OPINION

CONTENTS

Stop The Persecution
Of Soviet Immigrants

EDWARD BANK

I

n Russia, "Jewish" means
"of Jewish descent," as
opposed to "of Jewish
religion?' In fact, when a
Soviet Jew refers to persecu-
tion, he or she is usually not
talking of the inability to wor-
ship God (which' is a separate
issue), but rather of being
denied equal rights with non-
Jews. In any case, be it the
descent or religion, we were
persecuted as Jews.
Moreover, we felt like Jews;
we thought of ourselves as
Jews and we were seeking
things Jewish — language,
culture, religon.
What were we finding in
our search? Nothing! Not a
thing! There is no official
Soviet recognition of the fact
that Jews exist as a people;
they called us "an ethnic

It is up to each
individual to make
this choice, the
same choice that
any other Jew has.

group." Schools do not exist;
language (Hebrew) does not
exist; culture does not exist.
There are synagogues, but
if you dared to go there, you
would pay for it. There is an
official press in Yiddish, but
no one reads that Soviet
propaganda.
The Nazis destroyed six
million of us physically. The
communists are destroying us
spiritually. Don't think today,
with "glasnost," things are
different. If you believe they
are, I know of an almost un-
used bridge for sale.
Nevertheless, we were Jews.
Not only did we know that we
had Jewish blood in our veins,
we were reminded, of that
when we looked for jobs,
entered colleges, etc. Well,
those who could not take it
anymore left. We left as Jews
because we were Jews,
because we wanted to remain
Jews.
Life in America turned out
to be difficult. Only those who
went through it know the
frustration of having to learn
a new language, having to go
to an interview where you
don't understand questions,

Edward Bank of Southfield is
an engineer at Unisys. He
immigrated to the United
States from the Soviet Union
in 1977 with his wife and
daughters.

trying to learn to drive, etc.
We did not give up. We did
what we had to do. In the
process, we received -a lot of
help -from our new American
friends, without whom none
of what we eventually
achieved would have been
possible. For that, we are
grateful and indebted forever.
After coming to America
many of us wanted to know
more about being Jewish.
Since we identified ourselves
as Jews, the synagogue was
one of the first places we saw.
However, after a few visits to
the synagogues, our interest
subsided and, for many, disap-
peared. Why? We did not
understand; we could not
understand what went on.
Never in our lives had we at-
tended services. We did not
know Hebrew. To go beyond a
casual interest meant exer-
ting a lot of effort, which was
also requried to be spent on
English, job hunting, etc.
What would you have done?
Now, for those of us who
were here long enough to get .
our lives organized, the ques-
tion became: "Do we or don't
we lead a religious life?" It is
up to each individual to make
this choice, the same choice
that any other Jew has
unless, of course, one thinks
that secular Jews ought to be
exiled to Russia.
In the U.S.S.R. we were
Jews as we knew how.
In the U.S.A. we are Jews as
we know how.
Our concept of being Jewish
may differ from that of yours,
but don't tell us we are not
Jews. It was in our faces they
yelled "kikes,"spit and
slapped.
Do not tell us we are not
Jews!
We may not be temple at-
tending, volunteering, cheer-
ful people that can easily fit
into molds. We are, however,
Jews.
I told an acquaintance of
mine, (who shares my interest
in classical records and
vacuum tube stereo equip-
ment), a deeply religious,
kippa- and tsitses-wearing
Jew, the following story.
When I reached the age of 16,
I had a chance to receive -a
passport that said "Russian"
rather than "Jew"; I declined
that chance. This man was
stunned. "Why", he asked,
"did you ruin the rest of your
life?" He did not understand.
Do not tell us we are not
Jews!
Are the immigrants from
the U.S.S.R. lost to the cause?

Continued on Page 12

CLOSE-UP

Solidarity Forever

24

LAURIE MAYERS
Some Jewish radicals from the 1960s
are still trying to change the world.

NOTEBOOK

34

Forked Tongue

GARY ROSENBLATT
The PLO continues to announce
messages with opposing themes.

AROUND TOWN

Solidarity Sunday

52

46

GLENN TRIEST
A photographic essay highlights
Sunday's Solidarity Walk for Israel.

FITNESS.

52

Finding Fitness

KIMBERLY LIFTON
Americans, both young and old,
are opting for a healthy lifestyle.

ENTERTAINMENT

61

.

Musical Gem

VICTORIA BELYEU DIAZ
Margelee Green-Ruby has been singing
and playing music since her youth.

91

PROFILE

Dramatic -
Achievement!

61

STEVEN M. HARTZ
Trauma could not stop Oakland County
Teacher of the Year Robert Leiden

TEENS

94

Winning Essays

REVA NELSON
REBECCA CRISS
Trust and friendship are the themes
of the Arabic/Jewish Friends' winners.

DEPARTMENTS

30
39
48
56
58

Inside Washington
Community
Education
Sports
Travel

76
80
86
98
104

Fine Arts
For Women
For Seniors
Engagements
Births

CANDLELIGHTING

91

May 12, 1989 8:26 p.m.
Sabbath ends May 13 9:32 p.m.

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

7 •

