• • •
COMPILED BY ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM
Bill Clinton
Does Kosher
E
Mickey And Donald Meet Craig
M
ickey and Minnie
and Donald have
a new partner.
He's young; he's talented;
he's handsome and, best
of all, he's Jewish.
This month, Disney
Records will release "Rock
`n Toontown" featuring
singer-songwriter Craig
Taubman. Mr. Taubman,
who has appeared in a
number of concerts in the
Detroit area, first gained
fame as a performer of
Jewish children's music.
His songs range from
pieces about Jewish iden-
tity to new melodies set to
ancient Hebrew lyrics.
Mr. Taubman's latest
venture, "Rock 'n Toon-
town," features 40 min-
utes of music from a car-
toon-studded family con-
cert (co-hosts include
Mickey and Minnie
Mouse, Donald Duck,
Goofy, Huey, Dewey and
Louie).
Selections focus on
themes specific to young
children. "Are We There
Yet?" addresses the thrill
so many youngsters feel
upon embarking on a long
car drive. Other songs
include "I'm Bored," "Do
Bullies Have Mommies?"
and "Recycle Rex."
The Disney Channel
will premiere a 30-minute
live concert, with Craig
Taubman and the resi-
dents of Toontown, 8:30
p.m. May 23.
You Take My Breath Away
--- Please, Take It Away
T
el Aviv (JTA) --
Bad breath, con-
trary to popular
opinion, is no joking
matter.
The somewhat dis-
tasteful issue was the
subject of both a rabbini-
cal pronouncement and
an international confer-
ence that concluded bad
breath was a major
source of social disorder.
According to studies
presented last month at
the First International
Workshop on Bad
Breath, held in Herzliya,
concerns about bad
breath have led people to
contemplate suicide,
seek divorce and spend
years in social isolation.
Former Chief Rabbi
Shlomo Goren an-
nounced concurrent with
the conference that bad
breath is .a legitimate
reason for divorce.
Several Israeli couples
reportedly were granted
divorces in recent years
after citing halitosis.
At the conference,
studies showed that the
mouths of four out of five
adults smell bad at cer-
tain times of the day.
ven if you're a
staunch Republican,
you've got to love
Bill at a moment like this.
Following opening cere-
monies late last month for
the new U.S. Holocaust
Memorial Museum in
Washington, President
Clinton hosted a private
reception for major con-
tributors and sponsors of
the museum. Tipper and
Al were there, as was
Hillary and a number of
other dignitaries.
The fete was held on the
lawn of the White House
and featured a perfor-
mance by singer Mandy
Patinkin. It also included
tables and tables laden
with scrumptious eats,
which brings us to the
really tasty part of this
whole thing: among the
appetizers that day was a
large selection that was
kosher. (Photo below dis-
plays the kosher table.)
A Leech
Off Society
w
hoever thought
those slimy blood-
suckers would be
so welcome?
Hadassah hematologist
Dr. Amiram Eldor imports
some 3,000 leeches each
year. Plastic surgeons at
Hadassah sewed an ear
back on, but couldn't
reconnect the blood ves-
sels, which were engorged
with blood.
So the doctors turned to
leeches, who fed for about
20 minutes and saved the
day.
The Census Bureau
late last month released
a survey that is not like-
ly to bring a smile to
lovers of Yiddish.
The report, based on
data collected in the
1990 census, notes that
14 percent of U.S. resi-
dents grew up speaking
a language other than
English. The largest
group is Spanish, fol-
lowed by French and
German.
Sixteenth on the list,
just below Russian, is
Yiddish, which some
213,000 U.S. residents
listed as their fir8t lan-
guage. This represents a
large drop --- 33.5 per-
cent -- from the 1980
survey, when 320,000
said they spoke Yiddish
at home. It is the largest
single decline in the sur-
vey, which includes 25
languages.
Also on the survey is
Hebrew, which is No. 23
on the list of languages
used at home. Unlike
Yiddish, however, the
number in this category
jumped — from 99,000
in 1980 to 144,000 in
1990 — a 45.5 percent
increase.
The foreign language
showing the greatest
growth among U.S. citi-
zens is French Creole,
twomc
i8h87e
4 21513,0e0r0_
0onot (fr6o5m
cent) in the decade sur-
veyed.
Did You Ride The Serpa Pinto?
F
ifty years ago, an 11-
year-old Jewish boy
rode aboard the SS
Serpa Pinto as he escaped
Nazi Germany on his way
to the United States.
Traveling with
him were 24 other
European Jewish
children, all aged
6 to 15.
Today, Harry
Fischbach is a
film maker and is
looking for his fel-
low travelers as
he writes a book
about his immi-
gration experi-
ence. HIAS, the
Hebrew Immigrant Aid
Society, is helping him
with the search.
The children started off
in Lisbon, Portugal, in
April 1943. They were
assisted by the European
Jewish Children's Aid.
When they landed in
the United States, the chil-
dren were taken
to a reception
center in Pleas-
antville, N.J. "A
great name for a
town when you
first visit Ameri-
ca," Mr. Fisch-
bach said.
Anyone with
information
about the Serpa
Pinto travelers
may contact Mr.
Fischbach at (416) 924-
1213, or the HIAS
Location Service, (212)
613-1464.
A Kosher Treat Goes Big-Time
I
sn't it wonderful to
know the whole world
loves something
kosher?
A recent report in
Advertising Age notes that
Reese's Peanut Butter
Cup, produced by Her-
shey's, is the number one-
selling candy treat in
America. .Sales for the year
ending November 1992
were $375.5 million.
Other kosher treats in
the Top Ten: Hershey's
Kisses, in at No. 8, and Kit
Kat, which came in tenth.