This scholarly exchange examines the complex relationship between national Jewish organizations and local Southern Jewish communities during the civil rights era of the 1950s. Through correspondence between Rabbi William S. Malev and Irwin Glatstein, Assistant Director of the Jewish Community Council of Houston, the discussion analyzes competing approaches to Jewish involvement in desegregation efforts. Glatstein critiques Malev's advocacy for locally-led community relations, arguing that without national pressure and federal intervention, minimal progress would occur on racial issues. He challenges the effectiveness of religious leadership given congregational resistance and questions whether local Jewish leaders can adequately address implementation challenges without national organizational expertise. Malev responds by defending a community-integrated approach, arguing that excessive identification with minority status creates a "pincer movement" between segregationists and militant civil rights advocates that increases antisemitism. He advocates for Jewish communities to work within established community frameworks rather than as isolated minority advocates, citing Houston's collaborative interfaith model as exemplary. The correspondence reveals fundamental tensions between pragmatic local considerations and principled national advocacy, highlighting the precarious position of Southern Jewish communities navigating between civil rights commitments and communal security concerns during a transformative period in American race relations.