The Southern Jewish weekly. [volume], November 11, 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. 42
Southern Zionist Youth Leaders
To Neet on November 20th
The annual meeting of the Southern Inter-Regional Zionist Youth
Commission, joint youth agency of Southern and Southeastern Ha
riassah and the Southeastern Zionist Organization of America, will
take place in Atlanta, Sunday, November 20th in conjunction with
the annual Conference of the Southeastern Z, O. A. Region.
PLAIN TAIK
By Alfred Segal
I AM UNSAVED
The tall, thin man was a strang
er who said that for years he had
admired me from afar until this
moment when he had come to
call on me. He had been reading
my column in the daily press 20
years and from that he had con
cluded I was worth his attention.
His name was Atkinson.
“There’s only one thing the
matter with you,” he said.
Oh, Mr. Atkinson, only one
thing? Without any preparation
for giving such an accounting I
can recite offhand many things
that are the matter with me. He
had called to tell me about it
with the best of good will and
to do something to improve me...
"I might say I am your best
friend, though we became ac
quainted only a few minutes ago"
... He was worried about my
soul.
“You are doomed if you con
tinue in your present state,” Mr.
Atkinson was speaking like a
father to a son who isn’t going
right. Mr. Atkinson said he felt
sure that heaven could be even
more enjoyable if a fellow like
me would get there with him ...
‘But I feel bound to tell you you
are not going there.”
Me? I confessed I hadn't
thought much of going to heaven.
My idea has been that if I tried
to be a fairly decent citizen, I
needn't worry much about my
future.
“But you are a Jew, Mr. Segal”
• • . Mr. Atkinson was saying
♦his in the friendliest way . . .
“As a Jew you are an unbeliever
and unredeemed. You can not
share in salvation. There is no
salvation except in being a Chris
tian.”
Mr. Atkinson was saying that
not only he but other officers as
well as ordinary members of his
church had been worrying
about me . . . "If you hadn't
shown yourself to be a decent
man in your column they would
n't bother about you" . . They
had decided to try to save me
h®cause they regarded them
selves as friends of mine. They
had sent Mr. Atkinson to make
overtures toward a salvation that
would make my future secure.
‘"To make it short, we are in
viting you to be a Christian”.
Mr. Atkinson, this is too sud
“«n. After having been a Jew
some 2000 years and more a man
can't in a moment make himself
ever.
I’m not asking you to become
® Christian in a moment,” Mr.
Atkinson said. “We’d be happy
o take you into our church next
Sunday, though. That should be
106 enough. At your age you
♦Continued on Page Eight)
Plans for the breakfast session
were announced by Sidney C.
Gluckrnan of Daytona Beach,
chairman of the Commission.
The meeting will begin at 8:30 a.
m. at the Mayfair Club, 1456
Spring Street, N. W.
Expected in Atlanta for the
meeting are: Mrs. J. Wilensky of
Savannah, President of South
eastern Hadassah; Mrs. William
Kirshner of Nashville and Mrs. A.
Held of Birmingham, represent
ing Southern Hadassah; Mrs. Isa
dore Moscovitz of Jacksonville
and Mrs. M. Levine of Tampa,
representing Southeastern Hadas
sah; Mr. Sol Benamy of Atlanta,
President of Southeastern Z. O.
A., Mr. Max Robkin of Atlanta,
Mr. Abe Berkowitz of Birming
ham, Mr. Robert Travis of At
lanta. and Mr. A1 Freedman of
Atlanta, all representing the Z.
O. A. Region; and the following
representatives from the youth
groups sponsored by the Youth
Commission:
Miss Rosalie Abramovitz of
Tampa and Mrs. Abbott Orent
licher of Atlanta, representing Jr.
Hadassah; Albert Beerman and
Anita Schwartzman of Atlanta,
representing Young Judaea; Is
rael Katz and Henry Birnbrey of
Atlanta, representing Masada;
Siegfried Guthman of Atlanta,
representing I. Z. F. A.; and Jar
vin Levison of Atlanta, represent
ing Brandeis Camp Alumni.
Matters to be taken up during
the morning conference include:
Adoption of a budget; Reports
from youth groups; Election of a
chairman and treasurer; Clarifi
cation of National Youth Commis
sion policies; Brandeis Camp
Scholarships; and Recommenda
tions from Herman M. Popkin,
Youth Director of the Commis
sion.
Representatives from the twen
ty-five local Youth Commissions
throughout the eight States com
prising the Region have been ask
ed to send a representative to the
annual Commission session.
St. Augustine
Mr. and Mrs. Israel Feiden of
Toque Place, St. Augustine, an
nounce the engagement of their
daughter, Jacqueline Suzanne, to
Solon Freedman, son of Mrs. Dora
Freedman, of Jacksonville and
formerly of New York.
Miss Feiden attended Tulane
University and Florida State Uni
versity, and is now in her junior
year at the University of Florida.
Mr. Freedman attended City
College of New York and has
been attached to the U. S. Naval
Air Station in Jacksonville for
the past four and one-half years.
Wedding plans have not as yet
been completed, but will be an
nounced by Mr. and Mrs. Feiden
at a later date.
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 1949
Will Address
Synagogue
Conference
in Charleston
■ m '
H . ImSm
. "‘..:1c.. ■ ■
A-
St II
DR. ISRAEL M. GOLDMAN
The Southeast Region, United
Synagogue of America, will hold
its Second Annual Conference on
Jewish Education at Synagogue
Emanuel, Charleston, S. C., on
Sunday, November 27, 1949. Mr.
Macey Krongberg, Charleston, is
President of the Region and Mr.
Nathan Goldberg, Charleston, is
Chairman of the Conference
Committee.
Dr. Israel M. Goldman, Rabbi
of Chizuk Amuno, Baltimore,
Director of the National Academy
for Adult Jewish Studies and for
mer President of the Rabbinical
Assembly of America, will be the
principal speaker.
In addition, Dr. Goldman will
also lead the seminar on “A Pro
gram of Education For the Con
servative Synagogue.” Other
seminars devoted to the interests
of the entire Synagogue family
will be held. These are:
(a) “The Structure of the Con
gregational School” by Dr. Abra
(Continued on Page Five)
BY NATHAN ZIPRIN
While some of our Christian friends are seeking to check anti-
Semitism, some of our own people are busy making statements whose
very content can only serve as fodder for the Jew haters.
At a Protestant parley held last week in New York City it was
pointed out that there had been an alarming increase of anti-Semit
ism in the United States. The gathering called on Protestants to
combat that evil as “a sin against God and man.” However, at that
very inter-faith-promoting meeting Rabbi Elmer Berger of the Am
erican Council for Judaism had the gall to introduce his favorite bit
of dissonance. He told the advocates of Christian-Jewish amity that
American Jews were being drawn by the Zionists into a movement
serving Israel’s interests.
Now. if you were just a simple Christian, unfamiliar with the
strange and unpopular doctrines of the Council you would of course,
in your own way, draw the conclusion that American Jews were
letting themselves be weaned away from patriotism and devotion to
country. And since the Jews are amenable to double loyalty, you
wouldn't of course hesitate to call a spade a spade and a Jew a dual
citizen. The consequences of such thinking must become apparent
even to those who walk the transparent bridge of the Judaistic cult—
a denial of the very essence and purpose the Protestant parley set
before itself. What Berger perhaps lacked the courage to say before
a Christian audience was said for him by that great champion of
civil liberties, Arthur Garfield Hays, when he raged at a Council
conclave that Zionists were breeding anti-Semitism by contending
that Jews were merely "sojourners" in this country. The inference
of "sojourners" will not escape the ears of the anti-Semites.
The Lord knows there is sufficient anti-Semitism about us. But
why even self-proclaimed so-called Jewish spokesmen should add oil
to the fuel via dangerous, false, vicious and unwarranted insinuations
is beyond us. These pretenders to American purism remind us of
the purists of another brand.
DANGEROUS PRETENDERS
American Jewry’s Role in Israel
BY DAVID BEN GURION
Prime Minister of Israel
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The following article by Prime Minister
Ben Gurion is an authoritative, up-to-the-minute report on the
present situation in Israel, and the relationship of American
Jews to the Jewish State. It is the text of a statement made by
the Prime Minister recently to a Special Mission of U. S. com
munal leaders, which visited Israel to study the immigration
crisis and determine the extent of aid that will be required in
1950 through the United Jewish Appeal.)
We are aware today how deep is the concern of American Jewry
in the fate of the refugees and the displaced persons in Europe and
other countries; we know of your concerted efforts over the years to
be of help to them in rehabilitation and resettlement, and we are all
fu)l of admiration of the work you have done and are continuing
to do.
Iroqi Jewish
Women Arrested
TEL AVIV, (JTA) A num
ber of Iraqi Jewish women have
been arrested in that country, it
was reported here this week.
The women were arrested when
they demonstrated against the
arrest of their husands, sons and
relatives earlier. The demon
stration was dispersed by Iraqi
police. On the same day, all
Jews in Iraq observed a day of
fast and mourning in protest
against the arrest and persecu
tion of hundreds of Jews. The
latest reports received here from
Iraq place over 400 Jews in jails
there.
(Edward S. Crocker, the Unit
ed States Ambassador to Iraq,
left on the Queen Mary from New
York this week to return to his
post at Bagdad. The State De
partment has still not received a
report from the Embassy in Bag
dad concerning the persecution
of Iraqi Jews. The request for
a report was made last week).
Today, in the second year after
the establishment of the State of
Israel, it is not necessary to em
phasize, let alone prove, that this
country is paramount as the ab
sorber of all Jews from Europe,
Asia, Africa and other countries
in search of a new refuge and fu
ture.
From May, 1948 to September.
1949—during 17 months—there
have come in 298,796 persons
(May-December 1948—96,912 or
12,114 a month). From January
to the end of September, there
were 201,884 dr 22,431 a month—
nearly half of the Yishuv as it
was—at the founding of the
State.
In terms of America, this would
represent an immigration of 37
million a year. Only a small pro
portion have come with modest
or medium means. The majority
arrived with the clothes on their
backs or some household furnish
ings'. All their wants fell on the
public—their temporary accom
modation, their housing, their
permanent employment. There is
no parallel in our history for this
task and none perhaps in world
history. To this must be added
the fact that for the first ten
months of the State’s existence, it
was in a state of war with five
neighboring nations and that
peace has not yet been secured;
that the State was obliged to re
organize the public services that
had been destroyed by the Mand
atory Government which be
queathed a legacy of general
chaos and confusion.
Any other people would prob
ably have fallen into despair. If
we have neither despaired nor re
coiled—and have no intention of
recoiling—it is not only because
we have no choice but because
of our faith in our ability to carry
out the stupendous task we have
undertaken, provided the Jewish
communities in the world will do
their share towards that part of
the task which is not the exclu
sive concern of the State of Israel.
We are happy to know that
most of the Jewish communities
in the world, those living in
democratic countries, and Ameri
tan Jewry above all, regard
themselves as partners in this re
sponsibility. According to ex
perts, and indeed in the light of
our experience, a sum of $2500 is
neeeded for the integration of
each immigrant. If the extent of
immigration in the future will be
tome 200,000 a year—this year it
was 260,000 —a sum of 500 million
(Continued on Page Five)
$3.00 A YEAR