THE METROPOLITAN DETROIT DISTRICT OF THE

LOCAL NEWS

ZIONIST ORGANIZATION OF AMERICA

Robert Merrill
Here For Concert

presents

ANNUAL BALFOUR CELEBRATION

Starring

Featuring

OFRA HAZA

GADI ELON

Noted for interpretations
of Israeli songs

Israel's First Lady
of Song

Featuring

JEFFREY BIEGEL

Among the best
of the young pianists

Robert Merrill

The Lyric Chamber
Ensemble will salute the
Michigan sesquicentennial
with a concert at 3:30 p.m.
September 28 at Orchestra
Hall. The afternoon program
features Metropolitan Opera
star Robert Merrill.
Guest artists include direc-
tor Brazeal W. Dennard and
the Brazeal Dennard Chorale,
Detroit soprano Earnestine
Nimmons, pianist Joseph
Gurt of Eastern Michigan
University and pianist Fed-
ora Horowitz, artistic director
of the Lyric Chamber
Ensemble.
For tickets and informa-
tion, call. 357-1111; the Lyric
Chamber Ensemble, or Or-
chestra Hall, 833-3700.

Ethiopian Jews
In Peril

Ofra Haza has been dubbed a "phenomenal"
singer by a London critic. She won first prize
among 13 distinguished contestants vying for
the honor to represent Israel at the Eurovision
Song Contest in Munich. She captured the
heart of a nation with her song "Israel Lives"
and her "Yemenite Songs" LP has been called
"remarkable."
Born in the poor Hatikuah Quarter ofTel Aviv,
Ofra took up theatre and music in a local
workshop at the age of 12. Her career was
temporarily interrupted when she joined the
army after completing high school. When she
resumed singing, however, she quickly rose
to the top and, by her early twenties, has
become one of the idols of her generation.

Gadi Elon is a successful singer, actor,
dancer, master of ceremonies, comedian,
balladeer and folksinger. His versatility
stems from his years as a jack-of-all-trades
performer with one of Israel's most famous
armed forces entertainment troupes.

A dynamic performer in any medium, Elon
has moved freely from appearance in
Shakespeare's "Richard III" to the "Catus
Flower" to the nightclubs of London, New
York, and Sydney. 'A top-flight talent"
is what the Philadelphia Inquirer
has called him.

According to the New York Times, Jeffrey
Biegel "will soon be mentioned with the
best of the current crop of pianists."

In 1986 he has received the Juilliard
School's prestigious William Petschek
Piano Debut Award. In 1985 he won the
University of Maryland International Piano
Festival and Competition. In 1984 he was
a prize winner at the Leeds Competition
in England.
The son of a New York City policeman,
Biegel is working on his doctorate at Juil-
liard. He has performed with the National
Symphony Orchestra and the Juilliard
Philharmonia.

WITH THE MUSIC OF MACK PITT AND HIS ORCHESTRA

Washington (JTA) — Since
"Operation Moses," the secret
airlift which brought some
10,000 Ethiopian Jews to
Israel between November,
1984, and January, 1985,
there has appeared to be a
public perception that the
plight of Ethiopian Jewry has
been solved. But about 100
persons who attended a Na-
tional Conference on Ethio-
pian Jewry at the Capitol Hill
Hyatt here were told last Sun-
day that there are still some
7,000 to 10,000 Jews in
Ethiopia, most of them the
elderly, women and children.
They suffer from the pro-
blems that all Ethiopians do,
hunger and drought, but also
persecution as Jews, speakers
said at the conference which
is sponsored by the American
Association for Ethiopian
J ews (AAEJ).
"Instead of holding a final
meeting as I had hoped we
could do in 1986 where we
might have celebrated what
has been accomplished, we
must, instead, find expedi-
tious means of bringing
about another massive rescue
operation," said Graenum
Berger, founder of AAEJ and
its former president.

_

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 1986, 7:30 PM

FORD AUDITORIUM

RESERVATIONS: Zionist Cultural Center, 18451 West 10 Mile Road, Southfield, MI 48075

Phone 569-1515

18

Friday, September 19, 1986 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS