The Southern Jewish weekly. [volume], January 25, 1952, Image 1

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

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THE OLDEST AND MOST WIDELY CIRCULATED JEWISH PUBLICATION IN THIS TERRITORY
VOL. 29 NO. 1
PLAIN TALK
BY ALFRED SEGAL
# RABBI'S BOOK
I have in hand the new book
of Rabbi Edgar F. Magnin of Los
Angeles where he officiates in
the leading Reform congregation.
(Wilshire Boulevard Temple.)
You might say he is chaplain for
a considerable and influential
part of the movie industry.
Right from the start I like
Rabbi Magnin’s book for its title:
“How to Live a Richer and Fuller
Life.” That is to say, this rabbi
tells us about ourselves and how
to do the best with ourselves so
that at the end of it all we will
not be tormented by too many
segrets.
(The fact is that living is much
harder than dying, though we
make a big event of a death.)
The title of Rabbi Magnin’s
book suggests a long series of
sermons for rabbis generally to
take up in place of the cosmic
ideas many of them fulminate
from their pulpits. They think
they can make the whole world
over in their own images.
From Rabbi Magnin's title I
get the idea that he is a rabbi
Who knows that his job has to
do with individuals like the one
whom, for short, we shall call Mr.
Zilch. Zilch belongs to a temple
but he says, he doesn't get much,
if any, spiritual satisfaction out
of it.
“So I don’t go there very often.
I like to hear the rabbi tell me
something about new directions
for my own confused way of life.
But what do I hear? He may give
me a sermon on the dangers of
the Iran situation.
“Fact is, he doesn't know any
more about foreign affairs than
I do, or any of the other members
who read and listen to the radio."
So Mr. Zilch has come to cer
tain definite conclusions on what
he expects of rabbis. He says—as
he did only the other evening
during a lull between deals in a
canasta game—l quote him just
as he said it: “You know what’s
the matter with the world? It’s
the awful people in it—that’s
what’s the matter. If you’re go
ing to do the world over you
must start with people. If people
could only learn how to behave
themselves with kindness and
justice—well, that’s the answer.
And getting back to rabbis, I say
the main business of a rabbi is
to teach people how human
beings should behave.”
Well, I must confess that I am
one of the Zilches and feel as this
Mr. Zilch does about this. In fact,
a couple of years ago I let myself
be adopted into honorary mem
bership of The Christophers who
are Catholics who believe that
the way to make the world bet
ter is for its individuals to try to
be good in their private lives.
Their idea is that the world
isn’t to be saved from itself by
a total salvation by treaties and
proclamations; every individual
(Ceatinuad on Pag* Peat)
SYNAGOGUE PILLAGED BY VANDALS
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Part of the estimated $2,000 damage to the Tikveh Chadeshoh
Synagogue, Philadelphia, where 13 youthful vandals struck last
week. Benches and other furnishes were torn apart by the hell-bent
culpits. Another gang of confessed vandals are awaiting a hearing.
Damage to the newly-pur
chased Tikveh Chadesheh Syna
gogue was estimated at $2,000,
officials here told the American
Jewish Press. The vandals
smashed windows, literally rip
ped lamps out of the floor, over
turned and destroyed benches,
and destroyed glass shades. A
sacred ornamental pulpit cover
was hurled outside into the mud.
Apparently not content with
the interior damage, the vandals
broke several stones out of a
flagstone platform in the rear of
the East Germantown synagogue.
A tree near the rear door was
neatly severed and hurled into
the synagogue.
The congregation’s president,
Fred Kaufman, suffered a serious
heart attack upon learning that
the synagogue had been vandal
ized. He showed slight signs of
improvement late this week after
being reported in serious condi
tion.
The East Germantown raid fol
lowed by a month the apprehen
sion by local police and Jewish
Community Relations Council
probers of a group of youngsters
charged with staging six raids on
another Philadelphia snyagogue.
One hearing has already been
given the raiders, several of
whom were arrested on previous
offenses, and a second court air
ing is scheduled next month.
Police and JCRC agents moved
quickly in the latest attack.
Within two days after the Tikvoh
synagogue was vandalized, a
group of 13 youngsters were nab
bed and quizzed. They readily
confessed to the vandalism.
An official of the JCRC'here,
Morris Fagin, disclosed to the
American Jewish Press that the
attackers ranged in age between
seven end fourteen.
Questioning of the youths, ac
cording to Fagin, failed to dis
close any particular motivation
for the attack “other than want
ing to raise some hell.”
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25, 1952
Why the youths had chosen the
synagogue for a target, except
that it may have been viewed as
the easiest unprotected site, re
mained unanswered as the youths
prepared for a hearing before ju
venile authorities here in two
weeks.
None of the offenders in the
latest attack having previous rec
ords, it was expected they would
be freed on probation with warn
ings. The youths are presently in
the custody of their parents after
having spent a night in jail.
Unlike the previous case, no
reward for the apprehension of
responsible parties was offered in
the latest attack. The offering of
a SSOO reward in the previous
attack helped lead to the arrest
of the guilty parties.
Jewish officials here told the
American Jewish Press that the
synagogue would move for re
payment by the youths’ parents
of an estimated $2,000 in damages
caused by the raiders.
HOODED FLA. KLANSMEN
SET BIG CROSS-BURNING
RALLY
TALLAHASSEE (AJP) A
"full-dress" cross-burning by
hooded members of the Ku
Klux Klan of Florida was
scheduled here this week for
the same night Negro leaders
meet at. Jacksonville to map
a plan to combat the recent
bombing wave of terror.
Leading the hooded Klans
men will be Bill Hendrix, a
KKK leader who publicly
urged the 6tate to assign him
bulldozers several months ago
to tear down the sea walls
Jewish residents had erected
at Miami Beach. The KKK
claims it is not responsible for
the recent dynamitings of
Jewish Centers. Negro pro
jects and a murder.
\
Legislature Gels Bill Urging Truman
Action in Florida Terror Reign
The fight against Florida's reign of racial terrorism moved to
the state-front this week with the introduction of a bill in the 1
New York State Legislature urging President Truman to probe "the
wave of lawlessness and violence" in the Southern state.
The bill, sponsored by Bronx
Assemblyman Peck, cited the
bombings of synagogues and the
murder of NAACP director
Harry T. Moore. Peck contended
that the reign of dynamitings and
the killing were cause for “na
tionwide alairm” and said Florida
officials appeared unable to com
bat the situation. The proposal
was the first of its kind in the
present wave of attacks.
Meanwhile, in Florida, agents
of the Federal Bureau of Investi
gation continued their all-out
probe into the chain of bombings.
Given the "green light" by U. S.
Attorney-General J. Howard Mc-
Grath. the FBI joined local, state
and Postal agents in attempting
to track down the culprits.
The role of Jewish War Veter
ans units in the thickly Jewish
populated Miami area drew the
Hi?- Out War
aJ. S . Economic Outlook y
l By MERWIN K. HART
1 President
J National Economic Conncil
L (Special to the Julius Klein
r&y Newsletter)
prospects for 1952 are
A ard to estimate. They are, of
Sourse, tied in with several fac
ers of a kind different from
JRy that existed down to a few
years ago.
\One of the chief of these Is
Ae risk-of all-oat war. The Ad
ministration has for some years
flirting with Socialism. It
/a been persuaded, through
Propaganda that has its origin
•. \ Communism, to believe that
' \ way to fight Communism is
lough Socialism. That was
die method by which the middle
*V-thejoadetg of Czechoslovakia
-ofoina to de
fended,
Publication of the above by-lined article by Merwin K. Hart
on the front page of a newsletter published by former Jewish War
Veterans commander Julius Klein set off a wave of protests. (Ameri
can Jewish Press Photo.)
The appearance of Hart’s piece
set off a wave of protest in Jew
ish circles throughout the nation.
A statement by Brig. Gen.
Julius Klein, in whose newsletter
the Hart article appeared, attri
buted the incident to the publi
cation’s editor and asserted that
it had been selected “without my
personal prior knowledge.”
“Hart has been condemned
repeatedly for his un-American
utterances b y Congressional
Committees, by innumerable pri
vate groups, including veterans
organizations and, I may add
Julius Klein,” the former JWV
chieftain said.
“All of us,” he added, “have
been appalled by his insistent
manifestations of bigotry and
28th ANNIVERSARY $3.00 A YEAR
applause of 41 veterans organiza
tions in Dade County, Fla., sore
spot in the dynamiting raids.
Paul G. Robertson, Commander
of Dade County United Veterans’
Council, wrote JWV national
vice-commander Louis Phillips
offering support in the fight
against bigotry.
Robertson, in addition to as
serting that all ex-GI organiza
tions in the area were "strongly
behind you," blasted those re
sponsible for the dynamite at
tacks. *
“It is very appalling to me,”
he asserted, “that the free peo
ples of our great city have been
subjected to such arrogant and
barbarous actions. Certainly this
is not what we fought for and our
comrades died for!”
MERWIN K. HART
cialistic schemes. They havn
massed certain laws like tl**’
intolerance.”
Klein said that the Hart arti
cle had been solicited by the edi
tor “through a total lack of ac
quaintance with Hart's record.” -
He said that the responsible per
son “has been relieved from the
editorship.”
Klein, citing his opposition to
“everything Hart represents,”
said he planned a special bulletin
in the near future reiterating his
opposition to Hart.
The Julius Klein Newsletter,
which recently asserted that most
GOP Congressmen supported the
presidential bid of Sen. Robert
Taft, is circulated to industrial
ists, business leaders and numer
ous organizations. .