Newspaper Page Text
The Southern Israelite
A Weekly Newspaper for Southern Jewry — Established 1925
Vol. XLIV Atlanta, Georgia, Friday, June 13, 1969
Pressing Against Pompidou Poi
Red Anti-Semitism General Arms
0 *r
No. 24
NEW YORK (JTA) — The
American Jewish Conference on
Soviet Jewry has called on
Soviet leaders to release a Jew
ish engineer, Boris Kochubiyev-
sky, who was sentenced to three
years in a Soviet prison camp for
allegedly slandering the Soviet
Union and its social system.
According to Lewis M. Wein
stein, chairman of the Confer
ence, the sentence was further
proof of Soviet official anti-
Semitism. “‘Boris Kochubiyev-
sky’s crime is that he wants to
be accorded the same religious
and cultural rights that are
allowed other Soviet national
ities,” Mr. Weinstein said. The
young engineer had applied for
permission to emigrate to Israel
before his arrest. The permis
sion was denied. One of the
charges against him stemmed
from remarks he allegedly made
at memorial services for Jews
slaughtered by the Nazis at Babi
Yar ravine outside of Kiev. He
referred to the victims as “part
of the Jewish people.” Soviet
policy prohibits reference to the
martyrs’ Jewish origin.
In urging Mr. Kochubiyevsky’s
release, Mr. Weinstein said, “We
call upon the Soviet Government
to fulfill its promise of equality
of nationalities under the Soviet
Constitution and, by subscrib
ing to the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights which guaran
tees the right of departure to
everyone, also to allow Kochubi-
yevsky to emigrate."
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The
United Nations Human Rights
Commission has still not offici
ally received a petition by 55
Russian citizens protesting po
litical trials, although others
have seen the document, the
Washington Post reported from
the UN yesterday. The petition
cites the imprisonment of Mr.
Kochubiyevsky and the trial of
Yuli Daniel, a Jew and Andrei
Sinyavsky for publishing artistic
works “critical of Soviet reality”
abroad, correspondent Robert H.
Estabrook reported.
from the FOUR CORNERS
HAIFA (JTA)—A local importer of foreign books and period
icals said this week that the Warsaw Yiddish monthly “Yiddishe
Shriften” has ceased publication. ,
He said he was advised of the suspension by the Polish State
Periodicals Export Co. which gave no reason for the closure of the
magazine.
NEW YORK (JTA) — Harold Friedman, a stockbroker and
treasurer of United Hias Service, the Jewish migration agency, was
elected president at a meeting of the Hias board.
He succeeds Carlos L. Israels, who was president for the past
two years.
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Legislation to change the name of Israel’s
basic unit of currency from pound to shekel has been approved by
the Knesset. But the new name will not become official for several
years, until the present stock of currency is exhausted and new
bills are printed, the Bank of Israel said. The Israel pound, also
known locally as lira, is worth about 35 cents at current rates of
exchange.
The shekel was originally a weight and later a coin used in
ancient Israel. It was said to have been based on a coin minted in
Babylon, the center of commerce in the region. In 1897 the shekel
was adopted by the first World Zionist Congress in Basle as the
unit of contribution .to the Zionist movement. The word shekel
has also crept into the English language as slang for money.
NEW YORK (JTA)—A sociological survey of Jews in Sao Paulo,
Brazil, undertaken by the local Jewish federation in collaboration
with the American Jewish Committee, has revealed the same pat
terns of change in Jewish life that have occurred in the major cities
of North America, AJCommittee president Philip E. Hoffman dis
closed.
BOSTON (JTA) Undersecretary of State Elliot L. Richardson
told Emerson College graduates here that the U. S. was awaiting
specific moves by flie Soviet Union to prove they mean to reduce
global tensions in the Mideast, as well as in Vietnam and Berlin.
He voiced hope for resolution of the Mideast dispute with the
observation that a start of a downward spiral in strains in that
region may have begun. He said Washington has explained to Israel
why the Big Four support implementation of the Security Coun
cil's 1967 resolution. “And I know the Israelis understand this
position,” he said.
PARIS (JTA) The newspaper Le Monde reported that an anti-
Semitic “wwhispering campaign” Is going on in the city of Orleans
where anonymous letters and posters attacking Jews have appear-
ed. The paper said the campaign was characterized by word-of-
mouth slander accusing Jews of engaging in white slave traffic. It
called on police authorities to act promptly before the campaign
spreads to other cities.
Lc Monde has published a six-page special supplement devoted
to "France and the Arab world” which stresses the interdependence
between the two and their links of trade and culture. Political
circles here saw significance in the appearance of the supplement
a week before the run-off Presidential elections.
PARIS (JTA) — Former Pre
mier Georges Pompidou, the
Gaullist candidate for the Presi
dency of France, said in an in
terview published today that he
favored a general arms embargo
on all the belligerents in the
June, 1967 Arab-Israeli war
and that he would reconsider
France’s embargo policy only if
it turned out .that France has
been selling arms to one of the
two sides while the de Gaulle-
imposed embargo is in effect.
M. Pompidou, who most pub
lic opinion polls indicate will win
the Presidency by a wide mar
gin over Acting President Alain
Poher in next Sunday’s run-off
elections, told the newspaper
L’Aurore that “no country
should supply any war materials
or equipment to any of the belli
gerent parties.” Replying to a
question by journalist Serge
Groussard, he specifically ex
empted Lebanon from any arms
embargo. “Lebanon is out of the
fight and certainly is no belliger
ent,” M. Pompidou said.
The Gaullist candidate de
clared that “France will always
defend Israel’s right to exist in
full independence and security
and hopes that all countries will
admit this fundamental right.”
He added that until this day ar
rives, France must do all it can
to avoid a new Arab-Israeli war
which could have “frightening
consequences for all humanity.”
Pressed about possible French
arms deliveries to Arab states
despite the embargo on both
sides, M. Pompidou said, “I have
been away from power for
nearly one year now. If elected
I shall study these files and
should it become clear that one
of the two sides has been sup
plied with .weapons, France will
reconsider her entire stand on
the issue. There can be no
double standard for the parties
concerned.”
M. Pompidou’s statement was
the most detailed and specific he
has yet made on French Middle
East policy. Observers here said
it greatly diminished the possi
bility that the arms embargo
against Israel would be lifted if
M. Pompidou is elected. They
noted that he carefully avoided
making any promises or commit
ments on the issue that he might
be held to after the June 15
election.
TEL AVIV (JTA) — Israel’s
assistant Defense Minister, Gen.
Zvi Tsur, said on his return from
Paris that no developments could
be expected on the French arms
embargo against Israel until af-
Two Day Schools In Group
Objecting To Aid to Education
PHILADELPHIA (JTA)—Two
Jewish day schools here are
among defendants in a suit filed
by six organizations, including a
Jewish one, asking a Federal
court to bar state-financed help
to non-public schools as a viola
tion' of the Federal Constitution.
The two Jewish schools are the
Akiba Hebrew Academy and the
Beth Jacob Schools. The Pennsyl
vania Jewish Community Rela
tions Conference is one of the
plaintiffs. The suit, filed in U. S.
District Court, asserted that the
law would “perpetuate and pro
mote” racial segregation in schools
and ultimately would result in
two school systems, “a public
school system predominantly black,
poor and inferior, and a non
public schools svstem predomi
nantly white, affluent and super
ior.”
Also listed as defendants were
State Superintendent of Public
Instruction David H. Kurtzman:
Grace Sloan, state treasurer; two
Catholic schools, Germantown
Lutheran Academy and others.
The suit asked tha't a three-
judge Federal panel be convened
to bar Mr. Kurtzman and Mrs.
Sloan from approving any pay
ments under the law. Spokes
man for the plaintiff organiza
tions said that the suit would be
treated as a “precedent-setting
action” and that it would be car
ried to the U S. Supreme Court.
The Non-public School Aid act,
first of its kind in the United
States, was approved last year.
The orieinal bill would have pro
vided $4.2 million this year to
non-public schools in Pennsyl
vania. This year, the State House
of Representatives approved a
measure increasing 1969 funds to
$21 million and next year’s
funds to. $41 million.
(Washington Rabbi Moshe
Sherer, executive president of
Agudath Israel of America, in
House Appropriations Subcom
mittee on Education testimony,
has called upon Congress to re
store the full funding of all Fed
eral aid programs for education.
The “partnership between the
public and non-public schools
can only meet the historic re
sponsibility of this generation if
Congress places a top national
priority on educational fund
ing,” he said. Agudath favors
Federal Aid for the secular pro
grams of religious schools.)
ter next week’s Presidential run
off election.
Gen. Tsur, who conferred with
French Defense Minister Pierre
Messmer and other Government
officials and aircraft industria
lists, said “the general feeling
was more sympathetic and it was
more pleasant to talk to them”
since the departure from politi
cal power of ex-President
Charles de Gaulle. Gen. Tsur
visited Paris at the invitation of
officials of the international air
show held at Le Bourget Airport.
He was accompanied by Ad
miral Mordechai Limon, head of
the Israeli purchasing mission
for Western Europe, at his meet
ing with M. Messmer. He also
met with Pierre Blanchard, min
isterial delegate for arms and
munitions supplies, and Marcel
Bloch-Dassault whose firm man
ufactures the Mirage supersonic
jet fighter bomber.
Fifty Mirage V air craft, built
to Israeli Air Force specifica
tions, were bought and paid for
in full by Israel more than a
year ago. They are still held in
a French warehouse pending an
end to the embargo on aircraft
and spare parts imposed by Gen.
de Gaulle following the June,
1967 Six-Day War.
In a related development, a
major French aviation company
Is negotiating for the rights to
assemble a small private airplane
designed in Israel. The plane,
called the Arava, is represented
by a scale model at the interna
tional air show. Sud Aviation,
which has built transport planes
for Israel, wants to start produc
tion of the Israeli aircraft at its
plant in the south of France
within a few months, sources
here said.
AT MEMORIAL ARTS CENTER
Israeli Films
To Bow June 18
Special To The Southern Israelite
More than 800 films from 32 countries, including Israel, will be
entered in competition this coming week, when the Second Annual
International Film Festival opens at the Atlanta Memorial Arts
Center.
The Israeli entries will be “Speaking of Israel,” a documentary
short and the full length feature “My Love in Jerusalem.” Both
films'will be previewed in the U. S. for the first time and neither
has yet been publicly shown. The event will be held in Symphony
Hall of the Memorial Arts Center on June 18, 1969 at 8:30 p. m.
and will be preceded by a diplomatic reception, attended by gov
ernment officials, producers and directors in the Galleria at 7:30
p. m. It is co-sponsored by the Atlanta Zionist District and the
Israel Government Tourist Office. Tickets at $3.00 per person may
be obtained by contacting the Z.O.A. regional office at 523-1564,
the Israel Government Tourist Office at 873-1479 or the Atlanta
Jewish Community Center at 875-7881.
The U. S. State Department has recognized the Atlanta com
petition as an International Festival. Among the distinguished Board
of Advisors are such leaders of the film industry as Elmer Bern
stein, Judith Crist, Louis de Rochemont III, Lenore Hershey,
Spyros P. Skouras, Herbert A. Lightman, Carl V. Ragsdale and
Glenn F. Ireton.
Festival Week will be climaxed by a gala Awards Banquet* on
June 21 at the Regency Hyatt House, with top awards to be
presented by nationally prominent figures in government, religion,
world peace and the film industry. Among the awards to be given
is the Golden Phoenix, a massive piece of original sculpture rep
resenting the “Firebird Symbol” of Atlanta. Silver Phoenix awards
will go to the best film in each category, with gold, silver and
bronze medals for excellence in specific categories.