J.D.B. News Letter

(By our London Correspondent)

The first meeting in Europe of the Fellowship of Faiths in which seven religions, Buddhist, Christian, Confucian, Hindoo, Jewish, Mohammedan and Theosophist, were represented on one platform, was held last night at the City Temple here. The fellowship was established in America about three years ago to show the points on which all religions agree.

The meeting began with the Moslem call to prayer. The Muezzin of the London Mosque gave his call from the pulpit of the Church. Dr. F. W. Norwood, the Minister of the City Temple, who presided, said that the representative of each religion would be called upon to speak in the alphabetical order of the first letter of his faith. “We are not here to discuss the separate dogmas in each other’s faiths,” he said. “Brotherhood is the acid test of religion. Peace is humanity’s greatest necessity and in our time it is a crying necessity. Must they wait until they had converted all men to one form of faith before they might seek peace and brotherhood?”

Dr. W. A. de Silva of Ceylon spoke first for the Buddhists. It was possible, he said, for all religions and creeds to bring peace and brotherhood to mankind in this world.

Dr. Sherwood Eddy of America, who spoke for the Christians, said that he took this great hour to be a symbol that these great faiths can come together in friendship and confess their sins of the past.

Haham Dr. Moses Gaster said that Adam had received the breath of life from one God. One ray of light from the sun coming through a prism broke up into many colors. The nations and faiths were like many colors, but if they were combined then the glorious light of the sun shone again. Judaism was the oldest religion and it knew no difference between faith and faith of race and race. One of the Jewish prophets had asked: “Are not all children of one father?”

Dr. Annie Besant, the only woman speaker present, who spoke at the meeting for the Theosophists, said that she welocomed converse with members of all faiths because they had something to learn from each one.

The Church was packed. Over three thousand people were present, and an overflow meeting was held in the large lecture hall, where the speakers delivered their messages a second time. Many people were unable to obtain admission.

RABBI AARON TEITELBAUM RETURNS FROM PALESTINE

Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum, secretary of the Central Relief Committee, returned from an extended trip to Europe and Palestine on the steamer Olympic.

Rabbi Teitelbaum was in Palestine during the earthquake. Much damage was suffered by the Jewish population. In the Old City of Jerusalem, many of the inhabitants are very poor. Only two weeks before the earthquake, Rabbi Teitelbaum sad, they had paid their rent for the next six months or the entire year, as is the custom in the country. The government authorities will not permit them to return to their flats because the buildings are unsafe. They are compelled to look for new homes outside the Old City and many of them are in dire need.

Several Jewish institutions in the Old City also suffered much damage.

HADASSAH ORGANIZATION SENDS RELIEF TO TEL-AVIV

Clothing contributed by American women has been distributed among 2,000 children, 200 of them orphans, in Tel Aviv, Palestine, according to a report received by Mrs. A. H. Fromenson, chairman of the Palestine Supplies Bureau of Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America.

A special appeal for clothing was sent to America, due to the need caused by the recent economic crisis in Tel Aviv. In addition to the wearing apparel, about 20,000 yards of materials for clothing and bed supplies were shipped. The distribution in Palestine was made chiefly by the Palestine Orphan Committee. During the past year the Hadassh Supplies Department sent more than $60,000 worth of garments and linens to Palestine.

In answer to an appeal from the Government of Palestine, Hadassah cabled $500 to Dr. E. M. Bluestone, director of the Hadassah Medical Organization in Palestine, to be applied to the Government relief fund for earthquake sufferers.

“Soccer has no future in the United States.” Max Scheuer, captain of the Hakoah team, declared on his arrival in Vienna, returning with the team from a tour in the United States.

“The fields are not first class and I believe that soccer in its present form can only be experimented with in the United States for another year. The managers of our tour. I understand, have lost about $30,000. The team, so far as I am aware, has received almost the amount which had been promised, but the amount of money which the club received was certainly not impressive,” he said.