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Marcus
Continued from Page 2
mains in the Jewish record as
their trip "on eagle's wings."
It is a phrase from the Bible,
from Exodus 19:4, and the
Scriptures are thereby linked
with the realities of the pre-
sent time.
Connie Colker Steiner, an
author and illustrator of
stories for children, describes
the pilgrimages of children
from several countries, in-
cluding Yemen, to Israel, in a
story combining their ex-
periences, under the title
851-9099
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44
FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 1988
I
Dr. Jacob Marcus
list that 150 years ago, in
1838, Rebecca Gratz founded
the first Jewish Sunday
school in America. It was
established in Philadelphia
at a time when such classes
provided an important need
in communities where Jewish
educational opportunities
were limited.
Dr. Marcus calls attention
to another important 1838
anniversary. He recalls the
death of Lorenzo Da Ponte in
the United States — he had
been Mozart's librettist,
taught Italian at Columbia,
and introduced Italian opera
in the United States.
Another important item in
Marcus' list: "One hundred
years ago: The United
Hebrew Trades Union was
established in New York City.
This was the first American
Jewish trade union umbrella
organization."
The establishment of the
Jewish Publication Society of
America is also in the 1888
year list.
Then there is a list of noted
personalities, including Irv-
ing Berlin, whose 100th bir-
thday will be observed soon.
Dr. Marcus calls attention
to events of significance in his
annual compilation, and he
appropriately commenced the
current one with the
following:
Two hundred years ago: The
United States Constitution
was ratified by the requisite
nine states. This is the first
time Diaspora Jews were
given equality.
Children
'On Wings
Of Eagles'
When nearly 60,000 Jews
from Yemen escaped from the
land of oppression upon the
rebirth of Israel, their aerial
flight to the redeemed Jewish
homeland of Israel was de-
scribed as "Operation Magic
Carpet." That historic trip re-
On Eagles' Wings and Other
Things. This Jewish Publica-
tion Society book also was il-
lustrated by her.
Her story is about youths
from Poland, Tunisia in
North Africa, United States
as well as Yemen.
The author elevates her
story to the high rank of befit-
ting her own work by sum-
marizing the tourists in her
story in an afterword in
which she introduces the cast
of characters as follows:
The four children of the
story represent the scat-
tered Jews who came to
Israel at the time of its
rebirth.
Mira, of Poland, some-
how survived the night-
mare of Nazi Europe. For
her and others, Israel was
a chance to heal and begin
life anew.
Eli is a Jew of Tunisia, in
North Africa. He experi-
enced no disaster com-
parable to the Holocaust.
But Jews in the Moslem
world were often op-
pressed and certainly did
not enjoy equal rights with
their Moslem neighbors.
Avraham is from Yemen,
an isolated Moslem coun-
try in Asia. There, Jews
maintained unique tradi-
tions and kept strong the
love of Zion. When word
came that there was a real
Jewish state, nearly the en-
tire Jewish population
prepared to leave. They
were airlifted to Israel as
part of the famous project
known as Operation Magic
Carpet.
The little American,
Adena, reminds us of the
Western Jews who enjoyed
freedom and prosperity.
Some went to Israel be-
cause of their love and
desire to build the Jewish
homeland. They were few.
Not all who made the trip
stayed. We are guessing
that Adena and her family
forged new roots and be-
came true Israelis.
That's how children's books
merge into history and utilize
the Scriptures as added
fascination. The new JPS
book is a credit to publishers'
selectivity.