Newspaper Page Text
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GENERAL ubi
AAh 25 1952
voi] 1 wwiisrrf of GtuW^
Southern Israelite
A Weekly Newspaper for Southern Jewry
Established 1925
ATLANTA, GEORGIA. FRIDAY. MARCH 21, 1952
NO. 10
The SPIRIT of Uj
in Southern Communities
ox3 *o euoqav und Women’s Division
lership Appointments
BY A MAN IN TE a-j JL ILiLiL
-Sam Polur
The United Jewish Appeal is
an organic, pulsating creation.
Its dollars are translated into
warmth and nourishment, love
and hope. It is the heartbeat of
a people. United Jewish Appeal
is a faith, a way of life for its
tens of thousands of contribu
tors. Its dollars sustain the
whimpering Ghetto child, the tu
bercular, the blind, the helpless
Jew meshed in the vise of Mid-
East supra-nationalism. It is the
phenomenon of the sophisticated
dweller in an imperious Ameri
can city touched by the needs of
an aged greybeard he will never
see. It is the lavishly-bedaubed
American woman piognantly
aware of suffering thousands of
land and water miles from her
home. It is the Jew in the tiny
Alabama hamlet not forgetting
excruciating Pogroms he’s escap
ed—vowing to help his fellow-
Jews avoid like pains. \Jnited
Jewish Appeal is the Israel bed
rock.
Its meaning and its purport
were perhaps never better un
derstood than at the recent
Southeast Regional Conference
convened at the Atlanta Bilt-
more Hotel.
More than $300,000 in cash
was presented or pledged accord
ing to Conference Chairman Bar
ney Medintz. Moving and bril
liant talks were delivered by
keynote speakers Ellis Radinsky,
United Israel Appeal Executive
Director, and Captain Joshua
Goldberg, highest-ranking Jew
ish clergyman in Uncle Sam’s
Navy. A galaxy of national lead
ership, ranging from Mrs. Louis
Glasser, Woman’s Division Exe
cutive Cabinet member, to Mike
Brissman, “Mr. Cash” for the
National UJA office, graced the
speakers’ dias. But these didn’t
provide the warmth, the spirit
of UJA. Somehow, top brass nev
er, of themselves, imbue United
Jewish Appeal gatherings with
the inner spark that leaves dele
gates aglow with a feeling of
Pesach Draft
WASHINGTON (JTA)—Draft
boards throughout the country
have been notified by the Selec
tive Service System that Jews
scheduled for physical examina
tion or induction into the armed
forces during Passover, April 9-
17, have the right to request de
ferment until after the holiday.
Leaders of anti-minority or
ganizations from throughout the
country gathered in Columbus,
Ga., during the weekend of Mar.
14-16 to plan an all-out coordi
nated attack against the United
Nations and minority groups.
The “save America” meeting
was held in “Parson Jack” E.
G. Johnston’s Baptist Tabernacle.
Reverend Johnston is editor and
publisher of the Georgia Tribune
which has featured pro-Klan,
anti-Semitic, anti-Catholic and
kinship with fellow-Jews every
where.
Delegates experienced that
contagious inner fire when Med
intz referred to the “Tens of
thousands of Jewish eyes and
ears, hearts and souls, though
not with us today, are yet at
tuned to the spirit of our meet
ing . . .” Everyone knew Barney
meant the wailing, helpless child;
the Jewish Mother hungering to
wrest her family from alien,
hateful soil in Iraq, in Egypt, in
Moslem lands; the bowed pa
triarch yearning for Aretz Yis-
rael ... ,
But it was the Georgia, Ala
bama, Tennessee small-commun
ity delegates who really stirred
the rpots of Jewish pride with
presentation of their groups’ ad
vance cash. Feelings that prompt
ed the giving were expressed in
singularly-warm terms.
Melvin Prigot, brilliant chem
istry researcher, told how An
niston (Alabama) UJA Chair
man Sam EdeLman had rejected
the community's underwriting a
bank loan, but personally en
dorsed a $3,500 loan two days
later. Was EdeLman fickle? No,
Prigot disclosed. He had merely
received a telegram describing
the disastrous floods in Israel a
day after his pronouncement . . .
Elberton Chairman Joe Allen
wired $550 as a Community me
morial gift honoring Mrs. Sam
Patz . . . Cochran (Ga.) remit
ted half their 1952 pledge via a
check sent by Chairman Julian
Davidson.
Rome (Ga.) was represented
by Chairman Ben Esserman, Ike
Eplan, I. M. Levinson. Esserman
presented $5,000, obtained as a
bank loan . . . Gadsden (Ala.),
whose co-chairmen Arthur Ber
man, Hyman Rosenberg and Jake
Garry were unable to attend,
was represented with $1,900 in
advance cash . . . Athens (Ga.)—
whose top trio of UJA workers
A1 Bush, Dave Gordon, Harry
Loef sparked advance cash of
$5,000, remitted that amount to
the Conference . . . Harold Gold,
Athdns istudent delegate, told
how 70 fewer students at the
University of Georgia, exceeded
their previous year’s cash.
Arthur Kaufman, lone Tusca
loosa (Ala.) delegate, related the
heart-warming story of Univer
sity of Alabama Jewish students
underwriting a $1,000 bank loan
(Continued on page eight)
anti-Negro editorials and ar
ticles.
One of the featured speakers
was Thomas Hamilton, Leesville,
S. C., Imperial Wizard of the
Carolina Klans, who described
the United Nations as a “most
damnable organization” and
lashed out at the Anti-Defama
tion League and newspapers. He
was echoed by Bill Hendrix of
Tallahassee, Fla., Klan Dragon
who recently said that he would
“send enough bulldozers in the
Mrs.
narom Marcus and Mrs. Phillip
Schwartz, the general co-chair
men of the Women’s Division
1952 Campaign Jewish Welfare
Fund met with all of their as
sociates Wednesday morning,
March 17 at the Mayfair Club to
organize the work of the differ
ent committees and divisions of
the Women’s Campaign.
Barney Medintz, member of
the National Cabinet of the Unit
ed Jewish Appeal, spoke briefly
giving the facts and figures re
garding the overseas needs, na
tional and local programs sup
ported by the Welfare Fund.
Mrs. Nathan Blass, last year’s
co-chairman, spoke on the im
portance of the Women’s Divi
sion and the contribution the
women make to the success of
the Welfare Fund Campaign.
The following is the set-up of
the Women's Division:
Advance gifts co-chairmen:
Mrs. Nathan Glass, Mrs. Abe Fit-
terman, Mrs. Frank Garson, Mrs.
Abe Goldstein, Mrs. Joseph K.
Hyman, Mrs. S. J. Steinbeck.
Special gifts co-chairmen: Mrs.
Herbert Cohen, Mrs. Stanford
Makover, Mrs. Barney Medintz,
Mrs. Phillip Shulhafer.
- This year the Women's Divi
sion created a special division
under, the co-chairmanship of
Mrs. Jake Freedman, Mrs. J.
Kurt Holland, Mrs. Sidney Q.
Janus, Mrs. Oscar Levin, Mrs.
J. M. Rosenfeld, Mrs. Henry
Sopkin.
The cover-all division will be
New Trial for Use
MUNICH (JTA)—A re-trial of
Ilse Koch, notorious German war
criminal who has been charged
with ordering inmates of the
Nazi camp in Buchenwald mur
dered in order to use their tat-
ooed skins for lampshades and
book covers, will begin on April
22 before the central court in
Karlsruhe it was reported here
this week.
LONDON (JTA)—The Con
ference on Jewish Material
Claims Against Germany was se
verely criticized here at a meet
ing of the Board of Deputies of
British Jews because of its nam
ing of an all-American presi
dium and for assigning only
American experts and advisors
to represent the world Jewish
organizations at the reparations
negotiations with West Germany.
state road department ... to
wipe out the (Miami Beach) sea
walls and take away all the
beaches from the Jews and give
them back to the gentiles who
paid the taxes to build them.”
Joseph Beaucharnais, head of
the White Circle League of Chi
cago, and one of the leaders in
the recent Cicero riots, revealed
a plan to keep the American Le
gion from supporting the princi
ples of democracy. He defined
democracy as “rule by brute
strength” and stated that “the
only nations which practice de
mocracy according to its true def-
(Continued on page three)
headed by the following co-
cjhairmen: Mrs. George CShait,
Mrs. Bernard Howard, Mrs. E.
M. Manning, Mrs.- Alfred Wein
stein.
B.&P.W. Division: Dr. Regina
Gabler (Mrs. Irving Greenberg).
These different divisions are at
NEW YORK CITY (AJP) —
Orthodoxy came up with a par
tial answer this week to the
problem of small synagogues un
able to afford the purchase of
Scrolls of the Law by establish
ing, probably for the first time
in American Jewish history on
a nationwide scale, a Sefer To
rah pool.
The unique pool, an outgrowth
of a number of discussions aimed
at formulating a plan to meet a
worsening problem, was launch
ed by the Union of Orthodox
Jewish Congregations of America
at a quiet ceremony held in one
of the Lower East Side’s oldest
congregations, Bailystoker Syn
agogue. The congregation pre
sented a Torah to UOJC national
president Max E. Etra.
Choice <^f the well-established
synagogue as a site for the start
of the drive was viewed as sig
nificant. The core of the UOJC
plan is to appeal to established
congregations throughout the na
tion to donate one or more sur
plus Torahs to a special pool
which would, in turn, loan out
the Scrolls of the Law to newly
established congregations other
wise unable to afford a Torah.
Pointing out that many estab
lished Orthodox congregations in
larger communities own more
Torah’s than are actually used at
year-round services or holidays,
Rabbi Irwin Gordon, UOJC na
tional executive director, said
Members of the Board repre
senting every shade of opinion
within the organization were
unanimous in condemning what
Dr. Abraham Cohen, board pres
ident, called an “American mo
nopoly." He demanded that
strong representations should be
made to the praesidium. Barnett
Janner, M.P., termed the situa
tion “very unsatisfactory” add
ing that while the Board remain
ed “loyal, to the purpose of the
negotiations it could not permit
the praesidium, on which it was
not represented, to use its name
as a “rubber stamp.”
Tel Yehudah to Use
BCI Camp Site
Brandeis Camp near Hender
sonville, N. C., has been chosen
by the American Zionist Youth
Commission as the site for the
1952 sessions of Tel Yehudah, the
National Young Judaea summer
camp formerly located in New
Hampshire.
Occupying about 40 acres,
Brandeis will accommodate more
than 100 campers. Facilities in
clude a recreation hall, lake and
swimming pool, gymnasium, ath
letic fields, arts and crafts shop,
a stage, an office building, and
quarters for the married staff.
work at present organizing their
groups of workers. They have
adopted a schedule of events and
are going forward with enthu
siasm and full speed ahead in the
mobilization of the woman pow
er of the community in behalf of
the 1952 Campaign of the At
lanta Jewish Welfare Fund.
that “we continuously receive
pleas for Sifrai Torahs from new
congregations springing up all
over the country.” He reported
that to date the drive has been
successful in facilitating the con
tribution of 10 Torahs. Though
the established congregations do
nate a Torah to the pool, Rabbi
Gordon pointed out, the pool at
no time will either give or sell
the Scrolls of the Law to a
struggling synagogue. The Torah
will be made available on the
basis of a loan.
“The moment the younger con
gregation is financially able to
purchase a Sefer Torah,” Rabbi
Gordon said, “the pool will ask
that its Scrolls of the Law be
returned for use elsewhere —
again on a loan arrangement."
Interestingly, the Sefer Torah
pool was inaugurated at the
height of a wave of Torah thefts
which are sweeping Brooklyn.
More than 10 Torahs have been
stolen over a one month period.
The pattern of the thefts are
almost identical. In each case
the thieves raid small, newly
established synagogues in the
Williamsburg area, shying away
from the larger congregations.
Still unsolved, the thefts have
left the shules hard-hit. Raising
the more than $1,000 necessary
to purchase a new Torah has
presented the small victimized
congregation with a real prob
lem.
Charlotte Leader
To Give Oak Ridge
Dedication Talk
Special to Southern Israelite
OAK RIDGE, Tenn.—Mauric£
Weinstein, prominent in B’nai
B’rith work in District 5, has ac
cepted an invitation to speak at
a banquet on April 27 celebrat
ing the dedication of the new
Oak Ridge Congregation build
ing.
The announcement came from
Leon Polstein, dedication com
mittee chairman, formerly of Al
bany.
The Jewish Congregation, Mr.
Polstein said, was one of the first
groups to 'hold services in the
Oak Ridge Chapel-on-the-Hill,
where it continues to meet until
the new site is occupied. Mem
bers of the Congregation have
themselves done part of the con
struction to speed completion of
the building.
Maurice Weinstein is a grad
uate of Duke School of Law and
has been a member of the bar in
Charlotte, N. C. since 1940. Dur
ing the last war he served as
a captain in the U. S. Marine
Corps. He is now serving as sec
ond vice president of District
Grand Lodge No. 5 of B’nai
B’rith.
Attacks on U. N. Unify
Columbus Anti-Minority Parley
By ARTHUR J. LEVIN
Director, Atlanta Regional ADL Office
British Criticize "American
Monopoly” in Reparations Talks
Orthodoxy Forms Torah
Fool to Aid New Shules