It Costs More to Insult a Catholic
Than Jew, Italian Penal Code Says

ROME (JTA) — Italy's re-
ligious minority leaders ex-
pressed disappointment over a
decisicn of the Italian Consti-
tutional court which upheld a
clause of the Italian penal code
imposing heavier penalties for
insults against Catholicism than
for those against non-Catholic
religious groups.
A lower court had asked
for a ruling on whether the
clause, Article 724, should not
be considered obsolete because
the 'Italian constitution estab-
lishes the equality of all re-
lig,lotis groups without affirma-

London Jews Hit
B-G's 'Who Is a
Jew' Proposal

Direct JTA Teletype Wire
to The Jewish News

British Jewry's
LONDQN
highest religious body, the Lon-
don Beth Din, Wednesday de-
scribed the Israel government's
proposal to permit self-identifi-
cation of Israel residents as
Jews for registration purposes
"a tragic menace to the home'
and family life of Jewish com-
munities throughout the world."
The Beth Din, acting in the
absence of British. Common-
wealth Chief Rabbi Israel
Brodie, replied to a letter from
Prime Minister Ben-Gurion in-
viting opinions on the issues in
the "Who Is a Jew" contro-
versy. The Prime Minister sent
the letter to a variegated group
of Jewish leaders in many
countries. Rabbi Brodie is in
South Africa for health reasons.
The Beth Din appealed to
the Prime Minister with an
"earnest prayer that the gov-
ernment of Iirael over which
you preside will Withdraw its
proposal, the implementation
of which could not but violate
the sanctity of the Jewish
people, affect its family life
and undermine the unity of
the nation."
The Beth • Din said that the
question should not have been
put to persons unqualified to
deal with matters of Jewish
religious law, reference to the
fact that the Prime Minister
included in his list a number
of Jews who are experts in
civil law but not in Jewish
law.
The religious court also de-
clared that Jewish law was
clear on the issue—that no
non-Jew could be regarded as
a Jew unless converted in ac-
cordance with Jewish law by
recognized rabbinate. The Beth
Di nodded that any departure
of -the laws of the State of
Israel from the fundamental
prinCiples of Jewish religious
laW would "cause an irretriev-
able split in the nation."

tion that any one of them is a
state religious. Article 724 pro-
vides fines of 800 to 24,000 lire
for anyone found guilty of pub-
licly cursing or • "pronouncing
outrageous words against the
divinity or the symbols and
persons venerated by the re-
ligion of the state."

The constitutional court
ruled that the term "religion
of the state" did not have the
judicial meaning implied by
the lower court. The constitu-
tional court declared- that arti-
cle 724, like other penal code
articles establishing punish-
ments for offenses against re-
ligions, with lesser fines for
non-Catholic religions, "merely
acknowledges the fact that
Catholicism is the religion of
the overwhelming majority of
Italians."

The ruling held that for this
reason; Catholicism was en-
titled to stronger penal Protec-
tion because of the "greater
intensity of social reactions"
evoked by offenses against the
Catholic religion.'

Power of Israel
Rabbinate Being
Challenged Anew

JERUSALEM, (JTA)—A new
conflict between religious and
secular authority in Israel de-
veloped when the Rabbinical
Council declared that no outside
agency could compel a super-
vising rabbi to grant kosher en-
dorsements. T h e Rabbinical
Council added that not even a
rabbinical court could compel
the rabbi to give a Kashrut en-
dorsement to a person he did
not trust.
The statement was viewed as
a challenge to the Israel Su-
preme Court which issued an
order to the Jerusalem Religious
Council to show cause why it
had refused endorsement of
Kashrut to the President Hotel.
The owner of the hotel has
charged that the Council has
withheld endorsement because
the hotel initiated the mixed
pool project which caused
world-wide disputes.

A hearing by the supreme
court has been set.
Meanwhile, in Tel Aviv,
Pinhas Lavon, secretary-general
of Histadrut the Israel Federa-
tion of Labor, lodged a com-
plaint with Prime Minister
David Ben-Gurion against Chief
Rabbi Itzhak Nissim, whom he
charged with "insulting" the
Histadrut's chief chaplain,
Rabbi Brandwein. Both rabbis
attended the dedication of a new
synagogue at Elath. According
to Lavon, Rabbi Nissim walked
out when Rabbi Brandwein
took the podium to deliver an
official greeting.

LIBERMAN'S

TAKES PLEASURE IN ANNOUNCING
A NEW SERVICE TO OUR COMMUNITY

I

4

"KING OF HEARTS"
TRAY SERVICE

Consisting of: 1. Hors D'ouvres
2. Our Famous Trays
' 3. Desserts—

ALL IN ONE !

Call:

LI 1-2888

13821 W. 9 MILE RD.

Danny Raskin's

LISTENING

THE IMPORTANT Jewish
Community Council Calendar'
was the topic of Walter Klein's
recent talk over RadFo -Station
WJLB . .• . "The 'theory of the
Community Calendar is simpli-
city itself and is as old as the
idea of a Jewish community,"
said the JCC's assistant execu-
tive director. "In a metropolitan
area such as Detroit, there are
upward of 300 Jewish organi-
zations. Most of these organi-
zations sponsor affairs of some
kind—in may instances affairs
that are of real interest not only
to their own members but to
others in the community, as
well. Or, they may be involved
in a venture in which they
would like the cooperation of
members of other organizations.
It is here that your Community
Calendar functions. Conflicts of
dates, with their often unfor-
tunate consequences, can be
easily avoided by use of your
Community Calendar. The pro-
cedure for using the calendar
is direct, is easy, is brief and
involves no expense. If your or-
ganization is contemplating an
affair your first step toward in-
suring its success is to call WO
2-6710 and ask for the Calendar
secretary. Tell her your plans
and find out what, if anything
else, is scheduled for the par-
ticular date you had in mind."
A FINE young ,gent, Bob
Rosenberg, takes over as new
bossman at Rainbow Terrace,
and the huge amount of popu-
larity he has amassed through-
out the years is reflected in the
many well-deserved good wishes
that are being received by him
and his lovely wife, Joyce.
BEST BET of the weekend
. .. Goldrush Night of Games
by Children Unlimited, Jan. 10,
at Hayim Greenberg Center ...
Proceeds to Penrickton Nursery
for blind kiddies ... Call Ceil
Bindes, chairman, for tickets,
UN. 3-1521.

.

Dingell to Introduce
Anti-Bombing Bill

Congressman John D. Din-
gell, Democrat of the 15th Dis-
trict of Michigan, announced he
would introduce an anti-bomb-
ing till in the U.S. House of
Representatives.
The proposed bill would im-
pose a fine of not more than
$10,000 or imprisonment of not
more than five years, or both,
for whoever knowingly imports
or transports in interstate com-
merce any type or kind of ex-
plosive for the purpose of en-
dangering human lives or of
destroying real or personal
property without the consent
of the owner.
Included in the bill is a pro-
vision to act as the Lindberg
law does in kidnapping of-
fenses. When such bombings
take place it is presumed that
the explosives used were trans-
ported in interstate commerce
for purposes of authorizing the
Federal Bureau of Investiga-
tion to investigate the matter
and assist local law enforce-
ment authorities.
The measure also contains a
provision that when death oc-
curs from such an explosion
the death penalty may be im-
posed by the court at its dis-
cretion.

Devaluation of Currency May
Affect Israel-French Trading

TEL AVIV (JTA)—Devalua-
tion of the French franc is
expected to result unfavorably
as far as Israeli-French trade
is concerned. Devaluation means
that Israel will be able to buy
less in the French market with
the francs available to Israel
under the terms of the trade
agreement between the two
countries.
Treasury circles predict that
the new French loan to Israel
will not be affected by the de-
valuation of the French franc,
since that loan was negotiated
in terms of dollars. However,
an earlier $15,000,000 loan may
be affected, since it was pegged
to the French franc. If the
earlier loan is affected, this will
be the second time its purchas-
ing power has gone down, its
value having dropped due to a
previouS French devaluation in
Aug., 1957.
It is too early to measure how
the coming into existence of
the Common European Market
will influence trade between
France and Israel. The very
nature of the Common Market,
however, automatically puts Is-
rael in a less favorable position
than member countries of the
Common Market, when it comes
to selling Israeli products to
France.
Israeli export circles were
puzzled by the fiscal changes in
Europe, but there were no in-
structions from the Government
Treasury or from the Bank of
Israel. It is believed that re-
ports to come in from Israeli
economic attaches in various
European capitals will enable

Israeli exporters to consider the
situation resulting from the fis-
cal changes in Europe.
Israeli exporters may face
fiercer competition in European
markets: They may have to cut
prices anl increase quality of
production to meet competition.

Council's 2nd Annual
Brunch, Institute for
Presidents on Jan. 25

The second annual brunch
and institute for presidents of
Council-affiliated organizations
will be held Sunday, Jan. 25,
11 a.m., in the social hall of
Ahavas Achim, 19190 Schaefer.
Organizational presidents are
invited to reserve this date
when they will be the guests
of the Jewish Community Coun
cil.
The Institute will make it
possible for the exchange of
views between presidents so
that they will know what other'
organizations are doing.
Dr. Samuel Krohn, chairman
of the internal relations com-
mittee of the Council, is chair-
man of this special institute.

1

Withhold not good from them
to whom it is due, when it is
in the power of thine hand to
do it.—Prov. 3:27.

MUSIC! ENTERTAINMENT!

Sammy Woolf

And His Orchestra

UN 4-3174
UN 3-8982
UN 3-6501

LEON & LEFKOFSKY

DELICATESSEN
TRAY CATERERS — CARRY OUT SERVICE
13436 W. 7 MILE
(Free Delivery)
UN 4-9882

le

0
0
0
0

TEMPLE BETH EL — Sunday, Jan. 11 — 8:00 p.m.

IRVING R. LEVINE

NBC Correspondent to Moscow, Russia, Speaking on

"U.S.-Soviet Relations in 1 959"

Sponsored by Men's Clubs of Temple Beth El, Temple Israel
At Temple Beth El, 8801 Woodward
Donation $1.25
Tickets: UN 3-7769 - TR 5-8530

BOESKY'S

Delightfully
Air-Conditioned

Delicatessen • Restaurant • Cocktail Lounge

Famous for Fine Food
DINNERS 4:30 to 9:30 • AFTER THEATER SNACKS
Businessmen's Lunch 11:30 A.M. to 3 P.M.
TRAY CATERING A SPECIALTY

12th at Hazelwood

TR. 2-4375

WHERE TO DINE

AL GREEN'S

9,9,1!;1 0,SE

15301 E. Jefferson at Beaconsfield

VA 2 - 4118

Luncheons 11 to 3 — Dinners 5:00
to 10:30. Suppers 10:30 to 2 a.m.

3020 GRAND RIVER. Free Parking. TE 3-0700. Pri-
vate Banquet Rooms for wedding pal Lies. Serving
the World's Finest Steaks, Chops and Sea Foods iv/
more than 26 years. AU Beef aged in our cellars.

ROBIN HOOD'S serving the finest and most delicious of foods, Steaks,
Chops, Chicken Club Sandwiches. Short Orders. Delicious Hamburgers.
"Served as you like it."
20176 LIVERNOIS AVE., 11/2 blks. S. 8 Mile Rd.
Open 24 Hours

MARIA'S PIZZERIA

BANQUET FACILITIES

Specializing in Pizza Pie and Famous Italian Foods

Parking Facilities . . . Carry-Out Service

7107 PURITAN — Open 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. -- UN 1-3929

CLAM SHOP and BAR

TR 2-8800

Serving: Oysters, Clams, LOBSTERS, Steaks and Assorted See Foods

Music by Muzak

times

BEEF BUFFET

2675 E. GRAND BLVD.

Prime Beef at its Very Best! Pies baked on' prep: -
ises. Special Luncheons and Dinners. Menus changed
daily. Open 11 a.m.-8 p.m.

19371 W. 8 Mile, 1 Blk. E. of Evergreen