CIE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Boris Smolar's
`Between You
. . . and Me'
Editor-in-Chief
Emeritus, JTA
(Copyright 1980, JTA, Inc.)
JDC""YOMTOV" IN ISRAEL: The Joint Distribu-
tion Committee which is dedicating this weekend in
0* Jerusalem its headquarters building for its programs in
Israel, has a long history in Palestine and Israel. Its relief
work there started while the agency was still in formation.
It was in 1914. World War I broke out. The 85,000 Jews
who lived in Palestine at that time — the country was
I,er Turkish rule — suddenly found themselves in a most
41ibtical situation. They were cut off from the European
Jewish communities, the main source of their support. The
belligerent countries stopped their assistance. The U.S.
Ambassador to Turkey, Henry Morgenthau Sr., sent a
dramatic cable to Jacob Schiff, the leading American
Jewish philanthropist.
The JDC, which was formally established about a
0___ month later, took up the appeal. It rushed the requested
$50,000 which, at that time, was quite a substantial sum. It
Or- saved not only the colonies from destruction but also the
yeshivot from closing down and exposing their students to
literal starvation. The yeshivot — their number was much
smaller than today — existed entirely on gifts from reli-
gious Jewish communities in Europe, which were now in-
volved in the war. (Today, the JDC supports 167 yeshivot in
■ . Israel with 27,000 students studying there to fill the needs
for rabbis, scribes, mohelim, shokhtim, cantors and reli-
gious teachers.)
When World War I was over, JDC helped to establish
the Palestine Economic Corp. and engaged in other in-
vestment activities to help develop the resources of the
country.
In the Hitler period, and immediately after World War
...
II, JDC was deeply involved in the rescue and relief activi-
ties associated with large-scale movement of Jews from all
over the world to Israel. A major expansion ofJDC's role in
Israel took place shortly after the establishment of the
state. In 1950, JDC, by agreement with the government of
Israel, established its Malben institutions in Israel to pro-
vide institutional care for the aged, handicapped and
chronically ill among the immigrant population. This very
large responsibility reached a peak in 1953 with an expen-
diture of $11,625,000 for the year.
Today, JDC provides funds and profession -al guidance
for more than 100 different programs and projects in Israel.
It focuses on care for the aged, chronically ill, mentally ill,
handicapped children and adults, community centers, de-
velopment of comprehensive health and welfare services,
and manpower training for all these areas. True to its
"mission accomplished" tradition, which provides that in-
stitutions be transferred to local communities after they
have been established by JDC on solid foundations, JDC
has, in recent years, transferred its Malben homes to local
communities and agencies in Israel. However, JDC still
provides a $800,000 subsidy for the care of the aged in these
institutions.
"JDC HILL" IN JERUSALEM: During all the years
of its operations in Israel, JDC conducted its work from
headquarters in Tel Aviv. The move now to Jerusalem —
the seat of the Israel government and government agencies
with which the JDC staff in Israel is in daily contact — is
therefore considered an important event. The Jerusalem
municipality acknowledged its importance by naming the
area in which the JDC building is located "JDC Hill"
("Givat Joint"). This expresses also the recognition by the
Israel government of the JDC role in Israel. The JDC Hill
area adjoins the Hebrew University.
The dedication of JDC-Israel headquarters in
Jerusalem is seen by Donald M. Robinson, JDC president,
as a tangible reminder of the continuity of JDC commit-
ment to the quality of life in the state of Israel, where JDC
s spent a quarter of a billion dollars since 1914.
- The new JDC building will also house several agencies
osely associated wfth JDC. One of them is ESHEL, the
ociation for the Planning and Development of Services
the Aged, which was created by the JDC and Israeli
vernment in 1969 to develop services and programs for
all the aged in Israel. Another agency which will have its
headquarters in the building is the Israel Association of
Community Centers, which now has more than 100 com-
munity centers throughout the country for which the JDC
trains social workers and provides funding for programs.
The offices of the Mental Health Trust Fund will also
be located in the new JDC building, since mental health
continues to be a top priority of the JDC in Israel; the JDC
provides funds for the defelopment of a comprehensive
network of community mental health centers to serve in
areas in need and for manpower training in mental health
programs. The office of the United Nations High Commis-
sioner for Refugees will also be housed in the JDC building.
The JDC-Brookdale Institute of Gerontology and Adult
Human Development in Israel will occupy part of the site of
the "JDC Hill."
e.
.
Yiddish Plays at Habimah
TEL AVIV (JTA) — The
Habimah Theater, in re-
sponse to a request from the
World Council for Yiddish,
will present at least three
Yiddish plays in the near
future.
Yitzhak Koren, chairman
of the World Council, said
that Israel is becoming a
citadel for Yiddish, stressed
that the revival of Yiddish
here requires cooperation
with the Hebrew world.
Mark Turkow, chairman
of the Argentine Committee
for Yiddish, said Yiddish is
dwindling in Latin
America. No one usesit;t is
not taught in -Schools and
even in the yeshivot the
Talmud is translated into
Spanish, he said.
Dr. Max Warschawski,
chief rabbi of Stras-
bourg, said there is a re-
vival of Yiddish in
France, with several
thousand students study-
ing the language.
Simon Weber, editor of
the Jewish Daily Forward
in New York, spoke at a
dinner of the presidium of
the World Federation of
Jewish Journalists at Beth
Sokolow at which the For-
ward received the 1980
Prime Minister's Award for
Yiddish.
Friday, June 27, 1980 19
Shepetovka Info
Sanford S. Masovitz of
Chicago, who is compiling
material on his native town
of Shepetovka, Russia, is
seeking information on any
local Shepetovkan Land-
smanshaften societies.
Information should be
sent to: Sanford S.
Masovitz,13240 Ave. F, Lot
71, Chicago, Ill., 60633.
Highest dollars paid for
your diamonds, gold,
sterling or old jewelry!
LOWEST PRICES ,
Cassette
Dictating
Transcribing
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IT'S A BUYER'S
MARKET .. .
NOW IS THE TIME!
Bnei Akiva Sets
August Meeting
NEW YORK — Bnei
Akiva of North America
will hold a Veida Artzit
Aug. 27-31 at Torah Va'Av-
odah Institute in Beach
Lake, Pa.
The seminar will focus on
Bnei Akiva's goals and
policies in North America.
There will be meetings of
Misgarot Aliya and
Garinim.
There is a charge. Checks
should be made payable to
Bnei Akiva of North
America, 25 W. 26th St.,
New York, 10010. College-
age men and women are in-
vited.
For information, call in
Detroit, the Bnei Akiva
office, 398-7180.
Al STEINBERG
. 1*,
29300 TELEGRAPH
JUST Nurti - F1 OF TEL-TWELVE MALL
Sofa in fabric shown above. Reg. $550. Now $495.
ALL STOCK UPHOLSTERY ON SALE UNTIL AUG. 10
Regularly this sofa is comfortably priced: and
now it's on Sale. Of course a good price
doesn't represent real value unless it's backed
by quality merchandise. That is why we
believe this is the best upholstery buy in the
state. The solid oak and maple frames are
screwed, glued, and corner-blocked. And all
joints are double-doweled. We use only
8-gauge tempered steel sinuous springs, even
in the back (unlike most upholstery at even far
higher prices). The padding is extraordinary!
Not only is there extra padding on the interior
but on the exterior surfaces as well. The
result: more comfort and greater wear from
your fabric. Both the seat and back cushions
are made of a polyurethane foam wrapped
first in Dacron`"' polyester, then in a non-
woven fabric inner bag to prevent wrinkling or
lumping. And all fa. brics are Scotchguarded -
for extra protection.
Many- styles of sofas, loveseats, and chairs in
stock and on sale. Special orders on sale too.
At Workbench, good upholstery at a price
that's not padded.
NEW LOCATION
ANN ARBOR: 668-4688
410 N Fourth ave 48104
at Farmers Market
M, Th, F; 9-9
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TRAVERSE CITY: 941-1313
12917 W. Bayshore drive
at Harbor West
M, T, W; 9-6
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Inc.
SOUTHFIELD: 352-1530
26026 W 12mile rd 48034
West of Telegraph
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10-9
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j