em•• ■ ••1 NEWS

'Secret' Jews
Rejoin Fold

New York (JTA) — The
Jewish community in the
Portuguese town of
Belmonte has returned to
the Jewish fold after 500
years of underground exis-
tence, helped by the
Memorial Foundation for
Jewish Culture, according to
Jack Spitzer, chairman of
the foundation's board of
trustees.
Although their Judaism
was submerged in order to
survive the Inquisition, the
Jews of Belmonte never-
theless secretly conducted
sedarim on Passover, lighted
Sabbath candles and per-
formed other rituals of their
faith over the centuries.
Now the 200 Jews of the
town are openly restoring
their Jewish roots, Mr.
Spitzer said.
He explained that while
visiting Lisbon in 1989, Dr.
Jerry Hochbaum, executive
vice president of the
Memorial Foundation, r. - A
with Jews of Belmonte,
which is 200 miles north of
Lisbon.
They expressed a desire to
link themselves with the
international Jewish com-
munity. The Memorial
Foundation, which has
helped revive scores of Jew-
ish communities since its
formation in 1965, offered to
help.
The foundation suggested
a program which the com-
munity implemented that
included training lay leaders
and educating other profes-
sional personnel.

Scud Damage
Estimates

Tel Aviv (JTA) — Israel's
casualty rate from Iraqi
Scud missile attacks has
been within the anticipated
limits, but property damage
is more extensive than ex-
pected, according to the
Israel Defense Force.
The 30 missiles fired at
Israel since the early hours
of Jan. 18 killed two people
and injured 200. Another 12
died of asphyxiation caused
by misusing their gas
masks.
Material damage is
estimated at $100 million,
Brig. Gen. Nachman Shai,
the IDF spokesman, said at a
news briefing here this
week.
He warned that while the
frequency of Scud attacks
has diminished during the
last nine days, the threat
remains high.

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THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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