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The Southern Israelite
A Weekly Newspaper for Southern Jewry — Established 1925
VoL XXXVII
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, FRIDAY, APRIL, 13, 1962
NO. 16
Adopt JWB Reorganization
MIAMI BEACH, (JTA)—The biennial convention of the Na
tional Jewish Welfare Board concluded here this week with the
adoption of a budget of $1,520,275 for 1963 and one of $1,591,475 for
1964. The convention also approved a series of recommendations to
enable the organization to meet the rapidly changing needs of Jew
ish centers and in morale services to Jewish military personnel.
Solomon Litt of New York, was elected JWB president.
The delegates accepted the recommendations which were made
by a committee on reappraisal and planning that the JWB organ
izational structure be streamlined to eliminate “needless duplicating
demands upon lay leaders” and to make maximum use of “profes
sional resources.”
The delegates also approved a recommendation that the Jewish
Welfare Board become "a unified agency, to the extent feasible,” and
that local communities “assume maximum responsibility for services
to the armed forces and hospitalized veterans, with Jewish centers
playing an enlarged role in this program."
Frankfurter Believed Improving
WASHINGTON, (JTA)—Justice Felix Frankfurter, the only
Jewish member of the United States Supreme Court, was reported
resting comfortably this week in the hospital after his collapse
Thursday night.
The collapse was due to a “transient episode of acute carbovas-
cular insuffiency,” a medical term for a brief interruption in nor
mal blood supply to the brain.” The 79-year-old jurist, had a mild
coronary thombosis in 1958 and spent a month in the hospital then.
Until his collapse in his Supreme Court office last week, he seemed
in good health
Va. Governor Signs Bill Revoking
Charter of American Nazi Party
RICHMOND, Va., (JTA)Govemor Albertis S. Harrison last
weekend signed a bill passed by the state legislature here revoking
the charter of the American Nazi Party, but declared in a state
ment issued after the signing that the Nazi party will still be able
to use the word “Nazi” in its organizational title.
Stating that “it would have been preferable to ignore the
group,” the Virginia Chief Executive said that, in effect, all the
legislature accomplished by passage of its bill “is to deny the Nazi
party the status of a Virginia corporation.” However, since the
measure had been adopted, the Governor stated, he would not “sub
stitute” his judgment and opinion above that of the legislature.
A batch of 1,300 swastikas, costing $29.64, was taken out of
circulation this weekend by the head of a manufacturing firm in
West New York, N.J., which had made the Nazi symbols on the
order of souvenir merchants—then found himself picketed by trade
unionists who objected to the “insidious” emblem.
UN Security C
Resolution Censuring Israel
° T ^° 'nuuu T ouTo
* 8A * itS
France Abstains
UNITED NATIONS, N.Y. (JTA
— The Security Council Tuesday
adopted an Anglo-American res
olution condemning Israel for its
“retaliatory” raid of March 16-17
against Syrian gun positions dver-
iooking Lake Tiberias, which had
harassed Israeli fishermen and
police patrol boats on the lake.
The vote was 10 in favor, none
against, and one abstention.
The only abstainer was France,
while the United States and Brit
ain Joined the Soviet Union and
the United Arab Republic in
voting for the draft. Since the
resolution “reaffirms” a measure
adopted by the Council In 1956, it
also, in effect, threatens Israel
with sanctions if Israel should fail
to heed the Council’s new resolu
tion. The 1956 resolution contain
ed such a threat.
The Anglo-American resolution
was adopted after Michael S.
Comay, Israel’s chief representa
tive here, had delivered a long
address in which he sternly at
tacked the positions taken during
the current debate by three of the
Big Four Powers here. He charged
the Soviet Union with “bias,” al
leged that the U.S.A. has adopted
"a lopsided” view of the Syrian-
Israeli situation, and disagreed
with the contention of Britain,
which had maintained here that
only the United Nations can pro
tect Israel.
The resolutions “deplored the
hostile exchanges” of fire between
Syria and Israel and called upon
both Syria and Israel to refrain
"from the threat as well as the use
of force.” It then declared that the
current Council: “Reaffirm the
Security Council resolution of
January 19, 1956 which condemn
ed Israeli military action in the
breach of the General Armistice
Agreement, whether or not under
taken by way of retaliation; de
termines that the Israeli attack of
March 16-17, 1962, constitutes a
flagrant violation of that resolu
tion (of 1956) and calls upon Is
rael scrupulously to refrain from
such action in the future.”
Oth^r clauses in the resolution
supported proposals made by
Major General Carl C. von Horn,
chief of staff of the U. N. Truce
Supervision Organization, which
Israel had already rejected. The
von Horn proposals included the
placement of a UN observation
boat on Lake Tiberias, which is
entirely in Israel territory; and
reactiviation of Israel’s participa
tion in the Israeli-Syrian Mixed
Armistice Commission which Is
rael has been boycotting since
1951, claiming Syria was trying to
use the MAC as a wedge for the
incursion upon Israeli territory
and sovereignty.
Only Armand Berard, chairman
of the French delegation, came to
Israel’s defense today. M. Berard
told the Council, as it was prepar
ing to ballot on the resolution,
that he would abstain because the
Anglo-American draft was “not
impartial.” He maintained that the
resolution should have taken into
account the Syrian provocations
that led to Israel’s military action,
especially the Syrian shooting at
Israeli boats on Lake Tiberias, on
March 8, 15 and 16
Prior to the adoption of the
Anglo-American resolution, the
UAR withdrew its sponsorship of
a Syrian draft which would have
condemned Israel even more
sharply. Both Israel and Syria
had presented resolutions, each
condemning the other. Since Israel
is not a member of the Council,
and no Council member called for
a vote on its draft, the Israeli
measure died automatically. After
adopting the Anglo-American res
olution, the Council considered its
long debate on the current Israeli-
Syrian situation “concluded,” and
adjourned.
However, the Council had al
ready heard the Israel Govern
ment’s views on the Anglo-Amer
ican draft. Mr. Comav had made
those views clear, taking the floor
after a speech by Syria's Salah
Terazi. The latter repeated his
previous, sharp attacks against Is
rael, and expressed regret that the
Council had not yet come to the
point “unfortunately of consider
ing Israel’s expulsion from the
United Nations.”
Analyzing the position taken by
the Soviet delegation during the
current debate, Mr. Comay ac
cused Platon D. Morozov, the Sov
iet representative, of having swal
lowed whole the “preposterous”
version of Israel’s attack against
the Syrian gun poeitions overlook
ing Lake Tiberias on the night of
March 16-17. Mr. Morozov’s ver
sion of the alleged facts, Mr.
Comay charged, “is simply the
Syrian version down to the last
detail.”
Quoting from portions of Mr.
Morozov’s statements to the Coun
cil last week, when the USSR rep
resentative said it would be
quite proper to warn Israel that
sanctions will be applied,” the Is
raeli diplomat said: “It is a grave
matter to threaten any member
state with sanctions; but it is un
pardonable to do so on the basis
of gross factual misstatement.”
Mr. Comay cited a statement
made during the debate by Adlai
E. Stevenson, chairman of the
American delegation, who had re
ferred to Israel’* alleged “rever
sion to a policy of retaliatory
raids.” Pointing out that Israel’s
March 16-17 attack had followed
grave Syrian provocations, Mr.
Comay said: “I wish to assure him
(Mr. Stevenson) that my Govern
ment did not have then and does
not have now any policy of re
taliatory raids. My Government
has the same right and duty as
any other government to protect
ourselves against attack.”
As to Britain’s position in the
debate, Mr. Comay referred par
ticularly to a statement made here
last week by Sir Patrick Dean,
chairman of the British delegation,
who had urged Israel ‘to consider
that the United Nations is a
Continued on pare 5
Article by Southern Israelite Editor Included in Congressional Record
SMALLTOWN STORY
EXTENSION OF REMARKS
of
Hon. Abraham J. Multer
In The House of
Tuesday, March 27, 1962
MR. MULTER. Mr. Speak
er, I commend to the atten
tion of our colleagues the
following article from the
Bulletin of the Anti-Defama
tion League of B’nai B’rith
for February 1962.
Adolph Rosenberg, the au
thor, is editor of the Southern
Israelite and tells us a story
in the finest American tradi
tion. It is an object lesson in
how a small town dealt with
intolerance.
All too often we read only
about what goes wrong in a
community. It is well to take
note of the good things that
fail to make headlines.
The article follows:
SMALLTOWN STORY
By Adolph Rosenberg
(For almost 50 years, Nathan
Cohen had the respect and friend
ship of his neighbors in Alma,
Representatives
NATHAN COHEN
Ga. Then he ran for mayor—ami
found out about his town’s anti-
Semitic quotient.)
Until he became the target for
an anti-Semitic campaign, every
thing that had happened to Nathan
Cohen, of Alma, Ga., had been in
the classic American tradition.
He had come to the United States
from Poland as a boy. Traveling
steerage, he had been robbed of
his purse as he slept. The ship’s
captain gave him a silver dollar
to cheer him up; other passengers
contributed too, to start him out
in the New World. He arrived
in Georgia in 1913—at the age of
13 — and first Lived in Nichols,
where he had three half-brothers,
before going on to Alma, 11 miles
away. He attended school for a
short while, then went to work.
With a horse and wagon, he set
out as a peddler, going from house
to house, farm to farm, throughout
southeast Georgia. The loggers
and sawmill workers of Okefeno-
kee Swamp came to know him
well. In time, he saved enough
money to go into business and
settle down; he founded and ran
the department store in Alma.
After World War I, he brought
his mother and two sisters over
from Poland. He had not forgotten
his early shipboard experience.
He was determined that they
come first class and escape the
ignominy of steerage. And they
did.
He married a girl from Savan
nah, the former Beckie Chernoff,
who has since died. They had
. . . WE RE BLUSHING
hut quite pleased with the
route to date of the inspiring
story of Mayor Nathan Cohen
of Alma, Ga. The material
was first presented in our
November 3 newspaper, occu-
pving practically the full
front page of The Southern
Israelite. Since then, the ma
terial was brought up to date
and published in the ADI, bul
letin of February, 1962, and
subsequently reprinted in sev
eral English-Jrwish periodi
cals. Its appearance as a part
of the Congressional Record
Appendix through the sugges
tion of a New York Congress
man was a surprise. We re
print the reprinted reprint—
just in ease any of our read
ers failed to catch the story
the first time.—THE EDITOR
three children: Ronnie, who is
now a young lawyer, Stephen
now a pre-dental student at the
University of Gintrgia; and Ger
ald, the oldest, who took over Mr.
Cohen’s department store when
he retired recently.
But simple retirement could not
satisfy a man who had worked so
hard for so many years. Mr.
Cohen had, at one time or another,
a variety of business interests.
He still has a 125-acre farm, pro
ducing tobacco and beef cattle as
well as vegetables and eggs. But
this is more of a hobby than an
occupation for him. For some
years, friends had been urging
him to run for local office. In
1961, he agreed lo run for mayor
of Alma.
As the race began in September,
Nathan Cohen, now a slight, slim
man just past 60, began to cam
paign quietly in the fashion of
small towns in Georgia’s rural
area. You don’t hold giant politi
cal rallies here; there aren’t
enough people for that in a town
of 4,000. And no repeated appear
ances over radio and television.
There is the country weekly, the
Alma Times edited by John Gra
ham. Mr. Graham helped Mr.
Cohen out. You might have call
ed him Mr. Cohen’s campaign
manager though the setup was not
as formal as that.
Mostly, smalltown campaigning
means seeing your neighbors and,
instead of just talking about the
crops and time of day, you bring
up the subject of politics and get
around to asking for support. (In
Alma, you usually get around lo
seeing many of your friends in
Continued on page 3