July 7, 1967

Federation outreach to Haight hippies

The Jewish Welfare Federation is now conducting a program of social service in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco.

Haight-Ashbury is the small but densely populated strip of houses and stores that nestles against the panhandle area of Golden Gate Park — the “mecca” of so-called “hippy” youth and the target of an influx that is estimated will climb as high as 100,000 over the summer.

Initially, this program includes financial assistance and referrals for young people seeking food, clothing, shelter and medical care. The project is also offering Jewish young people in the district extended care, when requested. The project is being conducted by Miss Susan Henriques, working with a community advisory committee. This group consults with her on casework, group work and pastoral problems as they arise. Among the objectives of the project is a community network involving other rabbinic and welfare agencies across the country — in cases when Jewish youth want to return home, to contact their families or to engage in counseling involving their families.

Another service of the project is maintaining contact with juvenile centers, who may receive Jewish “runaway minors.” In such instances the project will, with the child’s consent, contact the family through counterpart agencies in the child’s hometown.

We have now digitized our entire 1967 archive, including this article. To help us digitize the rest of our archive, email J. Editor Sue Fishkoff. 

July 3, 1987

Mayor to host fundraiser for Pope, despite meeting with alleged Nazi

Mayor Dianne Feinstein plans to hold a fund-raising reception at her home Thursday, July 23 for Pope John Paul II’s visit to San Francisco in September, despite the Holy See’s audience with Austrian President Kurt Waldheim June 25.

Ironically, Feinstein, who is Jewish, was one of three U.S. mayors and eight members of Congress who launched a national petition drive last week protesting the pope’s audience with Waldheim and urging the Vatican to recognize the state of Israel.

The Austrian president has been banned from entering the Untied States because of his history of alleged war crimes as a Nazi officer in World War II.

The mayor explained that she agreed to host the $250-per-person fund-raiser — which will help offset costs being incurred by the Archdiocese of San Francisco for the pontiff’s visit — before the Vatican announced the meeting between the pope and the former U.N. secretary general, whom she referred to as a “redoubtable character.”

She explained that she did not cancel the event because the pope’s scheduled trip to San Francsico Sept. 17-18 “is a major visit to the city,” and because “when I give my word, I keep my word”

Nonetheless, at least one prominent Jew has declined to serve on the San Francisco papal welcoming committee because of the pope’s meeting with Waldheim. In addition, a number of Bay Area Jewish leaders who were invited to the event at Feinstein’s home have said they will not attend because of the Waldheim affair — although they declined to be named in print.