paid that."
Was one of those excuses yours? Forgetting, putting things off, running off at vacation time with obligations left in abeyance—such faults are but human weaknesses and few individuals are without them. Nevertheless the question for us seems rather clear cut—"Can we, as Jews, afford to indulge in petty human foibles?"
Criticism comes to us too quickly, the weakness of the individual is too apt to reflect discredit on the group as a whole. In our opinion, Jews cannot indulge themselves in carelessness or indifference where city-wide obligations are involved. Moreover, a pledge made is your word given, and when, as we know the welfare of tens of charities depends on the individual's keeping faith with his pledge, his Welfare Federation "promises to pay" becomes a sacred obligation.
If he defaults, the entire group is blamed; if he stalls on payments he subjects volunteer workers to endless effort and annoyance in following up pledges which could, without any fuss, be sent directly into Welfare headquarters upon receipt of statement.
If you are among the one hundred and thirty-four Jewish citizens who have, so far, neglected your Welfare obligation, send it in now—save our Chest committee unending aggravation and heart-ache, and let us be known, one and all, as a people of good faith.
THE JUBILEE QUEFN CONTEST Although it has not been deemed advisable to enlist Jewish girls as such in the province-wide Queen Contest now under way, as part of Vancouver's Jubilee celebration, we are asking our readers to give fullest support to this phase of Jubilee
CtV^bX V
There will be a queen candidate in every electoral district. As residents of that district you, no doubt, will be solicited. As time goes on there will be eliminations until the Queen of the Vancouver Jubilee is selected.
This feature of the Jubilee has been conceived in the spirit of fun and is a friendly competition. Because the number of Jewish residents of Vancouver is small, comparatively, we have not entered Jewish candidates in the field feeling that we could best serve this feature through our various districts. The Bulletin sees in the Queen Contest ample opportunity for wholesome publicity for Vancouver and a means of tying the outlying districts of British Columbia into Jubilee participation and interest. We wish, at this time, to offer the managing committee of the Queen Contest full success in their efforts and to assure them of the hearty support of the Bulletin.
CALENDAR FOR WEEK
FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 1936—
7:30 p.m.—Congregation Schara Tzedek.
8:00 p.m.—Congregation Beth Israel. SATURDAY, JUNE 13, 1936—
9:00 a.m.—Congregation Schara Tzedek.
9:00 a.m.—Congregation Beth Israel.
6:00 p.m.—Rabbi Zlotnik lecture at Schara Tzedek Synagogue. I 8:00 p.m.—Pioneer Women's Organization Annual Strav/berry
Festival. SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 1936—
8:00 p.m.—Young Judaeans Meeting. TUESDAY, JUNE 16, 1936—
8:00 p.m.—B'nai B'rith Meeting.
8:00 p.m.—B'nai B'rith Auxiliary.
GENERAL SMUTS PRAISES ^io" of the Jewish question," v/as read yTniVrTQT THPAI i^*" ^ "'^"1"^'^ launching the campaign
Z.lUiMDl IL^C/AL of tj^g Palestine Foundation Fund.
Hebrew Poetry In Yiddish
EDITOR'S NOTE:—Mr. Morde-cai Jaffe, until lately a resident of Vancouver and a brother of Mr. /. B. Jaffe of this city, has recently added his contribution to Hebrew literature.
MORDECAI JAFFE WRITES A GOOD ANTHOLOGY
Mr. Mordecai Jafife has made a valuable contribution to Jewish literature by publishing his Anthology of Hebrew Poetry (publisher in Vilno), thus enabling the reader who is conversant with Yiddish to obtain an idea of Hebrew poetry—as far as that is possible in a translation.
J. J. Schwartz of Kentucky did more than any other Yiddish man or letters to give his readers a taste of Bialik and other Hebrew classics. But until Mr. Jaffe entered the scene njj attempt was made to give a comprehensive collection of Hebrew poems in the language of the Jewish masses. Mr. Jaffe, possessing a thorough knowledge of Hebrew and a fine mastery of Yiddish, used good judgment in selecting the most representative pieces of Hebrew poetry of all generations from the beginning of the Spanish period to the very present. The compiler drew upon the translations already extant, such as J. J. Schwartz's translations of the classics, Bialik's ovm inimitable translations of Jehudah Halevy's Zionist poems into Yiddish, and others. But nearly half of the book consists of Mr. Jaffe's own translations, some of which are remarkably good.
• One need only regret that the compiler did not include in his book at least a short introduction on the history of Hebrew poetry and an evaluation of the poets whose works appear in the book. It is to be hoped that this will be remedied in the next edition.—^Fromthe Jewish Standard.
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AIMS AND TASKS OF THE I TEL AVIV MUSEUM
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa
General Smuts said: "Palestine is
—^A message from General Jan C. now the only national outlet for Smuts, noted South African states- Jewish settlement. The policy of the man, declaring that "the Zionist Balfour Declaration has been corn-ideal remains the most hopeful solu- pletely revolutionized."
By DR. KARL SCHWARTZ Director of the Tel Aviv Museum TEL AVIV (Palcor Agency)—A growing people requires a dignified center in which it can store the tangible expressions of its artistic strivings, the created treasures of its spirit. Culture needs a home, a physical home, in which the beauty of things made to enrich the conception and ennoble the feeling of mankind may be readily available to those seeking a respite from material cares.
Symbal of Nationhood At first glance, it might have seemed a daring experiment for so young a town as Tel Aviv to erect a monunicntai edifice for a museum and to declare to the world that this home of art claimed its attention. For after all, what is Tel Aviv but a place in which 150,000 people dwell?—hardly more than go into a London or a New York borough, and certainly not a metropolis. Yet anyone who has seen the recently-opened Museum cannot but admit that it was a wholly successful experiment and an encouraging begin-r ning. For Tel Aviv is the center of the Jewish spirit and the symbol of the new Jewish nationhood. It needs a museum just as it needs shops and industries and banks and schools. Early Contributors The work began with collecting artistic pieces which were exhibited in a few rooms of Mayor Dizengoff's. Small exhibitions of Palestinian art were held from time to time, and the public was given an opportunity of appreciating what lay behind the humble move. In due course more intensified propaganda brought more and bettcx paintings to the city, and several important collectors became interested in the scheme. There was one man particularly, Maurice Lewiii ot Antwerp, who took up the idea with enthusiasm. His collection of 28 choice examples of Belgian and French art, which he left to the Dudding Museum, formed the basis for further systematic development, which had by now been given certain definite lines.
Gathering Material Further tasks were mapped out for the new Museum. As the first museum in a purely Jewish town, it was destined to become the center for Jewish art and to testify to the accomplishments of Jews throughout the wor4d in the domain of the
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graphic and sculptural art*. These documents of Jewish talent, now scattered and unrecognizable under the veneer of an unspeci£c civilization, had to be collected and co-ordinated, and Tel Aviv was naturally chosen, as! the forum upon which all Jews could meet and their fame reach other lands.
Finally, the Museum had to provide an answer to the question: "What are Palestinian artists achieving.' Something, after all, was springing out of the soil of the homeland, and some believed that a true Palestinian type of art was developing, a characteristic Palestine art. Those who forsaw its development had to be careful to preserve everything that was best in the works of those striving for an expression of the Jewish and Palestine spirit: in short, attempting to mirror an art of our own.
Present Collection At present the Museum has 375 paintings, 75 statues and 5,000 etchings, but this can only be held as a beginning when it is considered how important the institution can be for the education and development of culture and good taste. The Museum cannot compare with similar European institutions, but the rate of growth during the past two years promises a more rapid advancement. Interest has greatly quickened since the new building was opened, a fact visible not only from the larger numbers of visitors but, in the valuable bequests and gifts which have been made.-
Recent Contributions Just as an example, the Museum has been enriched during the past few weeks by a Rubin painting given by the High Commissioner to mark Mr. DizengofPs seventy-fifth birthday, while the recently formed committee in Poland, similarly marking DizengofF's anniversary, sent several valuable specimens, including a fine Mauricio Gottlieb. An American lady collector presented two sculpture pieces by Ghana Orloff; a Belgian art lover a Ghagall painting. The Yiddish writer, Sholom Asch, gave the Museum a picture by Pas-cin, and two valuable old Gobelin tapestries were donated by a French collector. Ten valuable old Dutch paintings were presented by a Jewish family residing here.
Distinguished Artists One of the outstanding masterpieces of which the Museum may boast is that most famous of Jozef Israels' works, "A Jewish Wedding." Isaac Israels is represented by a portrait, Camille and Lucien Pissarro each have landscapes, there are two pictures by Mac Chagall, three of Vlaminck and two of Utrillo. Levi-than, the Russian landscape artist, has two works, and fifteen pictures
Americans Appeal For Jewish Refugees
Pro - Palejitine Federation Forwards Petition to Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Christian leadership in the United States was responsible for the presentation, last week to Sir Ronald Lindsay, British Ambassador, favoring a larger Jewish emigration into Palestine. Sponsors
Author of the document was the pro-Palestine Federation of America. The statement urged a definite policy on the part of Britain for carrying out the Palestine mandate. It said in part that a time when bigotry and prejudice seem "to engulf a major portion of the civilized world, the anglo-saxon community of nations is called upon to blaze the trail for the dawn of a new era of freedom, justice, and human enlighten-'ment. It was signed by leaders of ^ Christianity in America from almost every church.
Text of Petition The text of the petition is as follows:
The plight of millions of human beings in Eastern Europe and Germany has stirred the conscience of enlightened mankind. Mere compassion and -coiflmiseration with the sufferings of these victims of preju:-; dice and persecution, however, are not enough.
Bold practical measures to save these unfortunate millions from to-
tal annihilation are now called for. It is the consensus of enlightened Christian American opinion that God has bestowed upon England one of the greatest missions in human history—the salvation of Israel and restoration to its ancient patrimony. Great Britain has it within her power to throw open the gates of Palestine and let in the victimized and persecuted Jews escaping from the European holocaust.
Enlightened Christian opinion m America is now eager to see the provisions of the Palestine mandate carried out. It is eager to see ,the_ settling of the Jews in the land facilitated in accordance with the stipulations of the mandate. Above all it would welcome the removal of any impediments and obstructions to the social-economic development of the country, which untimely and prematura projects of self-government would cause, in the present condition of the country.
States Problems We are mindful of the complex and difficult task faced by His Majesty's government in Palestine. We; also appreciate the anxiety and sincerity with which the Palestine Government is grappling with the problems there. Wc, however, feel that the right solution calls for a definite policy, which should, once -and for all, make clear to the turbulent element iti Palestine that His Majesty's government, as mandatory power, will carry out its trust to help transform Palestine into a Jewish homeland to whicb the persecuted Jews of the world may freely come, and where they may have the^ right to
constitute themselves into a free (Continued on Page 4)
represent every period of development of James Ensor. Of prominent Frenchmen, the Museum has specimens of Monet, Derain, Picasso, Sig-nac, Marie Laurencin, Menkes, Band and Kissling. The Belgian school represented consists of Larmoriniere, van Dongen, Opsomer and Jaspers. In addition to Liebermann and Lesser Ury among the Germans, there are also Franz von Lenbach and Krueger, Stevogt, Corinth, Hofer, Partikel, Josef Oppenheimer and Weisgerber. Of other countries, one finds van Gogh, Mantovani, Pobbi-ati, Isaacson and others. In the sculpture section there are Degas, Fiori, Orloff, Edwin Scharff, Lehmbruck, Jacob Epstein, Zadikow and Aron-son.
There is fairly rich assemblage of water colors, drawings and etchings, each in different halls, and the art library.
Ancient Crafts Yet another thing, and a wider aim, at which the Museum is striving, is to collect documents of an-
cient Jewish culture as expressed in arts, crafts and cultural creations— those objects of artistic expression left by our forefatliers throughout 1 the world, now in danger of being lost or destroyed. We must preserve and investigate such documents. The nucleus of such a display of ancient Jewish culture and cults is extant, but it must be developed before any permanent exhibition can be arranged.
Folklore Through Art There are a number of Jewish museums in the Diaspora—Cincinnati, Vienna, Turin, Breslau, Berlin and Frankfurt, and many private Jewish collections exist which contain.valuable material. They are of the utmost importance for a knowledge of our own history. Palestine must become the center of all these scattered I treasures. With the history of the Jewish people beginning a new chapter in this land it is the logical venue for a record of the past. That is why our duty lies in the direction of Jewish folklore as expressed through art.
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