THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 4S Friday, November 13, 1981 Jewish Family Leaves East Germany By MOSHE RON Gabriela Honig returned from Israel to East Ger- many (Leipzig) with her parents when she was three years old. She suffered for being Jewish in a city where only 51 Jews are living. At the university, a Jewish professor threatened to rip the Magen David from around her neck. Gabriela did not join the Communist Party. She fell in love with a gentile boy, who was ready to convert to Judaism. The conversion was carried out by a rabbi in East Berlin. Gabriela said that Jews in East Germany conceal their Jewish faith for fear of losing their jobs. On Rosh Hashana, for a Bar Mitzva or wedding, a rabbi from Hungary or Czechoslovakia is brought. Gabriela has twin sons who are 16 years old. She The Jewish News Special Israel Correspondent TEL AVIV — A Jewish family from East Germany — a woman and her two sons— have been allowed to emigrate to Israel. East Germany has never ac- knowledged the existence of Israel. COM UTER PORTRAITS A tun idea for your • Bar Mitzva • Wedding • Business Guests Call etc. 477-2505 NORTHLAND AUTO TRANSPORTERS INC. SHIPS AUTOS TO: FLORIDA, ARIZONA, CALIF. FOR LOW RATES Insured CALL: 968-2228 21 040 Greenfied l Rd., Oak Park, Mi. 48237e 206 gave them Hebrew names — Gideon and Amnon. She and her husband were di- vorced. During the Yom Kippur War in 1973 it was forbid- den to watch West German TV, which showed the fight- ing Israeli troops. At school in Leipzig nobody knew that the twins were Jews, but it was revealed after they asked to be absent from school on Jewish high holi- days. A film about European Jewry, shown on West German TV, led to anti- Semitism in the school. The Honig boys were called "Jewish pigs." The teachers and principal ignored the incidents. The rowdies were not punished. Mrs. Honig appealed to the public authorities. A judge declared that the anti-Semitic campaign was staged by a boy of 14 and nothing could be done. Mrs. Honig decided to leave East Germany with her sons. She appealed to the East German authorites to grant exit permits. Her pleas were rejected. Only at the beginning of 1980, when she met in East Berlin a high government official, was she promised help. She was then sum- moned to the police. 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When they told their gentile classmates the news, some of them said that they wished they could leave with them. The few Jews in Leipzig who heard the story did not believe it. But Gabriela and her children are now in Is- rael, living in Pardess Hana. Gabriela is learning Hebrew in an ulpan and bookkeeping. The boys are in the children's village and go to school there. Once a week they work in the gar- den and in the kitchen. Birth Rate Falls JERUSALEM (ZINS) — The Central Bureau of Statistics reposts that the birth rate for Jews and non-Jews is falling in Israel. In 1980, there were 94,300 births in Israel, in- cluding 71,400 Jewish births and 22,900 non- Jewish. In the last 10 years, the average Jewish family has declined from 3.4 children to 2.8 children. The average non-Jewish family has de- clined from 7.7 children to 5.4 children in the same period. Israelis Like Life in Cities JERUSALEM (ZINS) — Last year about 40 percent of Israelis lived in cities with a population of over 100,000. Eight cities are in this category: Jerusalem (407,100); Tel Aviv (334,000); Haifa (230,000); Bat Yam (132,000); Holon (131,000); Ramat Gan (120,000); Petah Tikva (120,000), and Beersheba (110,000). Natanya had 98,000 residents, Rishon Lezion 92,000 and Bnei Brak 91,000. Fraternity Plans an Open House The Eta Chapter of Zeta Beta Tau Fraternity at the University of Michigan will have an open house for all U-M ZBT and Phi Sigma Delta alumni following the Ohio State — U-M football game Nov. 21. The open house will be held at the ZBT House, 928 Church, Ann Arbor. For in- formation, call ZBT, 663- 2341. JWB Grants . NEW YORK (JTA) — Jewish Welfare Board scholarships totalling $60,000 have been awarded to 20 students so that they can study for degrees in graduate social work schools. 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