Latke Lover, Hamantash Hero Lock Horns
By ESTHER ALLWEISS
A latke-hamantashen deb a t e?
Apparently, the controversy to
determine whether the delicious
potato pancake or the delectable
Purim pastry is the superior food
has been troubling Jews since
time immemorial.
To settle the question once and
for all, then, a proponent of each
put together his best arguments
to convince a group of concerned
Purim celebrants gathered for the
debate at the Jewish Center Sun-
day.
Mark E i c h n e r. counselor at
Berkeley High School and teacher
at Cong. Bnai Moshe, spoke in
favor of the latke, recalling heart-
warming memories of helping his
mother grate potatoes for latkes
down to the "nubs."
He insisted that making latkes,
despite the scraped fingers, was
an excellent way to bring families
together. Women libbers could
make their husbands do it, he
added, hoping to please all the
ladies.
Taking a more analytical ap-
proach to the subject, Eichner
cited a study from the Journal
of the American Dental Society,
where Jewish dentists found that
"those of their patients who ate
latkes and not hamantashen, had
70 per cent fewer cavities."
Then, addressing himself to the
c o l l e g e-bound in the audience,
Eichner stated that a recent survey
showed Jewish students who ate
latkes instead of hamantashen
scored 100 points higher on their
scholastic aptitude tests and, there-
fore, "increased their chances of
getting into name schools, like
Harvard and Wayne State."
Latkes also have proved in-
valuable in today's sensitivity
group s. As an "ice breaker,"
Eichner said, "a giant latke is
prepared, 8 feet in circumference,
and while members of the group
hold on, their feelings of shyness
and insecurity drain into it."
The ultimate proof of the im-
portance of the latke, he said, was
in Egyptian President Anwar el
Sadat's recent offer to make peace
with Israel if "Mrs. Golda Meir
would give him her recipe for the
latke."
Young Jewish Alliance at EMU
Offers Classes in Judaica
The Young Jewish Alliance, a
student group at Eastern Michigan
University, has become affiliated
with the Michigan Association of
Jewish College Students and will
be receiving program assistance
from the association, head-
quartered in the Jewish Center.
The association is helping the
Young Jewish Alliance work with
BY POPULAR DEMAND!
Now Booking .. .
ED BURG
and his Orchestra
LI 4-9278
Dance Lessons
call
in
Your Home
JACK BARNES
576-0359
between 5 & 7 p.m.
DA DDY,
REMIND MOMMY TO
• ENTER ME IN THE BABY :1
• CONTEST AT LEO KNIGHT
PHOTOGRAPHY THIS v
YEAR. I MIGHT WIN !
352-7030
Caricatures
for your party
By
op
SAM FIELD
399-1320
the United Hebrew Schools Mid-
rasha to establish Judaica classes
for students at Eastern. A United
Jewish Appeal "garin" cooperates
closely with the alliance and in-
volves many of the same members.
(The garin is a group of students
assisted by the UJA in fund-raising
and educational activities on cam-
pus.)
President of the YJA is Rick
Shaye. Other student leaders are
Karen Margolis and Debbie Koss,
and Jan Cooper is adviser to the
'UJA garin. Murray Meisels, a
member of the faculty at Eastern,
serves as faculty adviser. At least
half of the Jewish students at
Eastern (some students say there
are 2,000) are from metropolitan
Detroit.
Classes that the alliance has set
up include beginning and advanced
Hebrew, "Jewish Crisis," basic
Judaism and Israeli folk dance.
Miss Cooper counsels students
Monday through Thursday from
1-4 p.m. in the YJA office.
The Young Jewish Alliance
hopes to start a Jewish library
for Eastern students, having
Israelis speak at meetings, and en-
larging upon the Judaica classes.
For information, contact the Young
Jewish Alliance in Starkweather
Hall at Eastern, 482-1466, or the
Michigan Association Office, DI
1-4200, ext. 261.
Alliance members recently
participated in a Middle East
teach-in, sponsored by EMU's
Black Student Association. A
Soviet Jewry program planned
by the YJA for March 29 and 30
will include several speakers on
Soviet Jewry and the movie,
"The Fixer."
Recently at Ferris State College
in Big Rapids, a two-part Middle
East teach-in with Arab and
Israeli representatives took place.
Some 500-600 students attended.
Speaker for the Arab side was
Dr. Hatem I. Hussaini; for the
Israeli side, Yitzhak Leor of the
consulate general's office in Chi-
cago. The sponsoring Jewish stu-
dent group, Bnai Israel, also re-
ceives program assistance from the
Michigan Association.
EXPERT cleaning wall to wall carpets & furniture in your home. Free
mothproofing. Pick up carpeting & relay elsewt ► ere. Celebrating 20th year.
BENNIE or SAM — PHONE 352-9420
In his arguments to support
hamantashen, Alfred Stern, pro-
fessor of science and humanities
at Monteith College, Wayne State
University, called latkes a "sub-
versive doctrine," since the potato
of which they are made is "an
underground vegetable—a schmut-
zik."
Stern said hamantashen repre-
sent "lightness and joy" while
latkes are a "lumpen dish." In a
finely detailed history of the
hamantash, Stern noted the years
1776, 1812, 1861, 1914 and 1939 as
years best known for their sig-
nificance to hamantashen lovers.
For instance, 1861 was important
as the year when prune haman-
tashen were sent South to supply
the troops at the Battle of Bull
Run.
Stern agreed that latkes cause
fewer cavities, but said latke eat-
ers also have fewer friends. And
where Eichner had referred to
latke ties to the ecology movement
— Oak Park reportedly is to open
a latke bio-degradable recycling
plant soon — Stern maintained that
latkes are really a "degradation
of biology."
With the debators' arguments
and strategies f u l l y exhausted,
(Stern even gave Eichner a
hamantash to see if he'd weaken),
moderator Paul Winter, executive
producer of public affairs for
WTVS, Channel 56, put the latke-
hamantashen question to a hand
vote and:
It was a tie.
With the numbing realization
that the controversy would have
to continue — at least until an-
other debate this time next year
— the audience trooped downstairs
to sample the treats for sale in
the Center's Purim Nosherie.
Me? I plunked down two 10 cent
food tickets for a nice poppyseed
hamantash. I dare anyone to say
the "lumpen dish" is better!
Fund to Give $12,500
to N.Y. Campus Groups
NEW YORK (JTA)—The newly
organized board of directors of the
Jewish Association for College
Youth—an independent subvention
agency established by the Federa-
tion of Jewish Philanthropies—has
made its first allocations to Jew-
ish student groups on metropolitan
campuses, according to an an-
nouncement by Martin Blumen-
thal, president.
In its initial allocations, the
board made grants totaling $12,500
for supplementary use to Jewish
student groups at Columbia and
New York universities, the Jewish
Student Press Service, the New
York Union of Jewish Students,
and the editorial board of a city-
wide Jewish student newspaper.
Forthcoming board meetings will
be devoted to further considera-
tion of proposals from student
groups and agencies, with a view
to allocating additional sums for
the establishment and improve-
ment of Jewish student activities
on campuses throughout the metro-
politan area.
Detroit women in journalism and
communications are holding the
annual THETA SIGMA
PHI
BOOK FAIR today in the Detroit
Press Club, First and Howard.
Featured is a noon auction of
inscribed, autographed and rare
volumes conducted by press, radio
and television personalities. Pro-
ceeds from the book sale, sched-
uled for 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., under-
write journalism scholarships for
deserving women students in
Michigan colleges and universi-
ties. Charlotte Dubin, city editor
of The Jewish News and a 1961
graduate of Wayne State Univer-
sity, was the first recipient of the
local chapter's Lucy Corbett me-
morial scholarship in 1960. Ten
years later, she was named the
chapter's 1970 Headliner. Mrs.
Dubin is a past vice president of
the organization.
Our judgments about things vary
according to the time left us to
live.—Andre Gide.
Kaufman Woodland Planted by JNF
Wayne County Circuit Court
Judge Nathan J. Kaufman
(right) receives a certifiCate for
a woodland in Israel from Abe
Dishell, chairman of Landsman-
shaften for Jewish National
Fund, at the Landsmanshaften's
Purim celebration last week at
Cong. Bnai David. Kaufman,
guest of honor, was cited for his
MEL DUBIN, New York Jewish
communal worker and philanthro-
pist, has been appointed chairman
of the 23rd anniversary celebra-
tion of Israel's indenpendence to
be held April 28 at Carnegie Hall,
New York, it was announced by
Rabbi Israel Miller, chairman of
the Israel anniversary committee
and president of the American
Zionist Federation.
efforts in behalf of Zionist and
communal causes. The project
will be called the Nathan J. and
Beatrice Kaufman Woodland. A
Jewish National Fund tribute
also was presented. to Judge
Kaufman by Ronald Karp, vice
president of the JNF. Metropo-
litan Bnai Brith Council joined
in the tribute. Participating in
the program were Justice G.
Mennen Williams of the Mich-
igan Supreme Court; and Karp.
Cantor Harold Orbach of Tem-
ple Israel entertained, accom-
panied on the piano by David
Syme.
Specializing
in the
Unusual
Carol Liss
Giseie Findling
at
CaVelf2h2
See Our
Complete
Spring
Line
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Friday, March 19, 1971-29
• Pant Suits
• Dresses
• Jewelry
• Men's Ties
(Hand Made)
16915 W. 10 Mile
(Corner of Pierce
Southfield
Enter by Red Door
Off Rear Parking Lot
352-3644
28000 TEL EGRAPH AT TEL -TWELVE NA AL
SC,LiT,-, 1EL O. MICHIGAN 48075 • 354•
Now Open Saturday
EXPECTING OUT OF TOWN GUESTS
FOR A WEDDING OR A BAR MITZVA ?
Cranhrook House Motel
20500 JAMES COUZENS
(8 Mile & Greenfield—Across from Northland)
Call 342-3000 For the Finest Accommodations
COMPLIMENTARY CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST
Try Our Barber Shop
Dine at the SCOTCH & SIRLOIN RESTAURANT
Airport Limousine Service Available
boys'
3-piece
vest
suits
Striped Denim
With
Contrasting Shirts
Sizes 3 to 7
$ 1
3
Sizes 8 to 14
vest and pant only
14
USE OUR
LAYAWAY
USE YOUR BANKAMERICARD OR MASTER CHARGE
o
uch Center
DEPARTMENT STORE FOR CHILDREN
TEL-TWELVE MALL, 12 Mile and Telegraph
OPEN DAILY 10 to 9
SUNDAY 12 to 5
ALSO NORTHWOOD SHOPPING CENTER
13 Mile at Woodward
OPEN EVERY EVENING UNTIL 9
SUNDAY 12 TO 5