THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS, A Tasty Solution for Jewish Ignorance By DAVID FRIEDMAN (Copyright 1980, JTA, Inc.) When I was in Toronto for the Rosh Hashana week I came across a novel by I.J. Singer, the late elder brother of Nobel Prize win- ner Isaac Bashevis Singer. The book, "East of Eden," was placed in the movie sec- tion of a store. Obviously, the Yiddish novel "Chaver Nachman," in its translated form, had been confused with John Steinbeck's book of the same name which was made into a film. About the same time one lanada's leading super- ni-arket chains was apologizing to its Jewish customers for having wished them a "Happy Passover" instead of the more appropriate "Happy New Year." Perhaps the confusion came about be- cause of the practice of supermarkets everywhere to push the matzohs, unsold since Passover, during the High Holy Days. Also while I was in To- ronto, several persons told me that for years a major department store had put out Hanuka cards every year at this time instead of New Year's cards. All three mistakes could have been avoided with more care. But they, espe- cially the last two, demon- strate how little non-Jews know about Judaism. Of course, there are many Jews whose knowledge is not much better. An editor on a newspaper for which I once worked said that if he wanted to find out some- thing about a Jewish holi- day the last person to ask was one of his Jewish re- porters. This lack of knowledge often has no correlation to observance. There are some Jews who never step inside a synagogue who can at least explain what the var- ious holidays mean. There are others who attend more than the three obligatory days a year, who can't. What happens is that many of these people are later embarrassed when they are asked questions by Christian friends or even more disconcerting, by their children. There is of course no end to the books in which one can learn about Jewish holidays which are, after all, part of the heritage of every Jew. "The Jewish Catalogue" now about to appear in its third edition, and "The Jewish Almanac," are excellent, especially for young adults. But there seems to be one book after another coming off the presses explaining Jewish practices and customs, writ- ten on all levels of under- standing. But wait, another solu- tion might be found — food. After all, it has long been the suspicion of many that what holds Jews together is Jewish food. -There are very few so assimilated as not to love Jewish food. Here we have Passover as a model. The seder, after all, is a feast surrounded by a lesson on the history and meaning of the holiday. Just imagine discussing Hanuka over a plate of latkes or Shavuot as you pass the blintzes. We'll have heavier stuff for the other holidays. This. is certainly food for thought. AJC, ACLU Ask High Court to Hear Case NEW YORK — The American Jewish Congress and the American Civil Liberties Union have asked the United States Supreme Court to hear a case which challenges religious holiday observances in public schools as a violation of the First Amendment's guaran- tee of church-state separa- tion. The case, "Florey v. Sioux Falls School 'District," in- volves guidelines adopted by the Sioux Falls (S.D.) school board for conducting Christmas religious obser- vances in the public schools under its jurisdiction. Friday, October 11, 1980 1 CREATIVE TABLES, ETC. • custom made just for you • laminates, glass, lucite, marble • tables, Wall units, credenzas, etc. • delightfully fine workmanship • delightfully low prices We Come To You! Muriel Wetsman 354-4126 Vicky Leebove'851-0789 c. 1980 R.J. REYNOLDS TOBACCO CO. ew SalemUltra The first Ultra low tar t! that stands for refreshmen High Court to Make Decision on Appeal by Alleged Nazi WASHINGTON (JTA) — The U.S. Supreme Court re- served decision Wednesday, after hearing for more than an hour, arguments on an appeal by an alleged Nazi war criminal against de- naturalization. The appellant, Feodor Federenki, faces loss of citi- zenship on grounds that he failed to disclose his Nazi record when he arrived in the U.S. in 1949 and later when he applied for citizen- ship which was granted to him in 1970. Federenko, who was born in the Ukraine in 1907, was charged by the U.S. gov- ernment with having been an armed guard at the Treb- linka concentration camp in 1942-1943, where he par- ticipated in beating and shooting Jewish inmates. The U.S. District Court in Miami ruled against depriving him of citizen- ship on grounds that the government had not pre- sented adequate evi- nce. The defense ufgued that Federenko's service at the camp was involuntary. The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overruled the dis- trict court's opinion and or dered Federenko's de- naturalization, against which he is not appealing to the Supreme Court. It is believed to be the first time that a case involv- ing an alleged Nazi war criminal has reached the nation's highest tribunal. It also marks the first time a U.S. Attorney General has taken . part in such proceed- ings. When 'Attorney Gen- eral Benjamin Civiletti argued the case for the gov- ernment, it was the first time for him as the nation's chief law enforecement offi- cer, to appear before the Supreme Court. Elizabeth Rep. (D-N.Y.), Holtzman chairman of the House Judiciary Committee's immigration subcommit- tee which handles cases involving war criminals living in the U.S., applauded Civiletti's ap- pearance. "In many respects," she said, "the Attorney Gener- al's appearance in this case represents the culmination of my long standing efforts to convince our government to take action against war criminals who have found sanctuary in this country." F Emunah Women Ask Carter to Expel PLO NEW YORK — Shirley Billet, national president of Emunah Women of America and Toby Willig, the organization's vice president for public affairs, recently called upon President Carter to take the initiative by asking for the expulsion of the PLO from all committees and all rec- ognized bodies of the UN where it has observers. "The PLO is a notori- ously, cowardly, murderous organization," Ms. Billet and Ms. Willig said. "It never attacks military targets but prides itself on killing innocent people all over the world." A \ 111 \ ■ ‘Atlf 11 %\NW, I 1.'14 • .1' i\‘!'hui.„kv,":4-. ..--, x Warning The Surgeon General Has Determined That Cigarette Smoking Is Dangerous toYour Health. ■ 11, • ULTRA: 5 mg. ",tar. 0.4 mg. nicotine. ULTRA 100's: 6 mg. "tar'', 0.4 mg. nicotine. ay. per cigarette by.FTC method. 6 . 1 .11 ■ 1 H .