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THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE
Off The Record
NATHAN ZIPRIN
By
Religion in America
Is the religious spiral in Amer
ica declining for good or is the
declining religious curve merely
reflective of the temporary di
versions that are holding the at
tention of our people these days?
Some years ago we were told
that the United States was ex
periencing a religious explosion,
that church and synagogue af
filiation were growing at such a
fast rate that builders could not
keep up with demands for houses
of worship. Many thought at the
time that the trend was just a
fashionable one, that it was a
product of post-war disturbance
and that it would subside once
the country settled down to nor-
mancy. Others were equally con
vinced that the trekking to re
ligion was a genuine development
and that it would have a salutary
effect on the growth of Amer
ican democracy in the space age.
Religious groups continue to
claim rising affiliations. But a
recent Gallop poll shows a dis
quieting trend. In 1957 some
69% of those questioned in a
Gallop survey replied that re
ligion as a whole was increasing
its influence on American life.
Only 14% thought it was losing.
A similar survey made in 1962
shows a sharp deviation in think
ing, with only 41% saying that
religious influence was increasing
while 31% thought it was losing.
If these figures reflect the cur
rent climate in the country, we
are facing a religious crisis of
the highest magnitude.
Footnote to a Column
Some columns ago we were
critical of the extremely talented
American Jewish novelist Philip
Roth for having spoken words of
unwisdom at the recent Dialogue
in Jerusalem between American
LEGAL NOTICE
GEORGIA
FULTON COUNTY
TO THE SUPERIOR COURT
OF FULTON COUNTY:
The petition of SAUL BLAU, 1737
Ridge Valley Court, N. W„ Atlanta,
Georgia: MRS. JENNIE BLAU, 1737
Ridge Valley Court, N. W., Atlanta,
Georgia; and MRS. ANGELA C. ZIM
MERMAN, 1055 Nichols Lane, Decatur,
Georgia, shows as follows:
1. That they for themselves, associ
ates. successors and assigns desire to
be incorporated under the name and
style of
LANIER WATER CORPORATION
for s period of thirty-five (35) years
with the privilege of renewal at the
expiration of that time as provided by
law.
1. The principle office and place of
business of said corporation shall be
In Fulton County, Georgia, but the
right la desired and reserved to es
tablish branch offices elsewhere within
the State of Georgia.
3. The object of said corporation la
pecuniary gain to Its stockholders.
4. The general nature of the busi
ness to be transacted by the said cor
poration Is the furnishing of water to
consumers for a charge; to set up
community water systems and/or sys
tems for the private sale of water,
to buy, sell and lease equipment of
every nature and sort.
5. PeUUoners desire to have all the
rights, powers and Immunities of and
be subject to the limitations fixed by
the laws of the State of Georgia as
amended from time to time.
6. The authorlied capital stock shall
be one thousand (1,000) shares of no
K r value. The amount of paid-in cap-
il with which the said corporation
ahall commence business shall not be
leas than Five Hundred ($500) Dol
lar*.
WHEREFORE, petitioners pray that
they be Incorporated for the period,
and In the atyle aforesaid with pow
era, privileges and Immunities prsyed
for, and such others as are now or
may be hereafter provided by law
SAUL BLAU
Attorney for Petitioners
422 Grant Building
Atlanta 3, Georgia
ORDER
The foregoing petition for charter
having been examined and considered
by the court; and It appearing to the
court that the proposed corporation’s
name Is not now the nsme of any
other corporation registered In the
Office of the Secretary of the State
of Georgia, and that the application
Is legitimately within the purview of
the laws of the Slate of Georgia;
IT IS CONSIDERED, ORDERED AND
ADJUDGED that the said application
be and the same Is hereby granted,
and that the applicants, their assigns
and successors are hereby Incorporated
under the nsme and style of
LANIER WATER CORPORATION
for a period of thirty-five (35) years
with aU the rights, powers, privileges
and Immunities as are now or may be
hereafter provided by the law to aim
liar corporation*.
This 5th day of July, mi
DURWOOD T. PYE
Judge. Superior Court,
Atlanta Judicial Circuit
JulyltlLW,***#-*
and Israeli intellectuals.
Roth was quoted as having
said that his great passion was
writing, not Jewish interests. A
reader in Israel who wrote in to
say that he agreed with this col
umnist’s views on the Roth state
ment wonders whether we were
“malicious” in omitting an asser
tion at the parley by the young
novelist that he had received arid
rejected an invitation to visit
Germany. The corres p o n d e n t
writes that Roth told the gather
ing that as a Jew and as a human
being he would not let his feet
step on a soil that is soaked with
Jewish blood. Frankly, the press
reports did not disclose that por
tion of the speech. If that is
what he said, this columnist’s hat
goes off to Philip Roth. If that
is what he said, he has, in the
eyes of this columnist, cleansed
himself of all the unwisdom he
may have uttered in Jerusalem.
As far as this columnist is
concerned, he has long vowed
that he would rather see his eyes
withered than having them be
hold the land whose unmention
ables slew our six million.
On the Zionist Front
Dr. Abba Hillel Silver at the
recent ZOA convention in Israel,
the first in the history of the
organization, remarked that
Abraham of Biblical fame was
seventy years when God told
him to go forth to the land. Since
Dr. Silver was honored on the
occasion on reaching seventy,
can it be inferred that he meant
to convey intention to settle in
Israel before long? ... An Anglo-
Jewish journalist now living in
Israel predicted in a recent let
ter to this columnist that the
ZOA convention would make no
impact upon the busy builders of
Israel. No one will pay any atten
tion to the ZOAnikes, he wrote
in a chord true to his cynicism.
Now that cynic is singing a new
song. In a letter I just received
from him he writes that the ZOA
convention has done more to es
tablish good feeling between Is
raelis and American Jews than
many of the speeches and verbal
outpourings of “the so-called”
American Jewish leaders . . .
Religion in Schools
by DAVID H. WHITE, EDITOR AND PUBLISHER
JEWISH HERALD—VOICE, Houston, Texas
What constitutes religion in
the schools? Do minority religi
ous groups in a given area suf
fer if religion is introduced in
the public schools? If a minority
religious group feels religious
practices as they exist makes
their children uncomfortable,
should they do something about
it? Can there be religion with
out sectarian interpretation?
The introduction of prayers,
the Supreme Court says, must be
halted because it is an intrusion
of religion into our schools. On
the day the decision was an
nounced our Houston Schools
Board met at regular meeting.
As though by deliberate plan,
the School Board heard the
Lord’s Prayer as the opening
action of the meeting. Score one
for the School Board. The Su
preme Court was not in session.
This defiance on the part of the
pygmies would not have bother
ed the Court as it didn’t seem to
bother too many who listen.
But this is going afield from
the first question—what consti
tutes religion in the schools. In
our school system it means a
great deal. A number of religi
ous groups do not wish the dis
tribution of Gideon Bibles—this
is permitted in our schools. A
number of evangelists have ap
peared at high school assemblies
giving the usual pitch for the
particular religious beliefs they
espouse. The Christmas and Eas
ter holidays have become rich
in religious overtones and now
occupy a good portion of the
students’ time prior to these re
ligious events.
In some schools there are
Chanukah interpretations sup
posed to offset the religious in
doctrination of Christmas and
Easter. There is a vivid com
parison to this in a story which
is of World War I vintage. The
doughboys in France had been
given a monotonous treat of 50-
50 stew, a bit strong, a bit tough
and highly seasoned to disguise
the flavor. One of the curious
ones, wanting to find the re
cipe of the famous 50-50 stew,
met an English speaking French
mm
BY HENRY LEONARD
“You got me all wrong, Sam. It’s not that I want
to join . . . it's that I want the RIGHT to REFUSE!”
Copr. 1963, Doynu Production!
Dear Mom:
Why don't you take the family wash
to G & 0 and take us kids on a “picnic.”
The wash will be ready on our return
Signed—The Kids
G & O CLEANERS
2060 N. DECATUR ROAD
"The Cleanest Street in Town”
cook and asked the question,
“especially why and what was
the 50-50 stew." Said the French
man without a smile—“One
horse, one rabbit.”
Now if I were a Catholic and
my children were among the
50% of this faith who do not
attend parochial school and a
teacher tried to interpret her
sectarian religious views, or a
preacher came and occupied the
assembly p r o g r am — and my
children were confused by this
interpretation of their religious
beliefs—I would demand that
such religious intrusions cease.
If I were of the Protestant faith
and my children attended a pre
dominant Catholic area and the
teachers were Catholic and ex
plained the Bible according to
their views—I would become
alarmed and ask that such prac
tices be halted.
These are not isolated cases
nor matters of figmentation.
These are as real as this paper
you are reading. Our Jewish
children are being bothered—
consciously or subconsciously —
by this indoctrination of other
religious viewpoints. If they are
excused—it sets them apart. If
they remain—it sort of makes
them squirm, i.e., if they have
any religious background. If a
Unitarian were invited to ad
dress the assembly and gave his
point of view—on a religious
note—some of our Christian
friends would not remain as
Friday, August 2, 1963
silent as do some of our Jewish
parents.
This does not mean that any
one seeking a complete division
of church and state in our pub
lic schools is either irreligious
or godless as has been the text
of those wlio want to foster such
programs. On the other hands,
this gives the home, the church
and the synagogue the job they
are supposed to do—teach reli
gion so that it becomes a factor
m the everyday lives of our
people. The religious institutions
are either bankrupt spiritually
or larking in aggressive and ca
pable leadership which will in
spire and direct the religious
program. We believe that neith
er accusation is true.
Let us continue to give to the
religious body the faith and the
moral precepts. Let us give to
the schools the realm of educa
tion and preparation for life’s
work. In so doing we will foster
and encourage a better appre
ciation and a greater under
standing of the worth of human
life and human dignity. Was it
not a religious tongue which
gave utterance to the statement;
“If any man preach any other
gospel unto you that ye have
received, let him be accursed.”
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