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Friday, December 21, 1951 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE Page Seven A Mother in Israel By ANITA ENGLE KIRYAT AMAL, ISRAEL I never realized how much the early clays of Palestine resembled the Covered Wagon days of the West until I met Avraham Sha piro. The name of the 87-year-old watchman of Petach Tikvah has been in the news lately. He was one of the people who arranged the peace feast — sulha — be tween the Jews and the Arab villagers of Kfar Kasim. The newspapers carried photographs of him presiding over the cere mony, with pipe in hand, hand some, dignified, distinguished. Apart from the fact that a man like Avraham Shapiro would be a credit to any nation, the vet eran watchman has an additional claim to fame. He is one of the first pioneers of modern Pale stine. I don’t think there are more than a handful of these stalwarts, the First Aliyah, still alive today. For 80 years Avraham Shapiro has lived in Petach Tikvah, the first Jewish settlement of modern Palestine. He married a girl that he grew up with, and she bore him two sons in the old wooden farmhouse he still lives in today, although the street, which bears his name, had gone all modern around him. They must have been a giant breed, those first pioneers of mod ern Palestine. And indeed, Avra ham Shapiro, for all his years, is a giant of a man today, well over six feet tall. He looks just like a Kentucky colonel, with his straight, soldierly bearing, clipped white moustache, and jovial blue eyes. There is the same hint of gallantry about him, which sug gests that he must have been ir- resistable in the old days. In fact, he can still pay a very pretty compliment. To get the full force of his per sonality, you must see pictures of him mounted cm his horse, al ways an Arabian mare of noble breed. Wearing a Stetson-type hat, with rifle slung over his shoulder, and a cartridge roll across his chest, no Canadian Mountie ever looked handsomer or more able to “get his man.” Those were real blood and thunder days, when young Av raham, at the age of 18, became head watchman for Petach Tik vah. He was responsible for the lives, property and “honor” of the first people who were attempt ing to live according to the rules of civilization, among a popula tion which knew only the law of theft, loot and the blood feud. It Would have been simpler if the Jews had come to Palestine, like the white man came to America, to conquer, and it didn’t matter if the Indians were de molished in the process. Our pi oneers didn’t come to conquer and to demolish, but to restore their ancient homeland. All their efforts were directed towards making it possible to live among the Arabs, carry on their work, without being in constant danger of attack from them. Education was their best wea pon. As the Arabs learned that these newcomers meant business, the people on the land — there were no politicians then — were glad enough to come to terms with them. Avraham Shapiro always got his man. That was one of the main principles on which he built his relationship with the tricky, but nevertheless not unamenable Arab tribes. They knew that any cne who committed a theft or a crime of any sort in the area where Shapiro was watchman, was going to be tracked down and brought to book. He had his own little jail in his own back yard. Avraham’s success didn’t de pend on his being a crack shot. The veteran watchman hardly over used his gun, and on only one occasion was shot at, during the whole of his career. In the early days, when Petach Tikvah was surrounded and attacked, he shot and killed six Arabs. But after that, none. He tracked down thieves and killers, and forced them to obey him by moral force (and his formidable reputation) alone. Once Shapiro travelled three days and two nights, tracking down a man who had stolen a cow from a farmer at Petach Tik vah. He found him hiding in a wadi among the sand dunes of Caesarea. He called down to him, and ordered him to bring the cow up. The Arab came up with the cow, and Shapiro said to him, “You’re going to take this cow back to the farmer you’ve stolen it from. Your punishment — you go all the way back, hanging on to the cow’s tail!” The Arab pleaded that he would be the laughing stock of the country if he did that, but that is the way he returned the cow. Afterwards Avraham brought the man to his house, made coffee for him, gave him a nargh ilah to smoke, then, after a good meal, he told him not to try any more of his tricks in the Petach Tikvah area, and let him go. Shapiro never had any trouble with him again, although the English did, when they came later. They finally killed the Arab in a running fight, but not before he got three policemen. Avraham Shapiro loved the dispensing of justice, and every thing that had to do with rela tions with the Arabs. He under stood their ways, and valued them. This big, fearless, just man was known and respected as one of their own elders by every sheikh in the whole of Palestine and Trans-Jordan. The handsome collection of swords, daggers and shabariahs which decorate every wall of Shapiro’s home, are all gifts from Arabs, one, a handsome inlaid Damascus dagger, came from Abdullah, the late King of Trans-Jordan, who was a person al friend of Avraham’s. The old frontiersman has grac ed every important occasion in the history of modern Palestine. Either on his horse, as guard for the Baron Edmund de Rothschild, for Lord Balfour, or Sir Herbert Samuel; or in other seats of hon our, as the veteran watchman ripened in years, and became a V.I.P. in the eyes of the nation he has helped to form. PEST CONTROL Bond*4 rfWrre Control PROFESSIONAL SERVICES TR. 2-4734 Also COOL ROOF REFLECTIVE COATINGS Theodore <Ted) Oser, Pres. Over 40 Yeors Experience 1139 Spring St., N.' W. ern Votes David Geffen, District Five president of A. Z. A. is leaving for Charleston and Richmond to attend Regional Conventions to be held in those cities during the holiday season. David, son of Mr. and Mrs .Louis Geffen of Atlanta is a pre-rabbinical student at Emory University. Mr. and Mrs. Peter Hurtig are spending the holiday season in Baltimore and New York. Mr. and Mrs. Harry Maziar of Atlanta announce the birth of a daughter, Lisa Robyn, on De cember 2. Mrs. Maziar is the former Sherry Bredow. The grand parents are Mr. and Mrs. Sam Bredow and Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Maziar, all of Atlanta. Sixteen girls at Georgia State College of Business Administra tion have formed a local sorority, Delta Sigma. The officers are Reva Gross, president; Dee Ga- vant, vice president; Perle Moss- man, secretary and Betty Dud- man, corresponding secretary. Mr. and Mrs. Sidney J. Marcus of Atlanta announce the birth of a daughter, Robyn Helaine, on December 4. Mrs. Marcus is the former Charlotte Glyck of Miami. Out of town guests that will attend Lawrence Goldman’s Bar Mitzvah on January 4 are Mr. and Mrs. S. I. Baker and son Barry of Park Forest, Ill.; Miss Helen Portnoy, New York; Charles Portnoy, Toledo; Mrs. Ethel Sheer, New York; Mr. and Mrs. Burt Steinberg and Jay Cohen, Birm ingham. Mrs. A1 Schwartz, former Miss Helaine Brodie of Atlanta, is cur rently editing a monthly news paper of the Mid-Island YM- YWHA which serves Wantaugh, L. I., New York, where she now lives, and the surrounding area. Mrs. Schwartz who graduated from the Henry W. Grady School of Journalism at the Uni versity of Georgia, was a member of The Southern Israelite editorial staff before her marriage. Miss Mildred Arleen Morris, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Jake Morris of Atlanta, who is attend ing the University of Miami will visit with her roommate Miss Lloyd Carol Morningstar in Wu han, Mass., for the mid-term va cation. At home for the holidays in At lanta with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Neils Jacobson, is Miss Eliz abeth Jacobson, a student at Woman’s College, University of North Carolina, at Greensboro, N.C. Henry Solomson of St, Peters burg, Fla, is visiting in Atlanta, his former home, with friends and relatives. Mr. and Mrs. Sol- omonson will observe their fifti eth wedding anniversary in April. Mr. and Mrs. Morton Weiss and children left Atlanta this week for a holiday trip to Nassau. Miss Kathleen Leland, daughter of Mrs. Kay Leland Effel, has re ceived her degree from Emory University in education. On Janu ary 2, she will join the faculty of Samuel Inman School as a seventh grade teacher Miss Leland is a Sunday School teacher for Congregation Ahavath Achim. Beth El Service The second in a series of “Bi ble Study” will be the theme of Rabbi Alex Kaminetsky’s ser mon Friday, Dec. 27 at Congre gation Beth El’s Sabbath Eve Services. Frank Spiegel will explain the weekly Bible Portion. An Oneg Shabbath will follow the services. Services are presently being held at the Or Ve Shalom Syna gogue and begin at 8:30 p.m. In addition to the main service, a special service is also conducted for the children of the Congrega tion with an appropriate story hour. Atlanta Mizraehi Women to Meet The Atlanta Chapter of Miz- rachi Women will hold its month ly meeting at 1 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 2, at the Atlanta Jewish Community Center, Mrs. Ben Auerbach, newly elected presi dent, has announced. The meeting will take the form of a convention to report the activities and achievements at the 32nd Annual National Con vention recently held in Chicago. Participating will be Mrs. Harry Robkin, Mrs. Joseph Shuchato- vitz, Mrs. Alex Kaminetsky and Mrs. Albert Bernath. Donald Oberdorfer Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. Donald Oberdorfer of Atlanta, will be stationed in Washington after the first of the year as the capitol correspondent for the Charlotte (N.C.) Observ er. He has been a reporter for the Observer for the past year and a half and will be the paper’s first Washington correspondent. He will move to Washington with his wife and five-month-old son, In Charlotte, he also served as a “stringer” for the National Jew ish Post. MORE PEP! ROMAN MEAL BREAD gives you LONGER-LASTING ENERGY! ELPS keep you from that “all-gone” feeling morn ings and afternoons, especially if you are dieting. Good for children, too. A delicious blend of white, whole wheat, and rye, vitamin fortified. Get a loaf today. A DELICIOUS LIGHT BROWN BREAD VITAMIN FORTIFIED Made by The Bakers of BETSY ROSS BREAD JOIN THE LARGE CIRCLE OF SATISFIED SAVERS IN AMERICA WHO EARN BIG EXTRAS S' PLUS ^jj> ON ALL SAVINGS ACCOUNTS Only Standard Federal Offers 4% Plus 1. 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