The Sports Club is a
Great
Dea
l...
Better
than other fitness clubs
Newly Expanded &
Renovated Locker Rooms
No initiation fee during construction
(through November 11, 1995)
$50/month
Couple Memberships just $85/month
Individual Memberships just
Thel
aports
'Club
ft
of West Bloomfield
8343 Farmington Road, just north of Maple
628-9880
70
Above monthly rate is for a three-year fitness membership.
Monthly dues and initiation fee vary for shorter term memberships.
Israeli Question:
What's In A Name?
BOAZ DVIR SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
I
sraelis have a long tradition of
"Hebrew-izing" their sur-
names — changing their Dis-
apora-given names to Hebrew
sounding names.
Askenzi names like Mendel-
baum become Medan while
Sephardic names like Ben Abu
become Ben Ami.
Israel's founding father, David
Ben-Gurion, started this practice
by aggressively encouraging all
Israelis to "Hebrew-ize" their sur-
names. He changed his from Gru-
en, according to Yediot Aharonot.
Similarly, Shimon Parsky be-
came Shimon Peres and Golda
Meyerson become Golda Meir, ac-
cording to Yediot Aharonot.
(My father, Dan, changed his
surname from Duvervsky to
Dvir.) Now, many Israelis are re-
verting to their Ashkenazic
names, Yediot Aharonot reports.
By changing back, they told
Yediot Aharonot, they are saying,
'We are proud of our heritage."
Israeli first names — such as
Yechiam, Norit, Ofer, Galia, and
even Boaz — may sound strange
to American Jews. But many sur-
names, such as Goldberg and
Katz, are familiar. ,
The Top 3 most common
names in Israel — Cohen, Levy,
and Mizrahi, according to Yediot
Aharonot — are also common in
the American Jewish communi-
ty.
Another common surname in
Israel that has many counter-
parts in the United States is
Friedman.
The other four most common
names in Israel, however, are not
as highly rated in the United
States. They are, according to
Yediot Aharonot, Peretz, Biton,
Dahan, and Avraham.
Conquering France
The sophisticated Israeli per-
former NOA, who sings in He-
brew, English and Yemenite, is
conquering an audience that
does not understand her lyrics.
The French love NOA's music
(they apparently could care less
about the lyrics). She has sold
100,000 of her latest album
there, sold out shows in Paris
and filled record stores with ad-
miring fans waiting patiently for
hours for her autograph, accord-
ing to Yediot Aharonot.
The 25-year-old singer, who
performed in Miami this past
summer, was born in Israel,
grew up in Brooklyn and re-
turned to the Jewish state at the
age of 17, Yediot Aharonot re-
ports.
Her influences, she told Yediot
Aharonot, include Paul Simon,
Sting and Prince.
What's Next?
Pogs were a huge hit in Israel
for about a year. Now the coun-
try's youth is ready to move on to
another game. But the market is
so saturated with new inventions,
there is no clear winner — yet.
The inventions include tiny
transparent rubber balls con-
taining discs featuring television
stars; brass and aluminum coins
featuring different characters and
creatures; and "hip hop," a mys-
tery game yet to be revealed cre-
ated by the Israeli importer of
Pogs, Yisrael Stern, according to
Maariv.
Mr. Stern promises to reveal
the mystery soon.
Don't hold your breath. It's just
a kid's game.
You Call That Funny?
The latest hit on the Israeli
comedy scene has touched a fun-
ny bone. Orna Banai is causing
controversy with her portrayal of
what she calls a "lowlife" charac-
ter, according to Maariv.
The problem with Limor, a
mother of three who wears tight,
short clothes and speaks in bro-
ken Hebrew, is that she is a
Sephardic Israeli living in Bat
Yam, a city that has a stigma of
being home to many "lowlifes."
But the 28-year-old comedi-
enne, who until a year ago made
her living cleaning apartments,
defends her right to free speech.
Besides, she told Maariv, she
likes Limor.
"I envy her," Ms. Banai said. "I
would like to be where she is. She
is not confused. She doesn't have
an attitude. She has two daugh-
ters, a baby and a husband who
love her and she loves them." Ell
Publicity
Deadlines
The normal deadline for local
news and publicity items is
noon Thursday, eight days pri-
or to issue date. The deadline
for birth announcements is 10
a.m. Monday, four days prior
to issue date; out-of-town obit-
uaries, 10 a.m. Tuesday, three
days prior to issue date.
All material must be type-
written, double-spaced, on 872
x 11 paper and include the
name and daytime telephone
number of sender.