I UP FRONT Shlichim Seek Ways To Attract New Immigrants To Israel ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM Features Editor A Glenn Triest Dorothy Whitledge and her new neighbor Rose Mathis inspect their new homes in the just opened Teitel Federation Apartments in Oak Park. The new building has 149 units and will house 170-180 persons. Yeshiva To Expand Overcrowded School SUSAN GRANT Staff Writer I f all goes well, by next fall Yeshiva Beth Yehudah will no longer have to turn offices into classrooms at its Joseph Tanenbaum School for Boys. In April, the yeshiva plans to demolish its Southfield administrative office building and begin construc- tion on a $1 million, 11,800-square-foot addition to its school. The new Rabbi and Mrs. Moses Fischer Memorial Wing is expected to open in September. Yeshiva Administrative Director Rabbi E. B. Freed- man said the existing building, which houses the Continued on Page 18 mira Dotan believes aliyah is at a junction of change. Zionist organizations must be up- dated, she said. Americans must understand that Israel is a state, not just another Jewish community. And Americans and Israelis must begin to understand each other. "It's not just a question of language," said Dotan, chair- man of the World Zionist Ogranization's delegation to North America. She pointed to support within the U.S. Jewish community for allow- ing Soviet Jews with Israeli visas to settle in the United States. "To us, that's like a slap on the face — physically and emotionally." Dotan was a participant in the shlichim (emissary) con- ference, held this week at the Butzel Conference Center and the Jewish Community Center. Hun- dreds of shlichim, men and women sent by the Israeli government to disseminate information about Israel and to recruit new olim (im- migrants) to the country, at- tended the conference. Federation Executive Vice President Robert Aronson spoke before the shlichim, discussing what he called the principles of the American Jewish communi- ty. These included that no Most younger Jews "do not have the same, strong feelings about Israel" as earlier generations. single voice speaks for all American Jewry; that other than giving support, U.S. Jews offer no consensus on Israel; that U.S. Jewry is not like a pyramid with a single group at the top, but rather functions "as a mosaic, with different groups interacting and changing roles at different times"; and that the word "Zionist" attached to organization names is no longer necessary. "The issue is not Israel," he said. "The issue is the love of Israel." Aronson also said that most younger Jews "do not have the same, strong feel- ings about Israel" as earlier generations. Instead, they are interested in issues af- fecting their local Jewish community, he said. "The concept of Israel is becoming more and more distant for a generation of American Jews." The power of the Jewish community lies with the fed- erations and their network of social service agencies, Aronson said. Increasing numbers of Israel programs are emanating from the fed- eration, he said. Following Aronson's talk, the shlichim broke into various groups hosted by Federation leaders, local rabbis, the Jewish Com- munity Council and repre- sentatives of Jewish schools, the JCC, youth organiza- tions and movements. In a meeting with Rabbi David Nelson of Beth Shalom Synagogue, Continued on Page 18 ROUND UP Poet Yevtushenko Makes Appeal New York — Poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko, author of "Babi Yar," has joined with a group of Jews in the Soviet Union in an appeal to the Supreme Soviet to condemn anti-Semitism. The move was prompted by Soviet Jews' fear of growing anti-Semitism, according to the Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry. Adding their name to the appeal were Moscow Rabbi Adolf Shayevich; author Victor Magidson, member of the Anti-Zionist Committee; and Mikhail Gluz, director of the Mikhoels Jewish Cultural Center in Moscow. Ivan Bloch Retains Sardi's An item in the Dec. 1 Jewish News stated that Detroiter and Broadway producer Ivan Bloch had lost ownership of Sardi's restau- rant in Manhattan. Bloch, in a statement to The Jewish News, said this information was incorrect. "The fact is," Bloch wrote, "I did not lose Sardi's nor am I going to lose Sardi's, as an agreement was signed by myself and Vincent Sardi settling our dispute." The New York Times reported in November that Sardi had sued an ownership group headed by Bloch because monthly payments were missed in April and July after the debt was restructured. The Bloch group purchased Sardi's in 1986. Detroiter Mandell Ber- man, president of the Coun- cil of Jewish Federations, is an international chairman of the International Jewish Committee for Sepharad '92. Will Holiday Make Its (Postal) Mark? The Jewish Folk Arts Society of Washington is spearheading a campaign for Committee Cites Sephardic Jewry New York — Israel MM- ister of Education Yitzhak Navon has been named founder and chairman of the new International Jewish Committee for Sepharad '92, which is planning worldwide events to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the ex- pulsion of Jews from Spain. Some of the events include museum exhibitions, resto- ration programs, films, publications and tours to Israel, Spain, Turkey and Morocco. Looking for the stamp of approval. the first U.S. stamp to com- memorate a Jewish celebra- tion. The society recently sub- mitted a drawing, "Chanukah, Freedom of Religion," by graphic designer Avrum. Ashery to the U.S. Postal Stamp Ad- visory Board. The board is now considering the draw- ing, designed to increase U.S. awareness about Chanukah. New Jewish Books For The Blind New York (JTA) — Jackie Mason, Ruth Westheimer and Natan Sharansky are among the authors whose work is now available through the Jewish Braille Institute. The institute recently expanded its "Talking Book" program, which pro- vides free audio cassette tapes of Jewish interest to visually impaired American Jews. Among the titles recently added to the institute's library are Dr. Ruth's autobiography All in a Lifetime, Sharansky's Fear No Evil and Mason's Jackie For information, contact Joanne Jahr, 110 E. 30th St. New York, N.Y. 10016, (212) 889-2525. Hey Yall, It's Real Fine Music! Houston (JTA) — Mordechai Ben-David and Moshe Yess probably don't sell many albums in Texas, but a local Jewish radio host has made Houston the unlikely scene of the First Annual Mazel Tov Jewish Music Awards. Aaron Howard, who hosts "Mazel Tov," Houston's only Jewish radio program, re- cently announced the awards for some 24 Jewish artists in 17 categories. Among the awards: Best Contemporary American Jewish Recording, to Safam for "A Brighter Day"; Best Original Song, Instrumen- tal, to Andy Statman for "Flatbush Waltz"; Best Spoken Word, to Elie Wiesel for "Reading from his Works" and Best Frum (religious) Recording, to Mordechai Ben-David for "Just One Shabbos." Compiled by Elizabeth Applebaum THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 5