Newspaper Page Text
Ga. B’nai B’rith Asso.
Meets March 8 in Athens
President Ben Rabinowitz of At
lanta has announced that the an
nual meeting of the Georgia As
sociation of B’nai B’rith Lodges will
be held in Athens on Sunday, March
8, from 10 a. m. to 4 p. m.
The meeting will take place in the
newly decorated Hillel Foundation
building at 1156 South MiUedge
Avenue.
A complimentary luncheon will be
served guest delegates and guests.
Guest of honor and principal speak
er will be Maurice Steinberg, Au
gusta, president of District Grand
Lodge No. 5. Mr. Steinberg win also
install the new slate officers.
The agenda will include a report
from Dr. A. J. Kravtin, Columbus,
chairman of the State Adult Jewish
Education Committee; report from
Lodge presidents; report from A. L
“B” Botnick of the Southeastern
ADL office, and election and instal
lation of officers.
Harry Richman, Savannah, is the
Rabloowitz Steinberg
president-elect. Nathan Jay, Atlanta,
is vice president; Alan Srochi, At
lanta, secretary, and Hyman Jacobs,
Atlanta, treasurer.
cnuo
too
The Southern Israelite
A Weekly Newspaper for Southern Jewry — Established 1925
Vol. XXXIX ^ * ATLANTA, GEORGIA, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1964 NO- *
u.s. Rabbis Fight Israel Cushing Says Vatican Will Adopt
Kabbimc Ban on Divorces i 1
Pro-Jewish Declaration Eventually
NEW YORK (JTA)—Rabbi Theo
dore Friedman, president of the
Conservative Rabbinical Assembly of
America, said this week his organ
ization was determined to force the
issue of the refusal of the Israeli
rabbinate to recognize Jewish religi
ous divorces granted by American
Conservative rabbis.
The Conservative rabbinical group
called a press conference to explain
why it had engaged Gideon Hausner,
former Israeli Attorney General, to
represent it in Israel on the issue.
Rabbi Friedman said that Mr. Haus
ner had been engaged “to explore
ways” in which the problem could
be handled under Israel law. He
added that, in engaging Mr. Hausner,
the Rabbinical Assembly had not
committed itself to legal action, but
that “this is a possibility.’ ’
The event which brought about the
action was the application last Sep
tember of a Jewish woman, who
had been divorced by a Conservative
rabbi in Boston, for a license to
marry. The rabbinical registrar in
Tel Aviv rejected the application on
grounds that the divorce was in
valid. The woman wrote to the Bos
ton rabbi, who referred the matter
to the rabbinical group. Rabbi Fried
man then wrote to Chief Rabbi Isar
Untermann of Tel Aviv on the re
fusal. Rabbi Untermann replied that
the divorce document had only one
rabbinical signature as against the
three required in Israel.
Rabbi Friedman wrote again to
Rabbi Untermann, pointing out that
a single rabbinical signature was the
Jewish Historical
Society to Build
Hdqs. at Brandeis U.
NEW YORK (JTA)—The American
Jewish Historical Society, 71-year-
old professional research and pub
lication group, will move its opera
tions and headquarters from New
York City to a site on the campus
of Brandeis University, Waltham,
Mass., it has been announced by the
president. Dr. Abram Kanof.
Brandeis University is making
available land on its campus to the
Society, which will build its own
headquarters building, including a
library, archives, study and admin
istrative facilities. The site has been
selected, in the central campus area,
by the Society’s executive council.
Funds for the building have been
provided in the will of the late Lee
M. Friedman of Boston, distinguish
ed attorney and former president of
the Society. The building will be
named in his memory. The bulk of
his estate was bequeathed to the
Society.
Although located on the Brandeis
campus, the American Jewish His
torical Society will remain an au
tonomous group with complete au
thority and responsibility for its own
activities. A committee of the exe
cutive council has been named with
the mandate to select an architect
for the new building.
Jewish legal procedure in all coun
tries except Israel where, he said,
it was a custom and not Jewish law.
He also painted out that the Boston
rabbi had acted in accordance with
Jewish Law under the Conservative
Beth Din. He added that there had
been no reply to his second letter.
Rabbi Wolfe Kelman, exeutive vice-
president, said that the man in the
case had received a Jewish divorce
from an Orthodox rabbi in the
United States and that his document
bore only one signature but it had
been accepted by the Israeli rab
binate.
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Foreign Min
ister Golda Meir demanded this
week a Cabinet ruling over the issue
of non-recognition by Israeli rab
binical courts of divorces granted by
American Conservative rabbis. The
Cabinet empowered Dr. Zerach War-
haftig, Minister for Religious Af
fairs, to work out an acceptable ar
rangement on the issue. It is under
stood that only two cases have oc
curred in which the Rabbinical
courts have failed to recognize such
divorces and one of the cases is still
pending.
FRANKFURT (JTA)—A phys
ician who served the Nazis at the
Auschwitz-Birkenau death factory
during the war told the court
here last week that he had been
at the Birkenau arrival ramp at
least 20 times but claimed that
he had never selected prisoners
for the gas ovens.
“I was always harassed by the
other officers. I think I was trans
ferred from Auschwitz because of
my attitude,” he stated. He test
ified that, at one time while
working at Auschwitz, had “look
ed up the Archbishop of Osna-
brueck, and told him what was
happening at Auschwitz.” He said
that the archbishop “told me to
do what I could to reduce suffer
ing, but not to violate orders.”
The defendant was Dr. Franz
B. Lucas, 52. He is one of the 22
ex-Nazis, all of them supervisors,
guards or medical personnel at
Auschwitz-Birkenau, on trial here
for the mass murder of several
million persons," most of them
Jews. The trial, which started
December 20, entered its sixth
sveek. It is the biggest proceed
ing of the kind in West Germany
since the Nuremberg War Crimes
trials in 1946.
Dr. Lucas testified that he
served at the death camp for five
months In the spring and sum
mer of 1944. He said that, of the
20 times that he had been assign
ed to the arrival ramp, he was
not accompanied by any other
medical personnel on four occas
ions. Other witnesses had testified
that the doctors on duty at the
ramp had the job of “selecting”
the prisoners, deciding which of
them was to go to the gas cham
bers Immediately and which was
NEW YORK (JTA)—Richard Card
inal Cushing, Archbishop of Boston,
and a leading liberal Catholic pre
late, expressed confidence this week
that the Catholic Church would
“eventually” adopt the declaration
on Catholic-Jewish relations by-pass
ed at the last session of the Ecu
menical Council.
He coupled his prediction with a
call for immediate closer relation
ships between Catholics and Jews.
The schema which the Council ses
sion did not treat rejects Jewish
responsibility for the crucifixion of
Jesus, and warns Catholic against
anti-Jewish sentiments and activities
stemming from the ancient Christian
charge of decide.
The Cardinal made his statement
as the principal speaker at the an
nual Brotherhood Week luncheon,
conducted by the Manhattan region
of the National Conference of Chris
tians and Jews, and attended by
more than 1,000 guests. Leaders of
the Protestant, Jewish and Greek
Orthodox faith were among the hon-
to be assigned to work details.
“During those five months,”
said the doctor, “I never violated
orders, but I did what I could to
circumvent them.”
“What were you doing there
when you were all alone, without
One of the first copies of Dr. Al
fred A Weinstein’s new and as yet
unreleased book arrived in the of
fice of The Southern Israelite this
week for review purposes.
So did news of his death on Tues
day, Feb. 25, in a Boston Hospital
where he underwent surgery three
weeks ago.
Dr. Weinstein, who was 55, had
promised to autograph the volume
as he had done for a copy of “Barb
ed Wire Surgeon,” the lucid and in
cisive novel he wrote about his ex
periences as a Japanese prisoner
during World War II.
An author however need not in
scribe his signature in a volume for
it to bear his autograph; each page
does that and “Scalpel’s Edge” un
doubtedly bears page by page the
inscription of his personality and
imagination, all that goes into the
writing of a novel.
This was one of Dr. Weinstein’s
fine attributes, the special feeling of
incisive creativity hp brought to his
ored personages on the dais and
among the official participants, in
addition to many leading Catholics.
Most of the Cardinal’s address
dealt with the schema on religious
liberties and Catholic-Jewish rela
tions introduced at the Vatican
Council by Augustin Cardinal Bea,
head of the Secretariat for the Pro
motion of Christian Unity. Cardinal
Cushing, one of the prelates at the
Ecumenical Council said he had
worked closely with Cardinal Bea.
He emphasized that he was speak
ing “not as a commentator or by
stander” but as a Catholic Bishop.
He cited the fact that the proposed
schema would absolve Jews of
blame for the death of Jesus and
that “preachers and catechists and
liturgists” in the hierarchy would be
against “anything in their teaching
that could offer a basis for anti-
Semitism.” He added:
“The whole world is eager for a
statement such as this, as well as
for the one on freedom of conscience.
The voice of the Church on religious
any other SS doctors?” asked
Presiding Justice Hans Hofmeyer.
“I reported to the command
ant,” the physician insisted, “and
always told him I wasn’t feeling
well. Once it had to do with my
—turn to page 5
life and whatever he set out to do.
He studied sculpture to perfect his
skill as a surgeon, to train his
fingers to have a sense of proper
form and perspective and he
achieved a considerable skill in this
area of art.
He was concerned with the evolv
ing struggle for human and civil
rights and was a
member of the
Anti - Defamation
League which has
r or years been a
focal point in
spreading consti
tutional privileges
for all persons re
gardless of color,
creed or race.
His “S c a 1 p e l’s
Edge” deals with the arena of
prejudice on the Southern scene.
Funeral services were conducted
at the Chapel of Henry M. Blanch
ard on Thursday, Feb. 27.
liberty and our relations to the Jew
ish people is awaited in universities,
in national and international organ
izations, in Christian and non-Chris
tian communities, in the press and
elsewhere, and it is being awaited
with urgent expectancy. I am con
vinced we shall not be disappoint
ed.”
He expressed “great personal re
gret” that the last session of the
Council did not act on the statement
and he urged that there be no wait
ing for the Council to speak of
ficially “before we undertake the
dialogue and theological confronta
tion encouraged in this chapter.”
He suggested that the failure of
the Council to take up the chapter
was not a rejection and that "die
delay could be useful.”
He said “we live in an atmosphere
that is new and good. We have a
sense among Christians, and be
tween Christians and Jews, of com
mon heritage which share in various
ways. We are in the springtime of
new discoveries of one another.” He
told the luncheon guests that be had
helped Cardinal Bea “to build a
bridge of understanding and love
between Christians and Jews and he
urged that all should move forward
“to new heights and new horizons
—together—in God’s name.”
Participants in the portions of the
program of invocations and bene
dictions were Rabbi Israel Mow-
showitz, president of the New York
Board of Rabbis. Ambassador Katriel
Katz, Israel’s Consul General in
New York, was the only non-dias
guest formally introduced to the
audience.
Dr. Weinstein is survived by his
wife, the former Hannah Kaunitz of
Austria, a daughter. Miss Elsa Wein
stein and two sons, Malcolm Wein
stein, U. S. Army, Germany, and
Ronald Weinstein, a student at the
University of Georgia.
He also leaves three sisters, Mrs.
Marion Epstein, Swampscott, Mass.,
Mrs. Ida Gan, Belmont, Mass., and
Mrs. Dorothy Weisman, Beverly,
Mass.; and two brothers, Daniel
Weinstein and Samuel Weinstein,
Swampscott, Mass.
A native of Boston, Dr. Weinstein
was a magna cum laude graduate
of Harvard University where he
earned a Phi Beta Kappa Key. He
earned his MD degree from Harvard
Medical School and also did post
graduate work there in surgery.
In 1938, Dr. Weinstein came to
enter private practice and teach at
Eknory University. He joined the
Army in 1940 and was sent to the
—two to pace t
Auschwitz Physician Testifies
Archbishop Told Him Obey Orders
4 Barbed Wire’Surgeon Dies;
New Book Out on March 26