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The Southern Israelite A Weekly Newspaper for Southern Jewry - EstablisheH^oufo Vol. XLIII Atlanta, Georgia, Friday, December 13, 1968 For Youth and Hanuka Israeli Torches Will Spark Birmingham, Atlanta Rallies Eban, On Nj No. 5» an ton x eace Position A lighted torch on an airplane? Well, Israelis have ways and means and if they have decided this needs to be done, somehow the specifics will be worked out. How, we can only conjecture at this moment. At any rate, those are the plans. A torch lighted in Israel at Modi’in, site of the Maccabean struggle is being flown to the United States. At Kennedy Airfield in New York, the torch will be removed from the aircraft and taken to the airport synagogue. There at a special ceremony it will be turned over by representatives of Israel’s Young Maecabi move ment to members of Masada, the youth movement of the Zionist Organization of America. The Israeli torch in turn will light seven other Israeli torches which will be sent to separate sections of the country. One will be flown to Birmingham for the Youth Torch Relay, which has already become a tradition in that community. Another torch will come to At lanta for innovating a Hanuka relay in which representatives of all youth movements in the city will participate. The Torch Relay will actually start at Beth Jacob Synagogue, proceeding to Shearith Israel, Anshi S’Fard and Or VeShalom Synagogues, then to the Ahavath Aohim Synagogue, Temple Sinai and thence to the Peachtree Tem ple and the Jewish Community Center where a massive youth rally will culminate the Hanuka observance. Runners along the way will hold high the torch, transporting it symbolically from specific spots along the way signifying the on-going continuity of the Maccabean spirit in Judaism. Amnon Engleberg of the AJCC staff, himself an interne center worker from Israel, is coordinat ing the relay program. Four Sifrei Torah Arrive For Vandalized Synagogues NEW YORK (JTA)—Four Si frei Torah donated by the Is rael Government to two New York synagogues that were van dalized and burned recently were presented to the rabbis of the Congregations in an informal ceremony at the Israel Consulate this week. Receiving them were Rabbi Meilech Silber of the Yeshiva of Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, which was severely damaged by fire Nov. 27 and Rabbi Isaac Liebes to Congregation Toirei Zonov in the Bronx, which was destroyed by a fire earlier. The presentation was made by Consul General Rehaveam Amir and Consul Zvi Caspi in the pres ence of three City Hall officials representing Mayor John V. Lindsay, who is on vacation. Mr. Caspi said that the Torahs will be formally installed in their respective congregations at a date to be set when the damage is repaired. He said the Israel Gov ernment would be represented. The Torahs were property of the Ministry of Religious Affairs in Jerusalem. They are among the 1,000 Sifrei Torah that the Min istry has been collecting all over Europe. They belonged to Jewish communities that no longer exist. The Torahs donated to the New York congregations origi nated in Romania. Mr. Caspi said they were very old but would not venture a guess about their age. Mayor Lindsay took the initiative to help the vandalized synagogues replace their destroy ed sacred scrolls. After inspect ing the gutted premises he phoned Consul General Amir to ask for help. Bronx District Attorney Bur ton B. Roberts told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that he has learned from a fire marshal that three fires occurred in Jewish schools and synagogues in his borough between June 1 and Dec. 2, 1968 that were of suspic ious origin. He said that in the same period, six fires were re ported in religious institutions in Brooklyn—two of them Jewish— and the others in churches of various denominations. He said not all were suspicious. Mr. Rob erts would not give the names or addresses of the synagogues where fires had occurred, but he stressed that all of the informa tion available to him indicated that there was no “conspirator ial pattern” behind the blazes. He attributed fires under suspic ion to “juvenile exhibitionists” Snain To Dedicate New Synagogue; First In 456 Years MADRID (JTA) — Plans are being made here for the Dec. 16 dedication of a new synagogue —the first since the Jews were expelled in 1492. It was de signed by a Spanish architect and is rectangular in shape. The synagogue’s first stone was laid and construction be gun last March. It will have room for 550 worshippers. There are two sy nagogues in Barcelona, one Ashkenazic and the other Sep hardic. or “psychoties.” Rabbi Bernard Goldenberg, di rector of school organizations and professional services of Torah Umesorah, the National Society for Hebrew Day Schools, inform ed JTA of measures being taken to protect Jewish schools against fires and vandalism. He said Fire Commissioner Robert Lowery was given a list of all affiliated schools and promised that Fire Department representatives will visit them and alert the princi pals to spot suspicious persons or packages on the premises. He said Torah Umesorah has also urged all day schools in the city keep lights burning through the night and to organize parent patrols to watch for vandals. He said that through Mayor Lind say’s office his organization was trying to get city agencies to help yeshivas relocate some of their students until damaged class rooms can be repaired. The American Jewish Congress gave emergency $500 grants to the Yeshiva of Eastern Parkway and Yeshiva Sharei Zedek of Coney Island, also hit by fire,” to en able education to proceed.” JERUSALEM (JTA) — Presi dent-elect Richard M. Nixon’s personal fact-finding envoy to the Middle East, William W. Scranton, conferred for two hours with Foreign Minister Abba Eban and was later received by Prime Minister Levi Eshkol. Mr. Scan- ton also reportedly intended to talk to Palestianian Arab leaders whom he was to see at the United States Consulate here. No details of the conversations were released. A Foreign Minis try spokesman, David Rivlin, told reporters that Mr. Scran ton had conveyed to Mr. Eban the wish of Mr. Nixon to study the problems of the area and Is rael’s view of them. Mr. Eban gave a detailed account of Israel’s position, emphasizing its insis tence on a lasting peace reached through an agreement with her neighbors which would also es tablish secure boundaries. He re portedly believes that the prin ciples of American policy will not change. But Mr. Scranton reportedly did not explain the statement he made in several Arab capitals during his current tour of the Middle East — and repeated to newsmen at the Allenby Bridge —that the U. S. “will pursue a more even-handed policy” in the Middle Blast when the Nixon Ad ministration takes office next month. Trade With Britain Shows Big Spurt LONDON (JTA) — Trade be tween Britain and Israel in creased substantially during the first nine months of 1968 com pared to the corresponding per iod of 1967. During the period that ended last Sept. 30, Britain exported $150,292,800 worth of goods and materials to Israel and imported $83,926,800 from that country. In 1967, exports and imports amounted to $92,020,000 and $65,116,800 respectively. The former Governor of Penn sylvania said the U. S. would show no favoritism in the futiuk toward any nation because “K had to consider the feelings dl all nations in the Middle East and not favor one over the other.” In reply to a reporter’s question, he said he did not think the U. S. was showing favoritism at present. Mr. Scranton report edly told Mr. Eban that his duty was to report to the President elect and he was bound to study problems from their grass-rooto without being affected by past policy. Mr. Scanrton entered Israel via the Allenby Bridge which he crossed on foot owning to the ban on Vehicular traffic from Jordan to the West Bank. Be had conferred in Amman with King Hussein and other Jordan ian officials. Later he met with Egyptian President Abdel Gama) Nasser in Cairo. He also visited Iran, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. Israel was the last country on his Middle East itinerary. Rabbi Rackman Heads JA Advisory Group NEW YORK (JTA) — Rabbi Emanuel Rackman, a member of the executive of the Jewish Agency for Israel, has been ap pointed chairman of the newly- organized national advisory com mittee of the Jewish Agency’s department of education and cul ture. Dr. Rackman, who is as sistant to the president of Yesh iva University and rabbi of the Fifth Avenue Synagogue here, will head a committee of Jew ish educators, academicians and laymen who will plan and re view regularly the program and activities of the department, which is headed by Dr. Abra ham P. Gannes. Rabbi Rackman is also a member of the J*TA board of directors. Scores U.S. Laxity— Congressman Urges Israel Be Admitted To NATO NEW YORK (WUP) — Con gressman Jonathan B. Bingham (D.-N.Y.) has urged that the U.S. sponsor Israel’s membership in HANUKA — 1968 Tampa Leaders Plan Israel Trip For UJA At least seven residents of the Tampa area will participate in “Operation Israel”a series of special one-week finding flights to Israel, being organized by the United Jewish Appeal in Decem ber and January. Representing the Jewish Wel fare Federation of Tampa will be the following: Charles Adler, Dr. Philip Ad ler, Peter Druban, Dr. Bernard Hoehberg, Leslie Scharf, Dr. Al len Sheer, Rabbi Frank Sund- heim. Operation Israel will consist of seven flights, involving one thou sand lay leaders. The Tampa delegation will be on the one- week flight starting January 12. The members of each Opera tion Israel flight face a tight schedule of visits to key troubled areas on Israel’s borders. Thor ough briefings, meetings with the Israeli Government and Jewish Agency leaders, in addition to inspectors of the Immigrant Ab sorption, Housing, Educat ion, Health and Welfare Programs are made possible by funds raised by the United Jewish Appeal. NATO as a “first step to a for malized treaty” between Wash ington and Jerusalem. In a letter published by the New York Times last week, Cong. Bingham stated that "It is high time that our commitment to the survival of Israel should be for malized in a treaty. The Cairo Declaration of 1950 is not clear enough,” he stated. "A first step would be for the United States to propose to our NATO allies the inclusion of Israel.” The Democratic Congressman recalled that “in 1952 Greece and Turkey, though not e x a e tlj ‘North Atlantic’ nations, were brought within the NATO shield," and then asked: “Are we any less concerned with Soviet ag gression — direct or indirect — against Israel than we are against Greece or Turkey?” “What is needed for stability in the Middle East is not greater doubt but greater certainty about the determination of the United States not to let Israel be de stroyed by the Soviet-Arab ag gression,” Bingham insisted. “Ever since my first visit »o Israel in 1952,” he said, “I have felt that the U.S. commitment to Israel was not clear enough to persuade the Arabs to give up their dream of driving Israel into the Sea. Now that the Soviet* have come in actively on their side, the Arab have evea leas reason to give up hope.