64 Friday, November 25, 1983 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Kenyans Play Role in Modern Jewish History By AVIVA CANTOR (Copyright 1983, JTA Inc.) NAIROBI (JTA) — The history of Jews and the his- tory of Kenya, a black, East African country, have in- tersected three times in the past 80 years. The last, and perhaps best known of these encounters was Kenya's role in the 1976 Israeli rescue of Jews in Entebbe, Uganda. Per- mission for the Israeli re- scue aircraft to refuel in Kenya, which has no official diplomatic relations with Israel, was a key element in the success of the operation. The second encounter took place before the birth of the Jewish state. In 1947, members of the Etzel (the Irgun) were interned by the British in the Gilgil Camp in Kenya, about 70 miles northwest of Nairobi. Six prisoners, led by Yaakov Meridor (now Minister of the Economy) broke out of the camp on April 15, 1948. Although the escape was successful, the pris- oners arrived in Israel later than the comrades they left behind, who re- turned home at the end of the British Mandate, May 15, 1948. The first encounter goes back even further — to the British proposal for creat- ing a place of refuge for Rus- sian Jews in East Africa — the misnamed "Uganda Plan." The area in question was a section of Kenya known today as the Uasin Gishu Plateau. The plan was ultimately rejected by the World Zionist Congress in 1905. These encounters had an important impact, not only on world Jewry, but on the small community of Jews living in Kenya. On a recent visit, a group of Jewish journalists and tour operators from the U.S. and Israel met with leaders of the community and learned a great deal of the history and present circumstances of the community. The group lodged "on safari" at hotels, some of which once were or still are Jewish-owned and passed through small towns where cosmic kids. 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JAR KOSHER FOODS AVAILABLE AT: • • • • Mon.-Sat. 10 AM to 7 PM goi we ow HAPPY CHANUKA FROM GREAT SCOTT Detroit's Hometown Supermarket for Over 30 Years , 29 nt" .1 TELEGRAPH/LONG LAKE IN BLOOMFIELD TWP. ORCHARD LAKE/13 MILE RD. IN FARMINGTON HILLS TELEGRAPH & MAPLE RD. BLOOMFIELD PLAZA 12 MILE/EVERGREEN IN SOUTHFIELD SAVE 30` ( MOST STORES OPEN DAILY 8 A.M. TO 10 P.M. SUNDAY 9 A.M. TO 6 P.M PRICES AND ITEMS EFFECTIVE Ti IRU DEC. 1. 1983. NO SALES TO DEALERS. Jewish communities once existed. The trip was or- ganized by Unitours at the invitation of the Kenyan government and in coopera- tion with Iberia Airlines. The Nairobi Hebrew Congregation, founded in 1904, has about 125 members, according to Ivor Davis, a professional public relations person who also serves the Jewish community in this capacity. Less than half the members are perma- nent residents of Kenya. The congregation holds services there Friday even- ing and Saturday morning, following the "minhag" (practice) of the (Orthodox) United Synagogue of Great Britain. The small, attractive synagogue building, with its wood-paneled sanctuary and beautiful rose garden, was rebuilt in 1955 after the congregation's first build- ing, put up in 1913, de- teriorated beyond the con- gregation's ability to con- tinue repairing it. The first Jewish settlers, some of whom had imagined themselves the vanguard of a new Jewish Common- wealth, arrived in Nairobi in 1903, mostly from Poland and Russia. Nairobi was at the time a little more than a railroad camp in the middle of a frog swamp. The settlers lived in tin shacks, cooked their meals in the street, and traveled by rickshaw. Abraham Block, who died in 1965 after a long and successful business and communal career, was a pioneer in the community. Block ar- rived in 1903 from East- ern Europe via South Af- rica, and went on to pioneer tourism in Kenya. "It's a real rags- to-riches story," said Ivor Davis, the Jewish com- munity's public affairs person. Block's sister, Lillie Haller, was the first Jewish woman settler in the country. Block acquired the Nor- folk Hotel in Nairobi (where the Bat-Dor Dance Com- pany stayed when they per- formed there in May) in 1927 and later, the New Stanley, which he sold to Conrad Hilton. He sold the Mawingo Hotel in Nanyuki to the late William Holden, who renamed it the Mt. Kenya Safari Club. Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored. —Aldous Huxley NEW YORK (JTA) — A 24-hour autopsy hotline to help families to avert au- topsies in New York when they may be contrary to Jewish religious law has been established by the Na- tional Jewish Commission on Law and Public Affairs (COLPA) and the United Hebrew Community (UHC) of New York-Adath Israel of New York. FIRESTONE s Y s, . E 0L nd R es J alE eD W Whol Jewelry Remounting Jewelry & Watch Repair 1 SUITE 318 ADVANCE BLDG. 23077 Greenfield at 9 Mile (313) 557-1860 etoteelea. TO OUR MANY FRIENDS AND CUSTOMERS Hank's Clothes Now conveniently located at 28950 Orchard Lake Road Between 12 and 13 Mile Roads, Farmington Hills 626-7000 626-7007 wrimmat ■ werir Best Wishes for a Happy Chanukah! From MACCABEES Mutual Life Insurance Company ... where the exceptional is ordinary. 25800 Northwestern Highway Southfield, Michigan 48037 Wishing the Community A Happy Athletic Center at Yeshiva U. NEW YORK — Yeshiva University broke ground for its new $2.5 million Max Stern Athletic Center at its main center in the Washington Heights sec- tion of Manhattan. The ath- letic center is named for the late communal leader and devoted benefactor of the university. A gift of $1 million from Leonard Stern initiated the campaign for construction of the center, which will ful- fill a more than 50-year-old dream at the university. The athletic center also will be the first new construc- tion on the university's main center in more than a decade. The center will include the university's first regulation-sized gym- nasium, a running track and rooms equipped for wrestling, fencing, and ka- rate. In past years, the uni- versity has had to travel to other institutions, many of them in other boroughs of the city, to play their "home" basketball games. Autopsy Hotline HANUKA 0111111111111i 1111111111111111111111 1l1 11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111112111111il li 411 Modern Office,Inc. 4:); 642-5600 "Tour Office 1 711 , Boy . 31535 SOUTHFIELD ROAD 40 • (between 13 14 Ale Ids.) ""Tour Office Mon-Fri 8:00YZ-S.M. , Girl" Sat 9:00-12:0 0 HAPPY HANUKA Give The Gift They Will Enjoy Throughout The Year rThe Comical Booksiote Evergreen Plaza • 12 Mile and Evergreen Open 7 Days Southfield, Michigan Free Gift Wrapping 557-8803 TICKET WORLD - CTC OUTLET •