Prayer Books
For The Blind
B
raille versions of Rosh
Hashanah and Yom Kip-
pur prayer books have
been made available. To obtain
complimentary copies, write to
the Jewish Heritage for the Blind
at P.O. Box 220396, Brooklyn,
NY 11229 or send a fax to 1-718-
338-0653.
The Jewish Heritage for the
Blind also collects old eye-
glasses which are distributed
to underdeveloped countries
in cooperation with
VOSH/International (Vol-
unteer Optometric Ser-
vices to Humanity).
:: :: :..
Donors should print
their name, address,
.:
city, state and tele-
phone number on a
sheet of paper
and forward
their eyeglass-
es to the Jew-
•
* • • •••
ish Heritage
for the Blind at P.O. Box 660870,
Miami Springs, FL 33266. Pack-
ages should be marked "Glass —
Handle With Care."
Want To Have
Grand Time In Israel?
ots of kids head to Florida
each winter to visit their
grandparents. B'nai B'rith
is once again taking the annual
sojourn a step further, offering
another "Grand Explorers" trip
to Israel for grandparents and
grandchildren.
The Dec. 21 through Jan. 1 ex-
pedition includes experiencing
life on a kibbutz, digging at an
archeological site, touring the
Golan Heights by Jeep and meet-
ing with several Israelis.
"Every site in Israel is exciting
and important. To share it with
our grandchildren, who were see-
ing Israel for the first time, was
the ultimate experience," said
Gloria Nelson of Philadelphia, a
previous "Grand Explorer."
Lodging for this year's journey
will be at five-star hotels in
Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, Kibbutz
Kfar Blum, and a Bedouin camp
or the Moriah Garden Hotel on
the Dead Sea.
Round-trip travel between
New York to Tel Aviv will be via
El Al Israel Airlines. For further
information on the trip, call B'nai
B'rith at 1-800-500-6533.
DETROI T JEWISH N EWS
qvaeskiff &A) 8., stow
LLJ
spiring authors of chil-
dren's books are invited
to enter the 10th annual
Sydney Taylor Manuscript
Competition sponsored by
the Association of Jewish
libraries (AJL).
A cash award of
$1,000 will be pre-
sented for the best
fiction manuscript
appropriate for read-
ers ages 8-11 written
by an unpublished
author.
While the story should
have universal appeal, it also
should deepen the reader's
understanding of Judaism and
reveal positive aspects of Jewish
life.
The deadline for
submission is Jan.
15, 1995 and the
award winner will
be announced May 1,
1995 in Chicago at
the AJL's 30th an-
nual convention.
Yozntiyty
Taisv Aim
At nyiD9
rOVY
r
lies and mosquitoes don't
care about history, politics,
or political borders. That's
why researchers from Ben-Gu-
rion University in Israel have
met with high-level colleagues
from Jordan and Gaza to discuss
a joint project aimed at taking on
their buggy common enemies.
The goal of the project, which
is being funded by the U.S.
Agency for International Devel-
opment, is to formulate envi-
ronmentally friendly strategies
to suppress insect infestations in
the Jordan Rift Valley.
Professor Joel Margalit of
Ben-Gurion's Life Sciences De-
partment is the chief Israeli re-
searcher. Prof. Margalit is the
discoverer of Bti, a bacterium
toxic to mosquito larvae which is
used extensively by the World
Health Organization.
A biological control program
against mosquitoes carried out
recently in the southern Dead
Sea area has allowed local set-
tlers to sit outdoors in the
evening for the first time in their
lives.
Gays, Lesbians Focus
Of Synagogue Seminar
v
alley Beth Shalom, a Con-
servative temple in Encino,
Calif., will hold what it con-
siders a precedent-setting sem-
inar Oct. 9.
Titled "Issues of the '90s," the
day-long session of panel discus-
sions and workshops will focus
on gay and lesbian concerns.
"This is the first formal pro-
gram planned by a Conservative
synagogue for Jewish gays and
lesbians and the general com-
munity," said Valley Beth
Shalom Rabbi Jerry Danzig. "We
hope it will help break down the
barriers of homophobia."
The seminar is being present-
ed by Response, a Valley Beth
Shalom group organized by and
consisting of gays, lesbians and
their families.
Rabbi Danzig is the director of
Response, which is funded in
part by the Council on Jewish
Life of the Jewish Federation
Council of Greater Los Angeles
and the Jewish Community
Foundation.
Among the workshop topics
are Divorced Gay/Lesbian Par-
ents Keeping in Touch with
Their Children, Coming Out —
An Ongoing Process, Dealing
With Heterosexism in Everyday
Life, Gays in the Workplace, Try-
ing Temple Again and Weddings
for Jewish Gays and Lesbians.
RABIN SAYS PUT
6
GANGSTA KAP9 IN JAIL
ft
eform Judaism has joined a
coalition campaign organized
by the National Political Con-
gress of Black Women to force the
music industry to withdraw
"gangsta rap" from the market.
In "An Open Letter to the Mu-
sic Industry" published in the fall
edition of Reform Judaism mag-
azine, Rabbi Eric Yoffie charac-
terized gangsta rap as "vile and
filthy" music which promotes
rape, sodomy, hatred of women,
obscenity and profanity and
stereotypes black people as vio-
lent, predatory killers who disdain
family values.
LEMPEPEPrXOP
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Rabbi Yoffie, vice president of
the Union of American Hebrew
Congregations and director of the
Commission on Social Action of
Reform Judaism, also wrote that
black women are a special target
of attack by gangsta rappers.
"We Jews know something of
the power of the word to create
negative stereotypes and promote
hate," Rabbi Yoffie wrote. "Also,
Jewish religious tradition teach-
es us that just below the surface
of profane words lies violence
ready to burst forth and consume
us."
r.PE.PcPEPcPr..PUMOP
Swiss Cheese On A
a
top the presses and hold
the cream cheese.
Bagels finally have
come to Geneva, Switzerland!
According to a Jewish Tele-
graphic Agency (JTA) report,
Morris Abram, former U.S.
ambassador to Geneva, is
EPLIVPr_P
EJEMPERIti
nagel?
producing a kosher bagel in
the capital city. Mr. Abram
has remained in Geneva as a
representative of the U.N.
Watch.
The Jewish community in
Geneva numbers around
6,000.
1.
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