Israel Celebrates Passover in Holiday Mood; Greeted by Moscow Rabbi

Israel celebrated Passover in an unprecedented holiday mood, indicating greater peace of mind on the part of the population than ever before in the ten years of the state’s existence. The synagogues were crowded and Seders were held in many kibbutzim and in all army units.

The Israel Chief Rabbinate announced receipt of Passover greetings from the Chief Rabbinates of the Soviet Union and other Communist countries of East Europe. Moscow’s Chief Rabbi Yehuda Levin expressed wishes for a “happy holiday in peace and trust.” Cables of greetings were also received from: Rumanian Chief Rabbi Moses Rosen, Bulgaria’s Chief Rabbi A. Hananel, Czechoslovakia’s Chief Rabbi Z. Siechel and the Jewish Community of Shanghai, in Communist China.

Chief Rabbis Isaac Herzog and Isaac Nissim released messages of Passover greetings to the people of Israel, calling for unity for the task of building the country, as did Chief Chaplain Rabbi Shmuel Gorenin a message addressed to Israeli servicemen and women.

On the recommendation of Premier David Ben Gurion, Rabbi Amram Blau, Neturei Karta leader, and some 30 members of his sect who has been sentenced to prison terms for public disturbances growing out of the construction of a pool for mixed bathing in Jerusalem, were granted 48-hour “vacations” from prison so they could hold Seders at home. Special rations were issued to all prisoners throughout the country and they were allowed additional visits during the festival week.

The government went through its annual ritual of “selling” its entire store of “chometz” to a group of Arab notables–to be “resold” to the government at the end of the festival. In another measure, the government removed for the week all storage fees on food parcels arriving from abroad for observant individuals and merchants.