Russian-Language Paper
Helps Detroit Newcomers

RICHARD PEARL

Staff Writer

Q

uestion: How do you shed
some light on the complex-
ities of Jewish and American

life?
Answer: If the audience is Soviet
Jewish immigrants, you give them a
Little Lantern. _
That's the English translation of
Fonarik, the Russian-language mon-
thly newspaper published voluntari-
ly in Detroit by Soviet Jewish im-
migrants for their fellows.
Created in 1980 as part of the
Jewish Community Center's Russian
acculturation program, the 8
1/2-by-11-inch, eight-page newspaper
has about 1,000 readers. It is believ-
ed to be one of only a few such papers
in the United States. Another is New
Life, a larger tabloid published since
1979 for the approximately 6,000
Soviet immigrants in the San Fran-
cisco Bay area.
Fonarik/Little Lantern is publish-
ed under the direction of Dr. Luba
Berton, the Center's director of Rus-
sian acculturation.
It was begun, said Dr. Berton,
because "all these people (incoming
Russian Jews) weren't identifiably
Jewish and we were trying to explain
the holidays, Jewish history and
traditions and it was happening in
bits and pieces.
"When you come here (to the U.S.)
over the age of 50, it's very hard to ad-
just, to find work, and many of the im-
migrants not only don't know
English, they don't understand Yid-
dish, so what's left? The paper is a
way of keeping in touch with each
other and in touch with the Jewish
community, what's going on in Israel,
the American political scene, etc."
Not everybody among the

newcomers lacked Jewish knowledge,
she noted. The rural immigrants
knew more than those from the big-
ger cities, and "the bigger the city, the
less they knew" because the Soviet
government's anti-religion bent was
stronger in metropolitan areas.
American culture and systems
also need explaining. "For instance,
the American Electoral College —
have you ever tried explaining that,
even to an American?" asked Dr.
Berton.
She said a social sciences pro-
fessor wrote on that subject for the
paper, and the early publications also
saw an article on the American press
by a Detroit newspaperman and ar-
ticles on Jewish traditions and
holidays by a University of Michigan
professor.
Printed on white stock, the
newspaper, with flag and headline
Continued on Page 16

16-
m

cD

Tanya Polsky discusses the latest issue of Fonarik.

Birmingham Temple Will Sponsor
Its Own Allied Campaign Phonathon

RICHARD PEARL

Staff Writer

F

or the first time ever a Detroit
area synagogue is holding its
own phonathon for the Allied
Jewish Campaign.
Some 35 to 40 members of the Bir-
mingham Temple have volunteered to
participate in the synagogue's "Bir-
mingham Temple Night Phonathon"
on Thursday evening, Feb. 2, at the
United Hebrew Schools, according to
Harvey Brode, temple president.
"We're not going to be calling just
temple members, but members of the
Jewish community across the board;'
he said.

"We feel strongly the need for
help locally in the Jewish communi-
ty and for Israel," Brode said, adding
the temple's effort will seek to
broaden and enhance the response
the Campaign has achieved.
Brode, who has been active in the
Allied Jewish. Campaign for the last
22 years, noted, "In Campaigns, we
know that if personal contact is made
and maintained, we can keep
members of our community as Cam-
paign contributors and even increase
pledges.
"We have found some new people
in the community, young professional
people, who have never been called by
the Campaign," he said.

Susan Citrin, Birmingham Tem-
ple Night co-chairman with James
Reiter and liaison with the Allied
Jewish Campaign, said the temple
wants to show its support for the
Campaign and hopes other
synagogues and temples will do the
same next year.

Brode said the majority of Birm-
ingham Temple members give to the
Campaign and the temple itself
makes a contribution, as do other
temples and synagogues in the area.

Said Brode, "We think it's (the
Telethon) a great idea" and added,
"The Campaign needs the volunteers
and solicitors — they need people."

ROUND UP

Going Up
Or Going Down?

Jerusalem (JTA) — Im-
migration to Israel from the
Soviet Union was up slightly
in 1988, but from the United
States it was down, according
to figures published this week
by the Central Bureau of
Statistics.
The total number of ar-
rivals last year was 13,304,
compared to 12,985 in 1987.
The figure included both im-
migrants (58 percent) and
potential immigrants (42
percent).
Soviet Jewish immigration

in 1988 totaled 2,283, corn-
pared to 2,096 in 1987. The
increase is tiny, considering
that total Soviet Jewish
emigration jumped from
8,155 in 1987 to nearly
19,000 last year
American Jewish olim
numbered, 1,551 last year,
down from 1,818 in 1987.

FBI Studying
Super Bowl

Los Angeles (JTA) — The
FBI has opened an investiga-
tion to determine how pirate
broadcasters were able to dis-
rupt a cable telecast of Sun-

day's Super Bowl with anti-
Semitic remarks.
"We're not really sure how
this illegal transmission was
made," Kyle Smith, general
manager of Century South-
west Cable in Santa Monica,
Calif., said. "Whoever did it
used a sophisticated degree of
technology."
The audio break-in occurred
during the first half of the
San Francisco 49ers-Cincin-
nati Bengals football game
that Century was picking up
from the NBC television
network.
While the screen continued
to show the action on the
field, viewers first heard a few

bars of music and then two
men talking over the voices of
the NBC game announcers.
The man reportedly said,
"This is Century Southwest
Cable with Bill Rosendahl.
There are too many (obsceni-
ty deleted) Jews in the enter-
tainment industry." Rosen-
dahl is vice president of the
cable firm and host of a week-
ly interview show with com-
munity leaders.

Student Shot
At Wisconsin

An 18-year-old University
of Wisconsin freshman from

Oak Park was shot in the
head by her estranged
boyfriend over the weekend in
Madison. Julie Charlip re-
mains in critical condition in
a Madison hospital.

After the shooting, the
boyfriend evaded witnesses,
checked into a nearby motel
and committed suicide.

Charlip and the boyfriend
had dated while they were
students at Berkley High
School. She broke off the rela-
tionship during Thanksgiv-
ing vacation. The boyfriend
was a student at Eastern
Michigan University.

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 5

