The Southern Israelite. (Augusta, Ga.) 1925-1986, December 23, 1966, Image 1

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The Southern Israelite., December 23, 1966, Image 1

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Newspaper Page TextThe Southern Israelite A Weekly Newspaper for Southern Jewry - Established 1925 /ol XU ATLANTA, GEORGIA, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, I960 Jordan King Wants Arab Sabotage Raids Stopped WASHINGTON (JTA)— King Hussein of Jordan, in an exclus ive interview published here by the U. S. News and World Re port, said that the Arab sabotage raids into Israel are contrary to agreements at Arab summit con ferences and “almost of a help to the Israelis in attaining their ob jectives, by providing them with a pretext which they can use to futher their own ends.” He said Arab strategy demand ed crossings into Israel be stopp ed at this time “because this might give Israel a pretext to wage a war at a time when the build-up of defensive capabilities of the bordering Arab states have not been completed.” He made clear that he opposed the so-call ed Palestine Liberation Army. He termed it a subversive influence, following “an extreme-Left ideo logy,” and armed by the Com munist bloc, mainly China. At the same time, the king said that Israel is expansionist-minded and he called for removal of United Nations forces from Sinai and Gaza to force Israel to divert Humphrey Give9 Sermon at New Airport Synagogue NEW YORK (JTA) — Vice- President Humphrey joined Jew ish, Protestant and Catholic clergymen and laymen Sunday in participation in the dedication of the new International Synagogue, at Kennedy International Airport here. Preaching the first sermon in the Jewish house of worship, Mr. Humphrey noted that the plaza fronting the synagogue pro vides access to the holy places of three great faiths, showing that “all men are brothers and that they are equal in the sight of God.” The synagogue is one of three chapels erected at the big airport to serve not only the 16,000 travelers who pass through the facility each year but also the 34,000 persons who work at the airport. A Protestant chapel was opened there two years ago, and a Roman Catholic chapel was dedicated a month ago. The tri faith complex is maintained jointly by the New York Board of Rabbis, the Protestant Coun cil of the City of New York and the Catholic Diocese of Brook lyn. her military strength from the Jordanian frontier. Commenting on a question in volving alleged Israeli expansion ist tendencies, Hussein said: “I believe more than ever that, in regard to Western Jordan, it cer tainly has got some ambitions— if not to take over and control territory, at least to get into a bargaining position by hitting us before we are ready to defend ourselves.” Withdrawal of UNEF, he said, “would make less seri ous the threat of Israeli attack, because the Israelis would have to divert their forces and reckon with the Egyptians.” While denouncing the Soviet Union for plotting to seize power in the Arab world. King Hussein nevertheless maintained that arms shipments from Russia to some Arab states were not real ly upsetting the Arab-Israel mil itary balance. He said that “nothing has been done with the arms to meet the real threat the Israelis pose.” Gallup Concedes Rise In Shule Attendance NEW YORK (JTA)—Dr. George Gallup, director of the American Institute of Public Opinion in Princeton, has conceded that syn agogue attendance in the past 10 years has increased, despite a drop in over-all attendance at re ligious services during that per iod, the United Synagogue of America, central body of the Conservative Synagogue move ment, announced. In the initial “audit” report which was released by Dr. Gallup several months ago, an impres sion was created that Synagogue attendance had dropped along with attendance in Protestant and Catholic churches during the 10 year period covered in the re port. In response to an inquiry from Rabbi Alvin Kass, editor of the United Synagogue Review, Dr. Gallup has now confirmed the results of a survey which the United Synagogue Review itself had conducted and which reveal ed “a decided rise in synagogue attendance during the High Holy Days and on the Sabbath during the past 10 years,” the announce ment said. UN Adopts Cov Freedom; Russia 0 *** Led NO. 31 jra UNITED NATIONS, N. Y. (JTA)—The United Nations Gen eral Assembly adopted last week end, by unanimous vote, two cov enants on human rights, one dealing with economic, social and cultural freedoms, the other with rights in the civil and political fields. The convenants will be come international treaties when they are ratified or acceded to by a sufficient number of gov ernments. At the same session, the As sembly adopted, by a vote of 66 in favor, with two against and 38 abstentions, an “optional prot- tocol” which will obligate those governments that adhere to this instrument to permit individuals to complain against human rights violations by their own govern ments, and could make it possi ble for one state to complain against human rights violations by another state. The adoption of the covenants came 12 years after drafts on those subjects were first opened to debate here, in 1954, and 18 years after the Universal Decla ration of Human Rights was pass ed by the Assembly in 1948 as “a standard of achievement.” While the Soviet Union joined the United States, Israel and oth er members of the United Na tions in voting for the covenants, by Israel and the Dominican Re- the USSR was severely criticized public for its suppression of cul tural and religious rights now given full legal recognition through the newly-adopted cov enant#. Neither Israel nor the Dominican Republic, however, named the USSR specifically. Ambassador Michael S. Comay. Israel’s permanent representative here, referred only to a country he did not name where, he Swastikas Painted On Two Atlanta Shules Congregation Beth Jacob and Sheartth Israel this week were defaced by swastikas painted on their facilities. Two swastikas, In smeary paint, appeared overnight at Beth Jacob, victim of a series of burglaries within recent months. A single swastika was painted the prevtoaa night at Shearith Israel Synagogue. Both synagogues are located In DeKalb County. charged, “deprivations” are suf fered by the Jewish people, while other minorities are free from such cultural and religious dis criminations. The Dominican en voy, Ambassador Omes Coiscou, spoke of “Jews who live among th snows of the steppes.” In his address explaining his favorable votes on both coven- enants Mr. Comay reminded the Assembly that the instruments will be binding “only to the ex tent that sovereign states sub scribe to them.” He noted that “the precepts in the present cov enants are still a long way from being commitments.” With the adoption of the covenants, he said, “we enter a new and more dif ficult phase,” the phase of im plementation. Referring to the “bitter and tragic experience of Jewish his tory in the Diaspora which kept alive for us the basic teachings of Judaism,” the Israeli envoy said: “It is little wonder that we Jews remain intensely aware of fresh manifestations of anti-Sem itism, and refuse to take lightly any revived neo-Nazi tendencies. WARNS KU KLUX KLAN— Governor of Virginia Offers $1,000 Reward For Data on Cross Burners RICHMOND, Va., (WUP)—Governor Mills E. Godwin, Jr., incensed over the many KKK cross-burnings throughout Virginia of late in what appears as a resurgence of Klan activity, has offered a State reward of $1,000 to anyone bringing him information lead ing to the arrest and conviction of Klansmen illegally burning a cross. In making the offer, Governor Godwin stated that it was a felony, involving a penitentiary sentence, to bum a cross without permission on either public or private property in Virginia. He noted that the burning cross was an old device long associated with “the record of bigotry compiled by the Klan. Throughout its history in the South,” he added, “the flaming cross has been the symbol of terror. Its use must be stamped out” where they occur.” He was un derstood to be referring in this context to the resurgence of neo- Nazism in West Germany. Then Mr. Comay told the Assembly: “At the same time, we remain sensitive to the form of discrim ination which denies to a minor ity the free exercise of its own distinctive faith and culture. This, I regret to say, is not just an academic concern at the present time. We are deeply disturbed at the fact that a large section of the Jewish people suffers such cultural deprivation, and does not enjoy even the same degree of religious autonomy that is still extended to other faiths.” Mr. Comay stressed particular ly one clause in the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which reads: “In those states in which ethnic, religious or linguistic mi norities exist, persons belonging to such minorities si denied the right, to with other members «f group to enjoy their culture, to profess end practice their own religion, or to use their own 1«ng- uege.” “It is our earnest hope, said the Israeli diplomat, “that this minimal provision will come to be observed in all lands.” He add ed in concluding his address: “While there is no room for com placency, the adoption of these two covenants represents an im portant step forward along the road human progress, and should afford us all satisfaction and a renewal of faith and hope.” The Dominican Ambassador told the Assembly: “It is neces sary to raise our voice again to ask, even to demand that the Jews who live among the snows of the steppes be allowed to read the Torah, to admire the great leader of a people, Moses, to at tend their synagogues, to nourish their spirit with traditional cere monies without which no Jew would feel his life worth living.” Kiesinger Disclaims Nazi, Anti-Jewish Sympathies Copyright, 1966, JTA BONN (JTA)—Dr. Kurt Kies inger, West Germany's new Chancellor, told the Jewish Tel egraphic Agency correspondent here that he had never in his life taken an anti-Jcwish attitude and had never done anything against Jews. Concerning his membership in the Nazi Party, he insisted it was purely nominal, and added: “I never sympathized with the Nazis and I believed that I would be able to out-maneuver them.” The Chancellor disclosed that he had wanted to emigrate from Germany when the Nazi took power in 1933, but did not have the money to do so. He said he entered the party in 1933, blit had nothing to do with it after 1934. He said that he had given much thought to the offer to be come Chancellor because of his past connection with the Nazi Party. He stressed that he him self had proposed " Eugen Gerstenmaier, the president of the Bundestag, West Germany’s low er house of Parliament, for the post of Chancellor, but that his Christian Democratic Union Par ty had decided differently. Chancellor Kiesinger agreed that it was only “natural” for people outside of Germany to be disturbed about the rise of the extremist National Democratic Party. However, he insisted there was no comparison between con ditions in Germany now and those in 1933. H« contended that the two major parties in West Ger man—the CDU and the Social Democrats now joined in a coal ition which he heads as Chancel lor—both favored direct elections to replace the present propor tional election system under which the NDP won seats for the first time in November in the pro vincial parliaments of Hesse and Bavaria. He said that the two major parties favored such change not solely because of the NDP—“such importance is not attached to the NDP”—but because an incidental benefit of such a revised elec toral system would be to pre vent the NDP from reaching the Federal Parliament. He added that he was studying “this com plex problem.” Dr. Kiesinger was asked about his attitude toward statements by Arab spokesmen that they would attach conditions toward efforts by West Germany to re establish normal diplomatic rela tions with the Arab states. Most of the Arab countries severed or suspended ties with West Ger many after Bonn exchanged am bassadors with Israel. One such condition indicated by the Arabs was a change in West Germany's attitude toward Israel. “I would never let myself be influenced in this question by outside parties,” the Chancellor promptly replied. “We have a very special responsibility toward Israel. This entails a specially favorable atitude toward Israel, of course.” He drew attention to the fact that he said this previ ously on a visit to India. Asked whether he intended to maintain that position in the future, Dr. Kiesinger said: “I will do every thing so that our relations with Israel, which we have regularized formally, are further developed, strengthened and deepened.” He added, “I am not letting myself into a position of ‘either or’ on this question.” Dr. Kiesinger was then referr ed to reports that, at the time diplomatic relations with Israel were under discussion in Bonn, he had spoken against that step He shook his head emphatically in denial. He said someone had written something to that effect but that actually the opposite had been true. He explained that what he done was to criticize the “clumsy way” of West German diplomacy in first telling the Arabs that diplomatic relations with Israel would not be estab lished, and then doing just that. He added he had always favored diplomatic relations with Israel. Declaring that he had not studied the question of Israel’s dissatisfaction over its current pact with the European Common Market, of which West Germany is a member, he said he was aware that the predecessor Gov ernment of Ludwig Erhard had taken a positive attitude toward Israel’s association with Euro mart, and that he would make an effort to find a solution in which Israel’s interests would be safe guarded. Israel’s current agreement with Euromart ends next June 30, and Israel had applied for either a much wider agreement or for an associated status. Dr. Kiesinger said he planned to discuss the problem soon with Israeli am bassador Asher Ben-Nathan. He stressed that it was necessary to remember that he was not in a position to decide by himself on Common Market issues.