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•t, N. E„ AUenU, Georgia »•$•$, TE I IM», TE 6-824*. Second cbm
poitape paid at Atlanta, Georgia. Yearly sebacrtptlon, $7 M. The
Southern Israelite Invites literary contribution* and eomspoadenee
bat to not to be considered as sharing the views expressed by writers.
DEADLINE is 5 P.M. FETOAT, but material received earlier will
have a much better ehanoe of publication.
Adolph Rosenberg, Editor and Publisher
Kathleen Nease, Vida Goldgar, Edward M. Kahn
Kathy Wood, Harry Rose, Betty Meyer, Gertrude Burnham
COMMUNAL PRIORITIES
With the situation in Israel being what it is now,
the Jewish communities throughout the United
States are making it their top priority to conduct
intensive cash collection of 1970 pledges to the
United Jewish Appeal.
Leaders of Jewish Federations estimate that the
oommunty fund-raising campaigns will this year
produce a total of $300,000,000. Of this sum, $125,-
PM»1
persecutions and pogroms. :
Steeped in the history of Jewish and Christian
religion—«e enn be seen from meticulous research
which is reflected in his book—^Prof. Heer argues
that Jew-killing was based on the teachings of the
Christian Church, from the writings of St. John,
NeNfAper
Associetkm ■
Georgia Press Assn.
Seven Arts Features
Jewish Telegraphic
Agency
World Union Press
MILITARY EXPERTIZING
Once we felt we could justifiably present ourself as an
expert in matters military.
After all were we not a trained journalist, whose basic
experience is geared to the world of evaluation? And had
we not been smack-dab in the middle of military matters,
in the Pacific War Theater, with our expertise heightened
‘ by personal observation and participation in such campaigns
as Guadalcanal and Saipan?
What greater qualification, then, than this? And so home
in Georgia on rest leave after several enervating years on
the fungus ridden South Pacific isles who better than us
to know how much longer the war would last? Unhesitat
ingly* we shared with friends the unhappy intelligence that
it would go on certainly as long as it had done so excruciat
ingly already. And maybe even longer . . .
Fortunately for our personal convenience and the wel
fare of the millions involved, our opinion was not to be a
factor in war’s end. Pouf. Pouf. A couple of atomic bombs
—we had never heard of such—and we didn’t even have to
resume our stint thousands of miles away.
We are reminded of this experience whenever we are
pushed for conclusions because of our ecstatic happenstance
during the Six Day War and our almost 24-hour concentration
on matters Israeli and Jewish danger in that part of the
globe.
We certainly have very strong and substantive opinions
and along with the thousands of other so-called authorities
on the subject can wax eloquent with proper expertise—at
the drop of a hat or one of the Red missiles—on the implica
tions of the points and counter-points of the Middle East
trouble.^
Some of them are terrifying to contemplate. Our ears
hear the American public determine a course of action which
is as clear a statement that the “Southeast Asians are expen
dable and should look out for themselves” as anything we’ve
encountered in our lifetime.
Why should the reaction be any different by these peace
niks when it comes to the Israelis? Is it going to be suffi
cient if it comes to it simply to furnish arms and let the
matter go at that? Anyone who thinks this will solve any
thing is completely naive. The more logs are tossed into
the fire, the larger will be the fire and the overheat can
well burn down the whole house. For every armament
furnished the Israelis by the United States, twice as much
will be furnished by the Soviets. This tack leads to disaster,
in our opinion.
We will not pursue our thoughts to the horrifying con
clusion. Instead, we return to our original idea about “exper
tizing.” There are certainly forces afoot about which we
know nothini '
900,000 is marked for the'Israel Emergency Fund St Baud, Martin Luther and^ other fathers of the
and $175,000,000 for the regular campaigns, of 'which church, to the time of Pope John XXIII, the good
Ihe UJA gets about 50 percent. This compares with Pope,” who considered it his duty to absolve tne
1103,000,000 raised last year for the Israel Emergency Jews of the guilt of crucifying ‘Jesus,
drive and $163,000,000 for the regular UJA cam- The author, a Professor of History at Vienna
paign. In other words—the communities in 1970 University, has much to say against both the Gatn-
will raise $34,000,000 rfiore than in 1969. They will olic and Protestant churches for remaining silent
come dose to the $319,000,000 raised in the peak during the terrible years of Hitlers annihilation
year of 1967, which was the year of the Six-Day of 6,000,000 Jews. Himself a Gatholic, he (Joes
not spare even Pope 1 Pius XII. He stresses the fact
that while Pope Pius publicly prayed for the suf
ferings of Catholics in the Dachau concentration
camp, he never found it necessary to mention even
a single word about the Nazi mass-killing of Jews.
The author is of the opinion that If Pope John
XXIII, who succeeded Pope Hus XII, had not by
his own initiative changed the Good Friday liturgy
—thus making possible a total revision of the Jew
ish question at the Vatican—the old. tradition which
generated anti-Semitism would have probably still
dominated a Catholic thought even today. Inciden
tally, he quotes a prayer composed by Pope John
War.
The ability of this year’s campaign to reach this
total—in the current economic situation—is consider
ed a noteworthy tribute to the depth of under
standing the extraordinary urgency of Israel’s needs.
About 50 communities have already raised this year
more than they raised even in 1967. There will be
more before the 1970 campaign is over.
There are now 50 communities, each conducting
a campaign of $1,000,000 or more. Exclusive of New
York, seven cities expect to raise $90,000,000; four
cities will raise $26,000,000; nine cities, will raise
134,000,000; and 29 will have a total of $38,000,000.
Among the communities which have this year al-' shortly before his death in 1963, which I find it
ready surpassed their historic 1967 all-time highs
in their campaigns are Cleveland, Detroit, JlSiami,
Essex County, N. J., Philadelphia, Httsburgh, St
Louis, Washington D. C., Atlanta, Atlantic City,
Camden, Hartford, Milwaukee, Omaha, Youngs
town and others.
* * *
MIDSUMMER READING
Of the multitude of books published this season,
very few are thought-provoking One that is thought-
provoking is “God’s First Love” by Prof. Friedrich
Heer, published by Weybright & Talley.
The author—who is not a Jew—considers the
Jews as God’s first love, and says it with vigor.
He charges the Christian Church with being res
ponsible for bringing about the mass-murder of
Jews, not only of the Hitler period but also during
important to. reproduce here, since the text does
not appear in any of the books I have read dealing
with Pope John’s biography, and is practictally un
known. 'Ihe remarkable prayer, which brings out
Pope John’s nobility of soul, reads:
“We realize now that many, many centuries of
blindness have dimmed our. eyes, so that we no
longer see the beauty of Thy Chosen People, and
no longer recognize in their faces the features of
our firstborn brother. We realize that our brows
are branded with the mark of Cain. Centuries long
has Abel lain in blood and tears, because we had
forgotten Thy love. Forgive us the curse which
we unjustly laid on the name of the Jews. Forgive
us that, with our curse, we crucified Thee a second
time.”
Copyright 1970, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.
AMERICAN NEWS REPORT .... by Ben Gallob
Sioux City’s Poor Jews Are Mainly Elderly
Who Resist ‘Charity’Federation Reports
THCSM? AND THC JAILER
Poor Jews in Sioux City are
mainly elderly persons who are
not only indigent but also so
sensitive to admitting any need
for help that the Jewish Fed
eration must sometimes wait for
a crisis to develop before it can
help, according to a Federation
report on the problem of pov
erty-level Jews in the Iowa
community.
The problem has been discuss
ed in a series of articles in the
Federation newsletter, prepared
by Oscar Littlefield, Federation
executive director, focussed on
problems of the care of the Jew
ish aged. Providing care for the
Jewish poor, which was the
main activity of the Federation
when it was organized a half-
hing and we have* to rely upon these intangibles century ago, is now among the
d We° U oX e ^av h St < S ,ld a W" % - r ~ n ££Kl^£S
lfto * W ly P y *** 111686 devel °p before 14 than $5,500 a year is currently
spent on social services of all
kinds, including $2,000 paid to
the Iowa Jewish Home for pro
viding beds for three Sioux City
elderly residents.
Such figures, the Federation
official declared, made it under
standable that in the minds of
most of the 1,500 Jews of Sioux
City, social welfare is for “needy
, Jews far away, not here at
home.” However, the true reason
for the seemingly small cost of
social services to the Federation
is that public welfare shoulders
the main burden for families
with dependent children, for aid
to the aged and the disabled,
while Medicare “carries most of
the burden for the aged who are
ill.” The Federation reported
that about half of the Jewish
poor in Sioux City were elderly
persons — couples, widows and
widowers, and single persons,
"living on social security^ on the
dwindling remains of life
savings, on public welfare,” with
. Medicare providing some pro
tection against the soaring costs
of being sick.
Such elderly Jews “manage to
subsist without financial aid
from the Jewish Federation,” ac
cording to the report. But three
basic problems emerge. One is
that “too often,” they subsist “on
the brink” of destitution and
some “beyond the brink.” Such
Jews suffer from lack of proper
nutrition and lack of needed
medicine. The second problem is
that they are “too proud” to ask
for “charity” or to let the Fed
eration give them financial help.
One of the Federation’s most
difficult tasks is to find ways
to persuade such elderly indigent
Jews “to accept the help nec
essary to maintain life and safe
guard their health.”
The elderly Jews seldom ask
voluntarily for help. Even when
deprivation becomes extreme,
the Federation will rarely hear
about it from the victim. Instead
“a neighbor may call, or the
informant may be a rabbi, a
physician” or an old friend, and
even then, the Federation “is
usually asked asked not to re
veal the source” of the request
for help. The third prdbem is
that the “isolated independence”
for which, the Jewish indepen
dent elderly persons 1 strive
“makes them vulnerable in an
emergency.” In situations less
critical than this, “if the aged
persons do not admit they are
in need, and if they do not want
to talk about it, Federation must
respect their wishes—especially
if their state of destitution does
not appear crtical enough to be
a serious threat to health.”
Because Federation officials
consider themselves to be obli
gated to make sure that no mem
bers of the Jewish community,
particularly the elderly, live in
destitution or neglect, the Fed
eration proceeds with “tact and
discretion to make its services
known to all’ Jewish poor in the
JEWISH CALENDAR
•TISHA B’AV
Aug. 11, Tuesday
•BOSH HASHANA
Oct. 1-2,
Thursday-Frjday
•TOM KIPPUR
Oct 10, Saturday
•HOLIDAY BEGINS
SUNDOWN PREVIOUS DAY
community.” Through volunteer
aides, the Federation seeks to
“maintain continued vigilance on
all aged Jewish residents who
live alone and have no near rel
atives to look after their well
being.”
The report said that currently,
such aged poor Jews included
five elderly couples, 15 widows
or single women and eight
widowers or single men. Of these
only one couple and seven in
dividuals are in active Federa
tion cases files while “all the
others lead independent private
lives,” the Federation said. When
the Federation learns that a real
emergency has happened, it
moves quickly. Doctors are call
ed, out-of-town relatives are
contacted, and physical necessi
ties are provided speedily. If
there is evidence of extreme
self-neglect, or mental disorder,
the Federation will act to take
over legal guardianship.
The other Jewish poor in
Sioux City include newcomers,
unattached men and former pa
tients of state mental institu
tions, Mr. Littlefield informed
the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
There are 14 Jews in three new
comer families who have failed
to establish themselves financi
ally. One is on public v^elfare,
one needs Federation financial
help occasionally and one is fi
nancially “marginal,” with two
children who are juvenile court'
problems.
There are nine Jewish mem
bers of four second generation
famiilies who live marginally
and need “sporadic” Federation
social services and some finan
cial help. One of two second
generation Jewish men without
families who live marginally
other needs a Federation finan
cial subsidy. There are seven
second generation former men- -
tal institution patients, living in
boarding or custodial homes. All
are on public welfare and all get
casework help and some subsidy
from the Federation. The exec
utive reported also that there
were one or two miscellaneous
cases not currently active.
Copyright 1970, JTA