(PEOPLE) Terry Rotenberg and The Staff of Gemini Travel Linda Danol Jane Bergman Shirley Bernstein Ilene Columbus Ruth !Ka Joani Lesser Jean Levy Wendy Malley Patty Ratliff Phyllis Payson Sharon Resnick Agi Rubin Alan Pinter Marlene Oleshansky Ginny Winters Want to Wish Our Friends, Our Families and Our Valued Clients A Healthy, Peaceful Joyous and Prosperous New Year laGEMINI TRAVEL 855-3600 WE APPRECIATE YOUR BUSINESS" THE SHOPS & SERVICES OF LINCOLN CENTER WISH TO EXTEND A HAPPY & JOYOUS NEW YEAR TO ALL OUR FRIENDS & NEIGHBORS! A & P Save-A-Center Baskin & Robbins Beds ETC Bread Basket Checker Bar-B-Q Coats Unlimited Dillman Chiropractic Life Dots K-Mart King Lim's Garden Lincoln Barber Shop Magic Touch Beauty Shop Marianne Plus Metro Optical of Oak Park Metropolitan Dry Cleaners Nora's Alterations Perry Comfort Care Perry Drug Store LINCOLN CENTER Radio Shack Richard's Boys & Girls Wear Secretary of State Sherman's Foot Care Strictly Kosher Meats Sy Draft Office Supply The Book Beat Towne Theatre Winkelman's 1072 MILE & GREENFIELD An Insider's View Of An Israeli Judge ELANA SHAP Special to The Jewish News I f Stephen Adler had taken the advice of his absorp- tion center's employment counselor when he arrived in Israel back in 1968, he would have dropped any dreams he had of opening a law practice, and retrained as a policeman. Fortunately, Mr. Adler, 50, did not. Today he is a judge with "Deputy President of the National Labor Court" stamped on his office door in the court's scenically situated Jerusalem building. Mr. Adler does admit, however, to "having been in the right place at the right time." His cycle of good for- tune began a week after ar- riving in Israel for a year with his wife Ruth and their baby. On their first Shabbat in Jerusalem, a fellow dinner guest was the then State Comptroller Dr. Itzhak Ernst Nebenzahl who offered the young Columbia Law School graduate an associate position. Seven months later, Mr. Adler was spotted by the State Attorney, Judge Zvi Bar-Niv, who, upon discover- ing that Mr. Adler had a post- graduate specialization in labor relations from Cornell University, offered him the newly created position of researcher in the publications department of the Labor Court. "In fact," Mr. Adler emphasizes, "separate labor courts in Israel were only established in 1969, making my qualifications and ex- perience at the National Labor Relations Board in Washington and Los Angeles an enormous asset." Mr. Adler went on to do his articles at the Labor Court and was then admitted to the Israeli Bar. In 1975, at the age of 34, he applied to be a judge. A panel of Bar, Knesset and Ministry of Justice members approved his ap- pointment and he began ser- ving as head of the Tel Aviv Trial Court and judge at the National Court, eventually rising to the position he holds today. He is one of only three former Americans to be ap- pointed a judge in Israel. Stephen Adler firmly believes that lawyers from abroad should be able to adapt to the Israeli legal system relatively painlessly. "Israeli law does after all have its roots in an Anglo- Saxon legal system derived from pre-1948 British Man- dated Palestine," he points out. Mr. Adler's unassuming manner, however, casual dress and modest office with its mounds of papers and simple wooden shelves, are a far cry from ceremonious British chambers or slick New York ones. Living in Jerusalem's Old City with Ruth and his five sons, Mr. Adler has a pas- sionate interest in ar- chaeology and Israel's legal rights to sovereignty over Jerusalem, spending his spare time caught up in the past and possible future of the ancient city. Mr. Adler speaks excitedly of the Arab-style building housing the Labor Courts, which stands on what was the Israel-Jordan border before the Six-Day-War and where fierce fighting ensued. "I take great pleasure in the paradox that today the sight is one of reason, law and conciliation," he says, "where Jews and Arabs from Israel and workers from the West Bank can, no matter what their means or status, settle their disputes." Looking back over the last 23 years, Stephen Adler ad- mits satisfaction with his achievements. The modesty that pervades his conversa- tion does nothing to dispel the feeling that Judge Stephen Adler would have succeeded at anything he set his mind to — even retraining as a policeman. ❑ WZPS NEWS immmimi IDF Kin Air Messages Jerusalem (JTA) — Parents, relatives and friends of Israeli soldiers who are presently out of the country can dial a number in Israel to have their personal Rosh Hashanah greetings aired on army radio during the upcoming holiday. The holiday connection is a joint venture of Bezek, the Israel Telecommunication Corp., and Galei Tzahal, the army radio. Callers who wish to par- ticipate in that program can call between Sept. 14 and Sept. 22 to 972-3-65-2222, and leave a message for their soldier. The actual call, or an an- nouncer's version of the call, will be broadcast on army radio.