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The unbreakable bond
The (olio* ins statement *as delivered by Mrs. Coretta Scon
King Thursda< morning at the commemorative sen ice held by the
Atlanta Jewish community at the tomb of Dr Marlin Luther
King Jr —Editor.
“This commemorative service is a testament to the
unbreakable bond of solidarity between Black and Jewish
Americans in our community and across the nation. It is a bond
deeply rooted in our common heritage of suffering at the hands of
•acisiT. and anti-Semitism down through the ages. And today, we
nay e come together to say that this bond is based on our common
struggle to realize the dream Martin Luther King Jr. shared with
us on that sweltering afternoon 20 years ago this Sunday.
“From the earliest days of the Civil Rights Movement on
aewn to today. Black Americans have always depended on the
support of the Jewish community. A great many Jewish citizens
payed mayor roies in the movement, and continue to support our
nonviolent struggle against racism today.
“Jews have supported Black Americans in their quest for
equality because it is morally right. And. it is for this same reason
that responsible Black Americans will continue to vigorously
oppose anti-Semitism at every turn.
“Solidarity between the Jewish and Black communities has
endured potentially divisive incidents and issues since the days of
the movement. Black and Jewish leaders have worked tirelessly to
strengthen the bonds of solidarity between our communities. And
today we are here to say that tbe bonds endure and we are more
determined than ever to achieve the dream.
“Blacks and Jews united together are a central element in the
new coalition of conscience we are building to achieve jobs, peace
and freedom. By drawing together from our common Judeo-
Christian heritage of justice. love and forgiveness, we can help
bring about a genuine reconciliation in America and make the
dream of brotherhood a reality for all people.
“In this spirit and with this faith, together. We Shall
Overcome.”
Vida Goldgar
All in a day’s work
! always thought the life of an ambassador must be
prem glamorous After all the role by ns very nature
carries a certain celebrity Then, too, there are all
those fancy parties, travel and
other things that sound exciting.
My second thoughts came w hen
1 got a peek ai the schedule facing
Mot R osenne Israels Ambassador
to the United States, for his brief
visit to Atlanta last week.
First there was the flight from
W ashmgton just a bit after 8 am.
Well you know what that means ..getting up at least
by 6 o'clock •'
The flight is just a little over an hour, so after being
met at Hartsfield by Consul General Trigor and
Gerald Cohen, he was whisked off to City Hall in time
for an 11 a m chat with Mayor Young
That couldn't have lasted more than 30 minutes
because by 11 45 the ambassador had to be at a
reception and luncheon ai the Southern Center for
International Studies That was his first speech of the
day
At 2 in tbe afternoon, there was a second speech,
this ume to tbe Jewish War Veterans having their
national convention at the Marriott downtown. Oh.
well you say, he probably gave the same speech.
Nope, this was a different one
Time to take a hule nap or at least kick your shoes
off for a while. Not if you are Ambassador Rosenne.
He was due at the daily newspapers to give a
background briefing to the editorial boards of the
Journal and the Constitution
A little rest now? Not on your life. Well maybe
ume for a quick cuppa coffee,but at 4:50 there was a
live interview on CNN’s “Newswatch” program
It’s hard to tdl from tbe schedule, but there just
may have been time to rest a hit and freshen up before
dinner with Federation officials.
By that time, most of us would have been ready to
call it a day. For Rosenne, it wasn’t over yet. There
was still a reception for representatives of all Jewish
organizations What really astonished me was that
when 1 went through the receiving line, the
ambassador's mind was still so sharp that he reminded
me of our previous encounter That was after rumors
were out that he would be named ambassador to the
United States, but before it was officially announced
“You asked me when l would be coming to Atlanta as
ambassador," he said with a smile, adding “Well, here
1 am"
Now—finally -the day was over No more
speeches, no more receptions, no more media visits
The day was over but not the tnp There was still a
Friday morning call on Gov. Joe Frank Hams at the
CapitoLand a meeting at the King Center followed by
laying a wreath on the grave of the late Martin Luther
King Jr.
AU this is so just in case the president calls you and
wants to appoint you to an ambassadorship, you’ll
know what to expect
The Rosenberg affair
by Arnold Ages
IT A
The American Jewish community
did not come collectively to the
help of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
between 1951 (when they were
tried for conspiracy I and 1953.
(when they were executed) because
of extreme semitrvrtv over the
Jewish issue in the case.
Thai is the considered opinion of
Ronald Radosh and Joyce Milton
in their survey of the trial In their
book. “The Rosenberg File" (Holt
Rinehart A Winston). Radosh
and Milton, having obtained
access to hitherto classified
materials, come to the conclusion
that the organized Jewish
community was so fearful of anti-
Jewish backlash that it fought
against clemency for the
Rosen bergs
The reticence of the American
Jewish Committee to support the
Rosen bergs in any way has been
used over the years, say Radosh
and Milton, to prove that there
was noi a taint of anti-Semitism
during the trial and sentencing of
tbe suspected atomic spies
The authors suggest, however,
that there might have been a kind
of reverse anti-Semitism dunng
the hearings Howard Fast
“suggested that the handling of
their case by a Jewish judge and
prosecutor (Kaufman and Saypol)
was the result of some undefined
but sinister conspiracy Jews "have
been indeed by Jews' and ‘sent to
death by other Jews,’ Fast charged
‘Exactly the old technique of the
Jewish Tribunal employed by
Hitler ~
Radosh and Milton reveal in
their study that when the jury
room was cleared, a note was
found there on which “Jude"
appeared The note was handed
over to the FBI because a court
official believed that its public
release could be manipulated by
the press to make it appear that the
Rosen bergs had been victims of an
anti-Semitic juror. The note was
finally handed over to prosecutor
Saypol—who did not reveal its
existence
The fact that many of the
principals in the trial, in fact
almost all of them (the exoeption
being the Soviet operative. Anatoly
Yakovlev)—Julius and Ethel
Rosenberg. Morton Sobel Harry
Gold. David Greenglass—were
Jews was not lost on at least one
jury member, Vincent Lebonitte.
who is quoted by Radosh and
Milton as saving “I felt good that
this was a strictly Jewish shoU It
was Jew against Jew It wasn’t the
Christians hanging the Jews."
Authors Radosh and Milton
speculate that both Judge
Kaufman and prosecuting
attorney Saypol demanded an
unprecedented death sentence
(Klaus Fuchs, the German spy,
received 10 years for a far more
heinous offense) from an
exaggerated sensitivity to the
possibility that the Rosenberg case
would precipitate a new wave of
anti-Semitism in the United States.
In fact, the court did receive an
abundance of hate mail during (he
trial
The American Jewish community
did not merely stand aside in (he
petitionary activity for clemency
on behalf of the Rosenhergs; it
went out of its way to argue against
the clemency campaign and for the
death penalty One prominent
Jewish intellectual argued that
Jews must not support the
demency campaign, “even lor
purely humanitarian reasons." The
writer in question said (hat the
Communist Party was now
attempting to use Jews “as it had
long used Blacks as pan of its war
on America-’ Even a thousand to
one chance that Ethel or Julius
Rosenberg might eventually
confess, “could not be sufficient
reason for sparing their lives -
since to back down from the death
sentence would carry with it the
appearance of caving in to tbe
Communists' moral blackmail ~
The kind of concern expressed
by tbe writer was also reflect od m a
lengthy memorandum prepared by
a staff member of the American
Jewish Committee on July 31.
1950. just a short time after the
Rosen bergs were arrested. The
memorandum, entitled “Public
Relations Effects of Jewish
Atomic Spies.* acknowledges that
the presence of so many Jewish
names among (he accused makes
for a potentially dangerous
situation for Jews
The author of the memorandum
advocates the infiltrating of leftist
organizations "using our
knowledge to scare off Jews “ In
addition, the bnef argues that the
American Jewish Committee
eschew defensive kinds of
propaganda in favor of a more
aggressive “propaganda of fact.”
Eight examples of such
propaganda are provided in the
brief and include statements about
Soviet persecution of Jews, their
recruitment of spies and efforts in
North America to fight communist
infiltration. Israel's support of
America in the Korean War and
the Jewish itate’i control of*
communists are also cited as
positive propaganda responses to
the Rosenberg-generated atmosphere
It is instt uctive to note that while
the American Jewish Committee
may he faulted in its position
during the Rosenberg case, it was
not the only group which was
reluctant to ent *r the fray. Even
the American Civil Liberties
Union saw no reason to intervene