10 Friday, November 4, 1983 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Russian Immigration and Links to South By JOSEPH COHEN NEW ORLEANS — Now, a century after it began, the mass exodus of Jews from Russia, with the emigration of the majority of them to the United States, has as- sumed the proportions of a saga, intermingling stories of courage and despair, de- feat and heroism, against a background of endurance and survival, backed by the determination to "make it" in America. The saga is a love story basically, the love affair be- tween the Jew and the "Golden Land" of opportu- nity. Like the Book of Exodus, history, revelation, miracle, chronicle, legend and myth have come together again to give us a panorama of a human event so rich in its diversity that we never tire of hearing yet another story about life anew in an hos- pitable but strange and be- wildering'country. As early as 1905, Charles B. Bern- heimer's "The Russian Jew in the United States" was being widely read and discussed, and from that time forward to the present day when "Fid- dler on the Roof" is again playing to record crowds all over the country, the interest in the lives of East European immig- rants has held us in its grip. For that reason, readers of "The East European Jewish Experience in America" (American Jewish Archives, with dis- tribution by Ktav), edited by Uri D. Herscher, will find the eight accounts of the immigrant and settlement experiences not merely an absorbing excursion into American Jewish history, but in many instances it will, as such books now do, become a launching pad for a quest into their own ori- gins. The book is subtitled "A Century of Memories, 1882-1982." The accounts rival one another in the simple retel- ling of personal experiences by immigrants themselves or by their children, selected from the rich repos- itory of the American Jewish Archives in Cincin- nati. Among the best ac- counts are those by Alexan- der Harkavy who became well known to the immig- rant community through his self-help books designed to turn "greenhorns" into American citizens, and by Isaac Don Levine, who, like Harkavy, became a widely- read American journalist and author. With the reading of the narratives, I was myself transported back to my own early years when several of my grandparents and a whole host of great uncles, whiskered and portly, and great aunts, poured into wardrobes of petticoats, were still familiar figures — I can to this day hear each of their old world accents — sitting on front porches especially in the Tennessee and Kentucky summers of the 1930s, reminiscing about life in their eastern European towns and shtetls. In his declining years my father did not think it im- portant to dwell much on his earlier years — he was too much absorbed in the present = but some records have survived and some ac- counts of him figure in the reminiscences of others so that I know some of the tales he never told me. Among them is the one of how he came to marry my mother. He was 15 years old in 1906 when he came to America from Druskeniki, a spa and resort town near the Polish-Lithuanian border, where his parents owned a grocery. Two older brothers preceded him to America, Balfour Concert Anniversary Cheered Locally, Nationally Messages congratulating the Zionist Organization of Detroit on the 50th an- niversary of the Balfour Concert, made known at the annual event Sunday eve- ning at Ford Auditorium, provided national as well as local interest in the Zionist accomplishments here. In his address to the capacity audience, Dr. Les- ter Zeff, co-chairman of the event, announced that greetings were received from President Ronald Re- agan, members of Congress, national Jewish leaders as well as local associates in the movement. Combining his cantorial and operatic skills, Paul Cuomo Calls for Bi-Partisan U.S. Policy in Middle East NEW YORK (JTA) — Governor Mario Cuomo of New York, in an address to 800 Israel Bond leaders last week, called on the Reagan Administration to convene a meeting of top Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate and the House to formulate a bi-partisan pol- icy for the Middle East. Pointing out that he pro- posed the meeting in letters sent to Senators Daniel Moynihan (D-N.Y.), How- ard Baker (R-Tenn.) and Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) as well as other Congressional leaders, the Governor as- serted that there is serious confusion about what the United States should do next, following the tragic loss of lives of American Marines in Lebanon. "The President should consider immediately con- vening a bi-partisan Middle East Task Force," he stated. "Such a body would gather all of our foremost elected leaders, as well as policy makers responsible for the region, around the same table to seek a solution that can be adopted by both our major parties. Such an ap- proach' is paramount when we are dealing with issues of life and death." Gov. Cuomo made his re- marks at an Israel Bond tes- timonial luncheon honoring real estate developer Larry Silverstein at the Pierre Hotel. Zim, who has gained a large following as a folksinger, highlighted the evening's program. Zim's interpretations of the traditional prayers, his introduction of the latest Israeli songs, in- cluding "Am Yisrael Chai" which he co- composed, kept the audi- ence until the end of a long program which did not conclude until the hour of 11. With him on the program was the Israeli pianist- composer Amiram Rigai, who played some of his own compositions, and Fay Nicoll, popular singer who presented a group of Yid- dish and Hebrew selections. Also on the program were the Winged Victory Sin- gers. Mack Pitt conducted the participating orchestra. Max Sosin, who co- chaired the concert commit- tee with Dr. Zeff, was the evening's master of cere- monies. The gathering also was welcomed in greetings by Lillian (Mrs. Ira) Kauf- man, who headed the women's committee for the concert, and ZOD President Leonard Herman. and as they had settled in western Kentucky, he joined them there. For several years they peddled together or sepa- rately, suffering the usual privations, living out on the road on crackers and cheese, sometimes sleeping in barns, enduring cold weather and hot, rain and snow, slowly putting money aside against the day they could acquire a store of their own. Indeed, my father's oldest brother, my late Uncle Alec, and my father seemed al- ways to be in competition with one another. But as times were hard, they pooled their resources and opened a store together in Greenville, Ky. in August 1909, buying and selling hides, furs, and junk. They had each accumulated over $100. The business pros- pered and in 1910 they ac- quired a larger building. At the time, my father, though he was still young, was courting my Aunt Jet- tie. On one occasion, he made the mistake of taking Uncle Alec with him to Guthrie, Ky. where Aunt Jettie lived. Uncle Alec forthwith fell in love with Aunt Jettie. When the two brothers got back to Green- ville, they opened their store for business on Mon- day morning bat were too busy arguing over who was to court Aunt Jettie to con- centrate on work. After two days, their pa- tience growing thin, they locked the store, went be- hind it and settled their dif- ferences in a manner asso- ciated more with American roughnecks than well- trained Talmud students. That haS always seemed a wonder to me because both of them had been reared in a proper Jewish home where fighting was forbidden. Moreover, they were both gentle people. In any case, Uncle Alec won. That broke up the business. Shortly thereaf- ter, my father opened his own store- buying and sell- ing hides, wool, ginseng and junk. When Uncle Alec married Aunt Jettie, my father was best man. My mother came to the wedding as two of her sisters were bridesmaids. It was not too long after- wards that my parents be- came engaged, and, in due course they were married. It never bothered me that my father lost the fight. After all, if he had won it I wouldn't be here to write about it. Experience is more force- ful than logic. —Abravanel Zedakah Founder Dies at 92 Ann M. Weinbeck, a founder of the Zedakah Club, died Oct. 23 at age 92. A Detroiter for more than 50 years, Mrs. Weinbeck moved to Florida prior to World War II. While in Detroit, she was a past worthy matron of the Purity Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star; a founder of the Ann Weinbeck Chap- ter of the Rainbow Girls and was active in Women's Bicur Cholem, Zedakah Club and in other Jewish and civic causes. She is survived by a brother, Abraham Moss of Southfield; and two nieces, ANN WEINBECK Dody Schlesinger of Franklin and Mildred Crys- tle of Miami Shores, Fla. Lebanon Factions Irwin Tamler JERUSALEM (ZINS) — According to Beirut's Al Amal newspaper, there are one million Shiite Moslems in Lebanon, 600,000 Sunni Moslems, 600,000 Maronite Christians, 500,000 Pales- tinians, 400,000 Greek Or- thodox, 300,000 Druze, 250,000 Melchites, 250,000 Armenians, and 100,000 Protestants and other minorities. Samir Kalaf, a professor of sociology at Beirut's American University, stated, "Even if we liberate the whole country, even if we rehabilitate it, there re- mains the basic question of how you put together groups who perhaps don't want to be interacting and living together." Personal Debt JERUSALEM (ZINS) — A poll conducted by the Pub- lic Opinion Research Insti- tute shows that 49.3 percent of all Israelis spend more each month than they earn. Israeli banks allow Israelis to overdraw on their ac- counts, but charge as much as 150 percent annual interest. Reform to Meet HOUSTON — More than 3,000 delegates from Re- form synagogues across the United States and Canada will gather Nov. 10-15 in Houston for the 57th gen- eral assembly of the Union of American Hebrew Con- gregations. Irwin Tamler, a manufac- turer's representative, died Oct. 30 at age 83. Born in Romania, Mr. Tamler lived 63 years in the U.S. and 55 in Detroit. He was a past president of Cong. Bnai Moshe and a member of the Hebrew Be- nevolent Society. • He was the oldest repre- sentative for men's apparel in the state of Michigan. He was active in the Al- lied Jewish Campaign and Jewish National Fund and a forest is named for him and his wife in Israel. Mr. Tamler also was a member of Bnai Brith Pis- gah Lodge and Knights of Pythias. He is survived by his wife, Dorothy; a son, Allen M.; a daughter, Mrs. Ethel Rosen; a brother, Sam of Florida; four sisters, Mrs. Norman (Beatrice) Weider, Mrs. Louis (Mary) Wolinsky and Mrs. Harold (Charlotte) Katz, all of Cleveland, Ohio, and Mrs. Fred (Sylvia) Lef- kowitz of Jerusalem, Israel; and two grandchildren. Neil Rosenthal Neil Rosenthal, a partner in the National Lumber Co. for 25 years, died Oct. 27 at age 46. A native Detroiter, Mr. Rosenthal was a member of 'Tam-O-Shanter Country Club. He leaves his wife, Carol; three sons, Lester, Steven and Alan; and his mother, Mrs. Raphael (Anne) Altman. The Family of the Late SARA R. YOLKUT Acknowledges with grateful apprecia- tion the many kind expressions of sympathy extended by relatives and friends during the family's recent bereavement. "Over 65 years of traditional service in the Jewish community with dignity and understanding." HEBREW MEMORIAL CHAPEL 543.1622 SERVING ALL CEMETERIES 26640 GREENFIELD ROAD OAK PARK, MICHIGAN 48237 Alan H. Dorfman Funeral Director & Mgr.