Ohio Jewish Chronicle, 1966-06-03

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M\\/     Serving Columbus, Dayton, Central and Southwestern Ohio     vT
Vol.44, No. 21
FRIDAY, JUNE 3,  1966 —  15 SIVAN 5726
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State Dept. Calls Report ""Erroneous'
' Br XRUDE B. E<E!U>1VIAN
Ohroniole^s
White Honse Oorrespondent
The State Department gave careful thought to its announce¬ ment last week that the United States had recently contracted tojsell "tactical aircraft" to the State of Israel. At the same time, the Department discredited a repbrt in a Cairo publication which alleged that in the past two years "westem sources have given Israel at least 150 jet fighters and bombers.
Robert J. MoQosIcey chief prjess aide at the State Depart¬ ment, stated that the Cairo re- ,port was not only "erroneous" but also "misleading."
WHEN QtlEBIED about the agreement by our government to sell jet bombers to Israel, he replied: "I will confirm that the United States Government has agreed to extend a long-standing military sales agreement with Is¬ rael to include a numlmr of tac¬ tical aircraft."
He also said that "tliis decision reflects our due regard for se¬ curity in the near East, our in¬ tention to avoid serious arms im¬ balances that would jeopardize area stability and our general restraint as to military equip¬ ment to that area."
McOLOSKEV FURTHER as¬ serted that there "continues to be massive Soviet sales of arms "¦- to certain countries in ,the Near East which have tended to in¬ tensify the arms imbalances. We wiU continue to strive on our part;" he went on, "for agreed limitations on arms build-up among those countries." ; the first hint of the United States contract to seU-Oie jet bombers came atiout when Secre¬ tary of Defense Robert S. Mc¬ Namara'^ testified recently before the ' Senate Foreigh Relations Committee on the Government's efforts ''to: put a damper on tlie muchrpublicized Mideast arms race,
THE SEOREiCABr of Defense was careful to'avoidtnenlloning the foreign minister by nanie; yet t)ecause of the date of the visit and the area involved, it was evident that he was referring to Abba Eban, Israel's foreign minister, with whom Mr. Mc¬ Namara had met in mid Febru- (cwrtlnud M pig* 4)
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mmmmmmmmsm H((I10NAL JEWISH PRjESS YIUH!66
GhalietigeTo Jewish Press Is Discussed
•Hie challenge to the American Jewish Press is the compre¬ hensive area of discussion at the annual convention of the Ameri¬ can Jewish Press Assodation, now in progress at the B'nai B'rith headquarters in Washington, D. C. The convention is being held in conjunction with this, American Jewish Press Week. ITie Ohio Jewish Chronicle is a member of the AJP.
PhiUp Hochstein, senior iedltor of the Newhouse Newspapers,. deUvered a paper yesterday en-
Religion No Factor lin Posts Abroad
NEW YORK, (JTA) — -The State Department corrected an "erroneous" statement by a De- pai^ent officii that religion was a .factor in' assignment of diplomatic personnel abroad. The issue was raised in connection with assignment of Jewish per¬ sonnel to Arab states.
The correction was contained in a letter to the American Jew¬ ish congress from WilUam. J. Crockett, Deputy Undersecre¬ tary of State for Administration.
(continued on pagt 4)
Rabbi Stavsky Advocates The Abolishment Of Bar Mitzvah
BANK INVESTS BV ISRAEL BONDS
On Tuesday, May 24, Edward A. Huwaldt, Executive Vice-President of The Huntington National Bank, presented the Israel Bonds Institutional Investment Committee with a check In the amount of $50,000, to be Invested in Israel Bonds, this $50,000 is the second investment In Israel Bonds made by The Huntington National Bank. Samuel L. Oppenheimer, chairman of the committee, ^aid in accept¬ ing the check: "It is with the help of institutions such as the Huntington National Bank that Israel'Bonds has been able to raise the large sums of inv;estment doUars that are so necessary to the contlnulhgr growth; of Israel's economy. Through investnients rnidh as these Israel wIU continue to keep its place among Nations as ohe of th^ fastest develop¬ ing countries In the world. From left; above; Ben Kahn, Harold Schottenstein, Ed!yard A. HuwMdt and Samuel L; Oppenheimer.        •
Rabbi David Stavsliy, Beth Jacob Synagogue, in responding to the recent Gallup report that there'iias been a 14% increase of atheists among Jews in the last 14 years said, "I do not be¬ Ueve that Dr. GaUup's sample is representative of the cross sec¬ tion of American Jewry. It defi¬ nitely does not represent any seg¬ ment of the American Orthodox Jewish community ^ it is incon¬ ceivable tliat his data is accu¬ rate."
Rabbi Stavsky went on to say, however, that even if the report has any validity and reUabUity, it caUs for a serious evaluation among Jewish leaders and educa¬ tors.
"TT 18 My belief," said the Rabbi, "that nothing has stifled and strangled Jewish education ahd learning in America, notliing has contributed more to the adulteration of faith end the con¬ fusion of Intellect, than the Bar- Mitzvah training program in America.
"What people do not realize is that Bar Mitzvah is a 'Myth', there Is nothing sacred or ritual¬ istic or important about having a boy memorize a chapter in the Prophets, and repeat a canned speech  or  prayer.
"MILLIONS OF DOLLARS are spent annually for tills myth, and with it, comes the death blow to Jewish education and learning. By aboUshing Bar Mitz¬ vahs there is a sUght possibiUty that the child may go on in He¬ brew School to age 17 or 18.
"The Bar Mitzyah training pro¬ gram either by private lessons or aftemoon Hebrew School,, 'guar¬ antees' that his Jewish education wiU end a week after the gifts are counted.
"ATHEISM IS JUST another word in our vocabulary pertain¬ ing to the question of the sur¬ vival of the Jew in America,
First came inter-faith marriage and its statistics, now we liave atheism, llie real root for both is the myth of the American Bar Mitzvah,". the Rabbi concluded
titled "The ChaUenge to the American Jewish Press," which set the atnuysphere and area of the discussions which foUowed.
TOPOIS.DIOUSSED included Jewish and "non-Jewish" neWs— what should the Jewish Press cover, coverage of loral and com¬ munity news, national and in¬ ternational coverage.
Hochstein, concluding his ad¬ dress to tiie editors, said that "the questions are numerous and huge, but inescapable shice we Uve in the shadow of the all-en¬ compassing question of survival —both human and Jewish survi¬ val."
MESSAGES WERE, received from many national and inter¬ national . dignitaries, including the foUowing from Zalman Sha¬ zar, president of Israel:
"I know from my own experi¬ ence of years of newspaper work how much energy and effort goes into editing a newspaper. And you, American Jewish editors, have, I venture to say,' a par¬ ticularly .complex and significant assignment. In a language that is not in itself part of the Jewish historical expeijence, in a coun¬ try that is virtuaUy a continent, among Jews who are not driven inward by negative or hostile fac¬ tors,, you are — as I see from the papers that reach me — vaUantly endeavoring to bring everytiiing Jewish close to the heart of American Jews, to deep¬ en their comprehension, to strengthen their ties with Jews elsewhere and with Israel, the central and basic fact in Jewish life and survival. May your hands be strengthened."
PREMIER    LEVI   ESHKOL
sent a niessage stating "the in¬ dependent EngUsh-Jewish news¬ papers of the United States up¬ hold a proud journalistic tradi¬ tion reportWg to Jewish com¬ munities, lairge and smaU, news and views of Jewish interest. The (conHnuod on pag* 4)
The World's Week
Complied from |JTA and WUP Roporh
ZURICH, (JTA) — The Assembly of Delegates of the StvIss Federation of Jewish Communities adopted unani¬ mously a resolution voicing "grave concern that two decades after Hitler, National SociaUst Ideology has again reared Its head In Germany." The resolution, which was deUvered to the West German ambassador in Berne, expressed "amaze¬ ment" that groups •whose spirit Is very close to that of the Nazis were able to form again and the German press aUowed to publish anti-Jewish propaganda.
WASHINGTON, (JTA) — Hearings started In the Sen- nate on a bill to establish a National Senior Community Service Corps based on the Senior Service Corps program of the National Council of Jewish Women. The bill is spon¬ sored by Sen. Harrison A. WlUiams, New Jersey Democrat, who has submitted the success of the NCJW project as proof of the desirabUity of federal sponsorship of simUar activities.
BONN, (JTA) — The Central CouncU of Jews In Germany called for the utmost vigilance against rightist anti-Jewish propaganda in Germany, The warning coin¬ cided with a strong protest resolution Issued by the HIAG, the political organization of veterans of the Waffen SS. The Waffen SS was a branch of the Hitler EUte Guard which saw mlUtary service during World War II.
NEW YORK, (JTA) — Jewish teen-agers In a typical urban American community overwhelmingly desire to main¬ tain and Intensify their Jewish Identification, and have no intention of denying their Jewish heritage. This was among the findings reported in a study made public by the Ameri¬ can Jewish Committee.
LONDON, (JTA) — A number of prominent Lithuan¬ ians as well as "ordinary folks," who saved several hundred Jews, adults and children, from annihilation by the Nazis during the war, were given citations at a meeting in Kovno, Soviet Lithuania, to honor the saviors, according to a dis¬ patch received here.
.Dr. Joseph Kaminetsliy:
FIRST GRADUATES TO BE ADDRESSED BY NATIONAL HEAD
Dr. Joseph Kaminetsky, national director of Torah Um¬ esorah—the Society for Hebrew Day Schools—wUl deliver the major address, at the first gradu¬ ation exercises of tiie Columbus Torah Academy, according to an announcement by Leon Schotten¬ stehi, president. The graduation wUl be held on Wednesday, June 8, at 8 p.m. at the Agudas Achim Synagogue.
Dr. Kaminetsky, noted author, educator and lecturer, has guided the growth of the Hebrew Day School movement for tiie past two decades. Under his leader¬ ship the movement'has grown from 19 schools and 4,000 stu¬ dents hi the early 1940's to 350 schools and an enrollment of 65,- 000 today. '
OVER THE VEARS this move¬ ment, which began in New 'S'ork City, has become national in scope. In 1965 every city in the United States with a ^Jewish population of over 10,000 had a day school. Some cities with as Uttie as 4000 Jewish people now have day school.
Dr. Kaminetsky, who holds a doctorate from Columbia Uni¬ versity, serves as tissodate pro¬ fessor of Education at Yeshiva University. He is editor of the "Jewish Parent" and has written extensively on Jewish education both on popular and professional- journals. _
MEMBERS OF the. graduating class are Marvin Blank, Karen Fried, Dayid Goldmeier, Harley Greene, David Schottenstein,. Robert Shari Ruth Wetarib, Steven Weissi
A reception is behig planned for the 'graduates and guests in the Agudas'Achim Social HaU. Mrs. Edward Weiss is in charge of the arruigements committee. She is assisted by all the mothers of the graduates. ITie public is cOrdlallyi in'vited.   ;;