DETROIT
I FIFTY YEARS AGO
I
Palestinian Jews Ready
As Axis Prepare Attack
This column will be a
weekly feature during The
Jewish News' anniversary
year, looking at The Jew-
ish News of today's date
50 years ago.
PHIL JACOBS
Managing Editor
A
state of total
recruiting was
engaged in
Palestine to defend
against a gathering Axis
battle group in the Egyp-
tian frontier, reported
The Jewish News. All
able-bodied men and wo-
men between the ages of
17 and 45 were urged to
join some branch of the
military. It was also
learned that the Palestine
Jewish volunteers with
the Roy-al Air Force who
were restricted to ground
work were assigned to ac
tual combat duty.
American civilians were
urged by the State
Department to leave the
region as soon as possible.
Meanwhile in Egypt, the
Menasha Synagogue of
Alexandria was destroyed
during an Axis air raid.
The synagogue's Torahs
survived the bombing.
On the home front, joint
graduation exercises for
the United Hebrew
Schools were held at the
Philadelphia-Bryon
School. The Parkside
School graduates includ-
ed: Maurice Silver, Daniel
Gilbert, Barbara Bross,
Pearl Weisner, Sidney
Swidler, Delphine
Weisner, David Levine
and David Levy.
Philadelphia-Bryon
students included:
Rudolph Phillips,
Charlotte Fortgang, Joe
Hyman, Beth Cohen,
Hannah Cohen, Irving
Ritter, Irving Zeitlin,
Calvin Klyman, Elsieinae
Goldstein, Helen Bor-
meinski, Esther Strom,
Esther Gerstein and
Miriam Bernstein.
Rose Sittig Cohen
graduates were: Elliot
Schubiner, Max Krolik,
Lester Becher, Aubrey
Gealer, Harold Salter,
Seymour Barahl, Leah
Michlin, Morris Zelonka,
Marvin Weiss, Roger
Daniels, Hershel Sand-
berg, Yale Domnitch, Vic-
14
FRIDAY, JUNE 26, 1992
for Linden and Leonard
Portnoy.
David W. Simons
graduates included:
Jerome Ettinger, Peter
Siegel, Marvin Margolis,
David J. Eisenberg, Irv-
ing Landy, Celia Et-
tinger, David Stern,
Eugene Malitz, Barbara
Malitz, Rosalyn Ann
Eisenman, Helen Starr,
Fred Hittman, Mordechai
Grossman, Wilbert
Sinkowitz, Solomon
Domnitch, Shlomo Faber,
Leon Isaac Gm-a, Sidney
Kelman, Alvin Kurtz and
Judith Levin.
At the annual Jewish
Home For Aged meeting,
superintendent Dr. Otto
Hirsch reported that 146
residents were cared for
the last year. During that
time, 126 remained in the
home while 19 died and
one voluntarily left the
Home.
Frank Wetsman, Harry
Dunitz and Sanford Adler
were elected to the board,
joining Maurice Aronson,
Ben Bavli, Dr. Henry
Bennett, Nathan Bonin,
Dr. J.J. Jacobs, Dr. David
Kliger, Henry Levitt,
David Oppenheim and
Louis Robinson. Myron
Keys was chairman of the
board.
The Americanism and
Hillel teams were tied for
first place in the first
baseball series sponsored
by the Pisgah Lodge of
B'nai B'rith. Captains of
the team were Jack
Broadman, Morris
Lieberman, Harry
Thomas and Paul
Talberg.
An Industrial National
Bank ad suggested to
readers that they "Get
ready for gas rationing'.
It's bound to come." An-
other ad reminded the
public that government-
backed bombing in-
surance would be offered
until July 1.
Marriages listed this
week included: Leonore
Berman to Seymour
Blumenthal, Ruth
Reinheimer to Kurt
Rothschild, Bertha
Goldhoff to Albert
Burrows, Irene Shapiro to
William Block, Geraldine
Warren to Albert Ziff,
Shirley Stein to Jack
Epps, and Frieda Stolman
to Harry Trunk.
Adoptive Parents Find Support
In New Stars Of David Group
ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM
Assistant Editor
T
he children come from
everywhere from
Korea to India to
Latin America. Their ages
range from infant to teen-
ager. Some are completely
healthy; some have special
needs. The one thing they
have in common: Jewish
parents.
Each year, thousands of
Jewish couples nationwide
become adoptive parents.
Now a new local organiza-
tion, Stars of David, will
serve as an education center
and support group for adop-
tive Jewish parents and for
Jewish couples planning to
adopt.
The local group, part of a
national network with more
than 50 chapters in 19
states, was started by West
Bloomfield resident Elissa
Rosenfeld. It will hold its
first event, a picnic, noon
July 12 at Temple Israel.
"We're an information and
support group," Ms.
Rosenfeld said of Stars of
David. "We want to serve as
a clearinghouse for all kinds
of issues —international and
private adoption, adopting
from other states, network-
ing, pros and cons of adop-
tion, and information about
conversion. Whatever the
aspect of adoption, we're
here to provide informa-
tion."
Ms. Rosenfeld became in-
terested in Stars of David
while living in New Jersey,
where she and her husband
were in the process of adop-
ting a boy. Looking for sup-
port groups for Jewish
parents, they learned of
Stars of David, which was
founded in 1984 by Phyllis
Nissen, an adoptive mother,
and Rabbi Susan
Abrahmson of Temple
Shalom Emeth in Burl-
ington, Mass.
In 1990, the Rosenfelds
settled in Detroit. Days
later, their adoptive son
arrived. M:3. Rosenfeld was
surprised to discover no
Detroit area chapter of Stars
of David existed. She decided
to start one herself.
A group specifically for
adoptive Jewish parents is
necessary for several
reasons, Ms. Rosenfeld said.
The foremost of these is that
Jewish parents can have an
especially difficult time
adopting children.
Today, the birth mother
Elissa Rosenfeld with husband Andrew and sons Benjamin, 7, and Noah,
18 months.
has greater control over who
adopts her baby, Ms.
Rosenfeld said. The vast
majority of mothers opt to
place their newborns in
Christian homes. With the
number of healthy infants
available for adoption al-
ready limited, this makes it
even more difficult for a
Jewish couple to find a child.
Another issue is conver-
sion, as most children placed
for adoption are not born to
Jewish mothers.
The mother of two boys,
Ms. Rosenfeld said Stars of
David also can help children
feel more comfortable with
the issue of adoption.
"The kids do feel a little
different; there's no way to
get around that," she said.
"This group is a way to help
them learn 'You joined our
family just the way Michael
joined his.' " •
Ms. Rosenfeld said she has
no idea how many Jewish
couples locally or nationally •
have adopted children. But
Stars of David has shown a
steady increase since its es-
tablishment.
Phyllis Nissen began Stars
of David in 1984 by placing
notices in local and national
newsletters. The first
meeting, held at Temple
Shalom Emeth in
Massachusetts, attracted 35
families. Today, the organ-
ization comprises hundreds'
of families from every bran-
ch of Judaism.
To attend the picnic or for
information, contact Ms.
Rosenfeld at 737-3874. CI
Boy's Surgery Leaves
Mother Without Funds
JENNIFER FINER
Jewish News Intern
M
onica Shoohani's
first visit to the
United States was
not what she expected.
She hadn't planned on
staying for more than two
weeks, and she had no idea
her visit would cost more
than $18,000.
Ms. Shoohani and her son
Yosi came to Michigan from
Israel so Yosi could have an
eye operation. The surgery
was successful, but it left
Ms. Shoohani with exten-
sive medical bills she cannot
pay.
"We'd have to work for 20
years to get this amount
back," Ms. Shoohani said.
"It will be helpful if I could
get any donation especially
to pay back the money I
borrowed."
Five months ago, Ms.
Shoohani's twins were born
four months premature,
each weighing about 1
pound. One of her children,
Yosi, had retinopathy of
prematurity, an eye condi-
tion common in premature
babies.
Surgery had to be done to
prevent Yosi from complete-
ly losing his already failing
vision. The United States is
one of the few places in the
world with physicians able
to perform the operation.
According to Dr. Michael
Trese of Beaumont Hospital,
who treated Yosi, the boy's