70 Friday, March 2, 1984
Eran
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Israel's Mental Health Hotline
By ERIKA OYSERMAN
World. Zionist Press Service
JERUSALEM — Eran,
Israel's mental first aid
telephone service, was es-
tablished 11 years ago in a
private home in Jerusalem
by Marta Berta Zaslany, the
widow of a well-known Is-
raeli psychiatrist. Today,
with a scanty 1.6 million
shekel budget ($15,000) re-
ceived from the Ministry of
Health and various
municipalities, Eran is op-
erated by 400 volunteers (of
whom 70 percent are
women) who first undergo
six months of training. They
handle_some 2,500 calls a
month in Israel's major
cities. Only about five per-
cent actually deal with
would-be suicide cases.
"The number of calls re-
ceived does not give a clear
picture of the number of
people who are in distress,"
says 30-year-old psychol-
ogist Yitzhak Carmel, di-
rector of Eran, "because our
lines are often busy for long
periods of time, depriving
many of taking advantage
of our services."
Eran is an anonymous
service for free and open
contact between human be-
ings 24 hours a day on every
possible subject, overcom-
ing social taboos and deal-
ing with subjects such as
death, suicide, sex, loneli-
ness, family problems, the
old, or any other topic the
caller does not feel free to
discuss with other people or
services. It has been called
"an emotional Magen David
Adorn."
According to Carmel,
55 percent of the callers
are men and as far as age
is concerned, many of the
callers are children start-
ing at ages 6-7. Calls from
children increase during
wars when anxiety for
loved ones who have
been mobilized — fathers
or brothers — is at peak.
This is one of the reasons
why Eran plans to start a
special service for chil-
dren and youngsters in
the near future.
The higher number of
male callers is explained by
psychologist Carmel as due
to the fact that women are
less reluctant to turn to
MDA Aids Flood Victims
Magen David Adorn, Israel's emergency medical
service, recently shipped medical supplies, medicine
and food to Swaziland to aid flood victims in that
African country.
Monument Stamps Issued
415
')1X"ILLY
Recent stamps issued by the Israel Philatelic
Service include, from left, the monument to Alexan-
der Zaid, who was a symbol of pioneering; the monu-
ment to the Tel Hay defenders in 1920; and the monu-
ment to Dov Gruner, who was hanged by the British in
1947.
clinics and hospitals for
help.
The peak of suicide at-
tempts in Israel was in
1975. It is explained by
Carmel as a direct result of
the Yom Kippur War's
traumatic experience.
"During wars," he says,
"there is a sharp drop in
calls for help. The traumatic
effects appear only one or
two years later. At present
we can already feel the
traumatic effects which the
Lebanese War had on the
population."
According to Carmel, the
Eran clients can be divided
into three groups. The first
are those who need counsel-
ing. They in turn can be di-
vided into people who have
gone through a traumatic
experience such as rape,
war (the number of released
soldiers calling Eran is
high), and accidents, and
those who are in need of
regular guidance or coun-
seling on their sexual life or
parent/child relations.
The second category
are suicidals, who can be
put into to categories: the
"high risk" who claim
they have definitely
made up their mind; and
those attempting suicide
yet often calling during
the act.
Last but not least are the
chronic manic depressive
patients. Some classified by
Eran as Aemporary" many
call this service for a period
of several months. Others
have already established a
several-year-old relation-
ship with Eran's volunteer
staff.
What are the factors wor-
rying people, as reflected in
Eran's work? Wars leave a
traumatic effect on men,
women and children. The
economic situation can be a
reason for anguish and dis-
tress. According to Carmel,
Eran is handling more calls
since the stock market crisis
a few months ago, signs of
economic instability and
the Lebanese War. People
are worried about their fi-
nancial situation and anx-
ious about the economic pic-
ture.
Altogether, the rate of
suicides in Israel is 10 per
100,000 population. Com-
pared to figures compiled by
the World Health Organiza-
tion several years ago, this
shows that the rate of
suicide in Israel is the same
as in the United States, and
about half the Swiss, Ger-
man or Danish rate.
But the most interesting
factor in statistics on Is-
rael's rate of suicide is that
there has been a sharp drop
since 1949. While the rate of
suicide in 1949-1950 was 18
per 100,000 among the
Jewish population over 15
years of age, it dropped in
1960 to 14 and between
1965 and 1970 to 11.
In 1975, following the
Yom Kippur War it went
up again to 13, dropping
to 11 in 1980 and to 10 in
1981. In 30 years, while
the population has in-
creased five-fold, the
suicide rate has dropped
by nearly half.
Though Eran is not in the
business of compiling
statistics (claiming that
there are plenty of other in-
stitutions more suitable to
deal with this) it is defi-
nitely able to draw conclu-
sions on the way in which its
work saves countless lives
and puts many others on the
road to recovery.
M. Bookstein
Marvin H. Bookstein, a
student at the Wayne State
University Law School, died
Feb. 24 at age 41.
A native Detroiter, Mr.
Bookstein was a senior at
the law school, where he
actively p rticipated in the
Moot Court program. He
was graduated from the
Cranbrook School (1959),
the University of Michigan
and attended the U-M
School of Music.
For 10 years prior to
entering law school, Mr.
Bookstein worked for the
family's Ace and Castle
Furniture Cos., founded by
his grandfather, Samuel
Bookstein.
He was a musician who
specialized in bluegrass
and folk music and was
on the board of the
Chamber Music Society
of Detroit and a member
of Pro Musica.
Mr. Bookstein was active
in tasks on behalf of Hillel
Day School. He was a life
member of the Detroit Ten-
nis and Squash Club.
He leaves his wife, Denah
S.; two sons, Jonah and
Ezra; his mother, Mrs. Lil-
lian Bookstein Padover; and
a brother, Jerome S.
a
Ruth H. Stein
Ruth H. Stein, a member
of Jewish communal organ-
izations, died Feb. 25 at age
71.
Born in Austria, Mrs.
Stein was a member of
Temple Israel and its sis-
terhood, the National
Council of Jewish Women,
Hadassah and Women's
American ORT.
She leaves her husband,
Sol I.; a son, Robert; two
daughters, Mrs. Arnold
(Marjorie) Fuller and Ms.
Gari Stein-Glaser; two
brothers, Bernard Stralser
of Sierra Vista, Ariz., and
Harold Stralser of Phoenix,
Ariz.; a sister, Mrs. Dorothy
Brown; and 10 grand-
children.
M. Silberman,
AIPAC Official
WASHINGTON (JTA) —
Morton Silberman,
president of the American
Israel Public Affairs Com-
mittee (AIPAC), died Feb.
27. He was 60.
Mr. Silberman served as
vice president of AIPAC
from 1979 to 1981 and was
elected president in. May
1982. He was long involved
in Jewish communal af-
fairs, serving from 1970 to
1976 as vice president of the
Greater Miami Jewish Fed-
eration, general chairman
of Combined Jewish Appeal
- Israel Emergency Fund
Campaign in 1974 and from
1976 to 1978 as president of
the Greater Miami Jewish
Federation.
He was founding chair-
man of the federation's
community relations com-
mittee and also served as
chairman of its planning
and budget committee.
founding
He
was
president of the Jewish
Federation of Palm Beach, a
member of the board of di-
rectors of the Council of
Jewish Federations (CJF)
and regional chairman of
the United Jewish Appeal.
He was a recipient of the
American Jewish Commit-
tee's Human Relations
Award.
Irving Rosen
Irving "Bucky" Rosen,
owner and operator of dry
cleaning establishments for
47 years, died Feb. 23 at age
70.
Born in Toronto, Ont.,
Mr. Rosen resided in Mar-
gate, Fla., at the time of his
death. In Florida, he was a
dry cleaner for the Lord
Colony Cleaners.
He leaves his wife,
Dorothy; three children,
Mrs. Joseph (Myra) Burns-
tein of Oak Park, Marc of
Los Angeles, Calif., and
Mrs. Walter (Barbara) De-
Nike of Southfield; two sis-
ters, Mrs. Lillian Maltz and
Mrs. Frances Schaefer, both
of Los Angeles; and -three
grandchildren. Interment
Detroit.
Sidney Bielfield
NEW YORK — Former
Detroiter Sidney Bielfield,
founder of Where magazine
and for many years a public
relations executive, died
Feb. 25 at age 80.
A graduate of the Univer-
sity of Michigan, Mr. Biel-
field established the weekly
guide to attractions in var-
ious cities in 1936 and
moved the operation to New
York in 1962. The maga-
zine, now published in 26
cities in the United States-
and abroad, was acquired by
the 3M Co., but Mr. Biel-
field continued his associa-
tion with it until last year.
"Serving the Jewish community with traditional dignity and understanding"
Sanford Rossen
Sanford G. Rossen, an ar-
chitect, died Feb. 29 at age
56.
Born in Detroit, Mr. Ros-
sen owned Sanford Rossen
and Associates, Architects
and Planners in Southfield.
He received many awards
for architectural excellence.
Mr. Rossen was the de-
signer of the Pine Knob
Music Theater, the Excello
Building in Troy, the new
Empire of America Build-
ing (formerly the American
Savings and Loan Building)
and the Burton Abstract
Building.
He was a member of the
American Institute of Ar-
chitects and former officer
of its Michigan Chapter. He
also was a member of the
city of Southfield Planning
Commission for nine years,
was on the city's 2001 Im-
plementation Committee
and a member of the Build-
ing Code Board of the city of
Southfield.
He leaves his wife, Geral-
dine; two sons, Dr. James
and Elliot, both of Chicago,
Ill.; and a brother, Harold.
Richard Arens
NEW YORK — Richard
Arens, professor of law at
the University of
Bridgeport, Conn., and
brother of Israel Defense
Minister Moshe Arens, died
Feb. 26 at age 62.
Mr. Arens was graduated
from the University of
Michigan and received a
law degree and master's de-
gree in law from Yale Uni-
versity. Prior to his
Bridgeport post, he taught
at Canadian and at other
U.S. universities. He wrote
and co-authored books and
articles on legal issues.
D.C. Rabbi
Found Stabbed
WASHINGTON, D.C.
(JTA) — Rabbi Philip
Rabinowitz, for the last 34
years rabbi of the Kesher Is-
rael Synagogue in
Georgetown, was found
stabbed to death Wednes-
day in his Georgetown
home.
His body was discovered
after he failed to appear for
morning services at the Or-
thodox congregation. Rabbi
Rabinowitz, 63, was born in
Poland and came to the
United States in the 1930s.
The Family
of the Late
SYLVIA
SCHNEIDER
Acknowledges with
grateful appreciation
the many kind ex-
pressions of sympathy
extended by relatives
and friends during the
family's recent be-
reavement.
543.1622
HEBREW MEMORIAL CHAPEL
26640 GREENFIELD ROAD
OAK PARK, MICHIGAN 48237
SERVING ALL CEMETERIES
Alan H. Dorfman
Funeral Director & Mgr.
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