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Preached in City Pulpits

June 13, 1934
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Rabbi Jacob Bosniak, Ocean Parkway Jewish Center, 546 Ocean Parkway, Brooklyn—I venture to doubt the statement made by High Commissioner James G. McDonald, that there is today a feeling of unity among Jews for the time being. No, the Korahs are not dead. The present cessation of open quarrels is not the outcome of a feeling of unity, but rather the result of a feeling of shame before the goyim whom the League of Nations commissioned to help the refugees, and who demand “Let there be unity.”

Our demogogues and undiscipled chieftains have not merged their personalities for the creation of an effective leadership in Israel. They are waiting for the time when the goyim will stop watching them, and then, I fear, their charges against one another will again break out in the open.

The children of Korah are not dead. They carry on the tradition of challenging authority in Israel, in every generation. This is the explanation of the humiliating spectacle of seeing a rabbi praising in the press the Passion Play, and urging American tourists to attend its performances.

It also explains the ugly and disgusting fact that a Jewish publicity firm sold its services to the enemy of our people, to spread the poison of Hitlerism in America.

FLEET A BULWARK FOR PEACE

Rabbi Joseph Zeitlin, Temple Ansche Chesed, West End Avenue at 100th street—Human nature is such that at the beginning of any understanding we manifest a great deal of interest and enthusiasm. When the fleet reached New York, the ovation that was given the men of the Navy was tremendous and really overwhelming. And now that our sailors are with us for several weeks and we have become accustomed to their presence and the novelty of the situation has changed somewhat, it is well for us to seriously reflect upon our attitude towards the fleet in its fullest meaning.

Let our pride in them not merely be momentary; let it not be a perverted sense of pride in our power, but rather let us reverently regard them as a symbol of America’s devoted attachment and loyalty to the preservation of peace for all mankind.

We as Americans dare not be possessed of a perverted sense of pride in our fleet for we have always been opposed to bloodshed and war. It is our fervent prayer that you who are so loyally serving our country will be a bulwark of strength to us so that America shall stand forth as a shining example of a nation that will sacrifice unstintingly in order to preserve the peace of the world.

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