Jewish patriots who fought with Colonial troops in the American Revolutionary War were honored here yesterday in Memorial Day ceremonies at the New Bowery Cemetery of the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue.The historic cemetery was established in 1682.
Dr. Mordecai M. Eliash, a member of Israel’s delegation to the United Nations, who addressed a group of descendants of the Colonial patriots, declared that today “our soldiers in Palestine are fighting just as the Americans fought for freedom. One day they will appear as an example of devotion and sacrifice similar to the men at Valley Forge.” Dr. Eliash placed U.S. and Israeli flags over one of the graves. Rabbi David do Sola Pool officiated at the memorial exercises for the 21st successive year.
In a message to the 53rd annual Memorial Day services of the Jewish War Veterans, President Truman declared that “your organization, has devoted itself to perpetuation of the traditions of national service left with us by Americans of Jewish faith who, with Americans of every other religious belief and national origin, have fallen in combat in all wars of our nation since the War of Independence.”
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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.