Newspaper Page Text
The Southern Israelite
A Weekly Newspaper for Southern Jewry — Established 19?5
Vol. XLIII
Atlanta, Georgia, Friday, January 12, 1968
*rt®
No. 2
Joint Appeal by 102 Rabbis
Urges 'No Retreat for Israel
NEW YORK (JTA)—An appeal
to Americans to understand that
there must be “no retreat tor Is
rael" and that the Moscow-Cairo
Axis must no(t prevail" was made
in a full-page advertisement in
the New York Times signed by
102 Orthodox, Conservative and
Reform rabbis from all parts of
the United Staites.
The advertisement was spon
sored by “Americans for the Se
curity and Stability of Israel,’’
with headquarters listed in Man
hattan and Samuel H. Wang, as
organizing chairman. The adver
tisement declared that “the Arabs
in concert with the Soviet Union”
were “loud in their demand’’ that
Israel return to the June armis
tice lines and warned that this
demand “finds an echo among
some wellnmeaning but naive
people.”
The advertisement then assert
ed that Israel had “inalienable
rights” to the territories wen in
I)r. Wexler Chides
French President
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Presi
dent Charles de Gaulle of France
has been asked by Dr. William
A. Wexler, International Presi
dent of B’nai B’rith to “seize an
early occasion to right the wrong
you have done — to the Jews —
and to de Gaulle.” The B’nai
B’rith letter to Gen. de Gaulle,
stating the organization’s response
to the French President’s recent r > t s-y
expressions, was revealed recently. lSl*3Cl LOV CS toOlHDJIl V
Gen. de Gaulle was told: “You " —• —
have given renewed currency to
vulgar and mischievous stereo
types of the Jewish people which,
thanks to the growing ecumenical
spirit promulgated by Vatican II,
were falling into desuetude. Now,
old and shabby anti-Semitic
canards will seek to dignify
themselves through the invocation
of your name, despite what may
be your personal sentiments. Thus
you have brought needless hurt
to a people to whom France
brought liberty, equality, and
fraternity, and who have served
her loyally.”
the war “forced upon her by the
Arabs and their Soviet Commun
ist allies.” Noting that “there
never was an indepenedent Arab
state in Palestine,” the advertise
ment said that Israel troops “lib
erated territories” forcibly occu
pied by Egypt and Jordan and
returned them to “the rightful
owner, the State of Israel.”
The insertion said that the west
bank, including old Jerusalem
“was illegally occupied by the
Jordanians in 1948.” The Gaza
Strip, the advertisement said, was
included in the Mandate of the
League of Nations to be part of
the Jewish National Homeland
but was occupied and held by
Egypt and “never incorporated
into the Staite of Egypt.”
Noting that the Gulf of Akaba
wtes closed to Israeli shipping by
Egypt, “an act of war,” the ad
vertisement noted appeals to Is
rael to show “magnanimity” and
yield the occupied areas, follow
ing which “the Arabs will then
reciprocate and make peace with
the Jewish State.” The advertise
ment warned that all peace over
tures to the Arabs have only em
boldened them to greater acts of
bloodshed and pillage.”
The advertisment also declared
that Israel did not dare risk its
safety and lives of its people “by
returning to the exposed positions
of the armistice borders. No one
has a moral right to encourage
such an eventuality.”
Eshkol-John ^
In Re-asserti
t \ iVtO
0*3.
^o0
§&« Ends
By MILTON FIRESTV
Editor and Publisher Kansas City Jewish Chronicle and
Vice President, American Jewish Press Association
Backs Water
On Outburst
PARIS (JTA) — President
Charles de Gaulle reportedly
has told Grand Rabbi Jacob
Kaplan of France that he had
been surprised by the Jewish
reactions to his November 27
press conference comments on
Israel and the Jewish people and
that it had been far from his in
tention to promote any anti-
Semitic views.
Gen. de Gaulle made that
statement in a private conversa
tion with Rabbi Kaplan, which
was held in connection with a
traditional New Years Day cere
mony at which the President re
ceived the heads of the major
religions in France. At the press
conference, President de Gaulle
called Israel “a war-like state,
bent on expansion,” and declar
ed (that the Jews were a
“domineering” people who had
earned “ill-will.” He was sever
ely criticized by both Jews and
non-Jews, inside France and
overseas for those comments.
Gen. de Gaulle reportedly
agreed readily with Dr. Kaplan
that help given, to Israel by
French Jewry could not be con
sidered an act of dual allegiance
and that to him, such aid im
plied “no problem” of this kind.
Rabbi Kaplan had issued a state
ment on behalf of French Jew
ry, criticizing Gen., de Gaulle
for the press comments.
—So Says Slogan
JERUSALEM (JTA)—The Min
istry of Tourism announced a
program of special events
throughout 1968 and a new slo
gan — “Israel Loves Company”
—with which if hopes to attract
a record number of visitors from
abroad during Israel’s 20th anni
versary year. On schedule are
some 46 events, ranging from a
gynecologists’ convention to Pur-
im pageants that are expected to
draw tourists.
There will be something spec
ial almost every month, a Min
istry spokesman said. To moke
sure that these events do not go
unnoticed, the Ministry is ar
ranging for the publication of
special Israel supplements in
leading newspapers and maga
zines all over the world.
Tight Money
May Hinder
U. S. Tourists
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Inform
ed sources here have said that
the new American tigty money
policy on overseas spending an
nounced by President Johnson
will not affect Israel because it
is considered a developing coun
try.
However, some worry was re
ported over the possibility that
tourism to Israel may be ad
versely affected by the new re
strictions, American tourists
have usually been about half of
the tourists coming annually to
Israel and, even in poor years,
Americans represented 40 per
cent.
The possible effect on tourism
was regarded with particular
concern because this is Israel’s
20th anniversary year, and a
record number of visitors had
been expected. The United States
decisions on credits were sent to
David Horowitz, Governor of
the Bank of Israel by William
M. Martin, chairman of the
Federal Reserve system.
LBJ RANCH, Texas (AJP) —
Prime Minister Levi Eshkol con
cluded two days of discussions
with President Lyndon B.
Johnson last Monday afternoon.
At the end of the friendly and
informal meeting, the two heads
of state issued a joint statement
which reiterated their intention
to continue the close ties be
tween their two nations.
No reference was made in the
joint statement to the arma
ments or aircraft which it is
believed Israel is seeking to in
sure its own security against the
growing weapon stockpile of the
Arab nations.
The plans for the Prime
Minister’s visit were greatly
curtailed because of severe
weather conditions here. Much
of Texas was blanketed on
Monday with a thick coating of
ice which glazed the streets and
highways and made aircraft
travel a serious problem.
The conditions required many
last-minute changes of plans.
After it became clear that the
Prime Minister could depart
from the LBJ Ranch by presi
dential Jetstar or helicopter, he
and Mrs. Eshkol and other
members of their party motored
from the ranch to Bergstrom
Air Force Base near Austin,
Texas. From that point, they
were able to fly in the large Air
Force jet assigned to the Presi
dent to New York City, where
Rabbi Prepares
Manual on Divorce
CHICAGO (JTA) — A manual
on Jewish divorce laws has been
prepared by a Chicago rabbi for
distribution to the 1,700 members
of the Decalogue Society of Law
yers here to instruct them on the
procedures involved in drawing
up a religious divorce.
The manual entitled “A Re
ligious Procedure in Obtaining a
Jewish Divorce” was written by
Rabbi Moses Mesheheloff of West
Rogers Park congregation and
presented to the lawyers by the
Chicago Rabbinical Council. The
manual staites that Jewish law
requires a religious divorce when
ever a Jewish man and woman
have lived together as husband
and wife and then wish to sever
their marital status, whether the
couple is religiously observant or
not. In connection with the dis
tribution of the manual, it was
painted out that the State of
Israel has refused to accept as
valid any Jewish divorce not
written by the rabbinic authori
ties.
the Israeli group will stay for
several additional days.
The departure from Bergstrom
AFB included a farewell recep
tion at the Officers Club by
members of the Jewish com
munity and local dignitaries.
Also present were many Jewish
students from the University of
Texas and Jewish personnel as
signed to the press.
The joint statement issued by
President Johnson and Prime
Minister Eshkol described in
non-specific terms their meet
ings on Sunday evening and
much of Monday. After an
elaborate Sunday evening din
ner, their discussions began in
earnest and continued until
midnight. They then resumed
discussions about 9:15 Monday
morning and continued until the
Israeli group’s departure from
the ranch.
The glazing condition of the
roads necessitated the cancella
tion of the President’s plans to
bid farewell to the Eshkols at
the airbase.
The statement said that the
President and the Prime Min
ister “discussed recent develop
ments in the Middle East as well
as a number of questions of
mutual interest in the bilateral
relations between their two
countries.”
Their meetings, the statement
said, considered the implications
of “the pace of re-armament
in the Middle East and the ways
and means of coping with this
situation.”
The President agreed to keep
Israel’s military defense capa
bility under “active and sympa
thetic examination and review
in the light of all relevant
factors, including the shipment
of military equipment by others
to the area.”
The two leaders noted that the
five principles sent forth by
President Johnson last June 19
constituted an equitable basis
for such a settlement.
They noted with satisfaction
that Ambassador G u n n a r
,tose Ties
Jarring is already engaged in
discussions with the govern
ments of the Middle East na
tions, and they affirmed their
full support of his mission.
The President and the Prime
Minister, according to their
mutual press release, reviewed
with pleasure developments in
the relations between their two
countries since they last met in
1964 and expressed »their firm
intention “to continue the tra
ditional close, friendly, and co
operative ties which link the
peoples of Israel and the United
States.”
In the conclusion of their
statement, they noted the dedi
cation of their governments to
“the value of peace, resistance to
agression wherever it occurs, in
dividual freedom, human dig
nity, and the advancement of
man through elimination of
poverty, ignorance and disease.”
President Johnson and Prime
Minister Eshkol declared their
firm determination to make
every effort to increase the
broad area of understanding
which already exists between
Israel and the United States, and
agreed that the Prime Minister’s
visit advanced this objective.
USA May Alter
Stand on Arms
LONDON (JTA)— The United
States will supply additional wea
pons to Israel X a survey of So
viet arms shipments to the Mid
dle East, to begin this month, in
dicates that the balance of mil
itary power is tilting toward the
Arab world, the Evening Stand
ard’s Washington correspondent,
Jeremy Campbell, reported. Mr.
Campbell said t the study was
ordered in wake at reports that
Russian pilots are flying MIG 21
fighters and medium-range jet
bombers over Egypt and Syria.
“While the United Staites is no*
convinced that Arab arms have
enough military muscle to begin
another Mideast war tomorrow,
officials admit that the approach
ing review of the arms situation
may change their minds,”. Mr.
Campbell repored.
French Newspaper Reports
Sore Plight of Syrian Jews
Heart Transplant
Patients Jewish
CAPETOWN. South Africa
(JTA) — The second patient to
undergo a heart transplant
operation here is a Jewish den
tist, 58 year-old Dr. Philip Blai-
berg, whose 19 year-old daugh
ter, Jill, is renortedlv working
as a volunteer in an Israeli Kib
butz. Dr. Blaiberg served as a
Captain in the South African
Medical Corps during World
War II. One of the dentist’s pa
tients at the training camp was
the late Louis Washkansky, also
a Jew and the first human heart
transplant patient in medical
history. Washkansky died here
of pneumonia 18 days after the
operation which, in itself, was
a success.
PARIS (JTA) — First-hand
reports of the desperate plight
of Jews in Syria who are afraid
to leave their homes, and of
daily beatings, torture and sex
ual degradation of Jews im
prisoned in Egypt, have been
published here. The conditions
that Jews endure in Syria",
whence they are forbidden ,to
emigrate, were described in a
letter published in Le Monde,
which detailed official repres
sions and persecutions remini-
cent of those suffered by Jews
in Nazi Germany in the 1930’s.
Syrian Jews, the writer said,
are forbidden to travel more
than three miles from their
homes and must carry special
identity cards stamped with the
word “Jew.” They have been
summarily dismissed from jobs,
cannot dispose of their assets,
and are confronted by a Govern
ment-imposed boycott of Jewish
shops by state employees and
-military personnel.
Their situation is aggravated
by the fact that Syrian Jews
generally live in the same neigh
borhoods as Arab refugees. The
worst conditions, the letter said,
are in the border town of
Kamechli, where Jews are afraid
to leave their homes. Assets be
longing to Jews abroad have
been confiscated.
A tale of horrors suffered by
the Jewish inmates of Axouz-
abel Prison, in Egypt, was told
in a nine-page article in the ,
weekly Express, by a former in
mate who remains anonymous so
as not to further jeopardize the
prisoners who remain. The Chief
Rabbi of Alexandria, he wrote,
received especially severe treat
ment, being trussed up on cell
bars in the manner of a cruci
fixion.
As many as 70 prisoners are
packed into cells meant to hold
no more than 30, the writer re
ported. Jews are subjected to
almost daily beatings and there
were several cases of torture
and forced sodomy, he claimed.
There were 350 Jews imprisoned
last June, the article stated, and
200 still remain. The others
were expelled from the country
after being forced to renounce
their Egyptian nationality and
leave all of their property and
assets behind.