Who Are the Indian Jews of Mexico?

Israel Philharmonic Leaves U.S. for Orient

NEW YORK, (JTA)—After a the series of concerts "was highly
BY SEYMOUR B. LIEBMAN junction) and that -the Mexico ' one will see (at least this seven-week tour of the United successful, in both the critical
In Mexico, there are groups City Kehillah has turned down author did in 1958) three Torah States, Canada and Mexico, in reaction and public acclaim
of Indians who profess and a request by Indian Jews for Scrolls, two of which have which it played 32 concerts in achieved." The results, he said,
practice Judaism. The Ashke- mass circumcision. These In- "mantelech" or covers. The 25 communities to audiences "more than justified the $100,000
_nazi and Sephardic Jews of • dians are colorful and deserve rubric on one attested that it totaling 150,000 music lovers, the investment made by the Founda-
Mexico have well organized study regardless of their origin. was donated by Rabbi Joshua Israel Philharmonic Orchestra left tion in bringing the orchestra to
communities but they do not Why did they remain Jews or Goldberg (Navy Chaplain) and by air for a three-week tour of this country as part of its con-
tinuing program of cultural ex-
recognize the vast majority of why did they •adopt Judaism? , the other by Rabbi Jacob Press- Japan and India.
Samuel Rubin-, president of the change between the United States
the Indian Jews as co-religion- These interesting questions have man. It is not known whether I
never been discussed openly Chaplain Goldberg ever met Sr. America-Israel Cultural Founda- and Israel."
ists.
Ramirez but according to the tion which, with the J. M. Kaplan
Some of these Indians con- and fully.
An automobile contains over
The first Jew who came to Y i d dish Journalist, Chaim fund, sponsored the American
tend that they are descendants
of Marranos who fled Spain and Mexico was Alonso Hernando, Shoshkes, it was 'Shoshkes who tour, hailed the orchestra. He said 100 separate varieties of steel.
Portugal in the 15th and 16th who was a member of Cortez's secured the Serer Torah from IPM111111•1211111•1111..
centuries and settled in Mexico. company and he was burned at Rabbi Goldberg and brought it
Some infer an ancestry with the stake in 1528.. Two other to Mexico. It is a fact that Rabbi
Don Louis de Carvajal, a con- . non-Jews died at the same time Pressman daesn't know the Mex-
quistador. who established the and other Jews were burned ico City Indian Jews, their syna-
State of Nueve Leon which has prior to 1574. Judaism could gogue or leader. A Scroll was
the city of Monterey as its not have been prescribed from contributed by his Temple in San
1810-, because that was the year Francisco at the behest of one
capital.
of his members who felt some-
A well-known orthodox group of the first revolution which re- thing should be done for the
has organized a series of tours leased Mexico from .Spain. From group.
to Mexico. Their advertise- then on, Mexicans did not pre-
Rabbi Pressman, in his cor-
Is rejoicing in our midst . .
ments list the classic scenic and scribe or prohibit Judaism. Por- respondence with this author,
firio
Diaz,
Mexican
dictator
as
again the inspiration of the Festival
historic places of Mexico and
' stated that the use of his name
include "a meeting with tribes President, from 1874 to 1910, is unauthorized and that he
Lights warms our hearts and provides for
claimed
he
had
Jewish
blood.
of Mexico's Indian Jews." Ex-
knows nothing of the legitima
perience has shown what the Many others during the 19th of the group as Jews who sho d
us a great
ion f
bration .
.
responses of many tourists will century admitted to either being be recognized as such.
Jews
or
having
Jewish
ancestry.
May
the
d
by
be. Some will make a financial
Many tourists accept the
contribution, a few will deter- I The gullibility of most stories they hear but fe
Hanuka
us and
ke
mine to conduct a campaign for writers has been astounding the trouble to go to the
ds
our ch .
childr
them among friends back home. ' and has assisted in the de- of the non-Indian Jewish gr
Some will resent the Mexican velo pment of myths and leg- • to inquire as to the schism
om
and the
"Central Comite de Judios" be- ends. Dr. Raphael Patai, a lack of relationship between
trained
anthropologist,
spent
cause many Indian Jews are
those of Indian origin and
among the lower economic several months studying one those who are desceridendants
classes and decry their lack of of the greups but his findings of Europeans or Levantine
Jewish books. funds for the are disregarded. In spite of ipeoules. Inherently there seems
education of their children and his report published in 1950. to be a disregard by tourists
many live in squalid , poverty we still read about them and ; of what may be termed dis-
according to American stand- now they have become a cipline in religious quarters.
tourist attraction.
ards.
Since the males are not
In visiting the synagogue of
The tourists might also hear
circumcized, they made an
that some groups eat matzos the Mexico City group headed application in 1958 to the
only on the first and seventh by Lic. B. Ramirez, a lawyer, Kehilla of the Mexican Jew-
days of Passover (most observe one cannot resist the emotional ish Community for mass cir-
according to the Biblical in- surge. When the Ark is opened, cumcision. This request was
turned over by the Kehillah
to their two St. adt Rabbonim
(official - rabbis). These two
learned men decided that
they would indicate that they
refused to recognize these
people as descendants of
Jewish mothers according to
halacha.
There can be no criticism of
helping these people from a
humanitarian point of view.
There is no question that these
people come primarily from the
lower economic classses. To now
make them a center of attrac-
tion and as one of the high-
lights of a tour of Mexico in-
volves questions of good taste
The Menorah is the symbol of the Hanukah
and religion. and puts a spot-
light of publicity on them which
triumph . . . It represent the mark of spiri-
requires a revelation of many
gth, the
facts, some of which have al-
tuality, the emble
ready been enumerated.
indestructibi
Why do we make hasty emo-
tional value judgments in fields
where our comnetence to judge
oil
is practically nil? Who. in o
In th
ganizing the Young Israel
an
y last
single
might have burned for
to Mexico became the au
to 'answer the questio
ple,
ire eight da
are the Indian Jews of

•

•

•

Wappy liantthali

I

Mr and Infs. Abe Mae

-

he scape

t of t

and now is ym

redeeme

tions

rvived all

!zed by its .survi

tacles

in the

ate of Israel.

e symbolic idea of

he Menorah

the un ying and determined Jewish will to

live . . . May it continue to - light the way to

justice and to liberty for Israel and for all the

just peoples in the world.

Kappy

Wartahali to all

Hordes Agency

INSURANCE

17616 Wyoming, Detroit 21

University 3 2900

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William Hordes—Earl Hordes—Edward Wishnetsky

Reveal Hausner
to Paris to Finish
Lavon Investigation

(Direct JTA Teletype Wire
to The Jewish News)

JERUSALEM — Attorney Gen-
eral Gideon Hausner flew to
Paris recently to complete his
investigation of witnesses in con-
nection with the Lavon affair, the
1954 security mishap which re-
sulted in the resignation of De-
fense Minister Pinhas Lavon.
Justice Minister Pinhas Rosen
made the disclosure in reply to
questions by the oppbsition con-
cerning the reason for the Attor-
ney General's top secret flight
which rumors attributed to be in
connection with the forthcoming
Eichmann trial.
The Lavon affair is now under
review by a ministerial commit-
tee after a recent inquiry re-
vealed that senior army officers
incited witnesses to testify falsely
concerning the mishap.

Fred Arbanas, 1960 Michigan
State football co-captain, caught
his first pass as a sophomore and
his last pass as a senior for
touchdowns.

On the occasion o
happ -sti al, we wish
th
to t•
ur reet gs
to e en
friends

C RE EN
STAMPS

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