Newspaper Page Text
The Southern
A Weekly Newspaper for Southern Jewry
xxxvi
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 1961
,00
Now U
Jewry to Usher in New Year 5722 Sunday Eve
Atlanta Begins Orderly
School Desegregation
School desegregation ovne to
Atlanta quietly last week os a
handful of carefully screened
Negro seniors began their final
year of high school with white
students.
Scores of out-of-state reporters
were on hand to cover the event
which came off without the vio
lence or mob action which char
acterized integration in such
other Southern communities as
New Orleans and Little Rock.
The example of Atlanta was
noted regionally and nationally
with President Kennedy marking
the occasion with praise for the
community’s historic event.
City and school officials alike
had carefully planned the details
for the occasion in cooperation
with civic, communal and religi
ous groups.
Police authorities had particu
lar orders to prevent any out
break of violence. So strict was
their interpretation that they al
most arrested a pair of seemingly
suspicious men before the pair
could identify themselves as FBI
investigators.
Five young persons were ac
tually arrested at one school and
given thirty-day stockkade sennt-
ences. Four of these, teen-agers
from an out-of-city school, were
later released upon order of
Mayor Hartsfield.
The fifth, identified as a mem
ber of the American, Nazi party
from Virginia, gave a Seig Heil”
salute after his sentencing. He
was reported serving out his
sentence.
The notorious Rockwell crew,
which had sent advance notifica
tion of intention to be on hand,
failed to make the trip when
their private bus broke down.
The Nazi who did arrive came on
public transportation.
Meanwhile, as the nine Negro
boys and girls went about their
class schedules, Atlanta authori
ties kept their vigilance against
any possible interference from
trouble makers.
North African Jews
Face New Difficulties
PARIS (JTA) — The 160,080
Jews of Morocco faced new dif
ficulties this week and those of
another North African Moslem
state — French-controlled and
rebbel-tom Algeria — suffered
new terrorist attacks.
The newest development affect
ing Moroccan Jews was a bitter
denunciation by the Istiqlal
party, the dominant party in
King Hassan’s government. The
party newspaper, A1 Alam, ac
cused the Jewish community of
sending a delegation to the World
Jewish Congress held in Geneva
last month. The paper, which
often reflects the government’s
views, asserted that the delega- *
tion was headed by David Amar,
secretary-general of the Council
of Moroccan Jewish Communities.
A1 Alam described the World
Jewish Congress as a “Zionist”
body and charged also that re
ports of the Geneva meeting were
distributed “clandestinely” to
Jews throughout Morocco. Call
ing for “merciless sanctions,” the
newspaper declared that “if the
elected leaders of the Jewish
community have failed in their
duties as Moroccan citizens and
prefer to serve Zionist doctrine
and Israel, this means that the
persons they represent are delib
erately and consciously hostile to
national Moroccan policy.”
The denunciation was inter
preted in Paris as indicating that
new anti-Jewish measures might
be under consideration by the
Moroccan Government. Le Figaro,
a leading Paris newspaper, said
that the situation of Moroccan
Jewry might become serious,
with unpredicable consequences,
if it should be proved that Mo
roccan Jews, “even in a private
capacity and without official
mandate,” attended the Geneva
parley.
It was reported that many sec
tors of Moroccan Jewry had
joined the criticism of Mr. Amar
with declarations he had no right
to expose them to trouble by
either attending or sending other
delegates to Geneva. However,
Mr. Amar vehemently denied he
was in Geneva. It was suggested
that a mixup might have devel
oped from the fact, that while he
was not in Geneva at the time,
some World Jewish Congress
publications listed him as an ob
server.
Le Figaro said it was likely
that when King Hassan returned
(Continued on page 4)
Jewish congregations the worid
over will assemble the evening
of Sunday, Sept 10, to usher in
the New Year 5722 with song and
prayer.
Elaborate advance preparations
have been made for United States
men and women in uniform to
observe the occasion wherever
their location.
In many areas of America,
these GIs will be guests in pri
vate homes for special hospitality
while the doors of all synagogues
have been opened wide for their
participation.
Exploding membership totals
in some cities in the United
States necessitated duplicate ser
vices on Rosh Hashonah evening.
The growing totals and shifting
population have necessitated con
struction of new houses of wor-
eship in many communities.
In the South, congregations in
Montgomery, Valdosta, Ga„ St.
Petersburg and Atlanta among
others, will be worshipping for
the first time in new facilities,
some as yet uncompleted. This is
the case with Atlanta’s Beth
Jacob Congregation, whose mem
bers nevertheless will use the
new auditorium for the High
Holy Day rites.
As usual, dwindling Jewish
congregations behind the Iron
Curtain will also gather for
symbolic services, but under con
ditions which to say the least do
not indicate Soviet approval.
How many Morranos (secret
observers of Judaism) have been
caused by the hostile anti-religi
ous policy of the Reds is a figure
left to conjecture.
Only in the State of Israel will
Rosh Hashonah be also observed
as a national holiday.
Reform groups will mark the
New Year with a day of special
observances, while Conservative
and Orthodox Jews will observe
the occasion for two days.
The High Holy Day period will
come to a conclusion on Septem
ber 20 with the traditional day
of repentance and of fasting. Yom
Kippur services will begin the
evening of September 19.
THIS ISSUE
Schools in San Francisco
Open on Rosh Hashonah
SAN FRANCISCO (JTA)—The
Jewish Community Relations
Council informed Jewish parents
this week that school officials in
the Peninsular school area had
uniformly expressed regret that
the opening day of the fall se
mester would coincide with the
first day of Rosh Hashonah in
many school districts.
Declaring also that the school
officials had said that it was “not
administratively feasible for them
to change their dates this year,”
the JCRC added that “steps will
be taken to assure that admin
istrators in this area are at least
aware of dates on which num
bers of children are likely to be
absent.” The JCRC pointed out
that Rosh Hashonah next year
will fall on a Saturday “which
will present no opening day prob
lem for that year.”
The organization made it plain
that it fcatf not intervened to seek
changes that would require that
school calendars conform with re
ligions Holy Day* because this
“might itself be a Violation at the
principles of church-atate aspeie
tion.”
It was explained that the ques
tion was not the operation of
school on Rosb Hashonah, “which
they do every year,” but rather
“that the opening and ragiatsa-
tion day of school is of a qpeefal
significance to children and it,
would seem administratiaaly
sound and courteous to ahdd
scheduling such, a special
casion for * day on which a num
ber at students will be unable to
att
President Kennedy’s
Rosh Hashonah Greetings
WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Kennedy extended
through the Jewish Telegraphic Agency the following Jewish
High Holy Day greetings:
“I am happy to extend to millions at oar fellow ettisens of
the Jewish faith, now celebrating Rosh Hashonah, my warm
greetings and every good wish for the New Year.
“In every celebration of ending and beginning there is both
the remembrance of tribulation and the anticipation of good.
There is, took, the knowledge that suffering most make both
a people and a man more certain of the right, while triumph
brings with it the command to respect the right.
“This is the hard wisdom of the centuries, marked again
with the turning of each new season. We In the United States
have found our way as a free people because we have gathered
in our own traditions the experience of many peoples and lives.
We have learned that tolerance and cooperation are the ways
to true national strength. Americans of the Jewish faith have
given to their country a great gift in this regard.
“I know that all Americans, of every faith, join with me in
this greeting and wish for an abundant and peaceful year.”
In Oakland, ecroes the Bay
from San Francisco, rabbit urged
parents to keep Bw children out
of school On ttm. opening day
after negotiations with the Oak
land school board for a change
in die opening date failed, In
other sections of, the. East Bay
area, changes were made it the
requests of Jewish spokesmen. In
San Leandro, the school opening
was postponed.
Michigan Official
‘Regrets’ Elections
On Rosh Hashonah
New Movement Said Bringing Thousands
Of Argentinian Jews Back to Religion
NEW YORK, (WUP)—A new,
independent religious Jewish
movement—supported mostly by
prosperous laymen and which is
under the spiritual leadership of
a Rabbi Zeev Greenberg in
Buenos Aires—has struck root in
Argentina and spread through
out the Latin-American states.
Established under, the, name
“Shuba Israel" (“Return, O Is
rael’), the new institution has
already succeeded in bringing
thousands of unaffiliated and
faltering Jews beck to the tra
ditional fold of Judaism.
This week, two of its found
ing members, Jose Masn and
Moises Cheuke—both Sefardim
originating from Aleppo, Syria,
families—arrived in the United
States as a delegation to cofer
with leaders here who are sup
porting the “Shuba Israel” move-'
meerrt. Among these leaders are
J. A. Samuel, New York busi
nessman and a founder of thej
Torah Umesorah, and B. Teitel-
baum, head of the Transudameri-
ca Export-Import firm. The U S.
office of “Shuba Israel” has been
set up in Mr. Teitelbaum’s office,
156 Fifth Avenue.
Interviewed by the WUP re-*
porter, the delegation spokesman
declared that the greater majori
ty of. Latin-American Jews have
completed drifted from the fold
and the danger of assimilation is
great, “Shuba Israel,” he added,
has embarked upon an educa
tional program with the view of
bringing these “lost" Jews back
to the pristine ideals of the
Torah-faith.
Basically Orthodox, “Shuba
Israel” is not as rigid as the
Orthodox groups in the United
States. “Our objective,” declared
the spokesman, “is to return to
the original sources of the Old
Testament without depending on
erroneous or arbitrary transla
tions. Our Torah,” he added,
“was wrongly called “Old Testa
ment,’ but this name was given
to admit the New Testament,
which we do not recogize.”
In discussing the new move
ment, Mr. Samuel complained
that out of the 500,000 Jews in
Buenos Aires, only a fraction is
Jewishly-inclined. His reference
to “Jewishly inclined,” undoubt
edly pointed to the question of
whether one
Jewish in the sense
affiliation.
DETROIT, (JTA)—Michigan's
Secretary of State James Hare
issued a statement expressingjrf*
ficial “regret" tor fixing thfc
year’s election date “On a- day
that coincides with Rosh Ha
shonah.” He announced official
ly that persons who frisk to ob
serve the Jewish New Year may
apply for the right to vote by
absentee ballot. * “ *
In his statement, Mr. Hare de
clared: “Unfortunately, when the
September 12 date was set for the
election, the religious signific
ance of this date this year was
overlooked by the Legislature.”
He added that the September 12
election date was fixed without
taking into account that the Jew
ish holidays do not fall each year
on the same dates of the common
calendar. ‘In any case, the right
to an absent-voter ballot on re
ligious grounds is a basic one,
and all who plan to observe Rosh
Hashonah may apply for their
ballot now,” he stressed
The Detroit Jew Hi News pub
lished- the text of the official ap
plication for Absent Voter’s Bal
lots in order to enable local Jews
to clip thfe text and file it with
the City Clerk. Tbe^ application
makes K clear that <be applicant’s
request for an Absent Voter’s
ballot is due to tbs feet that he
“traditionally” * “egnnot attend the polls be-
; of synagogue cause of the tenets of my reli
gion.”
