UP FRONT
Community AIDS Forum
Stresses Compassion
►
ELIZABETH KAPLAN
Staff Writer
W
r
•
•
orkers at the funeral home
were adament. When the
body of a young Jew nam-
ed Glen arrived, they would not even
remove it from the bag.
Glen's parents were ashamed.
They refused to allow the rabbi
presiding at the funeral to mention
the disease from which Glen died.
They would not let him say that Glen
was gay, nor would they speak to any
of their son's more than 30 gay
friends.
Glen died of AIDS. As agonizing
as the disease was the way Glen was
treated once diagnosed, according to
Rabbi Marc Blumenthal, former
assistant rabbi at Temple Beth El.
Rabbi BlUmenthal told Glen's
story during the forum "AIDS: The
Jewish Community Response" Sun-
day at the Jewish Community Center
in West Bloomfield.
About 50 individuals attended the
program, which was sponsored by the
Jewish Community Council, the
Jewish Parents Institute, the Center,
the Jewish Family Service, Sinai
Hospital and Chai-Lifestyles and
moderated by State Rep. Burton
Leland, D-Detroit.
The treatment Glen received "is
early evidence of what our (Jewish)
community has lacked in response to
the AIDS crisis," Rabbi Blumenthal
said.
He said the concepts of pikuach
nefesh and bikur cholim should direct
the Jewish response to AIDS.
Bikur cholim, or visiting the sick,
means not just taking time to come
to the home of those who are ill but
assisting them in other ways, he said.
It could mean delivering food to the
homebound or taking someone to a
hospital.
Rabbi Blumenthal said that
pikuach nefesh, saving a soul, is such
an important concept in Judaism that
it comes before anything else.
"And saving a life is not always as
obvious as pulling someone from a
burning house or saving someone
drowning in a river," he said. It also
can mean helping someone live a bet-
ter life or helping find a cure for a
disease.
Offering a guideline on how Jews
should behave toward those with
AIDS, Rabbi Blumenthal said, "The
bottom line is very simple. The bot-
tom line is mitzvot. The bottom line
is compassion:'
Dr. Michael Snyder of Henry Ford
Hospital described the HIV virus,
how AIDS is transmitted and how it
may be prevented.
He said that about 40 percent of
those who test positive with the HIV
virus will contract AIDS. The,virus is
not casually transmitted, he said, and
can be passed on only though infected
semen, blood, vaginal secretions or
breast milk.
Dr. Snyder said that the drug AZT
may help relieve some symptoms of
AIDS but that it is not a cure. He said
that while many new drugs are being
touted as cures for the disease, they
still require much research.
A counselor to AIDS patients at
Henry Ford Hospital, Mark Manhoff
characterized the Jewish communi-
ty's response to AIDS as ostrich-like.
"Members of the Jewish com-
munity have not recognized AIDS as
Continued on Page 14
p
Dr. Barry Galison takes a blood sample from Stuart Rosen during a drive Sunday at the
Birmingham Temple. About 200 people volunteered blood samples, which will be tested for
compatibility with leukemia victim Ira Jannett.
Jewish Center Series
To Interest Unaffiliated
DAVID HOLZEL
I
Staff Writer
renovative programs in Jewish
education and attracting non-affi-
liated Jews are the goals of the
Jewish Community Center's Center
for Jewish Creativity and
Exploration.
According to Stuart Rogoff, the
Center's director of family program-
ming, classes in the five-week adult
education series to be launched later
this month will deal with religious
concepts, celebrations and Jewish
culture. Teachers will be drawn from
all streams of Judaism.
Tuesday evening classes will be
held at the Center's Maple/Drake
building. Thursday evening classes
will be conducted at the Jimmy Pren-
tis Morris building in Oak Park, in an
effort to draw young people from Hun-
tington Woods, Berkley, Southfield
and Oak Park, Rogoff said.
The series will be launched with
the four-part "Styles of Jewish Living
and Education;' set for Oct. 11 and 18
and Nov. 1 and 8. This series will in-
clude discussions of the Jewish
denominations' ways of life. The Oct.
11 session will concern the Reform ap-
proach to Jewish living.
Other programs will include. a
Hebrew crash course and "Unlocking
the Mysteries of Sacred Art," a
Continued on Page 14
ROUND UP
Shapiro Leaving
Sinai Hospital
Sinai President Irving
Shapiro has notified the
hospital's board of trustees of
his desire to leave the institu-
tion when his contract expires
in October, 1989.
According to hospital
spokeswoman Suzanne Tim-
ma, Shapiro informed the
board last week of his deci-
sion. His contract requires he
give the hospital a year's
notice of a decision not to
renew.
Shapiro is vacationing in
Italy and was unavailable for
comment. He is expected to
return in time for an Oct. 17
trustees' meeting.
Board president Bruce Thal
was unavailable for comment
late Wednesday. •
Shapiro has been with
Sinai since 1970, serving as
associate administrator, ad-
ministrator, executive vice
president and president.
News Stand
Thief Charged
A Ferndale man was
scheduled to appear in Fern-
dale District Court yesterday
on charges that he received
and stored 41 newsstand
boxes worth approximately
$280 each. Several of the
boxes belonged to The Jewish
News.
Police believe the stands
were taken from an area -
bounded by Eight Mile and 14
Mile roads, and Telegraph
and Woodward. The stands
belonged to the Observer &
Eccentric, Royal Oak Tribune,
Detroit News, Detroit Five
Press, Macomb Daily, New
York Times, USA Today and
-
The Jewish News.
Arthur Horwitz, associate
publisher of The Jewish
News, said three or four boxes
had been stolen during the
last year, including one that
had been anchored to a con-
crete slab in front of the Stage
Delicatessen in Oak Park.
Police did not give a motive
for the man storing the boxes
in his garage, along with coin
boxes and locks and chains
used to secure the boxes.
Orthodox Jew
May Buy PTL
Charlotte, N.C. — The
potential buyer of Jim and
Tammy Bakker's Praise The
Lord assets is a 34-year-old
Orthodox Jew from Toronto.
Because of Simchat Ibrah,
Stephen R. Mernick was
unable to attend a press con-
ference Tuesday announcing
his $115 million bid for the
bankrupt ministry's property.
Mernick has interests in
real estate, clothing, garbage
collection and landfills.
A Charlotte attorney
distributed a statement from
PTL trustee M.L. Benton,
saying Benton would recom-
mend that U.S. Bankruptcy
Judge Rufus Reynolds ap-
prove the bid.
Disabled Go
To Olympics
Jerusalem (JTA) — Presi-
dent Chaim Herzog gave a
warm send-off Monday to 62
disabled athletes who will
represent Israel next week in
the Special Olympics in
Seoul, South. Korea.
The handicapped athletes
going to Seoul are more than
three times the number Israel
sent this year to the regular
Olympics.
Most of the competitors are
IDF veterans wounded in
combat.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
5