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GENERAL^RARY
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The Southern Israeliie
VOL XXVIII
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lisked 1925
>RGIA, APRIL 17, 1953
No. 16
Wary Jewry Watches tor Concrete Signs of Red Change
At J. W, V. Installation Banquet
INSTALLATION—Here are the new and retiring officers of Atlanta
JWV Post, No. 118, with their National Commander Jesse Moss at
the recent installation ceremonies. Seated are Mrs. Shirley Ruskin,
retiring Auxiliary chief; National Commander Moss and Harry Har
rison, National Encampment Officer and installation banquet chair
man. Standing, left to right, are Irvin Karesh, new Post Commander,
Mrs. Myra Medintz, new Auxiliary president, and Coleman Medintz,
immediate past post commander.
By ADOLPH ROSENBERG
It was almost an all-Medintz
evening.
Coleman Medintz surrendered
the gavel as the immediate past
commander of the Atlanta Jewish
War Veterans. His wife Myra took
over another gavel as the presi
dent of the Auxiliary of Post No.
112.
Coleman’s brother Barney was
accorded a citation by the post for
outstanding service to the commu
nity.
But the Medintz-studded pro
gram was not the entire show, and
other luminaries in JWV activi
ties held their own.
Irvin Karesh, severely wounded
and handicapped during World
War II, became the new com
mander of the Post. Despite in
tense physical drawbacks, Com
mander Karesh is a successful
business man. He has just been
acclaimed one of the 100 young
leaders of Atlanta. He has long
served the cause of Jewish war
veterans and has come up through
the ranks to win the post of top
man in Post 112.
He will have as his aids Dr.
Marvin Goldstein, senior vice com
mander, Harold Frank, junior vice
commander, and Ben Rice, Judge
Advocate.
It was handsome Jesse Moss
who topped the evening. Undoubt
edly the best looking president of
any national Jewish organization
we’ve heard of—male of course,
Commander Moss delivered an in
tensely thrilling presentation of
what JWV means and its signi
ficance in the world of civic and
patriotic activities. He is a law
yer and if his ability is in con
sonance with his persuasive and
rostrum-side manner, he is in for
an even more meteoric career and
he already has held the post of
Assistant U. S. District Attorney.
Pieces of silver were added to
the Medintz household in recog
nition of the service of retiring
Commander Medintz and to the
home of retiring Auxiliary Pres
ident, Mrs. Shirley Ruskin. Cita
tions went to several committee
chairmen in both the men and
women’s groups.
Backing up Auxiliary President
Myra Medintz for the coming year
will be Mrs. Mack Frankel, senior
vice president, and Mrs. Leonard
Friedberg, junior vice president.
Mrs. Nat Bredosky, is treasurer;
Mrs. Max Kobrine, financial sec
retary, Mrs. Meyer Rhode, re
cording secre'ary. Mrs. Harry Un-
ell, Miss Alice Bredosky, chap
lain, Mrs. William Horwitz, con-
WASHINGTON (JTA) The
Soviet peace offensive whirled on
this week but Moscow’s pronoun
cements and developments within
the Soviet Union gave no clue to
the extent to which the Commu
nist anti-Jewish program had been
reversed and what course the
Communist would follow, partic
ularly with regard to the State of
Israel, in the near future.
While Jews everywhere wel
comed with almost anguished re
lief the amazing Soviet repudia
tion of the “Jewish plot” charges
against 15 Moscow doctors, the
Joint Distribution Committee and
the Zionist movement, informed
sources 'were extremely reserved
in the deductions to be drawn from
that development.
There were strong probabilities
that the “Jewish plot” issue first
emerged as part of an internecine
struggle for power among the So
viet titans—particularly between
Interior Minister Beria and Pre
mier Halenkov. If that were the
gensis of what Moscow now ad
mits was a frameup, then this new
development does not mean any
reversal of Communist policy on
the Jewish question and on Israel
but merely the tactical victory of
one of these two Kremlin combat-
tants.
The Israeli authorities, watch
fully studying all phases of the
unfolding situation remained rea
dy to air the situation of the Jews
behind the Iron Curtain from
the forum of the United Nations
General Assembly. There were
hopes that Moscow’s repudiation
of the “Jewish plot” would be fol
lowed up by Soviet overtures for
resumption of diplomatic relations
with the Jewish State. No tan
gible signs of such an approach,
however, were forthcoming last
week.
Meanwhile, Jews everywhere
were pleased and gratified by the
severe condemnation by the of
ficial Soviet world of the Moscow
"Jewish plot” allegations which
had been likened to a new “Elders
of Zion” libel.
The Manchester Guardian, how
ever, point out that the Soviet au
thorities, in listing the accused
doctors who had been released
from prison, failed to name two,
B. M. Kogan and Y. Etinger. It
suggested that perhaps the two
men were “no longer among the
living” or might be in a hospital
recovering from the “impermissi
ble methods” of investigation
which the authorities said had
been used in the case.
Great satisfaction was voiced
over the complete exoneration of
the late Solomon Mikhoels, one
time director of the Moscow Jew
ish State Theatre and president of
the dissolved Jewish anti-Fascist
NEW YORK (JTA)—The con
tribution of the Jews of America
to the task of building the Amer
ican nation in freedom was em
phasized by President Eisenhower
in a message to the national plan
ning conference of the American
Jewish Tercentenary Committee
which concluded its two-day ses
sion Sunday at the Commodore
Hotel here. The tercentenary cele
bration will start next year.
“You will be marking an anni
versary of signal importance not
only to American citizens of the
Jewish faith but in truth to all
Americans, Jews and Christians
alike,” the President saw. “The
Jews of America, generation upon
generation, have brought to the
task of building this great Nation
in freedom, a speeial gift. It is
that deep and abiding faith of
their fathers, that vital element of
Judaeo-Christian civilization kept
glowingly alive by Jews through
out the ages, from the time of the
ancient prophets of Israel. Upon
the moral truths of this whole an
cient heritage, our Nation was
founded and has ever lived.”
A budget of about $1-000,000
was approved by the conference
to cover the cost of various proj
ects in connection with the cele
bration. The conference elected
Ralph E. Samuel as permanent
chairman of the Tercentenary
Committee, William Rosenwald as
secretary and Henry L. Moses as
treasurer. The following were
elected co-chairmen; Julian Free
man, of Indianapolis; Dr. Israel
Goldstein, of New York; Irvirtg
Kane, of Shaker Heights, Ohio;
Committee. Mikhoels had been
branded an “agent” transmitting
orders from the Joint Distribution
Committee to the accused physi
cians. An editorial in Pravda, re-
Drinted in Izvestia, the official Gov
ernment paper, said that a “careful
investigation” had established that
“the honest public figure of Peo
ples Artist of the USSR, Solomon
Mikhoels, was slandered.”
Mrs. David M. Levy, of New York;
Dr. David de Sola Pool, of New
York, and Dr. Abba Hillel Silver,
of Cleveland.
Dr. Selman A. Waksman, who
received the Nobel Prize for his
discovery of streptomycin, told the
conference that the Jews, who are
by nature individualists- and who,
because of their background, tend
to be idealistic, were in an excel
lent position to benefit from and
to contribute to a land which was
naturally democratic in spirit. “If
the Bible teaches us anything, if
the history of the Jewish people
means anything definite, it is that
Judaism, from the very beginning,
was a protest against nature wor
ship, against star cults, demon
worship, empire worship, worship
of force,” he said. "It could this
not help but embrace the scienti
fic concept.”
Dr. Waksman declared that one
of the fundamental principles in
science is to combat “hero wor
ship,” a form of idolatry expressly
forbidden in the Ten Command
ments. He continued: “With that
type of background and that at
titude, it is no wonder that many
Jews in this country should de
vote themselves to science, to the
search for truth, the seafeh for
facts that underlie the secrets of
nature.” This ,he said, is true par
ticularly in this country, “which
offers unlimited opportunities for
research, as well as freedom to
select one’s career and to pursue
one’s calling.”
•Dr. Isidor I. Rabi, another Am
erican Jewish scientist who won
the Nobel Prize, speaking of Am*
(Continued on page 6)
Woman’s Advance Gifts Unit
to Hear Ruth Goldschmidt
Eisenhower Lauds Jewry
in Helping Build ‘Free’ Nation
First Annual Meeting of Jewish
Home Will be Held Sunday, April 19
Officials of the Jewish Home
have invited the entire community
and the membership to the first
annual meeting at 3 p.m. Sunday,
April 19.
Weather permitting, the pro
gram will be held outdoors in the
newly erected pavilion. In addi
tion to brief reports, the member
ship will vote on the proposed new
constitution and by-laws. Charles
Bergman is chairman of the com
mittee, which includes Sam Eplan,
Mrs. Mendle Boorstin, Joseph Cu
ba and Edward M. Kahn. Barney
Medintz is chairman of the nom
inating committee. •
Joseph Erbesfield and chil
dren have contributed $1,000
to the Jewish Home to dedi
cate a room in memory of
Mrs. Rosa Erbesfield.
Following the brief formal part
of the meeting, movies will be
shown In the Srochi Dining Hall.
There will also be an exhibit and
sale of articles made by the resi
dents in the Hobby Shop.
Mrs. J. M. RosenfOld and Mrs.
Meyer Balser are co-chairmen of
the hostesses named by the Joint
Committee on Volunteer Services.
Ruth Goldschmidt, editor and
former overseas correspondent and
now Chief of Reference and Re
search at the Israel Government
Office of Information in New
York, will speak at the Women’s
Division Advance Gifts Luncheon
at the Mayfair Club Tuesday,
April 21, 12:30 P.M., it has been
announced by Mrs. W. Wm. Bre-
man, Mrs* Abner Lichtenstein,
Mrs. Philip Schwartz and Mrs. I.
M. Weinstein, co-chairmen of the
division. >,
As an editor and correspondent,
Miss Goldschmidt observed the
struggle to establish the indepen
dence of Israel and its subsequent
development. She covered the
Anglo-American Committee of In
quiry and Zionist Congress in Eng
land, and in 1947 was on the scene
in Jerusalem to report the United
Nations Partition hearings.
RUTH GOLDSCHMIDT
When the fighting broke out in
Israel, she was accredited to the
Israel Army as a war correspon
dent, and became feature writer
and editor of the official press ser
vice of the Jewish Agency for Pal
estine, and later the Government
of Israel.
Miss Goldschmidt, raised and
educated in England, has witnes
sed the struggle of Palestine Jews
from Mandate to Independence,
and worked closely with Israel’s
leaders in the first months of the
new state.
For the past several years she
has interpreted Israel to the Am
erican public in her official ca
pacity and on lecture platforms
throughout the U. S. She also has
been heard every week on a New
York radio station in a series of
broadcasts covering “Life in Is
rael Today.”