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THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE December 12, 1986 Page 11 Damascus affair 1840 papers uncover early Jewish protest WALTHAM, Mass. (JTA)— Original documents detailing a joint effort by four American Jewish communities in 1840 to protest the torture of Jews in Damascus have been uncovered by the American Jewish Histori cal Society. The papers include handwrit ten letters from Moses Montefi- ore, the sheriff of London and the most prominent Jewish leader at the time, and U.S. Secretary of State John Forsyth, as well as minutes from public meetings protesting what is widely known as the Damascus Affair. “Historically, this is an extremely important discovery,” according to Bernard Wax, di rector of the society, who re cently discovered the letters in a metal container among the pap ers of the late Rabbi Edward Klein of the Free Synagogue in New York. “The Damascus Affair was a pivotal event in American Jewish history,” Wax said. “It marked the first time there was an organ ized protest involving more than one Jewish community to protest outrages against Jews in another Likud nixes West German trip JERUSALEM (JTA) Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir has come under fire from his Likud Herut colleagues for supporting President Chaim Herzog’s sche duled state visit to West Ger many next year. The Herut Party Secretariat adopted a resolution at a stormy meeting in Tel Aviv over the weekend demanding that the party’s Cabinet ministers oppose the trip and prevail upon Herzog to cancel it. Shamir was not at the meeting. The trip, announced last month after Herzog’s return from a two- week tour to Australia, New Zea- Cleveland mayor perturbs his city on visit to Israel CLEVELAND (JTA)—Mayor Voinovich is not likely to get a warm welcome home when he returns to City Hall from a visit to Israel. Citizens of Cleveland, local officials and the press arc far from pleased with the remark His Honor dropped at a Tel Aviv press conference Monday to the effect that, despite Israel’s his tory of w ar and terrorist assaults, he feels “safer here than in some neighborhoods in my city.” He explained later that he meant, "l feel as safe in Israel as l do at home, in my own city.” But his ex post facto clarifica tion did little to ease injured civic pride. The Cleveland Plain Dealer suggested in an editorial Tuesday that the returning mayor might be detained at the border for “foot-in-mouth disease.” land and Southeast Asia, has been attacked in both leftwing and rightwing circles. They say it could be interpreted as a sym bolic forgiveness of the Germans for their Nazi past. Herzog has argued that his three-day stay in the Federal Republic will focus on the Holo caust. He plans to attend a mem orial service at the site of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. His trip wiil reciprocate the visit to Israel last year by West Germany’s President Rich ard von Weizsaecker. Meanw hile, Herzog’s Southeast Asia visit is having repercussions in Malaysia, w here he did not go, and Singapore, where he w'as greeted by anti-Israel demonstra tions. Malaysia is an Islamic country which does not have diplomatic relations with Israel. Singapore has, but is strongly influenced by its Islamic neigh bors, Malaysia to the north. Indonesia to the west and south and Brunei to the southeast. Charges of “Zionist interfer ence” in Malaysia’s internal affairs were raised in that country’s Eng lish-language weekly Watan last week. It reported on an “Anti- Jew Day” speech by Mustapha Ali, the Islamic Party youth leader. He charged that the U.S.-based Asia Foundation is a “front” for American Jews and demanded that its office in Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital, be closed. He was quoted as saying, “Our determination is to destroy the Jews and also to stop all cam paigns that are carried out by non-Jews who wish to obstruct the expansion of Islam.” The Straits Times, an English- language daily in Singapore, re ported that Mustapha Ali also charged that Singapore policy was influenced by a Jew, Alex Josey, the biographer of Singa pore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, whom he formerly served as press spokesman. L.ee warmly welcomed Herzog to Singapore last month. country.” The Damascus Affair was a blood libel that occurred in Syria in 1840 when 13 Jews were impri soned and tortured for the alleged ritual murders of a Christian monk and his servant. Two pri soners died from the torture and one converted to Christianity. The incident exploded into an international affair. Most of the protests were led by Montefiore and by Mordecai Manuel Noah, founder of the New York Herald and the sheriff of the Port of New York, and Rabbi Isaac Leeser of Philadelphia, two of the most prominent American Jews in the I9th century. Minutes of meetings held in American communities protest ing the imprisonment and tor ture of the Jews in Damascus, newspaper clippings describing the protests here and abroad, a letter to President Martin Van Buren, and other correspondence and resolutions, were among the papers uncovered by the Ameri can Jewish Historical Society. Wax said the papers appar ently were originally given to Rabbi Stephen Wise (Klein’s predecessor at the Free Syna gogue) in 1896 by Max Kohler, an attorney, author and former secretary of the society who was an avid collector of documents relating to American Jewish history. Youth’s computer caper runs afoul of Israeli law <* American Heart Association WE'RE FIGHTING FOR YOUR LIFE JERUSALEM (JTA)—A 17- year-old who used his expertise with computers to plant a false story in the mass circulation daily Yediot Achronot, was given two years’ probation by a Haifa youth court Tuesday and ordered by Judge Aharon Melamed to donate his computer hardware and software to the National Center for the Deaf. He was also ordered to teach the deaf how to operate computers in lieu of a prison sentence. The youth, who was not iden tified because of his age, man aged last June to access the com puter line of Yediot Achronot’s New York correspondent, Yaa- cov Eilon. He planted a story, ostensibly from Eilon, that a former teacher of his and another Haifa resident headed a large drug smuggling network in the United States. The story made the front page of the newspaper. When it was shown to be false, the police were called in and traced the youth, who had also accessed the lines of other computer users. photography HAROLD ALAN Weddings. .Bar-Bat Mitzvahs .Portraiture Black & White Services Photographic Copies Restoration Harold A. Schroeder Video & R60MBC REALTORS* E. Andrews Dr. 262-3812 L- ZAC PASMANICK, CRS Certified Residential Specialist OFFERING THE BEST OF INTOWN LIVING MORNINGSIDE VIRGINIA-HIGHLAND MIDTOWN DRUID HILLS ANSLEY BUCKHEAD off.: 874-88^0 Res.:'892-1177 NOW OPEN CASUAL- DELIGHTFUL ELEGANT ATMOSPHERE FINE FOODS Featuring: Homemade Pasta Freshest Seafood Finest Veal Full Bar Service — Fine Wines Moderately Priced One Galleria Parkway Next to Ruby Tuesday Outside entrance only 988-9191 SUN. BRUNCH-1 1:30 a.m. 3:00 p.m. LUNCH: Mon. 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