COMMUNITY SUSAN GRANT Staff Writer A Don Levitt of Shir Tikvah and Dorothy Stewart of Plymouth United Church of Christ discuss the Martin Luther King Day program at the church. More than 60 Shir Tikvah members attended the commemoration in Detroit. Church elder Ronald Brook-Eskridge and Rabbi Arnie Sleutelberg join other elders and Detroit City Councilman Gil Hill in a song. Phyllis Kolko and Fannie Bruner look at children's art from four churches that marked Martin Luther King Day. Glenn Triest Volunteers Sought The Jewish Family Service is looking for volunteers who are interested in being a friend to a child from a single parent family. These children are in need of an adult friend who can serve as a role model by offer- ing companionship and sup- port and providing them with attention and guidance. The friend meets with their as- signed child on a weekly basis. The Jewish Family Service is also recruiting volunteers to grocery shop for the elder- ly in the Jewish community. The shopper can either escort their partner to the grocery store or shop for their partner from a provided shop- ping list. The senior citizen is responsible for payment of the groceries. For information, call Marcy Schneider, 559-4046. lthough local mes- sianic groups say they are not actively reaching out to convert Soviet Jewish immigrants, a Jewish organization is not taking any chances. Ronnie Schrieber, who leads the Detroit chapter of Jews for Judaism, said the organization plans a lecture for Soviet Jews to prevent them from following groups like Shema Yisrael, which mix Jewish traditions with belief in Jesus as the mes- siah in an effort to convert Jews to Christianity. Schrieber has set no date for the lecture, but expects to hold it within the next two months. Jews for Judaism, head- quartered in Baltimore with offices in six American cities and Toronto, acts as a counterforce to groups like Jews for Jesus. Soviet Jews are vulnerable to the preachings of mes- sianic groups because they do not have a strong Jewish identity, Schrieber said. "After 70 years of suppres- sion, some Soviet Jews don't know enough about Judaism or Christianity to know the critical difference between them," he said. So when someone claiming to be a rabbi approaches them with a friendly smile and speaks about Jesus and Judaism, some Soviet Jews believe it, Schrieber said. Most of these contacts happen in Italy where mis- sionary groups like the Con- servative Baptist Foreign Mission Society actively seek converts among Soviet Jews. Missionaries are also handing out messianic lit- erature in Russia. Schrieber said he heard about a Detroit Soviet Jew who told a friend about a "wonderful" book she had received from a "rabbi" while she was in Italy. The book was messianic litera- ture. But conversion is not lim- ited to Italy or Russia, Schrieber said. It can happen once Soviet Jews are in the United States. Although local messianic groups deny they are active- ly seeking to convert Soviet Jews, Schrieber does not believe them. Hope of Israel, a messianic group in Oak Park led by David Ben Lew, has featured Soviet Jews speaking about their belief in Jesus on the group's weekly television broadcast, Schrieber said. Ben Lew does not deny that some Soviet Jews have come to his building in Oak Park for "spiritual guidance. When they have a problem I help them." He sends Bibles to Russia and has people who will "witness" to Soviet Jews in Detroit, Ben Lew said. But he will not say how many local Soviet Jews have turn- ed to his ministry or how ac- tively he and his followers are seeking them. Loren Jacobs, who leads Shema Yisrael, said, "We have not made a special effort to reach out to the Russians." Instead Jacobs, who re- cently opened what he calls the area's first messianic synagogue, Congregation Beth Messiah, said the con- gregation's outreach pro- gram extends to all Jews, not just Soviets. About 35 people regularly attend the weekly Saturday services at Beth Messiah, Jacobs said, which is renting space at Birney Middle School in Southfield. None of his members are Soviet Jews, but he would welcome them. "If Russian Jews wind up believing in Yeshua (Jesus), they will wind up having a greater Jewish identity," he said. To counteract any push by local messianic groups to convert Soviet Jews, Schrieber plans to publish Jews for Judaism material in Russian. The group is also concentrating on mailings and fund raising. Nationally, Jews for Judaism leaders are doing what they can to combat messianic groups from con- verting Soviet Jews both in Italy and Russia. This week, three rabbis flew to Russia for a four-week stay to train resident Jews to combat missionary efforts. ❑ Alpha Omega Auxiliary Opens Israel Center SUSAN GRANT Staff Writer A Detroit community group is helping Israeli- children who need inexpensive dental care. Five years of fund-raising efforts by the Alpha Omega Auxiliary, whose spouses are members of the Jewish dental fraternity, paid off re- cently when the Dental Center for Children in Jerusalem opened a new operating room. Lori Roth, "So many children are in need of good dental care. At least 80 percent of Israelis can not afford care." auxiliary president, said the local group raised $15,000 to furnish the room with dental equipment. The project began after former auxiliary president Ellie Schamberg heard the Boston auxiliary was fur- nishing a room and decided the Detroit chapter should get involved, Roth said. "So many children are in need of good dental care," Roth said. "At least 80 per- cent of Israelis can not afford dental care." Because they can not afford to see a den- tist regularly about one- third of the children between the ages of 11 and 14 have severe dental problems, she said. The Jerusalem center pro- vides low-cost dental care for children. In emergencies, it also treats adults. In addition to paying for the equipment, the Alpha Omega Auxiliary will con- tinue sending money to the facility to help pay for employees and supplies, she said. The center also has an- other Detroit connection, Roth said. The room is nam- ed after the late Marian Williams, a Detroiter woman who first suggested the auxiliary contribute to projects in Israel. The Auxiliary annually contributes $1,000 to each of the dental departments at Tel Aviv and Hebrew uni- versities as well as $400 for dental journals. ❑ THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 41 K4OMMel= Are Christians Targeting Soviet Jewish Immigrants?