The Southern Jewish weekly. [volume], January 16, 1953, 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. 29 NO. 52
American .
Notables
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BY HARRY SIMONHOFF
(EDITOR’S NOTE: It gives us
pleasure to announce the addition
of a new feature. Mr. Simonhoff,
of Miami, Florida, has earned a
national reputation with his col
umn, I’ll Say, which appeared for
many years in the Jewish Flori
dian. His book of travels, “Under
Strange Skies,” is now being pub
lished by the Philosophical Li
brary. Mr. Simonhoff is a noted
lawyer, traveler, and historian.
His weekly columns will relate
succinctly the history of Ameri
can Jewry as reflected in the
lives of its leading personalities.
The articles will present the emi
nent or significant Jew or Jewess
of each year, their accomplish
ments, place in the community
and their impact upon the Chris
tian environment.)
AARON LOPEZ: THE JEW
OF 1777
In Lisbon, Aaron Lopez was
born of a family which for cen
turies knelt at mass, said gloria
patris fervently at the conclusion
of prayers, went regularly to con
fession, and celebrated every
holiday on the Catholic calendar.
But secretly they prayed in He
brew, fasted on Yom Kippur, and
ate motzes on Passover. Aaron’s
half brother was scented by the
hounds of the Inquisition; his
father’s gold saved him from tor
ture and burning. He managed to
get away on an English boat.
Aaron finally induced his aged
father to permit him to follow his
brother to the new world. It was
well the brothers got away, for
three years later they would have
perished during the great Lisbon
earthquake. In 1752 he landed in
Newport, Rhode Island, and im
mediately entered the covenant
of Judaism.
A Religious Haven
Newport was booming. In 1750
a business man declared resigned
ly, “New York can never hope to
rival Newport as a shipping cen
ter.” The cause of its prominence
in the commerce of Colonial
America is sometimes overlook
ed. It is also often forgotten that
(Continued on Pago 8)
Soviet Germany Issues
Order Seizing
Jewish Property
BONN, (JTA) An order seiz
ing that property of Jewish fami
lies who have not returned to the
Soviet-held part of Germany had
been issued by the Communist
authorities there according to in
formation received here. Jewish
property worth several hundred
million dollars will now formally
pass into the hands of the East
German Communist administra
tion.
The German press featured
news of the escape from East
Germany to West Berlin of Dr.
Leo Zuckerman, former assistant
to East German President Wil
helm Pieck. Dr. Zuckerman had
been branded a “Zionist spy” by
the East German Communist
Party. Dr. Zuckerman, a Jew fled
to West Berlin with his wife and
two children.
Until recently, Dr. Zuckerman
was chief of the President’s Chan
cellery, which made him in effect
Assistant President. The Commu
nist Party statement said he had
tried to force Soviet-zone Jews to
band together in a Jewish com
munity to receive aid from the
Joint Distribution Committee,
which the Communist statement
said was “an American espionage
agency.”
(In New York, JDC headquar
ters denied any knowledge of Dr.
Zuckerman. It was emphasized
that no official of the organiza
tion in this country or Europe
ever met him.)
Jews in Polond
Forced to Pledge
Opposition to Zionism
TEL AVIV, (JTA) Jews
throughout Poland have been
forced to hold meetings pledging
their solidarity to Poland and
opposing Zionism, it was learned
here last week. Political observ
ers here now expect a trial of
three of four Jewish Communists,
replete with confessions charging
Israel and Zionism with espion
age against Poland, as an object
lesson to Jews who may waver
in their support of the Polish
regime.
The Israel Government has
taken no action on the arrest of
two employees of the Israel Lega
tion in Warsaw, pending receipt
Os the official Polish note on the
subject, it was learned here. One
of the arrested men, Arieh Ler
ner, had the task of processing
visas to Israel when he worked
at the legation. •
The Israel Foreign Ministry has
been studying the Polish *note de
claring Minister Arieh Kubovy
persona non grata. It has become
clear from the study that not only
has Dr. Kubovy been charged
with espionage, but all employ
ees of the Israeli legation are also
accused of participating in such
activities.
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, FRIDAY, JANUARY 16, 1953
Arrives in U. S.
General Yaacov Dori
General Yaacov Dori, hero of
Israel’s War of Liberation, first
Chief of Staff of its Defense
Forces and now President of the
Technion, Israel’s Institute of
Technology, arrived in the United
States on January 14 for a three
month visit, Colonel J. R. Elya
char, president of the American
Technion Society, announced
this week.
Colonel Elyachar disclosed that
the 53-year-old Israeli soldier and
engineer, known as the “Eisen
hower of Israel,” will confer with
U. S. educators and scientific
leaders and tour the country
under the auspices of the Ameri
can Technion Society, which sup
ports the 40-year-old Haifa uni
versity. He is expected to address
large audiences in key centers on
behalf of the $20,000,000 drive
being conducted here and in Is
rael to rebuild the Technion on a
new campus site. The new facili
ties will enable the institute to
graduate annually a minimum of
600 engineers and architects who
are needed lor the country’s in
dustrial and agricultural expan
sion.
A colorful personality who led
Israel’s armies to victory over the
Arab forces, General Dori resign
ed his military post in 1949, soon
after the establishment of the
State, and retired to civilian life.
MRS. WEIZMANN RECEIVED
BY PRESIDENT AND MRS.
TRUMAN
WASHINGTON (ISI) Mrs.
Vera Weizmann, widow of the
late President of Israel, accom
panied by the Ambassador, Mr.
Abba Eban, was received last
week by the President of the
United States and Mrs. Harry
Truman in an extremely friendly
meeting at the White House. The
President, who has at no time
disguised his great admiration for
the late President Weizmann,
personally expressed his and his
wife’s deepest condolences over
the passing of Dr. Chaim Weiz
mann and told Mrs. Weizmann
that he believes Dr. Chaim Weiz
mann to be “one of the wisest
men I have ever met.”
TRUMAN WARNS
ACAINST "WAR"
BY MILTON FRIEDMAN
(Copyright, 1953, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)
*** * *
WASHINGTON—
A warning that "already the corrosive process has begun" by
which fear is undermining civil liberties in America and turning
citizen against citizen, was issued by President Truman in his Stale
of the Union message. Jewish organizations soberly considered the
menace to minorities which Truman described in the message which
was one of his last major expressions as President.
Meanwhile, the President has
issued a budget message for the
coming fiscal year which again
denounced the McCarran-Walter
Immigration Act as “unwise, un
fair, and incompatible with our
foreign policy objectives.” The
budget revealed that appropria
tions for the Immigration and
Naturalization Service were in
creased by $8,300,000 to cover de
tention, deportation, investigation
and similar expenses necessitated
by the rigid provisions of the new
Act.
Significant estimates contained
in the budget indicated that the
Immigration Service expects to
make 85,819 more arrests in the
coming fiscal year than it did in
1952. Also, citizenship and natur
alization investigations will jump
from 17,202 in 1952 to 124,100 per
year according to the published
estimate. The budget speaks
ominously of six "standby" con
centration camps to be prepared
under., the... McCarran Internal
Security Act of 1950.
The McCarran-Walter arrests of
aliens and the concentration
camps are brought about largely
by the fear which President Tru
man said could “snatch away the
very values we are striving to de
fend.” Mr. Truman cautioned that
such hysterical fear could defeat
us at home by “sapping our faith,
corroding our liberties, turning
citizen against citizen.”
He said that "already the dan
ger signals have gone up. Already
the corrosive process has begun.
And every diminution of our tol
erance, each new act of enforced
conformity, each idle accusation,
each demonstration of hysteria—
each new restrictive law—is one
more sign that we can lose the
battle against fear.
“The Communists cannot de
prive us of our liberties —fear can.
The Communists cannot stamp
out our faith in human dignity—
fear can. Fear is an enemy within
ourselves, and if we do not root
it out, it may destroy the very
way of life we are so anxious to
protect. To beat back fear, we
must hold fast to our heritage as
free men. We must renew our
confidence in one another, our
tolerance, our sense of being
neighbors, fellow citizens. We
must take our stand on the Bill
of Rights. The inquisition, the star
chamber, have no place in a free
society.”
Sen. Pai McCarran's red-smear
assault on the President's Com
mission that investigated the Mc-
Carran-Walter Act has elicited a
courageous defense. The Commis
sion's chairman, Philip B. Perl
man, said "the Senator cannot
make a reasoned defense of an act
which embodies so much discrimi
nation and prejudice. So he ig
nores the facts and makes un
founded insinuations and smears
against those who disagree with
him.”
Perlman, who is former U. S.
Solicitor General, predicted that
“Senator McCarran will also
learn that he cannot intimidate
millions of American citizens who
are unwilling to let the McCarran
monstrosity remain on the statute
books. He may be interested to
know who are the people he has
so wantonly smeared. Among
them are prelates and lay leaders
of the Roman Catholic Church,
representatives of all the major
Protestant denominations, rabbi
nical and lay leaders of the Jew
ish faith, heads of welfare and
civic organizations, a host of other
solid civic organizations and lead
ers.”
A typical statement came from
Bishop McVinney, of Providence,
R. 1., whose authorized spokesman
said: "I am quite shocked and
surprised in seeing Hitler's prin
ciples retained in our immigra
tion legislation, particularly after
we have fought a war to eradicate
his ideas."
Analysis of the record of the
Commission’s hearings disclosed
that the Commission received a
total of 634 oral and written state
ments from organizations and
individuals representing all sec
tions of public opinion. Os these,
128 expressed blanket opposition
to the McCarran-Walter Act,
while 366 advocated material re
visions in it.
In contrast to this total of 494
statements critical of the act, only
87 favored the act as it now
stands. Nearly 50 of the 87 favor
able statements were identical
from letters from individuals,
some of whom indicated religious
and racial bias and other pre
judiced coloration in their think
ing.
J. D. C. OPENS NEW LOAN
INSTITUTION FOR JEWISH
SURVIVORS IN ITALY
ROME, (JTA) The Joint Dis
tribution Committee has opened
a new loan institution here for
Jewish survivors of the war and
the Nazi regime. The institution
will provide low interest loans to
Jewish merchants, workers and
professionals.
$3.00 A YEAR