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Other Facts On
Civil War Jews

• Keeping kosher was a near impossibility — especially for
Southern Jews whose food supplies dwindled drastically
toward the end of the war. Army menus consisted largely of
bacon fat and pork.
• West Bloomfield resident Levi Smith's family book de-
scribes his relative, Pauline Beekman, a Jewish woman who,
like many wives of Confederate soldiers, followed her hus-
band from battle to battle. In addition to tending for their chil-
dren, the women prepared food for the army.
• The First Michigan Infantry took part in the First Battle
of Bull Run (or Manassas). The name Manassas originated
from the Hebrew. In stagecoach days, Manassas Junction was
the site of a popular lodging place. Its proprietor was a Jew
from the Bible named Menasseh. Author Irving Katz writes
that "soft Southern voices over the years evolved the spelling
to Manassas." ❑

Immigration Policy
May Be Liberalized

Jerusalem (JTA) — Israel
looks to be liberalizing
slightly its policy of im-
migration for Falash Mora,
descendants of Ethiopian
Jews who converted to
Christianity.
New procedures to be
employed by the Interior
Ministry will take into ac-
count some opinions of
kessim, Jewish religious
leaders in Ethiopia, in the
determination of the Jewish
status of the Falash Mora,
informed sources said.
That status determines
whether the immigrant can
come to Israel under the Law
of Return and receive full
benefits as a Jewish immi-
grant.
The decision came in a re-
sponse written by the State
Attorney's Office to a peti-
tion challenging existing
policy. The petition was filed
in the Supreme Court on
behalf of a group of Falash

Mora in Addis Ababa, the E-
thiopian capital.
The decision is a "90 per-
cent victory," said Michael
Corinaldi, a local lawyer
who represented the peti-
tioners.
"We asked in the petition
that all members of the
community in Addis Ababa
that have certificates (of
their Jewishness) from the
kessim be admitted to Israel
under the Law of Return,"
he said.
He said he hoped to see
some other procedural
matters ironed out at the
hearing on the petition
scheduled for Feb. 16.
But inside government
sources cautioned against
raising false hopes. They
said the new procedures
merely called for examining
the certificates, and if their
authenticity could be deter-
mined, to "take them into
account." ❑

So we used a
medical center instead.

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Ethiopian kessim meet with Mr. Rabin.

ne
directions
we

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Northwestern Hwy.
Between 12 & 13 Mile

• •

• • •

„

FEBRUA RY

Wertheimer enlisted in the
First Michigan Infantry and
fought at the Battle of Bull
Run (or Battle of Manassas, as
Southerners call it). He served
briefly, from May to August,
1861. Mrs. Lipnik's research
shows that Mr. Wertheimer's
stint in the service took a last-
ing toll.
"He probably had terrible tu-
berculosis," Mrs. Lipnik says.
"He never fully recovered."
After the war, Mr. Wer-
theimer married Bertha Frieke
of Saginaw and became active
in Temple Beth El, which was
originally Orthodox, and Con-
gregation Shaarey Zedek. His
two-story cigar concern stood
at 167 Woodbridge Street, be-
tween First and Second streets
in Detroit. A condolence card,
sent to Mrs. Wertheimer, doc-
uments his death in 1888.
"You get to feel like you
know them and you get very
upset when something bad
happened to them," says Mrs.
Lipnik, who has visited Mr.
Wertheimer's grave in Detroit.
"It gives me a tremendous
sense of roots and belonging to
know that this is the country
my family fought for."
Leah Berkowitz is a South-
field writer who uses the pen
name Lynn M. Berkowitz. She
became interested in Civil War
history after learning about
anti-Semitism during that era.
"It got me so interested I had
to find out more," she says.
Since then, Mrs. Berkowitz
has written two novels center-
ing on Jewish Civil War char-
acters. Her first, Shield Of
Abraham, describes the life of
a young boy who flees Russia
to the United States and main-
tains his Orthodox lifestyle
while fighting for the Union.
Mrs. Berkowitz is working
on her third novel.
"I think it's important for
American Jews to know that
we were always a part of
American history," she says.
Alan Rothenberg, the re-en-
actor, recently appeared in the
movie Gettysburg with Jeff
Daniels and Martin Sheen. He
donned his Confederate uni-
form and participated in Pick-
ett's Charge. Similar to other
re-enactments, the Gettysburg
experience enhanced his ap-
preciation of the War between
the States. Said Mr. Rothen-
berg:
"Before the Civil War, Amer-
ica was an independent collec-
tion of states without a
centralized government. When
the war was over, and the
smoke cleared, we became The
United States." Cl

At New Direction,
we tried to put all
the ingredients of our
weight control program
into a glass, but
they wouldn't fit.

55

