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PafC« Four
THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE
Friday, June 20, 1947
The Southern Israelite
PublLMiea Vtrk!) oy uouttiern Niwupan-1 En ..erprj>ea, Inc. 8uite
201-205 Olfiin Building, Atlanta 3, Georgia WAlnut 0191-0702 M.
btenheD Schlffer. publisher, Adolph Roaenbert. editor: Willy Pel*.
Outinru menuaei Entered as second class matter at the post office,
Atlanta Georgia, under the Act of March 3 1879. T«arly subscrlplon.
tnree dollars The Southern Israelite invites literary contributions and
correspondence but Is not to be considered as sharing the views ex
pressed by writers All material should be received by Wednesday noon
to Insure publication In Issue of that week.
« Itvll-.M TruoaseNK
DEMOCRACY WITHOUT "RESERVATIONS"
Snail or Man?
GUEST EDITORIAL
If a snail could laugh, June would be his tune for
merriment. Slowest of God’s creatures, he would never
dream of taking seven hundred years to make a move
on which his life depends. Only clumsy man would
crawl at such a pace.
It took us more than seven centuries—June, 1215, to
June, 1945—to advance from Magna Charta to United
Nations Charter; from the first timid step toward human
rights to the final strides at San Francisco, two years ago
this month.
Twenty-two generations were born and died; millions
were killed in wars, before we arrived at the truth that
human rights are essential to world peace. Our own
survival, we now find, may well depend on our ability
to block the first moves of aggressors; to check their as
saults on racial and religious groups, their attacks on
civil liberties, even if we have to cross borders to do it.
The United Nations Charter says it bluntly: We must
“practice tolerance and live together in peace with one
another as good neighbors . . . promoting and encouraging
respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms
for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or
religion.”
The next step is every man’s, and we have no tune
to dawdle any more. Hiroshima and Nagasaki made that
clear.
Yet, the question remains: How far and how fast can
we go in promoting human rights elsewhere, unless we
advance them at home? Here, in the United States, we
are a small world in ourselves, a cross-section of every
color, creed and ancestry. Our Constitution promises each
American what the United^ Nations Charter promises all
mankind. That’s why other countries look to us for
leadership. That’s why we have to fight doubly hard
against economic insecurity, racial discrimination, reli
gious bigotry. When we speak up for the rights of all
Americans—white and colored; Protestant, Catholic and
Jewish; native-born and foreign-born—we speak not only
for ourselves, but for the peace of all mankind as well.
As we go, so goes the world. The pace depends on us.
B’NAI B'RITH HUSBAND AND WIFE TEAM.—Shown
above are JMdge and Mrs. Robert L. Aronson of St. Louis
who recently attained the unique distinction of becom
ing the first man and wife presidential team in the his
tory of B'nai B’rith. Judge Aronson was elected to serve
as president of District Grand Lodge No. 2. and Mrs.
Aeons on was named to head District 2 Women.
Capitol
By
Spotlight
Beatrice Heiman
WASHINGTON.
The most cogent arguments for admission of displaced
persons to the United States were presented by Assistant
Secretary of State John H. Hilldring at a recent Congres
sional hearing. Now’ under consideration by the House
Sub-Committee on Immigration is the Stratton Bill to admit
400,000 displaced persons to this
country over a 4-year period.
Testifying in wholehearted sup
port of the measure for the State
Department, Hilldring emphat
ically said that resettlement of
displaced persons in those coun
tries able and willing to take
them is the only adequate and
permanent solution of the prob
lem. Since the U. S. has some
600,000 DPs in its zones in Ger
many and Austria, out of a total
of 850,000 in the other occupied
zones of those countries. Hill
dring argued that the United
States must take the lead in ac
cepting some of them. He said
that he had talked to over forty
ambassadors, inquiring as to the
willingness of their govern
ments to take a share of the
In Retrospect
JTA News
20 YEARS AGO
A novena, a Catholic de\o-
tion recited on nine successive
days for the granting of a spe
cial wish, was invoked by the
dignitaries of the Catholic
Church in Rome in their effort
to bring about the speedy con
version of Jews to Christianity.
In connection with this cere
mony Instructions were issued
by the dignitaries of the Church
to the Catholic representatives
in Palestine, Italy. France and
Germany, urging that they in
still in Catholic children kind
feelings toward the Jews.
Proceedings against the Brit
ish Government with regard to
the water and electricity con
cessions for the city of Jeru
salem were instituted by the
Greek government in the Per
manent Court of International
Justice at The Hague. Holland.
It is the contention of the Greek
government that the British gov
ernment, as mandatory for Pal
estine. lias failed to conform
with a previous decision of the
Court, and this resulted in fi
nancial Injury to M. Mavrom-
matis. who was awarded the con
cessions by the former Turkish
government.
DPs. The almost unfailing an
swer is always in the form of a
question: What is the United
States prepared to do? This is
followed by assurance that fa
vorable American action would
lead to similar positive steps by
other governments.
This country must set the ex
ample and would then find little
difficulty in gettihg other coun
tries to do something." Hilldring
stimr. ed no. Qui'-I 'v and «h°.rply
young Representative Frank L.
Chelf of Kentucky then asked
Hilldi ing whether by the same
token this would get Great Brit
ain to do something about Pal
estine. It wmild have consider
able effect in solving the Pales
tine problem. Hilldring thought.
He did not however, enlarge on
this aspect other than to say. in
his prepared statement, that the
United States will not lessen its
efforts • to obtain a just solu
tion of the Palestine problem
which may enab'e a large num
ber of displaced Jews to tner the
Holy Land."
In about three months’ time
Hilldring will resign from the
State Department, take an ex
tended rest, and then move on to
another as yet unnamed job.
Official confirmation of his
forthcoming departure came in
a lather curious way. Secretary
of State George C. Marshall
was appearing before a Senate-
Sub-Committee on Appropria
tions which Congress had
slashed. He warned that many
able men were leaving the De
partment because of the inade
quacy of salaries, and said that
he was losing an assistant secre
tary for financial reasons. Hill
dring, who is in charge of occu
pied areas, was the man he
meant. Talking to reporters, Sec
retary Marshall said that Hill
dring mad been using up a life
time’s savings while serving in
the State Department.
Soon to be released is a movie
short on displaced persons, made
by RKO-Pathe News. They sent
a special crew of photographers
and scenarists to Germany to
film the camps and their in
habitants. The final editing is
now under way. and a special
premiere in Washington is be
ing considered, to give members
of Congress, government offi
cials diplomats and the press a
first view, before distribution
throughout the movie houses
of the country.
Senator Robert F. Wagner of
New York would like the State
Department to publish the docu
ments he says it has on the ex-
Mufti of Jerusalem and his war
time collaboration with the Axis.
The Senator has written to Sec
retary Marshall stressing the ur
gency of publication now while
the United Nations is investi
gating the Palestine question.
Almost a year ago. Under
secretary of State Dean Aeheson
confirmed that the Department
had documents establishing the
Mufti’s role as an Axis agent.
He said that these materials
were being translated for ulti
mate publication, at some in
definite future time, in a collec
tion of general material on the
Axis. Senator Wagner now
points out to the Secretary of
State that the Mufti is chairman
.of the Arab Higher Committee
of Palestine, and urges publica
tion of the Department’s docu
ments to help the United Na
tions in reaching a decision on
Palstine.
II e i « «* e
■i
By Boris Smolar
JFWISH CALENDAR
5707
TISHA B OV
Sunday. July 27
5708
KOSH HOSHONAH
Monday, September 14.
YOM KIPPl R
Wednesday. September 24.
WASHINGTON TRENDS
Jewish Agency representatives
in Washington are now very
much at home at the State De
partment, but there will be lit
tle for them to do while the
UN inquiry committee is con
ducting its investigation ... It
now be state with certainty that
the U. N. Government will not
formulate its final policy on Pal
estine until after the UN inquiry
committee submits its report
. , An indication to this effect
was given by high officials of
the State Depai tment at a three-
day meeting in Washington this
week with representatives of
’ arious important organizations
. . . The meeting was held to ac
quaint leaders of these organiza
tions with various aspects of
IT. S. foreign policy. . . . Among
the groups invited to participate
~ -v4-v!a«* wisfePl
were four central Jewish bodies.
. . . The questions w ith regard to
Palestine were asked mostly by
representatives of non-Jewsh
groups as part of the informa
tion they sought on the general
political picture . . . Som* of
these questions were answ ered by
Loy Henderson, head of the Of
fice of Near Eastern and African
Affairs in the State Department.
. . . Incidentally, newly-appoint
ed Assistant Secretary of State
Norman Armour, will be in
charge, among other things, of
Near Eastern political problem*
... He has never served in the
Near East, but he is a long-time
career diplomat, having served
as U. S. Ambassador to Argen
tina. Chile, and more recently
to Spa*”
ccv„...
. L Ar. .
of the
M4SWARA8LE
The plan of the Council of
Jewish Federation to send a del
egation of Jewish community
leaders abroad to study the ac
tivities of American Jewish or
ganizations doing oversea work
has been expanded . The Coun
cil rt now organizing an Institute
on Overseas Studies on a per
manent basis. . . . This Insti
tute will make s.n »eys both in
this country and abroad, of the
effectiveness of Jewish organiza
tions which are supported by
Federations and Welfare Funds
... It will not reevi mend agency
budgets, but will develop factual
information bearing on budget
ary needs and campaign goals.
. . The studies planned by the
Institute may also include eval
uations of the work of each or
ganization benefiting from wel
fare funds, the quality of ser
vice provided, and administra
tive efficiency. . . . Separate
headquarters and a special staff
are now being organized for the
Institute in New York. . . .The
Institute will gather its informa
tion fi ii ail sources ... It will
also concern itself with activi
ties undertaken by Jewish and
non-sectarian voluntary agen
cies and by governmental and
inter-govenmental agencies giv
ing aid to Jews in Europe and
Palestine. . . Major Jewish agen
cies. such as the JDC and the
UP A have welcomed the estab
lishment of the Institute.