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The Southern Israelite
A Weekly Newspaper for Southern Jewry — Established 1925
v/ol. XLVII
Atlanta, Georgia, Friday, August 25, 1972
Two Sections—16 Pages
No. 34
AJWF Gives $25,000 Demos for l\ixon Group
To Flood Relief Fund 0 ,. , . , ^
Stirs Jewish (controversy
In answer to a request from
the Council of Jewish Federa
tions and Welfare Funds (CJF)
for emergency aid for the flood-
stricken Jewish community of
Wilkes-Barre, Pa., the Atlanta
Jewish Welfare Federation sent
$25,000 to help restore and re
build the community.
In addition, the Federation
has asked each of the local con
gregations to participate in the
program by contributing to a
special flood assistance fund
which the CJF has undertaken
on a national basis.
In a letter addressed to the
presidents of each congregation,
Federation president Milton
Weinstein pointed out that “al
though government aid and
general voluntary agencies are
assisting the. flood victims, Jew
ish participation is essential to
provide additional funds immed
iately (Catholic and Protestant
groups are also providing spec
ial aid for their people). In all,
some $2,101,396 is required from
Jewish communities over a two-
year period. The executive com
mittee of our Federation has
approved an emergency grant
of $25,000.
“We are writing to each of
our synagogues and suggesting
that they make additional con
tributions . . . We trust that
NEW YORK (JTA) — Pro
tests mounted steadily in the
US and Israel over a confirmed
new policy of the Soviet Union
to charge Jewish scientists exit
fees at such high levels as to
make it virtually impossible for
them to seek to emigrate.
Israel’s leading scientists
quickly announced plans to
rally scientists throughout the
world on behalf of the Soviet
scientists. Among the organiza
tions demanding cancellation of
the new high exit costs were
the American Jewish Commit
tee, the American Jewish Con
gress, Hadassah, the American
Zionist Federation and others.
Jewish sources in Moscow
confirmed by telephone to Tel
Aviv that Jews leaving the
Soviet Union must refund the
cost of their education to the
Soviet government. The sour
ces said that the new ruling,
reported to have been approved
August 3, imposed “special
taxes” also known as “educa
tion refunds.” For a graduate
of a “humanistic institution,”
the exit charge will be 4500
rubles ($5468); for a graduate of
a high school of arts and music,
9600 rubles ($11,664); for a
university graduate, 12,200
rubles ($14,823); plus another
5400 rubles ($6561) if graduates
of institutes of science, for a
total of 17,600 rubles ($21,384);
and for a professor, 19,400
rubles ($23,571).
The Moscow sources stressed
that such sums are beyond the
resources or even dreams of
Soviet academicians or technic
ians, whose salaries range from
200 to 300 rubles ($243 to $365)
a month.
Officials of the Hebrew, Tel
Aviv and Bar-Ilan Universities
met with the Public Committee
for Russian Jewry and agreed
to revive the dormant Special
Scientists Committee in Israel
for Russian Scientists with Prof.
Yuval Neeman, Tel Aviv Uni
versity president as its chair
man. Neeman said he would
each congregation will see fit
to make as generous a contribu
tion as possible towards this ur
gent need, which we shall be
glad to forward to the CJF.”
The Federation was subse
quently informed that Congre
gation Beth Jacob had already
raised almost $1900 from indi
vidual contributions of its mem
bers which had been relayed to
the Union of Orthodox Congre
gations ol America.
As the flood waters from
Hurricane “Agnes” receded last
month it became clear that the
Wilkes-Barre Jewish commun
ity had suffered a devastating
blow from which it possibly
could not recover without the
help of the national Jewish com
munity:
Of the 1,600 Jewish families,
1,400 were affected by the flood
and, of these some 1,300 families
were evacuated from their
homes which had been de
stroyed or badly damaged. They
were temporarily housed in
surrounding communities. In
addition, most of the 800 to 900
Jewish businesses were also
damaged or destroyed, including
the offices of professional men
and women. The synagogues,
schools and community center
suffered similarly from the
Continued on page 4
Exit Fees
seek to rally American public
opinion on behalf of the victim
ized Jewish scientists.
Hadassah announced it had
sent an appeal to President
Nixon to intervene for the Rus
sian Jewish scientists. Mrs.
Faye L. Schenk, Hadassah
president, said the Soviet Union
had started on “new forms of
blackmail and extortion.” The
effect of the new exit charge
policy, she said, was that Jews
Continued on page 4
MIAMI BEACH (JTA)— The
Republican Party P 1 a t f or m
Committee completed work on
a document with a Middle East
plank which declares at the out
set that “we support the right
of Israel and its courageous peo
ple to survive and prosper in
peace” The plank also pledges
“help in any way possible to
bring Israel and the Arab states
to the conference table where
they may negotiate a lasting
peace” as well as “economic and
special refugee assistance to Is-
srael.”
Tho Middle East plank also
recommended thafrt the United
States continue to"“prevent the
development of a military im
balance” by providing Israel
“with support essential for her
security” and maintenance of
“our tactical forces in Europe
and the Mediterranean area at
adequate strength”
But the plank made no ref
erence to proposals by witnesses
that the U.S. recognize as Is
rael’s capital and transfer the
U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to
Jerusalem, as the Democratic
Party conventions did in June.
Declaring that “all persons”
have the “right” to emigrate
from any country, the proposed
platform declared “we are fully
By Adolph Rosenberg
Not unexpectedly, the appear
ance of Jewish personages
among the newly formed Dem
ocrats for Nixon Committee
precipitated a round of contro
versy within U. S Jewry.
Much of the discussion cen
tered on whether such individ
uals as Dr. William A. Wexler
should have permitted them
selves to be identified as the
former president of B’nai B’rith
and Rabbi Herschel Schacter as
former chairman, Conference of
Presidents of Major American
Jewish Organizations.
In response, B’nai B’rith head
quarters in Washington has is
sued a strongly worded state
ment to its state and local of
ficers that any identification in
the political arena should be
on the basis as individuals and
no reference made which could
aware of and share the concern
of many citizens for the plight
of Soviet Jews with regard to
their freedoms and emigration.”
The committee said that “this
view, together with our commit
ment” to the “United Nations
Declaration of Human Rights”
was made known to Soviet
leaders during President Nixon’s
discussions in Moscow.
Previously, Dr. Henry Kissin
ger, the President’s advisor on
national security affairs, had
said only that the subject was
“mentioned.” Secretary of Sjjtate
William P. Rogers only recently
confirmed that the subject “was
discussed” at the Moscow sum
mit meeting.
Rep. John Rhodes of Arizona,
Platform Committee chairman,
was asked by the Jewish Tele
graphic Agency’s correspondent,
Joseph Polakoff, why the com
mittee platform did not recom
mend transfer of the U.S. Em
bassy to Jerusalem, a proposal
made by the Republican House
Minority leader, Rep. Gerald
Ford of Michigan, by the Re
publican Assistant leader in the
Senate, Robert Griffin of Mich
igan and also by the Federation
of Young Republicans.
Rep. Rhodes replied that the
Platform Committee "did not
possibly infer B’nai B’rith’s
backing of a candidate.
The fraternal order was ada
mant that on the political scene,
it carefully follow a bi-partisan
line
Dr. Wexler vigorously wel
comed any discussion of con
troversy in the matter since, he
told The Southern Israelite, “it
is high time that people ques
tion whether they should vote
for a candidate simply because
their fathers and grandfathers
followed that party” willy nil-
iy.
“I have little patience,” he
declared “with the insecurity
among Jewry which surfaces
whenever Jewish individuals or
ganize and come out for one
candidate or another.”
“Why should not Jews form
a committee and boldly declare
they favor a certain man?” the
Georgian asserted.
document it and that “the
amendment was not offered on
the floor and not acted on.”
The JTA reporter also asked
Rhodes whether Sen. Griffin
and Rep. Ford had approved the
draft in the committee’s plat
form and he replied that “not
everybody appproved it” and
some party leaders “may not
approve it.”
An appeal from the Asssoci-
ation of Jewish Anti-Poverty
Workers to the Republican
Party to adopt “a program
designed to include the alienated
masses of white poor” Ameri
cans, including many Jews, was
considered by the party’s res
olutions committee in drafting
its platform, the JTA was told.
The association did not testify
at the hearings on resolutions
but a statement was submitted
by S. Elly Rosen, association
executive director.
In his statement, Rosen said
he had testified to a House
subcommittee in June 1971 con
cerning “the existence of more
than 80,000 poor Jerws in the
United States and to the dis
crimination they faced in deal
ing with existing Office of Eco
nomic Opportunity community
action (poverty) programs.”
Basic in the Jewish contro
versy was whether a decision
on the American scene should
be made soley on how a can
didate, or a party, had perform
ed in relationship with support
for the State of Israel.
Nixon’s highly active response
to Israel’s needs has been one
of the few incontrovertible as
pects of his administration.
His party in Miami this week
was expected to adopt a plat
form which included more ef
the same kind of support.
The Democratic Convention
last month had come up with
a platform which promised a
high degree of support for Is
rael and ostensibly even went
one step further than the Re
publicans.
Observers however were not
so sure of the nature of the
McGovern commitment, since at
times he has not been, to say
the least, among the most ar
dent backers of the Jewish
State. He has however come out
strongly since he began cam
paigning earlier this year for a
full measure of support for Is
rael.
This vacilation in the past is
not expected to be glossed over
by voters who will scrutinize
thp record carefully
The Democrats for Nixon
Committee however is not a
Jewish organization although it
includes other Jewish figures—
Sammy Davis Jr. and David
Duchins, 1972 chairman of Jew
ish Youth for Humphrey.
The committee headed by
John B. Connally, former U. S.
Treasurer, noted in a full-page
ad appealing for funds in
many daily papers throughout
the nation that Nixon had
brought 500,000 men home from
the war, opened the door to
China, signed the SALT pact,
fights for equal education for
all children without busing,
waged an all out war against
crime and drugs and pursued
domestic policies which have
provided for the job security
and gainful employment of 82,-
634,000 Americans at the high
est wages in history.
It had no reference to Israel,
tax increases and welfare
and struck out at McGovern’s
schemes “as unfair and unwork
able” as well as his advocacy
of busing as a national policy.
Dr. Wexler said he was
speaking only for himself and
not for anyone else or any
group. He raised the question
of whether the kind of total
identification he had had for
the past six years with B’nai
B’rith could be overlooked or
passed over regardless of whe
ther or not his former office
was mentioned as identification.
He pointed out that the mat
ter was a new addition to the
perennial debate over whether
there is or there is not a Jew
ish bloc among the country’s
electorate. Debate it in public
or in private, the fact remains
that both major parties are
courting the Jewish vote.
More specifically each is
courting Jewish voters — and
whatever measure of Jewish fi
nancial assistance these can
bring forth to campaign coffers.
In the case of the Democratic
party, funds are at an extremely
low ebb and needed much more
than in the affluent Republi
can headquarters.
International Protests Monnt
Over Soviet
Rabbi Herschel Schacter, Dr. William A. ( Wexler, Miss Sue
Schreiner. David Luchins and Rabbi Seymour Siegel at a press
conference called by them at the Overseas Press Club in New
York City to voice their unified support for President Nixon’s
re-election.
GOP Platform Has Strong Planks
On Israel, Soviet Jews