Newspaper Page Text
The Southern * raelhe
A Weekly Newspaper for Souther-
Vol. XLVI
Atlanta, Georgia, Friday, August 27, l r
Nixon Pledges Help For
Private, Parochial Schools
NEW YORK (JTA)— Leaders
of two Jewish organizations
hailed President Nixon’s decla
ration Aug. 17 at a dinner of
the Knights of Columbus that he
would help reverse the current
closing of private and parochial
schools.
Julius Berman, president of
the National Commission on
Law and Public Affaire, stated
that the organization welcomed
the President’s “offer of help in
efforts to reverse the continual
ly worsening financial plight of
parochial schools.”
Rabbi Moshe Sherer, execu
tive president (cq) of Agudath
Israel of America, sent a tele
gram to Nixon stating: “Your
forthright stand, coming in the
wake of the tragic decision by
the U.S. Supreme Court on this
issue, may prove to be a historic
turning point in the struggle to
end discrimination from which
the non-public schools have been
suffering for so long.”
On J*une 28 the Supreme
Court ruled 8-1 that public aid
t*o private schools for secular
purposes constituted “excessive
government entanglement with
religion.”
It declared unconstitutional
programs that reimbursed pri
vate schools for instruction in
secular subjects. Nixon told the
Knights of Columbus audience
that “you can count on my sup
port” to halt the trend of the
closing down of non-public
schools, which he said was oc
curring “at the rate of one a
day.” •
Commenting on this state
ment, Berman declared that
Guess Who Met
Arab Students?
TEL AVIV (JTA) — The Suez
Canal battle zone reverted brief
ly to a normal waterway when
296 Arab students attending
Egyptian universities crossed the
canal for a six-week summer va
cation with families in the Gaza
Strip and at El Arish in the
northern Sinai Peninsula.
They were flabbergasted when
they found after the crossing,
that among the Israeli officials
waiting to greet them were De
fense Minister Moshe Dayan and
United Nations Ambassador Yo
sef Tekoah.
Dayan remarked that Israeli
Continued on page 8
“while it is clear that the Presi
dent was referring specifically
to Catholic parochial schools in
his address last night, it is clear
that his reference should be un
deretood to include all religious
ly sponsored non-public
schools.”
He stressed the President’s
statement that “we must see to
it that our children are provided
with the moral and spiritual and
religious values so necessary to
a great people in great times.”
Berman added that “it is our
hope that those organizations
that have fought so successfully
to deprive the non-public
schools of government aid will
realize the financial disaster
that may result from these ef
forts and join hands with the
President to save the non-public
school system, including those
established under Jewish aus
pices.”
Rabbi Sherer, in his tele
gram to Nixon, stated that the
Legislative Commission of Agu
dath Israel will present its
findings to the President’s staff
in the near future.
(
IV
-Z 6
o A
i-uoSX
c .stablished 1925
ms—12 Pages
No. 35
i'oor New York Jews
netting ‘Fair Share’
NEW YORK (JTA) — The
Association of Jewish Anti-Pov
erty Workers charged Aug. 18
that the city’s Welfare Depart
ment had leased homes in the
heart of Jewish neighborhoods
“and dumped multiple fatherless
families into those houses,” thus
allegedly paving the way for
block-busting in the Jewish sec
tions.
S. Elly Rosen, Association ex
ecutive director, said the alleged
dumping practices by Hules
Sugarman, head of the Human
Resources Administration and
Commissioner of Social Services,
was unfair both to the Jewish
communities and to the welfare
families who, “are greeted with
anger in those communities be
cause the residents know that in
their wake comes the block
buster.”
He noted that Mrs. Eleanor
Holmes Norton, the city Hu
man Rights Commissioner, re-
c e n 11 y directed hearings on
block-busting in the Jewish sec
tions of Laurelton and Rocka-
way in Queens, and in East Flat-
bush in Brooklyn.
Block-busting is a practice of
unscrupulous realtors who seek
a home on a white block to a
black family and then offer to
buy homes from the other white
families on the block at deflated
prices caused by the panic the
realtors seek to create. The real
tors then sell the homes to black
families at inflated prices.
Noting that Mrs. Norton had
deplored the practice and prom
ised to do everything possible to
curb it, Rosen said: “I suggest
that the good commissioner start
her work right within her own
administration and order fellow-
commissioner Jules Sugarman
to cease and desist from destroy
ing our neighborhoods by this
nefarious practice.”
He charged also that city
housing authorities lease or pur
chase such home* in Jewish
neighborhoods and make them
available to the welfare Depart
ment. He asserted that the wel
fare department places families
“in these homes” they would not
Israel s Devalued Pound Causes
10-20 Percent Price Hike of Goods
TEL AVIV (JTA) — Israeli
consumers awoke Monday to a
new economic situation, in the
wake of a sudden devaluation
and wage and price freeze, in
which they found themselves hit
by higher prices for most basic
commodities, such as bread, but
ter, milk, eggs, sugar and fish.
New prices were posted for a
variety of staple foods. Bread
prices were up to 10 percent;
milk, 13 percent; eggs, 20 per
cent; sugar, 14 percent; and fish,
10 percent. Gasoline prices
went up only two cents a gal
lon but those prices had been
boosted 12 percent in July.
Television sets were up in
price by about $100 each and
small imported cars up in price
by $400.
Increases of about $100 are
expected in the price of most
household appliances such as
washing machines, refrigerators
and air conditioners. The soph
isticated Israeli consumers, an
ticipating significant changes in
Israel’s price structure since
President Nixon announced last
of changes to defend the dollar,
Sunday his sweeping program
had been buying heavily
through the week.
Some people hunted feverish
ly for products at the pre-de-
valuation prices with no suc
cess. When Israelis were told
that an important announcement
would be broadcast around 11
p.m. Israel time, they tuned in
masse on their radios to hear
Finance Minister Pinhas Sapir
announce—after a two-hour de
lay — the devaluation and the
controls accommpanying it. At
2 a.m. they were still listening
to commentaries on the devalua
tion and its likely consequences.
Officials of foreign airlines
operating in Israel met and de
cided to approach the govern
ment with a request for a re
duction in the travel tax. Israelis
now pay 600 pounds plus 10 per
cent on ship and air travel
tickets.
The officials expressed con
cern lest new taxes might
sharply reduce overseas travel
by Israelis. With banks and
other lending agencies closed,
except for currency exchanges
at Lydda airport and Haifa port,
the only “free market” oper
ating was the black market
where the dollar was selling at
4.35 pounds, only slightly above
the new official rate. Israeli fi
nancial circles welcomed the
new economic policy.
Importers were reported an
gry because of a ruling requir
ing them to pay a 20 percent
surcharge on goods in stock, de
claring they had been promised
they would not have to pay
more taxes. A spokesman said
the importers might seek relief
from Israel’s Supreme Court.
Cab fares are expected to rise
10 percent. Public transport
fares, slated to be increased by
18 percent on recommendation
of an investigating committee,
will go up an additional two
percent.
admit into city housing pro
jects.”
Rosen said Jewish * neighbor
hoods were the easiest to burst,
because “unlike other communi
ties, Jewish do not protect their
rights with guns and cross burn
ings.” He said the Association
would seek legislation when the
New York Legislature convenes
In the fall “to stop city govern
ment agencies from undermin
ing stable neighborhoods by the
practice of dumping welfare cli
ents.” M
NEW YORK (JTA) — The
Association of Jewish Anti-Pov
erty Workers reported Aug. 12
that a six-week long investiga
tion under federal auspices of
poverty programs in New York
City had substantiated charges
that poor Jews in the city are
not getting their “fair share”
in such programs.
The investigation stemmed
from testimony by S. &ly Rosen,
executive director of the Jewish
anti-poverty group, before a
House subcommittee on man
power and poverty, tfJiich held
a series of meetings here.
Rosen testified July 25 on a
lengthy list of grievances by
poor Jews against alleged mis
treatment in the pro grains. He
said there had been physical vio
lence against Jews seeking to
vote in anti-poverty elections;
lack of Jewish representation on
boards of anti-poverty agencies
in neighborhoods with large
Jewish populations; and “loader
quate and disproportionate fund
ing” for the needs of the Jewish
poor. As a result, Rosen told the
Jewish Telegraphic Agency a
high level investigation was
ordered of the whole range of
poverty programs in New York
City.
JERUSALEM (JTA) — A
three-way clash involving Is
rael’s Cabinet, its Mapam mem
bers and the Histadrut, was re
ported developing Tuesday over
labor demands for cost-of-living
changes in wage agreements to
offset the price rises stemming
from Israel’s new economic pol
icy. After sharp debate, the
Knesset approved at a first
reading approval of the emer
gency regulations under which
the Israeli pound was devalued
and companion measures of
some price increases, along with
new controls on currency
trading.
THE AMERICAN JEW AND CHINA
By JACOB R. MARCUS
Director, American Jewish Archives
Now that President Nixon has
announced his plan to visit
China, the American Jewish
Archives, on the Cincinnati
campus of the Hebrew Union
College-Jewish Institute of Re
ligion, is receiving inquiries
concerning the relationships of
American Jewry to China.
In the 1790’s a distinguished
American Jewish businessman,
Solomon Simson, attempted to
beach the Chinese Jews at Kai
Feng Fu in order to carry on a
correspondence with them. The
Simsons were a remarkable ear
ly American Jewish family, the
first member of which, Nathan
Simson, came to these shores
around the year 1700. After he
made a fortune, he went back to
London to live in style.
. Having no sons of his own,
frathan brought his nephew Jos
eph to America. Joseph began
life modestly as a beadle, or
shammas, in the New York syn
agogue, but he ended up as its
president. This sounds like a
typical Horatio Alger: success
story — from rags to riches. Ac
tually, the chances are that Jos
eph got ahead because of the
success of his two wonderful
sons: Sampson Simson, the old
er, was one of the first mem
bers of the New York City
Chamber of Commerce and a
daring privateer speculator dur
ing the French and Indian War;
the otl\er son, Solomon, was
equally brilliant and successful.
The Simson family was very
patriotic. Darling the Revolu
tion they went into exile to Con
necticut rather than live under
the British in New York. When
Joseph packed up and moved, he
was already ninety years of age.
During the War, Solomon
Simson was in the lead mining
business; lead was important
for the making of bullets. He
was also an important public
utility industrialist, in the light
ing business, manufacturing can
dles made of whale oil. In poli
tics he was a Jeffersonian Demo
crat and he became one of the
heads of the local Democratic
Society, a very liberal organiza
tion. His political opponents,
Federalists and old-line Tories,
attempted to smear him by call
ing him Shylock. H was an ac
tive Mason. Despite his many
activities, he found time to
serve the local Jewish congre-
tion as president, and was elec
ted and reelected for five terms.
In the late 1780’s he carried on
a correspondence with a Jewish
merchant in India and in the
same decade began to engage in
the China trade. In 1785, the
first American ship to make the
trip to China returned after a
successful voyage. Four yean
later the enterprising Simson
sent his vessel, the “Sampson ”
to Canton. The ship was named
in memory of his brother who
had died before the Revolution.
The “Sampson” took the east
ern route around the Cape of
Good Hope and the Indian
Ocean. Sometime before 1795
Solomon read in a book on
China that there was a substan
tial Jewish colony there. What
he probably did not know was
that those Jews had been in
China for centuries, ever since
the Middle Ages, and through
intermarriage were typically
Chinese in appearance.
In 1795, with the aid of a Ger
man Jew who wrote Hebrew,
the international Jewish langu-
•acee, Simson sent a Hebrew' let
ter to China by the hand of Cap
tain Howell, the master who had
previously sailed the “Sampson”
into Canton Harbor in 1786.
The American Jewish Arch
ives has a copy of the Skheoh
letter. In this letter he asked his
fellow-Jews a number of quest
ions for he wanted to know all
about them How long have you
been in China? How many are
you? What type of Judaism do
you practice? From what tribe
do you stem? (He thought cer
tainly that they were one of the
Lost Ten Tribes.) What sort of
Hebrew books do you possess?
Do the Chinese treat yi&U well?
What’s your line of business?
Here in America we have it
good, some of us are elected to
important political offices.
Unfortunately Captain Howell
could find no Jews and reported
the failure of his mission. Had
Solomon Simson in his day had
access to the resources of the
Hebrew Union College Library
in Cincinnati, he would have
found the answers to some of
his questions. The Library pos
sesses the largest collection ot
Chinese Hebrew pa anus crip ts in
the united States. ’" ,