Newspaper Page Text
The Southern Israelite
XXXIV
A Weekly Newspaper for Southern Jewry — Esti
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1959
Kisenhower Discussed Soviet
Jewry With Khrushchev
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NO. 42
WASHINGTON, (JTA) — Re
ports which were circulating in
some circles here to the effect
that President Eisenhower per
sonally, had raised questions on
the status of the Jews in the
Soviet Union in his talks with
Soviet Premier Nikita Khrush
chev at Camp David were con
firmed in a letter from the White
House made public here by the
B’nai B’rith.
Gen. Wilton B. Persons, assist
ant to the President, addressed
the letter to Label A. Katz, na
tional president of B’nai B’rith,
informing him that President
Eisenhower had discussed the
controversial subject with Mr.
Khrushchev. American Jewish
leaders were unable to meet
with the Soviet Premier for the
same purpose during Mr. Khru
shchev’s tour of the United
States.
Mr. Khrushchev told the Presi
dent- that he had been aware of
the question, Gen. Persons said,
“but that it was his position
that, so far as possible, the Jew
ish people in the Soviet Union
are treated like everyone else.”
This response, in effect, was
similar to the answer Mr. Khru
shchev gave to a question pre
pared by the Jewish Telegra
phic Agency and asked of him
at his televised appearance be
fore the National Press Club
here.
“The President,” Gen. Persons
informed Mr. Katz, “then in
formed Mr. Khrushchev of the
concern that had been expressed
to him by representatives of the
Jewish . people in the United
States over the situation of the
Jewish people in the Soviet
Union.”
Mr. Katz lauded the Presi
dent’s intervention, saying that
it probably left a “significant
impression” on the Soviet Pre
mier, and “this can only have a
very favorable effect on the fu
ture cultural and religious ex :
istence of Jews in the Soviet
Union.” The B’nai B’rith head
said that the President had
“rendered the Jewish commun
ity a great service.”
The B’nai B’rith leader dis
closed that, following his meet
ing with President Eisenhower
on September 23, shortly before
the start of the Camp David
talks, he had “left the White
House with the impression that
the President had placed the
subject of Soviet Jews on the
Camp David agenda.” Mr. Katz,
Maurice Bisgyer, executive vice
president of B’nai B’rith, and
Mrs. Charles D. Solovich, presi
dent of B’nai B’rith Women, had
met with Mr. Eisenhower to
present him with the B’nai
B’rith President’s medal for his
efforts in preserving world
peace.
“At that time,” Mr. Katz said
“we expressed to the President
the concern of American Jews
for the erosion of the religious
and cultural community of Jews
in Soviet Russia. It was then
indicated to us that the Presi
dent was highly conversant with
the subject.”
Israel Denies Cour
French Firm Bowing to Arabs
JERUSALEM, (JTA)—An Is
raeli Foreign Ministry spokes
man denied reports Tuesday
that Israel had interrupted ne
gotiations for construction of a
huge passenger liner by a French
shipyard because Renault, the
government-owned French auto
motive firm, in a surrender to
the Arab boycott of Israel, had
suspended operations in this
country.
Tel Aviv newspaper headlines
thip week indicated that the halt
in the negotiations was direct
ly connected to the Renault
issue. The negotiations were for
construction of a new trans-
Atlantic passenger liner for the
Zim-Israel Navigation Company.
An official version today was
that, actually, there had been
no interruption in the negotia
tions, only a possible, temporary
impasse which developed before
the Renault closedown was an
nounced. It was pointed out that
such hitches customarily develop
during complex financial nego
tiations.
(In Paris, it was announced
that French Minister of Trans
port Bouron will leave by chart
ered jet plane tomorrow for
Israel, to attend the official
opening of a new subway in
Haifa. A special representative
of the City of Paris will also go
to Haifa with M. Bourbon, to
dedicate the main terminus of
the subway, which has been
named "Pans.”)
A nine-man, all-party commit
tee set up in Israel to fight the
Arab economic boycott has ruled
out a counter-boycott against
such firms as Renault, the
French automobile company
Federation President Urges All-Out
Support of Atlanta's United Appeal
Atlanta’s Jewish community
was urged this week to give all-
out support to the current cam
paign for the United Appeal
agencies of the Community Chest
and Red Cross by Abe Schwartz,
President of the Jewish Social
Service Federation of Atlanta.
“The agencies supported by
the combined United Appeal are
democratic expressions of our
interests in our fellow men,”
Mr. Schwartz stated. “We in
America do not look to our gov
ernment entirely to care for our
neighbor. We find that our con-
gem can best be expressed by
our contributions to these agen
cies which contribute to a better
community. Truly few dollars
return so tremendous a dividend
for the investment.
“The Jewish Social Service
Federation is a charter member
of the Community Chest and
has participated since 192 4.
Among our agencies which de
rive benefit from your contri
butions to Atlanta’s United Ap
peal are the Jewish Family and
Children’s Bureau; the Ben Mas-
sell Dental £linic; and the Jew
ish Community Center. Atlan
ta’s goal for the year ahead is
in excess of three million dol
lars. I know that the members
of Atlanta’s Jewish Community
will do their share to help put
Atlanta’s United Appeal cam
paign for the Community Chest
ana the Red Cross over the top.”
The Federation coordinates the
work of its constituent agencies
and functional Divisions. It pro
vides certain central services
to all of its agencies and divi
sions—such as central purchas
ing, bookkeeping and auditing
service, and consultation and
guidance.
The Federation is a constituent
agency of the Atlanta Jewish
Community Council, which is
the overall planning body in the
field of Jewish community serv
ice.
which has yielded to the Arab
boycott and halted its operations
in Israel, the committee’s chief
disclosed this week.
Meir Grossman, head of the
Jewish Agency’s external rela
tions department and chairman
of the committee, said that there
was little that could be done to
prevent such incidents as the
surrender by Renault to Arab
presure. His committee, he said,
had ruled out a counter-boycott
of such firms.
His committee, Mr. Grossman
said, had worked for the past
two years, doing whatever was
possible with the only force at
its disposal—moral suasion—but
this, ne admitted, was only
rarely successful.
He noted that economic boy
cott was illegal in many coun
tries and thus that even if it
were possible to organize a cam
paign against firms observing
the Arab boycott of Israel and
refusing to deal with Israel,
such efforts might prove illegal.
He said that the committee’s
attempts to draw attention
abroad to the situation had had
little success and that Jewish
organizations abroad were gen
erally reluctant to lend support.
. . . In Brief
Jewish Youth Aiding United Appeal Campaign
A formal protest against the
stoppage by Morocco of postal
communications has been filed
by Israel with the Universal
Postal Union at Berne, Switzer
land . . . Amid a 21-gun salute
at the airport at Rangoon, Bur
ma, Israel’s President Izhak
Ben-Zwi arrived here October
19 with his wife and three aides
including Walter Eytan, direc
tor general of the Foreign Min
istry. This is the Israeli Presi
dent’s first state visit to this
country. Dressed in white with
a black hat, Ben-Zvi was greet
ed with the playing of Hatikva,
Burma’s President and Prime
Minister along with members of
the diplomatic corps and mem
bers of the Burma Jewish com
munity . . .
Rigid security measures were
being enforced in Tel Aviv this
week at the Rumanian Legation
following a complaint by Ru
mania of an alleged attack by
unidentified assailants upon two
members of the legation staff.
In London, it was reported
that Czechoslovakia has agreed
to supply the United Arab Re
public with equipment and ma
terials amounting to 60,000,000
pounds sterling ($140,000,000).
In Vienna Sunday, six persons
were injured seriously and a
score or more suffered minor
injuries when neo-Nazi students
suddenly turned what seemed
like an innocent academic par
ade into a Hitler-like demon
stration. The parade, begun pre
sumably as a memorial to Fried
rich Schiller, famous German
author and playwright born 200
years ago, changed complexion
when fascist youth marchers
broke out with signs proclaim
ing Nazi slogans. Other youth
groups started tearing down the
banners and police intervened.
Field Marshal Hakim, of the
United Arab Republic, has an
nounced in a radio broadcast
from “somewhere on the Sou
thern order,” that Egypt is con
centrating troops on the Tsrael
border. Cairo of course issued
a denial.
Illustrating the citv-wlde mo
bilization behind the current
campaign are these youngsters
shown getting pointers on speech
making from Ronald Hill, Dale
Carnegie instructor for address
ing congregations about greater
Atlanta’s first United Appeal
for Community Chest-Red Cross.
Robyn Faaher, left, and Renee
Michael were two of the Jewish
Community Center representa
tives scheduled to speak before
the Temple and Shearith Israel
Synagogue. Mary Wesley, ex
treme right, represented the Girl
Scouts before a church congre-
K tion on UA Sunday, Septem-
r 27.
Cleveland Editor S. D. Irwin
To Talk in Atlanta Oct. 29
Spencer D. Irwin, associate
editor and foreign affairs col
umnist for the Cleveland Plain
Dealer, will be the guest speak
er at a special Israel Bonds meet
ing on Thursday evening, Octo
ber 29, at the home of George
Alterman, 1774 Sussex Rd., N. E ,
at 8 o’clock.
The meeting is one of a series
of events planned during the
next few weeks to point up the
need of continued economic aid
to Israel, through the purchase
of Israel Bonds. Max Ritten-
baum, Chairman, and Miss Rose
Sugarman, Women’s Division
Chairman, said that these events
would be part of this city’s ef
forts to aid Israel in achieving
her cherished goal of economic
independence.
Mr. Irwin, who covers the
United Nations for his paper,
authors a weekly column on
trends and personalities abroad,
and writes editorials on inter
national affairs and American
foreign policy, has received
recognition at home and over
seas for his contributions to
factual reporting and fair inter
pretation.
Collaborator on such books as
“Three Thousand Years of Es
pionage,” and “A Christian Re
port on Israel,” Mr. Irwin has
made several trips to the Mid-
EDITOR IRWIN
die East to complete research
for a book on Israel which is
soon to be published. For his
reporting on the founding and
development of the Jewish State,
his name has been inscribed
twice in the national Golden
Book of Jerusalem.