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- • .V- *• '■ >V. V* THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE December 26, 1986 Page 15 Through the years-the ’50s The Soil flier n Israelite A Weekly Newspaper for Southern Jewry — Established 1925 KXIII ATLANTA, GEORGIA, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1953 NO. 42 Bomb Damages Atlanta Temple; Shocks City, State, ami Nation Into Action By ADOLPH ROSENBERG \ pro-dawn blast of dynamite pok the foundations of the fnplo in Atlanta Sunday, caus- t approximately $200,000 in inape. The explosion shook the very (nditions of the community, likening hundreds around 3:30 a. and by noon the same day Verberating as far away as t top officials of the nation, the disaster, flashed at first tr radio and TV, shocked puh- t officials the citizenry of the y and state into a massive re- ticn of expressions of goodwill | sympathy. For about fiVe hours, the ex- osion source remained a mys- ry, although numerous reports jne almost immediately over titchboards of police, news ier offices and other mediums (■communication. Because the blast was not ac- Ibpanied by a flash of light il was on a side of the Tem- t structure not visible from t street or on the r ide facing Jiuge apartment building, the tdcnces of damage were not mediately visible, the damage was first diseov- td by the faithful Negro jani- | of the Hebrew Benovelent Bgrepation routinely reporting {work at 8 a.m. to open the jligious School part of the jilding for the scheduled Sun- jjr School classes, jtobert Rent ley first called the jnplc president, William B. awartz Jr., and then the Tem ple’s secretary, Mrs. Abe Shur- g’n. Congregational channels swung into action and police were quickly summoned through Po lice Captain Fred Beerman, assistant to the chief of police and himself a member of the Congregation. Soon, Rabbi Jacob Rothschild, spiritual leader, and board mem bers sped to the scene. They surveyed the scene and immediately knew they must prepare a statement. They hud dled inside a car parked in front of the main building to frame the wording of the statement they would later release to the press, radio and TV. Almost simultaneously the Sisterhood telephone committee had sprung into action, alerting parents of about 600 pupils that there would be no Religious School classes that morning. A few unable to be reached by phone brought their children anyway. They had headed for the Temple before they could be reached, some of them from com munities fifty and sixty miles away. They were stopped at the driveway by police and told they could not enter. Later they learn ed why from radio broadcasts. Atlanta’s Mayor William B. Hartsfield was one of the first on the scene Shocked and ang ry, he remained all morning to talk with reporters, newscasters and communal officials. He felt immediately the dyna- I joshe Sharett To Be Jov. 9 at Dinner » [osho Sharett, former Prime islcr and Foreign Minister of State of Israel, will visit At- [a next month, it was announc- ,by A. J. Weinberg, Chairman the 1958 Atlanta Israel Bond imittee. .■ael’s outstanding internnf- |ll spokesman will represent | country and will l>o principal t aker at the dinner in honor of yor William B. Hartsfield, Inday, Nov. 9, at the Progressive kb. This event, a high point in I current local Israel Bond pnpaign, will mark the 10th fcliversnry of Israel’s independ- * foreign Minister in Israel's it Cabinet, Sharett won woild Jairn for his forceful exposi- | of Israel's position before l highest international bodies was Israel’s first spokesman Iddress the General Assembly the United Nations, where he tented a masterly case for Is- I’s admission to the U N Unco stepping down from the Ice of Prime Minister to make y for David Ben-Gurion when ! latter came out of retire- ht, Sharett has gained added tels ns a dynamic leader in formulation of Israel’s pro in of 'conomic development, -has travelled throughout the Id’s incorr mitted nations ling friends for Israel Only ;ntly he returned from India ere his visit resulted in a r attitude taken by Prime lister Nehru. barett has a background of e than three decades of par tition and leadership in the r effort to brng a Jewish Principal Speaker Honoring Mayor MOSI1E SHARETT State into being Formerly head of the Political Department of the Jewish Agency for Palestine, he was, during World War II, chief coordinator of the war ef fort of Palestinian Jewry. Generally regarded as the architect of Israel’s foreign pol icy, Sharett is considered a mov ing spirit in the world struggle to defend the frontiers of free dom and to strengthen democ racy in the Middle East It is antiepiated that the form er Prime Minister will bring with him some form of recogni tion to be presented to Mayor Hartsfield for his consistent sup port of Israeli causes through the years. . Police searching for clues in the rubble of the dynamite blast at the Temple in Atlanta. See pages 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 for additional material on the disaster. The photographs and editorial reprints used in this special section of this issue were made available through the courtesy and co- opemtion of THE ATLANTA JOURNAL and THE ATLANTA 'CONSTI TUTION. miting was the work of the crack pots, similar to those re sponsible for Synagogue bomb ings in Nashville, Jacksonville and Miami. “I would not be surprised to learn that this is Internationally inspired,” Hartsfield asserted. ‘‘But I would not care to elabor ate on this further.” Mayor Hartsfield pledged the full cooperation of the Atlanta Police Force "until the culprits are brought to justice” "I want to start the ball roll ing with the offer of a $1,000 reward offer from the Mayor's office,” Hartsfield declared “I hope the reward total will rench as much as $50,000." Police, surveying the damaged building, estimated that between 30 and 50 sticks of dynamite had been set off professionally in the side entrance which faces the north side of the building. This segment of the building, not visible from the c treet, is be side the driveway which encir cles the Temple. It can he steal thily approached from a parking lot in rear of the business office building next door Heavy cement columns which were a part of the brick walls at the entrance were torn from their anchors and » huge hole around twenty feet in circum ference blasted in the structure. Force of the blast shattered all windows on the rear three stories of the building, used for the Religious School classes, ad ministrative offices and office structure. The vestibule and surrounding area were demolished or irre parably damaged The Temple Social Hal! whose wall faced the corridor leading from the de stroyed entrance was greatly damage d, accoustical blocks loosened from ceiling, the win dows blown out Water from a broken pipe «,■>< (Continued on Page 8) Statements on Bombing HEBREW BENEVOLENT CONGREGATION We are shocked and sick at heart at the wanton damage to our Bouse of Worship. We thank God that the explosion took place before our children and teachers arrived for Sunday School this morning. Our shattered ReHgtoas School building and the broken win dows of our Sanctuary bear mute evidence <o the contrast between the ideals of religious faith and the practices of Godless men. We feel rertain that the en tire community Joins us In the condemnation of this despicable and outrageous art which dam aged our Temple but is in fact directed against the total com munity. We are confident that the law enforcement officials of our city are doing and will continue to do all in their power to apprehend those responsible for this crimin al attack upon the religious and democratic foundations of our country. JACOB M. ROTHSCHILD, RABBI Temple Spiritual Leader WILLIAM B. SCITWARTZ, JR. Temple President Atlanta. Ga.. Oct. 12, 1958 ATLANTA JEWISH COMMUNITY COUNCIL The Atlanta Jewish Commun ity Council representing 37 ipem- ber Jewish organizations in At lanta. at a special jotnt meeting of its Executive Committee and Delegate Assembly, held at the Jewish Community Center, Wed nesday afternoon, October 15, 1958, unanimously adopted the following statement: We record our deep sense of horror and abhorjgpce at the ex plosion which wrecked the Reli gious School Building of the Temple. The reverberation of this ex plosion was heard throughout the land. Its universal condem nation is a source of deep satis faction to all of us. The spontaneous response from all segments of our community, in an outpouring of generosity of spirit and heart, is a magnifi cent demonstration of sympathe tic understanding and good will. It is an encouraging manifesta tion of our faiih in the reality of good community relationships in Atlanta. We have complete confidence in the efforts of our city and state officials and the law en forcement agencies of our com munity with the helpful partici pation of the of tracking down those guilty of this hein ous crime and bringing them to justice. In recognition of the work of our law enforcement agencies, the President of the Atlanta Jewish Community Council is hereby authorized to offer in the name of the Council, the sum of $2,500 towards the May or’s Fund of a reward for the apprehension and conviction of those guilty of this treacherous un-American act. We hereby recommend to the member organizations of the Council to Join in increasing the Mayor's Fund. We desire to point out that our job is not done with mere expressions of shock and sym pathy. We must rededieate our selves to do all we can to root out from our midst intolerance, bigotry and hatred. The task will not he completed until we realize that goal. MORTON L. WEISS, President President