The Southern Jewish weekly. [volume], December 07, 1956, Image 1

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

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VOL. 33 No. 47
PLAIN TALK
I BY ALFRED SEGAL
LEO BAECK MEETS HITLER
I am thinking: Maybe Leo
Baeck who recently has gone into
eternity has come upon Hitler
somewhere there *. I Hitler taking
the everlasting penalty that is
supposed to be wailing for all
monsters who make the world
even more miserable than it has
been.
I can well guess a*i angel show
ing Rabbi Baeck' around there,
and finally coming upon Hitler,
and saying: “My dear Leo, this is
that Hitler and here he is getting
everything that’s coming to him
R after everything this no-good did
the earth. You may have h'eard
of 'Mm.”
So Rabbi Baeck replies: "Have
I heard of him? Hitler . . . the
murderous enemy of my • people
... their destroyer. You know, my
dear angel, one time I was a cap
tive of his. My death had been
decreed there, but I managed to
live even ten years beyond Hitler.
As I contemplated this fact from
time, I used lb guess that maybe
by being, gentle one may live
longer than by the rulhlessness of
a murderer. Perhaps for me to
say this is something of vanity on
my part. You see, one should
never puff himself up in pride
even for kindness."
Yet Leo Baeck can’t help look
ing sadly at Hitler taking his
eternal penalty. Baeck always had
been the gentlest of men: his gen
tleness had not been just a soft
ness but a studied philosophy. He
had always cherished what the
prophet said about being merciful
and just and walking humbly
with God. He has lived that way.
His life as rabbi had been much
more than one of enlarging him
self by eloquence in sermons.
So now, as he stands there in the
presence of Hitler who is getting
just deserts, he isn't rejoicing out
there in eternity. He speaks com
passionately to the guiding angel:
"My dear angel, maybe something
can be done for this man. He was
an awful sinner but perhaps he
can be made a bit more comfort
able. You see, it's already ten
years since he began taking all
this. Maybe the penalty can be
reduced a bit?"
When Hitler hears Rabbi Baeck
speaking his kindness, he ex
claims, “Oh, dear, good rabbi!”
At this Leo Baeck feels his
heavy depression growing lighter
. . . "Did you hear him?" he asks
the angel. "The way he addresses
me as 'dear, good rabbi.' That may
piean that he really has learned
something from his long punish
ment. Please, dear angel, lei's try
to make him a little more com
fortable . . . for my sake!"
But the angel . /. . he happens
•to be the one who was the prose
cuter in the Hitler case when Hit
ler came for trial into eternity ...
replies .“Oh, dear Rabbi Baeck,
it will take 100 years ... and even
(Continued on Page 8)
. * 4
THE OLDEST AND MOST WIDELY CIRCULATED JEWISH PUBLICATION IN THIS TERRITORY
AN INDEPENDENT WEEKLY SERVING AMERICAN CITIZENS OF JEWISH FAITH
SEN. LEHMAN TO SERVE UJA
AS HONORARY CHAIRMAN
Ilk Hip M
Hr t mK& : w
Top officers of the United Jewish Appeal welcoming U. S. Senator Herbert
H. Lehman as Honorary Chairman of the UJA. Senator Lehman (second
from left) is shown with ilHam Rosenwald, UJA General Chairman, and
Edward M. M. Warburg, UJA President (both facing the Senator), and Rabbi
Herbert A. Friedman (left),.UJA Executive Vice-Chairman. Sen. Lehman was
elected by acclaim during the UJA’s National Annual Conference in New
York on December 1 and 2. More than 1,000 delegates attended the sessions
to set the UJA’s course for its 1957 nationwide campaign to finance the
resettlement and rehabilitation of refugee and distressed Jews in Israel and
in more than a score of other countries.
More Than 3,000 Hungarian
Jewish Refugees In Austria
VIENNA, (JTA) The influx of Hungarian Jewish refugees con
tinued steadily last week with no indications of any let-up, faxing
shelter facilities.
As of Nov. 28, there were 3,200
refugees registered with the Joint
Distribution Government camps
who have not yet been put in
touch with the JDC, Fred Zeigel
laub, JDC director in Austria, re
ported. He said that 1,900 of the
3,200 registered Hungarian Jews,
had arrived within six days.
Mr. Zeigellaub said that the
proportion of Jewish refugees in
relation to all Hungarians who
entered Austria is about three
times as great as the proportion
of Jews to the remainder of the
Hungarian population. The pre
liminary JDC survey revealed
that 55 percent of the Jewish
refugees are male, that 19 percent
are children below 16 and three
11. S. Asks: “What is Your Religion?”
BY MILTON FRIEDMAN
(Copyright, 1956, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)
*** * *
—WASHINGTON
kjayjffiy JfrgH
snnHE $%& >s!&
they consider an intrusion by the Federal Govern
ment into' personal religious views. They hold that
whether you are Jewish, Catholic, Protestant,
agnostic, or atheistic it is nobody’s business but
your own. In their view the U. S. Government is
Published Every Friday
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1956
The U. S. Bureau of Census is
considering questioning people
about-their religion in the 1960
decennial census. Answers to
census questions are required by
Federal law.
The question under considera
tion is: “what is ybur religion?”
A small test survey of responses
to it has been made in four
comities of Wisconsin.
Some have objected to what
Established ,1924
percent are over 60 years of age.
The majority of those over 16 had
been engaged in manual labor in
Hungary, 11 percent had been
professionals, 32 percent were
skilled workers and 22 percent
were unskilled.
So far the JDC has been able
to meet the needs of all applicants
Mr. Zeigellaub disclosed, although
the hardest task has been to pro
vide them with housing. However,
in view of the expectation of the
refugees’ imminent emigration
this problem has been solved. But,
he stressed, if the refugees cannot
move on, the situation will be
come unbearable under the con
tinued pressure of new refugees.
restrained by the Constitution from making laws
‘ regarding establishment of religion.
On the other hand, an inter-faith committee
apparently favored the census project. T)ie com
mittee, which advised the government, included
Jewish representation. The prevailing view -of or
ganized Jewish groups is that such religious
information is desirable for statistical purposes.
But a section of thinking maintains that the
religious question should not be asked so as to
avoid any breach in the wall separating church
and state. An organization known, as “Protestants
and Other Americans United for Separation of
Church and State” is firmly opposed to the census
undertaking.
President Jjames Madison in 1790 opposed even
an official governmental enumeration of clergy-’
men. He-held it might inject the government into
' the realm of religion. Thomas Jefferson is like
(Continued on Page 7)
U. IV. Fails to Halt Egyptain
Persecution of Jews
(Copyright 1956, By The Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)
UNITED NATIONS, N. Y„ (JTA) - The Nasser regime in Egypt
continued this week with its ruthless program to eradicate the Jewish
population of the country by expulsion, persecution and impoverish
ment as the world powers stood idly by and only small sections of
the world press voiced, condemnation. Both Britain and France pro
tested the expulsion of the Nationals by Egypt.
The persecution of Egypt’s Jews
were formally brought to the at
tention of the United Nations
General Assembly last week by
Israel Foreign Minister Golda
Meir who called on the President
of the Assembly to intervene
urgently with the Egyptian gov
ernment to halt its “inhumane”
actions against the Jews.
Mrs. Meir said in her letter of
protest to the president of the
General Assembly that 30,000
Jews have been affected by the
anti-Jewish measure of the Egyp
tian Government. "The deportees,
some of whom have already ar
rived in various points in Europe,
are compelled to abandon all their
behind them apart from
10 Egyptian pounds and a suitcase
of personal clothing," Mrs. Meir
said. "In addition to the action
taken against the persons and
property of individuals of the
Egyptian Jewish community, the
Egyptian authorities have also
moved against the community as
an organized body. Jewish hospi
tals in Cairo and Alexandria have
been sequestrated, the sick ejected
and the medical staff arrested."
The bid for UN action was sup
ported later by Ambassador Abba
S. Eban who told the General
Assembly that Israel had confirm
ed and supported information
showing that Egypt is practicing
a “policy of racial terror and per
secution against Jews.” He told
the Assembly that the Chief
Rabbi of Egypt had resigned in
protest against the persecutions.
Denouncing the Egyptian prac
tices as "directly in the Nazi tra
dition," Mr. Eban said Jews of
Egyptian citizenship and *if?n
many who are stateless and who
have lived in Egypt for years or
for generations, were being ex
pelled as well as Jews of Italian
and Greek citizenship. These facts
prove he said, that the basis for
the persecutions is racial. (
Mr. Eban declared that num
bers of Jews had arrived by air
plane in Switzerland and by ship
at Italian and Greek ports. He bit
terly denounced “one feature of
the Egyptian Government’s action
under which hostages are detain
ed.” As a result of the detention
of individual members of Jewish
families, Mr. Eban charged, those
who were able to escape are
afraid to talk.
Mr. Eban accused the Egyptian
Government of violating the Ge
neva convention of 1949, relating
to the humane, treatment of civil
ians in lime of war, and of vio
lating the UN Declaration of
Human Rights and the UN Con
vention Outlawing Genocide.
Replying to Mr. Eban’s accusa
tions, Egyptian Foreign Minister
Mahmoud Fawzi told the UN As-*
sembly .that “only a few Jews
were put under custody in Egypt”
and that in Port Said the Jews
fled because the city was being
bombed. He termed the reports of
mass deportation of Jews from
Egypt and mass arrests of other
Jews “rumors” and challenged the
right of Israel to speak for Jews
living in other countries. He
denied that Egyptian-Chief Rabbi
Haim Nahoum had resigned.
Editorial Condemns Human
Rights Violation
In an editorial comment on the
situation, the New York Times
said that “despite an Egyptian de
nial, there is enough evidence
now that Jews are being deported
from Egypt—because they are
Jews—to require United Nations
intervention. All the facts must be
ascertained impartially and from
neutral sources. W e must not
apply any double standards of
morality.
If the reports of the deporta
tions of Hungarians from Hun
gary by the Russians could arouse
the United Nations and world
opinion to such indignant efforts
last week, then the reports of de
portations of British, French and
Jews from Egypt equally deserve
consideration. In both cases, al
though differently, human rights
would be violated.”
(Continued on Page 8)
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