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The Southern Israc”
A Weekly Newspa per for Southern Jewry — Establish*
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XXXIII
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1958
NO. 6
Syria.Egypt Merger Notes CJFWF Calls For Equal Education
JERUSALEM, (JTA) — The least of as much concern to the
Opportunity in Delayed Resolution
JERUSALEM, (JTA) — The
implications which the unifica
tion of Egypt and Syria into a
United Arab Republic may hold
for Israel were reveiwed here
Monday at the regular weekly
meeting of the Israel Cabinet.
Israel is watching Syrian-Egyp-
tian developments closely, though
political observers feel that uni
fication of the Arab states is at
least of as much concern to the
other Arab states and to the
Western Powers as to Israel.
WASHINGTON, (JTA) — The
State Department issued a state
ment on the merger of Egypt
and Syria withholding judgment
on the move until it receives
more information from its em
bassies in the two Arab coun
tires.
The Council of Jewish Federa
tions and Welfare Funds has call
ed for equality of educational
opportunity and for the observ-
Eighty Protestant Ministers Draw
Accolades At ADL Award Dinner
by ADOLPH ROSENBERG
High praise was heaped upon
the eighty ministers who “spoke
out courageously” in the now-
famous Atlanta manifesto at the
testimonial dinner given the
group last weekend during the
annual meeting of the South
eastern Board of the Anti-De
famation league.
Praise came from Rabbi Jacob
Rothschild, spiritual leader of
the Temple, who because of his
own forthrightness, had been
selected to make the official dis
tinguished service citation to the
eighty Protestant ministers.
For the first time, Rabbi Roth
schild declared, “a new voice
had made itself heard above the
raucous, rabble-rousing cry of
the bigot, the self-seeking and
the hate-inspired. It was the
quiet voice of reason—but more
than that it was the thundering
voice of religion’s timeless truths,
of the moral law applied to the
life of men. It was the voice of
the great spirits of every age—
of Moses, of Amos and Isaiah, of
Jesus of Nazareth. It was the
fearless voice—the voice of God-
inspired men.
In his response, Rev. Herman
L. Turner, outstanding Atlanta
clergyman and minister of Cove
nant Presbyterian Church, ex
pressed gratitude to the ADL of
B’nai B'rith “for the sincere mo
tive that prompted your organi
zation to make the award.”
In issuing the Manifesto,” he
continued, the signers acted as
individuals, representing no one
but themselves. We spoke as citi
zens of Georgia and the United
States of America. We endeavor
ed to speak only in a spirit of
deep humility and of penitence
and of prayer. It is in this spirit
that we accept this special
award.”
He added, “the reason for
issuing the Manifesto was to
appeal to the calm reasoning of
our citizens and to show that we
had an inescapable religious re
sponsibility.
“In this ever-changing world,
torn by strife, dissension and su
spicion, we believe that religion
fosters the principles of amity,
understanding and goodwill.
“. . . Only a patient and sym
pathetic understanding of our
problems will enable us to ren
der a real service . . . We des-
prately need to put sanity and
balance into our thinking and
our living.
“. . . The total effects of pre
judiced thinking are bad for
business, poison for politicians,
undermined to liberty, freedom
and justice and ruinous to reli
gion. This nation was built on
faith in God and the dignity of
man.
“All forces—intellectual, social,
moral, religious, educational—
are under the high obligation to
serve humanity. For every free
dom we enjoy there is a com
parable responsibility.”
Praise for the group was re
peated by Alex Miller, a former
Atlantan, now national director
of the Community Service Divi
sion of the ADL, and the main
speaker of the evening.
“Over the years,” he mian-
tained, “I have been struck by
the. courage which members of
the ministry have displayd in
tackling the great social prob
lems of their day, in bridging the
gap between the sermons on the
(Cont’d. on Page 8)
ance of constitutional guarantees
and Supreme Court decisions re
garding equal rights and oppor
tunities for all citizens.
The resolution dealing with
civil rights had been approved in
substance by the organization’s
General Assembly in New Or
leans, November 17, 1957 and
the exact wording was develop
ed by a special committee and
circulated among the General
Assembly delegates in a mail
poll. The results of that poll
found 163 1/4 in favor of the
resolution and 5 1/3 opposed.
In the resolution, the Council
declared that constitutional rights
and freedoms “are not divisible,”
and voiced its conviction that
the benefits of democracy can
only be realized if laws duly en
acted and interpreted by consti
tutional authority are upheld.
The resolution declared that
“in accordance with its commit
ment to social justice and the
sacred heritage of Judaism,” the
General Assembly recognized
that “rights and freedoms guar
anteed by the Constitution of
the United States are not divis
ible, and must be secured equal
ly to all Americans”.
It added that “the blessings of
our democratic order can be
realized only if the laws, as en
acted or interpreted by duly
constituted authority, are upheld
and the due processes of law are
observed.”
Calling for the “observance of
constitutional guarantees and the
carrying out of the decisions of
the Supreme Court regarding
equality of educational opportun-
ty," the resolution asked all sec
tions of the country to realize
“the ideal of equal rights and
opportunity for all without dis
crimination because of race, re
ligion, or origin.”
Members of the special com
mittee which drew the resolu
tion on civil rights were: Herbert
R. Abeles, Newark, CJFWF
President; Julian Freeman,
Indianapolis; Sidney Hollander,
Baltimore; Morris Jaffe, Dallas;
Irving Kane, Cleveland; Label A.
Katz, New Orleans; Mortimer
May, Nashville; Barney Medintz,
Atlanta; Stanley C. Myers, Miami;
and Isidore Sobeloff, Detroit.
“This General Assembly:
In accordance with its com
mitment to social justice and
the sacred heritage of Juda
ism;
Recognizes that the rights
and freedoms guaranteed by
the Constitution of the United
States are not divisible, and
must be secured equally to all
Americans;
Is convinced that the bless
ings of our democratic order
can be realized only if the
laws, as enacted or interpreted
by duly constituted authority,
are upseld and the due pro
cesses of law are observed.
Accordingly, this Assembly
calls for the observance of Con
stitutional guarantees and the
carrying out of the decisions of
the Suprme Court regarding
equality of educational oppor-
tuity, to foster in all sections of
the country the realization of
the ideal of equal rights and op
portunity for all without dis
crimination because of race, re
ligion, or origin.”
DEATH OF A SYNAGOGUE?
Ahavath Achim Members Schedule Farewell for Big Shule Feb. 16
By Adolph Rosenberg
Does a syngoague die?
What happens when a cherish
ed building is abandoned and a
congregation transfers its House
of Worship to another location?
Ahavath Achim members on
February 16 will witness this ex
perience when their old syna
gogue on Washington Street is
abandoned.
The structure built in 1920
will be the scene of the congre
gation’s final service on Sunday,
Feb. 16, and members will mark
finis to a vibrant chapter in their
history.
Former presidents of the 71-
year-old congregation will join
with current officials in fare
well services to be conducted by
Rabbi Harry H. Epstein, the
group’s spiritual leader since
1928, by Cantor Joseph Schwartz-
man and others, some of whom
will remember the original dedi
cation itself.
Ten of the presidents bearing
Ahavath Achim’s Torches, will
lead the processional out of the
structure and the members and
friends will file out for the last
time.
Then Shamos Clein will turn
the key and the silent structure
will await the workmen who
will begin demolition to make
way for the expressway.
The last Friday evening serv
ice at the old synagogue will take
place on Friday, Feb. 14. The
last Saturday morning service
will take place on Saturday, Feb.
15.
Beginning with Sabbath, Feb
ruary 21-22, adult services will
be held at the Atlanta Jewish
Community Center auditorium.
All other synagogue activities
will continue at the A.A. Educa
tional Center on Tenth Street.
The interim arrangement will
be a preliminary to occupation
of the congregation’s new $2,500,
000 House of Worship and edu
cational facilities late next sum
mer.
Abandonment of Ahavath Ac
him’s synagogue will have his
torical significance too for the
general Jewish community. For
the first time in nearly a cen
tury there will be no congrega
tional center on the southside of
Atlanta.
This area contained the initial
residences of the city’s pioneers
and Jewish services were held at
one place or another for nearly
a century. First in private homes,
then in larger locations, some
times unused businesses, as the
Jewish population grew and mul
tiplied.
Once the southside was the
teeming and fashionable center
of Atlanta. Then as the popu
lation shifted its homes into
other centers, so too shifted the
religious centers.
The Temple moved to a new
location in the fashionable north-
side in 1929.
Members of Orthodox congre
gations still found it convenient
to live near their synagogues so
that they could walk to services.
Later, the more pious even after
family moves to the northside,
Edward M. Kahn will be hon
ored for three decades of com
munal service in Atlanta on Sun
day, Feb. 23, when he will receive
the “Outstanding Citizen of the
Year” award from Post 112, Jew
ish War Veterans.
Commander Alfred Schwartz
this week announced that Mr.
Kahn’s intensive service to the
Jewish community of Atlanta, the
South and the nation was the
basis of his selection for the hon
or which will be a feature of the
came back to spend the week
end with friends and relatives
close to the Washington Street
synagogues, so that they could
walk to services.
Though he has lived on the
northside for years, Rabbi Ep
stein regularly made the week
end shift so that he might fol
low closely the requirements of
his convictions. Others on the
Ahavath Achim staff too made
overnight arrangements so that
they would break no regulation.
Shearith Israel members moved
their House of Worship a year
or so ago to the northside loca
tion of their educational facili
ties near where their new syna
gogue is almost completed.
Or VeShalom and Anshe S’fard
Congregations also have already
transferred their synagogual ac
tivities to other locations.
(Beth Jacob and Beth El Con
gregations were established with
in recent years and never had
southside locations.)
Ahavath Achim boasted about
200 members when it was built
at Washington St. and Woodward
Ave., under the spiritual lead
ership of Rabbi A. P. Hermes.
Under the dynamic leadership
of Rabbi Epstein who joined the
annual commander’s banquet and
dance to be held at the Progres
sive Club.
Guest speaker of the evening
will be Ben Chasin, national com
mander of the Jewish War Vet
erans.
Mr. Kahn came to this country
as a child from a small town
near Bialystock, now Poland,
when his family settled in New
York City.
He graduated from the Baron
(Cont’d. on Page 4)
congregation in 1925, the mem
bership grew rapidly.
In the late 1930’s the “Big
Shule” as Ahavath Achim syna
gogue was called had already
become too small for the con
gregation’s religious school facil-
ties. An Educational Center was
constructed on Tenth Street, close
to Piedmont Park.
This structure too early be
came taxed by expanding mem
bership and the influx of war
babies and made it clear to the
congregation shortly after the
end of World War II that new
arrangements would have to be
made.
It was not long before double
sessions had to be instituted to
accommodate all the pupils in
Sunday School. Rooms of nearby
Grady High School were used.
Meanwhile the blueprint of
the city’s expressway indicated
that in time the congregation
would loose its Washington St.
Synagogue and new worship
facilities were planned for the
now 1600 family affiliates.
Members have been able to
sell the old structure and prop
erty to the city at a handsome
price. The Tenth Street center
too will bring a nice figure, add
ing to the financial resources
badly needed for the Peachtree
Battle facilities now nearing
completion, to consolidate once
again all congregational activi
ties in a central area.
But these evidences of progress
and growth do not mitigate the
nostalgic aspects of the Wash
ington structure, soon to exist
only in sentiment and memory.
Here for nearly four decades
where Ahavath Achim held wed
dings, the Bar Mitzvahs, the
minyons, regular evening serv
ices, the holiday services, festi
val rites and the many other
events which go to make up a
congregation’s annals.
Here succeeding class after
class of kindergarteners made
their first formal contacts with
religious education, learning
their first “aleph bets” and often
continuing into Bar Mitzvah,
confirmation and recently post
confirmation graduation.
Here members came in sorrow
to say Kaddish and Yarzeit for
loved ones.
A few funerals too were held
in the Shule—mostly for ex
presidents. One was for the popu
lar wife of the congregation ha-
zan.
Many children were named at
the big shule and many were
consecrated from its pulpit. The
services heightened an under
standing and faith of the mem
bers.
Here too members experienced
a new direction in their faith
and made the momentous deci
sion after years of consideration
to alter their specific affiliation
from Orthodoxy to Conservative.
And the years rolled by and
the times have changed for
Ahavath Achim.
And so this building filled
with precious memories and re
collections has but a few more
days of existence.
As the presidents carry out the
precious Scrolls members will
file out for the last time and
Shamos P. S. Clein will click
the key in the door, as he ha$
done for more than 30 years, on
ly on February 16 it will be for
the final time.
And the building will stand
alone overnight, tennanted only
by the memories of the past.
Then on February 17, work
men will come and tear down
the brick and substance which
once encompassed the congrega
tion’s hallowed worship, its sim-
chas and its sorrows . . .
And soon an express roadway
will stand in its stead and thou
sands of cars a day will whiz
across the site.
And the events and the locale
of the Big Shule will exist only
as memories in the hearts of the
thousands who passed through
its portals.
Atlanta JWY to Honor Kahn
Feb. 23 As “Man of Year”