Jewish Consumers’ Bread Strike in Detroit Enters Tenth Day As Kosher Meat Problem Looms; Rabbis Call

The bread strike, supervised by a committee speaking for leading Jewish workers’ and other organizations, enters its tenth day today, with no relief in sight and with housewives compelled to bake their own or to eat non-Jewish baked bread. The Sabbath that just ended was the first in the history of the Detroit Jewish community for which Jewish women were called upon either to make their own “chales” (white breads) or to do without them.

While the striking housewives, through their picketers in front of all bakeries and through the press and at meetings are determined that a reduction be made in the price of bread to correspond with the drop in the price of flour, the master bakers maintain that the high overhead and the refusal of the Jewish union bakers, who are said to be the highest paid bakers in Detroit, to consent to lower wages, make a drastic reduction impossible. Representatives of the conference of Jewish organizations and of the master bakers agree, however, that the interference of the small group of Jewish communists, who demand nothing less than a 40 per cent reduction in prices, is preventing a settlement. The conference asked for a reduction of three cents on the pound of bread.

Many Jewish housewives who refuse to buy non-Jewish baked bread are, as a result of the bread boycott, making real the legend in the “Mah Nishtanah” of the Passover Haggadah by eating matzoth, Jewish grocers reporting a big increase in the sale of unleavened Passover cakes.

Following on the heels of the bread question is a renewal of the kosher meat problem. As a result of economic conditions, a price war is in progress among many Jewish butchers, those whose reductions are above the low levels maintaining that their competitors who are underselling them are selling a cheaper grade of meat. Claiming that the war on prices by their competitors has reduced their income to a minimum, butchers decline to pay for “mashgichim,” or supervisors, to inspect the kashruth of meat. In consequence of this, the Vaad Horabonim, the council of orthodox rabbis, declares that it will be forced to decline all responsibility for kosher meats. The removal of such “hechshorim” (approvals) from the rabbis will prevent strict Orthodox Jews from using any meats whatever.

To prevent the taking of such a drastic step, the rabbis have called upon all “loyal Orthodox Jews and Jewesses” to convene in public mass meeting on Sunday afternoon, November 30th, to discuss the problem and to seek a solution for it.