'Judeo-Christian Paraliturgy'
Marks Spanish Freedom Service
There were 700 Jews and Catholics at the "Judeo-Christian
paraliturgy" service in the Church of Santa Maria in Madrid on
Feb. 28. This photo shows some of the worshipers at the service
which for the first time since the Inquisition marked a new era of
religious freedoni in Spain. It symbolized the passing of the new
law granting religious liberty to Jews and Protestants. There is
some disillusionment over a version of the legislation designed to
offer legal protection to worship by the religious minorities in Spain
which restricts the proferred freedom, but a beginning has been
made to assure religious liberty in the land whose history is marred
by one of the most tragic eras of bigotry and persecutions — the
' Inquisition.
Interesting
Developments
in Oldest
Synagogue
in New World
Commentary
Page 2
VOL. L, No. 29
"ft
Community's
Duties in
HE JEWISH NE
-rc) -r
A Weekly Review
Major Campaign
Vandalism:
Tragic Trends
of Our Times
M ICHIGAN
of Jewish Events
Michigan's Only English-Jewish Newspaper — Incorporating The Detroit Jewish Chronicle
17100 W. 7 Mile Rd.—VE 8-9364—Detroit 48235—March 10, 1967
Editorials
Page 4
$6.00 Per Year; This Issue 20c
Brotherhood Takes On New Meaning in Trenton
All Faiths Unite Under Slogan:
'Such an Incident Shall Not H p n
,
Repudiating Desecrations
Agan,
i
will be covered by this outpouring of good will. Remaining funds will go
By CHARLOTTE HYAMS
toward a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the
There is a new meaning to the term "brotherhood" for the residents
arsonist.
of Trenton, Mich., a week after an arsonist set fire to the Beth Isaac
To insure that such an incident "will never happen again," the
Synagogue
ministerial-laymen's "Beth Isaac Re-
Although interfaith cooperation had
never been lacking in the Downriver Detroitt - Bnai Brith Leaders Help Set Up habilitation Committee" also will use
proceeds for psychiatric treatment of
community — consisting of several
neighboring cities in addition to Tren- Rehabilitation Fund to Aid Trenton Synagogue the criminal.
One of the first tasks of the Tren-
ton — this week has seen a renewal
Under the leadership of the Metropolitan Detroit Bnai Brith Council, with
ton ministers will be to raise funds
of a unique kind.
consent of the Trenton congregation, a Beth Isaac Rehabilitation Fund was in-
to replace the prayerbooks that were
One of the first to reach the site the
augurated this week to assist in the rebuilding of the burnt synagogue and to replenish
destroyed on the bima of the syna-
of the gutted sanctuary was Rev. Asa its basic furnishings and religious necessities.
gogue. The arsonist had taken the
Compton, minister of the nearby Faith
books from the lower-level library
At a meeting of Trenton and Bnai Brith Jewish leaders, held Sunday afternoon
Methodist Church. Even before the
and used them as kindling for the fire,
in
Trenton,
under
the
chairmanship
of
Bernard
Panush,
a
committee
was
set
up
to
synagogue was built 2 I/2years ago,
secure the necessary funds which will help restore the burnt roof, replenish the library,
igniting them with paint remover.
Rev. Compton was encouraging the
provide taleisim and other necessities.
The Rev. Walter C. B. Saxman,
small congregation to build.
pastor of Trenton's First Methodist
Funds now being contributed through the Christian ministers from voluntary
Today, Rev. Compton is instru-
Church and president of the Huron
mental in efforts by a group of min- participants will be used to replace the burnt prayerbooks.
Valley Ministerial Association, spear-
isters and laymen to raise funds for
Checks donated through the Bnai Brith will go into a special fund supervised
the rebuilding of the sanctuary. What by a specially designated group of trustees. They should be made payable to Beth headed the formation of the commit-
is not covered by insurance (damages Isaac Rehabilitation Fund and sent in care of the Metropolitan Detroit Bnai Brith tee, along with an attorney, Robert C.
(Continued on Page 5)
were estimated at more than $10,000) Council, 19951 Livernois, Detroit 48221.
Jewish Soldier Honorably Discharged
After Refusal to Fight in Vietnam
Tip-Off on Nazi's Hideout
Cost 'One Cent Per Victim'
TACOMA — Pvt. Robert Levy, 22, a medical technician who went, on a hunger
strike last month to protest the war in Vietnam, has been given an honorable dis-
charge, officials at Madigan General Hospital disclosed Wednesday.
The Kansas City, Mo., soldier, who said that, as an Orthodox Jew, he opposed
the war, had been confined in the army hospital mental ward.
The hospital officials said that Levy had been given an administrative dis-
charge because of his "unsuitability for military service." Such a discharge is con-
sidered to be honorable.
Levy, who was a volunteer, and served 18 months in the army, was given
medical and psychiatric tests during his confinement.
Earlier this week, in Washington, Rabbi Jacob Weinstein, president of the
Central Conference of American Rabbis, said that he had started action to support
the rights of Pvt. Levy.
Army authorities sand that U.S. Army Chaplain Martin Feinsod, an Orthodox
rabbi, agreed with the decision to commit Levy. They said the chaplain was the only
clergyman granted visiting privileges and was seeking to bring Levy's religious thinking
into conformity with army requirements.
Rabbi Weinstein challenged "the self-assumed right of an Orthodox chaplain to
arbitrarily rule out conscientious objection by a soldier of Jewish faith."
Reliable sources in Seattle have revealed that Levy sought to pray and fast in
a Seattle synagogue but was ejected on grounds that his presence might embarrass
the congregation. He was locked up in the army psychiatric facility, an army spokesman
said, after Chaplain Feinsod told authorities he did not consider Levy's conscientious
objection and fasting to be acceptable behavior in the Orthodox interpretation.
AMSTERDAM (JTA) — The background of the events that led to the arrest
in Brazil of Franz Stangl, former commandant of the Nazi murder camps of Treblinka
and Sobibor, was revealed here by Simon Wiesenthal, head of the Jewish Documen-
tation Center at Vienna.
Wiesenthal, whose office had been credited with tracking down the late Adolf
Eichmann, leading to the latter's apprehension in Argentina and his subsequent sen-
tencing to death and execution in Israel, said he first was offered Stangl's address in
1964 by a former member of the Nazi secret police.
The informant, whose name was not revealed by Wiesenthal, first asked $25,000
for providing Stangl's address.
Later, according to Wiesenthal, the informant reduced his price to "2 cents for
every man, woman and child killed" under Stangl's responsibility. After further bar-
gaining, the informant agreed to reveal the address at a price of 1 cent per victim.
Since Stangl had been responsible for an estimated 700,000 deaths, he was promised
a payment of $7,000 upon Stangl's arrest.
After lengthy negotiations with high-ranking Brazilians, Wiesenthal said, he
was told last December that Stangl would be arrested on the order of the newly elected
governor of Sao Paulo Province, in Brazil, Roberto Abreu Sodre, as soon as the
Argentine Embassy in Brazil would request the man's extradition.
With the cooperation of the Austrian minister of justice, a 50-page summary
of a 1,000-page Austrian accusation against Stangl was prepared and sent to Brazil
by secret couriers. Stangl's arrest last week was the result.
Only three Jews — living now in Israel — survived from among all the Jews
sent to Treblinka and Sobibor under Stangl's command, Wiesenthal said. All three are
(Continued on Page 7)