With emphasis on conditions of the Jews in Europe today as a parallel to the bondage in Egypt, Jews throughout the United States will begin observance of Passover tomorrow night.
This year thousands of Jews will observe the holiday in or near army camps because of the Selective Service Act. Many Jews in the armed forces have received two-day furloughs to attend Seder services in their homes or in nearby communities, where provision is being made for public Seders by the Jewish Welfare Board.
More than 1,000 Jewish soldiers assembled for a pre-Passover service in the War Department Theater at Fort Dix, N.J., yesterday heard Maj. Gen. Clifford R. Powell declare: “In looking over the pages of our history we are particularly proud of the significant role played by Jews in our own struggles for freedom and democracy.” Rabbi David de Sola Pool delivered a sermon which was broadcast on a nation-wide network.
A Seder will be held in Camp Upton both Friday and Saturday nights, under the direction of Chaplain Norman Siegel, with the cooperation of the Jewish Welfare Board. A Seder will be conducted at Chanute Field, Rantoul, Ill., with Rabbi Edward Ellenbogen in charge. Services will be held at the Jewish Welfare Board Army and Navy Center in the Canal Zone under Rabbi Nathan Witkin. The Jewish Welfare Board has also sent Rabbi Lavy M. Becker on a 1,400 mile trip to Puerto Rico to conduct Passover services for the Jewish men stationed there.
In the metropolitan area Jewish centers are conducting special public Seders to which Jewish soldiers and sailors have been invited. Similar public celebrations will be held by Jewish community centers, YMHAs and YWHAs throughout the country. Matzos and Haggadah have been distributed by the Welfare Board to all of its army and navy committees in areas adjacent to army camps and are also being supplied for the men in the camps who are unable to leave on furloughs.
Arrangements are also being made by the board to transport 400 men by bus from Camp Hulen, Texas, to Houston, a distance of 110 miles, for Seder services in the community. Similarly 378 men will be transported from Camp Wolters, Mineral Wells, Texas, to Fort Worth and Dallas for services.
Approximately 1,000 refugees who have recently come from the war zones will attend their first Seder on American soil as guests of the Hebrew Sheltering and Immigrant Aid Society. The community Seder will be held at HIAS headquarter, and on Ellis Island, where a number of temporarily detained immigrants will be accommodated.
Dr. Chaim Weizmann and Senator Alben W. Barkley, Senate majority leader, will be speakers at the ninth annual Third Seder of the National Labor Committee for Palestine, to be held simultaneously at the Hotel Astor and the Hotel Commodore on Sunday evening. The 4,000 guests, who have raised at least $20 each for the campaign, will be divided into two sections, with the program repeated in the ballrooms of the two hotels.
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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.
