THE DETROITF AMR NEWS Jews of Tenerife,Canary Islands By DR. SAMUEL GRAND NEW YORK— Tenerife's small Jewish community consists of 14 families in Santa Cruz and one lone couple, Marco and Estrella Cohen in the popular resort center, Puerto de la Cruz. Sinai Payment Ind icative of Society? TEL AVIV (ZINS) — Is- raeli newspapers continue _ to criticize the payments given to the settlers who were forced to leave their homes in Sinai last April when the area was returned to Egypt. Some estimate the total payments as high as $500 million. One Maariv reporter wrote: "We, the whole state of Is- rael, are involved in a famil- iar process. In the course of 30 years we have become transformed from a poor community, sustaining it- self by its own means, into a public which holds on to a standard of living not in keeping with its pos- sibilities and efforts but one that is dependent on sup- port from foreign sources. "Our attitude is that `it's coming to us' from our rich cousins in America, which are not only obligated to see to it that we should have a strong army but also that we should enjoy im- ported luxuries; fancy apartments and travel abroad. "And inasmuch as the residents of Yamit and the Sinai settlements were at one time different and now have become just like us, it is perhaps worth pondering how this transformation took place. Perhaps we might learn something about what is happening to us . . ." NY Hearing Test NEW YORK (JTA) — A program to test the hearing of 5,000 yeshiva students in the New York metropolitan area is underway by use of a hearing and speech van of the Lexington School of the Deaf, according to the Fed- eration of Jewish Philan- thropies. The name "Segal" and its variations is derived from the Hebrew word meaning "treasure." Our first contact was with Pinhas Abecassis, head of the island's Jewish commu- nity, who received us in his busy office on Calle Villalba Hervas. He introduced us to Josef Assor who acts as our gpiritual leader and vice president of the Jewish community. Assor, 'originally from Tangiers, smiled modestly as he explained his role in French-accented English. "I can chant the Hebrew prayers quite well but I wish I knew more. There is no one here in Santa Cruz who can read from the To- rah. The only time we open the Scroll is on Yom Kippur when we invite someone more learned from Madrid to lead our services on that important holy day. , To appreciate the es- sence and integrity of this tiny community, one must see the small sanctuary, a converted living room in a rented apartment on the fifth floor of Calle San Jose, 18-20. The focus of inter- est is the Holy Ark which contains a Torah from Vienna in an embroi- dered velvet mantle from IT'S ANYBODY'S GUESS T he phrase has been showing up in the papers with sur- prising regularity in recent days. What will the selection of Yuri An- dropov as the new leader of the Soviet Union mean for relations between the USA and the USSR? It's anybody's guess, say the pundits. What will be the impact of Ted Kennedy's decision not to seek the presidency in '84 on the Democratic party and the electorate as a whole? It's anybody's guess, the analysts and commentators respond. What uniform will Steve Garvey be wearing next season now that he will no longer be in Dodger blue? It's anybody's guess, 'answer the sport- swriters. (This one may be answered soon, if not already, unlike the other imponderables mentioned above.) That is true of much of life. We simply do not know. We speculate and then we await the unanticipated outcome. Is the winter going to be severe as predicted by the caterpillars and the Farmer's Almanac, or mild as seen by the federal weather forecasters? When is the depression going to bottom-out and the economic upturn begin? It's anybody's guess . But there are some things that have come about because it was somebody's faith. Flip the switch and the room is flooded with incandescent light. That happens because it was Edison's faith. Even after hundreds of failures in finding a filament that - transforms electrical current into ra- diance without burning away, he stayed with the task.. Failures were not counted as failures, but rather as new knowledge of what would not work. We have light because Edison had faith. Democracy? A free society in which government is the servant of the people and not their master. We have it because it was the faith of peo- ple like Jefferson and Madison and Franklin and Paine. Yellow fever and polio? They are no longer scourges to the human family, because of the faith of men like Walter Reed and Jonas Salk. People dream and those dreams come true. Persons of faith and courage and perseverance grab hold of daring dreams and refuse to leave the results to chance. The unity of the family of humankind? A society free of pre- judice and bigotry and discrimina- tion? A land where white children and black children can grow up together with mutuality and respect? A nation where equality of oppor- tunity is the birthright of every girl and boy? These are things that we cannot leave to anybody's guess. These are dreams we must make come true. Friday, December 11 1982 Passover Tour Planned Morocco. Above the Ark stands an elegant wrought-iron seven- branched candelabrum. In the center of the sanctuary is a reading desk decorated with a red velvet cloth. The Comunidad Israelita de Tenerife was officially recognized by the Spanish government in 1972, and, more recently, has acquired cemetery grounds. Abecas- sis explained that these in- stitutions are mainly by a monthly assessment paid by each family. The Jewish residents of Santa Cruz include a silversmith and merchants who deal in children's clo- thing, furs, electronic equipment and also a, pharmacist. Most of the Jewish families are Sephardic, largely from Tetuan and Tangiers in , Morocco. There is, however, a Jewish woman physician who originally came from Germany. - Accoring to Abecassis, the Jews of Santa Cruz are well integrated into the total community. Their children attend the local schools and receive their Jewish religious instruction from their parents. Some of the youngsters, especially the teenagers, supplement this instruction with vaca- tion trips to Israel. Bahama Princess Hotel in Freeport. Universal Kosher Tours is offering a kosher Passover tour from March 28 to April 5 at the Dip- lomat Hotel in Hollywood, Fla. Families can participate in a group Seder conducted by Cantor Jerry Markovitz. Additional hotels will be available in the Bahamas on the tour. They include the Ambassador Beach Hotel and the Nassau Beach Hotel in Nassau and the Space is limited. For de- tails, contact Universal Kosher Tours, 5 Penn Plaza, New York, N.Y.10001. 1 L LARRY AR R Y FREEDMAN -- Orchestra ad Eitenahmeet 1 HOUSE of SHUTTERS 647-2367 - SINCE 1959 Call Now For Free Home Estimates RESIDENTIAL-COMMERCIAL ( CUSTOM WINDOW SHADES' 60% OFF HORIZONTAL 1" blinds many decorator colors CUSTOM SHUTTERS Horizontal & Vertical by LEVOLOR e- y Joanna, Mastercraft 60% OFF VERTICAL BLINDS aluminum decorator cloths & suedes. - P.V.C. macrame, wood ;17 HOUSE of ,SHUTTERS , excluding previous orders 559-4668 - - • • - 25511 SOUTHFIELD RD., SOUTHFIELD'', LEADING CANADIAN CAMP Is LOOKING FOR A REPRESENTATIVE CAMP WALDEN, CANADA —A co-educational summer camp for young people ages 7-16 is looking for a camp representative in your area. The Camp, in operation since 1970, is based in Toronto and has 300 campers from Canada, the U.S.A., and Mexico. Camp Walden is a Jewish cultural group-oriented camp which offers all age groups a wide variety of activities including all water sports, land sports, visual and performing arts and a variety of special programs. The Camp is located in a beautiful private woodland setting north- east of Toronto and northwest of Montreal, in Ontario. The site has 1000 acres and two private lakes. The food is kosher style. If you are interested in such a position, you should: • have contacts in the Jewish community with families who have children of camp age • have knowledge of camp life • be interested in actively representing the camp For further information regarding the position and commission, or if you would like to receive one of our brochures, write or call collect: TED COLE—DIRECTOR 3995 Bathurst Street, Suite 206 Downsview, Ontario, Canada M3H 5V3 • (416) 635-0049 Staff applications are now being accepted for the 1983 season. Our fees are in Canadian Currency – with the favorable exchange rate, U.S. dollars go further in Canada. (Don McEvoy is Senior Vice President of the National Conference' of Christians and Jews. The opinions expressed are his own.) ,fi"!4"7.