THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS,

Jews, Mormons Co-Exist in Utah

By GILA BERKOWITZ

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah
(JTA) — In the heart of this
city is a large but humble
building with Stars of David
in the windows. It looks so
much like an old-time
Brooklyn shul that one
would expect its pews to re-
sonate with the sounds of
the Kadish and be perma-
nently scented with pickled
herring and egg kichel.
But it would be wrong to
assume that the building is
a synagogue. It is, in fact,
the Assembly Hall of the
Mormon Church headquar-
ters. Utah is strewn with
false clues to where and
iat its Jewish community

Part of the confusion lies
in the traditional identifica-
tion of the Mormons with
the "children of Israel."
Symbols such as the Star of
David and terms such as
"Zion," are emphatically
Mormon in Salt Lake City,
so the real synagogue, Con-
gregation Kol Ami, is care-
. fully ornamented with
menoras, and historical
documents written by
Jewish leaders often refer to
the Jews as part of the
"Gentile" (non-Mormon)
community.
Yet the Jews have had
an authentic imprint as
well. For while the com-
munity has never been
large (there are about
2,300 Jews in Salt Lake
City and less than 10
families in nearby Provo)
it has a long and rich his-
tory in the region.
The first Jews passed
through embryonic Salt
Lake City on their way to
the gold rush. Some settled
there in 1854. In 1866 Mor-
mon leader Brigham Young
donated land for the Jewish
cemetery. He was cordially
disposed to the Jews, who
had been helpful to his
Mormon pioneers in earlier
- years.
The community grew
steadily, building suc-
cessively larger and more
elaborate synagogues. Its
character is clearly evident
by the fact that an architect
was brought from Germany
to build a synagogue that
was a small-scale replica of
the Berlin Temple.
When the main temple
turned Reform, an Or-
thodox synagogue was
founded. With an influx of
Eastern European Jews in
the early decades of this
century, a second Orthodox
congregation was founded.

However, Orthodox Juda-
ism eventually disappeared
in Salt Lake City.
The Reform and Con-
servative movements
joined together in 1972 to
create the city's only
synagogue, Kol Ami. The
merger is working ad-
mirably in a community
where all concerned
Jews are chiefly in-
terested in education —
Kol Ami's Hebrew school
dominates it
Salt Lake's Jewish com-
munity has a colorful his-
tory imbued with pioneer
spirit. The copper mines of
this mountainous region at-
tracted hardy individualists
of the 19th Century. Mines
eventually gave way to ski
resorts and in these, also,
Jews took a zestful part.
Utah was the site of some
proto-kibutz communes.
But, the harsh extremes of
climate and the poor practi-
cal preparation of the early
farmers meant that the ex-
periment was doomed to
early failure. Some of the
remaining settlers, how-
ever, started poultry farms
and were successful in the
venture. Several innova-
tions in poultry farming are
the result of this modest but
more successful effort.
Throughout this century
Jewish citizens and settlers
have tended to be
businessmen looking for a
quiet and decent place to
raise their families.
Downtown Salt Lake City is
dotted with clothiers, jewel-
ers and other familiar
businesses that bear Jewish
names. The newest wave of
newcomers, typically
enough, are physicians,
lawyers, and academics.
The standard of living
— and economic oppor-
tunities — are somewhat
lower in Utah than back-

Detroiter to Wed
Chicago Miss

east or further west. But
the happier settlers point
out that the low crime
rate, wholesome 'orienta-
tion (the state is dry), and
attractive scenery of the
area continue to attract
and keep community
members. Despite the
fact that Mormons are
energetic proselytizers,
Jewish leaders claim that
relations between the
two groups are excellent.
They also say that overt
anti-Semitism is virtually
non-existent.
Despite its low-key char-
acter, the Jewish commu-
nity of Salt Lake City is
friendly and open. Jewish
visitors, whether on busi-
ness or on skiis, are assured
a welcome.

Friday May 22, 1981 21

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Miss Mendelsohn
Plans to Marry

MISS MENDELSOHN

Elaine Mendelsohn of
Farmington Hills and
Robert Mendelsohn of Oak
Park announce the
engagement of their daugh-
ter, Jo Anne, to Michael
David Craig, son of Myrna
Craig of Royal Oak and
Robert - Craig of West
Bloomfield.
Miss Mendelsohn was
graduated from Wayne
State University and will
attend its law school in the
fall. Her fiance also was
graduated from WSU and
will attend the University
of Michigan Law School in
the fall.
An August wedding is
planned.

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MISS GORDON

Mr. and Mrs. Jerome
Iranian Jews
Gordon of Chicago, Ill., an-
e Detained
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nounce the engagement of
41111 JERUSALEM (JTA) — their daughter, Cheryl Ro-
Ten Iranian Jews, among bin, to Gary Jay Hoberman,
them the acting Chief" son of Mr. and Mrs. Sol
Rabbi, Baruch Cohen- Hoberman of Oak Park.
Miss Gordon attended the
Tzedek, have been detained
by the Iranian authorities Ida Crown Jewish Academy
for allegedly helping other and was graduated from the
Jews to leave the country, University of Illinois,
according to reports reach- Chicago Circle. Her fiance
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earned a -BS degree from the
University of Michigan and
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