80 Years, and It’s Just the Beginning
80 Years, and It’s Just the Beginning
By
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07/14/2022 2:00 PM
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Each week, a dedicated team produces your Detroit Jewish News with passion to fulfill the founding words of Mr. Slomovitz and the refreshed mission of today.
In November 1942, Winston Churchill said of the war, “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”
Earlier that year, a visionary journalist who immigrated from Russia in 1910, leveraged his learnings from his degree in journalism from the University of Michigan and his experiences as a writer for the Jewish Chronicle to launch the Detroit Jewish News. This leader knew that the Jewish community would be desperate for news and perspective given the coming storm of World War II.
His name was Philip Slomovitz.
In that first issue, published March 27, 1942, Mr. Slomovitz proclaimed: “We promise to give our people the latest news and historical data concerning Jews all over the world. We pledge to help build up the morale of the Jews in this war-torn world by fostering that spirit of brotherhood which will assure amity and good will among all faiths of the United States, the world’s greatest nation.”
In this 80th anniversary issue, we proudly reprint the first edition of this great paper, with the support of the William Davidson Foundation, which has been instrumental in supporting the Detroit Jewish News Foundation and countless other important institutions and endeavors. We are grateful for the ongoing support for this publication and for the William Davidson Archives of Jewish Detroit History.
When the Detroit Jewish News Foundation assumed ownership and control of the Detroit Jewish News in late 2020 from Publisher Emeritus Arthur Horwitz, the publication became part of a charitable enterprise and evolved into both a community-supporting organization and a community-supported organization.
The newly constituted Board of Directors of the Foundation adopted mission and visions statements pledging in part “to be of service to the Jewish and general community” and to advance “the morale and spirit of the community, advocating Jewish unity, identity and continuity.”
As you flip through the reprint of the first issue, you will note the story of Sgt. Hank Greenberg and the call to action by Fred M. Butzel on behalf of the Allied Jewish Campaign.
On page 11, readers find these words: “Forward together. Toward the Promised Land.”
In foreshadowing of what was to come, with the realization of the unthinkable tragedy of the Holocaust, and then the dream of the founding of the State of Israel in 1948, these lines echo the words of Winston Churchill: There was a long and difficult journey ahead.
Each week, a dedicated team produces your Detroit Jewish News with passion to fulfill the founding words of Mr. Slomovitz and the refreshed mission of today. We are grateful to our team for their dedication and commitment.
Although much has changed in 80 years, so much still seems the same: a war-torn world searching for a spirit of brotherhood and an air of civility among all peoples.
You have our commitment that the Detroit Jewish News will continue do its part to further this aspiration.
Gary Torgow
Chairman, Detroit Jewish News Foundation
Mark Davidoff
Senior Advisor to the Board
