Newspaper Page Text
Friday, February 28, 1936
The
Southern Israelite
RHTAHM8HKD 1*21
raklUhtd Wrrfelr by lb* Southern N*w»-
puper Kntrrprlueo
Inc.
Executive Office*, 1518-14 101 Marietta St.
Hldir-, Atlanta. Ga.
WALNUT 7878-0987
M. S. Millar Editor
M. Staphan Schiffer Publiaher
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Eaatarn Repr**enUtiv*
S. M. GOLDBERG
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Subscription Price $3.00 per year
Entered aa aeeond-ciaaa
Pont Office at Atlanta,
Act of March 3, 1879.
matter at tha
Ga., under the
Th* Southern I erudite invitee correa-
pomlcnce and literary contributiona,
but the editor U not to be considered
a* shnrinir the view* expressed by the
writers except those enunciated in the
editorial columna.
ANOTHER EXODUS
It is not important whether the
proposal for a mass exodus of
Jews from Poland was injected in a
Senate debate by friends or foes of
the Jewish people. The essential
fact to remember is that the Polish
government would welcome the
elimination of 1,000,000 Jews from
the Polish population. To any one
seriously interested in the fate of
Diaspora Jewry this news is of
great significance. It confirms the
fears of Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver,
who, in an article in the Economic
Bulletin of the Non-Secturian Anti-
Nazi League, warned that the Ger
man exodus plan might influence
other governments to accept Jewish
mass emigration us a solution to
the Jewish problem in their coun
tries.
The only reasonable objection
one *could have to the Silver point
of view is that the German and
Polish Jews are not being forcibly
deported. They themselves are an
xious to leave their respective
countries, which hold no promise of
economic improvement so far aa
they are concerned. However, from
a political point of view a most
dangerous situation can be created
if other countries will compete with
Germany for priority in an exodus
plan. There is really no doubt that
the Polish Jewish problem is just
as vital to the Jewish people as a
whole as the German Jewish prob
lem. Why all Jewish resources
should be applied to the solution of
the problem in Germany is diffi
cult to answer.
American Jewish leadership will
have to chart a most cautious
course in regard to the German
exodus project. It must not for one
moment forget that there are over
3,000,000 Jews in Poland and only
500,000 Jews in Germany. It must
not forget that a strong anti-Se
mitic movement exists in practical
ly every country of Europe except
England, France, Italy and a few;
small neutral countries, and if the
cry for an exodus is taken up by
these anti-Jewish forces the Jewish
problem will defy any solution.
Shearith Israel An
nounces Series of
Friday Services
A series of special Friday eve
ning services, featuring guest
speakers, is announced for the com
ing weeks by the Shearith Israel
Synagogue.
At the Friday services this eve
ning, the speaker for the occasion
will be Joseph M. Brown, president
Footnotes To Headlines
i By ROBERT STONE
EUROPE
ITALIAN PAPER URGES JEWS
TO BE MORE SYMPATHETIC TO
FASCISM . . . Which is a definite in
sult to our intelligence.
POLISH RABBIS ORDER WORLD
WIDE PRAYERS AGAINST ANTI
SCDECHITA LAW . . . There are still
wonder rabbis u>ho have faith.
VIENNA CARDINAL CALLS ANTI
SEMITISM NEGATION OF CHRIS
TIANITY ... A voice in the wilder
ness.
SWITZERLAND ORDERS SUP
PRESSION OF ALL NAZI GROUPS
... A courageous act.
WORLD ORGANIZATION FOR AD
VANCEMENT OF HEBREW FOUND
ED IN LONDON . . . Another organi
zation for an obvious movement.
AFRICA
EGYPTIAN JEW NAMED COM
MANDER OF ITALIAN ARMY EE
(DON . . . Let’s stop being surprised
at Jewish soldiers.
PALESTINE
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF JEWISH
PATENTS PLANNED IN TEE AVIV
... It will be crowded—we have num
erous patent cranks and lawyers in Pal
estine.
BIOLOGY TAUGHT IN HEBREW
FOR FIRST TIME AT HEBREW UNI
VERSITY . . . So what we always
know that the newest things tun be
said in the oldest language.
Copyright 1936 for The Southern Israelite
Plain Talk
By AL SEGAL
„ ., t r of i character, a fair intelligence, cer-
“Suppose,” writes T. B. b. ol | cnai acter, j was an un -
be born°«1iin y a°n U d h ;o d U c^Mchooee desirable man because I was a Jew.
PROPHETS OF SOCIAL JUSTICE
LAUDED BY DR. MARX
AT SUNDAY FORUM
| The crackpots and visionaries of
the world were termed “not so bad”
by Dr. David Marx in his discus
sion of ancient and contemporary
prophets in his Forum address at
the Temple Sunday morning.
Explaining that by prophets he
meant those men who advocated so
cial righteousness during their
times, Dr. Marx said: “One of the
reasons why the Jewish people
would not accept a messinh in the
past was because of the prophets.
The prophets always held out for
the future, for that day when na
tions would turn their swords into
ploughshares.”
“The prophets,” he continued,
“had a practical morality, and that
practical morality was this: that a
day would come when, in God's own
time, man would practice social
righteousness, and then mankind
would have a messiah.
“I believe that these prophets of
social justice came nearer to solv
ing human problems than all the
brain trusters.”
Pointing out that riches are
largely accidental, Dr. Marx em
phasized that “wealth is useful only
so far as it recognizes its obliga
tion to the wealth of lack.” This,
he explained, was one of the two
lines upon which the prophets of
social justice based their claims.
The other was that the earth be
longs to God.
During the discussion period fol
lowing Dr. Marx’s talk, the ques
tion, “Why are there no Jews in
the jails?” was posed. Dr. Marx
answered by assuring the question
er that, unfortunately, there were
at the moment many Jewish people
in the jails of America.
“Modern Times” will be the sub
ject of the next Forum period Sun
day morning, March 1st, at 11:00
o’clock.
what to be . . - whether a Jew or
a non-Jew. Would you say, I want
to be a Jew again?’
“We are debating this problem
in our Sisterhood and I am gather
ing ideas on it among a variety ol
Jews, including yourself.”
* * *
Well, I should feel most embar
rassed were God at the moment of
my second birth to say to me: My
son, thou art about to leave heaven
for another birth. Thou wert a Jew
the last time and on account of that
thou didst suffer much pain. Now,
my son, I leave the choice to thee.
Dost thou desire to be a Jew
again?” ,, ,
“O, my Lord God!” ... My ghost
ly countenance would blush; for
now I must reveal to God certain
meditations that had often been in
my heart in my last life-time on
the earth . . . "O my God!”
I had looked with envy at being
an Episcopalian or a Scotchman,
for instance. If an Episcopalian or
a Scotchman had good character,
had fine intelligence, had a right
eous concept of his purpose in the
world, he was an esteemed man in
the most respectable circles. If
there were other Episcopalians or
Scotchmen who were not so admir
able, the upright one still was re
spected, and it was never said, “All
Episcopalians are that way,” or,
“All Scotchmen are thieves.”
“Oh,” I had often exclaimed in
the deep recesses of my heart, “how
I should like to be rather an Epis
copalian or a Scotchman or a Bap
tist or a Frenchman or anyone save
a negro.
What had there been for me, the
Jew, on the earth? I remembered
the time I could have had a good
job in the great industry of Door
knobs, Inc., but for the fact that I
was a Jew. The personnel director
had looked at me accusingly and
had said, “You are Jewish, aren’t
you?”
At that time I reproached God
Why had He made me a Jew? Why
if He loved me, didn’t He make me
one who would be pleasing to the
personnel director of Doorknobs
Inc.? God had given me a good
And even if I turned and became
an Episcopalian I would still be un
desirable, because I was a Jew.
There was no escape for me.
In fact, I had liked to contem
plate being born again and havinff
my choice and saying to God. u
my God, have Thou mercy. Is it
not enough to be a Jew once? What
has there been for the Jew in all
the times? Pain and persecution
and revilement, and if one time he
uffered the sword another time it
was the fire or the bludgeon or the
personnel director looking through
him with accusing eyes: You are a
“O my Lord, if it be pleasing in
Thine eyes make Thou me a 100/©
Anglo-Saxon that I may have a sate
place on the earth.
The ORACLE
By Carl Alpert
The Oracle answers all ques .
tions of general Jewish interest
Queries should be addressed to
the Oracle, care of this paper
accompanied by a self-addressed
stamped envelope.
But now that I had actuall> died
and was about to be born again
and stood before God to make iny
choice, I had no quick answer. In
deed, 1 would rather not have been
born again, knowing, as I did, the
travails of the earth that were foi
everybody j but the Most High had
commanded and I must be boin
again. , ,
“Choose thou,” said the Lord.
But I knew not what to do. I
had no courage to say to God that
I did not desire to be a Jew again,
since our prayer books had always
said He was the Father, the Shield
and the Buckler of us who were
the Chosen People.
“O my Lord God,” I answered,
“say Thou what shall I do.”
And He spoke: “My son, is the
pain of the Jew the only pain on.
the earth?”
“O my God,” I replied, “pain is
for everybody.”
“Upon every man’s back is a
bundle of pain,” he continued. “And
one man hath the pain of his envy
and another man in the pain of his
greed. One suffereth the pain of
loss and another the pain of being
disappointed, or the pain of defeat
or the pain of his sickness.”
“But, O Lord God, these are not
like the pains of the Jews. The
(Continued on page 12)
Q. Have the Jews ever under
taken campaigns for the conversion
of people of other faiths to Juda
ism?—S. L. Z.
A. In Jewish history there is
only one instance of proselyting- by
Jews. John Hyrcanus, the Has-
monean, took in hand all the Jews’
enemies and gave them the choice
of accepting Judaism or banish
ment. In the year 120 B. C. E. they
adopted Judaism.'
Q. What is the Guggenheim en-
dowment funds?—A. S. B.
A. Founded in 1925 and having
at its disposal four and a half mil-
1 i o n dollars, the Guggenheim
foundation endowment fund is
reckoned to provide between 70 and
80 scholarships yearly for a wide
range of scholars, artists and art
isans. Many of these carry with
them provisions for residence
abroad.
JEWISH CALENDAR
5696—1936
••K**t of Eather_. Sat., Mar. 7
Purira Sun., Mar. 8
Roah Chodcah Niasan.-Tues., Mar. 24
1st Day of Passover Tues., Apr. 7
Lag B’Omer Sun., May 10
Roah Chodesh Sivan Fri.. May 22
1st Day of Shavuoth Wed., May 28
*Rosh Chodesh Tammui Sun., Jun. 21
Fast of Tammui Tues., July 7
Roah Chodesh Ab Mon.. July 20
Tisha B’Ab ,„Tues.. July 28
•Rosh Chodesh Flul ....Wed., Aug. 19
MOTE: Holidays begin in tha evenings
preceding dates designated.
* Rash Chodesh also observed the pre
vious day.
••Fast observed on following Thurs
day.
of the Gate City Lodge, No. 144,
B’nai B’rith, who will discuss the
function and purpose of B’nai
B’rith. The occasion has been des
ignated as “B’nai B’rith Night.”
Sabbath melodies will be chant
ed by the Shearith Israel Choir and
the services will be conducted by
Samuel Geffen.
Friday evening, March 6, will be
devoted to a Young Judaea Sab
bath, and services will be led by
the S. I. J. Club, a group which
holds meetings at the Shearith Is
rael Synagogue. These services will
acquaint Atlanta with the aims and
purpose of the Young Judaea or
ganization. Sylvan Makover, past
president of the Atlanta Young
Judaean Council, will be guest
speaker of the occasion.
Other speakers scheduled to ap
pear at the Friday evening services
include Dr. Harry L. Cohen and Ir
ving Nathan. The Jewish commun
ity is cordially invited to attend
these services.
Dr. Harry Cohen and Adalbert
Freedman will lead a symposium
on “The New Deal” at the regular
meeting of the Shearith Israel
Brotherhood on Monday evening,
March 2, in the vestry room of the
Synagogue.
NATIONAL COUNCIL HEAD
VISITS ATLANTA SECTION
(Continued from page I) >
A report of the sessions of the
Washington (D. C.) Conference for
the Cause and Cure of War was
given at the meeting by Mrs. Phil
ips Shulhafer, delegate of the At
lanta Section of the Council of
Jewish Women.
“Three million women,” Mrs.
Shulhafer said, “were represented
at the Conference by delegates
from the National League of Wom
en Voters, the Y. W. C. A., the
National Council of Jewish Women,
the Federated Women’s Clubs, and
the Association of University
Women.”
Mrs. Shulhafer reported that the
Conference agreed that thei-e is no
hope for gaining world peace with
out the disarmament of the entire
world.
“The difference,” Mrs. Shulhafer
said, “between an adequate defense
and what we have come to consider
as necessary defense amounts to
three billion dollars. Two very im
portant cures for war were out
lined at the Conference: firstly,
the prevention of active aggression,
and secondly, the removal of the
causes of active aggression.”
Delegates of the Atlanta Section
of the National Council of Jewish
Women to the Inter-state Confer
ence of the Council to be held in
Charleston, S. C., March 1-3 are
Mrs. Edgar Bodenheimer, Mrs. Her
man Heyrnan and Mrs. L. Van
Stavoren, Jr., it was announced at
the meeting.
The theme of the Conference will
be “The Council of Jewish Women
and Contemporary Scene.”
Dr. Abraham Leon Sachar, di
rector of the Hillel Foundation, will
open the Sunday sessions at the
Hassel Street Synagogue with an
address, “Israel Weaves A Tapes
try.” Mrs. Julian Goldman, of New'
Orleans, president of the Confer
ence, will also speak.
Mrs. Edwin S. Pearlsteine, vice
president of the Charleston section,
will preside at a banquet to be held
Monday evening. March 2, at the
Francis Marion Hotel. Mrs. Marion
Miller will address the gathering
on “The Ever Widening Council
Frontier.”
Q. What is the Histadruth? —
T. T.
A. This name is popularly used
for the “Histadruth Ha-Ovdim Ha-
Ivrim Haclalith b’Hretz Yisroel—
the General Jewish Federation of
Labor in Palestine. It was founded
in December, 1920, and is said to
have a membership of over 70,000
today.
Conference Report
Given At Senior
Hadassah Meeting
An illuminating report of the
Southern Regional Conference held
in Jacksonville was brought to the
Senior Hadassah meeting by Mrs.
Harry H. Epstein, official delegate
to conference. Others attending
were Mesdames Sam E. Levy, Hy
man S. Jacobs, Louis J. Levitas,
Harry Lever and Robert M. Travis.
A paper, “Palestine—Its Contri
bution to Modern Civilization,” pre
pared by Mrs. Epstein and given
at the convention w T as read to the
Atlanta Chapter. It covered the
Jewish ethical contributions in the
past and the present history-mak
ing experiments in colonization,
agriculture, industry, medicine, the
sciences and the arts of the old-
new nation in Palestine.
Mrs. Sam E. Levy, president, an
nounced that the next meeting will
be a festive occasion celebrating
Purim. A sheet shower for the Pal
estinian hospitals will be held.
Among its many activities, Hadas
sah continues to provide hospitals
and institutions with supplies and
linens.
In announcing the Annual Donor
Dinner which will be held in May,
Mrs. J. J. Heilman, Chai—man,
stated that the proceeds of this
project heretofore used for the
Hadassah Medical Organization
now has to serve a two-fold pur
pose: the Hadassah Medical Or
ganization and the Youth Aliyah
(transfer of persecuted youth from
Germany and Poland to Palestine),
and hoped that the donors will be
many and the donations munificent.
Senior Hadassah Educational
Group, Mrs. Harry H. Epstein,
chairman, will meet on Wednesday
morning, 10:30 o’clock in Rich’s
Conference Room. The subject will
be “Palestine and World Affairs”
and will be covered by the follow
ing chapters from “Modern Pales
tine.” which the group is studying:
‘ Political Zionism Since 1914 ”
“History of Palestine,” both by
Jacob de Haas; “Zionism and World
Politics,” by Horace M. Kallen;
Q. What stand does Jewish law
take on money lending?—B. M.
A. According to Jewish law-
usury is looked upon with disfavor.
“A usurer is comparable to a mur
derer,” says a Talmudic Rabbi, “for
the cries of both are equally ir
remediable.” The Jewish Code pro
vides that a usurer is forbidden the
right to act as a witness.
Q. Please give some informa,
tion concerning the family from
which Rabbi Stephen S. Wise is
descended.—O. J.
A. Stephen Samuel Wise is de
scended from a long line of rabbis
reaching back into the 17th cen
tury. The sequence of rabbis in
the family has been unbroken for
seven generations. The original
family name was Weiss, and be
fore that, Weisfeld. His grand
father, Joseph Hirsch Weiss, was
chief rabbi of Erlau, Austria and
among the most determined oppo
nents of Reform Judaism. His
father, Aaron Wise was for twenty-
two years rabbi of Congregation
Rodeph Shalom in New York.
of
Q. What is the real name
Rashi?—S. P. L.
A. The name Rashi is derived
from the initials of Rabbi Solomon
ben Issac, noted Biblical commen
tator.
Noted Zionist Leader
To Speak At Public
Meeting Here
Baruch Zuckerman, noted orator
and prominent Zionist leader, will
address a public mass meeting Sun
day, March 1, at 4 o’clock at the
Jewish Educational Alliance.
Having recently arrived from
Palestine where he studied eco
nomic conditions in connection with
Jewish emigration, Mr. Zuckerman
will give a detailed account of that
country’s position in relation to f’J r ‘
ther immigration. . ,
The speaker is well acquaintec
with the plight of the Jews in Gei-
many and other Eastern European
countries and his message,
present situation of European Jew
ry and the possibilities in Pales
tine,” is based upon authoritative
information.
Everybody is welcome. Admi-
sion free.
the Hither East,” by Hans Kohn,
and “Palestine Today and Tomo:
row,” by John Haynes Holmes.
Short reports of these chapt-w
will be given by members to who
W ^ . x- — , they were assigned, followed
nationalism and Imperialism in discussions and current events.