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I
New Congregation
Formed in Vidalia, Ga.
VIDALIA, GA.—At a spe
cial meeting of Jewish lead
ers in Vidalia, Georgia, a
Jewish congregation for wor
ship and instruction was
established in that city. The
group decided to be known
as Beth Israel Congregation
of Vidalia. A spacious room
has been permanently se
cured at the community cen
ter for the congregation’s ac
tivities.
Sabbath services are being
held every Friday night at
7:30 o’clock while Religious
School classes convene Sun
day mornings at the center.
Officers of the new congre
gation are: Hyman B. Estroff,
president; Benjamin Smith,
vice president; Louis Seiff,
secretary; Seymour Brown,
treasurer.
Rabbi Nathan L. Kohen of
the Fitzgerald Synagogue is
serving as part-time spiritual
leader and consultant.
4
The Southern Israelite
A Weekly Newspaper for Southern Jewry — Established 1925
VoL XXXIX
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, FRIDAY, MAY 22. 1964
NO. 21
Jewish Council Gives Awards
For Best Jewish Books of ’63
NEW YORK (JTA) — Joanne
Greenberg's novel of Jews in 12th
Century England, “The King’s Per
sons” received from the Jewish Wel
fare Board Jewish Book Council of
America this week the $250 Harry
and Ethei Daroff Memorial Fiction
Award as the outstanding English
language work of fiction of Jewish
interest published in the United
States during 1963.
The award was one of five with
cash prizes totaling $950 for 1963’s
beet Jewish books in the fiction,
Jewish thought, poetry and juvenile
fields presented the annual meet
ing of the Jewish Book Council.
The Frank and Ethel S. Cohen
Award, a prize of $250 for the best
book on Jewish thou^it went to
Dr. Ben Zion Bokser, of the Forest
Hills Jewish Center for “Judaism.
lYofile of a Faith.” ShdLamith Ish
Kishor received the Isaac Siegel
Memorial Juvenile Award of $250
for her book "A Bpy of Old Prague.”
The Harry and Florence Kovner
Memorial Award of $100 each for
Jewish poetry were presented to
Dr. Arnold Band in Hebrew poetry
for “Ha-Red Ba-Esh” and to A.
Glanz-Leyeless in Yiddish poetry,
for “Amerike un Ich.” Rabbi Gilbert
Klaperman was re-elected chairman
of the Jewish Book Council.
Bircher Says Society
Not Anti-Jewish
NEW YORK, (JTA)—The head of
the John Birch Society has asserted
that he will not allow his organ
ization “to be a haven” for per
sons engaged in anti-Semitic activ
ities.
“We are not anti-Jewish and by
the very nature of things we can
not be made anti-Jewish," Mr.
Robert Welch stated in a letter to
the Anti-Defamation League.
Khrushchev's Anti-Israel Blasts
Touches Off Debate on Nasser
WASHINGTON, (JTA) — Soviet
Premier Khrushchev’s free-wheeling
tour of Egypt, during which he
lined the Soviet Union solidly be
hind Nasser’s anti-Israel leadership,
touched off sharp debate this week
in the Senate for a revision of the
State Department’s support of Presi
dent Nasser of Egypt.
The debate was launched by Sen.
Ernest Gruenig, Alaska Democrat,
who urged President Johnson to
call a meeting at the highest politi
cal level of the Arab countries “to
reason together” to end the threats
of war by the Arabs gainst Israel.
Noting Khrushchev’s statement of
support for the Arabs in Cairo, Sen.
Gruening said that if such efforts
to bring the Arabs and Israel for
talks failed, then the United States
should bring before the United Na-
Britain Wanted Palestine Partition
In 1943; FDR Wanted Trusteeship
WASHINGTON (JTA)—The British
Government leaned toward partition
of Palestine as early as 1943, while
Fresdient Roosevelt at that time
entertained an idea that the Holy
Land should be placed under a
trusteeship composed of represen
tatives of the Moslem, Christian and
Jewish faiths, according to docu
ments dating back to that era made
public here this week by the State
Department.
The authority for the Roosevelt
views is Lt. Col. Harold B. Hoskins,
known then for his pro-Arabic atti
tude, whom the wartime President
had sent as an emissary to the Mid
dle East. Col. Hoskins’ report on
what Mr. Roosevelt had presum
ably said emerged in the State De
partment’s “Foreign Relations of
the United States, Volume IV, the
Near East and Africa,” summar
izing cables, letters and memoranda
pertaining directly or indirectly to
the Palestine question.
In a 1943 memorandum on his
meeting with President Roosevelt,
after returning from a Middle Eas
tern tour, Ooi. Hoskins reported:
“As a solution of the Palestine
problem, the President stated that
his own thinking leaned toward a
wider use of the idea of trusteeship
for Palestine, making Palestine a
real Holy Land for all religions,
with a Jew, a Christian and a
Moslem as the three responsible
trustees. He said he realized it
might be difficult to get the agree
ment of the Jews to such a plan
but, if the Moslems and the Chris
tians of the world agreed, he hoped
the Jews could also be persuaded.”
The documents show that the State
Department, during 1943, tort no
time trying to water down the idea
of equal representation on a pos
sible Palestine trusteeship for Jews,
Moslems and Christians. A memor
andum done a few weekb after the
Hoskins meeting with Roosevelt,
written by the Stats Department’s
chief of the Division of Near Eas
tern Affairs, Mr. Merriam, gelled
out the kind of Jewish represents
Hon he had in mind. Under the
Merriam forrrxfa, membership in
the trusteeship body would have
been based on the number of be
lievers in the three religions—Chris
tians, Jewish and Moslem—through
out the world.
The Merriam memo randum
stated: ’‘Considering that there are
in the world some 585,000,000 Chris
tians, 220,000,000 Moslems and 15,-
000,000 Jews, the body might have
a membership of six consisting of
three Christians two Moslems and
one Jew. If it is desired to reflect
the iuanber of communicants more
accurately, the body could consist
of six Christians, two Moslems and
one Jew.”
To make sure that Jews have
only minimal representation, the
Merriam plan proposed further that
the single Jewish member be “ro
tated,” so that this Jew would “rep
resent Zionists, non-Zionists and
and-Zionists ai the moment the
foregoing appears to reflect the
major attitudes of Jewry toward
Palestine.'’
The Hoskins memorandum also
stated that it was impossible to
obtain agreement on the Palestine
problem between Saudi Arabia’s
King Saud and Dr. Chami Welz
mann, then president of the World
Zionist Organization, 'ftie reason
was, according to Hoskins, that King
Saud had been offended by an al
leged Weizmann offer of a “bribe”
of 25,000,000 pounds sterling. Another
document in the volume indicated
that King Saud had kept silent when
the alleged “bribe” offer was made.
Not only was King Saud opposed to
meeting with Dr Weizmann or
making an agreement with Zionirts,
according to the State Department
volume, but be also indicated that
he would also insist on the removal
(Turn to page S'
tions Nasser’s aggressions in Ye
men, bis war preparations against
Israel and his dealings against the
British in Aden. He said that ef
fort should be made to halt Nas-
er’s collision course and that if the
Soviets vetoed such action,, “at
least the United States will have
tried to act.”
He criticized the giving of hun
dreds of millions of American aid
dollars to Egypt which, he said,
enabled Nasser to develop missiles
to use to destroy Israel and to
wage aggressive war ia Yemen. He
said the United States should make
it unmistakably clear “that the
United States will not tolerate Egyp
tian destruction of Israel and that
United States power stands ready
as a deterrent to Egypt’s air
force.”
Senator Paul Douglas, Illinois
Democrat, said that Nasser, in a
pamphlet written a decade ago, ad
mitted that his- aim was to con
trol, progressively, ths Middle East,
Africa and untimely the entire Mos
lem world. Senator Jacob Javits,
Republican of New York, raised
the question whether it would not
be useful, at this time for the
United States, Britain and France
to reiterate their 1956 Tripartite
Declaration, guaranteeing the na
tions in the Middle East against
any attempt to change their bound
aries by force.
Senator Philip Hart, Michigan
Democrat, expressed the hope that
the suggestions and the warnings
of Senator Gruening “will be read
with equal attention'’ not only by
the State Department but by the
entire people of the United States.
“Israel Is a sanctuary of freedom
which must be preserved, not for
some sentimental reaeons but for
our own good. We must insure not
only its survival but its success,”
Sen. Hart said.
Senator Thomas Dodd, Connecti
cut Democrat, declared: “Appease
ment of Nasser would pay off in a
essentially the same way as did
the appeasement i of Hitler. My own
view is that the official silence of
the State Department and of our
mkesfiKrtTm at (he Uhfcsd Na
tions on the subject of Nasser's
agffweaion and threat of aggrraion
is something which defies under-
Leaders of Reform Orthodox
Oppose Prayer Amendments
Shearith Israel to Mark
Prayer Day for Soviet Jewry
The Synagogue Council of Amer
ica has proclaimed Shabbas May 23
as the National Day of Prayer for
Soviet Jewry.
In observance of this caH to
American Jewry, Rabin Sydney K.
Mosanan of Congregation Shearith
Israel, Atlanta, has announced that
special services will be conducted
in Shearith Israel on Shabbas mom-
ing, May 23, beginning at 8:45 a. m.
Rabbi Mosanan, who recently at
tended the Rabbinical Assembly
Convention, said in his report on
the convention “One of the high
lights of the convention was the
tremendous concern expressed by
all the rabbis for the tragic plight
of Soviet Jewry. There was an air
of determination that everything
humanly possible shall be done to
chatsze the attitude of the Soviet
Government toward its Jewish ckti-
zens. We cannot stand by and watch
the disint agnation of the seoaod
largest Jewish body in the world."
Cantor Robert Unger of Congre
gation Shearith Israel will join with
the rabbi m the chanting of a spec
ial prayer that he has composed for
this national observance. Hie con
gregation will join in the saying of
specially chosen psalms as together
they join American Jewry in seek
ing Divine help for their brethren
ki Russia.
The National day of Prayer was
one of the proposals made by the
American Conference on Soviet Jew
ry which met in Washington in early
April. TVs past week the preridents
of the twenty-fow major Jewish or-
gaatsatioas met and enthnsiastioally
applauded the recommmdaflen of
fered by the Synagogue Connell of
America hi eeiting aside Shabbas
May 23 as the National Day of
Prayer for Soviet Jewry.
Rabbi Monman in a special bul
letin has urged aH the members of
his congregation to attend these im
portant services and thereby demon
strate their concern for their bre
thren in Ruarta.
WASHINGTON (JTA)—The presi
dents of two major Jewish congre
gational organizations testified in
opposition this week before the
House Judiciary Committee to any
changes in the Constitution to per
mit prayers and Bible reading in
public schools.
They were Rabbi Maurice Eisen
drath president of the Union of
American Hebrew Congregations,
and Moses 1. Fourstein, president
of the Union of Orthdox Jewish Con
gregations. They testified at sep
arate sessions
Rabbi ELsendrath was a witness
at the start of the fourth week of
hearings on 147 proposals to amend
the federal constitution for that
purpose. He said the proposed
amendments would be “a dangerous
experiment upon American liberties''
and declared that American Judaism
and all other faiths had flourished
“in this free land precisely because
here, as nowhere before in the his
tory of the world, church and state
were dearly separated.”
Mr. Feuerrtein suggested that chil
dren in public schools should be
given a moment of meditation for
silent prayers in accordance with
each child’s religious teachings. He
said prayers could be recorded on
cards and that each child could take
hie card and read R at an allotted
time at the start of each school day.
He said the home or church could
provide the card. He also explained
that children who prefer not to pray
need not do so and that Ms proposal
would enable children of various de
denominations to pray in the authen
tic Idlome of their tawditions with
out violation of any of the ooutitu-
tionai guarantees as interpreted fey
the U. S. Supreme Court,
Rev. Norman Temme of New
York, veakfag for 2,mjW> nwn-
bers of the Lutheran Cburch-Mi*
souri Synod toid the committee that
“the sure road toward secularism"
would be “by way of a prescribed
public rehgioa.” He said: “We be
lieve that this proposed legislation
would prove to be destructive of our
American tradition of separation of
church and state, as well as the
freedom of religious worship.” Dr.
Jefferson B. Fordism, dean of the
University of Paanaytwaate law
school, told the oommittee tint the
proposed amendments were not nec
essary. He characterised as “sheer
nonsense’’ charges made by propon
ents who say that the backers of
the Supreme Court rating are “anti-
religious.” , ,
MLWCXra DR. GOLDSTEIN
CONFERENCE
PRINCIPALS
ELIFAHN