62 Friday, April 4, 1980 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 50 Jewish Cadets at West Point By ROCHELLE WOLK (Copyright 1980, JTA, Inc.) There will be 12 Jewish graduates, including the first Jewish woman, Danna Mailer of Atlanta, Ga., in the 1980 graduating class at the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. In the Academy's first graduating class in 1902, half of the students were Jewish, but there were only two graduates, one a Jewish cadet named Simon Levy. Currently, with a total population of some 4,400 cadets at the U.S. Military Academy, more than 50 are Jewish. The Jewish cadets enrolled at the academy today have the opportunity to participate in Shabat services on Friday nights, sing in the Jewish choir and celebrate Jewish holidays. A major campaign is cur- rently underway to build - the first Jewish chapel at the Military Academy. Capt. Robert Kramer, a 1971 academy graduate who is now a professor in the Department of Be- havioral' Sciences and Leadership, is the officer in charge of the Jewish community. He coordi- nates Jewish events for the cadets and other Jewish personnel, and is also the officer in charge of the Jewish choir. Once a month on Friday nights, Rabbi Avrum Soltes of Fort Lee, N.J. leads Shabat services. A veteran, the rabbi has volunteered his skills to the cadets of West Point for the past 17 years. Cadet Lt. Russell Vernon of Forest Hills, Queens, N.Y., a senior, works with Kramer to plan activities for the Jewish cadets at the Academy. "Life for the Jewish cadets isn't much different than for other cadets," Ver- non said in an interview. "Our day is long and hard, with academics, drills and athletics. But on Friday evenings, the week becomes special to the Jewish cadets from 36 companies. It's at this time that we get to- gether and experience Judaism. This time is very important to us and we enjoy it very much." On the Friday nights that Rabbi Soltes is not with them, senior cadets conduct services. Vernon said he believes it is im- portant for the Jewish cadets to assume this leadership role because they will ultimately be lay leaders for the Jewish soldiers under their . command. Some 15 to 20 cadets usu- ally attend Friday night services, Vernor added, and they are not alWays the same people. In addition, the families of the 20 Jewish officers, civilians and enlisted personnel partici- pate. Cadets serve as Sun- day school and Hebrew school teachers for the chil- dren of these families, and last year a senior cadet suc- cessfully trained a boy for his Bar Mitzva. Christian Exposing cadets to Judaism encourages understanding and respect, Vernon be- lieves. He is pleased when Jewish cadets invite them to Shabat services and holi- day celebrations. Even the Jewish choir has a few non-Jewish members. "If someone is interested in learning about Jewish life, we're more than glad to have them join," Vernon explained. Most of the 30 choir mem- bers are Jewish, and all Jewish cadets are encouraged to join. In addi- tion to singing at Friday night services, the choir tours for two weekends each semester, and sings in Jewish communities throughout the country. On Sundays, they often sing at old age homes or fraternal organizations in the vicin- ity of West Point. With the exception of the Academy's alma mater, their reper- toire is Hebrew, Vernon said. Prior to a 1973 federal appellate court ruling, Sunday morning reli- gious services were man- datory at the academy, even for Jewish cadets. Although classes are still required on Saturdays, the Friday night Shabat services are a major step in recognizing the reli- gious practices of Jewish cadets. Traditionally ob- servant Jews are not generally attracted to the academy and military life, so that Friday night arrangement has so far functioned satisfactorily for the Jewish cadets and community, Vernon ex- plained. The next major step for the enhancement of Judaism at the Military Academy will be completion of West Point Academy Jewish Chapel. Land has been set aside by the De- partment of the Army for a $5.5 million project being privately sponsored by a group of academy alumni and friends. Approximately 60 percent of the money is now in hand, but the total amount must be secured be- fore ground is broken, ac- cording to Edwin Goldwas- ser of Monsey, N.Y., Na- tional Jewish War Veterans chairman for the chapel fund.- (Catholic and Protes- tant chapels have been built with private funds. Federal law prohibits the govern- ment from building the chapels.) Women's Competency in Combat Proven During 1956 Sinai Campaign the lead plane. HAIFA — The suggestion Mrs. Rom remained in the by President Jimmy Carter Air Force Reserve until that women be included in 1960, when she gave birth any revitalized American to her first child, after ac- military draft has caused cumulating more than much discussion. One Israeli woman pro- ved her skills in combat al- most a quarter-century ago. Her name is Yael Rom and she flew the lead plane in one of the most daring oper- ations of the 1956 Sinai Campaign. Mrs. Rom, who now is an administrator at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, was born in Is- rael and earned her pilot's wings in 1951. She flew on active duty with the Israel Air Force until her dis- YAEL ROM charge -in 1953. 1,800 hours of flying time. She continued in the reserve force, and when Being the only pilot ever to war broke out in 1956, fly in combat is not Mrs. was called up. She flew Rom's only accomplishment several missions during — in 1957 she added an- that brief war, including other first, becoming the a daring operation over first female to fly for a the Mitla Pass in the Sinai scheduled airline in the Desert where she piloted West, Arkia Airlines, a By PAUL HIRSCHHORN subsidiary of El Al. Though she has left both jobs behind, she continues to fly, and is a member of the "99" International Organ- ization of Women Pilots. Today, Mrs. Rom is pur- suing her second career, as counselor for a special pro- gram at the Technion de- signed to bridge the educa- tional gap in Israeli higher education between the chil- dren of immigrants from Western and Oriental coun- tries. "The work I do today is just as, exciting as flying," says Mrs. Rom, "and I feel it is even more impor- tant in the long run. Solv- ing the educational prob- lems of students from disadvantaged back- grounds is just as vital to the" survival of the coun- try as maintaining a strong air force." In addition to her career, Mrs. Rom has raised three children. Her husband, Pro- fessor Joseph Rom, is a member of the Knesset• Harlem Leader Recalls Time of Black, Jewish Inter-Dependence By JAMES A. THOMAS (Editor's note: James A. Thomas is a commu- nity leader in Harlem. This article was origi- nally published in the New York Amsterdam News.) Have historians allowed memories of the great and important relationship that existed between southern blacks and Jews to become buried under today's loud - and vicious racial attacks? In the South, the blacks, because of color, lived under ' legal restrictions. Jews, on the other hand, because of their faith, customs and be- liefs were also placed under the same restrictions. Both groups lived under the same yoke of hate, deprivation and segregation. They learned to depend upon one another. The poor Jew was never a part of the South's social pattern. Tlie Jim Crow signs for blacks applied to Jews as well. Because of color and economic deprivation, blacks could not move easily from their segre- gated communities. Nor could the Jew live in the "better" white neighbor- hoods. When the Ku Klux Klan rode through black neighborhoods, more than once the Jew also felt the sting of their whips. For years, small Jewish neighborhood stores served the needs, of the blacks. To- day, many blacks look back upon those family dealings with bitterness. Sure, we can say that the Jew robbed us by the prices we had paid, but We always had food on the table and a healthy and loving family relationship. And they often allowed the heads of households to buy on credit. It was in the Jewish de- partment store that the blacks were first permitted to try on merchandise be- fore purchasing it. Even though this was done be- hind a curtain or in a small stock room, it gave the black mother and father some semblance of dignity. When the news got around in the black neighborhoods that Mor- gan's Department Store in Jacksonville, Fla. did this, of course, his black business more than dou- bled. The bond between southern blacks and the Jews did not just begin in the department stores. Probably the most inde- lible imprint in the mind of today's generation was the massive and suc- cessful 1963 civil rights march on Washington, D.C. But before that a group of black and Jewish scholars and lawyers met in Niagara Falls, N.Y. in 1903 to lay the spearhead for the oldest and most recognized voice for the black American — the NAACP. The bond between the two groups even goes back in the 1800s when the first and oldest education schol- arship foundation for blacks, the Rosenwald Foundation, was started. Sears and Roebuck was the first company to sell shares to black employees. Yes, there was a wonder- ful and workable relation- ship between blacks and Jews and there is still a great need to continue this strong and productive rela- tionship. Dental Clinic in Ashkelon Dr. Alan Harris of Liverpool shows an Ashkelon youngster how to care for his teeth. British Jewry is sponsoring a dental clinic which recently opened in Ashkelon as part of British Jewry's contribution to Project Renewal. Allan Bronfman Dies at 85, of Wealthy Distillery Family MONTREAL (JTA) — Allan Bronfman, a member of the wealthy Bronfman family of Canada, died March 26 at age 85. Born in Brandon, Man- itoba, he practiced law for several years in Winnipeg where he was first president of the Jewish Orphanage and of the Children's Aid of Western Canada, both headquartered in Win- nipeg. In 1924, he moved to Montreal from Winnipeg, where he joined his brothers, Samuel, Abe and Harry in the distillery and wine field, becoming vice president and director of Distillers Corp.-Seagrams, Ltd. in Montreal, holding similar posts in Calvert Dis- tillers in Amherstburg, Ont., and a director of Joseph E. Seagram and Sons in Waterloo, Ont. Mr. Bronfman became national president of the Canadian Friends of He- brew University in 1944, holding that post until his death. He also was a member of the board of governors of the univer- sity, and a member of the national council and na- tional executive of the Zionist Organization of Canada. He had been a member of the National Council of the United Jewish Relief Agencies. Mr. Bronfman had been -a member of the National Council of Boy Scouts and a member of the board of the Association of Paraplegics. He was a member of the executive committee of the Federation of Jewish Com- munity Services of Montreal. He had received the Grand Cross del Merito of Malta in 1949, and the Chevalier Legion of Honor from the French govern- ment in 1948. He was named Israel Bonds Man of the Year in 1964. Anna Schuman Anna Schuman, former co-owner of Grosse Pointe Cleaners and Tailors from 1928 to 1968, died March 22 at age 72. Born in Russia, Mrs. Schuman was the past president of the University North Chapter of Hadassah, member and former of - of Negbah Chapter _I Pioneer Women and a member of Bnai Brith Women. She leaves two sL. Michael and Herman; three daughters, Mrs. Marvin (Denah) Bookstein, Mrs. Norton (Lorelei) Cohen and Mrs. Harold (Rosabell) Bernstein; and eight grandchildren. BB Official Dies NEW YORK — Yale Goldberg, director of ad- ministration of Bnai Brith International in Washing- ton, died Sunday at age 65.