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