Newspaper Page Text
XXXIII
The Southern Israelite
A Weekly Newspa per for Southern Jewry — Established 1925
1 58
Lf BRARi£ S
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 1958
NO. 5
N Y Rabbinical Farley Urges
Liberalization Of Divorce Laws
NEW YORK, (JTA)—Liberali
zation of the current divorce
laws was urged this week by the
New York Board of Rabbis in a
resolution adopted at its 77th
annual meeting here. The reso
lution deplored the New York
State law which grants divorce
only on grounds of adultery. “Its
effect has not been the dis
couragement of divorce, but the
encouragement of ‘framed’ cases,
perjury, and divorces in out of
state ‘divorce mills,’ ” the reso
lution said. The meeting also ex
pressed opposition to religious
instruction in the public schools.
In another resolution, the rab
bis urged the United States to
“make it clear that Israel’s ex
istence will be defended and her
borders remain inviolate.” The
resolution warned “against an
isolation of Israel from the poli
tical, military and economic
planning for the Middle East by
the Western world” and stressed
that such isolation “can only
sharpen the conflict and delay
any solution” of the Middle East
problem.
The resolution drew the atten
tion of the American authorities
to the fact that Arab foreign
students who entered the United
States on visas for study purposes
are engaged in disseminating
propaganda “hostile to American
policy and interests and favorable
to the Soviet Union.” It pointed
out that the Organization of
Arab Students now has branches
on 30 colleges or university
campuses.
Egypt Releases Crew Of Seized
Israel Vessel; Israel Ditto
JERUSALEM (JTA)—The six
crew members of the Israeli fish
ing vessel Doron, which was
seized on the high seas by Egyp
tian gun boats last September,
were released by Egypt on Mon
day. Israel promptly turned over
to Egypt six Arab fishermen
from the Gaza Strip whose boat
Dayan, Israel’s Army Chief
Resigns; Succeeded by Laskov
JERUSALEM, (JTA) — Maj.
Gen. Moshe Dayan has resigned
as Israel Army Chief of Staff
and has been replaced by Brig.
Gen. Chaim Laskov, it was an
nounced here today at the con
clusion of the weekly Cabinet
meeting.
Unlike his predecessors, Gen.
Dayan has asked to remain in
the army and his request has
been approved. There is no offi
cial indication of Gen Dayan’s
future duties, but it is understood
that he will take a long leave of
absence to prepare himself for a
new and important post.
Because of Israel Government
policy that only the Chief of
Staff shall be a Major General
on active status,, Gen. Dayan
will revert to Brigadier rank.
Gen. Laskov will be promoted
to Major General. The question
of a reversion in rank has never
come up before in the ten-year
history of the armed forces be
cause each resigning Chief of
Staff has left the service.
New Units Incorporated into S E Reform Family
At Atlanta Convention: Provisional Camp Gift Told
was seized last December off the
Askelon coast.
The technicalities of the release
of the five Israelis and their
Italian skipper, were negotiated
by the headquarters staff of the
United Nations Emergency Force
at Gaza. Although the Israelis
never publicly stated they were
holding the six Arabs, they had
informed UNEF. Israeli officials
stated today that the Egyptians
had not linked their release of
the Israeli fishermen to the free
ing of the Gaza inhabitants. The
exchange of prisoners took place
at a UNEF checkpost near the
Gaza Strip border.
Israel attacked the seizure of
the vessel—which the Egyptians
have not yet released and which
Jerusalem demands uncondition
ally—as an act of “piracy” and
threatened to appeal to the Se
curity Council. UN Secretary
General Dag Hammarskjold per
suaded Jerusalem to let him make
a personal appeal to Cairo. Sev
eral such appeals, one in person
to Egyptian President Nasser,
were made and only after repeat
ed Israeli prodding was Mr.
Hammarskjold able to win Egyp
tian agreement to the release of
the six fishermen.
The Israeli crewmen and the
Italian captain met January 27
with the press and recited a tale
of torture, terror and beating for
nearly six weeks after their cap
ture while their Egyptian captors
tried to get them to confess, ’
firstly, that they were inside
Egyptian territorial waters and,
secondly, that they had been spy
ing when apprehended after mid- •
night of September 22.
The first visit by a representa
tive of the International Red
Cross, the men said, marked a
change in the treatment they re
ceived. The beatings ended, they
were placed together in one large
cell Instead of separately in dark
dungeon-like rooms. The Cap
tain said that he attempted to
produce his depth sounder rec
ords and his charts to prove to
the Egyptians that he was on the
high seas, but they would have
none of his tale, insisting he waa
inside Egyptian waters.
Israel is likely to make a sharp;
protest to the Red Cross over the
treatment the men received. It
will also press its demands for
the 73-ton Doron, which is
equipped with modern electronic
devices for locating schools of
fish. It was considered highly un
likely that the Egyptians would
bargain for the simultaneous re
lease of the six-ton Arab fishing
smack in which the six Gaza
fishermen were apprehended.
By ADOLPH ROSENBERG
Congregational representatives
from five Southern States assem
bled in Atlanta last weekend for
the largest convention in their
history, evolving new alignments
in a reshufling of affiliations in
preparation for future expansion.
More than 32 of the 40 con
gregations in the area sent dele
gates for the packed program of
events to which Atlanta Temple
members were hosts.
One direction of realignment
was the expansion of the South
east Council, Union of American
Hebrew Congregations, which al
ready incorporates South Caro
lina, Georgia, Alabama and Flori
da, to include eastern Tennessee.
The dissolution of the Kentucky,
Tennessee Union left Tennessee
congregations free to chose new
affiliations. Reform groups in
Chattanooga and Knoxville were
present in Atlanta where their
formal applications for member
ship in the enlarged Southeast
Council were accepted.
Maurice Olen of Mobile was
elected president of the new
Southeast Council, succeeding
Myer O. Sigal of Macon, who
concluded four years of service
in that office.
C. Davis Turner of Marianna,
Fla., and Meyer Kronenberg of
Birmingham who also served
four year terms as head of the
Council organized, were both
present at the recent convention.
Marvin Engel, Birmingham,
was elected Alabama vice presi
dent; Harry Kahn, Pensacola,
Florida vice president; William
B. Schwartz Jr., Atlanta, Georgia
vice president; and Isadore Den-
nebark, Sumter, South Carolina
vice president; Mr. Goldberg,
Knoxville, Tennessee vice presi
dent.
Council delegates were stirred
by the possibility of owning a
camp for future Temple youth
activities and adult retreats
through the provisional offer of
$50,000 from Philip Coleman,
Jacksonville, noted Florida philan
thropist,
Mr. Coleman’s gift is contin
gent upon the Council’s raising
an additional $75,000 with which
to purchase either an existing
camp site or an area which can
be developed into camping facili
ties.
Several large gifts of $1,000 or
more were spontaneously pre
ferred to help raise the $75,000.
It is expected that various con
gregations in the area may be
assigned quotas to help raise the
amount, under one plan proposed
by the camping committee which
is considering the matter. Mem
bers of the camping group include
Mr. Turner, Mr. Sigal, Louis
Wellhouse, Henry Wolfe of Mi
ami, Willie Uhfelder of West
Palm Beach, Harry Popkin of
Atlanta and others.
Rabbi Jacob P. Rudin, Great
Neck, L. I., president of the Cen
tral Conference of American
Rabbis, delivered the conference
keynote at the banquet Saturday
evening at the Biltmore Hotel.
Rabbi Jacob M. Rothschild,
Temple spiritual leader, was mas
ter of ceremonies for the ban
quet for the approximate 300
delegates and guests.
Participating were Rabbi Mar
tin Hinchen, Albany; William B.
Schwartz Jr., president, Atlanta
Temple; President Sigal, Macon;
Rabbi Israel J. Gerber, spiritual
leader of the Dothan congrega
tion and director of the South
east Council; Rabbi Herbert M.
Baumgard, Miami, director South
Florida Region of the Southeast
Council, and Rabbi Jay Kauf
man, New York, UAHC vice
president; M. William Breman,
Atlanta, co-chairman Atlanta
convention committee, and Rab
bi Meyer Marx, Knoxville.
Mrs. J. Kurt Holland, president,
Atlanta Sisterhood, was toast-
mistress at the joint luncheon
Sunday, at which Mrs. Henry
Monsky, widow of the noted
president of B’na B’rith was
principal speaker.
Mrs. Monsky, who installed the
officers of the newly constituted
District 13 Federation of Tem
ple Sisterhoods after the incorp
oration of units in South Caro
lina, described the various na
tional projects of the organization
she heads.
Also speaking on the conven
tion theme of “Spiritualizing
Your Daily Lives,” which was
the theme as well of Rabbi Ru
din, she asserted “Your daily
life is your temple and your re
ligion.”
Susan Fogel of Columbia de
scribed the 1957 summer session
of the national Temple youth
camp she had attended. Ann
Greenblatt of Atlanta told of the
summer camp for Temple youth
held in Florida.
Sessions of the Southeast As
sociation of Central Conference
of American Rabbis were also
held during the weekend.
Special Section
Honoring Hadassah's Forthcoming
S E Convention in Atlanta February 24 - 26
PAGES 9-16 THIS ISSUE
SPOTLIGHT ON VISITING DIGNITARIES
DR. ISRAEL ROGOSIN, New
York Industrialist who will be
honored Feb. 20 at a testimonial
dinner, chaired by Ben Massed,
under the auspices of the Atlanta
Hebrew Academy, one of the
beneficiaries of his $4,000,000
gift to Educational institutions
throughout the U.S.
(Story Page 6)
ALEX MILLER, national di
rector of the community service
Division of Anti-Defamation
League, will speak at two Atlan
ta events this weekend: ADL
Award Dinner for 80 Protestant
Ministers (Page 6) Feb. 1 and
the joint meeting of the Atlanta
B’nai B’rith family Feb. 3 (see
page 4).
DR. HENRY S. COMMAGER,
distinguished American historian,
author and educator, will address
the annual dinner meeting of
the Atlanta Chapter, American
Jewish Committee, at 7 p.m. Suit-
day, Feb. 2, at the Progressive
Club, according to Morris Ab
rams, president.