I DETROIT I
Jewish Faculty Group
Starts At MSU
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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1992
visit since the faculty lacked
a formal organization.
"There was no organized
way for Jewish faculty and
staff to hear about our com-
plaints or to make their feel-
ings known," he said. "It
became clear we were totally
unprepared for (Far-
rakhan's) visit."
Still, group organizers are
hoping to extend the group's
activities beyond fighting
anti-Semitism.
"It's not just a group to sit
around and complain about
problems," said Barry Gross,
professor of English and di-
rector of Jewish studies at
MSU. Organizers hope that
the group will sponsor
speakers and programs aim-
ed at improving campus
understanding of Judaism
and Jewish culture.
Also, Professor Gross said
the group will try to "avoid
the impression that there
are a couple of house Jews
that the administration can
deal with" by constantly
rotating new faculty into
leadership positions.
❑
Youngblood Lands Jet
Production Of 'Flight'
BASEMENTS
18
esponding to several
incidents of campus
anti-Semitism,
several Jewish members of
Michigan State's faculty and
staff are forming a special
organization to air their
complaints.
The group, which held its
first open meeting last
Wednesday, wants to
emulate the success of other
special interest faculty
groups, including that of
black professors and staff.
The impetus for the
group's founding came two
years ago, when Louis Far-
rakhan, leader of the Nation
of Islam, spoke on campus.
Mr. Farrakhan has made
several remarks disparaging
of Jews and Judaism.
Professor Gross said that
at the time, the university
administration would not
take seriously complaints
from Jewish faculty over the
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or director Hal
Youngblood, coming
back to Detroit was a
perfect place to take Flight.
Mr. Youngblood, who is
directing the Jewish
Ensemble Theatre produc-
tion, comes from New York
back home. He is the former
producer of J.P. McCarthy's
WJR "Morning Show" and
"Focus." While in town, he
was even a guest of Mr. Mc-
Carthy on the "Focus" show
he helped create.
Flight will appear on the
JET DeRoy Theatre Stage,
beginning February 9
through March 1. The play
follows 50 years in the lives
of the Levine family, who
were socialist Jews fleeing
persecution in Lithuania
and coming to Rhodesia. The
family is in Rhodesia as it
changes from a white-
controlled country to black-
ruled Zimbabwe.
JET's staging marks the
North American preview of
Flight, before it goes to
New York. Prior to its
Detroit opening, "Flight"
was produced by the Royal
Shakespeare Company.
"You have different sorts
of characters in this play
who pick up their lifestyles
and Jewish identities in
Rhodesia, almost in the
same way they were in
Lithuania," said Mr.
Youngblood. "The differ-
ence, of course, is the coun-
try they are now set in."
There's a father who was a
not-too-successful accoun-
tant in Lithuania, who is
also not-too-successful in
Rhodesia. There's a polit-
ically active sister who picks
up her personal fire just
where she left off in
Lithuania. There's a son
who wants to assimilate in a
successful, rich white
Rhodesian society.
"The play is absolutely a
metaphor for the flight of the
Jews for over 2,000 years,"
said Mr. Youngblood.
"I think the audiences will
come out very exalted," con-
tinued Mr. Youngblood.
"There's a great deal to this
play. The issue of a Jewish
family in a country such as
Rhodesia lends itself to di-
versity.
Mr. Youngblood will
return to New York to work
on a screenplay. While here
in Detroit, he spent much of
his career writing and pro-
ducing plays, including a
series of television dramas
for the Jewish Community
Council.
❑