56 Friday, May 23, 1975 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Brother Daniel in Limelight Again in Israel; Contact Now Possible With 14 Jews in China By MOSHE RON Jewish News Special Israel Correspondent TEL AVIV — In Haifa there is confusion about the invitation to Brother Daniel, a convert, by the manage- ment of "Beit Rothshield" to take part in an open discus- sion on "The Religious Ak- iba Movement in Poland to the Carmelite Monastery in Haifa". Brother Daniel is a Polish Jew, whose name was Os- wald Rufeisen, who saved many Jews during World War II. He took refuge in a monastery in Poland, and converted and became a priest. Sixteen years ago he came to Israel and demanded all rights due a Jewish immi- grant under the "Law of Re- turn." The government re- fused to grant him immediate citizenship, and he appealed to the Supreme Court, which also ruled against him. ficial Jewish personality has been invited to visit China. The Romanian Chief Rabbi Moshe Rosen is not an Is- raeli citizen, but his positive attitude towards Israel, which he visits often, is well known. Twenty-five years ago an official Israeli delegation headed by Israeli ambassa- dor David Hacohen visited China and met Chinese pol- itical leaders. Chief Rabbi Rosen is a political personality and a member of the Romanian Parliament. Lately there were reports that China was trying to establish some contacts with the state of Is- rael and World Jewry and maybe Chief Rabbi Rosen's invitation to visit China was not accidental. China watched carefully the latest political activity of the leaders of the Soviet Union in connection with the Arab-Israeli conflict and the failure of Dr. Kis- Brother Daniel later singer's mission in the became an Israeli citizen . Middle East. It also noted and joined the Carmelite the late-it - contacts be- monastery, "Stella tween Russian envoys and Moris," on Mt. Carmel in Israeli leaders. Haifa. China is far away from Two weeks ago Rabbi Bernard Hach, who is the manager of "Beit Hiller at the University of Haifa, in- vited Brother Daniel to par- ticipate in the symposium. Religious functionaries in Haifa demanded the pro- gram be cancelled. The member of the Mafdal in the municipality, Prof. Yes- Alayahu Jarnicky, succeeded in persuading the manage- ment of "Beit Rothshield" to call off the symposium. This step led to a strong protest. Art critic Zvi Raf- faeli, who heads the cultural center in "Beit Roths- hield," threatened to quit. He also appealed to some members of the Knesset. The management of Roth- shield House closed the building, claiming that repairs in the basement were necessary. Israel's leading papers came out on both sides of the issue: Haaretz claim- ing Brother Daniel had the right, as an Israeli citizen, to express his opinion, and Yediot Acharonet claim- ing that it was not a ques- tion of freedom of speech, but whether the invitation should have been extended at all. The leaders of the Mafdal in Haifa were satisfied that Brother Daniel was not al- lowed to tell in public in a Jewish institution his life Story. They said a convert is worse than a Gentile, and nobody should hear his ar- guments. The majority of the popu- lation seems to feel that the invitation was a mistake. * * * Rabbi's Trip to China May Provide Contacts With Country's 14 Jews By MOSHE RON TEL AVIV — For the first time in 25 years an of- the Middle East and it is dif- ficult for Peking to compete with the Soviet Union in aid to the Arab countries. It can make declarations of sym- pathy for the Arabs and against Israel, but can hardly give economic and miliVivy aid. TI*e is specualtion that Chief Rabbi Rosen will ttc- amine possibilities of estab- lishing a contact between Jerusalem and Peking. As the Chinese government cannot invite an official Jewish delegation to visit China, it chose the Chief Rabbi of Romania, a coun try which has good relationS with China. Some believe the invita- tion is connected with the approaching British evacua- tion of Hong Kong. There are Jewish merchants, in- dustrialists and bank man- agers in Hong Kong and it is believed that with the eva- cuation, they would trans- fer their business to the U.S. Therefore China is in- terested in maintaining those ties. In China there is no Jewish community. There are about 14 Jews among more than 800 million Chinese. Six old Jews are living in Shanghai, seven in Charbin and one in Pe- king. He is the manager of the State Book edition in China, Sidney Shapira from Brooklyn, who is translating books and propaganda material from Chinese into English. The mother of Sidney Shapira is living in Brook- lyn. When diplomatic rela- tions between the U.S. and China were renewed, she appealed to an American diplomat to look for her son in Peking and give him her regards. The diplomat carried out the mission and brought her regards from her son and his telephone number. Sid- ney Shapira still speaks good Yiddish, so he may be meeting Chief Rabbi Rosen. A few years ago Israel tried to make contact with the Chinese Premier Chou En Lai with the mediation of a great Socialist personal- ity. He tried to explain to Chou En Lai the historic rights of Jews on Palestine, but Chou replied: "If we would agree to the principle, that people which have lived in one country thousands of years ago, could return to it and establish a state, it would lead to chaos in the world." But lately the Chinese leaders are modifying their stand in talks with interna- tional political leaders. Israeli Students Study Elderly, Visit Natanya Home for Aged TEL AVIV — Some 45 Orar, another student, Israeli high school students was surprised to learn of the recently visited the Frieda outings and the long trips Schiff Warburg Home for the residents take — those the Aged in Natanya, about who are able to — and by 20 miles north of Tel Aviv, the number of self-enter- as part of a course on the .tainment projects such as country's social problems. the choir whose singers are The Warburg Home, one all over 80, with quite a few of six operated and sup- of them in wheelchairs. ported by Malben, the Joint In a question and answer Distribution Committee session conducted by Simon program in Israel, has some Bergman, deputy medical 600 residents almost all of director of JDC/Malben and whom are over 80 years old. a senior lecturer at Tel Aviv Rachel, a student, all of University, he told the visit- w h om were Sabras and ing teenagers that more came from middle class Tel than half the residents need Aviv families, had thought professional nursing care to that "life in an old age home some degree and almost 25 must he a frightening exper- percent need nursing care ience, like a last station constantly. where you sit around and In a growing number of wait to die." Israeli communities the eld- It didn't seem at all erly who are well or who do frightening to her after she not need expert nursing had walked around the care, are being offered a 18-acre park-like tract on wide range of services right which the home was situ- in the community so that ated and chatted with the they can continue to live in residents. She said she their own homes. was impressed by the Bergman told the . pride and pleasure they dents that the aged are not took in their work and in really so different from their readiness to partici- younger people. "They lead pate in study groups, lan- lives basically much like guage classes, physical fit- otherfage groups including ness exercises and other work, recreation and relaxa- activities. tion. Jaffa and the Holy Land JERUSALEM — Jaffa ers, Turks and the British. has always been in the fore- This sentinel that over- front of events affecting the looks the Mediterranean Holy Land. Rising along the was the port used by King seashore south of Tel Aviv, Solomon for the cedars of this ancient site was prized Lebanon imported for his by many an invader. splendid temple in Jerusa- The Egyptians seized it lem. Ruins recently uncovered from unsuspecting Canaan- within the heart of the res- ites in the 15th Century tored area include cata- BCE when a shrewd general combs from the Second Cen- smuggled his troops within tury BCE, a dwelling the city walls by concealing destroyed by Vespasians's them in baksets. Roman legions in 68 CE and With the march of time a storage building destroyed they were followed by Assy- during the reign of the rians, Sidonians, Greeks, Emperor Trajan in the Sec- Jews, Mamelukes, Crusad- ond Century CE. Boris Smolar's 'Between You . . . and Me' Editor-in-Chief Emeritus, JTA (Copyright 1975, JTA, Inc.) THE JEWISH FAMILY SCENE: I was sitting at a session on Jewish family problems held at the recent an- nual meeting of the American Jewish Committee and was astonished to learn of the extent to which Jewish family life is eroding in the United States. Not only is one of every three Jews now marrying out- side of the Jewish religion, but Jewish family life is greatly affected also by divorce, low birth rate, alcoholism, use, generation gaps, alienation, indifference and confus. over Jewish values. One after the other, American-born Jewish mothers, mostly middle-aged, got up to relate the problems they face vis-a-vis their grown-up children. Most of these mothers are ready to accept intermarriage of their children as a fact which they cannot escape. But it hurts deeply when a daughter tells her mother that she does not want her non- Jewish husband to convert to Judaism, although the hus- band is willing to do so. Nor can a Jewish mother remain indifferent when her daughter tells her that she prefers liv- ing with a man, rather than to be married, even though the man with whom she lives wants to marry her. Many examples of how today's Jewish home is affected by the rising rate of intermarriage and the assimilatory pressures of the environment were cited by the women par- ticipants in the session, coupled with dramatic appeals to Jewish leadership to "do something" to counteract these trends. CHALLENGE TO COMMUNITIES: The question of improving the quality of Jewish family life has long been considered by the Council of Jewish Federations and Wel- fare Funds as a challenge to the organized Jewish commu- nities. It was discussed in detail at the CJFWF General As- sembly in Chicago last year. It has been studied by the Institute of Jewish Life, a division of the CJFWF, which recently issued a report on the subject. The American Jewish Committee is considering a na- tional study of the causes and effects of intermarriage. The organization is considering a questionnaire designed to be administered by volunteers in selected communities. Synagogue leaders are similarly perturbed by the dan- gerous impact which the erosion in family life may have Jewish continuity. A three-day National Conference c Jewish Family Life, designed to explore the quality of to- day's Jewish home and its problems, was held last week by the Conservative movement. It was called by the United Synagogue of America and by the Women's League for Con- servative Judaism. THE SINGLE-PARENT ISSUE: Intermarriage is only one of the major family problems bothering Jewish leadership. The increasing low birth rate among Jewish women — known as "Minus Zero Population" — and the growing number of single parent families are also being viewed seriously. In New York City alone, it is estimated, there are more than 27,000 Jewish households headed by one parent. A sharp increase in single-parent residents is noted in some of the thickly Jewish-populated Brooklyn sections of the city, and especially in the Flushing area of Queens. Often re- moved from the mainstream of the Jewish community, the single parents and their children can both lose Jewish affi- liation and identification. The growing practice of birth control among Jewish women is similarly beginning to attract more attention. It is now becoming a central issue in discussions on the qual- ity of Jewish family life. It is estimated that there are 250,- 000 fewer Jews in the United States today than there were a generation ago. The blame for this decrease is laid not so much on intermarriage as on birth control practices among Jewish women. There would today be a Jewish population in this country of 8,000,000 instead of less than 6,000,000, had the Jews proliferated at the same rate as other groups in the American community. Look at Family Tragedy, Community Responsibility "Journey" by Robert Mas- the community and not in- sie (Knopf) is a personal dividuals alone. document about the Mas- Sue Massie joins with her sies' son who suffered from husband in expressing the hemophilia and the tragedy views emphasized in this that struck the young con- volume on parental experi- ple. But it is more than that. ences when a family • is It is a study of a great need struck by a tragedy like a to assure proper medical child's hemophilia. interest in a person so af- Other incidents are rec- flicted and in the communi- orded and referred to, and ty's responsibilities. the effects of the blood dis- dis- ease are outlined skillfully. Therefore, "Journey" is Calling attention to the also a social document with tragedies that emanate a great lesson that concerns from the problems arising from hemophilia sufferers and their needs, the Mas- sies attack indifference by government and the Red Cross in tackling the needs when they confront the poor. Here is the Massies' "ultimate challenge": "I believe," says Bob Mas- sie, "that in life it is not what happens to us that makes tis what we are. Over this. we usually have no con- trol. It is how we react to what happens that mat- ters." "Journey, - says Bobby Massie, "is the story of how we mastered hemophilia, began to control it, and be- gan to forget about it." "The burden has shifted," says Sue Massie. "More and more, I found, it was he who was comforting me. Then he went away, and when he called, each time, his voice sounded deeper and more confident. One weekend he came home and I looked at him and I saw: he had grown into a. man."