Newspaper Page Text
The Southern Israelite
A Weekly Newspaper for Southern Jewry — Established 1925
Vol. XLI
ATLANTA, GEORGIA, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1966
NO. 37
Chicago Police Arrest
Rockwell; Refuse Permit
CHICAGO (JTA) — George
Rockwell, the American Nazi,
was arrested here by Chicago
police as he led a march of his
Nazi followers in Gage Park, an
all-Negro section of Chicago. Po
lice also arrested a Los Angeles
man, Ralph Forbes, on charges
of trying to interfere with Rock
well’s arrest. A man named Ralph
Forbes headed an American Nazi
Party headquarters in Glendale,
California.
Rockwell sought in federal
district court yesterday to obtain
a court order to force the city of
Chicago to give him a permit for
a parade. In denying the request.
Judge Joseph Sam Perry said
Rockwell had failed to show that
the denial of the permit was un
reasonable. The Nazi said he
would lead a group of his Nazis
into the all-Negro neighborhood
without the permit and did so.
His parade was one of the
counter-demonstrations against
marches by Negroes into all-
white neighborhoods in protest
against segregated housing.
Judge Perry also denied a
Rockwell petition for an order to
bar Cook County from prosecut
ing Rockwell on disorderly con
duct charges. Rockwell was ar
rested August 29 on disorderly
conduct charges by Sheriff Rich
ard Ogilvie, who had promised to
arrest Rockwell on sight if he
came to Chicago. Rockwell filed
suit to have the charge dropped
on grounds it was “illegal and
unconstitutional.” Judge Perry
said Rockwell had failed to
show he could not get a fair trial
in Chicago.
The judge also denied a request
by the Jewish War Veterans for
an order to prevent Nazis from
holding “white power” rallies
and marches in Chicago. He left
the way open for appeal. The
JWV said the rallies and marches
would be an incitement to riot.
Judge Perry said the feeling
for free speech in this country
was so strong that he felt “we
must give every American the
right to exercise it.” He was
shown literature which the Nazis
had distributed through Chicago
neighborhoods. He described the
material as “objectionable, of
fensive, abusive and incitive of
riot and revolution.”
President’s Viet Nam Plea
To Jews Stirs Critics
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Dis
agreement with President John
son’s request for a publicity
campaign by American Jewry in
support of the Administration’s
involvement in Viet Nam was in
dicated here by a number of
State Department officials.
Such officials thought the
President was mindful of domes
tic political considerations. From
a foreign policy viewpoint, how
ever, they thought that purely
“Jewish” expressions within the
United States might injure diplo
matic objectives in Arab states
where the United States was try
ing to win support for its Viet
Nam stand.
It was pointed out that if Jew
ish personalities and leaders, in
cluding businessmen and Zion
ists, publish statements identi
fying themselves as Jews with
the U.S. position on Viet Nam,
this might be exploited by Arab
propaganda and Hanoi sympa
thizers to depict the war as
“backed by Zionism, reaction,
colonialism, and imperialism.”
A view emerging in the State
Department, in the wake of pub
Harsh Economic Measures
Cited tor Israel by Eshkol
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Prime
Minister Levi Eshkol called upon
all of Israel to take a fresh look
at the economic facts of life, pull
in its belt more tightly than
ever, and work together in all
sectors — public and private —
toward the stabilization of the
country’s economy, increasing
productivity so that exports may
rise, and thus giving employment
to more workers.
The principal aims of the State
of Israel, he stated, in a radio
broadcast, are the same as they
have been since the rebirth of
Israel: “Peace with our neigh
bors; the fusion of the various
communities in our land into one
nation; moving our economy for
ward toward self-sufficiency.”
The Prime Minister then turned
his message to the nation into a
somber lecture on the state of the
economy, its shortcomings and its
near future.
He said that, despite the na
tion’s affluence and well-being,
and despite the fact that exports
have risen by scores of millions
of dollars yearly, the economy
has been unable to provide
enough productive employment.
Productivity, he stated, has been
low; management has been bad;
organizational methods have
been backward; high spending
has been indulged in only to cre
ate impressions; staffs have been
inflated; the wage demands of
workers have been much too
high.
“Maybe all of this could have
continued for some years,” said
the Premier. “It might even have
increased the popularity of the
Government. But the price we
would have had to pay later
would have been still higher.”
Since the Government’s call upon
Israelis for self-restraint had
gone unheeded, he declared, the
Government has had to step in
and make a number of decisions
as follows: Prices will be held
down rigidly; no new taxes will
be imposed, except on increased
capital gains; investments will be
encouraged; services will be
overhauled; expenditures will be
cut drastically.
The Government, warned Mr.
Eshkol, will take measures to
prevent any tendency toward
getting rich easily. Bank cnarges
will be reduced. Exports will be
encouraged by various admini
strative and fiscal means. Many
workers, he said, will find them
selves without jobs during the
transition period between their
dismissal from certain services
and their placement in jobs in
productive enterprises. “Hard
ships,” he warned, “may be
caused to thousands, perhaps to
tens of thousands.”
However, the Prime Minister
concluded, it is up to all to make
a common effort to face the sit
uation—“up to all workers, man
agements, services, banks and
the Government to work togeth
er toward stabilizing the economy
and make it more productive, so
that exports will increase and ad
ditional workers can be employ
ed.”
lication of the President’s re
quest to the Jewish War Vet
erans, was that Jews should ad
here as individuals to their Gov
ernment’s commitments in Viet
Nam but that a special Jewish
pro-Viet Nam campaign might
prove “counter-productive.”
One official explained that
“expressions on Viet Nam by
known supporters of Israel would
not make our task easier in the
Middle East, North Africa, and
large areas of Asia including
Indonesia. Their views as indi
vidual Americans are welcomed
but a special Jewish demarche
would pose problems abroad.”
Some Administration Congress
men, who advocate President
Johnson’s Viet Nam policies, took
a similar position. They asked
not to be quoted.
(In Israel, reaction to the re
port that President Johnson, in
his talks with the delegation of
the Jewish War Veterans, brack
eted his friendship to Israel with
his desire for greater Jewish
backing of his Viet Nam policy,
has been moderate and meager.
The press reacted mildly while
awaiting clarification on exactly
what had been said by the
President.)
Malcolm A. Tarlov, national
commander of the Jewish War
Veterans, issued a supplement
ary statement on his "impres
sions” arising from a meeting
with President Johnson last
week. He said the JWV delega
tion reported to the President on
the continued support of the
organization for the President’s
policy in Viet Nam.
“We discussed with the Presi
dent the U.S. treaty commitments
in Southeast Asia. The President
observed that the United States
must live up to its written agree
ments in Southeast Asia just as
it has to live up to the commit
ments to provide military support
for free world countries in the
Middle East and elsewhere, even
where our country has other
than formal military assistance
commitments. It was mentioned
that the problems of maintaining
American commitments against
Communist aggression in the Far
East, in the Near East and else
where in the world are all inter
related and interdependent,” Mr.
Tarlov stated.
“We assured the President that
JWV plans to bring its message
to the entire Jewish community
concerning the importance of
supporting the President’s policy
in Viet Nam as well as else
where,” the JWV statement said.
Mr. Tarlov stressed to the Presi
dent the recent JWV resolution
stating that “we endorse the
courageous action of President
Johnson in increasing our mili
tary commitment, while search
ing every possible channel for
the peaceful settlement that must
be negotiated to end the conflict
in Viet Nam.”
LBJ ‘Disturbed 9
At Viet Attitude
WASHINGTON (JTA)—Presi
dent Johnson was characterized
by leaders of the Jewish War
Veterans who recently met with
him as disturbed by lack of sup
port for the Viet Nam war in the
American Jewish community at
a time when he was taking new
steps to aid Israel.
President Johnson was des
cribed as welcoming JWV back
ing of his Viet Nam policy while
feeling it “incumbent” on other
major Jewish organizations “to
re-evaluate” their thinking on
this subject. Commander Mal
colm Tarlov of the Jewish War
Veterans told the White House
corps, in relaying these observa
tions, that the President asked
the JWV to launch a campaign
in the Jewish community to rally
support for the Viet Nam war.
The President commended the
JWV for concurring on Viet Nam
and favoring any necessary in
crease in military involvement,
Mr. Tarlov said. But, said Mr.
Tarlov, the President thought
that while other Jewish thinking
was “compassionate and know
ledgeable” on different issues, he
could not understand why such
Jews failed to share the JWV
stand on Viet Nam.
The Southern Israelite s Popular, Retired
Gustav Oppenheimer Dies at 67
Hrudlions for a Meinsie
Hebrew-Loving Beast
Calmed by Song
SACRAMENTO (JTA)—A sur
vivor of a plane crash reported
that a menacing mountain lion
calmed down when he was greet
ed with the salutation “Shalom.”
Leopold Cann, 47, and Roy
Hooper, 28, both of Sacramento,
survived the crash of their Sac
ramento Civil Air Patrol plane
near Lake Tahoe. Hooper went
looking for help.
Cann lost consciousness and
awoke to find “a mean” moun
tain lion watching him, his tail
twitching. Cann said he tried to
soothe the lion by singing rock
and roll songs but the beast
began to move menacingly tow
ard him. Cann said he then call- -
ed “Shalom” and launched into
a series of Hebrew and Yiddish
songs. Cann said the lion “stopp
ed right in his tracks.” Rescuers
arrived just as the lion appeared
to lose interest in the song re
cital.
Gustav Oppenheimer, retired
advertising representative for
The Southern Israelite, died Fri
day, Sept. 9, at the age of 67.
Mr. Oppenheimer, who had
engaged in real estate since
leaving the paper staff, suffered
a heart attack in 1962 which
precluded any further traveling.
Previously for more than two
decades, Mr. Oppenheimer had
carried the cause of the Jewish
paper to the far corners of the
South. He secured subscribers in
more than 500 cities, towns and
villages, in most of which the
paper went to the sole Jewish
family in town.
To these families his yearly
visit became a Jewish occasion
since it represented in effect
through The Israelite a weekly
contact with Judaism.
A native of Germany, Mr. Op
penheimer was imprisoned at the
Dachau concentration camp in
the mass wave of arrests during
the late 1930's.
He had attended the University
of Frankfort and had been pre
pared for the banking industry.
For several months after his
arrest, his family was in total
ignorance about his whereabouts.
It was only through the persis
tence of his wife, his only sur
vivor, that his location was at
last ascertained and his release
effectuated.
The couple fled to London and
after nine months secured a visa
to America. In New York, they
eyed Detroit and Atlanta for
their ultimate destination — then
cast their lot with the “sunny
south” because of their recollec
tion of a paper-back version of
“Gone With the Wind,” then a
popular best seller.
After working in several small
jobs, he joined The Southern Is
raelite to sell subscriptions. At
the outbreak of World War II,
when the paper lost two sales
men to the Service, Mr. Oppen
heimer took over their territory.
Since one of the salesmen was
killed in action and the other did
not return to the staff, Mr. Op
penheimer continued in this ca
pacity until his serious illness.
Mr. Oppenheimer often sat
with community leadership some
times years before local projects
were to be launched so that he
could arrange coordination with
news and feature emphasis in
The Southern Israelite magazine
and newspaper to be of commun
al assistance in promotion and
interpretation.
On one June morning in 1962,
as he headed out on a trip to
South Georgia, the symptoms of
a heart attack first appeared and
he returned home. He subsequ
ently regained his health but
was not able to travel and in
January of 1963 retired. He spent
his time then in studying for the
real estate board examination
and soon was licensed as a sales
man in that field.
Mr. Oppenheimer was an ac
tive member of B'nai B’rith.
Rabbi Richard Lehrman con
ducted the funeral Sunday, Sept.
11. Interment was in West View
Cemetery.