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A Weekly Newspa per for Southern Jewry — Esta
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VOL. XXXI
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, FRIDAY AUGUST 17, 1956
NO. 32
Workmen’s Circle Parley
To Feature Belarsky Concert
Jerusalem to Have Reform
Synagogue Municipality Crisis
In honor of the 37th annual
Southern District Conference, the
Workmen’s Circle will present a
concert by Sidor Belarsky, noted
exponent and interpreter of Jew
ish and Hebrew songs, at 8 p.m.
Sunday, August 26, in the Georg
ian Ballroom of the Biltmore Ho
tel.
The public is invited to hear
the concert. Tickets will be a
dollar a person.
Other highlights of the con
ference include an address by B.
OBERAMMERGAU, Germany,
(JTA) — A rabidly anti-Semitic
tract, 9,000 copies of which the
Federal Investigation Agency con
fiscated early this month in this
Alpine town, is actually the Ger
man translation of an American
hate publication, it was estab
lished here today.
Called “The Bankers’ Conspir
acy of Jekyl Island”, the con
fiscated German volume was
translated by veteran German
Jew - baiter Guido Rocder and
brought out by his local publish
ing house, the “Widar-Verlag”.
Shortly after the first World
War, Roeder had a hand in issu
ing the first German edition of
the “Protocols of the Elders of
Zion”.
To advertise his new publica
tion, Roeder distributed Vast
quantities of printed extracts il
lustrated with cartoons showing
Bernard Baruch, Henry Morgen-
thau, James P. Warburg, Felix
Frankfurter, David Lilienthal,
Admiral Lewis L. Strauss and
other prominent American Jews.
The took itself is a German trans
lation of a volume issued in the
United States two years ago un
der the title “The Federal Re
serve Conspiracy”.
Author of this American orig
inal is Eustace Mullins, a writer
of hate literature who was at
one time employed by the Amer-
Tabachinsky, national field di
rector of the Jewish Labor Com
mittee, speaking on “Jews Be
hind the Iron Curtain” at 2 p.m.
Sunday, and address by William
Stern, national English Speaking
director of the Workmen’s Cir
cle speaking on “Our Role in the
Civil Rights Question” at 2 p.m.
Monday in the Pompeian Room
of the Biltmore Hotel.
The conference banquet will be
held at 7 p.m. Monday at the
Progressive Club.
ican Petroleum Institute Commit
tee in New York and who sued
it earlier this year for breach of
contract. Mullins is now director
of two Nazi-style bodies, the
‘‘Aryan League” in Virginia and
theh “Realpolitical Institute” in
Chicago.
Democratic
To Favor U
CHICAGO, (JTA) — On the
eve of the opening of the Demo
cratic National Convention it be
came certain here that the con
vention was to pledge itself to
a policy of providing defensive
arms to Israel in the light of the
present situation in the Middle
East.
• Leaders of the Democratic
Party returned here from Wash
ington where they had been
called to participate in a confer
ence at the White House on the
Suez Canal issue. It was taken
for granted here that this issue,
as such, will not figure in the
political platform which the con
vention will adopt. However, the
platform will contain a section
dealing with the Middle East sit-
JERUSALEM, (JTA) — The
Jerusalem municipal council
Monday faced a crisis following
an announcement by the religious
parties participating in the co
alition municipal administration
of the city that they were break
ing away from the coalition.
The announcement came after
the municipal council approved
a building permit for the Ameri
can School of Archeology in Jeru-
Germany
lins’ tract, which Roeder issued
a short time ago, was confiscated
in an unprecedented step taken
by the Federal Investigation
Agency at the direction of the
Bonn Ministry of the Interior and
on the basis of an order issued by
the court at nearby Garmisch-
Partenkirchen.
uation in general and expressing
pro-Israel sentiments.
Averell Harriman, contender
for the Democratic Presidential
nomination, who was endorsed
by ex-President Truman, Blamed
Republican Administration sup
port of Egyptian President Nas
ser and indecisiveness in its Mid
dle East policy for the present
Suez crisis. He said Israel was
created by the United Nations
and should be supported. Gov.
Harriman expressed the belief
that arms should have been sent
to Israel immediately after
Egypt’s arms deal with the So
viet bloc. He said the Adminis
tration “shilly-shallied” with
Middle East policy, and through
ineptness and lack of firmness,
salem, in which students will hold
Reform services. The services
will be held in the library of the
institution, which will be spon
sored by the Hebrew Union Col
lege — Jewish Institute of Re
ligion, the American Reform
seminary.
The Orthodox members of the
municipal council, opposed the
project for weeks on the ground
that it introduces the Reform
movement in Jerusalem. A vote
was finally forced last night by
Mayor Gershon Agron, a Mapal
leader who was elected mayor
with the support of the Orthodox
councillors.
In the vote last night, six Ma-
pai councillors were joined by
two Progressives, one Achdut
Avodah and one representative
of the WIZO to approve the ap
plication for the building. Op
posing were four members of the
Mizrachi, Hapoel Hamizrachi and
Agudah. Four abstained, includ
ing three Herut members and
one General Zionist.
Mayor Agron opened debate on
the building application by ask-
helped bring about the present
Egyptian crisis situation.
The Presidential aspirant said
the “dam” was broken by what
he termed blunders and mistakes
by the Administration. He expres
sed criticism about what he de
scribed as the Administration’s
building-up of Nasser. He made
it known that he opposed any
thought of submission to pressure
by furnishing money to build the
proposed High Aswan Dam in
Egypt.
Strong resentment is felt in
convention circles over the
“blackmail” attempt by the Saudi
Arabian Ambassador in Washing
ton who threatened the State De
partment with “serious conse
quences” if the Democratic and
ing the councillors to restrict
themselves to the issues involved
and not to bring in extraneous
matters. He stressed that the
Reform services would be held
exclusively for students of the
school in the library, and noted
that except for some minor dif
ferences in the services, all other
traditional practices wbuld be ob
served, including reading the
prayers in Hebrew, praying with
covered heads and not having an
organ in the room.
The Mayor noted that there
were differences in religious ser
vices conducted by Jews from
various countries, including those
from Yemen and Aden and from
the Western countries. Finally,
he charged that the religious
block members found financial
contributions from Reform
sources “kosher” but Reform
Jews themselves “not kosher,” al
though they had beome Zionist
adherents.
Religious councillors attacked
the Reform movement as a form
of assimilation and insisted that
a “temple” in Jerusalem would
divide the people of Israel. Cit
ing the religious character of the
city’s student population, they
said the councillors must look be
yond the technical problems and
see the possibility of disturbances
of the peace created by the pres
ence of Reform adherents. They
insisted that Premier David Ben
Gurion’s dictum that American
Jews might Contribute to Israel
but must not interfere in its in
ternal politics, held true for re
ligious matters, too.
Republican conventions in their
platforms criticize discrimination
by Saudi Arabia and other Arab
countries against American Jews.
This move is viewed here as the
height of Arab impertinence and
as direct interference in internal
American political life.
Disavowed by Demos
Council Turns to GOP
SAN FRANCISOC, (JTA) —
The American Council for Ju
daism, which was rebuked by the
Democrats in Chicago, presented
(Continued on page 8)
Georgia Island Settling for Bias
Book Confiscated in
The German version of Mul-
Convention Slated
S. Arms to Israel
A Hazen Of Shabes?
He Can Be Found
by Carl Alpert
HAIFA—I sometimes wonder at the justification for all the organi
zations in American Jewish life—each one with its membership lists,
its dues collections, its officers, it letterheads, its salaried officials,
and its various excuses for existence. No doubt many do serve vital
and valuable purposes, but every once in a while something occurs
to make me question this or that organization. Something of that
sort happened recently.
Let me tell the story in chronological order, just as it happened:
Many, many months ago a sailor on an Israeli cargo ship was
lounging around the water front in a Russian port. His ship was
discharging its cargo — oranges, I think — and he had some shore
leave. He was approached quietly by one of the Russian dock-work
ers who, making sure that no one was around, engaged him in con
versation in a hesitant Yiddish. - *
In short, the Russian was trying to establish contact with a branch
of his family which had emigrated to the United States almost 40
years ago. Contact with American Jews seemed an impossibility to
him at that time, and he sought out this Israeli sailor as his one con
tact with the Jewish world. The information was brief. Try to find
a a cantor, by the name of Joseph Schwartzman, who 40
years ago had gone to America. Or perhaps his descendants. The
Russian longed for contact with this missing branch of his family.
The sailor duly noted down the information; he recorded the name
and address of his new friend, and sailed off for Israel. No doubt
there are agencies which engage in this task of locating missing
relatives, and do it well, but the Israeli sailor knew of none of these.
A relative in America? Perhaps an American can help. And so it
was that the request reached me.
I found in my lists a “Jewish Ministers Cantors Association of
America,” located at 236 Second Ave., New York. Surely this is the
The accompanying column by
Carl Alpert appeared last week
in the National Jewish Post. The
object of the writer’s search Is
of course the esteemed cantor for
Ahavath Achim Synagogue in
Atlanta. Cantor Schwartzman’s
phone has been ringing all week
end as friends called to tell about
the material and a letter has
been air mailed to Mr. Alpert for
rush forwarding to the sailor.
The cantor is now awaiting word
which he hopes will fill in details
about the whereabouts of his
family last heard from before
invasion of Rumania by the Na
zis. He had a father, sister and
other close relatives who report
edly fled to Russia. The Iron
Curtain has prevented penetra
tion of any word of their fate
since the young man — possibly
a nephew or cousin — communi
cated with the Israeli sailor.
Cantor Schwartzman was a mem
ber of the Jewish Ministers
Cantors Association for more
than twenty years, changing his
affiliation when his Congregation
became Conservative about five
years ago. He is at a loss to ex
plain why the group failed to
recognize his name or locate him.
body that can help, I thought, an/d so I wrote to the Association, ask
ing their help in locating Schwartzman, or his family, and added that
I had a message from relatives in the Soviet Union.
The weeks flew by, and then the months, but there was no answer
from the association. My letter had not been returned, and so I
had to assume that it had reached its destination. Perhaps the as
sociation had gone out of existence? Or could it be that they were
too busy collecting dues from their members to pay any attention
to something like this?
Almost three months later, I sent a second air-mail letter, repeat
ing the information, and courteously asking for an acknowledgment.
Five weeks later I got a reply by surface mail. Eagerly I opened
the envelope which bore the name of the association imprinted on its
front. Out fell—my own letter of reminder! A second glance re
vealed, however, that someone had thoughtfully typed a few extra
lines at the bottom:
“We regret to advise that we have no record of a Cantor Joseph
Schwartzman as being a member of our organization, and therefore
we do not know of his whereabouts.” The lines were undated and
unsigned. The anonymous correspondent gave no hint of any in
terest or any desire to be of help. I was dismissed as someone who
was merely a nuisance.
Granted that this is like looking for a needle in a haystack, at least
the association can show a little initiative, a little ingenuity, a little
desire to render service to a cantor, not to mention a fellow Jew.
Perhaps there are hazanim or members of their family who read
this. Perhaps they pay dues to the association, and might like to
know of the services rendered> It is even remotely possible that
someone may remember an old hazan Joseph Schwartzman, and may
know of the whereabout of his children, if the old man is no longer
alive. Perhaps we can yet do a mitzva, despite the disinterestedness
of the Jewish Ministers Cantors Association of America.