Israelis Fervently Celebrate Holidays; Large Turnouts in Moscow, Paris

Jews throughout Israel celebrated Rosh Hashana this year with special fervor. Scores of thousands made the pilgrimage to the Western Wall on the eve of the holiday and during its two days and services were held in about 10,000 synagogues and prayer groups throughout the country. Special services were held for army units from the banks of the Suez Canal in the south to Mt. Hermon in the north.

According to reports reaching Paris, attendance at Rosh Hashana services in Moscow was greater than last year and there was a great overflow at the Central Synagogue.

French rabbis attributed a greatly increased participation in the services in Paris and other centers this year to an intensified consciousness of Judaism among French Jews as a result of the Arab-Israel conflict. In an unusual development here, Grand Rabbi Jacob Kaplan praised the French people for “proclaiming their solidarity with Israel” — an implied rebuke to the French Government — and exhorted French Jewry to tighten their links with Israel.

The Middle East News Agency, which is controlled by the Egyptian Government, sent a report to its foreign subscribers that President Nasser had sent a Jewish New Year greeting to the Egyptian Jewish community.

In Buenos Aires, President Juan Carlos Ongania praised the Jews of Argentina for their loyalty to the state and for their contributions in the arts, sciences, commerce and industry to the progress of the country. Gen, Ongania’s tribute to the Argentine Jewish community was made in a message to Dr. Isaac Goldenberg, president of DAIA, the Jewish representative organization, on the occasion of the Jewish New Year.

In Brazil, Jewish servicemen in the armed forces were given special leave to enable them to observe the holidays. The War Ministry took this action on request of the Brazilian Jewish Confederation.