Marvin E. Klein in
Three years ago, represen-
tatives of the Council for the
Preservation of Historical
Buildings and Sites were on
a surveying tour and were
shocked to see what had hap-
pened to the Atlit camp. Yossi
Feldman, head of the Council,
feels strongly that Atlit is the
symbol of the clandestine im-
migration: "It represents one
of the most important strug-
gles in the founding of the
State," he says. "Yet when we
visited, there wasn't one
building left standing. The
area was litered with car
bodies and was being used as
a garbage dump." The site
was quickly fenced in as
clearing and restoration work
began and a number of
buildings were reconstructed.
Tsvika Harari, the site's
director, has been involved in
the project since its inception
and is enthusiastic about the
educational potential of Atlit.
A former teacher and com-
munity center director, he
took on the position in
memory of his father who was
active in the clandestine im-
migration movement.
Mr. Harari rushes back and
forth from the site to his
crowded office. The telephone
is constantly ringing, tours
arranged and questions
answered. Many of the calls
are from former survivors
who want their stories record-
ed while they are still alive.
The office houses bulging files
of eyewitness accounts —
tales of harrowing escapes
and family separations. One
story is that of "baby Moses,"
lost at sea when the ship
Patria sunk in Haifa Bay. She
was found floating in a suit-
case, taken by a British officer
to a Haifa hospital and later
reunited with her mother in
Atlit.
Two men walk into the of-
fice who were once interned
in Atlit. Shimon Lansberg, a
soft-spoken kibbutznik,
relates details of life in the
camp fifty years ago. "People
used their wits • to make
things so as to occupy
themselves," he recalls. "The
women would unravel red
thread from the edges of the
English blankets and em-
broider designs on their
course, grey dresses.
The entrance to the Atlit
Camp was through the Disin-
fection Center. Here were the
showers and the autoclave for
sterilizing clothing. On the
inner walls of the structure
today are photographs of the
weary, frightened people who
passed through its gates.
Some had to be dragged in
screaming, convinced they
had entered one of Hitler's
death camps. a
18161 W. 13 Mile Rd., Southfield
559-0620
May the coming year be
one filled with health,
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JODI & RAY FOX
ZACHARY & ALEXIS
Best Wishes For A
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26615 Greenfield
Southfield
557-1580
Mon.: Fri. 9-5:30, Sat 9-1
Crosswinds Mall
4301 Orchard Lake Road
West Bloomfield
851-0610
Mon.-Tue-Thurs.-Fri. 10-6, Wed. 10-7, Sat. 10-3
WISHING YOU AND YOURS
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29791 Northwestern Hwy. in Applegate Square
Best Wishes For A
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553-4867
31543 W. 13 Mile, just W. of Orchard Lake, Farmington Hills
And His Staff
Wish Their Patients,
Friends and Employees
A Healthy, Happy
and Prosperous
New Year
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We are proud of the artful cleaning and the
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THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
93