The Southern Jewish weekly. [volume], March 12, 1954, Image 1

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

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AW INDEPENDENT WEEKLY SERVING AMERICAN CITIZENS OF JEWISH FAITH
THE OLDESTAND~MOST WIDELY CIRCULATED _ JEWISH PUBLICATION IN~THIS TERRITORY
VOL. 31 NO. 8
PLAIN TALK
BY ALFRED SEGAL
IN MY EASY CHAIR
I had an invitation recently
from Anshe Sholom (Men of
Peace) to come and have dinner
with them to. celebrate the 50th
birthday of their congregation. It
was more than an invitation to
dinner, though; it invited me
back, also, to a lime more genu
inely golden than we have today;
50 years back, that is to say.
(Even though we do have tele
vision and from our town can
fly to New York in three hours
and to Miami Beach in five.)
Yes, I guess I have become old
enough to be among those who
like to play in the fragrant mem
ory of old times. So I settled my
self in the softest chair of my
living room and went browsing
into 50 years ago. That was the
time when there were no bigger
problems in the world than to
make enough of a living to pay
the month’s rent.
(Wages weren't so much and at
eur father's table we always
thanked God with Hebrew bless
ings on the humble fare. And
when we kids went out to a party
of an evening we were home and
in bed at 11, as our father com
manded.)
No problems of the world on
our necks then, no problems like
that of guessing just what to do
if atom bombs come falling on
our heads, no table talk as to
when’s the next war coming. I
say to myself, Oh, that was the
golden time of our human history.
No Cadillacs then, or Chevro
lets even, no stocks or bonds, for
die most of us and country clubs
were as remote as the land of
Israel seemed then; recreation
was casino around the kitchen
table. We kids bathed' in a wash
tub in the kitchen to be spick
and span on Sabbath eve when
papa would come home from
schul wjih an angel at his side,
as.the legend said.
Papa didn’t possess much ex
cept his children and his schul.
He felt rich on the Sabbath when,
in the late afternoon, he had
time to gather with elderly men
in the basement of the synagogue
to hear Torah expounded.
At Seder he felt king-like, sit
ting there royally with a pillow
under him. He counted fads wealth
fat the silvery spice box out of
which at the end of Sabbath day
he used to shake the incense of
spites; , symbol of the fragrant
week-to-come he was praying for.
He had a great time living as
Jewishly as he did, and he hadn't
.file least idea that he was missing
a tiling.
Fifty years ago! In that time I
knew, a man who on PUrim fairly
danced down the street. He had
written Haman’s name on the
soles of both his. shoes, and with
Hainan underfoot he went stamp
ing hard at every step until every
trace of Haman’s name had been
rubbed off .. .“That’s my way of
celebrating what God said about
way of the evil doer,” he used.
(Confinuod on Page •)
Korean Hero Awarded Silver Star
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This JWB Bureau of War Records photo shows Sji. Robert A.
Lerner, who lost a leg in combat in Korea, receiving the Silver Star
from Brig. Gen. Corby, deputy commander of the Waller Reed Army
Medical Center and Hospital, Washington, D. C. Sergeant Lerner,
son of Mrs. Minnie Lerner. 1541 E. 29th Street, Brooklyn, N. Y., is
a patient at Walter Reed where he is being fitted for an artificial
leg. Lerner plans to study medicine.
President Receives Jewish
Group
WASHINGTON, (JTA) A
delegation of leaders of the com
mittee to celebrate the 309th an
niversary of Jewish settlement in
this country was received by
President Eisenhower at the
White House last week-end.
The delegation, led by Ralph
E. Samuel, chairman of the Amer
ican Jewish Tercentenary Com
mittee, invited the President to
the official opening of the ter
centenary celebration. Mr. Eisen
hower explained, however that it
was too early at this time for him
to make a definite commitment
although he appreciated the in
vitation.
The delegation presented Presi
dent Eisenhower with a silver
medal.which was struck 50 years
ago on the occasion of the 259th
anniversary of Jewish settlement
in America. In addition to Mr.
Samuel, the delegation included
Jacob Blaustein, Dr. Samuel Bel
kin, Adolph Held, Simon Sobeloff,
Irving Kane, Bernard Trager,
Joseph Willen, -Prof. Horace Kal
len, Mrs. Irving Engel and others.
Charleston To Be Host
to Synagogue Seminar ,'!
Synagogue Emanuel of Charles
ton, South Carolina, will be host
to an all day seminar on syna
gogue administration, March 28th
from 10 to 4 o’clock. The seminar
is being sponsored by the South
Carolina, East Georgia, and North
Florida section of the United
Synagogue. *
The theme of the afternoon will
be “The Dynamics of the Con
servative Synagogue.”
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, MARCH 12, 1954
Arrest of Jews in
Czechoslovakia
Condemned
NEW YORK, (JTA) The re
port that Czechoslovak Commu
nist police have arrested 23 Jews
in Pilsen for “forbidden contact
with Jewish organizations in the
West” will be viewed by Jews
throughout the world with the
gravest apprehension, Shad Po
lier, chairman of the executive
committee of the American Jew
ish Congress, said in a statement
issued here this week.
Mr. Polier added that this cam
paign of slander and incitement
on the part of the Czech authori
ties against Jews, which had
abated for a time, “appears to
have been resumed with the
usual apparatus of baseless ac
cusations and naked lies.” The
latest use of anti-Semitism as an
instrument of state policy, he
said, is a revolting spectacle from
which all decent men must re
coil with horror. ,
ISRAEL READY TO MEET .
ARAB THREAT
Gen. Moshe Dayan, Army Chief
oi Staff, told a public meeting
that CoL Gamel Abdel Nasser,
the Egyptian Army officer who
unseated Gen. Naguib as Premier
and who remains as Premier
even with Naguib’s return to the
Presidency, sought among his
various aims, the destruction of
Israel. Gen. Dayan said that the
Israel Army would take care to
prevent the realization of l Col.
Nasser’s goal in this instance.
(Editor’s Note: “Life” Magazine
reports that Nasser is pro-Israel.)
Members of Congress Seek To Block
Sending d U. S. Arms To Arabs
WASHINGTON. (JTA) Members of Congress, representing
both parties, this week issued a statement revealing that they had
held a meeting with officials of the State Department from whom
they sought assurances that the U. S. Government would not supply
arms to the Arab states as long as their rulers refuse to make peace
with Israel.
The statement does not indicate whether the desired assurances
were secured. From diplomatic sources it was learned that Acting
Secretary of State Walter Bedell Smith and Assistant Secretary of
Slate Henry A. Byroadfc argued that American arms aid for Arab
slates is necessary for the "security" of the area. (The New York
Times reported this week that the two high officials of the Stale
Department told the Congressmen that only "token" deliveries of
arms have been considered.)
In their statement, the Con
gressmen made it known that
they expressed “concern over
published reports that our gov
ernment is proposing to use the
military aid appropriated for the
Near East under the Mutual Se
curity Act in part to give arms
and other military aid to individ
ual Arab states.”
"We expressed fear." said the
Congressmen, "that such pro
posals may undermine rather
than strengthen our defenses in
this area. Furthermore, we point
ed out that the Arab states show
no desire to make peace with Is
rael, and there is every reason
to fear, in view of mounting ten
sion in the Middle East recently,
that our arms ipay be used not
to defend the Middle East against
Communism, but for a renewal of
warfare against Israel and even
against some of our NATO allies
who have interests in this region.
“The guns we give to the Arabs
may be used not to advance the
security of the area, but to pro
mote peace and security, but to
attack our own essential interests.
At this time there is no depend
able assurance to the contrary,”
the Congressmen emphasized.
Want U. S. to be Firm on
Egypt's Blockade Against Israel
The members of Congress also
sought reassurance “that the Ad
ministration would maintain a
firm position in the current dis
cussions in the Security Council
designed to bring an end to the
More Jews, Including
Rabbis, Arrested in
Rumania; Some Sentenced
TEL AVIV, (JTA) Many
Jews, including rabbis and com
munity leaders, were recently ar
rested in Rumania and some of
them have already been tried on
charges of illegal Zionist activity,
is was reported here.
Reports, which have bean ar
riving over a period of weeks re
cently, say that among those tried
were Dr. Miklos Feinfeld, identi
fied as the Chief Rabbi of the city
of Arad, and Stefan Krois, Lud
wig Gardos and Moshe Weissber
ger, who are otherwise not iden
tified. The sentence passed on
Rabbi Feinfeld is not known, but
Krois is reported to have been
sentenced to a three-year prison
term while each of the other two
defendants have been sentenced
to 12-year terms.
$3.00 A YEAR
illegal Egyptian blockade of the
Suez Canal and that the United
States would take the position
that whatever resolution is adopt
ed on this subject by the Security
Council should be implemented
and enforced.”
Favoring a continuation of eco
nomic aid for the area, including
the Arab states, the Congressmen
expressed belief that the best way
to strengthen the area against
Communist subversion is to con
tinue efforts to raise the depress
ed living standards of the Arab
people. "Most of all," said the
Congressmen, "they need more
bread and more land, not more
guns."
Those in attendance at the
meeting with State Department
officials were Senators Paul H.
Douglas, 111.; Irving M. Ives, N.
Y., and Herbert H. Lehman, N. Y.,
and Representatives Emanuel
Celler, N. Y.; Albert W. Cretella,
Conn.; Isidore Dollinger, N. Y.;
Sidney A. Fine, N. Y.; Samuel N.
Friedel, Md.; Louis B. Heller, N.
Y.; Lester Holtzman, N. Y.; Char
les R. Howell, N. J.; Jacob K.
Javits, N. Y.; Robert W. Kean,
N. J.; Kenneth B. Keating, N. Y.;
Edna F. Kelly, N. Y.; Eugene J.
Keough, N. Y.; Arthur G. Klein,
N. Y.; Albert P. Morano, Conn.;
Abraham J. Multer, N. Y.; Harold
C. Ostertag, N. Y.; Hugh Scott,
Pa., and Horace Seely-Brown, Jr..
Conn.
NOTED EDITOR WARNS
AGAINST ARAB MILITARY
AID
A warning to the Western
powers to “discount totally in
advance any effective Arabic
military assistance” in the
event of an East-West war is
given by Joseph G. Harrison.
Overseas News Editor of the
Christian Science Monitor,
writing in the current issue of
Middle Eastern Affairs, month
ly publication of the Council
for Middle Eastern Affairs of
New York. : <
In an article titled “Middle
East Instability,” Mr. Harrison
characterizes the Arabic-speak
ing countries of the Middle
East as “an area of disintegra
tion and deterioration, a region
where economic conditions, the
social structure and political
life are, to a noticeable degree,
breaking down with no con
spicuous new growth to take
thei* place.” ....
guns."