24 Friday, April 1, 1983 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS ATTENTION* ** • MR. MARLOWE'S* * CUSTOM * TAILORING SHOP 4` ** • * • • Continues Low Prices on alterations & restyling * of clothes 4( Alterations of all kinds for men and women Specializing in Big & Tall *. Undoubtedly the lowest prices in town * Lapels narrowed * Pant legs * Ties narrowed 9, $24 4( $7* * * 17697 W. 10 Mile * Suite 100 M-S 8-8 * * 559-3770 * * * * * * * ** * * * * Observant Youth to Compete in Elizuria This Summer By ROBERT REBOLD World Zionist Press Service JERUSALEM — In the Hebrew name Elizur, liter- ally "God is my rock," spirit and earth are joined. This is indeed an appropriate title for a group which combines physical and religious ac- tivities. Elizur, now one of Israel's largest sports organiza- tions, is preparing for the Elizuria, its first interna- tional gathering. Designed as a sports and cultural event for religious and tra- ditional youth, the Elizuria games will be held in Israel CREATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRUCE "QUALITY PHOTOGRAPHS WITH THAT PERSONAL TOUCH PACKAGES TO MEET MOST BUDGETS" • Weddings • Anniversaries • Bar and Bat Mitzvahs • Special Occasions 15-30% OFF INVITATIONS 557-4257 HOURS BY APPOINTMENT Tokyo Oriental Health Spa • Whirlpool • Saunas • Showers • Oriental Staff • Muscle Pressure Massage • Private Rooms for Men & Women Open Mon.-Sat. 10 a.m.-1 a.m. Walk in or Appointment -1192 Ana Arbor Rd. 28841 Orchard Lake Rd. (Between Main & Sheldon) (Between 12 & 13 Mile) Plymouth • Farmington Hills 455-8822 553-2898 eh SAVE UP TO 60% ON DIAMONDS,, • We Sell Diamonds Only • By Appointment Only Call Jerry Turken at The New York Diamond Cutting Company 8 "The Diamond Cutters" 3000 Town Center, Southfield, Michigan::: 355-2300 July 25-Aug. 10. Young people age 15-19 will com- pete in a program ranging from basketball to judo and track and field to folk danc- ing. To create foreign interest, Elizuria organizers have also arranged extensive tours throughout Israel for the young sports enthusiasts, who can also bring their families. The Elizuria games mark another facet in Elizur's changing role. Established by Orthodox Jewish pioneers in 1939, Elizur was intended to provide a physical edu- cation program for reli- gious youngsters in Eretz Yisrael. The association's priorities were forced to shift during the 1940s when self-defense train- ing tended to replace sports activities. Elizur became a branch of the Hagana, the Jewish un- derground army. Under the guise of physical training, boys and girls prepared for combat. After the Holocaust, when British rule closed Palestine to thousands of Jewish refugees, Elizur helped slip "illegal" immig- rants ashore. By night, Elizur-manned boats brought fellow Jews from refugee camps to a new life. Elizur volunteers also worked in Displaced Per- sons camps in Europe to physically prepare refugees for the journey to Palestine. In 1948, the establish- ment of the state of Israel allowed Elizur to concen- trate on its role as a reli- gious sport organization. "We had a big job ahead of us. We had to convince reli- gious people that the physi- cal side of life and sport are very important," says Zeev Braverman, Elizur's secretary-general. Accord- ing to Braverman, pre-army fitness tests proved reli- gious youngsters to be in much poorer physical condi- tion than those from unob- servant families. "We wanted to prepare kids for the army and for a full, healthy life," says Braverman. "Improving health, not breaking re- cords, was our goal." Although Elizur ex- panded rapidly, the going was not always C th e yolk 1917 [).01,1,1 easy. "Outside Israel, many Jews lived in ghet- INFANTS • BOYS • GIRLS APPAREL • THRU SIZE 16 NEW.STORE POLICY 20% OFF* REGULAR MERCHANDISE AT ALL TIMES 'except selected items ARE YOUR CHILDREN READY FOR SPRING & SUMMER? LATEST SPRING & SUMMER FASHIONS. ARRIVING DAILY FOR INFANTS, BOYS, GIRLS thru size 16 USE OUR LAYAWAY. CiTeelin0 ORCHARD MALL / West Bloomfield Children's Shoppe Open Mon., Tues., Wed. & Sat. 10-6 / Thurs. & Fri. 10-9 Orchard Lake Rd. at Maple /851-5110 tos with the idea that sport was not a Jewish activity," says Braver- man. "It was difficult to change people's minds. But we did it." Appar- ently Braverman does not exaggerate. Today Elizur boasts about 25,000 members and 130 branches throughout Is- rael. Moshe Hyon, former champion in the 1,500 and 2,000-meter races, per- sonifies the need for religious-oriented sports training. A promising track competitor at 12 years old, Hyon represented Hapoel, the workers' sports organ- ization, until his discovery of Elizur five years later. Hyon, who now coaches track and field teams for Elizur and at Wingate Sports Institute, discusses the difficulties of the reli- gious athlete in a non- religious environment. "During one meet, I was left alone without food or friends in Frankfurt, Ger- many," says Hyon, who had refused to join his team- mates on a Shabat flight to Copenhagen. "Elizur doesn't just teach sport. It also gives a Jewish educa- tion," continues Hyon. "Our coaches are often religious and set a personal exam- ple." In addition to calis- thenics and stretching, Elizur training camps in- clude daily prayers, laying tefilin and eating kosher food. Both Hyon and Braver- man stress that Elizur's high standards meet those of any non-religious sports group. "When it comes to sport we're all the same," says Braverman. "It doesn't matter if you're religious or non-religious, Christian, Moslem or Jew. To jump is to jump." The women's basket- ball team, for example, has been at the top of the national league for six years and has done well in the European cham- pionships — a "female version of Maccabi Tel Aviv ..." At the Elizuria games this summer, competitions include volleyball, hand- ball, soccer, track and field, basketball, swimming, ten- nis, judo, baseball and chess. Besides developing mus- cles and stamina, the Elizuria is designed to encourage aliya. After the games, activities will focus on Jewish and Israeli cul- ture. Diaspora participants will tour Israel. To make the visit to Israel a family experience, Elizur is offering special programs for the parents of athletes. In addition to the con- centration on family and Judaism, Elizuria differs in other ways from the well known Maccabiah Games. Athletes of any age may play in the Mac- cabia, while Elizuria par- ticipation is limited to youngsters. This re- quirement was set speci- fically with aliya in mind. "It is better to start with A group of Orthodox boys prepare to compete in this summer's Elizuria games. younger people who are not as formed or set in their ways as adults are," says Elizur's Daniella Shacham. Elizuria organizers also feel that their system is fairer and allows more youngsters to come to Is- rael. Conceivably, in the Maccabiah Games a United States team comprised of players from a pool of six million could compete against. a Dutch team cho- sen from a few tens of thousands of Jewish players. Under this ar- rangement, say Elizuria of- ficials, the scales are tipped from the beginning. Elizuria players however, will come as representa- tives of community or syna- gogue clubs rather than of national units. "Our way allows more young people to participate, and bringing Jews from the Diaspora with an eye to Aliva is a primary goal," says Braverman. "For us, the Zionist meaning of Elizur is as important as its sports value." For Ethiopian Jews By PROF. CHARLES FISHMAN Brothers, sisters, what does it mean that you are not with us? that you have died of thirst on an earth babbling with water? that you have died of hunger in a world greasy with animal flesh? What does it mean that you have been eaten by disease and neglect? that you have drunk deeply at the well of brutality and murder? What does it mean to you, Enage Addissu? Four Daughters! Or to you, Yigzaw Melaku, whose sorrows are numbered in sons? The ground will warm again, trees yield their pomp of blossoms, but Teshale Atsuha, your wife! Tilahun Solomon, your daughters!Tamino Yiskias, your mother! Balambaras Yizhak, your sons! Sisters, brothers, why must our family Resemblance prove so painful. Yetemegnu Zenebe, I too am going blind from gazing at the scorched children of Ethiopa. Tsingo Haderai, my life has caught fire from these names that ignite. Solomon Tizazu! Wohade Wogidu! Astede Zeyssanu! Sahlitu Termias! Blood of my blood, your silence drinks me. Falashas, I will feed your names to my heart. Court Dismisses Racism Complaint Against LeMonde PARIS (JTA) — A Paris court dismissed "on basic legal grounds" the coin- plaint lodged by the Inter- national League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism (LICRA) against the French daily Le Monde and its former editor, Jacques Fauvet. LICRA had claimed in its plea that the daily had been guilty of "spreading racial hatred and anti-Semitism" last summer by publishing a virulently anti-Israel ad- vertisement. LICRA's attorney and witnesses called by the organization told the court that anti-Zionism is tan- tamount to anti-Semitism. The court, however, dismissed the complaint saying it was not justified on legal grounds as it did not fall under the specific law invoked by LICRA's attorney. The court added: "Moreover, it appeared from the court discussions that LICRA's own views on this subject are not shared by all of France's Jews."