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Hebrew Benevolent Director
Sees Changed Clients, Service
Rabbi Israel Rockove
Asked about which funeral
was the largest or the most
unusual, Rabbi Rockove
recalled the service held for
U.S. Attorney Leonard
Gillman who died in
February 1965. Both the
main and small chapels were
"packed" with mourners and
the crowed spilled into the
funeral home's lobby.
Although he is officially
retired as executive director,
Rabbi Rockove said he will be
on call if necessary. He has
turned the reins over to Rab-
bi Boruch Levin who, earlier
this month, became his
successor.
tificates and brings chairs
and religious articles to the
homes of the beareaved. "Peo-
ple who wouldn't have come
before (these services were in-
itiated) now are coming to
Chesed Shel Emes," he says.
The chapel arranges about
450 funerals per year.
Rabbi Rockove said he will
spend some time studying,
but really hasn't made
definitive plans about how
he'll spend his retirement. He
said he's still not "ac-
climated" to the fact that he
is retired. "I still check into
the office. It's in my blood:'
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News Editor
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hen Rabbi Israel I.
Rockove took over
the reins of the
Hebrew Benevolent Society
(Chesed Shel Emes) in 1950,
many of the families served
by the communal burial socie-
ty and funeral chapel were
foreign born and Orthodox.
Today, however, Rabbi
Rockove says, that has chang-
ed. More American born are
being served, and they repre-
sent all facets of Jewish obser-
vance, from the non-affiliated
to the Orthodox.
Rabbi Rockove has good
reason to reminisce. On the
occasion of his 38th anniver-
sary as executive director of
chesed Shel Emes, he has an-
nounced his retirement.
A native of Poland, Rabbi
Rockove came to the U.S. at
age 14 and studied at Mesiv-
ta Torah Vodaath. He later
was a founding student of the
Rabbinical Seminary of
America in the Williamsburg
section of Brooklyn and serv-
ed as its administrative direc-
tor from 1942 to 1950. He was
ordained at the seminary.
Following his tenure at the
seminary, he came to Detroit
to serve the Yeshivath Beth
Yehudah as an administrator,
supervising the office and
fund-raising projects. When
the Hebrew Benevolent Socie-
ty tapped him to become its
executive director the chapel
was located on Joy Road in
Detroit. He helped supervise
its move in 1964 to its current
location in Oak Park.
He never held a pulpit.
However, at the Joy Road
location, the chapel had a
synagogue and there he con-
ducted Shabbat services.
Since moving to Oak Park,
Rabbi Rockove dedicated his
time to the HBS, his wife,
Evelyn, seven children and
"many — we've stopped coun-
ting" — grandchildren. Rab-
bi Rockove is a member of the
Vaad Harabbanim — Council
of Orthodox Rabbis, the board
of education of Yeshivath
Beth Yehudah and past presi-
dent and former chairman of
the board of Mikvah Israel.
Of his impact on HBS, Rab-
bi Rockove said he helped to
change its image. For exam-
ple, he said, prior to his ar-
rival, clients received funeral
arrangements and virtually
nothing else. Now, he said the
HBS places the notices in the
newpapers for the families,
arranges the death cer-
Court Ruling 'Acquits'
Soviet Jewry Activists
ALAN HITSKY
Associate Editor
T
hree Detroiters are
breathing somewhat
easier after the United
States Supreme Court two
weeks ago struck down a
1930s law designed to protect
Nazi Germany's Washington
Embassy.
The ruling against banning
demonstrations within 500
feet of a foreign embassy
wipes out convictions against
Soviet Jewry activists Rabbi
Allan Meyerowitz, William
Graham and Dorothy Mahlin.
Rabbi Meyerowitz, of Con-
gregation B'nai Moshe, was
arrested in front of the Soviet
Embassy in Washington in
1985. He had mixed emotions
about the ruling. A firm
believer in non-violent civil
disobedience, Rabbi
Meyerowitz said, "If you can't
get arrested you don't get the
attention(for Soviet Jewry).
I'm not so delighted that the
law was struck down."
At the time of his arrest
Rabbi Meyerowitz was Soviet
Jewry chairman for the Rab-
binical Assembly. He said bet-
ween 200-300Jewish activists
have been arrested over the
years at the embassy for pro-
testing Soviet human rights
policies.
Graham and Mahlin were
part of a group informally
called the Embassy Nine that
was arrested in October 1985.
They were attending a
meeting of the Union of Coun-
cils For Soviet Jewry when
they decided to protest at the
embassy. Graham said
Washington police had to
show that the sidewalk or em-
bassy entrance were blocked
in order to arrest fewer than
nine people. Under the old
law, nine was considered an
automatic arrest figure.
The law came under in-
creasing scrutiny in recent
years because of anti-
apartheid demonstrations at
the South African Embassy.
Political leaders, including
Mayor Coleman Young of
Detroit, were arrested in front
of the embassy and then
released because South
Africa would not press
charges. The Soviets, however,
consistentir asked the police
and courts to enforce the old
law.
Mahlin said the Supreme
Court decision "reaffirms the
basic tenets of democracy"
and upholds! the right of free
speech. She compared the rul-
ing to the Soviet Union,
where "there is no freedom of
speech, where human and
civil rights are violated by
law, and where peaceful
demonstrations are met by
violence and imprisonment?'