London.
The manifold activities of Arnold Bernstein, German-Jewish shipping magnate who retained control of his Arnold Bernstein Line after the Nazi advent to power, have kept European shipping circles buzzing. Only a few weeks ago, Herr Bernstein announced a new line—the Palestine Navigation Company—which would operate steamers under the Palestine flag, manned by Jewish crews, between Palestine and Europe. The first of the line’s steamers was christened the Tel Aviv.
Last week, Herr Bernstein startled London shipping circles by snatching two Red Star liners out of the hands of a British syndicate which had bid for them. He announced from Antwerp that the liners would fly the flag of a new line which he will operate between New York and Europe in addition to the Arnold Bernstein Line.
Herr Bernstein will thus have the distinction of operating under two flags—the modified Union Jack of the Jewish National homeland and the Swastika of Nazi Germany.
Leslie Hore-Belisha, youthful British Jew who fills the post of Minister of Transport in the present government, has set London tongues a-wagging with his rapid-fire innovations. Everyone talks about them and wherever one goes, one finds their evidence. Hore-Belisha thought there was too much noise in the city streets. Therefore, unnecessary “hooting” is now punishable by fines. Then he decided to give the poor pedestrian a break. So, at important intersections now, one finds a large orange colored glass globe mounted on a triped pole. At these “Belisha beacons” the pedestrian has the right of way. Theoretically, automobiles must halt at the beacons to permit the pedestrians to cross.
There has been a noticeable reluctance on the part of pedestrians to put the beacons to the test, the majority preferring the safety of the white-sleeved traffic officer’s arm to the mute beacon. However, the beacons are gaining in popularity as the pedestrians find that autos do occasionally stop when the former signal from the curb their desire to cross at the beacon.
The beacons have also furnished a new London sport and their breakage, as a result, has been terrific. Target practice, with the beacons as targets, has been a popular pastime. The current vogue is to swipe the orange globe and bring it home as a trophy to one’s daring.
When the inventive Hore-Belisha was named as Minister of Transport, he was acclaimed as a “second Disraeli.” While this may be an over-statement, it must be admitted that he knows how to keep his fellow-citizens excited.
Louis Golding, the novelist whose “Magnolia Street” and other works made him as popular in America as he is here, has gone in for boxing in a big way. London papers last week featured photographs of the rotund Mr. Golding in boxing trunks, waving an impressive pair of mitts and with a truly ferocious scowl adorning his otherwise jolly countenance.
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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.
