The Southern Israelite. (Augusta, Ga.) 1925-1986, December 27, 1957, Image 1

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The Southern Isr** A Weekly Newspa per for Southern Jewry — Ei 090 *%o XXXII ATLANTA, GEORGIA, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1957 NO. 51 18 American Organizations Arrange Israel Pilgrimages UJA Votes $102,031,000 Regular Drive, $100 Million Rescue Appeal NEW YORK, (JTA —Eighteen national Jewish organizations have taken the leadership in ar ranging the first of what is ex pected to be a series of nation wide pilgrimages to Israel during th festival year 1958-1959, it was made known today by the Ameri can Committee for Israel’s Tenth Anniversary Celebration. These include: The American Association for Jewish Education; the American Jewish Congress; B’nai B’rith; National Council of Jewish Women; Hadassah; Hista- drut; Mizrachi Hapoel Hamizra- chi; Mizrachi Women’s Organiza tion; Women’s American ORT; National Federation of Hebrew Teachers and Principals; Pioneer Women; State of Israel Bonds; Union of American Hebrew Con gregations; United Jewish Appeal; United Synagogue of America; Women’s League for Israel; Young Israel; Zionist Organization of America. Tucson Hadassah Drops Plans for Weekly Bingo TUCSON, (JTA) — The Tucson chapter of Hadassah has withdrawn a request to the Tuc son Jewish Community Council for clearance of weekly dates for bingo game nights Acting to withdraw the request before it could come up for dis cussion before the Jewish Com munity Council’s regular assemb ly, the local chapter took the ac tion on advice from the national headquarters of Hadassah. The formation of a committee on community organization, and a committee on tourism and pil grimages to Israel, to advance pro grams for the qelebration of the 10th anniversary of Israel by Americans, was announced today by Senator Herbert H. Lehman and Dr, Israel Goldstein, general chairman of the American Com mittee for Israel’s 10th Anniver sary Celebration. Rabbi Irving Miller of New York has accepted the chairmanship of the commit tee on community organization, and Lawrence G. Laskey of Bos ton, the chairmanship of the com mittee of tourism and pilgrimages. The celebration will help to guide local communities in the establishment of representative groups, under whose auspices ap propriate observances of the 10th anniversary will take place in 1958 in the period of April to December. The Winter term curriculum in cludes ten new courses offering a variety of subjects in the fields of Bible, history, literature, mu sic, philosophy and religion. Spec ial two-hour courses are given in Hebrew. The Hebrew instructors are Rabbi Joseph Cohen, Irving Fried and Joseph Margolis. In the first hour, which is from NEW YORK, (JTA) — The United Jewish Appeal on Decemb er 15 concluded its two-day twentieth annual national confer ence here with a call to American Jewry to raise a special $100,000, 000 Rescue Fund over and above the regular UJA campaign for 1958, which requires $102,031,000, Morris W Bernstein of Syracuse, N. Y., well-known philanthropist and business leader, was elected general chairman succeeding Wil liam Rosenwald who served in this position during the last three years. The decision to conduct a res cue fund campaign in addition to the regular drive was adopted by more than 1,300 delegates from all parts of the country who at tended the conference. Some of the delegates brought forward checks from their communities totalling several million dollars. Thirty- 8:10 to 9 p.m., the following courses are offered: “Adjustments in Family Life” taught by Stan ley Bass, will be a discussion of the challenges that are a part of married life and family relations. Rabbi Harry H. Epstein will teach the course “In Time and Eternity” — A Jewish Reader,” which will deal with selected three communities whose 1957 campaigns topped all previous re cords were presented with special awards. Mr. Rosenwald was pre sented with a silver antique men- orah for his outstanding leader ship of the UJA since its found ing and his major role as general chairman for the last three years. The vote for a 1958 rescue fund came after the delegates heard Moshe Sharett, former Prime Min ister of Israel, sum up Israel’s ac complishments and problems on the eve of it’s 10th anniversary, and heard Edward M. M. Warburg, UJA honorary chairman, outline the humanitarian tasks which the member agencies of the UJA are facing for the coming year. Mr. Rosenwald reported to the conference that the UJA raised $85,000,000 during 1957, of which $55,000,000 represents proceeds readings in post-biblical sources revealing the Jewish religious quest for the meaning of life, “Psychiatry and Religion” by Rabbi Sydney K. Mossman is an interpretation of the inter-rela tions between psychiatry and re ligion and the values each has for the other. “The Wisdom Books of The Bible” will be handled by Continued on Page 8 from the regular campaign con ducted in communities through out the country, and $30,000,000 came from the emergency rescue drive He emphasized that more than 570,000 men, women and children in Israel and in a score of other countries benefited from the UJA funds. Mr. Sharett, introduced in a stirring speech by Israel Ambas sador Abba Eban, received a warm ovation from the delegates. He warned that the sharpness of the East-West conflict throughout the world had increased in re cent months and served to compli cate the Middle East issues still further. The former Israeli Pre mier denounced the Soviet Gov ernment for its Middle East pol icy declaring: “The Soviet Gov ernment by adopting a policy of implacable hostility to Israel has assumed a very grave responsi bility for retarding peace in the Middle East.” That the capital of a great na tion should become a constant source of the “most systematic and blatant mendacity,” he added, “is a most depressing and deeply disturbing phenomenon. It is a revolting degradation of interna tional relations.” Mr. Sharett was also critical of the West, asac/i- ing that its groping “toward dead ghosts of appeasement” could be sensed. In an apparent reference to Britain, he added that “some governments are unable to learh a lesson from their own past ex periences.” He warned the West against Continued on Page 8 Atlanta Institute of Jewish Studies Lists New Courses for Winter Term Harry Golden Reveals Secret of His Carolina Israelite Golden as Historian by BERNARD G. RICHARDS (From Ft. Worth Texas Jewish Post) Here is Golden as Historian — On Sept. 29 the Sunday Review of the Day-Morning Journal car ried a piece by Harry L. Golden which allegedly told the “story Behind the Brandeis Appoint ment” but which actually was an astonishing effusion and made a painful impression on many dis cerning readers. I was out of town when this article appeared. When I returned it seemed too late to catch up with this grotesque yarn, but I received several inquiries from persons who were still dis turbed by the matter and who re membered my knowledge of at least some parts of this history. I was then urged to comment on Golden’s bald assertions. So even at the risk of marring Mr. Golden’s studied attempts to become widely known as a unique and eccentric character, I must point out that his inside informa tion is quite outside of the realm of truth. What actually seemed to have happened is that Mr. Golden car ried his humorous observations, whimsicalities and fantasies which fill his nondescript paper, The Carolina Israelite, into the realm of history. Here his liter ary excursions are quite out of place. Mr. Golden sets out to give his account of the appointment of Mr. Louis D. Brandeis to the Supreme Court of the United States by first telling how Jose phus Daniels, Secretary of the Navy, and close friend of the great attorney and Zionist lead er, helped the Jews at the out break of World War I. Mr, Gold en says: “A few thousand Jews had escaped with their lives to Alex andria and they needed food and medicine desperately. The war was on—we had the supplies, but where was the ship that would carry them across the Atlantic and deep into the Mediterranean? Mr. Daniels went up to the Brooklyn Navy Yard and put a single bag of coal on each of two American ships to keep their official status as ‘colliers’ and sent them off to Alexandria with food, medical supplies and matzos for Passover. Mr. Daniels told me that Rabbi Stephen S. Wise was the one who handled the entire project with him from beginning to end; and with a twinkle in his eye he also told me that several leading Jews in the Government had advised him against it.” The facts are that in March 1915 the American collier Vulcan left Philadelphia for Jaffa with 900 tons of food and medicines for distribution to the famished people of Palestine. Of course Secretary Daniels was instrument al in executing the project, but he did not have to go to Brook lyn to carry coal. In fact, all the details were worked out by an Assistant Secretary of the Navy who was later to become better known as Franklin Delano Roose velt. The undertaking was spon sored and financed by the Pro visional Executive Committee for General Zionist Affairs, then headed by Mr. Brandeis and the American Jewish Relief Commit tee. The group of workers took in not only Dr. Wise, but a whole Continued on Page 6 Harry Golden’s Reply to Bernard C. Richards The accompanying criticism of Mr. Golden has appeared in sev eral of the English-Jewish news papers throughout the nation — though not in The Southern Is raelite before now. It is approp riate then that Mr. Golden’s re ply should also appear in an EnglLsh-Jewish newspaper and we are pleased he choose our columns for this purpose. It is interesting at long last to have H.G.’s explanation of his in imitable publication, a revelation of greater importance than the substance of his reply to Rich ards. He terms his publication a “Yiddish press, translated Into English.” Certainly the Carolina Israelite (no relation to The Southern Israelite) is not a news paper, though printed on news print and tabloid in size. It is primarily a journal of opinion— Harry Golden’s opinions — and is quite unique, reminiscent of the old days of personal journal ism when an editor for lack of wire service, syndicates, had to write his entire publication, in cluding the news. H.G. however does not yield space to any news whatsover and the Carolina communities where he circulates mostly and the other readers throughout the country must look to other sourc es for word of what is happening of interest to the Jewish scene. Not having to be concerned either with the assembly of such local or regonal events as bar mitzvahs, conventions, conferences, wed dings, obits, he also has more Continued on Page 6 The venerable Bernard G. Rich ards is one of our most gifted journalists with a long and hon orable life of service to American Jewry, and Yiddishkeit, and it is precisely because of these virtues that I feel at ease when I take issue with him on his “reply” to one of my recent articles. First Mr. Richards disputes the sequence of events I outlined with respect to the voyage of the col lier “Vulcan” with food, medicine and other supplies to the famish ed Jews of Palestine. He says that “ ... Mr. Daniels (Secretary of Navy Josephus Daniels) was in strumental in executing the pro ject but he did not have to go to Brooklyn to carry coal. In fact all the details were worked out by an assistant Secretary of the Navy who was later to become known as Franklin Delano Roose velt.” Very dramatic, but the at tempt to “water down” Mr. Dan iel’s role in this act of humani- tarianism, is not only contrary to the facts but (it) does a gross in justice to one of the most noble Christian Zionists and philo-Se- mites this country has ever pro duced. I may say that the “history” I discussed in the article Mr .Rich ards disputes was based on a very rare privilege that has been ac corded to me — a perusal of the private and personal papers of the late Secretary of the Navy. But first it should be clearly under stood that Mr. Daniels loved Franklin D. Roosevelt like a fa- their loves a son. So much so that on the five, six, or ten oc casions when Mr. Roosevelt un dercut his superior and when he agreed with some of the criticism leveled against Mr. Daniels, the old Methodist Sunday School teacher waited for his Assistant to come on back home so he could take him in his arms in fond embrace. Mr. Daniels went so far out of his way to heap praise and honor upon Mr. Roose velt that he would have been ov erjoyed to have mentioned the name of Roosevelt in connection with the “Vulcan” project if in deed there had been any basis for such connection. Mr. Daniels re corded that he had received a call from the editor, Mr. Herman Bernstein asking for aid in get ting food for the starving men and women in the Near East. The en tire project — the preliminaries that is, was initiated by a corres pondence between Mr. Daniels and Mr. Bernstein. I do not question of course that part played in the matter by the other Zionists men tioned by Mr. Richards, but after the first letter from Mr. Bernstein, Mr. Daniels invited an expression from Rabbi Stephen S. Wise. Mr. Daniels “did indeed” put a bag of coal on the “Vulcan” to main tain its official status of “collier” Continued on Page 6