Newspaper Page Text
The Southern Israelite
A Weekly Newspaper for Southern Jewry — Established 1925
Vol. XLIV Atlanta, Georgia, Friday, February 28, 1969
Rachamin Faces Stiff World Jewry Mourns
Sentence as Agent Death Of Levi Eshkol
ZURICH (JTA) — Attention
here focused on the fate of Mor-
dechai Rachamim, 22, Iraqi-born
former Israeli paratrooper who
killed one of four Arab terror
ists in last Tuesday’s attack on
an El A1 Boeing 720B jet at Zur
ich’s Kloten Airport which in
jured a jiilot. He reportedly ad
mitted to Zurich District Attor
ney Dr. Jurg Rohberg that he
was a member of Israeli security
forces and said that he had fired
in defense of the plane, its pas
sengers and crew. Legal experts
said that under Israeli or Anglo-
Saxon law he would be acquitted
automatically on grounds of self-
defense, but under Swiss law, he
faces charges of either homicide
or manslaughter and a possible
maximum sentence of 20 years in
prison unless the judge decides
that there were extenuating cir
cumstances in his favor.
The three surviving Arab ter
rorists also face long prison
TEL AVIV (JTA)—El A1 Israel
National Airlines declared that
despite the attack on one of its
planes at Zurich the line will
maintain all regular services as
scheduled. Mordechai Ben-Ari,
the El A1 director-general, ex
pressed gratification that all the
passengers on the attacked plane
had decided to continue their
Joseph Schwartzman, 65, re
tired cantor for Ahavath Achim
Congregation, died Tuesday, Feb.
25.
Rabbi Harry Epstein and Can
tor Isaac Goodfriend conducted
the funeral Thursday, Feb. 27,
at Ahavath Achim Synagogue.
Interment was in Greenwood
Cemetery.
Cantor Schwartzman was a
native of Russia and came to
America as a youngster with his
parents. He became a cantor at
17 and studied under some of the
top cantors in the world. He was
identified with the Beth Ham-
idrash Hagodol in Pittsburgh,
before coming to Atlanta. He was
a member of the Cantors Assem
bly of America.
He had been with the Atlanta
congregation for a quarter of a
century, assisting in the weekly
and High Holy Day celebrations
and services.
One of his main assignments
was the training of the noted
Ahavath Achim all-male choir.
It was during his office that the
choir changed its tune, so to
speak, and became a mixed group
of singers.
His was the voice, along with
the persiding spiritual leader,
which made notable and mean
ingful the simehas and the sor
rows of the congregation — the
weddings, the funerals and all the
other functions held officially and
unofficially by Ahavath Achim
members.
He was honored by ihe con
gregation with a special testi
monial occasion when the time
came for him to step down from
the active musical leadership.
He had not of course been in
active since that time. He was
invited to preside as cantor at
Adas Yeshurun Congregation in
Augusta for the High Holy Days,
returning upon special invitation.
Cantor Schwartzman was pre
sent Monday night at the Can-
terms if convicted. It was ex
pected that they will be charged,
among other things, with at
tempted murder, inflicting bodily
injury, willful destruction of
property, use of explosives for
illegal purposes and disrupting
air traffic. Swiss police were re
portedly searching for three otljer
Arabs believed to have been ac
complices of the four who car
ried out the attack.
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Many
housewives brought bouquets of
flowers Sunday to the employees
of Supersol, Israel’s largest su
permarket, but the bright spring
journey to Israel by El A1 and
not to transfer to another line.
A direct New York-Lydda flight
was diverted to Zurich to pick
up the passengers and crew of
the disabled airliner. It brought
them into Lydda. A 12-man El
A1 technical crew left for Zurich
to examine the damaged airliner
Continued on page 4
tors Assembly concert which
brought some of the top haz-
zunic voices in the country to
Atalnta, raising his profession to
a new height of appreciation and
popularity.
Cantor Schwartzman is sur
vived by his widow, Mrs. Eunice
Schwartzman; daughters, Mrs.
Davis Odrezin and Mrs. Sam Ra-
disky, both of Savannah, and
Mrs. Eric Lipson of Macon; a
sister Mrs. Rose Kligman of
Long Branch, N. J., a brother,
Hyman Schwartzman of Russia
and several grandchildren.
The Purim “Adloyada,” jointly
sponsored by Hashahar (former
ly Young Judaea) and the Atlan
ta Jewish Community Center,
will begin with a parade at 2:30
p. m. Sunday, Mar. 2, from the
Jewish Home.
Floats are being readied by a
number of local groups. Students
at the Hebrew Academy, the He
brew Institute, Ahavath Achim,
and Beth Jacob, as well as Ha-
dassah, are among those planning
to compete for the “most beau
tiful float” prize. In addition,
prizes will be awarded to indi
viduals who show originality and
imagination in their costumes.
After the parade, two short
plays will be presented at the
AJCC by the Hashahar young
sters under the direction of Beryl
Goldberg. The cast for “The
Trial of Miss Purim” will in
clude Harvey Cohen, Ester Roek-
straub, Elise Goldwassdr, Sharon
Kinsler, Debbie Steinberg, Candy
Haskins, Deborah Pruce and Lisa
Busch. Sheryl MBsJia will be the
JERUSALEM — Israelis Wed
nesday were stunned by news of
the sudden death of Prime Min
ister Levi Eshkol. He was 73
years old.
His passing plunged the Jew
ish State into mourning for a
dedicated and inspired public
servant as well as into a whirl
of speculation over his immed
iate successor.
It was revealed that the Prime
colors could not overcome the
evidence of grisly destruction
wrought by a terrorist bomb last
Friday.
The two victims of the Supersol
bombing, Leon Kaner, 21, of Net-
anya, and Edward Jaffe, 22, or
Kiron, a Tel Aviv suburb, were
buried Sunday side-by-side as
thousands stood by. They were
friends, roommates and students
together at Hebrew University.
They had been buying canned
food for a botanical field trip
when they were blown to bits.
The supermarket, re-opened for
business Sunday and was throng
ed, mostly by Israelis who want
ed to view the damage to the
rear of the store, which is part
of a chain in several municipali
ties. Nine persons were injured
in the blast—the eighth terror
ist bombing since the 1967 war.
All told 15 persons have died
and 151 have been injured in
Jerusalem and Tel Aviv bomb
ings.
About 150 persons, mostly
women and children, were in the
store doing their pre-Sabbath
shopping—at 11 a. m., one of the
peak shopping hours—when the
explosion sent goods flying and
broke glass. They ran screaming
into the streets. Polioe said that
the explosives consisted of “pri-
mative gelignite charges” placed
in coffee cans on a shelf among
oil cans.
About 15 minutes after the
store had been cleared, a second
somewhat smaller bomb was
found and de-fused. A third one
was found in front of the Bri-
narrator.
Appearing in “The Last Penny”
will be Harvey Cohen, Debbie
Greenfeld, Mario Gresges, Anita
Birnbrey, Larry Hecht, Lynn
Kraus, Jeff Green and Marcia
Minister had suffered a heart at
tack on February 3, a fact which
was not announced to the pub
lic in view of the -seriousness of
the tension in this part of the
globe.
His physicians however had
reported the Prime Minister had
recovered from the initial at
tack.
His death was recorded at
8:15 a. m. Israeli time, or 1:15
tish Consulate in East Jerusalem
and detonated in a field. The
explosion recalled the dynamit
ing of the Mahane Yehuda mar
ketplace in Jerusalem last No
vember which killed 12 persons
and wounded 55. After that in
cident, angry young roving Is
raelis beat up Arabs. To head off
incidents Friday, police escorted
Arabs in West Jerusalem to their
homes and moved into East Jer
usalem to forestall rioting.
In Amman, the Popular Front
for the Liberation of Palestine, a
guerrilla organization, claimed
credit for the bombing as it did
for last Tuesday’s terrorist sub-
machinegun attack on an El A1
jetliner in Zurich. Israel held its
anger in check and took no re
prisal action for the incidents.
But Gideon Raphael director-gen
eral of the Foreign Ministry,
raised the possibility of retalia
tion after the Supersol incident.
Asserting that the Palestinian
guerrilla groups have “extended
themselves from Zurich to Jeru
salem, from Athens to Gaza ,”he
said, “they should know that this
country’s arm is not short
either.” Excluding Syria, he said
Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and
Iraq were responsible for these
“irregular forces.”
Police rounded up more than
150 Arabs immediately after the
explosion and many were still
being questioned. A call for
strikes in Jerusalem by Jordan
ian press and radio failed to ma
terialize in the city. There was
a small response to it on the West
Bank.
Sternberg. Lisa Little will serve
as narrator.
Further information on the
programs can be obtained by
calling Amnon Engelberg at 875-
7881,
a. m. Eastern Standard Time.
Later during the day, a state
of national mourning was de
clared and Deputy Prime Min
ister Yigall Allon took over the
reigns of the top government
post during the interim of the
“shiva,” or seven days. At the
conclusion of this time, it is ex
pected that President Shazar will
request a member of the Knesset,
to form a government and serve
until the next general elections
in the fall
There has been of course great
speculation tor the last twenty
months over whether the popular
military ftgure Moshe Dayan
would eventually succeed to the
Prime Minister’s post. There was
great political interest in this pos
sibility immediately after the Six
Day War, but as matters settled
down and the facts of the con
flict became more and more ap
parent, it was acknowledged that
the Eshkol administration had
done an altogether superior and
superlative job and that Dayan’s
presence in the cabinet had been
of greater Importance from a mo
rale standpoint than from the
imperatives of necessity.
A considerable interplay within
the labor party however to ex
pected to get underway over who
should lead the government after
the period of mourning and even
tually of course after the elec
tions themselves.
Meanwhile, the period of
mourning Is expected to urate
the festive spirit of the observ
ance of Purim in Israel
The state funeral tor Hshkol
is expected to be hold Friday
morning on Mt. Herzl, interment
spot for the immortals who have
brought the Jewish State to its
current state of existence. Herzl,
the father of modem Zionism,
and Weizmann, the first presi
dent.
Representatives of many for
eign governments will be on
hand for the funeral.
The Interim Prime Minister
Allon holds the post of Minister
of Immigration and Immigrant
Absorption in the cabinet.
TESTAMENT TO
WORLD JEWRY
Levi Eshkol’s last testament to
the Jewish people of the United
States and the free world was
given in his meetings witfi
United Jewish Appeal fact-find
ing missions on December 18,
1968, and January 29, 1969 in
Jerusalem.
The Prime Minister said, “Our
chief joy and care as well must
be devoted to Jerusalem, our
eternal capital. The development
and the peopling of Jerusalem
are targets of the first impor
tance for the people and the State
of Israel and for the govern
ment. The development of Israel
depends to a great extent on Im
migration. That, of course, is the
decisive factor for all our fu
tures. In fnct, it may be said that
everything, including security,
depends on it. All our efforts
should be dedicated to increasing
immigration and we must not rest
on our laurels. In the past year,
and especeially in recent months,
there has been an improvement in
this respect
“Side by side with immigration,
I would draw attention to set
tlement of he land, in various
forms, in various areas. A great
effort and a great challenge await
our youth who are growing up
tn Israel. But in order to step
up the momentum, we need
closer ties between the State of
Israel and the Jewish people
everywhere. We are in danger of
having it said of us that this gen-
Continued on page 4
El Al Maintains Steady
Schedules to Lydda
Retired Cantor Schwartzman
Dies at Age 65
Jerusalem Supersol Re-opens,
2 Bombing Victims Buried
Fraylech Adloyada, Purim
Looms for Atlanta Youth
After the pa
rade of floats
or Adloyada
the youth
will gather al
the AJCC foi
a play, beinj
rehearsed ii
the photo ai
right under di
reetion oi
Beryl Goldberg