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The Southern Israelite
A Weekly Newspaper for Southern Jewry - Established 1925
Vol. XLVII
Atlanta, Georgia, Friday, April 28, 1972
Two Sections—12 Paget
No. 17
Report Libya Holding Solidarity Day Set Sunday
Prisoner Without Trial Throughout United States
LONDON (JTA) — A Jewish
engineer has been imprisoned in
Libya for two-and-a-half years
without trial, tlje Jewish Tele
graphic Agency was informed
recently by Amnesty Interna
tional, a private organization
active on behalf of political pris
oners.
A spokesman for the organiza
tion said it has been trying
without success to obtain the re
lease of Gulio Hassan, 31, who
was arrested in Tripoli in Sept.
1969 following a military coup
in Libya.
The coup overthrew the re
gime of King Idris and installed
a military junta headed by Col.
Muammar el-Qaddafi. Hassan
was arrested at his home at a
time when xenophobic and anti-
Israel passions were at a height.
The police claimed they were
detaining him for his own pro
tection. A week later Hassan
called friends to tell them he
was being held at Bab Ben
Gashir prison. His family has
had no news of him since then,
Amnesty International reported.
No charges have been brought
against Hassan, but the organi
zation learned that he has been
interrogated to find out if he
ever visited Israel and whether
he possessed a radio transmitter-
receiver. Amnesty International
said its secretary general inter
vened personally with the Lib
yan ambassador in London but
could learn nothing more.
Hassan’s wife and two chil
dren left Tripoli in September
1970 because of attacks and in
sults by their neighbors, the
organization reported.
NEW YORK (JTA) — Jewish
community organizations, syna
gogues and action groups across
the nation are mobilizing man
power and resources for Nation
al Solidarity Day for Soviet
Jewry next Sunday.
The event, which promises to
be the most unified, massive
and extensive undertaking of its
kind, will focus on urging Pres
ident Nixon to utilize his forth
coming visit to Moscow to help
Soviet Jewry achieve the right
to live as Jews and to emigrate
to Israel and elsewhere. April
90 has been designated as National
Solidarity Day for Soviet Jewry
by the American Conference on
Soviet Jewry.
For this date, rallies are
Kroloff-Led Vigil Brings
Cancellation of Agnew Fete
WESTFIELD, N.J. (JTA) —
The State Republican Party
organization cancelled a social
gathering honoring Vice Presi
dent Spiro Agnew at a local
synagogue because the rabbi ap
proved a silent anti-war vigil at
the synagogue at the time of the
fete..
Rabbi Charles Kroloff of Tem
ple Emanu-El reported that a
party official was so incensed at
the idea of the vigil that he told
the rabbi:
“If you people are going to
pull that kind of crap, why
don’t you all get back on the
boat and go back where you
came from.” Rabbi Kroloff re
fused to identify the official to
the Jewish Telegraphic Agency
or other news services, but sta
ted that he w'as an official au
thorized to arrange or cancel
the gathering.
As Rabbi Kroloff recounted
the story to the JTA, the GOP
unit rented the Reform temple's
social hall because it is near the
armory where a dinner for Ag
new was also scheduled. Attend
ance at the dinner is limited to
those contributing at least $1000
a year to the party.
Rabbi Kroloff agreed to host
the Agnew social because “I
don’t believe you should stay
away from controversial fig
ures.” He added that secret
servicemen advised of the
youthful vigil, approved it. But
when the GOP official was ad
vised of the plans, lie was
“abusive” to the rabbi, according
to the latter. Rabbi Kroloff, 36,
has headed the 22-year-old Tem
ple Emanu-El for six years. It
serves 600 families.
NEW YORK (JTA)—The Cun-
ard Line has announced that its
cruise liner Queen Elizabeth 2
will visit Israel for the first
time during Passover, 1973, Is
rael’s 25th anniversary year,
and will spend 18 days there as
a floating hotel.
The 66,000-ton liner will be
the largest passenger vessel ever
to call on Israeli ports and her
stay there — from April 21 to
May 8—will be the longest for
any cruise ship.
planned in over 100 cities acroes
the country, aimed at obtaining
some 1,000,000 signatures on
petitions endorsing action to
free Soviet Jews.
Preparations for Solidarity
Day have moved into high gear
in the past several days. A peti
tion to Nixon to raise the Soviet
Jewry issue with the Kremlin
leaders has been signed by all
207 members of both houses of
the New York State Legisla
ture.
In Los Angeles, the Southern
California Council for Soviet
Jews and the California Stu
dents for Soviet Jews announced
that thousands of telegrams cir
culated by the two groups have
been sent to Nixon urging him
to “speak on behalf of Soviet
Jews” during his summit meet
ing with Soviet leaders.
Also in Los Angeles, the Com
mission on Soviet Jewry of the
Jewish Federation-Council re
ported it has collected 50,000
similar petitions to Nixon
In San Francisco, the Union
of Councils for Soviet Jews
noted the reported assertion by
Soviet Communist Party chief
Leonid Brezhnev that Nixon
will be welcome to visit any
where and anywhere in the USSR.
The Union asked Nixon by tele
gram to meet with four Jewish
scientist-activists— Roman Rut-
man, Aleksander Lerner, Vik
tor Polski and Vladimir Slepak
—all of whom have lost their
jobs after applying for emigra
tion.
JCS Program Sunday Focuses
On Preventing Drug Use, Abuse
“Thoughts on Prevention —
Drug Use and Abuse” will be
the topic for a discussion lead
by Miss Louise Cording, R.N.
of the Georgia Narcotics Treat
ment Program, at the ninety-
sixth annual meeting of the Jew
ish Children’s Service. The
Holds Synagogue “Obsolete”
NEW YORK (WhP) — Rabbi Eugene J. Lip-
man, spiritual leader of Temple Sinai, Washing
ton, fears that the synagogue today is becoming
obsolete.
In a lengthy article appearing in the recent
Quarterly of the National Association of Temple
Administrators, Rabbi Lipman notes that, al
though he “believes deeply that Judaism, both
Orthodox and non-Orthodox is a viable, con
structive religious-cultural system and that it is
here to stay,” he holds that the “failure of the
contemporary synagogue is built into its structure”
and that “so long as we maintain our present
synagogue system, the failure will continue. In
short,” he adds, “I believe the synagogue as
we know it is an obsolete institution.”
Complaining that the synagogue became in
stitutionalized, commercialized and lacking the
old spirit of the European kehilla, Rabbi Lipman
says it took on the semblance of a church, “but
with even fewer functions than most churches.
As American Jewry carried on its love affair
with American culture, more and more assidu
ously each generation,” he adds, “both public,
organized religious activity (synagogue-based)
and Jewish observances in the home became an
increased occasional, ceremonial activity in the
lives of our people. The vitality of the synagogue
withered proportionately ...”
Further bemoaning the lack of interest in the
synagogue, Rabbi Lipman points to the fact that
“Rabbis cannot teach much Judaism, because
there are so few people around to teach it to—thay
are not in our classrooms, they are not in adult
seminars, they are not in the syagogue when
sermons are preached. So the rabbi contents
himself with minor loneliness, or he seeks out
the irrelevant and tries to convince himself that
it’s his rabbinical necessity.
“The rabbinate is eroding in another way,
too,” Lipman stresses. “Fewer and fewer of our
rabbinic students appear willing to undertake
the congregational rabbinate . . .
What does Rabbi Lipman propose? He pro
poses "that we do away with synagogues as
separate, independent, operating institutions.”
meeting at Atlanta’s Standard
Club on Sunday, April 30, is
schedfNed to begin with a 10
a. m. brunch for members and
guests from several southeastern
coastal states served by the re
gional child welfare agency.
Herbert A. Ringel, JCS pres
ident, stated that those present
will participate in a special
memorial tribute to the late
Armand May to be presented by
Joseph F. Haas. Mr. May, who
died last January while serving
as an emeritus chairman of the
board, had devoted many dec
ades of his life to the Jewish
Children’s Service and its pred
ecessor, the Hebrew Orphan’s
Home. He held nearly every of
fice, including the presidency
from 1935 to 1958.
Miss Cording, chosen "Out-
standinu Young Woman of
America” in 1970, is a native
Atlantan. She has been associ
ated with the Narcotics Treat
ment Program since its incep
tion. Previously she held posi
tions as a staff nurse with Em
ory University Hospital, as an
instructor at Grady Memorial
Hospital School of Nursing, and
as a liaison nurse of the At
lanta Adolescent Pregnancy Pro
gram. She has been associated
with special drug rehabilitation
programs and clinics in Atlanta's
Tenth Street area. She has
taught sex education at the
Youth Development Center.
Miss Cording will be intro
duced by Dr. Arthur Falek,
chairman of the JCS Special
Committee to Develop a Drug
Project. Siie will address her
remarks to developing the kind
of program that can be reason
ably undertaken by an agency
such as the JCS.
The program alib includes re
ports by Herbert A. Ringel, pres
ident; Alfred E. Garber, chair
man of the finance committee;
Abe Goldstein, treasurer; Wil
liam Breman, chairman of the
Simon Wolf Endowment Fund
Investment Committee; and Mrs.
Herbert Cohen, chairman of
of the Scholarship Committee
Mrs. Louis Regenstein Jr., chair
man of the nominating commit
tee, will present a slate of of
ficers, executive commi 11 e e
members, and board members
for the next year
The board of the Jewish Chil
dren’s Service and the Simon
Wolf Endowment Fund, whose
executive director is Eli Fahn,
consists of approximately 100
members They represent cofn-
mumhes throughout the states
of Florida, Georgia, North Caro
lina, South Carolina, Virginia
and the Greater Washington