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Reminder of Israeli Occupation Evident in Location of Rosh Hashanah Services

September 26, 1968
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A new synagogue erected in a former Jordanian Army camp and the ruins of old synagogues destroyed by the Jordanians in East Jerusalem were the scenes of Rosh Hashanah services as devout Israelis observed the High Holy Days yesterday and Monday. The new synagogue was dedicated on the eve of Rosh Hashanah on a site north of Jerusalem where the settlement of Neve Yaacov stood prior to the 1948 War for Independence. The settlement was abandoned during the fighting and was later taken over as an Arab Legion encampment. The Army chaplaincy arranged for services for troops manning the cease-fire lines at far-flung points. Cantors and shofar-blowers were sent to the front where services were held in relays for men coming off duty.

Moscow’s Chief Rabbi Yehuda Leib Levin exchanged New Year greetings with Israel’s Sephardic Chief Rabbi Itzhak Nissim. A cable from Rabbi Levin arrived in response to greetings to Russian Jewry sent earlier by Rabbi Nissim. The Moscow rabbi’s message read in part, “We wish you a new year of peace and blessing.”

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