Newspaper Page Text
Vol. XLIII
The Southern Israelite
A Weekly Newspaper for Southern Jewry - Established
Atlanta, Georgia, Friday, April 12, 1968 —' \ r ^
Mi' ° ■
Jews Throughv ^
Mourn Martyre ^r. King
No. 15
“EVERYTHING’S going to be all right,” the Jewish agency man
assures a young immigrant. We in the United States will make the
same promise to hall a million unabsorbed newcomers to Israel
when we give to our Jewish Welfare Federation’s 1968 regular and
emergency fund campaigns.
NEW YORK (JTA) — Thous
ands of American Jews partici
pated in synagogue and interfaith
services and other memorials for
the martyred Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. and joined in a mem
orial march in Memphis and his
funeral services in Atlanta.
Expressions of shock and sor
row over the murder of the civil
rights leader and of hope that his
assassination would spur new ef
forts in legislation and citizen ac
tion to remedy the plight of the
Negro downtrodden were con
tained in numerous messages
from Jewish organizations.
A number of Jewish meetings
added special sessions in Dr.
King’s memory. More than 300
leaders of the nation’s 25 major
American Jewish organizations
attending the opening of the two-
Passover Observance Assured
For Area Military Personnel
Passover for Jewish military
personnel at military installations
in the area will include com
munity sedarim on the bases, in
adjacent communities, as well as
home hospitality. Plans have been
completed by the chaplains in
cooperation with JWB Armed
Services Committee and in. co
operation with the regional of
fice of the National Jewish Wel
fare Board in Atlanta.
Coordinating the efforts for the
Southern Region are Dr. Marvin
Goldstein of Atlanta, chairman
for the Third Army, and Norman
Megeff of San Antonio, chairman
for the Fourth Army area.
Some examples of Passover
events at military installations in
the Southern Region area follow.
At Parris Island, S.C., Chap
lain Adam Fisher reports there
will be a community Seder for
personnel at the Marine Corps
Recruit Depot, Marine Corps Air
Station, U.S. Naval Hospital and
for the Jewish civilian popula
tion in Beaufort.
At Ft. Campbell, Ky., Lt. Col.
Harold G. Weiss, Jewish lay
leader, says there will be a com
munity Seder on the Post. Col.
Weiss writes that the Seder will
be strictly Kosher and the menu
will consist of fresh foods — not
TV dinners as last year . . .
“This Seder will be a real family
Seder, not a military one. The
Army and the Post Chaplain are
assisting us in every way possi
ble.” The JWB Armed Services
Committee at the Nashville Jew
ish Community Center is actively
working with Fort Campbell. Dr.
Milton Mintz is chairman.
Rabbi Morris B. Chapman in
St. Petersburg, writes that pa
tients and members of the VA
Center at Bay Pines will be
guests at Congregational Seders
in private homes in St. Peters
burg and in Gulfport. Rabbi
Chapman is auxiliary Chaplain,
in addition to his responsibilities
as Rabbi of Congregation B’nai
Israel.
At Ft. Bragg, N.C., a communi
ty Seder is again planned this
Panel For Problems
LONDON (JTA) — Dr. Im
manuel Jacobovitz, Chief Rabbi,
of the British Commonwealth,
has named a panel of six British
rabbis as a special task force
within the Anglo-Jewish com-
rnunity to serve as a consulta
tive body -in the fields of edu
cation and religious problems.
year through the efforts of Joe
Barr and his co-workers in Fay
etteville. This has been a labor
of Rove for Mr. Barr for many,
many years ... At Fort Sam
Houston, Texas, a community
Seder is planned at Congregation
Rodfei Sholom in San Antonio
where, the meal will be pre
pared under the supervision of
Rabbi and Mrs. Abraham Jacob
son. Chaplain Harry Schreiner’s
bulletin also lists over 34 Pass-
over items available in the Post
Commissary for week-long ob
servance . . . Chaplain Mark
Goldman writes from Fort Hood,
Texas, that there will be a spe
cial Passover Dining Hall
throughout Passover week for
Jewish servicemen and women,
as well as the traditional Se
darim . . .
The Ft. Benning, Ga., Jewish
Center Passover Bulletin includes
a special “Seder Supplement”
prepared by Chaplain »Jonas
Goldberg. Passover Sedarim are
planned for Friday and Saturday
evenings. A Passover Brunch
will be held on Saturday morn
ing at the Atlanta Jewish Com
munity Center for servicemen in
the city. Home hospitality is also
available.
Passover for Jewish military
personnel throughout the world
will, range from group Seders for
men able to come together; jn
large numbers to "Solo Seders”
at isolated outposts and in Viet
Nam. As every year, JWB has
sent supplies to ove^ 600 over
seas and domestic military in
stallations and to VA Hospitals
and other Federal facilities for
veterans ... In Viet Nam, large
Seders will be conducted at Da
Nang, Nha Trang and Saigon . . .
J W B ’ s Women’s Organization
Services shipped more “Solo Se
ders” this year than at any time
since World War II. The partici
pation of B’nai B’rith and B’nai
B’rith Women in this program
made it possible to meet the in
creased demand for Solo Seders.
Peace Corps personnel will also
have the “Solo Seders.”
A GTs 'Solo Seder'
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day biennial meeting of the
American Jewish Conference for
Soviet Jewry here paid tribute to
Dr. King’s memory and achieve
ments at the start of the meet
ing. Rabbi Israel Miller, confer
ence chairman, called Dr. King
“a spokesman for the finest
values of out nation, and indeed
for ail humanity.” Dr. King’s his
toric speech on the sufferings of
Soviet Jewry, delivered on a na
tion-wide hook-up during Han-
uka in December, 1966, was re
played at the memorial program.
A resolution voicing “sorrow
and pledging rededication to the
goals for which Dr. King died,
was adopted unanimously by
members of B’nai Zion attending
the annual bill of rights confer
ence of the fraternal order here.
Norman G. Levine, conference
chairman, announced that B’nah
Zion would plant a grove of 1,000
trees in the Kennedy Freedom
Forest in Jerusalem, bearing Dr.
King’s name.
The American Jewish Commit
tee said that several of its of
ficers, led by Bertram H. Gold,
executive director, joined the
march in Memphis and that its
president, Morris B. Abram,
would attend the funeral services.
William Stem, administrative di
rector of the Workmen’s Circle
headed a delegation of leaders to
the march and funeral and Eman
uel Muravchik, executive director
of the Jewish Labor Committee,
led a similar delegation.
Special services were held in
synagogues in memory of Dr.
King. Rabbi Martin S. Halpem,
president of the Washington
Board of Rabbis, and a co-chair
man of the Interreligious Com
mittee on Race Relations, parti
cipated in religious services in
Washington, attended by Presi
dent Johnson In Atlanta, a per
sonal message to Mrs. King from
President Shazar of Israel was
conveyed by Israeli Consul Gen
eral Zeev Boneh. Mr. Shazar 1 s
message said “the hearts of the
people of Israel are with you in
mourning the incredibly tragic
loss of Martin Luther King, great
and noble leader of his own bro
thers and all seekers for peace
and justice.”
Dr. Maurice Eieendrath, presi
dent of the Union of American
Hebrew Congregations, told the
annual meeting of the New York
Federation of Reform Synagogues
that Congress should, “without
further delay, enact the sorely
needed civil rights bill, and enact
effective legislation far employ
ment, education, housing and
welfare.” He urged that Dr.
King’s plan tor a “poor people’s
March” in Washington this month
“should be pursued more vigor
ously than ever” under moderate
Negro leadership and should be
supported “by all men of good
will”
Nightmare, Dream of Peace
Vie for Upper Hand in Atlanta
NTs M fet-
By ADOLPH ROSENBERG
Atlantans last week moved into
a trauma of emotion and national
attention through the assassina
tion of Rev. Martin Luther King
Jr.
The experience reached un
heard of proportions until the
name and the man and the cause
and the sequela of the death
became a sacred cow which at
one time left thousands cower
ing at home, wondering, fearing,
victims of gossiping and rumor
mongering, almost willing re
cipients of the grapes of fear.
There was a vast genuineness
of regard now for the cause of
the down-trodden and some of
the specifics which offended
many fellow fighters for free
dom now seemed insignificant
details.
The death of King had so many
aspects it was impossible to
separate indignation over the un-
American act of sniper slaying
in the streets from the cause of
civil rights for which he stood.
Many in Atlanta felt a natural
revulsion to the spectacle-like
occasion the national interest of
both politics and friends seemed
to focus upon the impending
funeral.
Arthur Goldberg, the U.S.
representative at the United Na
tions, and Senator Jacob Javits
were perhaps the two highest
national Jewish figures on the
scene. Much in evidence was the
Jewish convert, Sammy Davis
Jr., whose combination of new
faith and color seemed a syn
thesis of appropriateness and
strangely the admixture the me
lange of events represented.
Between the genuine sorrow
and shock over the slaying and
the indescribable conditions that
followed, there were countless
services at Jewish institutions.
The Hebrew Academy in At
lanta had an extemporaneous
program honoring King. The sub
ject became the sole topic for
public school discussion, for pri
vate family talk.
An unreality filled the air, an
atmosphere of fear and appre
hension among residents and
businessmen of Atlanta who won
dered if their $4y would .be next.
And when.
The rumor mills took over and
Jewish residents aided and
abetted until it seemed a fact,
that the black community was
only waiting for the funeral to
be consummated and then the
trouble would begin.
It was known that the rabble-
rousing Stokely Carmichael was
in town. And dozens of the
Black Power corps of trouble
makers.
Businesses would get threaten
ing calls saying that unless they
closed the day of the funeral
their places would be burned
down. It was never known if
these were teen-age pranksters,
or the'real racial gangsters.
This writer was reminded that
it must have been like this the
year of 1914 when the Leo Frank
posse moved into Atlanta and
Jewish people hid and wondered
what would happen.
The writer was in Israel the
days before the Six-Day War
and a nation faced with exter
mination publicly declared by
maniacal enemies did not gener
ate such indecisiveness and latent
panic.
Only, it was pointed out, the
Israelis knew the enemy was
beyond the border and they were
prepared to fight back.
In Atlanta, it was not known
if the Carmichael-Rap Brown
philosophy of burn, baby burn
would take over after the funeral
and because this was Atlanta the
city be consumed in a frenzy of
revenge.
Nor was it known where it
might start, though the rumor
mill furnished many likely spots.
The fear mill in the end had
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