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THE JEWISH NEWS

SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS

SERVING DETROIT'S JEWISH COMMUNITY

AUGUST 10, 1990 / 19 AV 5750

Detroit Iraqis Respond
To Invasion Of Kuwait

KIMBERLY LIFTON

Staff Writer

oseph Nadhir has been
active in the Detroit
Chaldean community
since leaving Iraq for the
United States 30 years ago.
Since his immigration, his
attitude about relationships
with people of other cultural
backgrounds has remained
consistent.
"We feel we are all
brothers and all Ameri-
cans," Mr. Nadhir said.
"Once you come to America,
you must close all gaps bet-
ween cultures. We must
mix."
Like leaders of the Arab
and Jewish communities of
Detroit, Mr. Nadhir was
upset when Iraqi troops in-
vaded Kuwait last week to
acquire more control over
the world's oil supply.
"Everybody deplores ag-
gression regardless of who is
doing it," Mr. Nadhir said.
And like leaders of the

other groups with Middle
Eastern ties, Mr. Nadhir is
convinced relationships
among the respective groups
will remain unaffected by
Iraqi leader Saddam Hus-
sein's conquest of Kuwait. In
fact, these community
leaders say Iraq's invasion of
Kuwait has not divided
communities in Detroit.
"There are no problems
between Chaldean and Jew-
ish groups over the Middle
East here in Detroit," said
David Gad-Harf, executive
director for the Jewish
Community Council. "World
issues don't divide us. There
is virtually no activity in the
community on behalf of
Hussein, and I don't an-
ticipate any.
"Chaldeans (mostly
Catholic) were persecuted as
the minority in Iraq, an
overwhelmingly Muslim
country," Mr. Gad-Harf said.
"While many might support
steps taken against Kuwait,
an elite and wealthy nation

that hasn't shared much of
its wealth, it doesn't mean
that Chaldeans are suppor-
tive of the Hussein regime.
It will have little or no bear-
ing on our relationship with
the local community."
The Jewish community,
Mr. Gad-Harf said, should be
wary of the "true colors of
Iraq and Hussein. He has
threatened to annihilate
Israel with chemical
weapons. We must take his
threat seriously. He is a
threat to the rest of the
world."
Mr. Gad-Harf said he has
not met with Chaldean
representatives, but he said
friction hasn't mounted bet-
ween the two communities.
Jewish Welfare Federation
Executive Vice President
Robert Aronson said stabili-
ty of the Middle East,
specifically Israel, is the
Jewish community's major
concern.
"I think this (invasion of
Continued on Page 14

New American Musicians
Will Perform For Exodus

ALAN HITSKY

Associate Editor

N

aum Shulman clean-
ed toilets and worked
two other jobs for
three years to buy a $30,000
professional-quality bas-
soon. But when the 27-year-
old Soviet Jew left the USSR
earlier this year for Detroit,
his prized musical instru-
ment was confiscated by the
Soviet government.

On Aug. 29, Shulman will
join 10 other Soviet emigres
in a concert at Temple Israel
that will benefit Operation
Exodus. And he will be play-
ing a new bassoon donated
by the Cantors Council of
Detroit.
"The new instrument is
not the same quality as the
one he had," said Cantor
Harold Orbach, "but it will
allow him to perform profes-
sionally." The Cantor's
Council is raising $6,000 for
the bassoon and is paying
the musicians for the Aug.

29 performance. All proceeds
from the $20 a pair tickets
will be donated to Operation
Exodus, the fund-raising
effort to help resettle Soviet
Jews in Israel. The Jewish
News is a co-sponsor of the
concert.
The progarm will feature
the classical music of
Chopin, Rachmaninoff, some
Russian and Israeli works
and French masters, accor-
ding to Nicolai Lemberg, one
of the musicians. There will
be solo performers as well as
two trios.
Luba Bertin, who
publishes a Russian-
language newspaper for the
emigres, orchestrated an
April 1 concert at the Jewish
Community Center to
showcase the newcomers.
"We seem to have a
tremendous number of tal-
ented musicians coming in
from the great conser-
vatories. We would like to
see them get some work
—bar mitzvahs, concerts —
before they are snatched up

by professional orchestras,"
she said.
The musicians performing
Aug. 29 will include Mr.
Shulman, pianist Ilya
Kozadayev and his son Vita-
ly (flute), Yury Khalitov
(clarinet), Nicolai Lemberg
(flute) and his wife Ludmila
(piano), pianists Vladislav
Kovalsky and Dmitry Kon-
dratyev, cellists Irina
Tikhouov and Fanya Kutik,
and singer Lolita Faynsteyn.
The Lembergs and Mr.
Khalitov teach at the
Classical Music School in
Southfield. Mr. Kovalsky,
who recently performed in
Japan, will play solo corn-
positions and accompany
some of the others. Vitaly
Kozadayev just returned
from a month of study in
Israel which was financed by
a scholarship. The two
cellists, Ms. Tikhouov and
Ms. Kutik, have been in
Detroit two weeks.
Tickets for the perfor-
mance are ' available from
members of the Cantors
Council.

They were ready to die
for their country.
Now, members of the
Jewish War Veterans fight
to keep alive the memory
of fallen comrades.

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