THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
8 Frijoy,.December 24, 1976
JDC Aiding Israel's Visually Impaired Youngsters
(Continued from Page 1)
teacher. Only three such
sets are now in use in Is-
raeli schools: in
Beersheba, Tel Aviv and
Natanya.
Money is to be allocated
for the purchase of raised
maps and globes, special
devices needed by blind
children to do their
mathematics lessons, and
other didactic aids.
Additional funds are
r
earmarked for the purch-
ase and repair of Braille
and Hebrew typewriters.
Many blind children have
been unable to function
because funds were lack-
ing for repair of their
machines.
Plans are under way to
set up a central supply
depot where the
machines which are not
functioning will be fixed
and returned without
1
To: The Jewish News
17515 W. 9 Mile Rd.
Suite 865
Southfield, Mich. 48075
WElf
charge. The goal is to en-
sure that every blind or
visually handicapped
child completing elemen-
tary school will be able to
use a Braille and regular
typewriter.
Most of the items will
be purchased through the
National Center for the
Blind which coordinates
the activities of more
than 30 local blind asso-
cations.
JDC-Israel provides
substantial grants to the
Central Library for the
Blind which has trans-
cribed several thousand
textbooks and other
books into Braille.
The Library has paw-
duced many especially de-
signed Braille books with
raised pictures to enable
blind parents to read to
their sighted pre-school
children.
The Library also has
recorded on cassettes al-
most a thousand books of
every kind — textbooks,
classics, science, rabbinic
literature, and even arti-
cles from the weekend
supplements of Hebrew
newspapers.
These talking books are
sent postage free t.. 1,100
subscribers who can re-
turn them through the
mails without paying
postal charges.
More teachers of the
blind are urgently needed
(there are 45 today). To-
gether with the Ministry
of Welfare, JDC is explor-
ing the possibility of es-
tablishing a training
course fOr such teachers
who will work with chil-
dren in schools and at
home, training them and
their parents.
This, it is hoped, will
make it possible for many
blind children now resid-
ing in boarding schools to
live at home and continue
their studies in local
schools.
According to studies
made of Israeli children
up to the age of 14, ap-
proximately 1,000 chil-
dren suffer from severely
deteriorated vision, with
100 new cases added each
year. In addition there
are tens of thousands of
children with some . de-
gree of residual vision
whose sight, with the help
of special instruments,
can be improved to enable
them to function at home
and in school.
Experience in Israel
and other countries indi-
cates that if vision is not
rehabilitated by an in-
strument or by treatment
at an early age, there is
often no possibility of
changing the situation
when the child passes the
age of 14.
JDC supports the re-
habilitation program of
the National Institute for
the Prevention of Blind-
ness headed by Prof. I. C.
Michaelson which aims to
improve residual vision of
children legally defined
as blind and to enable
children who are defined
as "visually handicap-
ped" to attend regular
schools.
The rehabilitation prog-
ram, under the direction of
Prof. A. Nvratzky, pro-
vides diagnostic, optimet-
ric and psychological ser-
vices, including counsel-
ling, to children to over-
come their resistance to
wearing the special de-
vices, and to parents —
both blind and sighted —
of afflicted children.
In addition to its work
with blind children
adults, JDC initiates, 6
velops and supports, in
cooperation with local
agencies, a wide range of
health, educational and
social services for the
aged, the handicapped,
the chronically and men-
tally ill, the disadvan-
taged, and the training of
professional personnel.
JDC receives its funds
chiefly from American
Jewry through the Un-
ited Jewish Appeal.
afii*
Harold Brown Is Named Secretary of Defense
(Continued from Page 1)
came the first Jewish sec-
retary of the Air Force and
is now president of the
California Institute of
Technology in Pasadena,
was designated Tuesday
by President-Elect Jimmy
Carter to be his secretary
of defense.
Brown, a scientist and
administrator with a long
series of notable
achievements in military
and educational services,
was graduated from high
school at age 15 and re-
ceived his doctorate in
physics from Columbia
University before he was
22. He is the son of A.H.
and Gertrude Cohen
Brown and was born in
New York City in Sep-
tember, 1927.
Brown's Jewish origin
was reported by Time
Magazine when he was
being considered by Car-
ter for a cabinet post.
Who's Who named his pa-
rents including his
mother's maiden sur-
name.
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A basis for his comment
was that Brown lent his
name and prestige to at-
tack the anti-Jewish bar-
rier at the prestigious
California Club in Los
Angeles, one of two
"downtown" groups whose
membership is limited to
top corporation leaders.
When the California Club
was founded some 70 years
ago for chairmen of corpo-
ration boards, one or two
Jews are believed to have
been members but for de-
cades no Jew has been ad-
mitted. Three years ago
Brown's name was prop-
osed for membership in
the California Club but
his name is "still in the
works," the JTA was told.
Another instance of
Brown's views was that
he became involved in-the
Soviet Jewish struggle,
according to a communal
leader.
Brown invited the
Soviet government to
allow Benjamin Levich,
the famous Soviet physi- •
cist and leader in the
struggle for emigration
and civil rights for Soviet
Jewry, to come to Cal
Tech. Brown wrote to the
highest levels of the
Kremlin, a communal
leader said, in his fruit-
less effort to bring Levich
to the school for special
study.
* * *
Bell Resigns
from 2 Clubs
NEW YORK — The
Anti-Defamation League
of Bnai Brith joined
numerous civil rights
groups Tuesday in calling
for U.S. Attorney
General-Designate Grif-
fin Bell to resign from two
private Georgia clubs
that exclude blacks and
Jews from membership.
Bell announced
Wednesday that he would
resign from the two clubs.
Bell, whose nomination
to head the Justice De-
partment was announced
by PreSident-Elect
Jimmy Carter, confirmed
that he belonged to the
Piedmont Driving Club
and the Capital City Club
in Atlanta. He acknow-
ledged that the Piedmont
Driving Club did not ac-
cept Jews or blacks for
membership but allowed
them to use the club
facilities as guests..
Benjamin R. Epstein,
national director of the
ADL, said, "ADL is firmly
opposed to clubs which
discriminate on the basis
of religion and race. Such
practice is insulting and a
degradation of American
minority groups.
"We are most troubled
to learn that the attorney
general-designate holds
membership in dis-
criminatory clubs. It
would be difficult for a
person who holds such
membership and is
charged with enforcing
the laws against dis-
crimination to do so.
"We strongly urge Mr.
Bell to immediately with-
draw from any dis-
criminatory clubs in
which he is a member."
Threats Follow Newscasts on Trifa
CLOCKS Or AMERICA
KNOWN
by the
COMPANY
WE KEEP.
O N e01
In the Los Angeles
area, leaders of Jewish
communal organizations
told the Jewish Tele-
graphic Agency that he is
"nominally Jewish" and
not identified with the
Jewish community's ef-
forts. "He may do things
quietly we don't know
about but in terms of pub-
lic identification, I know
of none," one leader said.
He noted, however, that
Brown "-may be a better
Jew than you or me."
851-7333
threats on his •life over
the years, and requested
security protection dur-
ing his Detroit visit.
He met with U.S. At-
torney Frede-rick 'Van
Tiem Monday afternoon
in an effort to speed up
the U.S. court suit
against Trifa. Trifa is
scheduled to give a depos-
ition in the case on Jan.
18. That deposition, orig-
inally scheduled for last
spring, has been delayed
by the illnesses of both
Trifa and his attorney.
With the recent change
of U.S. attorneys on the
case Dr. Kremer charged
that it would take a year
"for the new man to get
familiar with the case,
and added, "The Justice
Department is just wait-
ing for all the witnesses to
die, for Dr. Kremer to die,
to let him (Trifa) go free
In New York last week
four rabbinical leaders
participated with 300
members of Concerned
Jewish Youth in a de-
monstration renewing
demands that the govern-
ing .board of the National
Council of Churches expel
Trifa.
The rabbinic leaders
were Rabbi Walter S.
Wurzburger, president of
the Rabbinical Council of
Arierica; Rabbi Alexan-
der Schindler, president
of the Union of American
Hebrew Congregation
and chairman of the Co
ference of Presidents
Major American Jewish
Organizations; Rabbi
vice-
Teplitz,
Saul
of
the
president
Synagogue Council of
America and of the Rab-
binical Assembly; and
Rabbi Benjamin Blech,
chairman of the National
Council of Young Israel.
The Synagogue Council
of America issued a
statement which charac-
terized the National
Council of Churches' fai-
lure to take concrete ac-
tion against Trifa be- •
(Continued on Page 11)