Roosevelt mourned; a POW and a skirmish
America’s Great President
A sentiment common to many of the tributes that have been paid throughout the world to the American President, who died last week, is his passing is felt as the loss of a great friend.
Of no group is this feeling stronger than among Jewry. Franklin Roosevelt’s friendship towards our people showed itself in relation to several of the questions affecting them, and, in particular, to these three; their rights as citizens — of America chiefly, but also of other countries; their plight in lands of persecution; and their hopes of a national home in Palestine.
Jewish POWs held services in secret
After three years captivity in Japanese hands, Pte. Jack Berner is home again with his young wife Anne to whom he was married only eight months before going abroad in 1941. He is a member of the Loyal Regiment, with which he went to Singapore, where he was captured in 1942. Before the city fell, he attended Synagogue at Singapore, on Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashana, and on Shabbat whenever duty allowed. Pte Berne, a blue-eyed young man of 29 is at present enjoying six weeks’ leave, making good progress towards recovering from his privations. (His weight on his release was six stone six pounds. it had fallen from 11 stone.) He told me that in the camp at Thailand, where he was most of the time, there were 20 Jewish prisoners who met every week for a Jewish service which was held without the knowledge of the Japanese. They had no Jewish calendars but calculated the dates of festivals from the last date they could remember and never made a mistake.
Jewish Brigade’s First Big Action
A thrilling description of the first offensive action in which the Jewish Brigade’s Palestinian infantry formations were engaged is given in a letter from a captain in the Brigade. The captain wrote concerning one skirmish when Lance-Corporal Levy, who came originally from Germany, approached one strong-point, kicked open the door, and shouted in German: “Swine, come out, the Jews have come!” Four trembling Germans with hands raised emerged from their dug-out and one ,whose face was whiter than chalk, declared “I am not a Nazi, I am a Social Democrat!”