Tuesday

Save This Date!

May 18

Amidst tears and hugging,
Vova and Sasha Shlein, orphans,
who lost their parents to the
Chernobyl disaster, were reunited
on February 25, 1993, in Israel.
Sasha was rescued nearly a year
ago. After intensive efforts, we
were able to rescue Vova on our
latest airlift.
They have hope ...
They have freedom ...
But there are more ...

HELP US BRING THESE CHILDREN HOME

Please join us when we recognize the efforts of
Joanne Zuroff who is intensely dedicated to the
Children of Chernobyl. A cancer survivor herself,
she refuses to complacently allow these Jewish
children to remain in Russia where they will surely
suffer from cancer-like illnesses and other dreadful
radiation related diseases.

Featured Speaker

SHERRY MARGOLIS

Channel 2 News Anchor

at the home of

DR. DAVID NEWMAN

Children of Chernobyl

Every Child Deserves A Healthy Future

For further information
or reservations, call,
548-6595 or 851-6032

■•■ ••11.111,

GALA CHOIR CONCERT

Temple Emanu-El
Anne Jospey Sanctuary

Sunday, May 2, 7:30 p.m.

Presenting the World-Renowned

HARTFORD MEMORIAL BAPTIST
CHURCH CATHEDRAL CHOIR

Dr. James Abbington, Director
Tickets $5.00 at the door

Larry Paul makes
FURNITURE
NEW.

Custom Restoration,
Lacquering,
Refinishing of new
or old furniture,
antiques, office
furniture, pianos.

For Free
Estimates

681.8280

People

Former Army Officer
Teaches English

HELGA ABRAHAM SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

A

s Victor Brill lumbers
off the bus, he looks
more like a former
Red Army officer than a
teacher of the English
language. Burly and mous-
tached, with more than a lit-
tle whimsy in his soft blue
eyes, his greeting pierces the
bus station static. But an ac-
cent that sounds more Aus-
tralian than Russian, his use
of idiosyncratic expressions,
and his choice of reading
material — Time magazine
and a J.B. Priestley novel —
irreparably alter the image.
Mr. Brill, 39, is an absorp-
tion success story. Barely out
of Hebrew classes, he was of-
fered, and accepted, a position
teaching English at the
Hebrew University's School
for Overseas Students. After
commenting on the dismal
employmemnt possibilities
for some Soviet immigrants,
Mr. Brill acknowledges,
"Compared to my com-
patriots, I'm as smug as a bug
in a rug." Mr. Brill, who re-
ceived a Ph.D. in American
idiom, is one of hundreds of
thousands of Soviet immi-
grants to Israel. This great
wave of immigration is sup-
ported by American Jews
through the United Jewish
Appeal/Federation Regular
and Operation Exodus
Campaigns.
Ironically, Victor Brill's
Zionist spirit developed at a
young age in the Siberian ci-
ty of Omsk, where, he says,
"Being Jewish is as impossi-
ble as cross-country skiing in
Israel!" The chances of being
an ardent Zionist are just
about as slim. But Mr. Brill's
father, a career officer in the
Soviet Army, whipped up sup-
port for Israel within the con-
fines of the home. Mr. Brill ex-
plains. "As a military man,
my father was a secret ad-
mirer of Israel. He admired
the way a small country
managed to stand up to the
millions pitted against it.
He's the one who gave me the
idea of coming to Israel."
He also gave his son a love
of the English language. "My
father made listening to the
BBC a pre-condition for any
treat. I'd listen to the news
and then tell him what was
going on in the world." He
adds, "Ever since then —
every day — I listen to the
BBC." When Mr. Brill got to
Israel, where English is com-
monly heard, he thought he

Victor Brill

had found paradise. He says
"I was glued to the television
from 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. And
when I wasn't watching
English-language programs, I
was trying my idioms out on
my American neighbors."
Laughing, he adds, "They
told me that phrases like
"Gag me with a spoon,' aren't
quite common useage. these
days!'

When Mr. Brill got
to Israel, where
English is com-
monly heard, he
thought he had
found paradise.
He was glued to
the TV.

Victor Brill dispenses with
questionable idioms when in-
vited to speak about Israel's
urgent needs. He's proven to
be an effective communicator
about what he calls, the "How
bad life is in Russia story ver-
sus how good it is in Israel."
Yet, he's not immune to the
inceasing economic crunch
facing Israel. He knows that
the beginning of his second
year in the country is going to
bring a rent increase that
he'll have to do some creative
juggling in order to meet.
Shrugging, he says, "It's the
same for everyone here. I'm
just like any other Isareli."
That is, any other Israeli who
has a passion for English and
a fondness for Siberian
winters.

❑

UJA Press Service

