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Friday, January 28, 1966
—
History Does Repeat Itself
The Story of the Kosher Snack Bar
One of the most remarkable
parades in all history is the one
which took place in Washington,
D. C., on August 28, 1963, when
more than 200,000 people march-
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ed to protest the delay in grant
ing Negroes the civil rights to
which they are entitled. But it
was not only Negroes who
marched. There were 40,000
whites who were also concerned
with the injustice done their fel
low citizens, and among the
whites were about 2,000 Jews.
They, too, paraded under the
banner: “We March Together —
Catholics, Jews, Protestants—For
Dignity and Brotherhood of All
Men under God.” During this
march, the Jews were provided
with kosher refreshments by the
American Jewish Congress.
Just about 175 years before
that demonstration, there was
an equally important parade. It
took place on July 4, 1788, in
Philadelphia, which then served
as the capital of the country.
Then, too, Jews marched in a
great procession. The rabbi of
the Philadelphia congregation
walked through the streets arm
in arm with Christian clergymen.
The Messiah was just around the
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comer! And when the march
came to an end, the Jew? gather
ed around a table presided over
by old Mr. Isaac Moses, the cob
bler, and they had a kosher
snack.
It was a very important occas
ion which the parade of 1788 was
held to celebrate. Many people
in this country were desperately
eager to have a constitution to
unite the thirteen states that had
just freed themselves from the
British. Virginia had hesitated to
accept the new constitution, and
without her there could have
been no real union. She was the
largest state in the country. Fin
ally the news came, eArly in July,
that Virginia would ratify the
new document, and the good peo
ple of Philadelphia were determ
ined to celebrate, because Vir
ginia’s decision meant that the
country would be united and able
to survive. At that time, Phila
delphia was the largest city in
the country and the second
largest English-speaking city in
the world. The Philadelphians
determined to have a federal pa
rade with floats, marchers,
speeches, and food. But no li
quor! It was to be a parade to
end all parades.
The Jews were only too happy
to participate. Children from the
different schools and churches
also marched, and among them
was the fifteen-year-old Naph-
tali Phillips who paraded, we
may be sure, with the youngsters
of the Mikveh Israel Congrega
tion.
The Jews were particularly
happy that the constitution was
ratified, because of the original
thirteen states, New York and
Virginia alone had thus far grant
ed them equal political rights—
in particular, the right to hold
office. The second-class citizen
ship which most of the states im
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posed on them disappointed them
very much, for they had made
great sacrifices to support the
patriotic cause during the Rev
olution. After the conflict was
over, Naphtali’s father, Jonas,
had written a letter to the con
stitutional convention asking it
to make sure that Jews in all
the states were given equality.
The new federal constitution of
course, would give all Jews
equality, at least on the federal
level, and this is why the Jews
of Philadelphia were so eager to
celebrate its ratification. They
realized that the promise inher
ent in the Declaration of Inde
pendence would now be more
than a phrase: “All men are cre
ated equal.” And 175 years later,
they would march again — this
time with their Negro fellow -
citizens, and they would listen
with sympathy to Dr. Martin
Luther King as he delivered his
. great oration, quoting from that
same Declaration: “We hold these
truths to be self evident; that all
men are created equal.”
But we have forgotten the most
important thing of all. What was
the menu in 17887 Salmon, bread,
crackers, almonds, and raisins.
And what was the menu in Wash
ington in 1963? We don’t know,
but we wouldn’t like to bet that
it wasn’t lox (salmon) on a bagel!
Who says history doesn’t repeat
itself?
The original account of the
Jewish participation in the Great
Federal Parade is found in a
Naphtali Phillips letter in the col
lections of the Library Company
of Philadelphia. A copy of it—
along with many more papers
dealing with the Phillips family
—is to be found in the files of
the American Jewish Archives at
HUC-JIR in Cincinnati.
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Sunday, February 20
6:00 P. M.
Ahavath Achim Synagogue
Annual Jewish War
Veterans Post 112
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Honoring
Post Commander
MEYER
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Contact
Murray Halpern JA. 4-4350 or
Sidney Pazol P. O. Box 2898
Station D Atlanta, Ga.
30318
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