The Reader’s Forum

#. Herman Bernstein, Editor, wish Daily Bulletin, #y dear Mr. Bernstein: Now that the Bulletin is being issued under your editorial supersion, I notice that it is gaining #pularity and increasing itscircution. May I not, therefore, in person with multitudes of your #ends, extend to you my best #ishes for continued success in this our new venture?

Never was there a time when a #orous Jewish publication was re#ired as it is now. Its voice must # heard every day and it must be spressed in a manner as to leave # doubt as to the meaning of the tterance. The Jew and his posion in the structure of society re#ires able defence. Your experince as a communal worker, as an #ble journalist and as a trained #plamat represent a combination apable of working almost miracubus results. My good wishes are #ith you?

As ever, Sincerely yours, JOSHUA BLOCH, Chief, Jewish Division, N. Y. Public Library.

ATTACKS DEFENSE OF MACY’S

I am quite surprised that Mr. {SPAN}#eyerowitz{/SPAN} defends Mr. Percy traus’s action in still buying from little Germany. It is a deplorable act that the Jew is more interested {SPAN}#{/SPAN} making money than in defending is rights both in this country and an other lands.

It is rather a weak excuse that he head of R. H. Macy offers to he American public. Mr. Straus #eems to be willing to continue buying German-made goods as long as he people continue purchasing Hitler goods. Just because Mr. Straus asually mentions the fact that he # buying very little from Germany # no excuse for him to openly support Hitler by buying Nazi-made goods.

It is rather curious that no self respecting Christian is buying a single articl from R. H. Macy which is made in Germany. Yet, the Jewish race, which has been openly attacked by Nazi Germany, is willing to be the lamb and pay hard-earned money to go to Germany.

As Mr. Meyerowitz points out “It is very unfortunate that because of lack of a united front among the Jews, the boycott is losing its powers.” It is not the lack of a united front among the Catholies and Protestants that the boycott is becoming weaker, but it is the lack of unity among the great Jewish leaders in industry,finance and business who forget the fact that they still are Jews.

To combat the present Hitler Menace in American the Jews of all stations of life must unite and militantly fight the Nazis both in America and in Germany.

Let us hope that our great Jewish leaders will remember they still are Jews bofore America becomes a countryfor and by the Nazis.

Jacob Goldstein. Woodcliff, N. J.

‘POT-BOILER’ GOLD JANUARY 23, 1934

Editor, Jewish Daily Bulletin:

In today’s issue of the Jewish Daily Bulletin, of which I am a constant reader, I noticed a news dispatch from Minneapolis regarding a young Minneapolis Jewish father who “wants to comply with usages of the ancient tradition know as ‘Pidayn Ha-Ben’,” and who has appealed to President Roosevelt to modify his order on gold coins “without violating the law,” since gold coins is “necessary for the rite.”

What I cannot understand is where the young Menneapolis Jewish father gets his information, or why the Roosevelt Gold Ruling should trouble him!

If the gentleman in question would refer to that text-book of Jewish law-the “Shulchan Arusch,” and turn to the regulations for Pidyon HaBen-Chapter 305, he would find, written:

“It is a positive commandment for every Isaelite to redeam his son who is the first-born of his Jewish mothe-with 5 ‘selaim’-equivalent to 120 ‘ma’im’-equivalint to 30 ‘dar’hamim’ of refined SILVER…. These 5 selaim are given to the Cohein in SILVER-or, if silver is unavailable, in any other matter he may wish, of the same value (with certain exceptions).

Perhaps, however, the Minneapodis gentleman does not believe in the Shulchan Aruch. Surely, then, he will take the Bible itself as final authority. Let then refer to Chapter 18, verse 26, of Number: “And those that are to be redeemed from a month old shalt thou redeen according to thine estimation, for SILVER….” Don’t you think that our President had suffucient weighty problems on his hands-too many, in fact, to be bothered with queries of this type which are absolutely contrary to what our law requires? Silver is still legal in out United States-and silver is what the Bible and Shulchan Aruch prescribe for the the Pidyo Ha’Ben ceremony.

Why not let the Minneapolis gentleman who is so zealous to follow the dictates of our religion as to appeal to the President to waive cretain restrictions of the law-why mot let him, I reiterate,study the Jewish law of Pidyon Ha’Ben (and others of equal impotance as well) before asking useless questions?

Perhaps it was in reference to questions of this kind that the oldtype Orthodox Rabbis answered: “Sindy-and # won’t have to ask questions ” when they were asked a hundred and one senseless queries by well meaning but time wasting rationalists!

Sincercly yours, David M. Hausdorff. Laurelton, L. I.

MORE “ILLOGICAL” COMPARISON JANUARY 22, 1934

Editor, Jewish Daily Bulletin:

I read with interest Rabbi Samuel Horowitz’s opinions on a Catholic Bishop’s “illogical comparison” of the Spanish and Mexican persecutions with that of Hitler’s in Germany.

With apologies to Rabbi Horowitz, may I be permitted to disagree with some of his assertions, which I belive are themselves illogical-and, what is more, contrary to fact.

Rabbi Horwitz gives three reasons for saying that the Spanish and Mexican persecutions cannot be compared with Germany’s: (1) In Spain and Mexico only the “Catholic religion” is being persecuted, and not the individuals; (2) Spain and Mexico are are preominantly Catholic countries, being reformed by the natives themselves; (3) In Spain and Mexico the Catholic religion is being suppressed by Catholics themselves.

As to the first. How does one distinguish between a religion and one who professes a religion? If someone were to cut off America’s food supply (by some miraculous means) the American people would be the sufferers. Int the same way, if you cut off from the Spanish and Mexican people their “spiritual food supply”, their religion, the people are the sufferers. No,-one cannot persecute a feligion without hurting individuals-the two are inseparably related. The Catholic religion is being persecuted and so also are the Catholic people.

To further substantiate my statement that Catholics as individuals are peing persecuted, consider this: In Spain, 2,241 religious institutions set up for educational and welfare purposes werw closed, and this nullified the work engagel in by 666,682 religious Sisters and Brothers (just about the number of Jews in Germany. Now why was the right taken from these six hundred-odd thousend persons to teach and do welfare work? Were they not citizens, and were they not therefore, like their Jewish brethren in Germany deprived of their civil liberty, their natural right to lwe as they saw fit? Indeed, as Pope, Spain, “The liberty which is granted to all to exerise the right to teach is taken from one class of citizens guilty only of having embraced a life of renunciation and perfectin.”

Furthermore, one cannot overlook the fact of the great number of churches and convents burned in tese two countries, with their art treasures and literary gems; the murder of two priests by Socialists last April; the repression of Catholic dailies; the constant interference with religious services; the heavy tax burdens-all these affect not only the “Catholic religion” but those for whom the Catholic religion exists, the Catholic people!

Thus it may be clear that not only the “Catholic geligion”, which is indeed a vague and mysterious term, but also Catholics as individals, both clergy and laity, are suffering under the persecutions in Spain and Mexico.

Spain and Mexico are predominantly Catholic countries, Rabbi Horowitz next says, and in both the persecutions are carried on by Catholic natives. That is the substance of his last two points. Now here there is not only a mistake in logic but also a failure to ascertain facts.

First of all, just because Catholics are in the majority, is that any reason to say that they maybe persecuted without fear of disgrace or disfavor from the outside world? Does the malice of a persecution depend on the number of people affected? Some people would say yes. But Rabbi Horowitz would give us the altogether unique opinion that the more people persecuted, the less evil the persecution. Logically I should think that the persecutions in Mexico and Spain would be considered greater than that in Germany by virtue of the number of people the hardships are worked upon.

Finally it is a great error of fact to say that the persecutions in Mexico and Spain are being carried on by Catholics. Such is not the case. In Mexico, the present drastic church laws were formulated under Calles who is as great an anti-Catolic agitator as can be found anywhere. And in Spain the Spanish ‘liberals’ are all either non-Catholics or renegade Catholics, that is Catholic only in the sense that they were born in t he faith; but as one of them might express it “that was not their fault.”

Protest I say against persecution-but let it be a protest against persecution and not against “this certain persecution” on that “certian persecution.” Persecution is essentially evil no matter where it be carried on, in Germany, Spain, Mexico, Russia, or the United States Let us find no excuse for it any where, but bluck, it in the bud, and cast the bud into the fire of tolerance there to be consumed, and fer this fire’s warm glow pervade the world.

Paul J. Phelan. Brooklyn, N. Y.