52 Friday, October 6, 1918 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Dwindling Irish Jewish Community Strong By MAURICE SAMUELSON DUBLIN, (JTA) — There are fewer than 3,000 Jews in the Irish Republic, equal- ling less than one percent of the community in neighbor- ing Great Britain. But they DONATE BLOOD TO THE BLOOD BANK A happy and healthy New Year to all our relatives and friends Burt & Rose Selik have never felt so indepen- dent, secure and proud as they do today. That is the impression gained from a visit here and from lengthy talks with Dr. Isaac Cohen, who, when he reaches the retirement age of 65 next year, will have spent 20 years as Chief Rabbi. For Irish Jewry, it has been a period of gradual, but nonetheless significant change, much of it in response to a changing environment. To our relatives and friends we wish you a - very happy, healthy New Year Mrs. Dora ,Snow Mr. Shaya Snow The Newmans Clara, Lou and Stewart wish their family and friends a year of good health and peace Magene and Sam Richman wish all their relatives and friends a healthy and happy New Year We wish all our dear friends and realtives a happy and healthy New Year Manny and Louise Rotenberg A happy and healthy New Year to all our friends and family Kathy and Jeff Schultz Madelon, Louis, Melissa and Adrianne Seligman wish a happy and healthy New Year to all our friends and family A healthy and happy New Year to all our friends and family Maureen and Bob Shapiro Sandi and Michelle The Tinks' Harold, Sylvia and Cheryl wish all Shalom — Health — Prosperity May the year ahead bring happiness peace, good health and gotd fortune to all Larry, Myra and Ian Wasser To all our relatives and friends we wish a very happy and healthy New Year Chuck and Judy Wolin Mark, Susan and Ken May the coming year be one filled with healthy and happinees for all our family and friends Florence Go Idfarb and Rae Zamler • A major change has been in the relationship with the Jewish community of the United Kingdom. One of the strongest links used to be the close contacts between Dublin, capital of the Re- public, and Belfast, the industrial hub of British- ruled northern Ireland. Be- cause of the terrorism of the past nine years, many of Belfast's Jews, formerly almost as numerous as those of Dublin, have fled to England, leaving the Jews in southern Ireland more isolated than before. At the same time, Irish Jews, like their non- Jewish compatriots, have become more aware of their links with Europe, where Ireland is a full-fledged member of the European Economic Community. In matters of shekhita, Irish Jewry seems more aware than Anglo-Jewry of the rele- vance of EEC regulations governing conditions of animal slaughter. In the Conference of European Rabbis, Cohen is the equal of his British counterpart, Dr. Imma‘uel Jakobovits, Chief Rabbi of Britain, who was Ireland's second Chief Rabbi from 1949 to 1958. Before Ireland gained its independence half-a- century ago, Irish congrega- tions were represented on the Board of Deputies of British Jews. But there is now only one vestige of this old link — Irish synagogues which may register mar- riages are those whose mar- riage secretaries are recog- nized by the Board of De- puties in London. The Jewish Representative Council of Ireland has con- sidered scrapping thie link, but decided it was not necessary. The Irish Chief Rabbi- nate is otherwise indepen- dent, except in matters of would-be-converts to Judaism, who are referred to the London Beth Din. There are still secular links with political and fund-raising bodies in London. But even in this Zionist sphere, the rela- tionship has changed. Two years ago, the Israeli Ambassador to Britain was also accredited to Ireland. Israeli envoys have been showered with hospitality by Dublin Jewry, brining a new in- timacy into its contacts with Israel. Meanwhile, the Yom Kippur War, the rise of in- ternational terrorism, and the sending of Irish United Nations troops to Lebanon have made Irish public opinion as a whole more aware of Israel and the Middle East — and indic- rectly of Irish Jewry in its midst. Domestically, the corn- munity has moved steadily up the economic and social ladder in the past two de- cades with more people entering the professions and arts and even local poli- tics. It has moved geograph- ically, too, out of the immig- rant districts of the South Circular Road, with its two fine old synagogues, through the modern dis- trict of Terenure, south- wards into the mountains and down the coast. Meanwhile, the Repub- lic's other main community in Cork has dwindled to only 20 families, and only individual families remain in cities like Limerick and Galway. The community's de= cline is partly due to emigration to England, the U.S. and Israel. But families, too, are smaller than in the days when birth- control, tabu in Catholic Ireland was re- garded almost as a crimi- nal offense. Despite the shrinkage, though, the community's heart seems as sound as ever. Even the emergence of a small Reform congrega- tion has caused no major schism in the community which remains markedly traditional in its religious outlook. According to Cohen, vir- tually all the Jewish chil- dren here have some Jewish education. Half attend the two Jewish day schools — Zirc Primary School and Stratford College, the sec- ondary school — which pro- vide daily Hebrew and Judaism lesson. Of the other 50 percent, two-thirds attend afternoon Hebrew classes, while the remainder have private tutors. There are also active youth movements, the most popular being the religiously-inclined Bnei Akiva, with 100 members aged 10 to 17. Cohen told me that he, like most of his community, totally disagree with the re- cent criticism of Israeli pol- icy by Jakobovits and Michael Sacher, president of the Joint Israel Appeal in Britain and a leading member of the Jewish Agency and World Zionist Organization Executives. Happy New Year DAY'S FASHION SHOP I. \ For a 1 kii Mr. and Mrs. Louis Gould wish all their family and friends a happy and healthy New Year Best wishes to all our friends and family for a happy, healthy New Year Mr. and Mrs. Hal Green We wish all our relatives and friends a healthy and happy New Year with love The Hechlers' Mark, Rose and Ellen To all our dear friends and valued customers we wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year Al Kay Jewelers Best wishes for a happy and healthy •New Year Marilyn, Michael, Matthew and Melissa Kent Fay and Ted Lan wish their family and friends a happy, healthy New Year A happy, healthy New Year to all our friends and realtives George, Frances and Sandra Lipshaw A healthy and happy New Year to all our family and our friends Sarah and Hy Mervis _ and Children A happy and healthy New Year to our friends and realtives Mr. and Mrs. Albert Porvin and Grandchildren Miriam, Mark & Howard Rosenberg May the coming year be filled with health and happiness and peace for all S. R. REZNIK !app. r. and Mr.. Das 9450 Jos. Campou Hamtramck, Mich. Mr. and Mrs. Milton Tilson and Family wish all their family and friends a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year We wish to extend to all our family and friends a happy and healthy New Year Sanford, Harriet, Mark, Robert and Lori Wolok Al & Bernice Yendick Shelly & Michael wish all their relatives and friends a healthy and happy New Year JULIUS and CELIA HACKMAN wish all their friends and relatives a happy_and healthy New Year and also would like to thar, them for their many contributions, cards, good wishes and personal kindnesses during these past few months of illness CELE LANDAY ARTHUR SCHWARTZ ARTHUR'S STUDIO of - INTERIORS & Staff Wish our clients a Healthy and Happy New Year