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The Southern Israelite A Weekly Newspa per for Southern Jewry — Established 1925 ORGIA LIBiV. XXXII ATLANTA, GEORGIA, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1957 NO. 50 US Govt. Opposed To NATO Deciding Mid East Topics WASHINGTON, (JTA) — The United States is opposed to the NATO summit conference at tempting any action on Israel’s boundaries, a State Department source said today. According to the source, the United States is again seeking a NATO decision on Middle Eastern matters because Middle East states are not represented at the parley. It is believed here that the Arab states have exaggerated the purported Soviet promises to back the Arabs completely in a drive to force Israel to return to the 1947 partition' boundaries. The United States has no firsthand knowledge of such pledges orig inating from the Russians them selves, only secondhand versions related by the Arabs. Turkey was reported acting for the Moslem members of the Bagh dad Pact at Paris because she is a NATO member. Reportedly. Tur key is seeking NATO support of a Middle Eastern settlement based on revision of Israel’s boundaries based on the 1947 United Nations partition formula. The United States has a basic policy of refusing to discuss the fate of nations and international parleys unless those nations arc represented. The U.S. source said that this position has been com municated by the American am bassadors to Israel and the va- rous Moslem nations involved. Secretary of State Dulles and other officials have expressed similar views through diplomatic channels. It was pointed out today that the United States rejected three Soviet notes on the Middle East on the ground that the proposed Big Power meetings could not properly discuss the fate of nations not represented at such meetings. UNITED NATIONS, N. Y„ (JTA — All Arab states, as well as Israel, have been given assurances in President Eisen hower’s name that the NATO conference now taking place in Paris will adopt no decisions af fecting the Arab-Israel problem without prior consultation with the Middle East governments con cerned, it was learned here this week. UNITED NATIONS, N. Y„ (JTA) — United Nations Secre tary General Dag Hammarskjold Monday announced formally that he has appointed Dr. Francisco Urrutia of Columbia as his per sonal representative to deal with the Israel-Jordan dispute regard ing Mt .Scopus. “I attach very great significance to this mission,” he said. “If it succeeds, it will stabilize this situ ation which if allowed to drift and not resolved could give a great deal of trouble.” Synagogue Design Progress Lauded by A merican A rchitects NEW YORK, (JTA) — “Pro gress in synagogue design in the latest decade will make a most interesting section in the history of American architecture for its intensity of change, its evolution ary richness and its variety of solution and expression.” This evaluation was made at the national conference on syna gogue architecture and art re cently held at the Barbizon- Plaza Hotel under the auspices of the Union of American He brew Congregations, Richard M. Bennett, a fellow of the Ameri can Institute of Architects, ad dressing the conference, added that “not all the work being done is good,” but pointed out that many of the synagogue build ings erected recently transcend architecture and are “a cultural, spiritual whole.” Other architects who addressed the conference stressed that re ligious groups have always been patrons of the arts. They empha sized that Judaism has no co herent tradition of design, such as the Gothic, and is therefore making greater use of contemp orary design in an effort to ex press itself in American terms. Poland Strengthens Ties With Israel TEL AVIV, (AJP) — Relations between Poland and the State of Israel have taken a turn for the better during the past several months, it was noted here in of ficial circles. Following an inter ruption of three years, Warsaw has accredited a new Minister to Israel in the person of Antoni Bida. When Mr. Bida presented his credentials, he declared that his first duty was to strengthen relations between the two coun tries. He also told newsmen that his Government has opened the door for free emigration of Jews to Israel. Census Bureau Drops Plan On Question About Religion By MILTON FRIEDMAN (JTA Staff Correspondent) WASHINGTON, (JTA) — The decision of the Bureau of the Cen sus not to include an inquiry on religion in the 1960 population census was greeted throughout the country this week by Jewish and other groups concerned with basis liberties which had oppos ed the plan as an invasion of in dividual Constitutional Rights. Foes of the religious inquiry had charged that inclusion of a question that would legally re quire persons to state their re ligion would be a violation of the First Amendment to the Con stitution guaranteeing freedom of religion. The decision not to include the religious question in the 1960 census was announced by Direct or Robert W. Burgess of the Bu reau of the Census of the De partment of Commerce. The pri mary reason for this decision, he said, was recognition that at this time a considerable number of citizens would be reluctant to answer such a question in the census where a reply is manda tory. Under the circumstances it was not believed that the value of the statistics based on this ques tion would be great enough to justify overriding such an atti tude arising from individual lib erty concepts. Cost factors also were a consideration. Dr. Burgess called attention to the fact that the decision does not deal with the question of in clusion of an inquiry on religion, or perhaps a modified basis, in la ter censuses. Nor does the de cision pertain to the publication of information based on an in quiry on religion asked of a na tional sample of individuals on a voluntary basis. As a matter of fact, said the census bureau, a survey of this type was carried out in March, 1957, covering a nation-wide sample of about 25,000 house holds. The results of this survey are now being prepared for pub lication. The question had been under study for more than a year, a bureau spokesman said. An issue was raised involving freedom of HOW MANY HAVE YOU READ? 7 “Must” Books Dr. Marcus Recommends for Understanding Jewish Life, Aspirations CINCINNATI — Warning that “unless professional Jewish lead ers in America acquire a more adequate understanding of Jew ish life and its aspirations! Ameri can Jewry has no significant fu ture,” Dr. Jacob R. Marcus, noted historian and professor of history at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion here, has re leased a “must” list of basic books for every communal leader to read End know. Dr. Marcus, director of Ameri can Jewish Archives, a research center on the College-Institute campus here, put the Bible first on his seven-volume “required” list and recommended as a pre ferred edition “The Holy Scrip tures” (Jewish Publication So ciety translation; 1955 reprint.) Other books on his “shelf for leaders” are: For a knowledge of the history of the Jew for the past 3,500 years: “History of the Jewish People” (latest edition) by Abra ham Leon Sachar. For an introduction to the Tal mud, basic literary and spiritual work of the Middle Ages, when present-day traditional Judaism was shaped: “Everyman’s Tal mud" (American edition) by A. Cohen. For a knowledge of the social, cultural, economic and religious life of medieval Jewry, which profoundly influenced European, Israeli and American Jewish life: “The Jew in the Medieval World,” a volume published under Dr. Marcus’s editorship. For an understanding of Jewish life in the United States, center of half the world’s Jewish pop ulation. “History of the Jews in the United States” (1949) by Lee J. Levinger. religion as guaranteed under the First Amendment to the Consti tution. Many religious groups as well as social workers and educators had asked that the question be included. But, said the spokes man exception was taken by the American Jewish Congress and the Church of Christ Scientist (Christian Scientist), both of which came out vigor ously against the proposal. "If we were to include the question in the next census,” the spokesman said, “there might be bitterness on the part of those who did not want to answer. This could affect the entire census, and ruin the job we’re trying to do.” Dr. Israel Goldstein, president of the American Jewish Cong ress, greeted the decision as “a far-reaching victory for tradition al American freedoms.” He said the decision conformed to the view that the proposal was “un constitutional and unwarranted invasion of the privacy of Ameri cans.” “The religious affiliations or be liefs of the people are not a le gitimate concern of a democratic government committed to the principal of the separation of the Church and State,” he assert ed. Commenting on the announce ment by Dr. Burgess, Dr .Gold stein declared that “it would be unwise for the Bureau to publish information based on an inquiry on religion conducted early this year, according to the bureau, on a voluntary basis.” Huleh Project Creator Sees Israel’s Future in Chemicals NEW YORK, (AJP) — “Israel’s future — insofar as basic industry is concerned — lies in the field of chemical production. Chemical products should become the basic and largest industrial production of Israel and the largest source of hard currency." This statement was made last week at the Palestine Economic Corporation dinner at the Hotel Pierre here in New York by one of the world’s most outstanding engineers, Jacob R. Sensibar, President of Construction Aggre gates Corporation and mastermind behind the Huleh Project which was completed well ahead of schedule. Speaking before 400 disting uished dinner guests, the man who has accomplished a score of engineering projects here and abroad which experts contended were impossible of accomplish ment, announced a new “impos sible” plan to build a pipeline from the Dead Sea to the Medi terranean Sea to transport up to 1,000,000 tons annually of potash and chemically pure salt from the deepest and richest scar on the face of the earth. Engineer Sensibar revealed that the imple mentation of this “operation will result in the largest source of hard currency for Israel, next to that country’s citrus products.” He said that “preliminary plans already indicate that the Dead Sea’s productive capacity could easily produce the $200,000,000 of additional revenue needed to close the gap in the economy of Israel and make the country economic ally self-sufficient.” Joseph Myerhoff, noted Balti more builder and president of the Palestine Economic Corporation, told the dinner guests that the PEC has “played a singularly vi tal role in the economic develop ment of Israel.” He said PEC in vestments total some 50 million dollars and includes more than 9, 000 stockholders in this country. Robert Szold, Chairman of the Board of PEC, welcomed the guests. For a survey of what the Jew has achieved for the culture of the society in which he has liv ed during the past 3,000 years: “Jewish Contributions to Civili zation” by Cecil Roth. For a study of Judaism as the religious growth and spiritual ex perience of the Jewish people, “The Jewish Religion” by M. Friedlaender. Making his list public, Dr. Marcus, who is president of the American Jewish Historical Society and a former president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, commented: “Any Jew who has read these books and understood them will have an adequate concept of the place of the American Jew in world Jewish life and of the goals and aspirations of world Jewry.” HAPPY HANUKAH