Newspaper Page Text
The Southern Israelite
A Weekly Newspaper for Southern Jewry — Established 1925
Vol. XLIV
Atlanta, Georgia, Friday, May 23, 1969
No. 21
Atlanta Church Services
Reparations Team Interrupt
Atlanta’s First Presbyterian
Church last Sunday became the
first congregation in this area to
receive a confrontation from a
team representing the “national
black reparations” extremists.
The blackmail trio — two
Negroes in casual clothes and a
third in tribal costume — inter
rupted services at Rev. Harry A.
Fifield’s church and read a man
ifesto demanding one-sixth of
the institution’s income as a part
of the $50,000,000 reparations.
The minister halted his sermon
and asked the congregation to
be quiet while the trio stated
the purpose. The incident was
seen by a South-wide audience
since the services have been
broadcast since 1922 over {Station
WSB. A WSB-TV cameraman
was assaillted by a member of
the congregation when he sought
to photograph members leaving
services.
The three Negroes identified
themselves as members of the
Black Economic Council, based
in Detroit.
The statement, as read, was di
rected at white churches and
synagogues. J?
Leaders of the Jwvish com
munity wondered if any of the
synagogue services would be in
terrupted by the team at a later
date.
“This sounds like outtright
blackmail,” one Jewish leader
declared.
Major Breakth
In Franco -Isr
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Leading Councils Join to Hit
Black 'Reparations' Demands
PARIS (JTA) — A major
break-through in the frosty
Franco-Israel relations which ex
isted under former President
Charles de Gaulle is seen in the
announcement that Israelis will
attend the May 29 international
air show at Bourget airport in
Paris. *'
Air show officials said that an
invitation had been extended to
Defense Minister Moshe Dayan
and that an Israeli delegation
will attend, probably headed by
Gen. Zvi Tsur, special adviser to
the Defense Ministry.
Earlier this year, the French
Defense Ministry announced
France had decided against in
viting delegations from Mideast
countries. Political observers
here and in Jerusalem began
speculating on wnemei me m,*
tation might be a first step
toward a rapprochement which
might bring an end to the de
Gaulle embargo on 50 Mirage
jets which Israel has paid for
but which were barred by de
Gaulle from delivery. The an
nual air show is directed by the
Defense Ministry.
A demand that all candidates
for the French Presidency de
clare their position on that em
bargo was made this week by
Michel Poniatowsky, secretary
general of the independent Re
publican party, which is support
ing Gaullist candidate and form
er Premier Georges Pompidou.
Poniatowsky assailed the em
bargo in a speech at a celebra
tion of Israel’s 21st anniversary
NEW YORK (JTA)—The Syn
agogue Council of America and
the National Jewish Community
Realtions Advisory Council, rep
resenting a great majority of the
American Jewish community,
have issued a joint statement re
jecting the demand of the Na
tional Black Economic Develop
ment Conference for $500 mil
lion in reparations for “200 years
of slavery” and its threat to seize
churches and synagogues and
hold them in ransom.
The joint statement, issued
for the guidance of synagogues
and other communal institutions,
described the demands and the
tactics as objectionable on both
“moral and practical grounds.”
The statement was issued after
James Forman, leader of the
Negro organization, had disrupt
ed services at New York’s River
side Churoh to air his demands
and his followers had threatened
to disrupt services at Temple
Emanu-El in New York. (A
group of 10 black militants was
arrested in I,os Angeles for in
terrupting services in the First
Methodist Church there to voice
the demand for reparations.)
After a meeting with Catholic,
Protestant and Jewish clergymen,
Mayor John V. Lindsay offered
to send police to any church or
synagogue in the city which fear
ed a possible demonstration by
the militants.
The joint statement admitted
that religious and communal in
stitutions had not done all they
should for racial and economic
justice but declared that the rep
arations demand was not “the
answer to the inequities and in
justices of our society.” It stress
ed that “what is required is mas^
sive government action in the
areas of employment, housing,
education, health and welfare.”
The statement urged congre
gations and communal institutions
to “redouble their efforts” to ef
fect restoration of state and Fed
eral budget cuts in the areas of
employment, housing, education,
health and welfare and “indicate
their support of higher taxes, if
necessary, *hdequately to finance
these measures.” The joint state
ment also urged the synagogue
and community to “strengthen
communication with black com
munities, both on the clergy and
lay levels, and to contribute to the
support of indigenous self-help
projects.”
Premier Meir Said Planning
To Confer with Nixon in June
— 0 _ ance-Israel
Alliance.
His denunciation was echoed
by Jean Lecaneut, president of
the Democratic Center, a princi
pal supporter of the candidacy
of acting President Alan Poher.
Lecaneut told the same gather
ing that “for millions of French
men, friendship for Israel is still
very much alive. We all hope
the embargo will be lifted after
June 15.”
Poher’s decision to run was ex
pected to make Franco-Israel
elections a focal campaign issue,
observers said. Poher is known
to want a “normalization” of
French-Israeli ties and Pompidou
will have to take a public posi
tion on that issue. The France-
Israel Alliance has sent a ques
tionnaire to all Presidential can
didates, asking them to declare
themselves on a number of ques
tions in the French mideast pol
icy, including the embargo
against Israel.
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Most
informed observers here were re
ported to consider it a virtual
certainty that Premier Golda
Meir will visit Washington next
month to confer with President
Richard M. Nixon.
Her mission, if the visit takes
place, will be in line with a rec
ommendation reportedly made to
the Cabinet today by Gen. Yitz
hak Rabin, Israel's Ambassador
The Jerusalem Post’s diplo
matic correspondent reported
that Gen. Rabin was likely to ad
vise the Cabinet to announce
formally a principle of its peace
aims that would go beyond the
present formula that the final
secure and recognized bounda
ries would differ from the pres
ent cease-fire lines. Gen. Rabin
reportedly feels that Israel
should state specifically that it
to the United States, that Israel’s ''would be prepared to withdraw
( N Observers
Move to Safety
TEL AVIV (JTA)—The United
Nations cease-fire observation
group has abandoned its head
quarters at Qantara on the Is
raeli-held east bank of the Suez
Canal because it came under
Egyptian artillery fire almost
daily and has established a new
control center 30 miles back from
the canal, beyond the range of
the Egyptian gunners.
position on the Big Four talks
at the United Nations and the
United States-Soviet bilateral
talks in Washington on the Mid
dle Bast should be explained per
sonally to the President by a
high-ranking Israeli.
In a radio interview, Gen.
Rabin, who is here for consul
tations, said that the Soviet po
sition seemed to have moved
closer to the American one. He
added, however, that at present
that movement could not be as- .*
sessed as to extent and content
and that there was still a large
gulf to be bridged between the
positions of the two major pow
ers. He also said that even if
the U.S. were seeking a solution
unacceptable to Israel, the U.S.
must still be considered a friend
ly country.
Israel Government Announces
SE General Consul Rotation
from the occupied areas—a po
sition it has not taken so far.
Such an Israeli admission would
be designed to forestall the Uni
ted States and the Soviet Union
from becoming involved in such
details as map-drawing, the cor
respondent wrote.
Mrs. Meir, in a statement
made on her own initiative at
the stwt of the Cabinet session,
dissociated herself completelj
from allegations in a book charg
ing that Defense Minister Moshe
Dayan and Intelligence Major
Gen. Aharon Yariv gave the
Cabinet exaggerated information
about Egyptian troop movements
just before the 1967 war broke
out.
The book, “Six Years and Six
Days.” was written by A. L. Gil-
boa. a member of the executive
of the Histadrut, Israel’s Labe*
Federation. The iirmlication of
the charge was that the informa
tion had been given to force the
hands of the “doves” in the Cab
inet. Gen. Dayan has formally
asked the Government’s legal
adviser to investigate the possi
bility of charging Mr. Gilboa
with libel.
Fortas Quits
Uigh Court
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Abe
Fortas, the fifth Jew to sttv« on
the United States Supreme Court
and the first to be nominated lor
the post of Chief Justice, has res
igned under fire for accenting—-
but later returning — a $20,000
fee from trvo Wolison Founda
tion. President Nixon immediate-
ly accepted the resignation.
Louis Wolf son, founder of the
family foundation, is now serving
a prison term for stock manipu
lation. The nomination of Mr.
Fortas to be Chief Justice In
June, 1968 touched off a battle
in Congress in which chargee of
anti-Semitism were made but
never confirmed. The then Presi
dent Johnson withdrew the nom
ination at Mr. Fortas’ rec,ue9 ^l
IjOuis Brandeis was the fim
Jew to be named to the Supreme
Court. Since then there has bean
a tradition that one seat on the
court is to be filled by a Jew.
That seat has been filled since
Mr Brandeis’ term by Benjamin
Cardozo, Felix Frankfurter and
Arthur J. Goldberg, as well as
Mr. Fortas.
A Supreme Court spokesman
said Mr. Fortas submitted his res
ignation to President Nixon in a
letter delivered to the White
House. At the same time, the
spokesman said Mr. Fortas sent
a letter to Chief Justice Earl
Warren concerning the Wolfsan
Foundation fee transaction. Mr.
Fortas was appointed by Presi
dent Johnson to the Supreme
Court in 1965.
An early rotation was an-
lounced this week for the Gen
ial Consulate of Israel in At-
anta.
The Foreign Service for the
r ewish State has recalled Consul
leneral Zeov Boneh, who has
>een at the head of the South-
■astern area for an unpreccden-
ed three years.
Consul General Boneh and his
amily will depart June 30.
He will be replaced by Moshe
lilboa on July 1.
Consul General Boneh has
>een on loan from the Israel
hvil Service Commission to the
ountry’s Diplomatic Corps. He
s a native of his country, the
irst Sabra to serve in the At-
anta diplomatic post. When he
eturns to Jerusalem, he will re-
ume his identification with the
ivil service division, serving in
the post of director of the Em
ployees Division.
Returning with him will be his
wife Atara, his two sons Qian-
och and Ronnie, both of whom
attended the Hebrew Academy,
and young Georgia-born daugh
ter Daphine, who made her first
appearance in this world last fall
and who will be getting her first
glimpse of the land of her
fathers.
As for 1 the two Boneh boys,
both have learned to speak well
in English since arrival without
being able to speak a word of
the new. tongue. ,
Chanoch, the elder of the two
boys, is approaching his thir
teenth birthday and a week af
ter the family arrives in Israel,
he will become Biar Mitzva.
He will graduate from the He
brew Academy on June 8 in At
lanta and has been studying for
the traditional ceremony for
some time. He has chosen to
have the ceremony at the Old
Shule in Rishon Le-Zion, the
home of his grandparents, David
and Miriam Katz. Chanoch re
calls going to shule with his
grandfather and has expressed
a desire to have this personal
ceremony there. His grandfa
ther was identified with the wine
industry at this pioneer (1880)
Palestine settlement for forty
years before retirement.
The Bonehs will tour Europe
for three weeks before going
home.
Mr. Gilboa served with the
Cooperation and Foreign Liaison
Unit of the Israeli Ministry of
Defense, as assistance director in
charge of Special Assistance. He
is married and has two daugh
ters.
In This Issue
EMPHASIS
ISRAELIS
TWENTY-FIRST
ANNIVERSARY