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The Southern Israelite
Friday, September 11, 1936
The
Southern Israelite
Publishml weekly by the Southern Newspaper KntcrpriBca, Inc. M. S. Miller. Edi
tor r Orin Bom ten, Associate Editor, M. Stephen Srhiffer, Publisher; Nathan I.iplon,
Business Manager. Executive office*, 101 Marietta St. Building, 8uite 513-14, At
lanta, Ga.
ADDRESS ALL COMMUNICATIONS TO MAIN OFFICE IN ATLANTA. GA.
Entered aa aecond class matter at the Pont Office at Atlanta, Ga., under the Act
of March 3, 1879. Yearly subscription one dollar. Single copiaa, five cent*. Canada
and foreign subscriptions, one dollar per year.
The Southern Israelite Invite* correspondence on subject* of interest to the
Jewish p*opl<* and literary contribution*, but the editor In not to be connidered aa
sharing the views exprcaae<i by the writer*, except those enunciated in the editorial
columns.
Another New Year Dawns
On Wednesday evening, as the last rays of the sun fade
into the dusk, as men, women and children of Jewish faith
gather in their synagogs and temples the world over, another
year in the long and troubled history of Jewry will come to
an end. Wherever we pray, be it under the marble and gilt
dome of an ornate structure, in the parlor of a home in a
small American town, or in some dark, dismal basement in a
country where oppression and terror stalk, the prayers of Is
rael’s children will be the same.
“Oh, Lord," we will cry, “this year that has passed has
been a troubled one for Thy children. In Germany, our breth
ren still walk with bowed, shamed heads and dare not look
into the sunlight. In Poland, our brethren are pursued by
hunger, disease and death. In Palestine, from where we were
dispersed ages ago by the destruction of Thy Temple, our
brethren have been slaughtered as cattle, and the holy earth
is stained with our blood. And we tremble with each new sign
of unrest in the world. And we know not which way to turn.
And we take refuge in Thee, in Thy wisdom and in Thy com
passion."
Thus it has been for centuries upon centuries, and always
the God of Israel has answered our prayers. And Jewry has
survived like a great, enduring tree, though the wind harass
it and thunder shake its boughs.
It is this indestructible faith in God that pierces the black
outlook for the future like a strong, golden beam of light, for
what stretches ahead for us can not be seen for the bleak and
ominous darkness. Our plight is only a part of a great, en
gulfing injustice that has spread its somber wings over the
civilized world, imposing its talons of terror and violence up
on the weak and defenseless.
To World Jewry upon this New Year, the protests of
prominent leaders against the oppression that cleaves to us
will count as naught, and only the faith in a just God will re
main. We were never a people to be deceived by false hopes,
or a people given to spinning bright visions out of the fabric
of despair. It has ever been that we turned to the God of
Israel alone upon this solemn day.
And so as the Shofar sounds, calling for remembrance of
God’s Laws, Jewry on Itosh Hashanah will mediate and know
that it has transgressed, that it has drifted far from Jewish
ideals; it will look upon itself and know its errors and its sins;
it will repent and ask for mercy for the thousands who live
in terror of sudden death or slow starvation.
Let Jewry on this day fill God’s temples to overflow the
world over. Let it draw closer to the great heart of Israel.
Away from Judaism, dazzled by the bright little flame of
assimilation, we are a lost and defenseless people, at the
mercy of barbaric forces; together, the strength of Israel, the
strength of the ages, beats within us.
DRAMA
The far - reaching
DANGER implications of the
recent Conference of
Christian Clergymen and Laymen
in Asheville, N. C. are borne out
by reports of plans being made by
its sponsors for an October meet
ing of the organization in Washing
ton, D. C., offers a challenging
answer to those who sought to
minimize the danger of the shock
ing outburst.
Re-convening also is the original
clergymen’s group, under the direc
tion of Houston's (Texas) Rever
end Ralph E. Nollner, has a meet
ing scheduled for Saturday, Sep
tember 12th, in Chicago, will as
semble one thousand Protestant,
Catholic and Jewish clergymen.
With indications that the last
chapter of the Conference split-up
is not yet closed, speculation as to
whether B’nai B’rith’s Anti-Defa
mation League, the Non-Sectarian
Anti-Nazi League and the Anglo-
Jewish press can bring pressure <m
the agitators, and whether the orig
inal Conference will attack the
rump group at its Saturday assem- | DEBATE
bly, runs high.
That Asheville will not be the
stamping ground of future anti-
Jewish conferences was made clear
in an editorial of the Asheville
Times-Citizen.
“The National Conference of
Christian Clergymen and Laymen
was conceived in bigotry and is
dedicated to the spread of the anti-
Semitic spirit in its most vicious
form.
“For such vocative and mischiev
ous intolerance Asheville has no
hospitality. It frowns upon the
peddling of such prejudice as un-
Christian, un-American, and whol
ly harmful.
“One further fact should be
made clear: While the Conference
is being held in Asheville, it is not
drawing any comfort or any aid
from Asheville and is alien to the
true spirit of this community.’’
While no official
statement has been
made, it is whisper
ed about in Atlanta that a WPA
Theatre project will shortly open
here, will bring to a drama-starved
public the thought-provoking plays
that have made the project a suc
cess in principal cities of the coun
try.
Certain to see production in At
lanta if the plan becomes a reality
will be Sinclair Lewis’ dramatiza
tion of his own sensational novel,
“It Can’t Happen Here,” has been
selected for simultaneous produc
tion by fifty Federal Theatre
groups in the United States.
In daring to produce a play that
Hollywood feared to touch, the
present administration articulates
its desire to suppress Fascistic
tendencies in this country, will
seek to educate the American
masses to the dangers of religious
intolerance, through the medium of
the theatre.
Before an assembly
of three hundred
and fifty people in
Boston, Mass. Recently two Sa
vannah, Ga. Young Judaeans, Saul
I. Raskin and Richard G. Gordon,
opposed debaters from the historic
city, were awarded the national
championship of Young Judaea for
the South.
Subject of the debate concerned
the World Jewish Congress, provid
ed abundant controversial fire. Op
posing the Congress, holding that
no benefits of consequence would
come from it, debaters Raskin and
Gordon won the applause of the
gathering by their knowledge of
Jewish problems, proved to skepti
cal Boston that Southern Jewish
youth was well informed.
Vatican Organ
Rebukes Poland
Rome (WNS)—The Osserva-
tore Romano, official organ of
the Vatican, has published a
strong article in which pogroms
on Jews in Poland are vigorous
ly condemned. Among other
things the article says that
“good Catholics must regard
Jews first of all as human beings
who must be loved like all other
people.”
When War Comes Again
By A1 Segal
Dr. Kasner Explains
Geometry Discovery
Cambridge, Mass. (WNS) — A
new geometry based on his recent
discovery of the measurement of
horn angles was explained here by
Prof. Edward Kasner of Columbia
University in the opening lecture
of the Harvard Tercentenary Con
ference of Arts and Sciences. In
this geometry, in which four vari
ables are used to measure angles,
the sum of the measure of the parts
of any given angle are often great
er than the measure of the whole,
though the sum may at times be
equal to the whole. Dr. Kasner de
vised this new method of measure
ment in order to measure horn an
gles, which are the angles formed
at the meeting point of two curves;
these angles cannot be measured by
the common geometrical measure
rod of degrees, which is the basis
of the orthodox geometry in which
the sum of the parts is always
equal to tha whole.
The reform rabbis are troubled
about the rights of my conscience
and, of course, also yours. When
war comes my conscience may say
to me: “Sir, how may you, a Jew,
who received the Commandments
at Sinai, conscientiously go to kill
strangers ?”
Therefore, the rabbis have taken
the following stand on the matter:
“The Central Conference of Amer
ican Rabbis reaffirms its convic
tion that conscientious objection to
military service is in accordance
Toscanini Ready
To Lead Symphony
Jerusalem (WNS-Palcor Agency)
—The Palestine Philharmonic Or
chestra will begin its first season
this year under the baton of Ar
turo Toscanini, it is announced here.
Among the other conductors will
be Issay Dobrowen, formerly of
Ran Francisco, and Hans W. Stein
berg, former director of the opera
in Frankfurt, Germany. The sea
son’s program w’ill consist of 26
concerts, of which 10 will be given
in Tel Aviv, 8 in Jerusalem and 8
in Haifa.
ly in the world ? Shall we now
abandon the white banner of peace
the rabbis carried so bravely in
peace-times ?”
All Jewry applauded when I was
arrested.
“Ready! Aim! Fire!”
I lay dead by the wall. A Jewish
conscience dead and no one even to
say kaddish for it.
Tn ill Tow™ if -..mc fu Peekskill (WNS) — Following
nassirur was p-ooH ridP . at !? y protests from Catholics and Jews,
caus^of 'israeL 0t " in the ! the town counsel of Cortlan.lt is-
Flaming Cross Banned
Following Protests
t} ... _ .sued instructions forbidding the
y all this I mean to say that display of a flaming “fiery kross”
j rabbis need not trouble themselves by the resurgent Ku Klux Klan at
with the highest interpretation of
Judaism and therefore petitions the I about Jewish consciences in war;
government of the United States to|f or all consciences will be swept up
grant to Jewish religious conscien-1 like leaves and cast into the fire.
Jewish consciences will
Footnotes To Headlines
By Robert Stone
NORTH AMERICA
U. S. CHRISTIANS ORGANIZE TO DEFEND JEWISH HOMELAND . . .
A fine gesture which American Jewry appreciates.
A. B. C. LEGION. NEW ANTI-SEMITIC GROUP. EXPOSED . . . Unpleas
ant truths are better faced than unknown.
EIGHTY-SIX MICHIGAN OFFICIALS LINKED TO BLACK LEGION
, . . This does not speak well for Michigan officialdom.
SINCLAIR LEWIS’ NOVEL OF FASCISM IN AMERICA TO BE DRAMA
TIZED BY THE WPA . . . But it couldn't happen in Hollywood.
EUROPE
REICH ORDERS GERMAN JEWISH REFUGEES FROM SPAIN OUT
OF COUNTRY . . . Once a refugee, always a refugee, is the Nazi motto.
JEWS OF SPAIN SEEK TO PRESERVE NEUTRALITY IN CIVIL WAR
. . . They should have the gumption to fight against Fascism.
NON-ARYAN BUILDER OF OLYMPIC VILLAGE DRIVEN TO SUICIDE
BY PERSECUTION . . . But he was good enough to be used for the greater
glory of the Reich.
FASCIST DICTATOR OF GREECE REASSURES JEW'S . . . Actions re
assure more than words.
THREE HUNDRED AND THIRTY ONE POLISH JEWS COMMITTED
SUICIDE DURING 1935 . . . That's a feather in the Endek cap.
PALESTINE
MACCABEE SOCCER TEAM ON WAY TO UNITED STATES
American Jewry will welcome these athletic ambassadors of the Yiskub.
GERMAN SETTLERS SEND $25,000 GIFT TO HITLER . . . WhaYs sur
prising about that?
DELEGATION OF THREE U. S. SENATORS ARRIVES FOR SURVEY
. . . But how much will they be able to see at this time?
Copyright 1936 for the Southern Israelite
tious objectors to war the same ex
emptions from military service as
has long been granted to members
of the Society of Friends and simi
lar religious organizations.”
Now there came the great war
with the Patagonians. No one knew
its field day celebration on Sep
tember 5th, 6th and 7th at Lafay
ette Field. Revived after eight
suffer i years of inactivity, the hooded or-
pressure of the outward hysteria j der’s Westchester County division
as well as the pressure of their has distributed leaflets announcing
own fears: “I dare not be brave that the “Klan Rides Again.” Fath-
against this war, lest Israel suffer
by my courage/
Even rabbis’ consciences will be
er Francis X. Doyle, pastor of St.
Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church
at Verplanck, had demanded a ban
precisely what he had airainst the * 1 - , n ra0Dls consciences will be aL ’
Patagonians and indfed few ,n ™ late d the handsome, thick ™ the Klan s fiery cross because
* . ’ lew tv thP rrncc ic a vplionrmc: pmVilpm and
Americans had ever seen a Pat
agonian. But as the weeks passed
after the declaration of war, good
causes for killing Patagonians be
gan to erystalize.
Finally it came to be seen clearly
whipcord uniform of army chap
lains and if any one of them re
members their brave resolutions of
1936 he will say, “But this war is
different. This is a moral war.”
I have pretended that I would
what we were fighting about. We sta nd alone for the rights of the
were, indeed, fighting for morality.
The immoral Patagonians wore no
pants and that shameful fact made
the issue and gave the war the
ardor of a crusade.
By the battle-cry, “Make the
World Safe for Morality,” the mil
lions were rallied and millions
more marched tn George M. Cohan’s
stirring battle cry, “Put Pants on
the Patagonians.”
Rabbis enlisted as chaplains and,
as further evidence of the whole
heartedness of the Jews with the
purposes of the wars, Jewish or
ganizations sent large consign
ments of pants to the war zone.
These were immediately to be put
on every captured Patagonian.
I remembered the resolution of
the rabbis asserting the right of
the Jewish conscience to object to
war. and I wrote: “Are we not the
greater the more we are ourselves?
Have we not inherited a conscience
that burns against war and hate
and injustice? Is this not the time
to let our conscience burn bright-
Jewish conscience; but I will prob
ably go with the parade. My regi
mented conscience will write stir
ring pieces summoning young Is
rael to do his duty against the
Patagonians.
“This,” I will say, “is a war that
is approved by Torah and proph
ets, a fit cause for the sons of
prophets.
To ask for war exemption for re
ligious objectors is merely to try
to ease the pain of some conscien
ces. It seems to me that rabbis
should be concerned rather with
the pain of those who will grieve
for them.
The Central Conference of Amer
ican Rabbis looked at a fire and
thought only a few select souls to
rescue. Where they more like their
prophetic ancestors they might
have directed their minds to causes
of war and thus doubtless, would
have come to a consideration of the
economic order from which wars
spring.
(Continued on page 14)
the cross is a religious emblem and
should not be burned.
Claims Jewry Leads in
Catholic Conversion
Rome (WNS)—Jews lead all
other religious groups in accepting
conversion to Catholicism, it was
revealed in a report in the organ
of the International Catholic Mis
sionary Society. The report claims
that in the 20 years from 1915 to
1934 Catholic missionaries convert
ed 8,226 Jews in Austrian and Hun
gary, 3,000 in France and 1,700 in
England, Holland, Belgium and the
United States.
Weyl, Author and
Printer, Dies at 67
Philadelphia (WNS) — Maurice
N. Weyl, president of Edw r ard
Stern and Co., printing and pub
lishing house, and secretary of the
Philadelphia Record Co., is dead
here at the age of 67. He w r as
noted as an author, composer, and
authority on printing and typogra
phy; his music library and collec
tion of phonograph records are fa
mous among music lovers through
out the country.