Newspaper Page Text
The Southern Israelite
A Weekly Newspaper for Southern Jewry - Established 1925
Vol. XLIII
Atlanta, Georgia, July 5, 1968
Moscow Rabbi
Ends U.S. Tour
Amid Secrecy
NEW YORK (JTA) — Rabbi
Yehuda Leib Levin of Moscow
a(nd Cantor David Stiskan of
Leningrad were scheduled to
end their two-week visit to the
United States this week.
But the hour and place of
their departure were kept a
closely guarded secret in iprder
to avoid possible demonstrations,
according to Gottfried Neubur-
ger of the Friends of Jerusalem,
the organization that has been
managing the latter part of Rab
bi Levin’s American tour. It was
believed, however, that the So
viet Jewish religious leader
would leave this country as he
entered it—by way of Canada
to board a Soviet airliner for
Moscow.
The Friends of Jerusalem is
the American counterpart of the
Netturei Karta, a sect of ultra-
Orthodox religious zealots who
live in Jerusalem but refuse to
recognize the authority of the
Israel Government. The group
took over Rabbi Levin’s itiner
ary from the anti-Zionist Amer
ican Council for Judaism which,
originally sponsored his trip.
No. 27
Abe Fortas First Jew Nan^ s ’JjsSft
For Chief of US Supreme C
WASHINGTON (JTA)— Abe
Fortas has been nominated to be
Chief Justice of the United
States, to succeed Earl Warren
who resigned.
Mr. Fortas, 58, who was named
an Associate Justice in June,
1966, is the fifth Jew to serve
on the Supreme Court and the
first Jew in U. S. history to be
nominated as Chief Justice.
The Jews who preceded him
on the High Court were Louis D.
Brandeis, Benjamin Cardoza,
Felix Frankfurter and Arthur
J. Goldberg. Mr. Fortas was
named to fill the vacancy cre
ated when Mr. Goldberg resign
ed at the request of President
Johnson, to be U. S. Ambassador
to the United Nations. Mr. Gold
berg has become a partner in
the New York City law firm of
Pauls, Weiss Wharton & Gar
rison.
Mr. Fortas, who was a prom
inent Washington lawyer before
his Court appointment, told the
Jewish Telegraphic Agency at
the time that he considered him-
o**
^oO
Rabbinic Students to Serve
As Interns in City Slums
NEW YORK (JTA)—Arrange
ments have been completed for
a fifth Reform student rabbi to
live and work in the slum of a
major city this summer in the
second year of the Rabbinic In
ternship in Urban Affairs pro
gram, Rabbi Balfour Brickner
has reported.
The project, first under Jew
ish religious sponsorship, is a
program of the Commission on
Interfaith Activities of the
Union of American Hebrew
Congregations, the Central Con
ference of American Rabbis and
the Jewish Chautauqua Society,
the institutions of Reform Ju
daism. Rabbi Brickner is Com
mission director.
The five student rabbis and
the cities in whose ghettoes they
will live and work for 10 weeks,
Goldmann
Takes Chance
To Speak Out
TEL AVIV (JTA)—Dr. Nah
um Goldmann, who said that
one of his main reasons for de
clining re-election to another
term as president of the World
Zionist Organization was to be
free to speak his mind, exer
cised that freedom at a press
conference here.
The 74-year-old world Jewish
leader voiced some sharp crit
icism of Israeli foreign policy.
He also took a dim view of the
future of the Zionist movement
which he had headed until a
few days ago.
Dr. Goldmann urged the Israel
Government to state its propos
als for a peace settlement with
the Arabs now, even if that
meant wrecking the national
coalition Government that Prime
Minister Levi Eshkol put to
gether during the war crisis of
May, 1967.
He said that American diplo
mats with whom he was in
touch were getting “weary” of
Israel’s insistence that she would
reveal her peace plans only at
the negotiating table with the
Arabs.
starting July 1, are: Bruce Cohen
of Buffalo, in Newark; Roger
Klein of Cleveland, in St. Louis;
Roger Alpher of Baltimore in
Washington, D. C.; Stanley Ger-
stein of Los Angeles in Chicago;
and Lawrence Lauer of Cleve
land, in Milwaukee.
All five are students at the
Hebrew Union College-Jewish
Institute of Religion. Internships
are sponsored locally by local
Jewish com unity relations agen
cies or other groups. In Chicago,
the internships are being spon
sored by the UAHC Mitzvah,
Corps. The St. Louis Federation
of Reform Congregations is
sponsor in that city.
Neumann Named
Executive Head
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Dr. Em
anuel Neumann of New York
was unanimously elected chair
man of the American Section of
the Jewish Agency Executive at
a plenary meeting of the Execu
tive here.
Dr. Neumann, who heads the
World Union of General Zion
ists, will succeed Mrs. Rose L.
Halprin, of the World Confedera
tion of General Zionists, who did
not join the new Executive. Mrs.
Halprin’s seat has been given to
Mrs. Mortimer Jacobson, presi
dent of Hadassah.
self to be Jewish. He said this
is to clarify his conception of
his religious identity in view of
his lack of formal affiliation
with Jewish institutions or or
ganizations.
Although he was not formally
affiliated with any Jewish
group, he was a contributor to
the United Jewish Appeal in
Washington. He has appeared as
a speaker several times before
Jewish organizations since be
coming a Justice. He has consis
tently manifested a warm and
friendly attitude toward Israel.
A fight in the Senate over
confirmation of his nomination
was expected in view of the op
position of some Republican and
Democratic Senators to what
they regard as a "lame duck”
appointment by President John
son.
Sen. Robert P. Griffin, Mich
igan Republican, is leading a
Senate effort to block the con
firmation of Mr. Fortas. He said
he had 11 Senatorial signatures
supporting a move to prevent a
“lame duck” presidential life
time appointment. He said that
such an appointment should be
made by President Johnson’s
successor in January. Senate Re
publican leader Everett Dirksen
of Illinois supports the appoint
ment.
Mr. Fortas was bom in Mem
phis, Tenn., on June 19, 1909,
and was sent by his parents to
study first at Southwestern Uni
versity and later to Yale Uni
versity. He came to Washington
to work as an attorney in agen
cies of President Roosevelt’s
New Deal Administration. Mr.
Fortas, a close personal friend
of President Johnson, served
under Presidents Roosevelt and
Truman as Undersecretary of
the Interior. He was a member
of the President’s Committee on
Equal Opportunity in the Arm
ed Forces and was a member of
Eshkol Samples
Desalted Water,
Says It’s Not Bad
the National CitizV ..*ee
for Community Re\ „ns.
Mr. Fortas was awarded the
Stephen S. Wise Award of the
American Jewish Congress in
1966. He had been a member of
the national advisory committee
of the Congress’ Commission on
Law and Social Action. Last
April Mr. Fortas, who is known
for his liberal views, addressed
an American Jewish Committee
dinner honoring Gustave Levy,
chairman of the New York Stock
Exchange. At that time he said,
“Jews must join Negroes in their
struggle for more civil rights be
cause both minority groups are
trying to achieve the same
goals.”
He warned that Negro extre
mists are trying to turn the Ne
gro against the Jew. Mr. Fortas
appeared twice at B’nai B’rith
Anti-Defamation League annual
meetings. He is among those
who accepted invitations to at
tend an Israeli Embassy farewell
reception in Washington for
Minister Ephraim Evron. He
served as adviser to the U. S.
delegation to the United Na
tions in 1945. He was a profes
sor of law at Yale University.
,o Stop 'Leaks'
JERUSALEM (JTA)—The La
bor Party faction in the Knesset
took steps last week to plug the
“leak” that was the cause ct a
political controversy in Israel
the prior week. The group draft
ed a rule binding its members
to secrecy on any subject that its
chairman might classify as se
cret - i.
The move followed press pub
lication of off-the-record re
marks by Defense Minister
Moshe Dayan at a party caucus.
Gen. Dayan had reportedly urg
ed the Government to reject the
Security Council’s Nov. 32, 1967
Middle East resolution because,
as he interpreted it, the resolu
tion called for Israel’s uncon
ditional withdrawal to the boun
daries that existed before last
June’s Six-Day War.
The accuracy of the attribu
tion was not disputed in the de
bate that followed. But the Gov
ernment, obviously embarrassed,
issued a Cabinet statement Sun
day rejecting the alleged Dayan
intrepretation of the resolution
and re-stated its own which is
that the resolution provided a
basis for peace talks.
Eshkol, Dayan Warn Again
Another War May Break Out
TEL AVIV (JTA) — Prime
Minister Levi Eshkol drank a
glass of desalted water in the
Negev recently and said “it
isn’t bad.”
Mr. Eshkol was on a visit to
the Negev Research Institute in
Beersheba, a research center . . .. ^
sponsored by the Israel Govern- Arabs Well-1 Veated
ment with the assistance of
JERUSALEM (JTA)— Prime
Minister Levi Eshkol and De
fense Minister Moshe Dayan
have warned again that Israel
must prepare itself for the pos
sibility of another war with the
Arabs.
Gen. Dayan told the Israel
Labor Party central Committee
that “we have to buy weapons,
we have to prepare airfields—
and this will take much mon
ey.”
He added that “we have time,
territory and the power of rule.
We know the area—it is defined
but we do not know how much
time.” He emphasized that Israel
could not “escape from prepar
ing for a renewal of war against
us.”
Mr. Eshkol said that “Israel’s
prime desire remains peace but
the key is with Egypt, which
prevents peace with Jordan.”
He warned that Israel would re
sist all pressures until a peace
Tekoah Tells Thant
Bridges Damaged
Near Gaza Strip
TEL AVIV (JTA) — Three
small railroad bridges in the
northern sector of the Gaza
Strip were slightly damaged by
explosive charges that went off
during the night but were
quickly repaired and rail traf
fic is proceeding normally, a
military spokesman reported. A
search for the Arab saboteurs is
going on.
Two Arab saboteurs were kill
ed in a clash east of Jericho
when a gang of infiltrators was
intercepted by an Israeli patrol.
There were no Israeli casual
ties.
UNESCO (United Nations, Ed
ucational, Scientific and Cultu
ral Organization) to study* ways
to improve agriculture in Is
rael’s arid desert regions and to
make human life there more
comfortable. The institute is
marking its 10th anniversary.
Bananas Unloaded
After Strike Ends
BREMERHAVEN (JTA) — A
brief strike of crewmen aboard
the Israeli freighter Avocado-
core ended here following the in
tervention of three Israeli offic
ials. Nine crewmen who were the
strike leaders left the ship and
agreed to return to Israel “vol
untarily.” German longshore
men began unloading a cargo of
Central American bananas as
soon as the strike ended.
UNITED NATIONS, N. Y.
(JTA)— Israel’s Ambassador to
United Nations Yosef Tekoah
told Secretary-General U Thant
recently that Arabs in Israeli-
held territories were treated bet
ter than Jews in Arab states.
Tekoah conferred with Thant
at Tekoah’s request and reiter
ated Israel’s position that a spec
ial UN mission to investigate
the situation of civilians in the
occupied territories must also
look into the situation of Jews
in Egypt, Syria and Lebanon.
There is no Jordanian Jewish
community.
The Israeli told Thant, sources
said, that the Arabs in the oc
cupied territories were free to
talk with journalists and vis
itors, and can keep in contact
with the outside world, whereas
Jews in 'the Arab states were
kept isolated from the world. He
said that the human rights of
those Jews had been tragically
abused.
treaty with the Arabs was sign
ed. He declared that the United
States had shown friendship and
understanding for Israel, despite
differences of opinion over such
matters as the status of Jeru
salem.
Poles in London
Defend Regime
On Bias Charge
LONDON (JTA)— The Polish
Embassy here has launched a
major propaganda o f f e naive
intended to discredit charges
of anti- S e m i t i s m levelled
against the Warsaw regime
as a result of the ongoing purge
of Jews from Government and
Communist Party positions and
from jobs in the country’s com
munications media and cultural
institutions.
The Embassy brought over
two prominent Polish journal
ists, Jerzy Lobman, editor-in-
chief of the monthly magazine
Polish Review, and Marek Arc-
zynski, editor-in-chief of the
weekly, Swiatowid. Mr. Arczyn-
ski was once honored by the Is
raeli Government for aiding
Jews during World War II.
Meet to Review
Peace Picture
THE HAGUE (JTA)— Israel’s
Foreign Minister Abba Eban has
conferred with United Nations
special envoy to the Middle East,
Ambassador Gunnar V. Jarring,
here at Dr. Jarring’s request.
The UN envoy, vacationing
in Sweden, flew in from Stock
holm for the meeting. Mr. Eban
was here attending a conference
of Israeli ambassadors to Euro
pean capitals.
An Israel Embassy source said
that the conversations consisted
of a review of the Middle Eas
tern situation since the last
Eban-Jarring meeting May 12.
He said no new proposals were
conveyed to Mr. Eban.