Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-01-04
JEWISH DELINQUENCY CHARGE
IS DENIED BY RABBI SIMON
DenounceS Judge Cayton
From Pulpit of Eighth
Street Temple.
Court Records Cited in His
Reply on Hebrew Crime
Wave"

Judge Nathan Cayton of Municipal
Court was denounced last night from
the pulpit of the Eighth Street Temple
by Rabbi Abram Simon for what Or.
Simon described as the judges "un-
seemly, untrue and cruel condemnation
of his own people and religion" A
large audience heard the rabbi speak on
Jewish Self Criticism. With Special
Reference to a Recent Sermon on The
Jewish Crime Wave"
DR.. Simon's remarks we're in answer
to assertions made by Judge Cayton a
week ago in an address at the Adas
Israel Synagogue. At that time Judge
Cayton declared that "a Jewish crime
wave" existed over the country, and
that "the Jewish race seems to have
produced far more than its share of
criminals of all classes"
Pointing out that he did not ques-
ton the motive" of Judge Cayton, DR..
Simon nevertheless insisted the time
had come to call the judge before the
bar of America public opinion for his
condemnation of his people and re-
ligion."
"They Are All Americans"
The speaker cited court records of
Washington, New York and other cities
IS the basis of his moral right" to
declare that there is no such thing as
Jewish crime wave. There are no
Jewish or Catholic or Protestant crimi-
nails as SUCH" DR.. Simon continued.
They are all Americans of Jewish.
Catholic or Protestant communions.
Their fall from grace is not due to their
religion, and their sins should not be
fastened on their church affiliations.
lone might dismiss with smile what
Mr.. Nathan Cayton says, but what Is
said by Judge Cayton, a Government
official, whose position calls for judi
cial temper, wide reading and an I'M
derstanding heart, is quite another
thing" he declared. mo article from
the Dearborn Independent has been as
scathing and condemnatory of Israel
and no Ku KluX orator has been more
unrighteous than our friend the
judge"
While DR.. Simon said he would not
question the motives" that prompted
Judge Cayton to deliver such a care
fully prepared address to the press be-
fore the Hoover Crime Commission has
reported its findings" he added that
contained hidden dynamite" and
should have been carefully considered
before utterance.
Shocking and Brutal Charges"
'T am not interested in hiding the
truth of whitewashing the sins OF my
people," DR.. Simon declared, land
am anxious to learn the facts, however
distressing they may be. Yet not every
body is prophet or the son of
prophet. Many man has lost his bal
ance in playing the prophet of doom.
Judge Cayton, desiring to show that
all was not well in Israel in America,
has written an indictment which con-
signs his people to the gutter of unde-
stability"
Insisting that Judge Cayton's Shock
ing and brutal charge has no refer
ence in statistics or facts" and that the
judge stepped out of his position to
act as a lay preacher in the pulpit and
to discover what he has christened the
Jewish crime wave,'" DR.. Simon quot
ed statistics in defense of Jewish viz
tue.
with our present Jewish population
of $4,000, or 3 per cent of the Wash
ington census" DR.. Simon continued,
"the percentage of Jewish delinquency
is far below what its population ratio
would expect.
when I want to know the real eff
feet of crime wave seek the Juvenile
Court records. I wish to know If the
Jewish youth and childhood of the land
are infected. Quoting from the Gov
eminent documents of the work of the
Juvenile Court in Washington, I find
that beginning in 1914. when there
were 852 children officially before the
Juvenile Court, down through 1929, when
there were 1851, the number of Jewish
children who came officially before the
Juvenile Court in 1914 was 81, gradually
dropping year by year to 10, to 81, to
Is. II, and finally last year to IA.
In other words, the so-called Jewish
juvenile delinquency is scarcely a half
of l per cent.
Jewish Community Center Lauded.
"In the National Training School for,
Boys, out of total of 495, there are
today of our faith. Despite the
trebling of the Jewish population, juve-
nile delinquency among our people has
not only not increased-it has definitely
and impressively decreased, and its
record is most complimentary one to
US. For this proud achievement, at least
so far as the last five years are con-
cerned, believe that the Jewish Com
munity Center merits the largest share
of credit.
IT have the statistics before me with
reference to the penal institutions known
as State, county and the city of New
York. In the State prisons of New
York, where the Jewish State popula-
tons would justify 1911 per cent OF
criminality, the Jewish percentage was
actually 10.4 per cent. In the penal
institutions of the city of New York
where the Jewish city population would
call for 81 per cent proportion of crimi-
nality according to its population, we
actually find that there was but 1873
per cent of Jewish offenders. I hold
in my hand four graphs prepared by
the Bureau of Jewish Social Research,
containing in columnar forms the popu-
lation of Jewish, non-Jewish (white)
and colored in the correctional insti-
tutions of the city and State of New
York. Here again in the decade from
1916 to 1926, where the war DAYS of
1916 found a situation quite appalling,
the Jewish column of delinquency in
Juvenile Court and in State institutions
has been dropping and dropping year
by year. If this picture is true Of such
city as New York, it will prove all the
more encouraging If contrasted with
other large cities and with thousands
of smaller towns.
IT realize as does every sensible man
| that the mounting number NJ so-calIad