1EVVISH
11A31011AL
FUIID

A MESSAGE FROM JERUSALEM
KEREN KAYEMETH LEISRAEL

(JEWISH NATIONAL FUND)

January 21, 1991

Crew members working in the future pre-school wing.

Despite Delays, Yeshiva
Plans Remain On Target

SUSAN GRANT

Staff Writer

C

oat racks still fill the
cloak room,
bookshelves are visi-
ble in the library and stain-
ed glass windows continue to
filter sunlight into the main
sanctuary.
But little else remains to
show visitors walking
through the building on the
corner of Church and Ten
Mile roads that this was
once the home of Congrega-
tion B'nai Moshe. Instead,
construction crews are
transforming the Oak Park
synagogue into the Sally
Allan Alexander Beth Jacob
School for Girls and the
Abner Wolf and Irwin Cohn
Childhood Development
Center. The school is
scheduled to open in
September, despite delays in
construction.
When Yeshiva Beth
Yehudah began tearing out
the 850 seats in the main
sanctuary last summer,
Rabbi E.B. Freedman, school
administrator, had hoped
most of the renovations
would be completed by
January. Although crews
had begun remodeling the
chapel into two pre-school
classes, enclosing a cour-
tyard to make it an indoor
playroom and turning the
bridal room and gift shop
into administrative offices,
the work stalled during the
past few months.
While state of Michigan of-
ficials inspected the con-
struction work a few months
ago, final on-site approval

has not yet • come from the
state, Rabbi Freedman said.
Work such as turning the
main sanctuary into six high
school classrooms can't con-
tinue until the state permits
are secured.
He had' oral confirmation
from the state that every-
thing is okay, but Rabbi
Freedman must wait for the
official word which should
come in the next few weeks.
Once the permits are in
hand, Rabbi Freedman ex-
pects the remaining con-
struction, including laying
the new floor and dividing
up the sanctuary into
classrooms, to take four to
six weeks.
"We could have had the
floor done two months ago,"
he said. "We've just been go-
ing at a snail's pace because
of the permit."
The delay is costing the
school more money, Rabbi
Freedman said. Originally,
the yeshiva expected the
construction would cost
$750,000, but with delays
and incidental expenses, the
cost could run anywhere
between $800,000 and $1
million.
Despite the shaky econo-
my, Rabbi Freedman hopes
yeshiva supporters will come
through with the funding.
A "for sale" sign hangs on
front of the Beverly Hills
facility.
"The Beth Jacob sale is go-
ing well," said Rabbi
Freedman, who has had in-
terest from schools, mostly
private ones. "We don't have
any offers, but we have
groups who have walked
through the school."

Dear Friends,
We are in the midst of a war raging in Iraq which is affecting
the everyday life in Israel. After several days during which the popula-
tion spent time in sealed rooms and work came to a standstill, life
begins to return to normal. In spite of the cloud of danger which
still hangs over us; in spite of the gas masks everyone keeps at their
sides wherever they go, we have returned to business as usual. We
are proud that the citizens of Israel are steadfast, calm and prepared
for any eventuality.
It is of the utmost importance to stress that in spite of all this,
there was not one day in which new immigrants did not continue
to arrive. Even this month, the number of new immigrants arriving
in the country is expected to reach 20,000.
Yesterday JNF work resumed at all the sites where it is prepar-
ing land for new immigrant housing. Two weeks ago, groups of new
immigrants began working in JNF afforestation and their numbers
will be increasing.
Only days before the outbreak of hostilities in the Gulf, at a
meeting with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Housing,
JNF was asked to increase the number of sites and the number of
housing units for which we are preparing the land. We will, of course,
extend ourselves to the utmost; but it must be understood that there
is a limit to this. Without a supporting shoulder and strong backing
from you, we may soon find ourselves unable to carry out the im-
mense tasks ahead of us.
We are aware of the emergency fundraising efforts being car-
ried out in various countries. We must not hinder them. They are
essential and important. At the same time, we are sure that you will
be able to raise the amounts needed so badly by JNF without hur-
ting the general effort, by careful and innovative public relations, fun-
draising and mainly by telling the full story of our work.
From the Negev to Galilee hundreds of heavy earthmoving
machines are carrying out JNF work. Time is of the essence. We need
your immediate response. We must stress that at a time like this, it
is urgent that you forward to us any amounts of money that you are
able to transfer.
We are sure that we will all rise to the challenge and will move
JNF forward in its important role in assisting the absorption of new
Olim.
With hope and prayer for security and peace, we are

Sincerely yours,

Moshe Rivlin

Mordechai Dayan

Ori Orr

Chairman

Co-Chairman of the Board

Director-General

TRENDS

CROSSWINDS MALL
Orchard Lake Rd. at
Lone Pine Rd.

OPENING

MONDAY, FEB. 4th

8 51-44 5 5d

The
Applegate
Look

NORTHWESTERN HIGHWAY • SOUTHFIELD

❑

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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