NEWS 1
Aish HaTorah Presents .. .
DISCOVERY:
A One-day seminar
into the "whys" of
being Jewish
No Nomination
For Jewish Film
Come and make the discovery of a lifetime!
Is there any real evidence that G-d exists?
Who did write the Torah?
How is Judaism relevant to today?
For many of us, Judaism has meant little more than simplistic answers
for an overly complex world. At best, we get a feeling of nostalgia remembering
Jewish traditions from our childhood — or we may experience a sense of "belonging"
when we find ourselves in Jewish company. But .. .
Is Judaism a factor of great relevance to our lives?
Something to give weight and thought to?
Say Yes to Jewish Literacy!!!
The Discovery Seminar will take place on
Sunday, Feb. 9th and Tuesday, Feb. 11th
Sunday 8:30am to 5:30pm and Tuesday 7:30pm to 9:00pm
The Troy Marriott Hotel
Registration fee is $50. Materials, breakfast, lunch and beverages are included.
Phone 737-0400
AISFI HATORAIVALEYNU
Rekindling the Jewish Spirit
Ralph Adams
Photography
Eye Examinations
Ultimate Eyewear
Custom Contact Lenses
Dr. M. Gottesman • Dr. M. Weishaus
Optometrists
Applegate Square
Northwestern Hwy.
(between 12 & 13 Mile Road)
86
FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 1992
Call 358-2920
Located in the Fairway Office
Building across from The Links at
Pinewood Golf Course
(313) 363-3533
Hours By Appointment
Weddings • Bar Mitzvah.
Los Angeles (JTA) — Ger-
many has failed to enter a
German-produced Holo-
caust-theme film, Europa,
Europa, for Academy Award
consideration, despite praise
by American and interna-
tional critics for the unusual
film about a Jew who sur-
vives the war among Ger-
man army ranks.
The refusal has astonished
and enraged the film's
writer and director,
Agnieska Holland, as well as
the Hollywood movie colony.
Europa, Europa is said to
be a true story, based on the
wartime experiences of
Solomon Perel, now 65 and
living in Israel.
Mr. Perel survived the
Holocaust by hiding his Jew-
ish identity in Poland and
ended up fighting in the
German army and attending
an elite school for "Hitler
Youth." He was saved from
being shot by the Soviets
after their capture of Berlin
by his brother, who spent the
war in a Nazi concentration
camp.
Ms. Holland, a native of
Poland whose father is Jew-
ish, shot the film almost en-
tirely in German, with a
German producer as well as
a mostly German cast and
crew.
Under academy rules, it
would be up to Germany to
enter the film in the Oscar
race, but it has not done so,
according to reports in the
New York Times and the
entertainment trade maga-
zine Variety.
The reason, an angry Ms.
Holland told the Times, is
that the Germans "hate this
subject, they really hate it."
"I have many German
friends, but I was really
shocked at how the minds of
the people changed after
unification," she said. "The
arrogance and xenophobia
which was hidden is now of-
ficial.
"I cannot imagine making
a movie in Germany," she
said. "They felt guilty many,
many years after the war,
but it was official guilt. The
time is over. This generation
hates all those people who
put them through the official
guilt. What is left is ar-
rogance and stupidity. My
presence and my cinema is
an offense to these people."
The German Export Film
Union, whose committee is
responsible for selecting its
country's entry, said in a
statement that no German
film in 1991 was good
enough to qualify as an
Academy Award nominee.
An Export Union member
was quoted as calling the
film "junk" and the union's
head described Europa,
Europa as "an embarrass-
ment."
Orion Classics, the Ameri-
can distributor of the film,
has sent letters to academy
members urging them, in
effect, to take the film out of
the foreign-language
category and to nominate it
in the more prestigious gen-
eral competition for best pic-
ture, director and
screenplay.
Racial Violence Spreads
To Switzerland
Geneva (JTA) — Racial
violence and attacks on for-
eigners seeking asylum,
which have become com-
monplace in Germany, seem
to have crossed the Swiss
border.
The situation generated a
demonstration in Lausanne
on Jan. 17 against racism
and xenophobia in Switzer-
land.
Jewish organizations,
churches of various de-
nominations, the Swiss Red
Cross and the Office for As-
sistance to Refugees were
joined by the mayor, mem-
bers of the City Council and
a Jewish community leader,
Rabbi Sadia Morali.
"It all starts with attacks
against one individual,"
Rabbi Morali told the Jewish
Telegraphic Agency. "We
have seen it happen in
France and Germany," he
said.
"Street demonstrations
are a positive thing. But
legal action to combat
racism deserves looking
into," he added.
Racist incidents here are
on the increase. Last month,
shots were fired at a refugee
hostel in Lausanne. A young
woman was attacked after
leaving Friday services at a
synagogue in Basel.
The Jewish community
there has asked for police
protection, especially be-
cause Basel is just across the
border from Germany and
open to infiltration.