2 Friday, May 30, 1 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Purely Commentary Fiftieth Anniversary of Jewish Braille Institute of America Invites Attention to Serious Efforts to Aid Visually Handicapped by a Great Movement By Philip Slomovitz • A Half-Century of Labors by the Jewish Braille Institute of America A $200,000 "Challenge Grant" to the Jewish Braille Institute of America by the National Endowment for the Humanities draws special attention to the agency that is providing unmatched services for the blind and near-blind in this country. Commencing the 50th year of services, the Braille In- stitute therefore is encouraged to undertake increased roles as aid to the visually handicapped. Dr. Jane Evans, president of the Braille Institute, in an appeal for cooperation in making the challenge fund work- able, cast attention on the fact that the grant is a "matching fund" because private funds must be raised on a three-to- one basis. Miss Evans indicates that the new resource funds are aimed at providing for: • The .expansion of our 25,000 reel sound li- brary on to cassettes in multiple copies so that books can be circulated to a greater number of readers. This will be of particular blessings to older people who, although not blind, have ex- perienced diminishing vision with advancing years. They will enjoy listening to cassettes. • The wider publicizing of JBI library services to those who can benefit from them. • The development of programs to meet the needs of blind and visually handicapped students and others on a more individual basis. While the Jewish Braille Institute occupies an impor- tant place in the American Jewish community, its message is seldom broadcast. Sam Levenson often appeals for sup- port of its extensive programs. The message needs wider acceptance. Therefore, at the risk of having it viewed as propaganda, it is necessary that a complete definition of its many services should be more readily available. Therefore the emphasis on this text of the institute's proclamation of its endeavors: Youth Education Program A complete Jewish education for every blind and partially sighted child with signted children in neighborhood Conservative, Orthodox and Re- form religious schools; Preparation for Bar and Bat Mitzva with the use of materials in Hebrew and English Braille or large type; Children's Braille prayerbooks for use in synagogue and home worship; Special Brailling and sound recording of all textbooks and materials necessary for a Jewish education, including examinations; Consultations with rabbis, principals, teachers and parents. College and Professional Education Counseling on college and graduate school ad- mission; Specialized materials prepared for students of Judaica; Couseling and assistance for blind and partially-sighted students in preparing for pro- fessional careers in Jewish service — rabbis, can- tors and others; - Guidance for blind and partially sighted graduates and students making aliya to Israel. Library Services A lending library of more than 55,000 Braille volumes in English and Hebrew; A lending library of more than 23,000 reels and cassettes of sound recording in English, Hebrew, Yiddish and other languages; A growing library of large-print volumes in English and Hebrew; Special Brailling and recording of materials re- quested but not available from other agencies or libraries. Services for the Elderly Assistance to the elderly blind and visually handicapped who are isolated and wish to par- ticipate in Jewish community activities; Special services to senior centers and residen- tial facilities; Extensive sound recorded library materials for the Yiddish-speaking blind; Counseling for those seeking help for their blind and visually impaired elderly pai-ents. It is estimated that in the United States alone there are 20,000 Jewish blind in addition to more than 50,000 who are severely visually im- paired. More than 180,000 Jews in the United States cannot read standard-size print with facility even with the very best prescription glas- ses or contact lenses. All services of the Jewish Braille Institute of America are available to any blind or visually handicapped person regardless of religious affiliation. Religious Publications Most daily and holiday prayerbooks both in Braille and large type for Conservative, Or- thodox, and Reform synagogue participation. Haggadot and special holiday materials in Braille and large type. Periodical Literature Jewish Braille Review: a monthly J3raille maga- zine on Jewish and related topics read by 2,000 Braille readers; JBI Voice: a monthly magazine on sound re. cordings heard by more than 2,000 non-Braille- reading blind emphasizing Jewish current events and topics of interest. Israel Program Assistance in the development of libraries for the blind and partially sighted in Israel; Direct aid to scholars and students; Educational materials provided to meet the specific needs of blind veterans; Assistance to Israeli agencies in acquiring spe- cialized materials for the blind produced in the United States and other countries. An Advisory Service to the Jewish Communal Agencies Training of local agency staff who need to in- crease their knowledge of how to be of service to the blind and visually impaired; Consultation with librarians on how to assist the blind and visually handicapped in fulfilling their reading needs. All services and materials of the Jewish Braille Institute of America are free of charge to the blind and partially-sighted of the world. It is vital that these facts be shared with the entire community. There are some services for the blind that are known only to the few that benefit from them, such as the Library for the Blind that operates from the Farmington Library in this area. Miss Evans' appeal for support must not fall on deaf ears. The recognition given the Jewish Braille Institute by the National Endowment for the Humanities, with the "Challenge Grant," must be shared widely. The challenge of the three-to-one assistance should be met with apprecia- tion and great generosity. Women Fought for Independence as Part of Israeli Underground By DULCY LEIBLER From Israel Digest Not all the contributions women have made to the state of Israel can be written about. There are too many, for one thing, and many are too intangible, for another. But there might not even have been a state were it not for the heroism of those who were involved in the under- ground. Women played active heroic roles — as fighters, couriers, radio operators, fund raisers and nurses. They were the wives, mothers, daughters and fianCees whose suffering and sacrifice were as great as that of any frontline soldier. Doris Lankin, a journalist_ whose popular legal col- umns appear regularly in the Jerusalem Post, was a member of the Irgun Zvai Leumi. Founded in Jerusalem by a group of former Hagana comman- ders, they left the Hagana in protest against its defen- sive nature. They joined forces with a clandestine armed group of Betar members from Tel Aviv and formed an activist defense group. In 1937, after another split, the Irgun accepted the leadership of Zeev Jabotinsky. When Lankin and her first husband, Shmuel Katz, arrived in Palestine in 1946, they were quite famil- iar with the , Irgun. Al- though they came from South Africa, they had spent the war years in Lon- don where Shmuel Katz was asked by Jabotinsky to start a weekly newspaper ad- vocating the formation of a Jewish army to fight on the side of the Allies. When at long last these ardent Zionists arrived in Eretz Yisrael, they both contrib- uted their all to the upbuild- ing of the Jewish state. While her husband was accepted into the Irgun im- mediately — and eventu- ally was part of its High Command — Mrs. Lankin's lack of Hebrew disqualified her from administrative and propaganda work. And, as she says, "I am not really the bomb-throwing type." Eventually, the Irgun came to realize that both her very British appearance and her British passport could be quite valuable to them. These allowed her ac- cess to many places where other Palestinians were not able to penetrate, and thus - Two soldiers during the battle for Jerusalem. DORIS LANKIN Doris was able to pass on valuable information where needed. She also proved quite adept in trying condi- tions. She usually began her speeches describing the position in Palestine, explaining the struggle and aims of the Irgun, and appealing for dona- tions. While Lankin liked and respected the young men in the Irgun, it was the women who won her greatest admi- ration. Foremost among these were the "forgotten men" of the underground — the wives. These were women who had to run their homes and bring up their children on the meager salaries which were given to all Irgun members irrespective of rank. In her book, "The Lady Was a Terrorist," Lankin singled out the quiet, steady courage of Aliza Begin, who lived a life of solitude and ill health in the underground, never going out in the day- time for months on end. There were, Lankin writes, many other women who did not merely sit and wait. There were those — and she belongs to this active category — who partici- pated–in the struggle. There were "young girls who went out on actual operations; others who pasted up the wall news- papers and frequent dec- larations and warnings; and yet others who worked on the radio, who typed, who acted as mes- sengers." Esther Raziel was a shin- ing example, Lankin writes, a wife and mother as well as an active participant in the Irgun. She joined this un- derground movement in its early years, was imprisoned by the British several times, and later worked as a broadcaster for the move- ment. When she and her hus- band were both arrested, she was sent to the Bethlehem women's prison and he to Africa. She was released briefly to give birth, then detained and eventually let go al- together. Alone, she raised their three children, taught school duripg the day to support the family, and re- turned to work for the Irgun in the evenings. She contin- ued in this way until the day the British left Palestine. In March 1948, with Katz away collecting money in America, Mrs. Lankin decided the time had come for her to stria' being a "tame" terrorW. and to learn how to be soldier. Soon after ma ing her decision know she found herself part o a group of young women who were starting „a course in the handling and use of firearms. Mrs. Lankin experienced the War of Independence, and the siege of and battle for Jerusalem. She lived through it all, participating in whatever capacity she could — in field kitchens, as a nurse in aifIrgun hospital, as a driver, and on fund- raising missions to Johan- nesburg, Geneva, Paris, Stockholm and London.