Newspaper Page Text
Central Florida Reform
Religious School Faculty Seminar
ST PETERSBURG—Dr. Sylvan
Schwartzman, professor of Jewish
Religious Education at the He
brew Union College, will be the
lecturer at the Religious School
Faculty Seminap of Central Flor
ida Reform Congregations at Tem
ple Beth-Fl all day Sunday, Jan
uary 27. Dr. Schwartzman, who
will be arriving from the Univer
sity of Florida following his par
ticipation in Religious Emphasis
Week program at the university, is
the author of numerolis textbooks
utilized in Reform Jewish Edu
cation. A native of Baltimore,
Rabbi Schwartzman is a graduate
of the University ol Cincinnati,
and an ordained rabbi from the
Hebrew Union College and has a
PhD. from Vanderbilt University.
Participating in the program
will be some sixty Sunday and
Hebrew school teachers from
Congregations affiliated with the
Union of American Hebrew Con
gregations from Ojlando, Tampa,
Clea’water, Sarasota and St.
Petersburg.
Included in the Seminar pro
gram will be Resource and Con
tent courses in Bible Historv and
Customs and Ceremonies to be
presented by Rabbi David Zie-
lonlsa of Temple Schaarai Zedek,
Tampa; Rabbi J Marshall Taxay
of Temple B’nai Israel, Clearwa
ter, and Rabbi David Susskind,
Temple Beth-El.
The program is under the
sponsorship of the Religious Ed
ucation Committee of Temple
Beth-El
The Southern Israelite
A Weekly Newspaper for Southern Jewry — Established 1925
ToL XXXVIII
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 1963
NO. 4
Miami Anti-Semite Gets
20- Year Prison Sentence
MIAMI ( J T A ) — Donald
Branch, key figure in a plot to
kill a number of leading Miarmi
Jewish personalities, was given a
20-year prison term this week to
add to two previous terms totaling
12 years in trials arising from the
plot
Branch pleaded guilty to the
bombing of the home of Don
Shoemaker, editor of the Miami
Herald. The bombing took place
a month and a half before an
abortive attempt by Branch to
bomb the Anshe Ernes synagogue.
At the same time, an American
Nazi party member, Roger C.
Foss, completed a 180-day jail
term for disorderly conduct
charges arising from picketing
the Florida office of the Anti-
Defamation Leaguh’ ’with anti-
Semitic placards. One of th« rea
sons for the trip of Foss 'o Mi
ami was to try to help Branch,
a 26-year-old former Miami mu
nicipal employe.
Branch was arrested last April
28 as a result of undercover work
by Miami police and the Dade
County State /* Attorney office.
When Branch was detained, pol
ice found his home filled with
American Nazi party literature.
However, leader Geoige Rockwell,
who came to Miami for a visit
last June disavowed any connec
tion with Branch or the Minute
Men group to which he belong
ed.
Branch was first sentenced to
six years last June 21, after
undercover operator Stefan Plu-
macher foiled Branch’s plan to
bomb the synagogue by substitut
ing duds for the dynamite which
Branch planted at the synagogue.
On October 12, Branch received
a second six-year term for pos
session and transportation of ex
plosives. Two Minute Men co
horts were exonerated.
During the trial, it was brought
that Branch intended to assas
sinate several Miami Jewish com
munity leaders, including State
Atto-ney Richard Gersteia.
Soviet Hints Threat to Jews
In UN Debate on Emigration
UNITED NATIONS, N. Y.
(JTA)— The Soviet representa
tive on the United Nations Sub
commission on Prevention of Disv
crimination asserted last week
end that introduction by Jewish
organizations of the issue of em
igration of Jews from East Eur
opean countries was “a bad serv
ice” to the Jewish populations of
those countries, which certainly
“would not help them.”
Boris S. Ivanov made that
statement in continuing dscussion
at a Sub-Commission meeting of
a report dealing with the right of
any individual to leave his coun
try and to return to it. The dis-
cuss.on reached the stage of par
agraph by paragraph considera-
tioi of the'report, prepared by
Jose Ingles of the Phillipines,
special lapporteur. The target of
the Soviet representative’s wrath
was the Coordinating Board of
Jewish Organizations, which had
Slot in Loses Seat Fight
The Georgia Senate this week
voted overwhelmingly against
seating Harris Slotir. in the con
tested Chatham County election
The Jewish businessman from
Savannah had tempoarily taken
the seat during the first week of
the General Assembly but any
possibility of his retaining it was
swep* away Monday.
The Senate rejected the elec
tion returns on the basis of res
idence and refused to seat Slotin’s
Republican opponent on the
grounds that the law of Georgia
“does not award the office to the
second high candidate when the
apparent winner is for some rea
son disqualified or prevented
from holding office.’
Slotin had asserted that he
maintained a residence in the dis
trict from which he was elected,
although the Senate findings con
cluded he paid taxes from another
district and voted there as well.
A new special election is being
arranged. Slotin said he is not
eligible to run
The action leaves Joe Isenberg
of Brunswick the sole Jewish
member of the General Assem
bly. Isenberg was elected a rep
resentative from Glynn County
He accompanied the newly in
stalled Georgia Governor Carl
Sanders and other state politicos
to Washington last weekend for a
series of Democratic Party events
Orthodox Rabbis Split on
Federal Aid to Education
LAKEWOOD. N. J (JTA)
The Rabbinical Council of Amer
ica appealed this week to the
Soviet Government to provide
oppoi tunities for unqualified
religious freedom for the
United Synagogue, SE Region,
Begins Cavalcade on January 28
United Synagogue of America
will launch a two-week Caval
cade which will bring leading
personalities in the Conservative
Movement to communities in five
Southwest Region states.
Rabbi Abraham Karp, d stmg-
uishod spiritual leader of Temple
Beth El, Rochester, N. V., and
noted author, will speak on his
specialty. “The American Jew
ish Community,” at adult educa
tion gatherings in Miami, Jack
sonville and St. Petersburg Jan
uary 28-30.
On Sunday, Feb. 3, the "Res
ponsibilities and Potential of the
Lay Leadership of Small Con
gregations,” will he the theme at
two Conferences to be held in
Charleston and in Mobile. Rabbi
Harry H. Epstein, distinguished
spiritual leader of Aliavath Aohim
Congiegation, Atlanta, the largest
congregation in the Southeast,
will be the keynote speaker in
Charleston. Rabbi David Shud-
rieh spiritual leader of the Con
servative Congregation of New
Orleans, will keynote the Mobile
Conference.
On the same date in Orlando,
Seminars for professionals and for
board of education people will be
conducted on curriculum lang
uage methods philosophy and tin-
psychology of the Jewish stu
dent.
On February 10. Rabbi Morris
Chapman, of B’nai Israel, St.
Petersburg, Fla., will be the key
note speaker at a gathering of
Tennessee congregation in Nash
ville to discuss the “Responsibil-
ities
of J
I -ay Load
riship,”
while a
simil;
;:r
conferenc
e will
be held
for
Ge
orgia co
ni'tiegati
ni’s at
Ahav
ath
Aohim,
Atlanta,
on the
same
da
to. Febru
ary 10
On
F
ebruary
10 in
Miami
Bead
,. 1
ho First
Annual
Confer-
once
oil
Youth will be
held at
Temp
de
F.manu-F
1. with
a joint
RABBI EPSTEIN
Dr. Walter Ackerman, director of
the Commission on Jewish Edu
cation of (he United Synagogue
of America, will speak t > rep
resentatives of nine Florida con
gregations on “The Goals and Po
tential of Jewish Education.”
meeting of teenagers and adult
youth committee people who will
concern themselves with t h e
“Growing Religious Gulf Between
Generations.” Rabbi Allen Rutch-
ik, director of the Southeast Re
gion United Synagogue of Amer
ica and United Synagogue Youth,
will lead t h e Conference pro
ceedings
3,000,000 Jews in Russia. The ap
peal was made in one of a series
of resolutions adopted at the an
nual midwinter conference here
of the Orthodox rabbinical group
The 500 delegates heard a sym
posium at which speakers split
sharply on the issue of federal
aid to religious schools but took
no action on the issue in their
resolutions.
In another resolution, the rab
bis commended President Kenn
edy for his decision to permit the
sale of Hawk anti-aircraft mis
siles to Israel. They appealed to
the United States Post naster
General to ban all hate literature
from the mails.
The delegates asked the United
States Government to continue its
prog! am of technical and eco
nomic aid to Israel to enable that
country to expand its economy
“and to absorb the influx oi ref
ugees from various parts of the
world.” They also asked the
United States “to pressure the
Arab states to cease disorimnat-
ing ..gainst Americar servicemen
of the Jewish faith at Arab ports
and military bases.’
1’he rabbis urged the new 88th
Congress to enact “a strong civil
rights program” without further
delay and indicated their support
of President Kennedy’s program
of medical care for the aged
through Social Security. They
also urged the state legislatures
to outlaw discrimination because
of race, creed or color in the sale,
rental and occupancy of private
realty.
submitted data on Jewish emigra
tion from the East European
countries and barriers to such
emigration.
The Coordinating Bo<»rd of
Jewish Organizations is one of a
number of Jewish groups which
have consultative status before
the Sub-Commission, with the
right to speak and to submit
formal memoranda—but not with
the right to vote. The organiza
tion.: represented by the CBJO
are B’nai B'rith, the Board of
Deputies of British Jews and the
South African Jewish Board of
Deputies.
Morris B. Abram, the United
States representative, immediate
ly challenged the Soviet repre
sentative, protesting strongly
against “allusions” that the dis
cussion of the question might
“jeopardize” the Jewish popula
tions in those countries. He said
that “if this is true, then we are
in a very bad stale of affairs.”
lie added that, if any government
“acted this way,” then it was not
a sui prise if there were groups
who wanted to leave that coun
try.
P ill Barton, representing the
International Confederation of
Free Trade Unions, also interp
reted the Soviet representative's
statement as a possible threat. He
said he wanted to submit addi
tional documentation on the ques
tion. He requested z. clarification
on the Soviet representative's
statement, specifically whether
the Soviet statement meant that
there would be retaliation meas
ure'. taken against the Jewish
populations because their “tragic
situation” had been brought to the
—turn to page 4
SOVIET PAPER
ADMITS MIKHOELS
KILLED BY BERIA
PARIS (JTA) — Solomon
Mikholes, founder of the Mos
cow Yiddish theater, was liq
uidated on orders of Stalin's
security police chief Lavrenti
Beria, the Soviet newspaper
Lithuaniya Soviettika has re
ported, according to the French
press this week
This was the fust time that
a Soviet organ had officially
given the facts of Mikhoels'
death Until now Soviet sources
had claimed Mikhoels had died
m an automobile accident in
1948 The Lithuanian news
paper said that Mikhoels, a
former head of the wartime
Si viet Anti-Fascist _£ommittee,
died “a victim o f lleria’s
famy.” Beria was executed
the Khrushchev regime fol
ing Stalin’s death.