THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS van= nalz mu'? to all nalz nu t13"2 't:11DT1 to all our friends our friends and relatives and relatives ABE, BLANCH, ELLIOT & PAULA DUKE MR. & MRS. RUBIN HERMAN & RONNIE We wish our family and friends a very healthy, happy and prosperous New Year LANKA & MARTIN ILKOW We wish our family and friends a very healthy, happy and prosperous New Year THE STERNfAMILY KARL, MARGIE, MICHAEL& BRIAN We wish our family and friends a very healthy, happy and prosperous New Year MR. & MRS. LEO WEBER & FAMILY We wish our family and friends a very healthy, happy and prosperous New Year LOIS & LOU ZAHLER Wishing all our family and friends a year of health and happiness BARBARA & LARRY EISENBERG Wishing all our family and friends a year of health and happiness DAN & DIANE HECHTMAN & FAMILY Friday, September 17, 1982 105 The Ostrich Man of th e Negev By BILL CLARK Israel Scene Magazine JERUSALEM — Accord- ing to the Bible, the ostrich is cruel, unclean, mournful, forgetful and just plain stupid. But Mike Van Greven- broek is ready to forgive all these shortcomings. He also regards this giant flightless bird as beautiful, ecologi- cally appropriate and finan- cially lucrative. Working with a one- square-kilometer farm about 40 kilometers west of Beersheba, Mike is now putting together Israel's first ostrich farm. In fact, it's the only ranch for these ungainly birds outside Soath Africa. The Dutch farmer, who for 10 years managed Is- rael's Hai-Bar wildlife re- serve, is quick to point out that the ostrich was always a common sight in the Negev Desert. Be- sides Job, the great bird was seen by Jeremiah, Isaiah, Micah and many other prophets, saints, and recluses who went to the desert to seek sol- itude and wisdom. "We know for sure that ostriches were to be found all around this region," Mike notes. "So it's obvious they should do quite well here. This is their habitat. They're well suited to the climate and the vegetation. They make a lot more sense here than many of the exotic farm animals imported from Europe and America." With his flock numbering nearly 40 birds now, Mike expects to have hundreds next spring, when most of his birds will be mature and producing up to 20 eggs each. His plan is to raise a large number of ostriches and then sell them to other farmers, both in Israel and abroad. He also plans to sell the feathers to fashion houses. He has made several in- novations. He touches a fence, and it shakes for 10 meters in both directions. * * "One of a farmer's biggest problems is caused by ani- mals running into fences. And the problems is even bigger for herds of flocking animals, like ostriches, or even cattle or sheep. If they're startled, they run. And since you can see through fences, they often run right into the fence and hurt them- selves. And if there's a - large flock of 20 animals or so, they can run into one another and receive many injuries. "But this fence is flexible, and it radiates shock. When a single animal bumps against it, it quivers, and any other animals change direction and avoid it. This eliminates pile-ups." Another innovation is his farm house: "It ought to be a museum piece," says Mike, pointing to a small hill where a cluster of old rail- road cars stand. "They're a century old, and as solid-as any private house you can find . . . More solid, in fact." The cars are British-built railway wagons designed to transport horses. The Turks bought them in 1881 for use by their army, and after World War I they were side-tracked, so to speak. They kept well in Israel's arid climate. For less than $1,000 the rail cars were purchased and delivered to the farm, giving an unusual, yet serviceable, home that is quite a bit larger than the average Israeli_ apartment. With a little more money, the cars were restored, win- dows and doors opened, and a new home made. innovations Other abound, but perhaps the greatest innovation is the man who put it together, and the system under which it functions. Mike Van Grevenbroek is showing that there is still room for individualism in Israel. "I love it," he says with a vanDn nalz nan broad grin. "12 m my own boss. I solve my own prob- lems. And I make my own living." Best wishes for a happy, healthy New Year ' to all our friends and relatives MARSHALL & ESTYR REICHSTEIN HUGO ICZKOVITZ & FAMILY 1 . We wish our family and friends a very healthy, happy and prosperous New Year THE KANDELS, EITAN, LISA & DANIELLE -Palm Beach, Gardens, Fla. We wish our family and friends a very healthy, happy and prosperous New Year TUT, ANITA, MIKKI & JAY MENTZEL We wish our family and friends a very healthy, happy and prosperous New Year MR. & MRS. ERNEST STECKER We wish our family and friends a very healthy, happy and prosperous New Year MAURICE & LILYAN VICTOR Wishing all our family and friends a year of health and happiness Wishing all our family and friends a year of health and happiness MR. & MRS. SAM SELTZER & FAMILY * o , Wishing all our family and friends a year of health and happiness ' Wishing all our family and friends a year of health and happiness IRVING & FLORENCE HERMELIN 'mike Van Grevenbroek with his ostriches ‘P 4 Wishing all our family and friends a year of health and happiness No Peaceful Co-Existence Wishing all our family and friends a year of health and happiness PAULA & MAURICE POSEN & FAMILY "There will be no exist- ence for either the Palesti- nian people or for Israel un- less one of them disappears. The Arabs must deal with the Palestinian problem from the vantage point that there will be no peaceful co-existence with Israel. "The PLO has no right to discuss recognition of the enemy Zionist state. The final goal of the PLO is to restore to the Palestinian people sovereignty over its lands, and there to establish the independent state." The above statement was made by Khaled Hassan, political adviser to Yasir Arafat, in a Jan. 12, 1982 interview with the Arab newspaper Sada Usbu. Wishing all our family and friends a year of health and happiness