750

Celebrating 50 years of growth with the Detroit Jewish Community

THE JE

SH

2 6 ADAR 5753/MARCH 19,1993

The Home Heals
Amid Funding Debate

Optimism abounds and non-institutional care for the aging is discussed
as the community grapples with the fate of the Jewish Home for Aged.

KIMBERLY LIFTON STAFF WRITER

espite the past
problems at the
Jewish Home for
Aged – serious
health code viola-
tions, exorbitant
clean-up fees, con-
tinually high oper-
ating costs and
poor management
– the Jewish Fed-
eration of Metropolitan Detroit
agrees it must remain in the busi-
ness of caring for the Jewish elder-
ly.
But questions remain over meth-
ods and high cost of care. Does the
system work? Was it necessary for
the Federation to spend $4.5 mil-
lion this year (about $15,000 a res-
ident) to bail out JHA's 312 beds at
Borman Hall and Prentis Manor
nursing homes?

their dues, and they supported the
Jewish community all of their lives.
Now it is their turn."
Like other agency directors, Alan
Goodman, executive director for
Detroit's Jewish Family Service,
agrees there is a need for a Jewish
nursing home. But he is not sure
resources were judiciously allocat-
ed.
"Sometimes the wrong decisions
are made under stress during cri-
sis situations," he says. "Perhaps if
there had been no crisis, more mon-
ey would have been spent in com-
munity services."

"There are always people who
will say we are spending too much
on Jewish homes and housing for
the aged," said Herb
Shore, president of
the National Assoc-
iation of Jewish
Homes for the Aged,
which oversees the
105 not-for-profit
Jewish nursing
homes throughout
the country. "You
should have home
health care, you
should have ser-
Is the Home taking more than Its share of Jewish community funds?
vices, you should
have a hospital and
you should have a home for aged.
Agency for Jewish Education ex-
"These are the people who are
ecutive director Howard Gelberd
most at risk," Mr. Shore says.
said he isn't sure if the injection of
"These are the most frail, and they
monies into the Home will have any
cannot be abandoned. They paid
HOME FOR AGED page 26

Inside

BUSINESS

Westernizing

Local businessmen take risks
for profits in Russia.
Page 43

BACKGROUND

Totomania!

The national lotto has got Israel
pumped.
Page 59

Jewish Perspective

College fair will focus on campus biases and realities.

LESLEY PEARL STAFF WRITER

C rossing the bridge near
Wells Hall at Michigan
State University, a stu-
dent is handed every-
thing from People for
the Ethical Treatment
of Animals pamphlets
to pocket-sized Bibles to anti-Israel
propaganda.
The encounter is hardly a
uniquely Spartan experience.
Each day at colleges and univer-
sities around the country, political
and religious groups try to get
across their messages. Many groups
are innocuous, but increasing num-
bers are spreading words of hate.
Often, the average college stu- -
dent has neither the information
nor the gumption to respond.
Jewish Community Council
hopes to alter that by sponsoring
a college fair for Jewish high school
students. It will be held, at the

Agency for Jewish Education build-
ing 10 a.m. March 28.
JCCouncil began identifying the
problems of Jewish students on
campus about four years ago when
Louis Farrakhan appeared at MSU.
Howard Wallach, chairman of
JCCouncil's college fair task force,
said the JCCouncil decided the or-
ganization needed to help high
school and college students deal
with racism, anti-Semitism and
pro-Arab propaganda.
The task force was formed — act-
ing as a resource for campuses, dis-
tributing leaflets and fact sheets on
Israel.
"We wanted to give students the
ammunition to respond to attacks,"
Mr. Wallach said.
However, the task force also re-
alized the difficulty of functioning
on a continuous basis with limited

JEWISH PERSPECTIVE page 12

ENTERTAINMENT

Jewish Shtick

An Orthodox comedian brings his
act to the Comedy Castle.
Page 73

Contents on page 5