THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
2S Friday, October 23, 1981
Lack of Interest in Preserving
Polish-Jewish History Irks Prof
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NEW YORK (JTA) — A
noted Israeli historian and
rector of Tel Aviv Univer-
sity warned here last week
that time is rapidly running
out for the research and
preservation of the 1,000-
year history of Polish Jewry
due to the lack of interest
and procrastination on the
part of the present aging
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survivors.
"The present decade may
well provide the last chance
to preserve for future gen-
erations a knowledge of the
history of what was the
most culturally flourishing
Jewish community in the
Diaspora," Prof. Shlomo
Simonson told a meeting of
the Federation of Polish
Jews of America, one of the
joint sponsors of the Center
for the Study of Polish
Jewry at Tel Aviv Uni-
veristy. Simonson is visit-
ing the United States on be-
half of the Center which he
chairs.
Simonson, who emigrated
to Israel from Germany in
1933, deplored what he
termed the "comparatively
little interest shown by the
average Israeli student in
the history of Jewry outside
Israel."
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JERUSALEM (ZINS) —
Israel will pay its Sinai
settlers $155 million when
they are forced to leave
their homes next April
when Israel makes its final
withdrawal from Sinai.
Each of 400 families will
be given $200,000-
$350,000 for resettlement
costs. The remaining funds
will go to Yamit and
Ophira.
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- Boris Smolar's
I
Between You
. . . and Me
Editor-in-Chief
Emeritus, JTA
(Copyright 1981, JTA, Inc.)
SOVIET ECHOES: The new policy of -the - Jewish
Agency concerning Soviet Jews refusing to proceed to Is-
rael after reaching Vienna has now been fortified by Soviet
Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko. -
Meeting with Gromyko at the Soviet Mission to the
United' ations in New York City, Foreign Minister Yit-
zhak Shamir of Israel raised the question ofJewish emigra-
tion from the USSR to Israel which the Soviet government
-has curtailed to just a few hundred a month. Gromyko told
Shamir, "What do you mean emigration to Israel? You
know they are all going to the United States."
This statement by Gromyko is now taken as strong
evidence supporting the view of the Jewish Agency that the
"drop-outs" are the prime reason for the Kremlin's practi-
cally closing its doors for emigration ofJews..Another piece
of evidence is a statement by Moscow's Chief Rabbi
Fishman made to Israel's Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi Shlomo
Goren who visited the Soviet Union. The Moscow rabbi
indicated that the drastic reduction in emigration was re-
lated to the fact that many thousands of recipients of Soviet
exit visas to Israel did not continue their trip to Israel when
they reached Vienna — their first stop in the free world —
but went instead to the United States and Canada, about
30,000 in 1979 alone.
THE KREMLIN'S TACTICS: Soviet authorities
seem to gather information on the number of Soviet Jewish
refugees who drop out in Vienna. The Kremlin's policy
appears to be now to reduce the issuing of emigration per-
mits to applicants in each city in proportion to the "drop-
outs" from that city.
It is alleged that 86 percent of applicants in Moscow
became "drop-outs" after reaching Vienna, so that Soviet
authorities reduced the issuance of exit visas in Moscow by
90 percent. For Leningrad, the estimate was 86 percent, so
the number of exit visas for Leningrad applicants was cut
by 88 percent. Among emigrants from Odessa, the percent-
age of"drop-outs" in Vienna was alleged to be 97 percent, so
the quote for Odessa was reduced by the Soviets by 85
percent.
• The Jewish Agency therefore considers the giving of
assistance by American Jewish organizations to Soviet
Jewish refugees who "drop-out" in Vienna, as adversely
affecting the granting of Soviet exit permits to Jews. It
claims that such assistance counteracts and stultifies the
behest, "Let My People Go." It points out that the noshrim
— the "drop-outs" — not only cause a decrease in the
number of emigrants, but also dramatically affect the
number of applications for future departures — when the
Soviet authorities cut back the number of approvals for exit
visas, there is a concurrent drop in applications.
REFLECTIONS IN ISRAEL: There have been in the
ranks of the Jewish Agency people who understood those
who maintain that the exit visas of Jews from the Soviet
Union should take precedence over the problem of their
future destination.
They now consider the situation changed. They con-
sider the new Jewish Agency policy a pragmatic measure
meant to forestall the closing of the Soviet doors for Jews
wishing to leave.
`Our Sages Showed the Way
Yocheved Segal has com-
pleted the second book of
translated stories for chil-
dren from the Hebrew "Ko
Asu Hahanieinu."
The second volume,
entitled "Our Sages Showed
the Way" ( Feldheim Pub-
lishers), is a translation into
English of brief stories from
the Talmud and Midrash.
The beautiful volume
contains 38 stories in 192
pages. It was translated
from the Hebrew by Esther
Falk and is illustrated by
Bethia Geffen.
The
stories
are
grouped into eight
categories and the author
includes the source-for
each. The categories in-
clude prayers and
blessings, fulfillment of
the commandments, the
love of Torah, keeping
the Sabbath, man and his
fellowman, charity, acts
of kindness and deeds of
wisdom.
The stories are brief
enough to hold the attention
of the young child, yet com-
plex enough to retain the
interest of the older reader.
Wind Power
MAALOT (JNI) — Israel
has inaugurated its first
electricity-generating wind
turbine.
Set atop a 1600-foot hill
near this Galilee develop-
ment town, the $75,000
structure is expected to
generate electricity for the
adjacent Iscar factory. In
optimum weather, the tur-
bine should generate exces-
sive power. Overflow will be
sold back 'to the electric
company, which will supply
Iscar on windless days.
Energy Minister Yitzhak
Berman called the
generator "our first step
towards complete indepen-
dence from foreign oil.'