The Southern Jewish weekly. [volume], June 24, 1949, Image 1

About The Southern Jewish weekly. [volume] (Jacksonville, Fla.) 1939-1992

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AN INDEPENDENT WEEKLY SERVING AMERICAN CITIZENS OF JEWISH FAITH
THE OLDEST AND MOST WIDELY CIRCULATED JEWISH PUBLICATION IN THIS TERRITORY
VOL. 26 NO. 22 *
PLAN TALK
By Alfred Segal
A PATIENT SPEAKS UP
Id "Liberal Judaism" (publica
tion of the Reform persuasion) I
read a discussion between Rabbis
Solomon B. Freehoff of Pitts
burgh and David Polish of Chi
cago on what's the matter with
us
That is to say, what’s the mat
ter with you and me and a great
many other Jews? Religiously
speaking.
The reverend doctors have been
feeling our spiritual pulse which
at times is scarcely detectable.
We seem healthy enough other
wise. We can stay up till all
hours at gin rummy; we hit the
ball with powerful strokes at
golf; we roll 'em out with a pow
erful swing in bowling; nothing
can keep us from the weekly
poker game; the night clubs es
teem us as the best among their
customers and 2 o'clock in the
morning finds us still fresh as
their gaming tables.
But we’re seldom in the syna
gogue. By reason of the five
day week many of us don’t work
on Saturday, but we don’t know
the Jewish Sabbath. The temples,
on the Sabbath, contain nice eld
erly ladies in black who have
come there to recite kaddish for
their husbands and others of
their kinspeople. Few are the
men.
The more orthodox synagogues
are inhabited on the Sabbath by
old and grim men who have car
ried the habit of religious wor
ship from their remote youth.
God has remained with them
from their childhood to their ripe
years like the breath of their
lives.
Sometimes the old men think
out loud: What will become of
these synagogues after they are
through with them and they have
gone away to speak to God in
Person? Who are the young who
will inherit the synagogue?
Where are they?
The reverend diagnosticians
think one way and another about
us. Rabbi Polish says maybe it's
the prayers; maybe we're tired of
saying the old prayers over and
over again. He proposes a re
construction of the prayer-service
in accordance with modern Jew
“h experience —a prayer-service
that will not be the same all the
time, but will offer variety each
Sabbath.
He would make the prayers
m °re meaningful to the modern
mind. Then, perhaps, people will
start going to the synagogue
again.
Habbi Freehoff isn't too sure
what the cure is. He finds that
e spiritual sickness is not only
among Jews but among Protest-
and Catholics as well. He
Points out that the synagogues
316 cr °wded on Rosh Hashonah
3nd Yom Kippur . . . "In these
jwo services." he says, "there is a
emendous power of attraction
as strong for our modern people
** for P Qst generations. We have
over analyzed the source of
ength of these two services.
help" 4 study may be °* 9 reat
(Continued on Page 4)
Jewish Broadcast
Slated For Sunday
“Incident at Sea”, an original
radio drama by Joseph Mindel,
will be the next feature presenta
tion on the Eternal Light, Sun
day, June 26, 1949 (NBC network,
12:30-1:00 PM DST), according to
an announcement by the Jewish
Theological Seminary of America
under whose auspices the pro
gram is conducted.
Next week’s script tells of a
group of DP’s en route to Amer
ica after a decade of homeless
ness and suffering. While aboard
ship they discover, disguised in
their midst, a former SS Guard
who had tortured them brutally,
and whom they decide to destroy.
“Incident at Sea” is the story
of their ensuing dilemma: wheth
er revenging themselves, a right
they feel morally entitled to, by
committing an essentially evil
deed, will jeopardize their status
as human beings, i
Southern IZFA Delegate To
Attend Convention
•
Leo Osheroff, resident of Miami Beach and president of the
Southern Region of the Intercollegiate Zionist Federation of Amer
ica (IZFA) will travel to Cleveland, Ohio as delegate of the Southern
Region to the IZFA national convention to be held there this week.
IZFA, like all other Zionist
groups, has as its basis the Basle
Program of 1879, but differs from
all such organizations in that it
is the only completely non-parti
san group within the Zionist
movement. It is six years old and
boasts many fine accomplish
ments since its inception. Num
bering some ten thousand college
students within its ranks, IZFA
through its chalutz arm, Haoleh,
has several hundred students
preparing for life in Israel in
various professional and technical
occupations.
Osheroff, long active in Zionist
circles in Miami and Gainesville,
was reently made president of
IZFA’s Southern Region and
elected to the National Executive
Committee. He will also be direc
tor of the IZFA camp to be held
in Hendersonville, N. C. at the
site of Brandeis camp in late
August and early September.
Earlier he helped organize the
Zionist group at the U of Florida
and was instrumental in estab
lishing several other chapters
throughout the South, when
Membership and Expansion
Chairman. He was also editor of
the first regional paper.
IZFA’s Southern Region is
comprised of sixteen chapters in
Florida, Georgia, South Carolina,
North Carolina, Tennessee, Ala
bama, Louisiana and Mississippi
with a membership of over 500
student Zionists. It will be the
work of the national convention to
consider a resolution of the South
ern Region adopting a strength
ened Americanization program
within the ranks of college
Zionists, urging the individual
Zionist to better, acquaint him
self with and to stand up for the
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 1949
- ISRAELI RECIPIENT OF
COUNCIL SCHOLARSHIP
.... • fVgpy * y>!
unlft
Miss Ilse Flatow. of Israel
Three years ago Rebecca Kap
elsohn, a field worker for the
National Council of Jewish Wom
en, died while serving the needs
(Continued on page 4)
principles of American Democ
racy, without which neither the
Zionist movement or Judaism can
long survive.
It will be the responsibility of
all delegates to find away to
strengthen and make grow the
Zionist movement on college
campuses over the U.S. and Can
ada. Plans wil be formulated to
double membership size and
strengthen the bonds of Israel
with the individual college stu-
ZOA PRESIDENT FLIES TO ISRAEL
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Daniel Frisch, newly-elected president of the Zionist Organization
of America, leaves by plane for Israel to confer with high govern
ment officials for a charter for ZOA projects in behalf of the
Jewish Staie. Shown, left to right, are Mr. Frisch, Mrs. Frisch, who
is accompanying her husband on the trip, arid Benjamin G.
Browdy, vice-president of the ZOA, who is serving as acting presi*
dent in Mr. Frisch’s absence.
Reform Rabbi Warns Against
Theocratic Tendencies
In Israel
• >
BRETTON WOODS. N.H.—A warning against any form of
theocracy in Israel was sounded by Dr. Abraham J. Feldman of
Hartford, Conneticut, in his Presidential Address last Thursday
opening the 60th anniversary convention of the Central Conference
of American Rabbis. Speaking before the largest and oldest rab
binical organization in the United States. Dr. Feldman told almost
500 Liberal (or Reform) rabbis that despite disavowals of theo
cratic tendencies by the Minister of Religion of the Israeli govern
ment, and the Chief Rabbi, that there is a refusal "to give religious
freedom to the Liberal Jewish communities in Israel."
IN THIS ISSUE
Our readers will be pleased
to read on Page Five of this
week's issue the story. "Pop's
Boy", written by Irvin Ash
kenazy, who relates an actual
personal experience during
his years at the University of
Florida, where he "fought" his
way through school.
Israel Housing Company To
Spend $18,000,000 On
Housing For Immigrants
At a cost of 6,000,000 Israeli
Pounds (18 million dollars) the
Israeli National Housing Com
pany “Amidar” recently organiz
ed in Israel jointly by the Gov
ernment, the Jewish Agency for
Palestine and the Jewish Na
tional Fund, has signed agree
ments for the erection of 7,250
housing units to be completed by
November of this year, according
to a Tel Aviv dispatch received
by The Israel Corporation of
America.
dent so as to create a better, more
informed Jewish community
leadership in the future.
Leo Osheroff is the son of Mr.
and Mrs. A1 Osheroff of 2485
Meridian Avenue, Miami, Beach.
Dr. Feldman, explaining that
the many acute problems facing
the government of Israel may
have made it impossible to go
into this matter now, said that
“nevertheless, I am constrained
to express concern over the con
tinuance of the policy of con
straint and restriction vis-a-vis
the Liberal synagogues in Israel.
I realize, of course, that not
everything could be achieved in
only one year, that the war and
the post-war problems were
bound to leave some areas of life
untouched and unsettled. But
•
yet, while the Ministry of Re
ligion in the new government,
and the Chief Rabbi, may disa
vow the intention or the danger
of a theocracy; while they offer
assurances of complete religious
freedom to Christians of all de
nominations and to Moslems, they
assure religious freedom only to
those Jews who are sharing in
the theological views and convic
tions of the Chief Rabbinate, but
refuse to give religious freedom
to the Liberal Jewish communi
ties in their midst.
"I know that the government
is aware of this situation. I am
aware of the sympathetic atti
tude of the many members of
the government towards a demo
cratic and decent response to the
cry for fair play. But is it not
right to expect that at least the
assurance of the same measure of
democratic fairness which is as
sured to Christian and Moslem
comunities might be given to
Jews who profess Liberal Juda
ism. No Jews ought to be con
strained as to their ipethods and
forms of worship, which is pre
cisely the position of the Jewish
religious Liberals there. They
are being forced into the straight
jacket of a strict and legalistic
interpretation of Judaism, and
are being subjected to the indig
nity of being compelled to con
form in such matters as marriage
and divorce. Unless they con
form, marriages cure illegal 'and
divorces are impossible."
Pointing out that he didn’t
“want to add- to the problems of
the government of Israel at this
critical time,” Dr. Feldman urged
the assembled rabbis to send “an
appropriately worded representa
tion to men like President Chaim
Weizmann and Prime Minister
Ben Gurion for a fair and just
consideration of this matter by
their government.”
Dr. Feldman reported that there
are three Liberal congregations
in Israel, one each in the prin
cipal cities of Tel Aviv, Jerusa
lem and Haifa. These number
some six to seven hundred fam
(Continued on page 4)
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