Newspaper Page Text
The Southern Israelite
A Weekly Newspaper for Southern Jewry — Established 1925
VoL XL
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1965
In Moscow
Jews Mark Simchal Torah;
Thousands Dance at Synagogue
Atlantan’s $25i
To Erect School
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in Israel
NEW YORK (JTA)—Tens of
thousands of Moscow Jews of all
ages danced and sang for hours
outside the Central Synagogue of
Moscow in celebration of Simchat
Torah, it was reported here from
Moscow. The synagogue itself
was packed with 3,900 persons at
tending the three-hour services
with many more unable to en
ter.
The assembly was about the
same size as that of last year’s
Moscow celebration but the per
centage of young Jews was high
er, the reports stated. Some
youths brought guitars and one
brought a tape recorder on
which he had recorded Yiddish
melodies.
Two spotlights on the synagog
ue portico picked out light snow
falling on the crowd which filled
almost the entire block of the
Arkhipova Streep in downtown
Moscow. Traffic stopped at both
ends of the street. A few police
men wandered through the crowd
but no one seemed to pay them
any attention. The high propor
tion of young people in the crowd
was interpreted by foreign ob
servers in Moscow as confirming
the reports that a feeling of Jew
ish identity is growing among
young Jews bora under the Sov
iet regime despite the fact that
that Jewish cultural life is being
suppressed in the Soviet Union.
Vatican Distributes
Declaration on Jews
ROME (JTA) — The Vatican
Secretariat distributed to the pre
lates attending the Ecumenical
Council the final text of the Dec
laration on the Relations between
the Church and the Jewish Re
ligion. That text was approved by
the Council on November 15 by
a vote of 1,765 to 250.
Play on Horror
Camp Stuns
Germans
BERLIN (JTA) — A stunned
audience left the Volksbuehne
Theater here after the premier
of “The Investigation,” a doc
umentary play on the horrors of
the Auschwitz death camp based
on the trial of the 20 Nazi camp
officials which concluded in
Frankfurt this summer. The play,
which was also performed sim
ultaneously in 14 other East and
West German theaters, was writ
ten by Peter Weiss, a German-
bom Jew now living in Sweden,
who used his own notes, on the
testimony of the trial which he
attended.
While there was no applause
at the end of the premier mem
bers of the audience stood in
groups during the intermission
discussing the play. The play was
the subject of extensive contro
versy over whether it should be
presented in Germany. Erwin
Piscator, head of the Volks
buehne, advocated its presenta
tion. Newspaper reviews gave
qaulified praise and supported
Mr. Piscator’s stand in the con
troversy. “In contrast to all pre
dictions the play has proved its
effectiveness on the stage,” the
West German newspaper, j“D4e
Welt,” said.
Weiss emphasized in his play
the role of German big industry
in the Auschwitz camp, many
large German firms having used
Auschwitz Jews as cheap labor.
Each of the 11 major scenes in
the play deals with one aspect
of the death camp's murder ma
chinery, such as “Cantata of the
Ramp,” the “Cantata of the Fire
Oven.” and the “Cantata of the
Bunker,” where victims were
chosen for death bv gassing or
other means.
The author said royalties will
be placed in a trust fund which
he said he would set up with
publisher Suhrkamp Verlag in
West Germany which will be
used for Auschwitz survivors and
for the education of their chil
dren.
The document is to be prom
ulgated by Pope Paul VI in a
public session of the Council. The
text exomerates the Jewish peo
ple of collective responsibility for
the death of Jesus, and also “de
plores” anti-Semitism.
The Vatican Secretariat also
distributed to the prelates the
latest version of the draft deilar-
ation on religious liberty. Like the
declaration containing the chap
ter relating to the Jews, adoption
of the religious liberty draft has
also been advocated by the lib
eral majority of the bishops at
tending the Ecumenical Council.
The measure would for the first
time, establish Catholic doctrine
as recognizing that every man is
entitled to follow the religion of
his choice and that religious free
dom must be granted by all
states, even those that recognize
only one state religion.
ON 28-FOOT BOAT
Jewish Refugees
From Cuba Arrive
In Florida
KEY WEST, Fla. (JTA)—Five
Jewish refugees from Cuba, in
cluding an 82-year-old woman—-
the first Jews to arrive since
Fidel Castro relaxed his regime’s
exit ban two weeks ago—landed
here Sunday in a 28-foot boat.
They braved the hazardous 90-
mile voyage to join their chil
dren and other relatives in the
United States.
The refugees were immediately
taken to the United Hias Serv
ice office in Miami, located at
the U. S. Government Cuban Ref
ugee Center for resettlement as
sistance. In accordance with U. S.
Government regulations, efforts
are being made to resettle the
refugees outside the Florida area.
Not Arson, Say
Police in
Temple Fire
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (JTA) —
State police officials, completing
their probe of a fire that destroy
ed Beth El Temple, causing dam
age totaling $1,000,000, declared
they found no evidence of arson.
In the conflagration, the sanc
tuary and auditorium were des
troyed, and seven Holy Scrolls
were lost.
Police probers said the fire was
apparently caused by careless
smokers. A drive to raise funds
for rebuilding the temple is now
under way.
TEL AVIV, ISRAEL — Ground was dedicated Sunday in
the nearby settlement of Ramat Hasharon for a vocational
school sponsored by Sam Rothberg of Atlanta, whose $250,000
gift to the Israel Education Fund
of the United Jewish Appeal
will finance construction of the
secondary school.
The school will be named the
Kalman and Minnie Rothberg Vo
cational School, in memory of
Mr. Rothberg’s parents. The At
lanta realtor and philanthropist
was present at the ceremony,
which was also attended by
Charles J. Bensley, president of
the Israel Education Fund, and
executive director Ralph I. Gold
man. Joseph Meyerhoff of Balti
more is chairman of the IEF
Board.
The Ramat Hasharon school will
bring the number of secondary
schools activiated by the Israel
Education Fund during its first
full year of existence, to thirteen.
The IEF was inaugurated by the
United Jewish Appeal in Sep
tember, 1964, to help resolve the
problem of school and teacher
shortages in Israel, mainly on the
high school level. Its program,
based on the recommendations of
Sam Rothberg — Philanthropist
a survey team of four prominent
American educators, includes con
struction of libraries, youth cen-
50 Savings Banks in NYC
Charged With Anti-Jewish Bias
NEW YORK, (JTA) — The
American Jewish Committee
charged this week that Jews
have been systematically exclud
ed from top-management and
policy-making positions in the 50
Israel-Lebanon
Exchange Prisoners
TEL AVIV — (JTA) — Israel
and Lebanon Sunday exchanged
prisoners held briefly by each of
the countries for crossing the
Israeli - Lebanese frontier
illegally.
Israel returned to Lebanon
three Lebanese soldiers who had
crossed into Israel last Thursday
night. Lebanon sent back to Israel
20-year-old Moshe Mordecai, who
had been held in Lebanon after
crossing its border a week ago.
Toronto Fight
Brings Fines
TORONTO (JTA)—A Toronto
magistrate sentenced neo-Nazi
John Beattie and two of three
Jewish anti-Nazis on charges
growing out of a wild melee in a
Toronto park last May where the
23-year-old unemployed neo-Nazi
tried to stage an anti-Semitic
rally.
Beattie was found guilty of
causing a public disturbance and
fined $150. He was given a month
to pay the fine. Asked if he had
anything to say, he told Magis
trate Fred Hayes “I am sorry I
was found guilty.” Outside the
courtroom he gave photographers
the Nazi salute.
The three Jews were Samuel
Kaplan, 34, Max Beinblich, 33,
and Ignac David, 43, all of whom
lost their families in the Nazi
holocaust and who knew of the
Nazi terror at first hand. Bein
blich was fined $150 for causing
a public disturbance. David was
sentenced to 30 days in prison on
assault charges.
The Magistrate noted that
David had assaulted an innocent
person, a stranger in Toronto,
who was merely walking in Al
lan Gardens park on May 30 and
had no knowledge or relation to
the neo-Nazi rally. Four others
accused in the melee will be tried
in November, the court an
nounced.
mutual savings banks in New
York City.
A survey of more than 400
executives and staff officers and
of 750 trustees of these banks was
made public by Theodore Ellen-
off, AJ Committee leader, at a
press conference. The report re
vealed that less than three per
cent of those surveyed were
identified as Jewish although
Jews make up one-quarter of
New York City’s population and
are obviously prominent in the
city’s life. This figure of less
than three percent was broken
down in the following manner:
Less that 2.5 percent of the more
than 400 officers were identified
as Jewish while the parallel
figure for the 750 trustees was
less than 3.5 percent.
Committee researchers learned
also that no Jewish executive of
ficers were found in 82 percent
of the banks while no Jewish
trustees were found in 60 percent
of the banks. “The evidence sug
gests,” the report asserted, “that
insensitivity and indifference, if
not deliberate exclusion, have
hardened over the years into de
facto discrimination.”
“Exclusion of Jews from jobs
as officers in mutual savings
banks,” Mr. Ellenoff pointed out,
(Continued On Page 8)
Increased Police
Protection for 36
N.Y. Synagogues
NEW YORK (JTA)—The New
York police department deployed
policemen at 36 synagogues and
18 yeshivas on New York’s lower
East Side last weekend to protect
Jews in the area attending Sab
bath services.
The action followed an emer
gency meeting of 20 rabbis with
police after a series of attacks
by hoodlums on both young and
old Jews enroute to and from the
synagogues and Jewish schools.
The only incident reported was
an attack on a worshiper,Sey
mour Stein, who was approached
by a youth wielding a razor who
demanded money. When Stein
refused, the attacker punched
him in the face and fled. Later
Stein identified Richard Azzolino,
17, as his assailant and the youth
was charged with attempted as
sault and robbery.
ters and pre-kindergarten units
as well, as high schools, and pro
vides scholarships for underprivi
leged and gifted students and
teachers in training.
Mr. Rothberg, who is actively
engaged in Jewish and civic af
fairs in Atlanta, was bom in New
York City, the son of immigrant
parents who came from Europe
in 1880 and moved to Plainfield,
N. J„ in 1884.
Mr. Rothberg attended Plain-
field schools and was a retail
merchant there until his marri
age to the former Rita Frohsin
of Atlanta, after which he resided
in Atlanta, continued as a retail
merchant and branched out Into
the real estate field. He studied
law at night and obtained a Bach
elor of Laws degree some years
ago.
Mr. Rothberg is a board mem
ber of the Atlanta Chapter of the
American Jewish Committee, the
Atlanta Jewish Welfare Fund,
the Jewish Children’s Service,
the Home for the Aged and the
Fulton and DeKalb Counties Hos
pital Authority, a post he held
for 12 years and through which
was built the new $23 million
Grady Memorial Hospital, now
functioning in Atlanta as a char
ity institution. He also is a mem
ber of The Southern Israelite Ad
visory Board.
He is a member of the Cham
ber of Commerce and founder of
the Optimist Club and is current
ly engaged in a project to build
an $8.5 million Cultural Center
In Atlanta.
He traveled abroad with the
Trade Mission of Atlanta under
the leadership of former Governor
Ernest Vandiver in 1960 and has
toured Israel several times with
United Jewish Appeal Missions.
Mr. Rothberg’s sister Peggy
with her husband, Artist Leon
ard Gidding of Plainfield, N. J.,
plan to accompany him to Israel
in the spring of 1966 to attend
the dedication of the school mem
orializing their parents.
Mr. Rothberg has one son, Rob
ert Louis Rothberg, and two
grandsons, who reside in Atlan
ta.
Jewish Labor Group
Opposes ‘Moratorium’
On Anti-Red Protests
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The
Jewish Labor Committee Sunday
ended its 30th anniversary with
a resolution rejecting “the coun
sel of those who urge a morator
ium on protest against violation
of the human rights of the Jew
ish people in the USSR” and call
ing for continued action together
with the labor movement and
Jewish community. The conven
tion was attended by more than
500 delegates.
“It was no moratorium on pro
test that won token concessions
in regard to baking of matzoh
this year, or brought apparent
reduction in the anti-Semitic ‘ec
onomic crimes’ trials,” the JLC
resolution said. It stressed that
the JLC does not oppose discus
sions with Soviet leaders on the
Jewish situation, but added that
“negotiations without the pres
sure of protest activities behind
them cannot be fully effective."
Other resolutions call for an in
tensive campaign for "the long
overdue United States ratification
of the U. N. human rights and
genocide treaties” action against
the radical right and neo-Nazism,
and other measures. Adolph Held,
of New York, was re-elected na
tional president of the organiza
tion.