COMPILED BY ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM Israeli Teacher Visits Viet Nam U A Fair Beauty 0 ne hundred years ago, a May beauty from Detroit took first place in an unusual contest. Among the featured events at the 1893 World's Fair -- billed as the biggest ever --- was the world's first Ferris wheel, an appearance by Annie Oakley and an ethnic beau- ty contest. Little is known about the beauty pageant (Were women asked insipid ques- tions about how they would bring world peace or what of the United States they would show a visitor from another planet? Was there an evening gown competi- tion?). But we do know the winner: May Lenhoff. In a page 1 story in the Jan. 3, 1905, Detroit Evening News, the former May Stubensky, described as "an exceptional beauty," was recalled as the 1893 first-place winner in the Chicago World's Fair beau- ty contest for Jewish women. She won a year after her marriage to Sol Lenhoff. The Chicago World's Fair was the first to feature par- ticipation. from countries throughout the world. It covered two miles along the Lake Michigan shore. The biggest hit of the fair, without a doubt, was the Ferris wheel, dubbed the "Queen of the Midway." Designed by George Washington Gale Ferris, it was four stories higher than the world's tallest building and weighed 70 tons. About 92 percent of all those who attended the fair rode the Ferris wheel. It was no cheap thrill, costing 50 cents a ride (the merry- go-round cost 5 cents). Other exciting events at the fair: an ostrich farm, some of the first phono- graph records, the anchor from Columbus' ship (now housed at the Chicago Historical Society), the debut of the zipper and the first public performance by a muscleman. Survey Finds Female Rabbis Face Sexual Harassment S eventy-three percent of respondents to a survey of female rabbis report that they had been sexually harassed at least once or twice in the course of their work, while 24 percent reported being harassed once a month or more. The survey, conducted by the Commission for Women's Equality of the American Jewish Congress, asked about the women's experi- ences in rabbinical school, during interviews for jobs and while working as rabbis. The analysis found that while the levels of discrimi- nation and harassment ap- pear to be high, the women are happy with their career decisions and many have found benefits in being a female rabbi. The survey found that 40 percent of the respondents heard derogatory comments about women during classes or lectures at rabbinical school; 48 percent said they were asked inappropriate questions about being a woman during job inter- views; and 59 percent be- lieve that their rabbinical organizations do not ade- quately address issues of particular concern to women. niversity of Haifa Professor Jonathan Golan recently re- turned from Hanoi, having been the first Israeli scientist to receive an official invita- tion from Vietnam. The American-born pro- fessor delivered two lec- tures at a math conference sponsored by Hanoi's Institute of. Mathematics. In one lecture, he pre- sented a talk on the Noncommunitive Ring Theory, an abstract form of algebra that also can be applied to computers. A number of Vietnamese physicians are now in Israel, studying public-health tech- niques, while Vietnam has proven to be a good market for brain-scan machines produced in Israel, Professor Golan said. Meanwhile, Cairo Uni- versity Professor Muham- med Zeima recent- ly made a visit to the University of Haifa, where he was part of the first official Egytian academic delegation that came to Israel to meet Israeli counterparts. Speaking in Hebrew, Professor Zeima said he and his fellow scholars are eager to see more books in Hebrew literature and lin- guistics and estab- lish relations with Israeli universities. "Our reading of Hebrew literature is restricted" because of a lack of books said Mr. Zeima, a profes- sor of Hebrew. "We want to expand it so as to deepen our understand- ing of the Israeli people." Other visitors on the trip were Dr. Muhammed Hawari of Ein Shams University, who first visit- ed Israel 10 years ago, and Dr. Abdallah Ramzi of Cairo University. Get Out Those Birthday Cards e tting yet another year lder (or another year dead) this month: * Jimmy Carter, born Oct. 1, 1924 * Rutherford B. Hayes, born Oct. 4, 1822 * Chester A. Arthur, born Oct. 5, 1829 *Dwight D. Eisenhower, born Oct. 14, 1890 * Theodore Roosevelt, born Oct. 27, 1858 .4\ 1 1 * John Adams, born Oct. 30, 1735 As a presidential candidate in 1976, Jimmy Carter stated that, "The preservation of a strong and viable State of Israel is not only in Israel's interest and in the interest of world Jewry, it is in the na- tional interest of the United States, as well." Yet during and after his presidency, Mr. Carter often raised the hackles of American Jewry by his criticism of Israel's poli- cies and seem- ing slant toward the Arabs. Rutherford B. Hayes was the first presi- dent to guar- antee civil servants the right to observe the Sabbath. He intervened to allow an appli- cant, who refused to work on Saturday, a job in the De- partment of the Interior. In an effort to monitor the severe restrictions the Rus- sian government imposed on Jewish citizens (including Americans) doing business in Russia, in 1877 President Hayes named Benjamin Peixotto as American diplo- matic representative to the court of St. Petersburg. But the czar refused to accept Mr. Peixotto, who instead served as U.S. consul to Lyon, France. As commander-in-chief of the Allied Forces in Europe during World War II, President Eisenhower was instrumental in defeating Hitler and liberating the remnants of European Jewry. During Presi- dent Eisenhower's presidential ad- ministration, the United States ex- tended to Israel hundreds of mil- lions of dollars in grants-in-aid, sent military equipment and helped develop Israel's atomic- energy program. Until 1899, when he became governor of New York, Teddy Roosevelt — like others of his class — opposed the mass immigration of Jews to America. His opinion changed as he came to under- stand the hardships Jews suffered in the Old World. He also noted the valor of 17 Jewish Rough Riders under his command in the Span- ish-American War. In his 1904 message to Congress, Roosevelt noted with "personal sym- pathy and per- sonal horror" the 1903 Kish- inev pogroms. John Adams was a strong supporter of the Jewish com- munity, advocating the rights of Jews in America, the reestablishment of a Jewish state and the study of Jewish civilization. In correspondence with Thomas Jefferson, he wrote, "I will insist that the Hebrews have done more to civilize men than any other nation."