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The Southern 1st
A Weekly Newspaper for Southern Jewry — Es
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No. n
Israel Court Validates Board
Nominating Chief Rabbis
JERUSALEM, (JTA) — By a
vote of two to one, the Supreme
Court of Israel this week vali
dated the nominations board
which is to name candidates for
election of Israel’s Chief Rabbis.
The Sephardic Chief Rabbi, the
Incumbent Rabbi Itzhak Nissim,
is to succeed himself. But there
has still been no nomination for
the Chief Rabbi of the Ashkena
zic community to succeed the
late.' Chief Rabbi Isaac Halevi
Herzog.
This week’s panel of three
justices ruled, two to one, that
the nominating board may func
tion even if only three of its
members are present. The board
must consist of four members
named by the Government, and
four others named by the Chief
Rabbinate. Three of the Chief
Rabbinate’s nominees to that
board have withdrawn their
names on instructions of the
Chief Rabbinate.
Justice Moshe Silberg ruled on
behalf of the majority of the
panel this week that the five
members may function on the
nominating board but. in view
of the division on the panel, a
new panel of five justices should
hold a hearing of the entire dis
pute. As a consequence, the chief
rabbinate elections, previously
scheduled for October 21, will
have to be postponed. In addi
tion to Justice Silberg, the two
other members of the Supreme
Court panel that sat were Jus
tices Alfred Witkon and Chaim
Cohen.
All three justices agreed that
the Rabbincal Council had no
power to dismiss one of the four
‘Rabbi Kook* Prizes
Won by Five
TEL AVIV. (JTA)—Five “Rab
bi Kook” prizes for religious
literature, awarded in memory
of the late Chief Rabbi Abra
ham Kook, who died just 25
years ago, were presented by
the Tel Aviv Municipality this
past week at ceremonies at ZOA
House.
The prize winners are Rabbi
Abraham Neumark, Rabbi Zvi
Shapiro, Prof. Smuel Mirsky of
Yeshiva University, New York,
Yehuda Gist and Jerusalem’s
Chief Ashkenazic Rabbi Pessah
Frank, Deputy Mayor Abraham
Boyar presided at the cere
monies.
members of the nominating
board previously appointed by
the Chief Rabbinate. This mem
ber, Amram Aburavia, refused
to withdraw on orders of the
Rabbinate. Two of the justices
held that the Rabbinate had
withdrawn its members of the
nominating board only for the
purpose of paralyzing the board’s
activities.
_ The court expressed regret
that the rules for electing chief
rabbis have not been altered
by Israel. Those rules, deemed
by the court as “anachronistic,”
were established years ago by
the British mandatory power.
The court also deplored the rift
between Rabbi Yaacov Tole-
dano, Minister for Religious
Affairs, and the Rabbinical
Council, and the fact that neith
er Rabbi Toledano nor the Coun
cil participated in the Supreme
Court’s hearings on the dispute.
Argentine Communities
Vote to Join
World Zionist Body
BUENOS AIRES, (JTA)—The
Federation of Argentine Jewish
Communities voted unanimously
here last week at the conclusion
of a three-day extraordinary
congress, to apply for associate
membership in the World Zion
ist Organization.
The resolution was favored by
every one of the 240 delegates
present, representing 50 Jewish
communities in Argentina.
Swiss Gives 65
Tons of Powdered
Milk to J.D.C.
GENEVA, (JTA)—The Swiss
Government has contributed 65
tons of powdered milk to the
Joint Distribution Committee for
distribution to needy Jewish
families in Morocco and Tuni
sia, Charles Jordan, director gen
eral of the JDC. announced this
past week.
Mr. Jordan said that the dona-
tioh came from the Swiss De
partment of Agriculture and
that the powdered milk was
being prepared by the JDC for
shipment and distribution in the
two countries where the JDC
operates extensive social, health
and education programs for
some 79,000 men, women and
children.
White House Must Take Lead
It is the belief of this writer that whoever is elected Presi
dent next November will do his utmost to rectify the errors
made by the Eisenhower Administration. No one can fail to
see that one of the great losers through these past eight years
has been Israel.
It was heartening, therefore, to have listened closely to
candidate John F. Kennedy’s significant speech delivered at
the opening of the 63rd annual ZOA convention. Said he, in
part:'
"What is needed now is leadership — impartial but firm,
deliberate but bold — leadership instead of rhetoric. There has
been enough rhetoric in recent years about free transit through
the Suez Canal — but there has been no leadership Our policy
in Washington and in the UN has permitted defiance of our
pledge with impunity—indeed with economic reward. If Ameri
ca’s word in the world community is to have meaning . . . the
influence of this nation and other maritime powers must be
brought to bear on a just solution that removes all discrimina
tion at the Suez Canal for all times And the White House must
take the lead ”
DAVID BENARONE
Bomb Killing Fails to Damage
Israel - Jordan Contacts
JERUSALEM, (JTA) — The
latest example of Arabian poli
tics—by-assassination—the bomb
killing of Jordanian Premier
Majali—seemed this week to
have done little damage either
to routine Israel-Jordan contacts
or King Hussein’s control of his
shaky kingdom.
The regular fortnightly Israel
convoy to the Mount Scopus
salient, which passes through
Jordan-controlled territory, took
place on schedule. A special
transport of material went
through without incident 48
hours after the blast that killed
the Jordanian Premier and 10
other persons. Traffic via the
Mandelbaum Gate to and from
the old city of Jerusalem con
tinued normally.
Commenting on the situation,
the indepent daily Haaretz said
editorially that because Pales
tine had been divided between
Israel and Jordan, “there has de
veloped a kind of silent part
nership.” Israel’s security, the
Hebrew daily said, depends on,
among other things, Jordan’s
rulers not denying this fact
“If they change their position
or are forced to do so, a com
pletely new situation might de
velop which would confront us
with an extremely grave danger
and Israel would then have to
consider the new situation and
act to eliminate that danger,”
the paper said.
The right-wing Herut party,
however, expressed disagree
ment in its newspaper, with the
theory that King Hussein’s con
tinued rule was an assurance of
quiet on Israel’s eastern border.
The Herut paper asserted that
Israel had missed an o port unity
to ensure its security, adding “it
may be that we are now again
to be confronted with a test that
is likely to determine the fate
of our country.”
LONDON, (JTA) — Authori
tative sources in Jerusalem were
cited this week by the Daily
Telegraph as denying reports
that Israel had concentrated
troops on the Jordanian border
in response to the assassination
of Jordanian Premier Majali.
The same sources were quoted
as saying that the Israel Army
was following events in Jordan
closely and that the delicate
situation created by the upheav
al in Amman, Jordan’s capital,
was being studied with utmost
attention.
The correspondent reported
that it was understood that in
view of reports that Syrian
troops had been moved in Jor
dan’s northern border, Israel
would not remain passive if
changes occurred in the region.
In another report, the London
daily quoted Lt Col. R. R.
H e u i h a n, commander of the
Canadian contingent of the
United Nations Emergency Force
in the Middle East, as declaring
that President Nasser of the
United Arab Republic has
equipped a two-battalion army
for a strike at Israel across the
UN forces.
“Nasser’s aim is to create a
new Palestine state out of Israel
and integrate it with the United
Arab Republic,” the Canadian
UN officer was quoted as say
ing. adding that Nasser “will do
this by negotiation if possible,
but by war if he cannot do it
Court Convicts Rockwell,
Seven “Stormtroopers”
WASHINGTON (JTA) —
George Lincoln Rockwell, head
of the so-called American Nazi
party, was convicted this week on
two counts of disorderly conduct
arising from anti-Semitic rallies
here and ordered by Municipal
Court Judge Mildred E. Reeves
to pay $100 fine or serve 30 days
in jail. The conviction came after
three days of hearing.
Seven of Rockwell’s "storm-
troopers” were also convicted of
disorderly conduct and fined in
dividually $10 or $20, depending
on prior convictions.
The conviction of Rockwell
represented the first legal find
ing against the neo-Nazi leader.
He was held in confinement Im
mediately after the trial. He
sought to raise a $500 appeal
bond and served notice that he
would appeal. His men paid their
fines immediately. Rockwell paid
his fine shortly afterwards and
was released.
Both Judge Reeves and Clark
King, chief prosecutor, expressed
views similar to the stand of the
Anti-Defamation League of B’nai
B'rith, charging that Rockwell
sought to abuse and exploit "free
speech” guarantees. The Judge
and Mr. King said no legitimate
free speech issue was involved
Judge Reeves said that when
‘‘free speech” becomes “personal
abuse” and incitement to riot it is
no longer the legitimate discus
sion of an idea She said Rock
well’s abuse caused the riot and
that the police did a good job.
She added that the audience had
a right to boo and heckle with
out being abused.
Mr. King said hecklers “were
perfectly justified in trying to
drown Rockwell out “when he
made defamatory remarks about
Jews. He commended, in effect,
Washington Jewish citizens for
their degree of patience and tol
erance of Rockwell’s Nazi pro
vocations. He said Rockwell’s
tirades were not only effensive
to Jewish but to the general
public.
any other way.”
The Times of London said
King Hussein was now faced
with a double threat to his king
dom, the threat of subversion
from Nasser and the threat that
“Israel will move first lo fore
stall any junction of Egypt and
Syria.”
The Times emphasized that
Israeli leaders “have made no
secret of their determination
not to let any other country oc
cupy the area of Palestine in
corporated by Jordan in 1949 in
the war against Israel.”
Israel Ordering
French Jets
LONDON, (JTA) — The Is
raeli Air Force is expected to
take delivery next year of 2®
French-built Mirage-3 pet inter
ceptor planes, according to “Fly
ing Review,” the Royal Air
Force publication.
According to the RAF periodi
cal, Israel has taken an option
on 14 more of the French jets,
making a total of 40, at a price
reportedly marked gt $2,500,000
per plane. The RAF publication
stated that the Fnnco-Israeli
contract fbr these planes has not
yet been signed, but that the in
formation came from sources in
the French aircraft industry.
Assassination
In Jordan Spells
Tension, Peres
TEL AVIV, (JTA)—The ex
plosion of the time bomb in Am
man which killed Premier Ma-
pali of Jordan “throws Israel
back from relative calm to the
realities . of . a new tension,” Si
mon Peres, Israel’s Deputy De
fense Minister, said this past
week.
Speaking at a meeting of a
Mapai youth group, he said Is
rael must maintain alertness
since “we do not know in which
direction the situation will de
velop.”
Prime Minister David Ben-
Gurion met with his advisers to
discuss the bombing in Amman
and its possible implications for
Israel. While Jordan is in theory
an enemy country, Israel con
siders the safety of Jordan an
important factor in Israel’s poli
tical and militaiy strategy as a
buffer on Israel’s eastern
frontier.
Youth Who Admitted Bombing
Of Synagogue Killed in Crash
GADSDEN, Ala. (JTA)—Gadsden police reported this week that
Jeiry Hunt, 17, who was facing two charges of assault with attempt
to murder in a bomb attack last March on a Gadsden synagogue, was
killed in an automobile crash The youth drove his car into a tree
near here.
The accident occurred, according to Coroner Noble Yokum, when
the boy was speeding back and forth in front of a school while firing
a rifle at the school as he drove. He had been free on bdnd pending
an appearance before a grand jury early in September.
The counts against him grew out of an admitted attempt to fire
the synagogue with a homemade bomb. When two worshippers
.ushed out to investigate, they ran into a hail of bullets. They were
wounded, one severely, but both later recovered.