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THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE
Friday, August 7, 1959
The Southern Israelite
Published Weakly by Southern Newspaper Enterprises, IN Coart-
land SL, N.E., Atlanta 3, Georgia, TR 6-8249, TR. 6 8240. Entered
aa second class matter at the post office, Atlanta, Georgia under the
Act of March 3, 1879. Yearly subscription five dollars. The Southern
Israelite Invitee literary contributions and correspondence bat is not
to be considered as sharlny the views expressed by writers. DEAD
LINE Is 12:30 PJH, TUESDAY, but material received earlier will
have a much better chance of publication.
NATIONAL EDITORIAL
Member
American Jewish
Press Association
Adolph Rosenberg, Editor and Publisher
Gustav Oppenheimer, Sylvia Kletzky, Karen Hurtig,
Kathleen Nease, Jennie Loeb
THE PASSING OF A JEWISH SCHOLAR
In the death of Chief Rabbi Isaac Halevi Herzog, Israel
has lost one of its most radiant personalities and world
Jewry one of its most illustrious religious leaders.
Rabbi Herzog was one of the great Talmudic scholars
of this generation and a religious force that was respected by
every segment of the population in Israel, religious as well
as political. His was the voice of authority among the Ortho
dox, but it was no less heeded perhaps in other circles.
In mien, in carriage, in appearance and in conversation
he evoked the image of the traditional rabbi and teacher in
Israel. But he was a twentieth century man in general
erudition, in his sympathetic understanding of the trials and
troubles of our mid century and in his grasp of problems
outside the Jewish framework. It was precisely because he
rightly evaluated the forces operating on Jewish life today
that he persevered with ever growing dedication in the
wisdom of making a fence around the Torah.
Rabbi Herzog could mix with prince and pauper, rabble
and rabbi, statesmen and Pope, always extending respect
and demanding it in turn merely by the sheer power of his
personality and transluscent dignity. He stood for more than
a decade in the midst of the multifarious cultural and reli
gious tensions that were inevitably to be on Israel in its
early striving for balance, but he was neither bitter nor
wrathful against those who could not see eye to eye with
him. This attitude did not stem from moderation—for he was
most obdurate in the preservation of traditional Judaism—
but from a deeper well—a great humanity that enabled him
to see generosity and sincerity in opponents whose thinking
was anathema to his theology, to Talmud, Halacha and the
generations that persevered with God.
The Polish-bom Jew who was destined to become Chief
Rabbi of Ireland and later of Israel was no stranger to
American Jewry. He visited us only twice, but such was his
spiritual and personal impact that his remembrance will be
with us always. .
—GUEST EDITORIAL
Jewish School Registration
Down In Miami for First Time
Retreat for Servicemen, Families, Volunteers
Scheduled at Camp Blue Star August 24-30
MIAMI, (JTA) — Registration
in Jewish Schools in Dade Coun
ty, which includes Greater Mi
ami, failed in 1959, for the first
time in 18 years, to show an in
crease over the previous year,
according to the Bureau of Jew
ish Education.
Registration this year totalled
8,086 as against 8,557 in 1957-58.
a decrease of 471. It was noted
that while registration in Sun
day schools fell off from 4,597 to
4,021, registration in the after
noon schools increased from
3,960 to 4,021. In the past, the
annual increase in the Jewish
Rockefeller Foundation
Grant for Negev Study
of Ancient Farming
NEW YORK, (AJP)The Rock-
feller Foundation has announced
the grant of $110,000 to the He
brew University to help in re
searches into the agricultural
practices of farmers in the Ne
gev in antiauity.
“In the Negev, which consti
tutes about 60 per cent of Is
rael’s total land area, investiga
tions have revealed that the re
gion at one time supported at
least six large cities with an
estimated population of 100,000
as well as numerous small set
tlements,” the Ford Foundation
stated in making the grant. "The
Hebrew University scientists
hope to establish agriculture in
the Negev without bringing in
water from other areas. They
believe that the ancient systems
may have practical value today.
Their researchers will include
studies of rainfall patterns and
characteristics; soil, water and
plant relationships in the des
ert; land utilization with respect
to appropriate crops for the
area; and the problems of wind-
breaking and drought-resistant
trees as they are related to arid-
zone conditions.”
schools of Greater Miami was
from 1,000 to 1,500 students.
A decrease in registration was
reported by 17 schools and an
increase by ten others. The de
crease in schools which former
ly had reported the largest in
creases each year was taken to
indicate that population shifts
were partly responsible and that
opening of new schools in the
suburban districts would see the
registration rate rising again.
The Jewish child population of
the area is estimated at 11,000,
which would indicate that about
73 percent was receiving some
form of Jewish education this
year. It is estimated that the
“hard core” of children receiv
ing no form of Jewish education
had increased from about 800 in
1958 to 1,400 this year.
Paris Names Square
“Place D’lsrael”
PARIS, (JTA) — The City
Council of Paris has voted to
name a junction of three major
avenues the “Place D’lsrael.”
The junction is located next to
the Israel Embassy.
In the resolution approving
the designation, the City Coun
cil said the action was taken be
cause of the example of “no
bility, dignity, courage and hon
or” of Israel which has become
“the admiration of people every
where.”
JEWISH CALENDAR
•BOSH HASHONAH
Saturday, Oct. 3
•YOM KIPPUR
Mon., Oct. 13
•SUKKOT
Sat. Oct 17
SIMHAT TORAH
Sun., Oct 35
•HANNUKAH
Sat. Dec. 30
•Holiday begins preceding
evening.
Plans for the first Religious.
Spiritual, Social and Cultural
Retreat for servicemen, their
families and military personnel
were announced this week by
Herbert R. Elsas, chairman' of
the USO-National Jewish Wel
fare Board and the Third Army
Area.
The Retreat will be held Aug
ust 24 through 30 at Camp Blue
Star, Hendersonville, with en
rollment possible for a minimum
of two days or for the entire
period of five days.
The sessions will be open to
servicemen, their families, USO-
JWB volunteer workers, JWB
Armed Services Committee
members, USO representatives,
volunteer workers at the V.A.
Hospitals throughout the area.
JWB Associate members are
similarly extended a cordial in
vitation to attend the Retreat
as participants or observers..
As a special consideration
from the Blue Star directors,
Herman and Harry Popkin, a
rate of $5 pier day will prevail.
This rate will include registra
tion, three hearty meals—-plus
evening snack; camping privi
leges — waterfront and athletic
staff supervision; evening pro
grams; visit to Transylvania Mu
sic Camp; folk dance instruc
tion; prominent visiting ’nota
ble and dignitaries’ in attend
ance to make your stay pleas
ant, educational, inspirational,
and most meaningful!
The culmination of all the
planning for the Institute came
out of the deliberations of the
3rd Army Area Program and
Projects Committee meeting and
reporting at the Biennial of the
Region held in Atlanta from
May 8-10, comprising delegates
from seven states and 100 or so
local JWB Armed Services Com-
m i 11 e e representatives. The
Board of Governors of the 3rd
Army Area affirmed the project
as a ‘Pilot Study’ and advised
the limited experiment to be
arranged by the North Carolina
Armed Services Committee.
Retreats (Torah Convoca
tions), a tool widely used for
adult Jewish education in the
Armed Forces, are the Jewish
counterparts of the “religious
emphasis periods” conducted by
Christian Chaplains. These reli
gious meetings, which are spon
sored annually by the Joint
Chaplains Board or the Depart
ment of Defense, provide oppor
tunity for servicemen (and their
wives) to hear lectures and
Biumenthais Cited
For Interfaith Work
At Wiidacres
Mr. and Mrs. I. D. Blumenthal,
Charlotte, owners and operators
of Wiidacres Retreat, Little
Switzerland, N. C., Tuesday
evening were cited by the Na
tional Conference of Christians
and Jews for their devotion to
increased human understanding
and service to human need. The
national citation, signed by NC-
CJ President Lewis Webster
Jocnes and National Co-Chain-
men Benjamin F. Fairless, Lewis
L. Strauss and James F. Twohy,
was presented by Dr. Leonard
P. Aries, vice president in charge
of the Southeastern Division of
the Conference at the annual
NCCJ Intergroups Relations In
stitute at Wiidacres Retreat.
The national award acclaimed
the Blumenthals for their lead
ership in state and national or
ganizations contributing to the
training of better citizens, their
inauguration and maintenance
of Wiidacres Retreat, used for
fourteen years by church, civic
and fraternal groups for youth
and adult conferences and in
stitutes, contributing to better
intergroup relations, and their
friendliness, sincerity and dedi
cation of purpose to better hu
man understanding, thus ad
vancing the Brotherhood of Man
under the Fatherhood of God.
Now in its fourteenth season,
Wiidacres Retreat is made avail
able to various groups for con
ferences, with emphasis on bet
ter intergroup understanding.
Among the Georgians present
were Mrs. Tom R. Day of Mari
etta, Mrs. Amy A. Grantham of
Atlanta, Dr. and Mrs. Joseph
Hackel of Columbus, Mr. and
Mrs. Clarence Schiffman of At-
lata. Rev. Thomas V. Smith of
Sylvania, Rev. John Lee Wom
ack of Atlanta, and Miss Mar
jorie McLachlan, Georgia Di
rector of the NCCJ.
take part in discussions on basic
subjects conducted with their
faiths under the leadership of
outstanding religious leaders.
The Program and Projects
Committee of the 3rd Army Area
are: Milton Levinson, chairman,
who is also the JWB Armed
Services Committee prexy of
Pensacola; Mrs. David S. Gold
berg, JWB delegate to the
Charleston, USO; Irwin Good
man, Chm. JWB-ASC, Hunts
ville, Ala.; Lt. Stanley Kramer,
(USN), Camp Lejeune, N. C.;
Chaplain (Col.) Henry Tavel of
Fort Bragg, (highest ranking
Jewish Chaplain in the US.
Army); Sidney Rosen, Chm.
JWB-ASC, Augusta, Ga.; A. M.
Fleishman, of Fayetteville, State
Chm. of JWB-ASC; Chap. Nor
man D. Hirsh of Camp Lejeune;
Rabbi Jerome G. Tolochko, Aux.
Chaplain of Cherry Point MCAS;
Joe Barr, USO and/or USO-
JWB, Fayetteville; Herman Pop-
kin of Atlanta and Irving Cher-
off, Area Director Consultant.
Since there will be 100 United
Synagogue Youth ‘Leadership
Training Institute’ participants
at Camp Blue Star during the
same time, High School Seniors
are offered the opportunity to
attend the Retreat. Ample oc
casion will be arranged for pre
induction orientation, guidance,
counseling, and direction from
the USO-JWB professional lead
ership. Proper ‘choice not
chance’ is the keynote. Military
Service is inescapable, as four
out of every five youths will
have to serve.
The retreat is being dedicated
to Lloyd W. Dinkelspiel, belated
president of the NJWB. “In
1952, as a JWB representative,
he visited Alaska, Japan, and
Korea for conferences with
Chaplains, and attended Pass-
over Services in the combat
zone. He himself was a veteran
of both World Wars: Lt. Col.—
awarded the Legion of Merit . .”
Anyone interested in the Re
treat idea or desiring additional
information is encouraged to
write Irving Cheroff, P.O. Box
897, Fayetteville, North Caro
lina, or Mrs. Irwin Goodman,
JWB Regional Secretary, 1707
Ballard Drive, Huntsville, Ala.
WHAT THE PRESS IS SAYING
An AJP Digest of Contemporary Opinion
Nasser, Dayan and Hammarskjold
So the President of the UAR—we have it from his own lips—
listens in to “Kol Yisrael” broadcasts. We know, too, that he reads
The Jerusalem Post as well. His own officers are notoriously prone
to Levantine exaggerations and a leader of the Egyptians who
wants to be informed has to rely on the good services of his neigh
bors. For us in Israel, Abdul Nasser’s sudden turn in our direction
portends many things. It is the surest of indications that the
Egyptian ruler has given up hope of reassuring unrivalled leader
ship of the Arab world, which seemed so near just a year ago. The
historical rivalry between Baghdad and Cairo proved much more
real than the ephemeral “Arab unity” in whose name Egypt has
tried to achieve the subordination of the Arabs under the rule of
the Egyptian junta ... It is timely to ponder the argument pre
sented on another page of this paper by Aluf Moshe Dayan, who
while holding no official position in the army of government, has
given a sound, reasoned and uninhibited Israeli reply to Egypt’s
declared policy of hostility. This kind of realistic rejoinder to
Nasser’s new threats comes in sharp contrast to the UN Secretary
General’s conciliatory evasiveness which he voiced once more in
New York . . .
THE JERUSALEM POST, from an Editorial
Glueck Urges Revival of Negev Cisterns
. . . Archaeologist Nelson Glueck does not believe that the
Negev will flow with milk and honey, but he is certain that it can
be made at least as productive as in Judaean or Nabataean times.
Last spring he flew over the Negev after a series of rains. Water
was everywhere, sparkling in the wadies, rushing past the clogged
intakes of ancient cisterns. “If it were up to me,” he says, “the
Israelis would clean out those cisterns and put them back into
use. Today we lay pipelines. But as an old OSS agent, I know that
in time of trouble five men could blow up all the main pipelines
in the Negev.”
TIME MAGAZINE
USSR and the Mideast
The Soviet Union and the Arab world have gone a long way
together since Grigori Zinoviev in 1921, reporting to the Third
Comintern Congress, covered the Middle (and the Far) East in
two sentences of a 104-page speech. As recently as 1951 a pre-
Nasser Prime Minister of Egypt is said to have expostulated: “Why
should we care about Russia—Russia is 4,000 miles away!” He was
dead wrong on the distance, politically as well as geographically.
Before the end of 1956 there were “Soviet-Egyptian kisses—(and)
tears in everybody’s eyes,” according to the local press, when Rus
sian ship pilots arrived to help operate the nationalized Suez
Canal . . . Mr. Walter Z. Laquer, in this reviewer’s opinion, fails
to emphasize adequately a third pre-condition for Soviet victories:
the confusion and impotence of Western policy ... He is coldly
trenchant in analysis of the Arabs’ foibles and instabilities, the
negativism of their sloganeering, the vagueness of their econom
ics, and their blindness to Communist intentions. But he glides
over important and promising differences between Nasserism and
other rival Arab Nationalisms, equating them all with a drive for
“unity,” and he omits almost entirely the prospect that Western
firmness in the beginning might have pulled the Arabs short (as
perhaps it can still do even tomorrow) and stopped the Soviets
too—as firmness has stopped them in other places. . .
HAL LEHRMAN, Reviewing “The Soviet Union and the
Middle East, N.Y. Times
Negro Points Up Relationship With Jews
. . . The American Jew, largely middle class in thought and
in demeanor, is out of touch with the world of harsh rejection,
privation, and violence to which the Negro has been assigned by
current social forces. The American Jew shares actively in the
economic abundance that has been the nation’s harvest for the last
fifteen years. He walks with non-Jews as leader, laborer . . He
inhabits suburbia and plays a vigorous role as producer and con
sumer. The Negro, however, is just emerging-from an economic
limbo. Non-white are sigularly retarded economically . in social
organizations we perceive once again a great disparity between
Jew and Negro . . . The problems are primarily moral and spirit
ual and to those problems Jews can bring the ancient truths and
wisdom conferred upon them by the God of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob . . .
DENNIS CLARK, from The Crisis, published by NAACP