I wish TT/fain-if and friends a
very health, haft,axtrlprosperous New Year.

ELSIE C. JAFFE

We wish ourfantify atuf friends a
very healthy, happy andprosperous New Year.

laInn ralla

iI1L13 47

to all
our-j(iendr,
and pelatives.

SYLVIA AND JACK TAYLOR

ROSE AND MARK HECHLER

lann nalz

Tiltn

to- aff

otajfrenc&
and iviatives4

MARLENE, BERNARD,
MIKE, KEN AND ALYSSA
TOFT

We wish our family and friertds a
very healthy, happy andttrosperous New Year.

LIZ AND LOU FREEMAN

We wish ouxfartay andfriends a
very healthy, happy and prosperous New Year.

ADELE AND EARL FRIEDMAN

May the comin g
yeav- be filled
with health and
happiness fop'
all of 11 family
coiNcl friends.

`

A Very Happy and
Healthy New Year
to All Our
Friends and Family.

May the comin g
y ea p' IA be filled
with health avid
happiness fop'
all ow,' family
and friends.

CONNIE AND BARRY
SILVERMAN
CARRIE AND MARCI
BROWN

ALAN AND LENORE
DEUTCH-SINGER
AND FAMILY

May the comin g
y ea p' p. be filled
with health and
happiness fop-
all omv- family
and friends.

May the coming
y eay. be filled
with health and
happiness fop'
all o p' family
and fp'ie.nds.

THE SCHLAFERS
JULIE, STEVEN, BRADLEY
AND SCOTT

LEON AND FAY
SIEGEL

IRVING AND DOREEN LICHTMAN

A Very Happy and
Healthy New Year
to All Our
Friends and Family.

MR. AND MRS. BENDET LEWKOWICZ
AND SONS AND FAMILY

A Very Happy and
Healthy New Year
to All Our
Friends and Family.

LU

w

H-

CC

LU
CI

UJ

R8

THE PIERCES
DOUGLAS, ARLENE, KAREN AND LINDA

Is rae l

ANNE AND AARON GINSBERG

Art Of Debate
In Israel

Last March, 13-year-old Yael
Rosen of Israel beat 64 com-
petitors from all over the world
to take first prize in an English-
language debating contest held
in Greece. A year earlier, four
Israeli teen-agers participating
in the 20-nation World Schools
Debating Championship in
Wales reached the competition's
semi-finals after beating the
American, Canadian, Welsh,
Irish and Bermuda teams. They
also placed highest of all non-
native English-speaking en-
trants.
These youngsters, hooked on
debate, were trained in its con-
duct and entered into interna-
tional competitions by what the
father of one of the young de-
baters describes as "one of the
greatest and unheralded orga-
nizations in Israel."
That organization is Siah
veSig and it was created in 1987
for reasons very different from
winning international contests.
"'Me primary impetus for form-
ing the society was the abysmal
level of public discourse in Is-
rael," says Publisher Emeritus
Asher Weill, one of Siah veSig's
founders. "From the Knesset
through to Israel TV's so-called
discussion programs, debate in
this country is largely a dia-
logue of the deaf. Everyone
shouts at once; no one listens
and no one is heard. It was clear
to us that something radical
was needed to improve things."
Siah veSig harbors no illu-
sions about its ability to alter
the chaotic style of Knesset de-
bate. What it can do, however,
according to its former director
Evan Falkenberg, is "work with
the Knesset over the next 20 or
40 years."
The organization's creator,
Ann Swersky, a gemologist by
profession, started out by
pounding the sidewalks. She
went from high school to high
school, community center to
community center across Israel,
explaining. And later, as teams
developed, taking them along
to demonstrate the art of pub-
lic debate in Hebrew.
Initially, she recalls, it was
hard to make people under-
stand what she was tying to do;
but slowly her message perco-
lated. It was helped by a large
private grant which provided
three years of seed money and
established Siah veSig as a ma-
jor force in the art of public
speaking. The society became
formally registered, expanded
its board from a small number
of enthusiasts to embrace
prominent Israelis, ail acted an
eminent public advisory coun-
cil and hired debating instruc-
tors in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv,