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September 26, 1980 - Image 16

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
The Detroit Jewish News, 1980-09-26

Disclaimer: Computer generated plain text may have errors. Read more about this.

16 Friday, September 26, 1980

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Unacceptability of Jewish Prayer' Remarks Defended by Baptist

NEW YORK (JTA) — A
Baptist leader's claim that
"God Almighty does not
hear the prayer of a Jew"

Mack Pitt

and his

Orchestra

plus

Disco

Music just for you
358-3642

has drawn sharp criticism
from Jewish and some Bap-
tist groups and a denial by
Dr. Bailey Smith, president
of the Southern Baptist
Convention, who made the
statement, that he is anti-
Semitic.
Smith, however, would
not disavow the remarks he
made at the National Af-
fairs Briefing, a gathering
of fundamentalist Chris-
tians in Dallas last month.
Rabbi Marc Tanenbaum,
director of the interreli-

PEACE

To Your Home

JOY

To Your Heart

HY & MARILYN JACOBS

gious affairs department of
the American Jewish
Committee, described
Smith's assertion as "invin-
cible ignorance" of the
Jewish faith and "almost to-
tally at variance with the
major pronouncements of
the Southern Baptist Con-
vention." Smith is pastor of
the First Southern Baptist
Church in Del City, Okla.
Smith's Dallas speech
was recorded by Milton To-
bian, executive director of
the AJCommittee's North
Texas region which mailed
transcripts to Jewish lead-
ers last week.
Smith was recorded as
saying: "It is interesting;
at great political rallies,
how you have a Protes-
tant to pray, a Catholic to
pray, and then you have a
Jew to pray. With all due
respects to those dear
people, my friends, God
Almighty does not hear
the prayer of a Jew."
Responding to the angry

reactions to his remarks,
Smith declared "I am pro-
Jew. I believe they are God's
special people. I believe
they are still loved in the
heart of God and that the
Jews are some of the
greatest blessings human-
ity has ever had, but with-
out Jesus Christ they are
lost. No prayer gets through
that is not prayed through
Jesus."
He claimed that "Jews
have an argument with me
because they have an
argument with the New
Testament."
In an interview with De-
troit Free Press religion
writer Harry Cook, Rev.
Smith was asked, "What
could you possibly have had
in mind; saying that God
doesn't hear the prayers of
Jewish people? Have 3,000
years' worth of prayers gone
ignored? How about Moses,
Abraham, David, all those
people?
Smith replied, "Well,

JEWISH NATIONAL FUND Cordially Invites You
to Attend The TESTIMONIAL DINNER

Honoring
DR. HAROLD T. SHAPIRO
Distinguished President of
the Univeristy of Michigan

HAROLD T. and VIVIAN B. SHAPIRO FOREST

in the

AMERICAN BICENTENNIAL PARK

General Chairman:
David B. Holtzman

Honorary Co-Chairmen:
Mrs. Morris Adler
Mr. and Mrs. Louis Berry
Mr. and Mrs. Morris J. Brandwine
Mr. and Mrs. Irwin I. Cohn
Dr. and Mrs. I. Jerome Hauser
Mr. & Mrs. Joseph H. Jockier
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Milan
Mr. and Mrs. Max M. Shaye
Mr. and Mrs. Leonard N. Simons
Mr. and Mrs. Philip Slomovirz
Mr. Phillip Srollman
Mr. and Mrs. Max Stollmon
Mr. and Mrs. David P. Zack
Mr. and Mrs. Paul Zuckerman
President, Jewish National Fund
of Greater Detroit, Cormi M. Slomovirz
Executive Director, Percy Kaplan
Assistant Executive Direcror, Alan J. Herbach
Director of Publicity, Ceil Kliger Ruda

"

name is Jesus Christ."
Smith's remarks were
condemned by a col-
league, Dr. James Dunn,
director of the Dallas-
based Christian Life
Commission of Texas
Baptists.
Dunn observed that
"Baptists at their best have
always believed in religious
liberty" but "you can't
really believe in religious
liberty without respecting
the religious convictions of
others."
He added, "If God Al-
mighty cannot hear the
prayers of Jews, you're put-
ting pretty severe limits on
your doctrine of God."
Meanwhile, leading Bap-
tist ministers and educators
from several states have
strongly deplored Dr.
Smith, for his public remark
last month that "God Al-
mighty does not hear the
prayer ora Jew."
Scores of letters ad-
dressed directly to Smith,
to various Baptist church
organs and to American
Jewish leaders involved
in inter-faith affairs, de-
nounced Smith's views as
contrary to the Scrip-
tures and unfair and in-
sulting to Jews.

Abu Hatzeira Associate
Jailed; Case Has New Twist

. . . on the occasion of the
establishing of the

Honorary Chairmen:
Dr. Thomas N. -Bonner.
President, Wayne Store University
Dr. William Haber
University of Michigon
Father Robert A. Mitchell, S. J. ,
Presidenr, University of Derroir

sir, first of all let me say
that the statement all the
papers are quoting today
I did make. I can't say I
didn't. But it amounted to
30 seconds out of a 40-
minute talk. And I know
it's what people always
say, but I was quoted out
of context.
"Anyway, of course, the
prayers of the Jews were
heard by God, that is, up
until God sent Jesus. Before
Him (Jesus) the Jews had
the complete revelation and
lived by it. But things are
different after Jesus, and
the reason I said God doesn't
hear Jewish prayers is be-
cause my Bible says that
Jesus is the only way a man
can get to God. I can't help
what it says in the New Tes-
tament."
"Are you saying, then,"
Cook asked, " that fol-
lowers of Judaism, fol-
lowers of Buddah,
Mohammed, Lao Tse and
Confucious, to name but
a few, are doomed, can't
expect God's approval?
"I'm saying only what I've
been taught since I was five
years old. I'm saying that
there is no other name
under heaven whereby men
can be saved. And that

in Israel

and on the occasion of the upcoming 80th Anniversary
of the Jewish National Fund
Keren Kaymeth Lelsrael

On Wednesday evening, October 15, 1980
Shoarey Zedek Synagogue
27375 Bell Road, Southfield

Cocktails, 6:30 p.m./Dinner, 7:00 p.m.
Dress Optional

Guest Speaker:
Honorable Paul Kedar
Counsel General of The State of Israel

Dinner Chairman: David B. Holtzman
Contribution (including dinner):
per couple (Minimum) $150.00

For. Information and
Reservations call:

27308 Southfield
Southfield, Mich. 48076
Phone 559-5520

JERSALEM (JTA) —
Moshe Gabbai, a long-time
close associate of Religious
Affairs Minister Aharon
Abu Hatzeira and a senior
official of the ministry, was
remanded in custody for 15
days by a Tel Aviv district
court.
It was the first such court
action since the investiga-
tion began several months
ago of allegations that Abu
Hatzeira and other ministry
officials misappropriated
funds.
Gabbai was jailed at the
request of the police. The
Tel Aviv magistrate who
ordered him held after
examining evidence in his
chambers, said there was
sufficient prima facie mate-
rial to warrant the remand.
He emphasized, however,
that it should not be con-
strued as an indication of
guilt.
A police attorney told
the court that Gabbai is
suspected of taking
kickbacks from several
yeshivot which received
unwarranted and dis-
proportionate increases
in their allocations from
the Religious Affairs
Ministry. The police said
he is also suspected of
bribery in a recent local
election.
Gabbai, who was held for
questioning for 48 hours be-
fore his remand, reportedly
has refused to cooperate
with the police. Under Is-
raeli law, a suspect may be
held in custody for a
maximum of 15 days. But
the court can renew the re-
mand at 15-day intervals as
long as the investigation
continues.
The case took an unex-
pected turn last week when
Israel's two chief rabbis

stated that on religious
grounds one of the chief
witnesses against Gabbai
could not testify. He is De-
puty Mayor Israel Gottlieb
of Bnei Brak, an Orthodox
township north of Tel Aviv,
who is himself a suspect in
the case and had offered to
turn state's el, idence.
Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi
Shlomo Goren and Sephar-
dic Chief Rabbi Ovadia
Yosef, whose opinions were
solicited separately, both
insisted that the insitution
of state's evidence was
counter to Jewish religious
law.
According to the chief
rabbis, by admitting his
own guilt, the witness
disqualified himself from
giving acceptable evi-
dence against anyone
else. They cited biblical
and talmudic texts to that
effect.
National Religious Party
circles observed that
Gottlieb would not be able
to transgress against the
chief rabbis' injunction
without losing all vestiges
of his standing and his posi-
tion in the party.
Chief Rabbis Goren and
Yosef were themselves the
targets of criticism from
non-religious and legal
sources for interfering in
the Abu Hatzeira case.

Di Presse Has
New Director

BUENOS AIRES (JTA)
— Mates Goldfarb, active in
the Jewish community
here, has been named new
director of Di Presse, the
only Yiddish newspaper in
Argentina, and its weekly
publication in Spanish,
Nueva Presencia.

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