THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
18 Friday, January 20, 1984
Doris de Monge: Costa Rica's Jewish First Lady
America. It has no stand-
ing army — its constitu-
NEW YORK — What bet- tion forbids any military;
ter way to explore a country it has more teachers than
than under the guidance of policemen; and, in terms
its first lady — particularly of literacy, governmental
if she's Jewish. support for social wel-
1 had the opportunity to fare (what President Re-
visit Costa Rica last month agan has described as the
on a special tour arranged "safety net") and absence
for m.e by no less a person- of crime, Costa Rica must
age than Doris Yankelewitz be described as the most
de Monge, wife of the na- advanced country in the
tion's president and, in her Western Hemisphere, in-
own right, an important cluding the U.S.
On the second day after
member of the government
and an active worker in the he had taken office . last
year, the newly-elected
Jewish community.
I met Mrs. de Monge for president, Luis Alberto
the first time at the Miami Monge, moved the Costa
airport, where she waited Rica Embassy in Israel from
her turn, like the rest of the Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. His
passengers, to board the country is one of the few in
Lacsa jet for its 21/2-hour the world which recognizes
flight to San Jose, the Costa Jerusalem as the capital of
Rican capital. Lacsa is the Israel. As David Tourge-
country's national airline; it man, Israel's ambassador to
has a single class — no Costa Rica, describes
separate section curtained Monge's action: "He told his
off for an extra-fare elite; cabinet that they could dis-
and — typical of the nature pute anything in his ad-
of Costa Rican society —the ministration but this. His
first lady of the land enjoys decision was unanimously
the accommodations as approved."
Monge had served as
everyone else aboard.
For tiny Costa Rica, Costa Rica's ambassador to
with little more than two Israel. His wife is a lifelong
million persons in an Zionist and the
area the size of West Vir- granddaughter of the first
ginia, is the one democ- Jews to settle in Costa Rica
racy in all of Central in the 1920s; and the
By GABE LEVENSON
The Jewish Week
.
The Arab Lobby Is Topic
of YAD Meeting Monday
"The Arab Lobby" will be on U.S.-Israel relations, the
discussed when Jonathan Arab-Israeli conflict and
Kessler, leadership de- student involvement in the
velopment director of the American political process.
Washington, D.C.-based He authored the mono-
American Israel Public Af- graph, "The AIPAC College
fairs Committee (AIPAC) Guide," which highlights
addresses members of the pro- and anti-Israel campus
Jewish Welfare Federa- activity.
Stacy
Ash,
Diane
tion's Young Adult Di-
vision, 8 p.m. Monday, in Brodsky and Alan Feuer are
the LaMed Auditorium of co-chairmen of YAD's Lec-
ture Series Committee. Ste-
United Hebrew Schools.
ven Harris is chairman of
The program is co- the Political Awareness
sponsored by YAD's Lecture Committee; Mark
Series Committee and Polit- Goldsmith and Carlo Mar-
ical Awareness Committee. tina are vice chairmen.
A reception will follow
Kessler,
the leader
AIPAC's
political
leader- of the lecture. There is a
charge.
For at
information,
ship development program
call YAD
Federation,
on college campuses, has 965-3939.
given more than 1,000 talks
* * *
Winter Activity for YAD
The Young Adult Di- available for rental. Par-
vision of Jewish Welfare ticipants are invited to
Federation invites young bring sleds.
men and „women to join
Helen Kaye is chair-
them for an evening of
cross-country skiing down events committee. She is
torch-lit paths Jan. 29 at assisted by vice chairmen
Lincoln Hills Golf Course, Florie Schwartz and
Birmingham.
Lynn Tarnoff. Julie
YAD has.' reserved the man of YAD's special
Borim is division
golf course from 6 to 9 p.m.
president.
There will be activities, a
There is a charge. For in-
warm club house with a
formation,
call Young Adult
fireplace, and refreshments. Division,
965-3939.
Skiing equipment is
DORIS DE MONGE
Monges' only child, 17-
year-old Lena, is a graduate
of the community's Chaim
Weizmann School, fluent in
Hebrew, Spanish and
English and steeped in the
Jewish tradition.
But Monge's personal in-
volvement with Israel was
not the only factor in the
Jerusalem decision. Costa
Ricans have always iden-
tified with Israelis. The
Jewish state was estab-
lished in 1948 after a war of
independence. That same
year, the modern republic of
Costa Rica was founded,
after its people had gone
through an armed revolu-
tion. The first president of
the new Central American
democracy was Jose
Figueres, who actually sold
Israel Bonds while he was in
office.
There are other con-
nections between the two
countries. Both are un-
icameral parliamentary
democracies, with free
elections (the Costa Rica
president may serve but
one four-year term). Both
have a lively, uncensored
press and each has a na-
tional newspaper in
English — the Jerusalem
Post in Israel and the
Tico Times (natives call
themselves "ticos") in
Costa Rica.
There is a tradition of re-
spect for individual rights
in both countries and a
recognition of religious
freedom.
More than 95 percent of
Costa Rica's population is
Catholic, but the endemic
anti-Semitism of Latin
America — the product of
church doctrine, poverty
and ignorance — is con-
spicuously lacking in Costa
Rica. Jews have enjoyed
complete liberty ever since
their arrival from Poland in
the period between the two
world wars. They have risen
to top positions in the gov-
ernment — as members of
the national legislature, as
cabinet ministers and even
as security chief.
Luis Alberto Monge and
Doris Yankelewitz were
married at a civil ceremony
in deference to their sepa-
rate religious backgrounds,
but there was never any
doubt that the first lady
would retain her identity or
that Lena de Monge (now a
first-year premedical stu-
dent in San Jose) would also
be raised as a Jew.
I met Mrs. de Monge for
the second time in her
suite of offices in the
presidential place. She is
a woman of great style.
Her earliest memories,
she told me, were of the
religious services con-
ducted in her father's
house. It served as the
first synagogue of a
community of — at the
present time — 2,500.
At present, in addition to
a large synagogue complex,
the Jewish community sup-
ports a handsome new day
school (with 350 students,
from kindergarten through
high school), a cemetery and
the Deportivo Israelita — a
combination country club
and cultural center, like
similar institutions in
Mexico City and Guadalaj-
ara, Mexico.
As first lady of Costa
Rica, de Monge's interests
now range far beyond in-
volvement with the Jewish
community. A fine arts
graduate of the University
of Costa Rica, she is recog-
nized as an important
painter; she has also had
years of training as a
pianist. With this back-
ground, it was inevitable
that she concern herself
with the development of a
national symphony or-
chestra and a youth sym-
phony, which performs in
the national theater in San
Jose — a mini-replica of the
Paris Opera. Similarly, she
brings the weight of her
position to encouraging arts
and crafts.
The national theater, in
the center of San Jose, is the
starting point of any tour of
the city, she told me. Di-
rectly opposite is the Gran
Hotel, an establishment of
European charisma, its
open-air restaurant facing a
plaza of fountains and trees,
with a trio of guitarists
strolling from table to table
crooning sugary Latin sen-
timentalities.
Within walking dis-
tance is a plethora of
good restaurants (a
first-class dinner costs
less than half of an
equivalent New York re-
past), a museum of pre-
Colombian jade an-
tiquities, an anthropolog-
ical museum (like Mexico
City's, in miniature), a
gold museum, art gal-
leries and parks.
Louis Bamberger estab-
lished the Institute for Ad-
vanced Studies at Princeton
University.
Beyond the city limits,
there is a spectrum of in-
triguing day trips — to a
nearby live volcano; on a
jungle train which slowly
chugs its course (seemingly
stopping every time a cow or
goat crosses the track) on
mountain ridges and
through lush valleys to Port
Limon on the Caribbean
coast or Puntarenas on the
Pacific; to a cloud forest atop
the continental divide, a
preserve of rare birds (like
the quetzal) and 100 orchid
varities — all maintained
by a colony of U.S.-born
Quakers, whose leaders
formed a permanent set-
tlement in Monteverde, a
remote mountain top, over
30 years ago, after they had
completed prison terms as
conscientious objectors.
In recognition of Costa
Rica's friendly relations
with Israel — and simply
because travel to the coun-
try is safe, inexpensive and
rewarding, several major
Jewish organizations have
scheduled well-planned
tours, including the Ameri-
can Jewish Congress and
Hadassah.
Jackson Aide Hit for Racism
NEW YORK (JTA) —
The national director of the
Anti-Defamation League of
Bnai Brith labeled as "ra-
cism" the statement by a top
aide to the Rev. Jesse
Jackson that the U.S. gov-
ernment would have done
more to free U.S. Navy pilot
Lt. Robert Goodman had he
been "white or Jewish."
Nathan Perlmutter re-
buked the Rev. Wyatt
Walker for the remark
made just before Jackson's
successful trip to free
Goodman from Syria.
Describing as "the first
and to date the only intru-
sion of racism into this
Goodman case," Perlmutter
said: "Alas, there are mind-
frames amogn minority as
well as in dominant groups
which more readily don fab-
rications of prejudice than
they wear comfortably the
reality of our nation's race
relations progress."
Point out that by his
comment, Walker set up
hypothetical "Jewish
and white prisoners" as
"unfaily advantaged,"
Perlmutter raised the fol-
lowing questions:
"Would a white or a
Jewish Lt. Goodman
have been released by
(Syrian President Hafez)
Assad? And would the
Rev. Walker have flown
to the butcher of Hama if
Lt. Goodman were not
black?
Hania was the site in
1982 of a mass slaughter of
Moslem fundamentalists by
Syrian forces.
Yetta Sperka Dies at 75
Yetta Sperka, who with
her late husband Rabbi
Joshua Sperka was actively
involved in a variety of
Jewish communal causes,
died Jan. 18 at age 75.
Mrs. Sperka joined her
husband in tasks on behalf
of Shaare Zedek Hospital,
which paid tribute to her
Herbert Harris
Herbert L. Harris, an at-
torney who practiced in De-
troit for more than 50 years,
died Jan. 16 at age 75.
A native Detroiter, Mr.
Harris was graduated from
the University of Detroit
Law School in 1933. He was
a member of the Detroit
and Michigan Bar Associa-
tions, and was admitted to
practice before the U.S.
Supreme Court.
Mr. Harris was a member
of Adat Shalom Synagogue
and a founding member of
Perfection Lodge of the Ma-
sons.
He leaves his wife,
Cecilia; a son, Ira; two
daughters, Mrs. Robert
(Mary Jo) Wolfe and Mrs.
Robert (Judith) Rubin; a
brother, Jerome; and seven
grandchildren.
"Serving the Jewish community with traditional dignity and understanding"
YETTA SPERKA
last year. She was a pro-
gram chairman for the
Women of Jewish National
Fund and was noted for her
lectures and book reviews.
Mrs. Sperka is survived
by two sons, Shlomo and
Rabbi Joel; two daughters,
Mrs. Matthew (Judith)
Clark of Silver Spring, Md.,
and Mrs. Elizer (Chava)
Ehrenpreis of Brooklyn,
N.Y.; three sisters, Mrs.
Sarah Nobel, Mrs. William
(Miriam) Roth of New York
and Mrs. David (Gertrude)
Mannes of Cincinnati, Ohio;
21 grandchildren and one
great-grandchild.
543.1622
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