Magistrate Anna M. Kross dismissed two cases of Sabbath law violation yesterday in Tombs Court when Abraham Kaufman, 67 Mott street, and Leo Kaufman, 63 Mott street, were brought before her on the charge of keeping their leather stores open on Sunday.
Herman Koenigsberg, counsel for the Jewish Sabbath Alliance of America, represented the defendants. On cross-examination he disclosed that the police had observed no sales on Sunday, that the defendants kept closed on Saturday and that no complaints had come from the neighborhood.
It was further pointed out by Mr. Koenigsberg that the complaint had been brought by the Metropolitan Leather and Findings Association, of which Louis D. Greenzweig is the organizer.
Abraham Kaufman, who is a partner in the firm of Banks and Kaufman, declared yesterday that Greenzweig was “working a racket.” Although president of a synagogue, Greenzweig was using the Sabbath law to force Jewish dealers to keep closed Sunday and open Saturday, he declared. Kaufman further stated that Greenzweig was being paid by the New Jersey group of leather and finding dealers in order to gain for themselves some of the trade that normally went to New York on Sunday.
PARLEY ON DAY OF REST
William Rosenberg, Secretary of the Jewish Sabbath Alliance, announced yesterday that an attempt would be made to confer with the Metropolitan Association to see if it would agree to one day of rest in seven, whether it were Saturdays or Sundays. The conference was scheduled for last night.
Both the firms of Banks and Kaufman and that of the J. Miller Leather Company, the latter firm employing Leo Kaufman, stated they were opposed to joining the Association under any circumstances because of the “underhand methods used by Greenzweig.”
Greenzweig could not be reached for a statement yesterday. In a similar case last month against Charles Horowitz, Mott street leather dealer, Greenzweig claimed he was simply trying to enforce the rules laid down by the NRA and that no personal motives were involved.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
