COMPILED BY STEVE STEIN
Let The Tree Planting Begin!
Synagogue efinally
T
cm or the first time in its 85-year
history, Congregation Kess-
er Israel of Portland, Ore.,
has hired a rabbi.
Leonard Oppenheimer of
Brooklyn, N.Y., was named the
rabbi of Oregon's oldest Ortho-
dox synagogue. He is expected to
begin his duties before Passover.
Michael Rosenberg, co-presi-
dent of Kesser Israel, told the
Oregon Jewish Review that his
shul has seen slow but steady
Optimists
Honor West
Bloomfield
Student
W
est Bloomfield High
School senior Julie
Golding has received a
"Youth Appreciation Award"
from the Optimist Club of West
Bloomfield.
A
j
Julie Golding: Role model.
Ms. Golding, who was a
co-captain of the West Bloom-
field girls swimming team
this past fall, is involved in
many other school activities in-
cluding the conflict resolution
program.
The Optimist award is
presented to students across
the country who are active in
their community and a role
model.
.
j
his memories of the Auschwitz
and Buchenwald concentration
camps.
Mr. Jones also was instructed
to write a letter of apology to Con-
gregation Ohev Sholom, perform
40 hours of community service,
pay $1,900 in restitution and
maintain a full-time job.
Nathan Wilson and Mr. Jones,
students at Shawnee Mission
East High School, pleaded guilty
hospital.
The "Blue Kids" depicted in
the statue at the entrance to the
hospital are used as tour guides.
Tina Coffey of Grace & Wild Stu-
dios in Farmington Hills creat-
ed the animation.
The New York Festivals in-
ternational awards competition
rewards outstanding achieve-
ment in non-broadcast media.
Some 3,462 entries from 36 coun-
tries were received for the 1994
competition.
Hall Doors Open For line Americans
Vandal Ordered To Listen To Holocaust Survivor
ohnson County, Mo., Judge
Steve Tatum came up with
an unusual punishment
for one of two young men
who were responsible for a rash
of anti-Semitic vandalism last
year in Kansas City.
According to a story in the
Kansas City Jewish Chronicle,
Judge Tatum ordered Yancy
Jones to listen to Walter Stras,
a Holocaust survivor, recount
Hospital Video Wins Silver Medal
ust for Kids," an orientation
video for Children's Hospital
of Michigan directed by Sue
Marx and Marty Bernstein, won
a silver medal at the 37th annu-
al New York Festivals.
The video shows scenes of
children interacting with pedia-
tricians, nurses, X-ray and lab
technicians, trauma center doc-
tors and nurses and other hospi-
tal personnel — people who may
seem intimidating to young pa-
tients who have never been in the
Want To Compete
In Argentina?
pplications are available rael, the American delegation is
for athletes, coaches and expected to be double the size of
trainers who wish to be the group that participated in the
part of the United States team at last Pan American Maccabi
the eighth Pan American Maccabi Games, held in Montevideo,
Uruguay, in July 1991.
Games. '
"I'm really excited that we're
The games are scheduled for
Sunday, Dec. 24, 1995, through sending such a large delegation
Friday, Jan. 5, 1996, in Buenos to Buenos Aires," said U.S. Pan
American Maccabi general chair-
Aires, Argentina.
Jewish athletes from 22 coun- man Ron Carner. "We're showing
tries in North, South and Central our support for the Argentine
America, along with Australia, Jewish community, which is go-
Great Britain, South Africa and ing all out for these games."
For further information on the
Israel, will compete in 17 sports.
There will be open, juniors and games or to secure an application,
masters divisions, but not in every contact Maccabi USA/Sports for
Israel at 1926 Arch Street, 3rd
sport.
According to U.S. team spon- Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19103, or
sor Maccabi USA/Sports for Is- call (215) 561-6900.
t
growth over the past few years
and "we now have 40-50 people
coming on Shabbat."
Some 140 families belong to
the synagogue.
Kesser Israel will be Rabbi Op-
penheimer's first pulpit. He re-
cently earned a law degree from
Brooklyn Law College and he
plans to develop a practice in in-
tellectual property law as well as
be spiritual leader of the syna-
gogue.
to painting Nazi symbols and
anti-Semitic slogans on the walls
at Ohev Sholom, the Chabad
House Center and Ranchmart
South Shopping Mall.
Judge Tatum said he consult-
ed with the rabbis of both con-
gregations and he determined
they wanted "not retribution, but
rather some understanding to
come out of this."
ine Americans are among
the 16 athletes and sports-
men who were elected re-
cently to the International Jewish
Sports Hall of Fame in Netanya,
Israel.
The Americans include Ken
Holtzman and Jimmy Reese,
l
baseball; Edward Newman, foot-
ball; Ruby Goldstein, boxing Vic-
tor Ross, lacrosse; David "Pep"
Tobey, basketball; cinematogra-
pher Bud Greenspan; sports-
writer Jesse Abramson; and team
owner Harry Glickman.
CAI/labial/1S Pad A Visit
To Clibiese
B'nai B'rith Canada eager to establish links with Jews.
The delegation which visited
delegation which was
invited to China to Kaifeng included B'nai B'rith
participate in a seminar Canada president Brian Morris,
on Jewish issues took a side trip executive vice president Frank Di-
to Kaifeng to meet with the mant and Dr. Harriet Morris of
descendants of a 700-year-old York University in Toronto.
Jewish community which
flourished in ancient China.
Much of the community,
including its synagogue, was
destroyed by a flood in 1642.
The survivors, who found
themselves isolated from
other Jews around the
world, slowly intermarried
and assimilated. By the mid-
19th century, the communi-
ty stopped functioning.
Today, however, many of Brian Morris presents a kiddush cup to Chang
the 5,000 descendants are de Li.
FEBRUARY
he 5755 tree planting
the plantings are earmarked for
season in Israel has begun. the Negev Desert.
Rabbi Israel Meir
Lau, the Ashkenazi chief
rabbi of Israel, and Jewish
National Fund world chair-
man Moshe Rivlin planted
the first tree of the season
at the entrance to the
Nevah Ilan Forest in the
Judean Hills.
The ceremony took place
on Rosh Chodesh Shevat,
the first day of the month
of Shevat (on Jan. 2). It fol-
lowed the end of the shmit-
ta year, a biblically
prescribed year of rest for
the land in a cycle of seven
years.
Mr. Rivlin said a record
3 million saplings will be
planted in Israel during the
rainy season across a record
7,500 acres by some
500,000 schoolchildren, sol-
diers and immigrants.
More than 50 percent of Rabbi Israel Meir Lau plants the first tree.
?abbi
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