22 Friday, September 30, 1983 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Jews of Northern Michigan in Struggle to Maintain Community INDIANAPOLIS — The battle to keep the Jewish community alive in the Houghton area of northern Michigan was described by Harvey L. Sachs, a professor at Michigan Technological University, in a recent Jewish Post and Opinion ar- ticle. In the story, Prof. Sachs asked, "Can a Jewish com- munity exist in the remote Upper Peninsula of Michi- gan?" The article continued: "The Jewish community at Temple Jacob in Han- cock, Mich., across the Keweenaw Waterway from Houghton, thrived before the 1914 mine strike that reduced the populous Cop- per Country from a bustling center of 85,000 to ghost towns and decaying cities. "The beautiful Temple Jacob synagogue re- mains but is active only during the high holidays when a student rabbi is brought in. No regular shabat services are held. The Midrasha College of Jewish Studies and The Greater Detroit Chapter of Hadassah Present Their FALL LECTURE, LUNCH A.ND LEARNING SERIES Where: Midrosho College of Jewish Studies United Hebrew Schools • 21550 West Twelve Mile Rood • 352-7117/354-1050 THE PROGRAM Opening Lecture: October 6, 1983 "Con American Jews Survive Without Israel?" Dr. Yehudo Rosenman, Sociologist, National Director of Jewish Communal Affairs, American Jewish Committee. Followed by Lunch at Noon Mini-Courses: Choose one of the courses listed below October 13 - November 3 "Is It Good For The Jews? — Living in Latin America" Dr. Judith Laikin Elkin Or "Radicals, Rebels and Realists: Social Movements in Modern Jewish Life" Dr. Jonathan Fishbane Or "A Menorah Is A Menorah Is A Menorah? — Jewish Festival and Ceremonial Observance: An Unorthodox View" Dr. Joseph Gutmann Or "The Camera Views Creation: A New Look at Genesis" Dr. Gerald A. Teller Closing Lecture: November 10 "Christian Support For Israel in Congress and the Community"Mark D. Siljander, Republican Congressman, 4th Congressional District, Member of Foreign Affairs Committee, Sub-Committee on Europe and Middle East REGISTRATION Nome Home Phone Address I need Plan Plan Plan City babysitting - Name of Child A - $30 includes lectures, classes and two lunches B - $15 includes classes on October 13 - November 3 C - $15 includes lectures on October 6 and Nov. 10 and lunches Class Bus. Phone Zip Age Please indicate your choice of Plan A, B or C 1st choice Mail to: Midrasha College of Jewish Studies 21550 W. Twelve Mile Road • Southfield, Michigan 48076 2nd choice Make checks payable to: Midrasha College of Jewish Studies Yet, thanks to a steady turnover of Jewish fa- culty members passing through Michigan Technological Univer- sity, the congregation persists. "The community's older generation is still made up of the German Jews almost single handedly saved from the Holocaust through the efforts of the late Norbert Kahn who financed and sponsored nearly 40 rela- tives before the Nazis cut them off. "There is no kosher butcher in 'Copper Coun- try,' and anyone wanting Pass'over matzot must transport them at least 250 miles, for the largest town in the Upper Peninsula is. Marquette with only 30,000 people — and it is 100 miles away. Besides the student rabbi imported for two weeks a year, we are visited occasionally by a Luba- vitcher rebbe. "Jews in the Upper Peninsula's wintry forests (six months of snow) are al- most as rare as elephants, and we are sometimes vis- ited by people who have never seen a Jew and ex- perience us with the same curiosity and awe as they would when seeing an elephant for the first time. Then in spite of our limited resources and educations, we are spokesmen for the Jewish people and Judaism. "What we need is a lay rabbi, someone who can earn his own livelihood and still serve as a spiritual leader. Unfor- tunately, that is not what American yeshivas pro- duce. In the meantime we fend off the persistent ef- forts of missionaries who see us as fair game, and we hope that our children will some day be able to date someone Jewish. We can import matzot and Jewish books, but not Jewish companisonship. Assimilation is a near certainty. "Half a million American Jews live in small towns, but though there was an air- lift to save the 30,000 Jews in Iran from Moslem fana- tics, there is no program to save our children from as- similation, no scholarships to Jewish summer camps, no source of teachers beyond the community's financial means. "The most we hear from the world Jewish commun- ity is appeals for funds for Israel. I would like to see some large city congrega- tion adopt us. If something is not done, we, like the Jews of China, will _simply disappear. MDA was Brainchild of Miami Beach Doctor NEW YORK — Magen David Adorn (MDA), Isre- al's emergency medical ser- vice, was the brainchild of Dr. Cecelia Davis, now 91 years old and living in Miami Beach. In 1918, Dr. Davis mobilized Zionists in Chicago and other Ameri- can communities to assist young Jewish men who were going to Palestine to fight with the British dur- ing World War I. The doctor and others like herself pro- vided the young soldiers with meals and lodging as they left for the Middle East. One man she personally administered to was David Ben-Gurion. She insisted that the fledgling Jewish Claim Rosenberg Ally Surfaced in Soviet Union DR. CECELIA DAVIS service organization be symbolized by a Red Magen David, the Jewish Star of David. Dr. Davis' idea became an official reality on May 7, 1930 in Tel Aviv when MDA in Israel was founded by several dozen dedicated volunteers as the first aid society for the city of Tel Aviv. MDA was recognized by Knesset law in 1950 as Is- rael's official emergency medical service. The International Red Cross and the Soviety of Red Cross do not recognize the Red Star of David emblem and, therefore, MDA is excluded from membership in these organizations. WASHINGTON — A long-missing associate of Julius Rosenberg, the American executed in 1953 for espionage, may have as- sumed a new identity in the Soviet Union, according to Mark Kuchment, a science historian at Harvard Uni- versity. Kuchment has uncovered evidence that Alfred Sarant fled across the U.S.- Blast Injures 5 JERUSALEM (JTA) — Mexican border shortly after Rosenberg's arrest Five people were slightly in- and, under the name Philip jured Sunday when a hand Staros, lived and worked in grenade was thrown into Russia until his death in the Nablus municipal park- 1979. Sarant reportedly ing lot. The wounded were played a key role in the de- an Israel Defense Force sol- velopment of Soviet milit- dier, an Israeli border patrol policeman and three Arabs. ary computers.