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Hebrew U^lon Col Library
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Cincinnati, Dhio 45220
The Southern Israelite
The Weekly Newspaper For Southern Jewry
Our 54th Year
L LIV ~ ' Afl*nf*,'G*6rffiu Friday, April 21, 1978 NO. 16
Atlantans react
to ???Holocausf
by Lisa Redaction
Many Atlantans joined millions
of Americans before TV sets to
watch the four-part film
???Holocaust??? on NBC-TV from
Sunday through Wednesday
nights.
The television network reported
that preliminary ratings are high.
Betty Hudson, WSB-TV
promotion director, said no one at
NBC realized how well
???Holocaust??? would be received by
the viewing audience.
???It???s been a phenomenon,??? she
said. ???The show on Martin Luther
King didn't do so well. We
wondered if it was because people
didn???t want to be reminded and
because they would feel guilty.
That???s what we were afraid would
happen with ???Holocaust.??? Could
the audience really bear to watch
it?
???No one had any idea how well it
would do. We???re thrilled. The NBC
pre^denyt merit told me that they
^esfiffiafedvl 20 minion people saw
all or part of ???Holocaust??? and that
it???s the second highest rated
entertainment show next to
???Roots.??? Of course it was also
pointed out that ???Roots??? ran for
eight days and did not achieve its
highest ratings until the last three
days. ???Holocaust??? only ran for four
days,??? Ms. Hudson said.
According to NBC national
figures, Sunday night???s showing of
???Holocaust??? took a 43 percent
share, and a 51 percent share on
Monday and Tuesday nights.
Although Wednesday???s national
figures were not available at press
time, NBC predicts a 53 percent
share of the national audience, the
highest rating of all four nights.
A survey of Atlanta viewers
revealed mixed opinions about the
television drama.
Ben Hirsch, an Atlanta
architect and concentration camp
survivor, had a personal reaction
to ???Holocaust."
???My father, mother, sister and
brother were all killed in
concentration camps. My father
was a dentist and did not want to
leave his practice. There is such a
strong parallel between my father
and Dr. Weiss in ???Holocaust.??? The
rest of my family, which included
five of us, left and went to France
in 1938. I did not expect to be so
affected by ???Holocaust??? since I???ve
seen so many documentaries on
the subject but I am being affected
by this because of the close
parallel,??? he said.
Hirsch found the overall
program ???very well done" and
realistic but did find certain parts
did not explain enough about what
really happened.
???The second two segments
moved too quickly. Thirty-
thousand would be killed in kiev
and the next thing you know they???d
switch over to a love scene. The
attitudes and statistics are correct
in ???Holocaust??? but 1 guess its hard
to completely show the realism of
the horrors there. I think it will
make people more aware but I
don???t know how lasting it will be
All I know is the show is long
overdue.
???One major criticism I have," he
added, ???is that the show depicts
Jews being herded to their death
like ???sheep being led to the
slaughter.??? No attempt is made to
explain what led up to this. It is not
See ???Holocaust', Page 34.
It???s seder time?
As families gather around seder tables all over the world, the usual prayers
for peace are especially meaningful at this moment. Not since Moses led the
Jews out of Egypt have the Jewish people been so close to becoming truly free
of strife.
We join in your prayers and wish you a
Happy Passover.
From
the staff of
The Southern Israelite
AJWF reaches
$3.6 million mark
The 1978 Atlanta Jewish Welfare Federation Campaign has
topped the $3,600,000 mark on its way to one of the most successful
campaigns in recent years. With just over $900,000 in 1977 cards
still outstanding, Gerald Cohen, Campaign Chairman was
optimistic that the Campaign could top $414 million.
???We are making every effort in the next two weeks to bring in
every unrealized card,??? Cohen stated. All campaign workers are
being urged to complete their assignments so that community
efforts can be channeled in other directions.
Several telethons have been scheduled for next week to aid in
bringing the campaign to a successful conclusion.
On Monday evening, April 24, the special gifts division, under
the chairmanship of Marshall Solomon, will meet at 7:30 p.m. at
the Federation office to contact any unrealized pledges. On
Tuesday, April 25, the general gifts division will meet at 7:30 p.m.,
according to Gary Metzel, chairman.
A special team of workers has been selected to contact all ???new
prospects??? on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, April
24-26, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Federation office, in an effort to
give every member of the Atlanta Jewish community an
opportunity to participate in this year???s Campaign.
