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“$20 for 20 Years” f und Drive
Igiunched for Hillel at U Ga.
A “$20 for 20 years” fund drive
has been launched by the B’nai
B’rith Hillel Foundation at the
University of Georgia, according
to Rabbi Frank A. Fischer, direc
tor.
“The Hillel Foundation,” said
Rabbi Fischer, “is devoted to re
ligious, cultural, communal and
counseling activities among Jew
ish students at the university.”
Now in its twentieth year at
UGa., Hillel, which receives its
basic support from B’nai B’rith,
is planning an expanded program.
“To do more than an average
job,” continued the rabbi, “we
need more than average sup
port.”
Urging the support of alurrmi,
parents and friends, Rabbi Fisch
er said, "We need many small
contributions, because we get so
few large ones.”
Constributions, which are tax
deductible and may be used as
memorials or to commemorate
happy occasions can be mailed
to Friends of Georgia Hillel, 1155
Sputh Milledge Ave., Athens, Ga.
30601.
Th<* Southern Israelite
A Weekly Newspaper for Southern Jewry — Established 1925
Vol. XL ATLANTA, GEORGIA, FRIDAY, JULY 9, 1965 NO. 28
Hy David Henarone
NEW YORK (WUPj—The fol
lowing are some of the highlights
of the 68th annual ZOA conven
tion which concluded its four-day
session Sunday evening, July 4,
with a testimonial banquet in
honor of the outgoing president
Dr. Max Nussbaum, who was
succeeded by Jacques Torczyner:
I)r. Nussbaum Sees
Softening of Arab Hostility
In his opening Presidential ad
dress, Dr. Nussbaum noted a
series of recent events in the
Middle East pointing to a soften
ing of Arab hostility towards Is
rael. “Voices have been heard
throughout Moslem lands,” he de
clared, “from the innermost cir
cles of the Arabs themselves,
which spoke of peace with Israel
or. at least, of moderation and
reasonableness.” The noted spiri
tual leader then cited a number
of cases involving statements by
Arab leaders calling for peace
AJC’s Abrams Addresses
Protestant Synod
CHICAGO — (JTA) — Morris
B. Abram, President of the
American Jewish Committee and
first Jew ever to address the an
nual meeting of a major Ameri-
c a n Protestant denbmination,
called Monday for more effective
dialogues among the faiths that
“deal with one another in honesty
and with mutual respect.”
Mr. Abram, U. S. Representa
tive to the United Nations Com
mission on Human Rights, spoke
Sunday on the moral issues posed
by the means of communication
in American culture. He was the
main speaker at the day’s session
of the biennial General Synod of
the United Church of Christ,
meeting at the Palmer House in
Chicago.
“I am weary with dialogues
which communicate only plati
tudes, with Jewish meetings
which exhibit a Christian of
goodwi
is pres
“What
1, and with Christian
meetings at which a special Jew
spnted,” Mr. Abram said,
useful discussion we
might have if we let down the
barriers and dealt with one an
other in honesty and with mutual
respect!
“Discussions which evade the
heart of what each regards as im
portant are evasions rather than
courtesies,” he continued. “Such
evasions indicate not respect but
contempt for the other man’s
views. The evasion may be a way
of saying: 'Your views are not
worthy of honest discussion.’ Or
it may reflect a fear that one’s
own beliefs cannot stand exami
nation. I plead for a dialogue be
tween the religions in which each
in candor evaluates its own suc
cesses and failures, admits its
past errors and resolves to work
cooperatively for a better soci
ety”
Ben-Gurion Meets With
Mapi Secretariat on Rift
TEL AVIV—(JTA) — Former
Premier David Ben-Gurion today
agreed to meet with a delegation
of the Mapai Secretariat Wed
nesday, in connection with his
decision to set up a separate list
of candidates to the forthcoming
November elections to Israel’s
Parliament, as a result of his
clash with Premier Levi Eshkol.
Sources close to the Mapai
minority group led by Ben-
Gurion said today that the meet
ing is merely a matter of ‘‘com
mon courtesy” on the part of Mr.
Ben-Gurion. They expressed
doubt whether the former Pre
mier will agree to appear before
the Secretariat or before a meet
ing of the Mapai’s central com
mittee, which is scheduled to take
place on Thursday.
The Mapai Secretariat earlier
issued an appeal to Ben-Gurion
to drop his plans to head an inde
pendent list of candidates to the
elections. At a weekend meeting,
the Secretariat reiterated a
warning to Ben-Gurion and his
followers that they could not re
main in the party while running
an independent slate, but failed
to implement earlier warnings
that the minority faction might
be expelled from the party.
None of the minority members
attended the Secretariat meeting.
The Secretariat named a delega
tion to make the “last minute”
appeal to the former Premier,
despite mounting indications that
the split was beyond healing. The
delegation was instructed to in
vite the former Premier to the
next meeting of the Secretariat
for a free discussion of the party
crisis.
Prime Minister Levi Eshkol
declared here today that “in
order to save the integrity of the
Mapai, I am ready to oompromise
on any issue, except on the re
opening of the inquiry into the
Lavon Affair.” (The “affair” in
volves Pinhas Lavon. In 1955, he
was dismissed from his post as
Defense Minister, presumably
due to a "security mishap"—
never openly explained. A Min
isterial committee absolved him
(Continued on Page Four)
Johnson City Vice Mayor Is Also
President of His Synagogue
Highlights of ZOA Parley
between Arabs and Israel.
Javits Scores Nasser Aid
Addressing the opening session,
Senator Jacob K. Javits scored
the Johnson Administration for
resuming aid to the United Arab
Republic as against the wishes of
Congress. The New York Senator
made it clear that Nasser is play
ing a double game by “exchang
ing American wheat for Com
munist arms.”
Neumann-—Nasser No Moderate
Speaking at the fifth plenary
session Saturday night, Dr.
Emanuel Neumann warned
“against the illusion that Colonel
Nasser has turned ‘moderate’ in
view of his recent remarks at
the Arab Summit Conference in
Cairo. If his speech was pitched
in a minor key,” Neumann
stated, “it was due not to a
change of heart, but to a change
of circumstances which preclude
an early attack on Israel.”
Orthodox Hegemony
In Israel Debated
Discussing “Religion In the
State of Israel” at an Oneg Shab-
bat session, Professors Mordecai
M. Kaplan and Samuel K. Mir-
sky, and rabbis Judah Nadich
and Louis I. Newman, became
involved in a bitter debate over
the freedom of religion in Israel.
Dr. Newman, who was support
ed by Prof. Kaplan and Rabbi
Nadich, termed the religious sit
uation in Israel as “intolerable.
Civil marriages should be legal
ized in Israel and divorce under
civil law should also be sanction
ed.” While Rabbi Marsky, speak
ing for Orthodoxy, was emphatic
in his view that Israel “is not
ready for imported trends of
Jewish religion made in Amer
ica (Conservative and Reform),”
Dr. Nadich held that “where re
ligion is compelled, it is not re
ligion. If it is religion, it cannot
be compelled . . . Neither belief
nor practice can be a matter to
be decreed by either a Chief
Rabbi, a Cabinet or a Knesset.”
Nussbaum Blueprint
Emerging out of the Conven
tion were not only basic revisions
of the ZOA Constitution—for the
first time in 25 years—'but also a
blueprint for future action sub
mitted by Dr. Max Nussbaum in
the building of Jewish People-
hood. He listed four steps to be
taken: 1. The unification of the
American Jewish community;
2. The involvement by Zionists
in the Jewish life of the com
munity in which they reside;
3. The stimulation of Aliya within
the meaning of its American ter
minology, and 4. The involvement
by Zionists in the educational
system of our Jewish commun
ity.
Torczyner Proposes
Goodwill Mission to USSR
Jacques Torczyner, the newly-
elected President of the ZOA,
made a plea to the Soviet Govern
ment to permit an American Jew
ish goodwill mission to visit the
USSR. This mission, he Indicated,
would meet with leaders of Sov
iet Jewry for a non-political ex
change of views.
Encouraging Messages
Messages of encouragement —
in addition to those received from
the Government of Israel—came
from President Johnson, Vice
President Humphrey, Governor
Rockefeller, Senator Robert F.
Kennedy, Senator Hugh Scott,
Majority Leader Carl Albert, Mi
nority Leader Everitt McKinley
Dirksen, and a number of other
outstanding American notables.
By all standards, the 68th an
nual ZOA convention turned out
to be one of the most successful
and fruitful in several decades. It
was well-attended and a spirit of
hope and optimism pervaded the
atmosphere all through the num
erous sessions.
Mitchell Thorp of Johnson
City, Tenn., will be lending his
talents to both the civic and
religious life of his city.
He was recently elected vice
mayor of Johnson City and is
also president of B’nai Sholom
Congregation.
Immediately follow i n g his
election, Mr. Thorp called for
increased cooperation between
the five city commissioners and
the Washington County executive
c ommittee.
The election filled two vacan
cies on the five-member city
commission and Mr. Thorp ran a
strong second in an eleven can
didate field. The two new com
missioners were elected by an
over-whelming majority.
Service runs in the Thorp
family. Mrs. Thorp, the former
Hilda Rapport of Asheville, is
treasurer of B’nai Sholom Con
gregation. His brother, Nathan,
is an executive board member of
the Southeastern Region ADL.
Bom in 1918 in Knoxville, Mr.
Thorp graduated from Knoxville
Business College and University
of Baltimore Law School. He
is president of Thorp & Co.,
Thorp, Inc., and East Tennessee
Enterprises, Inc.; also vice presi
dent Tennessee Iron & Paper,
Inc. and director Johnson City
Industrial Development Corp.
and Johnson City Industrial Park
Corp.
He has been extremely active in
the Johnson City Chamber of
Commerce and in the Johnson
City Little League baseball organ -
ization, the American Cancer
Society, Masons and many other
civic activities. A delegate to
the 1964 Democratic National
Convention in Atlantic City, Mr.
Thorpe was elected a member of
the Permanent Convention Com
mittee.
The Thorpes have three chil
dren. Stephanie, 21, was president
of the senior class at Emory
University. Allan is a freshman
at Johns Hopkins University and
is immediate past president of
the East Tennessee State Univer
sity High School senior class.
Daughter Marjorie is eight years
old, but undoubtedly she, too, will
follow the family tradition of
leadership.