COMMUNITY
American-Israel Chamber
Honors Michigan Businessmen
KIMBERLY LIFTON
Staff Writer
F
Dr. Rudolf Vrba
George Mandel Mantello
Heroes Of Holocaust
Will Be Honored
George Mandel Mantello
and Dr. Rudolf Vrba will be
honored by the Holocaust
Memorial Center at its fifth
anniversary dinner, 5:30 p.m.
Nov. 12 at the Westin Hotel.
Gov. James Blanchard will be
the keynote speaker.
Mantello was first secretary
of the general consulate of El
Salvador in Geneva, Switzer-
land, from 1942-45 and used
his position to issue citizen-
ship papers to thousands of
Jews in German-occupied
countries. He also
disseminated the Vrba report
about Auschwitz, which com-
pelled the allies to intervene
with the Hungarian govern-
ment into halting
deportations.
A bill to award Mantello the
Congressional Gold Medal of
Freedom was recently in-
troduced in Congress.
Vrba, professor of phar-
macology, school of medicine,
University of British Colum-
bia, is one of five people who
succeeded in escaping safely
from Auschwitz. A Slovak
Jew, he worked in a "cleaning
commando," dragging out the
dead from the incoming
trains and later became a
registrar in the "quarantine
camp" at Birkenau-
Auschwitz.
In January 1944, Vrba
learned about a ramp being
built in Birkenau to accom-
modate the flow of Hungarian
Jews. After many attempts,
he escaped and - compiled a
detailed, report of the inner-
workings of Auschwitz and
the impending plans to
transport Jews there. That
report was transmitted to the
Hungarian Jewish leadership
and Switzerland.
For reservations, call the
Holocaust Center, 661-0840.
Vivace Concert Series
Features George Benson
The Vivace Concert Series
of the Birmingham Temple
will open its season 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 29 with a concert featur-
ing the George Benson
Quartet with vocalist Sandy
Patton.
Benson has been perform-
ing professionally since the
age of 17. He has performed
in many clubs in the Detroit
area and has backed stars
such as Dinah Washington,
Aretha Franklin and Tony
Bennett.
He has been an educator in
jazz studies at Schoolcraft
Community College, Henry
Ford Community College and
is on the applied music staff
of Wayne State University.
In 1973, Benson appeared
George Benson
with the Austin-Moro Band at
the Montreux Jazz Festival in
Switzerland. He also has ap-
peared with the Detroit Sym-
phony Orchestra.
or the past few years,
Larry Crockett has
devoted much of his
spare energy to Israel and
her future.
Crockett, director of the
special projects at the Uni-
versity of Michigan's school
of engineering, has helped to
make the Michigan business
community aware of the
Israel opportunities in high
technology by organizing
research and development
conferences — the last one in
April 1989.
He recruited a number of
Israeli engineers to U-M,
and brought Dr. Moshe
Ziren from Israel's chief
scientist office to U-M for
three months as a visiting
scholar.
He and his wife, Kathy
Richards, neither of whom is
Jewish, visited Israel for the
first time last winter with
the American/Israel
Chamber of Commerce of
Michigan.
For his efforts, Crockett
this week received an Israel
trade award from the
American/Israel Chamber of
Commerce of Michigan.
Other recipients were: Mor-
ton Feldman, chairman of
the board of Classic Optical,
who is the largest importer
of Israeli eye-glass frames to
the United States; Michael
McDermott, a manager of
General Dynamics Corp.,
who has been instrumental
in increasing business ac-
tivities of the company with
Israel; Raymond Palmer, a
buyer for K mart Corp., who
brought 600,000 Epilady
hair removal devices from '
its native Israel to store
shelves in the United States;
and Mark Kahn, president of
Production Tool Supply Co.,
a major importer and
distributor of Israeli-made
industrial products.
Feldman's company began
doing business in Israel in
1980 when he helped adapt
the optical frame manufac-
turing business to the
American market and
helped distribute Israeli
frames all over the United
States. It now • sells an
estimated $2 million a year
in United States. Projections
show Classic Optical will
sell $5 million of Israeli eye-
glass frames in the United
States by 1992.
With McDermott's help,
General Dynamics has im-
ported over $500 million in
products from Israel in the
past few years.
Palmer, of K mart, first
began stocking the highly
visible Epilady last October.
Due to the overwhelming
response, the stores now are
carrying five other Epi pro-
ducts.
Kahn's company has im-
ported and distributed
Israeli products since 1951.
During the past year, Pro-
duction Tool has purchased
almost $2 million in Israeli
goods. They recently signed
a joint venture with Iscar
metals to market their line
of industrial tooling under a
private label arrangement.
Awards were given during
the annual dinner meeting
of the chamber this week.
Speaking at the dinner were
Oded Nechushtan, vice pres-
ident for Epilady Products,
and Meir Buber, the newly
appointed Israeli trade
commissioner to the United
States. ❑
Planning the Yeshiva Beth Yehuda's 75 anniversary dinner are (left to
right) Rabbi Norman Kahn, Harold Beznos, -Jerry Luptak, Paul Borman,
David Hermelin and Rabbi E.B. Freedman.
Yeshiva Beth Yehuda
Marks Anniversary
Paul Borman, David
Hermelin and Harold Beznos
will serve as Diamond An-
niversary chairmen as
Yeshiva Beth Yehudah
celebrates its 75th anniver-
sary at the Westin Hotel Nov.
19. Cocktails will be served at
6 p.m. with dinner at 7.
Heading the honorary din-
ner chairmen committee are
Ivan Bloch, David Holtzman,
Spencer Partrich, Mickey
Shapiro and I. William Sherr.
Attorney Jerry Luptak will
receive the Humanitarian
Award at the event.
Yeshiva Beth Yehudah was
founded as an afternoon
Hebrew school in 1914. Today,
the network of day schools in-
cludes the Joseph Tannen-
baum School for Boys, the
Sally Allan Alexander Beth
Jacob School for Girls, the
Abner Wolf Pre-school
Department, the Lillian
Saltsman Educational
Enrichment Program and the
Beth Yehudah Day Camp.
The P'TACH program for
special education also is hous-
ed at the Tanenbaum School
in Southfield.
The yeshiva was establish-
ed on Division Street with
150 students. The Beth Jacob
School for Girls, was created
in 1943, with a high school in
1954. Classes are available to
children in pre-school
through 12th grade.
For dinner reservations, call
the Yeshiva, 557-6750.
JARC Benefit
At Fox Theatre
Entertainer Peter Allen
will perform at a benefit for
JARC Nov. 13 at the Fox
Theater. An afterglow in the
Grand Lobby will follow.
Nancy Jacobson, chairper-
son for the annual fundrais-
ing event, serves as a JARC
vice-president and plays an
active role in many Jewish
community organizations.
Proceeds from the event will
help support JARC homes
and services for adults with
developmental disabilities.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
45