THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Friday, June 4, 1982

Local Soviet Jewish Immigrant Critiques USSR Propaganda

cf)

(Continued from Page 1)
"The works of writers
Samuil Marshak, Ilya
Ehrenburg, Pavel An-
takolsky, Vera Inber, Ed-
ward Bagritsky, Isaac
Babel, Emmanuel
Kazakevich, Mikhail Svet-
lov, Nathan Rybak and
many others have won uni-
versal recognition among
Soviet people and readers in
any foreign countries.
C t "Among the world-
famous winners of interna-
tional competitions and re-

Dally—Hospital
Sympathy

FRUIT
ASKETS

(3 Times Daily
Nation-Wide
Delivery

$

1 795

RODNICK-
McINERNEY'S
772-4350

SAY IT
WITH
TREES

JEWISH
NATIONAL FUND,

27308 SOUTHFIELD
SFLD, MI. 48076
557-6644

Monday thru Thursday,
9AM to 5 PM
Friday 9 AM to 4 PM

KEREN KAYEMETH LEISRAFL

1••.==,

(..,=== i

cipients of the Lenin and
State Prizes of the USSR
you will find the violinists
David Oistrakh and Leonid
Kogan, the outstanding
ballerina Maya
Plisetskaya, filth directors
Mikhail Romm, Mark
Donskoi, Grigory Roshal,
Sergei Yutkevich and
Roman Karmen; the famous
Bolshoi Theater bass Mark
Reisen; the elder of Soviet
jazz Leonard Utesov; Ar-
kadi Raikin, the popular
satirical and humorous skit
performer, and many other
musicians, actos and cul-
tural figures.
"Of the total number of
Lenin and State Prize
winners in literature are
art, Jews make up 9.2 and
11.0 percent respectively,
while they make up only
0.7 of the entire popula-
tion of the USSR.
"But what about Jewish
national culture? Some
people in the West believe it
is being pushed into the
background. Is that really
the case?
"According to statistics,
271 books by Jewish
authors (total number of
copies: 18 million) have
come out in Yiddish since
1967.
"In 1980 alone 24 books
in Yiddish came out in mass
editions. Moreover, the
works of Soviet Jewish
writers have become the
property of the whole of
Soviet culture thanks to
translations into the other
languages spoken in the
USSR .. .
The works of the
Jewish classical writers
are widely published in
the USSR. Sholom
Aleichem came out in the
USSR translated into 24
languages (9,500,000
copies); the works of
Itsyk Perets were re-
printed 50 times and the
works of Mendel
Moher-Sforim, 33 times.
"In recent years, Soviet
Jewish prose has been
enriched by a number of
works by contemporary
authors which have been
received with interest not
only in the Soviet Union but
abroad as well. What I mean
is the Yiddish editions of
novels by I. Falikman, H
Melamud, I. Rabin, Note
Lurie, G. Dobin, G.
Polyanker, S. Gordon, T.
Gen, N. Zabra and many
others. Most of these works
came out simultaneously in
Russian translation in edi-

•• ■ •,====.0
' •=•••=0

f=....• ■ =4

r Do you need to be
altered?
I

Osmun's Alterations Service gives men
and women fits—with professional tailoring
that solves your problems. We take things
in, let things out, mate older things look
newer, make repairs, and, generally, sew a
fine seam. Come to Osmun's and let us
help you change your clothes.

OSIVIUIRIS

Tel-12 Mall, Southfield • Oakland Mall, Troy
MeadowBrook Village Mall, Rochester
Tech-Plaza Center, Warren

01.11=1.731•74 fINICCO=17.1.

111:102/101=12 ■ 4-4.=, 4.1=C=1=4

I

tions up to 100,000 copies have been Russian because
each . . .
most Jews in Russia do not
"Jewish theater and speak Yiddish.
music have also achieved
With the exception of the
considerable success. The pre-revolutionary classics
Jewish Chamber Musical the books issued are not
Theater, supervised by the really literature (as well as
talented director Yuri most of the books published
Sherling, is currently very in Russia) and they are
popular . . . "Jewish" only because their
"Besides professional authors are Jews from the
companies, amateur Jewish point of view of the Russian
theatrical and musical authorities.
groups, organized with the
I think that of those 271
help of cultural and trade books mentioned a big
union organizations in percentage are transla-
localities with a large tions from Russian. As
Jewish population, also far as I known no Jewish
enjoy great popularity. fiction books are pub-
Among these are people's lished at all. I never
theaters and ensembles in heard of any book on
Birobidzhan, Vilnius, Jewish history published
Kaunas and Kishenev. in the last 20 years. _
These amateur groups con-
I know that "samizdat"
sist mostly of young people (underground or un-
under thirty.
authorized) magazines have
"Music albums with re- been suppressed by the
cordings of the most popular KGB (and the editor of
Jewish music come out reg- "Jews in USSR," Victor
ularly. For instance, in 1981 Brailovsky, was exiled).
alone the recording com-
The Jewish Chamber
pany Melodiaput out an
album which included Musical Theater is indeed
Sergei Prokofiev's 'over- very good, but only a small
tures on Jewish Themes" percentage of their per-
played by the State Sym- formances are in the USSR,
phony Orchestra of the the rest abroad. Amateur
USSR, as well as a vocal Jewish groups are very
score set to Jewish poetry by popular, but the unofficial
Dmitri Shostakovich and a groups cannot exist longer
two-record album of 'A than a couple of months. In
Black Bridle for a White Moscow, the KGB was so
disappointed with one such
Mare.' . ."
group that they even de-
MAKOR-LIMANOV:
Though the persons men- cided to give permission to
tioned are ethnic Jews, they emigrate to its leaders,
are not Jewish writers as Azarch and Zhits.
you understand it here (in The records mentioned by
the U.S.). The Jewish theme Novoti were really pub-
is not their main theme, lished, but it is very difficult
though occasionally they to buy a record with Jewish
have Jews as heroes. As far songs.
as I remember, eight of the
What is written here by
writers are dead.
Novosti is more or less true,
The figures given for but they consider as a Jew
Lenin and State Prizes are any person who has "Jew"
from 1917. It seems to me on his passport and I cannot
that figures for last 10 years understand how it could be
are absolutely different. called "Jewish cultural life"
Hebrew, in the USSR, to have an ethnic Jew (an
officially is not a language unobservant Jew who has
(it is not possible to register no knowledge of Judaism)
as a teacher of Hebrew.) translating English poems
That's why they speak into Russian, even if he was
about Yiddish. With the awarded both the Lenin and
same success they could State prizes.

Israeli Pilot's Remains Buried

JERUSALEM (JTA) — sequently joined the Air
The remains of Maj. Force where he excelled in
Jonathan Ophir, an Israel the pilot training course.
Air Force pilot missing in He disappeared during a
action 81/2 years after the mission over the Nile delta
Yom Kippur War, were laid on October 11, 1973. It was
to rest in the military hoped that he and his
cemetery on Mt. Herzl navigator, Eiran Cohen,
Tuesday. bailed out safely. But they
The remains were re- were not among the pris-
cently handed over to Is- oners of war returned by
raeli authorities by the Egypt.
Egyptians.
The pilot's mother, wife NY Reps Ask
and his daughter, along
with hundreds of other Israel Support
mourners, were at the
ALBANY, N.Y. (JTA) —
graveside as the chief army The New York State Legis-
chaplain, Rabbi Gad Navon, lature adopted a joint reso-
eulogized Ophir as "one of lution last week calling on
the true heroes of Israel" President Reagan and Con-
who made it possible for gress to protect the position
"the Jewish people to live in of Israel in the United Na-
this country." tions.
Ophir was born at Kibutz The resolution was intro-
Ein Harod but lived in duced by State Minority
Beersheva since age 9. He Leader Manfred Ohrens-
served as an officer in the tein, Democrat of Manhat-
paratroop unit that cap- tan, and Assembly Deputy
tured Gaza in the 1967 Majority Leader Alan
Six-Day War and sub- Hevesi.

Novosti's Version
of Passover

"The several thousand be-
lievers who assembled on
April 8 at the Moscow
Choral Synagogue to attend
the Passover service were
addressed by Chief Rabbi
Jacob Fishman. The choir
was led by Cantors Emanuil
Kaplun from Moscow and
Mikhail Arons from Riga.
"The traditional four
glasses of grape wine were
drunk and national Jewish
dishes were served at the
festive Seder. The dishes
were prepared by Svetlana
Zelenitskaya, chef of the
kosher dining room.
"Most of the believers
went home after the serv-
ice to take part in Seders
together with relatives
and friends. Some people
remained in the syna-
gogue and sang and
danced right there in the
street. In the current
year, the matzot bakery
produced 135 tons of
matzot, while a total of
more than 700 tons were
sold in the Judaic com-
munities all over the
Soviet Union.
"Matvey Lifshitz, the cut-
ter, was extremely busy on
the eve of the holiday, for he
had to supply kosher meat
and poultry not only to the
Seder in the synagogue, but
also to individual members
of the community on their
request . ."
MAKOR-LIMANOV: It
is true that on all major
holidays thousands of Jews
(though not all of them are
believers) come to the syna-
gogue. In Moscow there is
only one synagogue. It is
also true that on the street
near the synagogue KGB

agents take photographs o
the crowd. Most of the Jew:
are of course on the street w
there is not enough room it
the synagogue.
From this release yot
could infer that believers it
Russia have no problem;
with kosher food. It is not
true. Kosher food is not ob-
tainable in any of the stores
In a large community such
as Moscow, they have
schokhet, but in the smaller
communities as a rule they
have no shokhet. It is not
possible to buy religious.
books, religious articles or
chabat candles.
During last two years the
KGB has rather suc-
cessfully tried to stop Torah
study (especially by the
Jewish youth).
So the impression which
you could receive from this
release is absolutely false.

OFFICiAl

AGENCY

OMEGA

OUR OMEGA COLLECTION FROM Si1S

George Ohrenstein
Jewelers, Ltd.

Creative Jewelers

HARVARD ROW MALL

lahser & I I Mile Rd.

353-3146

-----

900

Special Purchase

'81 SAAB 900 Sedans.

Automatic, Sunroof, Air Cond., Stereo/Cassette,
Sound System, Molding Pkg., Plus Much More, Full
Factory Warranty, Very Low Mileage.

0•N°°6 ; $ 1 2. 6 95

Lower Prices — Better Service
What More Could You Ask!

2.47/77c717

Oldsmobile-Saab

28000 Telegraph
At The Tel-12 Mall