,

Friday, Mar 23, 1980 25

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

ipirk"*.

Boris Smolar's

`Between You
■ ■ . and Me'

Editor-in-Chief
Emeritus, JTA
(Copyright 1980, JTA, Inc.)

ACTION ON "DROPOUTS": The Jewish Agency in
Israel, finding it difficult to influence the American Jewish
community to discourage Soviet Jewish emigrants from
becoming "dropouts" en route to Israel — achieve a reduc-
tion in the rate of "dropouts," or, at least prevent its in-
crease.
One of the actions is the creation by the Jewish Agency
of a "Landsmanshaften Department." This new depart-
ment will pay special attention to developing contact with
potential Jewish emigrants in the Soviet Union.
In establishing this department, the Jewish Agency
Kes into consideration that emigrants from the Soviet
_..dion decide on their destinations while still in the USSR.
Some of them do not even bother to hide their true destina-
tion from the Soviet authorities. Others forward their bag-
gage directly to the countries of this destination. The ques-
tion of "where to go" is openly discussed by them with
relatives, friends and neighbors.
It is on this front that the Landsmanshaften Depart-
ment has now started a battle. Soviet Jews who now live in
Israel have been mobilized for a program of contacting Jews
in Soviet cities. The contact is on a "landsman to lands-
man" basis. As people from the same city they tell the
contacted families by correspondence of their experiences
in adjusting themselves to life in Israel. This corre-
spondence brings inquiries from Jews they reached in the
Soviet Union with specific questions. The correspondence
becomes a two-way affair and brings both sides closer to-
gether.
The Landsmanshaften Department concentrates espe-
cially on Soviet Jews who have no relatives in Israel. It
introduced an "adoption" program under which people in
Israel originating from the same city as the potential emi-
grants in the Soviet Union "adopt" families from the USSR.
Several such adopted families have already arrived in Is-
rael as a result of this program. They were met at the
airport by the families which adopted them, who then take
care of them as if they were real relatives. They arrange for
them contacts with other "landsleit" from the same city in
Israel and provide employment for them.
ACTION IN U.S.: Another action of the Jewish
Agency Landsmanshaften Department is to establish di-
rect contact with Soviet Jews who have already reached the
United States.
Two "shlikhim" of the Jewish Agency's Landsmanshaf-
ter Department are already in New York. They work
among the dropouts from offices opened in Brooklyn and
Queens where a large proportion of immigrants from the
USSR reside. Outside of New York, these shlikhim are
conducting activities in Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, De-
nver and Pittsburgh. The activities include mass meetings
of Jewish immigrants for the USSR to which hundreds
come.
The Landsmanshaften Department has, under the
sponsorship of the American Section of the Jewish Agency,
organized a trip to Israel for 38 teenaged children of drop-
out families. For two weeks these teenagers lived with
youngsters from Soviet immigrant families in Israel, after
which visitors and hosts toured the country together.
Correspondence between the visitors and their hosts con-
tinues, with the Jewish Agency hoping that some of the
teenagers may eventually decide to move from the U.S. to
Israel.
A visit was also arranged for 41 academicians, emi-
grants from the USSR who settled in the U.S.
The shlikhim have started to organize U.S. "Friends of
Israel" clubs and are working toward the development of a
leadership from the ranks of the dropouts.
ACTION IN ROME: The Landsmanshaften Depart-
ment has also sent two shlikhim to Vienna to persuade
droupouts to come to Israel, and three to Rome to maintain
contact with dropouts there who are waiting for visas to
countries other than Israel. The shlikhim in Rome work in
harmonious cooperation with the Joint Distribution Com-
mittee to which the clubs for dropouts belong. They arrange
lectures and shows in the clubs about Israel and also hold
ieetings with individual families.

`Oppressed Jews' Due in Israel

JERUSALEM (JTA) — A
community of Jews pre-
sently living under dire op-
pression will soon come to
Israel where they will be
able to live as free citizens,
Premier Menahem Begin
declared.
His aides sought to
downplay the statement,
made at a Herut women's

convention, for fear of pre-
judicing the situation of this
Jewish community. The
aides, therefore, discour-
aged speculation about
what the premier had had in
mind.

Begin made it clear that
he was not referring to a
Soviet Jewish community.

CHAIM Is Family for Children of Survivors

By ALAN HITSKY

CHAIM — Children of
the Holocaust Association
In Michigan — is becoming
an extended family for more
than 85 persons who par-
ticipate in the fledgling
organization's activities.
Charles Silow, Betty
Klein and Fran Parker
stressed during a recent
interview CHAIM's effort at
"trying to develop a sense of
community among our-
selves."
Silow was the catalyst
who founded the group in
December. The organiza-
tion now has more than 40
members and schedules
monthly meetings, study
groups, social events and
educational activities about
the Holocaust.
Mrs. Parker explained
that she felt like a misfit
when she was growing
up: "My parents spoke
with an accent and were
not with the times. I am
American born, but I
didn't feel strongly
American while I was
growing up, nor am I
European."
"Now I feel a sense of
pride," she said," and I'm
not trying to Americanize
my parents anymore."
Silow said he was always
interested in the Holocaust
while growing up. "Why did
my relatives have to suffer
was the question running
through my mind," he said.
Now a clinical social
worker, he observed the
psychological problems that
plagued his mother as a re-
sult of the Holocaust. "And I
always felt alone," he said.
"When I went to Europe
two years ago, I met a
woman who introduced my
parents to each other. I also
met several distant
cousins." He felt that he had
found his extended family
that had been denied him
because of the Holocaust. "If
this felt so good for me," he
said, "I was sure that others
were searching for the same
experience."
Silow attended a New
York conference last fall of
500 children of survivors. "I
walked into that conference

and saw 500 people. I said,
`Oh my God! I'm not alone."

Silow, Ms. Klein and
Mrs. Parker said CHAIM
provides a sense of fam-
ily, of common experi-
ence for those who attend
its functions. "We are all
different from each
other, but we do have a
common base," Ms. Klein
said. Most of the children
of survivors were born
overseas.
Not everyone who attends
the organization's programs
has the same needs. Accord-
ing to Silow, some persons
come only for the social ac-
tivities while others par-
ticipate only in the educa-
tional events. "We try to
provide different activities
so that people can plug into
whatever interests them,"
he said.
CHAIM has experienced
both resistance and support
for its activities. Some fear
that the group will "just sit
around and depress each
other," Mrs. Parker said.
"Some survivors and their
children are ashamed and
do not want to be reminded
of the Holocaust. Others
fear that they will be
labeled. misfits."
But others recognize the
group as providing a per-
sonal growth experience, a
sense of family and belong-
ing, and a chance to share
views that were impossible
to express during childhood.
"The Jewish commu-
nity organizations have
been very receptive and
supportive," said Slow,
who praised the Jewish
Community Council, the
Anti-Defamation League
of Bnai Brith and the
American Jewish Com-
mittee among others, as
well as the Detroit area's
major survivors' organ-
izations, including
Shaarit Haplaytah, Eins-
tein • Lodge
and Chapter
-

of Bnai Brith and Work-
men's Circle groups.
"Many of the survivors
are getting older now and
are thankful that their chil-
dren are learning about and
will remember the
Holocaust after the parents
are gone.
"Our focus is on ourselves
and on our parents in a pos-
itive way. We are trying to
reach out to others. We look
at our existence as a mira-
cle, that our parents sur-

MAGICIAN

Available For All Occasions

25

years experience

MAGICAL MEL

547-2464

LAWN SPRINKLER
REPAIRS

NORTHLAND LAWN SPRINKLING

RON BLOCK

559-5980 (office)

355-3391 (home)

F You've tried dealers...
now try an

AUTO BROKER

ouck L

oo

,e
aWA144 t
- i. sURVIsP
91V,i-5 °" 1- - L
100.
P454 CikCk \41

C

ow `-

,

4,

'TM 1.8U15

,

'BLOK

TRY

ME."

,

v‘t a. NEW CAR poli

CHASES
PROFESSP
(Up to 23% discount on new cars.)

968-2360

25900 Greenfield Rood, Suite 439 Oak Pork, Michigan 48237

LAWRENCE M. ALLAN
President

Rule on Sabbath
Graduation Due

WASHINGTON — The
Virginia Supreme Court
will decide Wednesday
whether to hear arguments
in a case brought by two
Fairfax County twin sisters
who have asked that
graduation exercises be
shifted from a Saturday
commencement.
Susan and Lynn Stein are
co-valedictorians of their
class. Their high school
principal arbitrarily last
fall moved the commence-
ment date to a Saturday and
has resisted all efforts to
change the date. The com-
mencement has been held
on Sunday evenings in the
past.
The American Jewish
Congress and the National
Council of Churches have
become involved in the case
on behalf of the sisters, who
are observant Jews.

vived. We want others to
join our family."
With the help of ADL,
CHAIM has a telephone
line. For information about
organization, call CHAIM,
962-9694.

!
•74,/.

GEMOLOGIST DIAMONTOLOGIST

Retail Courtesies at Wholesale Prices

Since 1919

DIAMONDS

OUR SPECIALTY

BEAUTIFUL JEWELRY TO REMEMBER...

642-5575

30400 TELEGRAPH • BIRMINGHAM
LOCATED AT 121/2 Mile SUITES 104/134

Mir

Awarded Certificate By GIA
in Grading & Evaluation

