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Page Eight
THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE
Friday, August 9, 1963
Reform Jewish ‘Mitzvah Corps’
Proves Success in Puerto Rico
SEE PHOTOS ON PAGE 1
NEW YORK— An enthusiastic
group of Reform Jewish teen
agers returned from Puerto Rico
last week with the attitude that
“the best way to get to know a
people Is to work and live with
them.”
The twelve young men, called
a “Mitzvah Corps,” applied them
selves to the true meaning of the
Hebrew word (to do a good deed
in aiding one’s fellow man) by
performing manual labor in help
ing build reinforced concrete,
hurricane-proof homes for some
of the island’s villagers in two
rural communities.
The boys dug ditches, hauled
heavy buckets of concrete, laid
foundations for the small houses
containing two large rooms ,and
helped erect some of the walls
for the buildings. Completion of
the homes was not accomplished,
but it didn’t matter. As American
boys and Jews, they made lasting
and warm friends among the
Puerto Rican families.
The project was part of a
pioneer program in international
living and work created by the
National Federation of Temple
Youth, an affiliate of the Union
of American Hebrew Congrega
tions, in cooperation with the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
Social Programs Administration.
Its success can already be meas-
OBITUARIES
Bryan Unveiling
Friends and relatives are in
vited to unveiling ceremonies
in memory of Mrs. Sadie Lena
Bryan at noon Sunday, Aug. 11,
at Greenwood Cemetery. Rabbi
Emanuel Feldman will officiate.
Samuel Kramer
Samuel Kramer, 56, of Savan
nah, died April 27.
Kramer was operator of the
Model Package Shop at 105 West
Broad St. He was a native of
Savannah and had lived there
most of his life.
He was a member of Congre
gation B’nai B’rith Jacob, the
Brotherhood of B’nai B’rith Jac
ob, the Jewish Educational Alli
ance and the HGH Society.
Surviving are his wife, Mrs.
Fanny Center Kramer; a son,
Alvin Neal Kramer; six brothers,
George Kramer, Bernard Kram
er, and Leonard Kramer, all of
Savannah, Jack Kramer and Sol
Kramer, both of Washington,
D.C., and David Kramer, of
Sumter, S.C.; and three sisters,
Mrs. Leon Barbamel and Mrs.
Sol Goldberg, both of Charles
ton, S.C., and Mrs. James E.
Allen of Northampton, Mass.
Rabbi A. I. Rosenberg and
Cantor conducted the funeral
April 2. Interment was in Bona-
venture Cemetery.
Office: JA. 3-4652
Morris H. Manheim, Jr.
MONUMENTS
Home: TR. 4-2055
SYMPATHY
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to think logically and
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1270 Spring St., N.W.
TR. 4-4311 _ Atlanta, Ga.
Col. Samuel Aseher
Lt. Col. Samuel G. Aseher, 75,
retired executive director of the
Beth David Hospital in New
York City, died Saturday, Aug. 3,
in Atlanta.
Funeral services were held in
Blanchard’s Chapel August 4.
Rabbi Jacob M. Rothschild of
ficiated. Burial was in Crest
Lawn Memorial Park.
Col. Aseher was bom in New
York City and was graduated
from New York City College. He
spent all his life in hospital ad
ministrative work before coming
to Atlanta in 1947.
He owned and operated the
Ponce de Leon Liquor Store in
Atlanta.
In 1945, as a captain in the
U. S. Army Medical Corps, he
was attached to the Army-Navy
General Hospital in Hot Springs,
Ark. He received a commission as
a lieutenant colonel in the Med
ical Administration Corps in 1947
when he retired.
Col. Aseher was a 33rd degree
Mason, a member of the Gothic
Lodge No. 934, F&AM, New York
City, the Ancient Accepted Scot
tish Rite, the National Sojourners
Chapter No. 60 at Ft. MacPher-
son, and Georgia Retail Package
Association. He was a member of
the Temple.
Survivors Include his widow,
Mrs. Anna G. Aseher; a daughter,
Mrs. Harry J. Moret of Atlanta;
two grandchildren; sisters, Mrs.
Max Miller of New York and
Mrs. Bess Howard and Mrs. Anne
Basch, both of Atlanta; and a
brother, Louis Asher of New
York.
Mrs. Fanny Stone
MEMPHIS, Tenn.—Mrs. Fanny
Blumenfield Stone died here re
cently.
A native of Savannah, she had
lived in Memphis for several
years.
Survivors are a daughter, Mrs.
Eli Jaffe; a son, Alvin Hirsch-
man; three brothers, Mose Blum
enfield of Savannah, Louis and
Carl Blumenfield of New York;
three sisters, Mrs. Sadye Yeargin,
Mrs. Bernie Roberts and Mrs.
Harry Davidson of Memphis;
seven grandchildren and several
nieces and nephews.
San Francisco Loader
Zellerbach Dies
SAN FRANCISCO (JTA) —
James D. Zellerbach, prominent
industrialist and Jewish commun
al leader, and former United
States Ambassador to Italy, died
here Sunday at the age of 71.
He was chairman of the board
of the Crown Zellerbach Corp
oration, one of the nation’s larg
est paper companies.
A native of San Francisco, Mr.
Zellerbach was a former presi
dent of this city’s Jewish Wel
fare Fund; national vice-chair
man of the National Conference
of Christians and Jews; vice-
president of the National Jew
ish Hospital in Denver; and a
director of Mount Zion Hospital
here.
ured by the fact that many of the
young men would like to continue
this work next year. Several
Ihrotestant and Catholic youth
groups have expressed an inter
est in joining the program next
summer.
Ten young men, ages 15-17,
from New York, Boston, and Buf
falo, were supervised by an NYU
Medical Student from Dayton,
Ohio, James A. Block, 22, and a
Harvard Law Student from Chi
cago, Illinois, Kenneth Manaster,
21.
“The Puerto Ricans are a won
derful people,” Mr. Block said.
“They did everything possible to
Theatrically...
A new star was born this year
at Theatre Under the Stars and
the musical career of Paul Eichel,
young Jewish Atlantan, zoomed
skywards.
Paul graduated, so to speak
from the chorus ensemble after
two years and
this season he
has progressed
from a bit part
in "Music Man”
to the romantic
leads in “Flower
Drum Song” and
this week in
“Call Me Mad
am.”
Paul Eichel Handsome in
mein, face and voice, he adds
greatly to the mellifluous — and
lovely — Blanche Thebom who
of course has the lead. The two
bring thrills of delight with the
beautiful countrepodal “I hear
music—and there is no one there
—I must be falling in love.”
Well known in the Atlanta
Jewish community for his part in
the Ahavath Achim choir as a
young man, Paul studied at the
University of Georgia and this
past year at the Metropolitan
Opera Studio. It doesn’t take a
soothsayer to sense this young
man will go far in the musical
world.
Miss Thebom is too well known
as a top opera diva to have to
mention that her performance is
sterling throughout. The role of
the U.S. Ambassador to Lichten
stein calls for a rambunctious per
sonality—and she manages well
enough though reverting occasion
ally for a bar of such vocal
beauty that her interpretation has
a very special plus quality.
Virginia Rich Barnett is a
pretty danseuse — and her grace
ful ballet talent lends wonderful
tone to the folk dancing in the
show.
“Call Me Madam” comes off
with wonderful precision—except
for the traditional first-night-
stuck-door. Sometimes this is be
cause of the unfamiliarity of the
cast which does not have endless
rehearsal with the settings. How
ever, these intriguing bits of
first-night interest disappear the
second night as the cast moves
forward towards the Sunday eve
ning height. With current tem
peratures and no threat of rains,
the Theatre Under the Stars is
the perfect place to spend an eve
ning. And when you can see and
hear Blanche Thebom and Paul
Eichel, well . . . what more do
you want?
Movie star Ann Blythe is the
star of the ampitheater’s final
offering next week—the popular
“Carnival.” Opens Tuesday and
runs through Sunday, August 18.
. * •
We caught the last performance
of the Academy Theater’s "Tam
ing of the Shrew” and it was
magnificent. Too bad our readers
cannot profit from any superla
tives about the performance and
see it for themselves, but they’ll
have to be content with the
Shakespeare Festival final offer
ing, “Macbeth.” Frank Wittow
himself, the directing genius of
the Academy, has the lead role
and it’s bound to be tops. Plays
this Thursday through Saturday
and the same next week.
—ADOLPH ROSENBERG
make us feel at home. We just
loved them.”
The Mitzvah Corpsmen were
lodged in the simple homes of
the “jibaros” where they ate and
slept. Their beds were located in
small barren rooms or in a sec
tion of a larger area shared by
the entire family. Their diet con
sisted of native meals such as
rice with beans, meat, or fish.
After an eight-hour day of
labor, the young men conducted
classes in basic English three
times a week for the villagers.
At community sings they ex
changed many songs, the Puerto
Ricans learning such melodies as
“Shalom Chaverim” (Greetings
Friends); the boys bringing back
with them “Hey Choferito,” a
very popular song among vil
lagers.
“When we parted, our hosts
waved ‘Shalom.’ They were sorry
to see us go,” Mr. Block ob
served.
Kenneth Manaster, the other
leader of the group, said that the
members of the Mitzvah Corps
would now go back to their own
temple youth groups and plan
programs with Puerto Rican
families in their respective com
munities.
“We are cooperating with the
Puerto Rican Department of Mi
gration, getting together with
teenagers coming to live in U. S.
cities. We hope through the youth
groups to assist these young men
and women in learning English,
understanding and accepting the
American educational system,
and generally finding ways of
making them comfortable in our
complex way of life.
“The Puerto Rican who lives
in the village cannot comprehend
the way of life in a city. His exis
tence is simple, his living stand
ards are minimal. Yet, in this
type of environment, he is most
happy,” Mr. Manaster described.
“Therefore, when he comes to
a large and strange community
such as New York City, the
Puerto Rican finds it difficult to
adjust. To begin with, he has not
found the need to assimilate. He
doesn’t consider the problem
seriously, since his culture is so
different from ours.”
Both leaders, Messrs. Block and
Manaster, agreed that it would
take a long time before the
Puerto Rican would become part
of the American melting-pot.
“But then, it took Jews decades
to leave their ghetto environ
ment.
“I see nothing wrong with a
little San Juan in New York City
which would be as exciting to
New Yorkers as Chinatown. We
fail to recognize the vast Puerto
Rican culture which is new and
different to us,” Mr. Block add
ed.
Howard Freed of New York
City felt that one of the most
difficult tasks confronting the
Mitzvah Corpsmen was the ex
planation of “What is a Jew?”
“Most of the Puerto Ricans are
of the Catholic faith and have
had very little contact with any
Jews. As soon as it was explained
that we worship from the Old
Testament and believe in God,
they recognized a common re
ligious bond.”
He added that many villagers
were interested in the Jewish at
titude toward Jesus. “To this 1
replied that we do not recognize
Jesus as a saviour, but consider
him a great teacher living among
the Hebrew people.”
All the members of the Mitzvah
Corps agreed that their most val
uable gain from the project was
the opportunity to live in a new
environment and to experience a
new and unfamiliar culture. All
agreed that as a result of this
personal contact they are in much
better positions to take care of
Puerto Ricans coming to the
United States.
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CONSULATE OF ISRAEL
SECRETARY
WANTED
1963
half the world goes hungry
This program Is
designed to
increase food
production and
nutrition among
the many devel
oping countries.
You can help I
Continue to
contribute to
religious or other
private organizations that
support the Freedom From
— a ^ un ® er Campaign.
For information write:
Freedom From
Hunger Campaign,
Washington 6. D C.
there fs
e for hungry
ions!
erica, along
1 over 100
er countries, Is
tg something
ut It. Members
he American
■rtcil of Voluntary
mcles for Foreign
vice have joined in
port of the Freedom
m Hunger Campaign
Support groups that
dtsptay ttita *mbol.