Newspaper Page Text
The Southern Israel*
A Weekly Newspaper for Southern Jewry — E:'
Vol. XXXVII
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 1962
6\
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NO. 17
Potofsky Condemns Russia
For 'Blow' at 3 Million Jews
Record Influx of * ourists Joins
Israeli Passover Celebration
NEW YORK (JTA)— Jacob S.
Potofsky, president of the Amal
gamated Clothing Workers of
America, strongly condemned the
Soviet Union last weekend for
its efforts to eradicate Jewish
culture and its outrageous blow”
at 3,000,000 Jews of the USSR by
severely restricting this year their
right to bake and obtain matzohs.
Mr. Potofsky addressed the
traditional Third Seder,” con
ducted by the National Commit
tee for Labor Israel, the Amer
ican fund-raising arm of Hista-
drut, the Israel Federation of
Labor. More than 2,000 guests at
tended the festivities at the Wal
dorf-Astoria Hotel. A number of
United Nations Ambassadors par
ticipated, including Israel’s UN
delegation chairman, Michael S.
Comay; Ambassador U On Sein,
of Burma; and Ambassador Ger-
shon Collier, of Sierra Leone.
Citing this year’s Soviet ban
on matzoh-baking in state fac
tories as one of the anti-Jewish
steps taken by Soviet authorities,
Mr. Potofsky said: “I condemn
this effort to eradicate Jewish
culture and tradition from the
heart of Russian Jewry, even if
that culture and tradition is sa
turated with the ideals of free
dom which the Soviets apparent
ly exalt as their ultimate goal. The
Soviet regime has gone to ex
tremes to cut off normal contact
between the Jews of that coun
try and their fellow Jews every
where even by the crude device of
prohibiting the import of matzoh
which have been offered as a gift
to those families behind the Iron
Curtain who wish to preserve
their heritage. This is not a sim
ple curtailment of religious tradi
tions but an outrageous blow at
an expression of man's hope for
liberation from bondage, contem
porary as well as ancient.”
In another address. Dr. Sol
Stein, executive drector of the
National Committee for Labor Is
rael, cited the progress made by
Israel during the past 14 years
“This has been not only physical
growth and a population explos
ion due to the influx of more
than a million immigrants, but a
vast cultural and political up
surge that has given us a stable
democracy in the Middle East,
Israel has demonstrated that'
backwardness is not a chronic
disease but a malady for which
there is a remedy s '
Other speakers included Isaiah
Avrech, American representative
of the Histadrut executive; Aha
ron Becker, general secretary of
Histadrut; and Yehoshua Levi,
the Federation’s treasurer. A
cable was read from Yitzhak
Ben-Zvi, President of Israel, ap
pealing for increased aid to Is
rael’s pioneering forces.
A highlight of the “Third
Seder” was the lighting of six
candies in memory of the six mil
lion Jews who died during the
Hitler regime, and the chanting of
the Russian poem “Babi Yar,”
which denounces anti-Semitism.
TEL AVIV (JTA- — Angry
words, stormy arguments, and
wide disagrements marked the
opening session today of the 20th
annual convention of the Israel
Authors Association. There were
disputes between the modern
writers and the younger genera
tion, criticisms against the Gov
ernment for not doing enough for
Israeli writers, and a disagree
ment regarding the principal goal
of Israel’s writers today, with
Minister of Education Abba Eban
lined up in opposition to Prime
Minister David Ben-Gurion.
Mr. Ben-Gurion had written a
letter to the association, read at
the opening ession, saying that
authors should pay more atten
tion to the vast immigration into
Israel, which the Premier saw as
the “central epic of our genera
tion." As one of the principal
speakers at the opening session,
greeting the writers officially on
behalf of the Government, Mr.
Eban took issue with his Prime
Minister on that point. “Creation
is the author’s only mission,”
said Mr Eban. “If he writes on
JERUSALEM (JTA;—A record
influx of some 20,000 tourists
poured into Israel by sea and air
to join the Jews of Israel in cel
ebration of the Passover holiday.
A large number were Amer
icans and many of the tourists
planned to remain in Israel to
celebrate Israel’s Nth anniver
sary on May 9.
All hotels of all classes were
fnled to overflowing and hun
dreds of the visitors joined
friends and relatives as sedorim
were held in various types of
collective settlemens.
More than 500 persons attend
ed sedorim conducted at the
Zionist Organization of America
immigration or the integration of
the immigrant in our society, so
much the better. But writing, is,
in itself, important.”
Two famous Israeli authors,
Haim Hazaz and Yehuda Burla,
took out at both the Israeli pub
lic and its Government. Mr. Bur-
la chided Israelis for not reading
enough books. “We are known
as the People of the Book,” he
noted, “yet unlike the Jews out
side Israel, who patronize many
books, the people of Israel have
turned to the material life, do
not possess books.” Mr. Hazaz
complained that the Government
does not etend enough help to
authors and poets, alleging that
this fact is another illustration of
Israel’s turn toward the material
as against the spiritual.
Writers of the older genera
tion attacked the young, modern
authors for their “modernistic”
approach and method, while the
younger men defended them
selves and accused the earlier
writers of failure to react to the
life of today. The younger writers
also demanded representation on
the association’s executive.
House at Tel Aviv. During the
ritual services there, special
blessings were recited for the
Jews of Russia who, this year,
were forbidden to obtain rhat-
zohs through a government ruling
banning the baking of matzohs
in state factories.
All of Israel’s army and other
military installations conducted
sedorim for personnel in the
armed services. Field kitchens
had been made kosher for Pass-
over under the supervision of
chaplains. A special Haggadah
had been prepared by the office
of the Army’s Chief Chaplain,
incorporating both ancient texts
and special versions of the Pass-
over narrative employed by vari
ous Jewish communities.
Israel did not forget those cit
izens who are on duty atop
Mount Scopus, an Israeli enclave
inside of Jordanian jurisdiction
A special convoy was sent up to
the mountain, carrying Passover
foods for the personnel there. A
rabbi accompanied the convoy, so
Dedicate First
Israel Reform
Temple
JERUSALEM, (JTA) — Is
rael’s first Reform temple was
dedicated in ceremonies held
here April 14 at a former pri
vate home which now serves
as the country's only liberal
synagogue. About 200 persons
attended the services, actually
held in the garden outside the
house of worship.
Rabbi Jerome A. Unger, of
Los Angeles, conducted the
services. Since 1960, he has
been representing here the
World Union for Progressive
Judaism.
Among those attending were
Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Wish-
nik, of New York. Their chil
dren and grandchildren pur
chased the former dwelling,
presenting it to the Reform
congregation as a gift honoring
Mr Wishnick’s 70th birthday.
Rabbi Jay Kaufman, vice
president of the Union of
American Hebrew Congrega
tions, also addresed the con
gregation.
that he could preside at the seder
on Mt. Scopus.
Two Arabs figured in the news
here on I>assover eve too. One
was Ahmed Abughos, of Abigosh,
a village near Jerusalem. Theo
retically, Abughos was “the rich
est man” in Israel. Government
authorities had "sold” to Abud-
hos all non-Passover foods in
their possession. On the evening
of the last day of Passover, he
was to formally re-transfer own
ership of those goods and prop
erties to Israel — for a fee
amounting to 70 Israeli pounds
(a little over $23).
Another Arab in the news was
Salim Hussary. A baker, with a
small store in the former Greek
colony here he is the only man
in Israel officially permitted to
bake and sell bread during Pass-
over.
Israeli Violinist
Places Second
In Soviet Contest
CURBED BY CENSOR
TEL AVIV (JTA) — Shmuel
Ashkenazi, young Israeli violin
ist, won second place in the
Tchaikovsky contest just con
cluded at Moscow but, in spite of
being an honored guest of the
Soviet Union, was not permitted
by the Russian censors to talk
about the subject of matzohs, it
was learned here Monday.
The story was told by the even
ing newspaper Maariv. A reporter
for Maariv placed a telephone
call to Moscow to interview Ash
kenazi. The Israeli musician men
tioned that he had been the guest
of the Israeli Embassy at Mos
cow for the Passover seder. Since
Soviet authorities had severely
restricted the use of matzohs this
year, by banning the baking of
matzohs in state factories, Ash
kenazi was asked where the mat
zohs at the Embassy’s seder had
been obtained. At that point, the
Russian censor cut the telephone
conversation.
Later, when Maariv placed a
second telephone call, the con
versation went on uninterrupted
since the subject of matzohs was
not mentioned. Ashkenazi said he
had been invited to play as solo
ist by the philharmonic orches
tras of Moscow and Leningrad.
Jessel to Highlight Greenville
Israel Bond Dinner May 8
Stormy Arguments Mark
Convention of Israeli Authors
Chicagoans Proud of Block's
Action on Steel Issue
George Jessel, one of the all-
time greats of American show
business, has accepted the invi
tation of the Greenville, S. C , Is
rael Bond Committee to highlight
the 1962 Israel Bond Drive at a
Decade of the Negev" dinner on
Tuesday, May 8, at the Jack
Tarr-Poinsett Hotel, it was an
nounced this week by Stanley
Brown, chairman of the Green
ville Committee.
Mr. Jessel, who has announced
his retirement from show busi
ness to devote his time to Israel
and Israel Bonds, has just com
pleted one of the most extensive
night-club tours which brought
him into the public eye, from
California to New York, and
from Montreal. Canada, to Mi
ami.
Mr. Jessel, who has given
prodigious amounts of time and
talent to countless charitable af
fairs, is a leading star of tele
vision, radio and the Broadway
stage. He has also appeared ,in
many motion pictures and has
GEORGE JESSEL
produced dozens of movies.
Born April 3, 1898, in New
York City, the son of Joseph and
Charlotte Jessel, young George
entered the public school sys
tem without a thought of show
business. When his father died
in 1908, however, he was forced
to leave school to earn a living.
He got a job singing with a trio
at the Imperial Theater A year
later he was hired for a vaude
ville act called School Boys and
Girls ” From there he went into
the Gus Edwards’ Song Revue."
which launched his success in the
theater, and then teamed up with
Eddie Cantor in an act called
“Kid Kabaret,” which toured
from coast to coast.
n 1918, Mr. Jessel developed
his famous “telephone conversa
tion with Mama" routine, which
established him as a solo enter
tainer During the next twenty
years, he produced and appear
ed in scores of Broadway shows.
In addition, night clubs called on
his services, and he acted in sev
eral motion pictures. He also
wrote a series of short stories,
among them the successful "Be
fore I Die,” which Ben Hecht
used as a springboard for the
movie, “Angels Over Broadway.”
CHICAGO. (JTA) — Chicago
ans, Jews and non-Jews alike,
felt very proud this weekend of
the fact that Joseph Leopold
Block, prominent American in
dustrial leader, who has been
president of the Jewish Federa
tion here, was the principal fig
ure—as chairman of the board
of the Inland Steel Company—
whose resistance to raising the
price on steel has brought about
the capitulation of other steel
companies to President Kenne
dy’s request that they rescind
their increase in the price of
steel which would have affected
the entire economy of the coun
try.
Mr. Block, who hag been active
in Jewish charitable work here
for many years, is president of
the Chicago Community Fund
and vice-president of the Chi
cago Chamber of Commerce. He
has been president of the Young
Men’s Jewish Council and took
an interest in Jewish communal
affairs all his adult life. During
World War II, he served as a
“dollar-a-year-man” as a mem
ber of the War Production Board
in Washington.
Inland Steel was founded in
1893 by a group of industrialists
headed by Joseph D. Block,
grandfather of the company’s
present head. Joseph Leopold
Block, who is now 60, graduated
from Cornell University and
entered the family business, be
coming president in 1963, later
progressing to the board chair
manship.