THE JEWISH NEWS
UP FRONT
This Week's Top Stories
0
Rabid Radio?
A Windsor-based radio station has picked up
a call-in show that some allege is anti-Semitic.
JULIE EDGAR SENIOR WRITER
0
W
An About Face
ti
Yeshivath Beth Yehudah has solved its recent financial difficulties
with a bustling student population.
JENNIFER FINER STAFF WRITER
T
he school had been staring
a $1 million debt in the
face. Although it was not
exactly the scenario, en-
rollment seemed to be dropping
almost as quickly as an elevator
on a loose cable — the student
body bottomed out at 500 stu-
dents. Teachers went without
pay for 19 consecutive weeks and
the city of Southfield was voicing
its concerns about the boys
school, saying its unkempt ap-
pearance was "darkening the
neighborhood."
It would be an understatement
to say things were not going well
for Yeshivath Beth Yehudah dur-
ing the 1991-92 school year. But,
sometimes it takes an emergency
to force an agency to take an in-
trospective look at itself and at-
tempt to turn things around.
---, Fortunately for the yeshiva, ef-
forts to save the 82-year-old
school worked. With the old
struggles behind it, the school
faces a diametrical problem as it
approaches the 21st century. Al-
though securing finances will al-
ways be a struggle for the yeshiva
and arguably any day school, it
faces overcrowding in the class-
rooms of both the boys and girls
schools.
Today, there are more than
750 students enrolled in the
yeshiva and officials are predict- with the yeshiva," Dr. Belen said.
ing a student body of over 1,000 'When anything is presented
by the year 2000. School leader- that way, the product stands on
ship has just begun looking for its own.
"When something is put forth
another building to house the
boys and girls nursery school, with sincerity, people want to
currently located in the girls help; that's why the yeshiva is
able to touch everyone in the
school in Oak Park.
What makes this Orthodox community and our [annual]
school unique is the support it dinners show that."
Those who have been actively
draws from a large cross-section
of the community. Many of the involved with Yeshivath Beth
community's biggest givers, Yehudah attribute the schools'
many of whom don't come from success to Mr. Torgow.
Robert Aronson, the ex-
an Orthodox back-
ecutive director of Feder-
ground, are backers of
Fifth-grad er Dovid ation, said Mr. Torgow
the day school.
"So many people have Seligson studies worked hard to ensure the
been touched in some his Hebre w text. future of the school and is
at least partially respon-
way by the yeshiva ex-
perience," said school president sible for the school's broad-based
Gary Torgow. "I think we are ac- support.
Selwyn Isakow, a Bloomfield
cepted across the board because
people value Jewish education." Hills businessman and contrib-
Dr. Jack Belen, a parent and utor to the yeshiva, agrees the
yeshiva board member, added, school's reversal of fortune is a
"More people see traditional Ju- result of Mr. Torgow's efforts.
"He has been involved in every
daism as something that has to
be maintained even if they are possible phase, from recruiting
not practicing traditional Ortho- top people to run the school to
creating an interest among our
dox Judaism."
Dr. Belen also maintains that community to revive and main-
the school has achieved broad- tain the school," Mr. Isakow said.
The businessman credits Mr.
based support because of an abil-
ity to project itself in what he Torgow for his own support of the
describes as a forthright manner. yeshiva.
"There is no hidden agenda ABOUT FACE page 20
edged between Sun-
day evening shows on
money management
and motorcycle clubs,
"Straight Talk" isn't exactly a rat-
ings bonanza for CKLW-AM 800.
Listenership is fairly low be-
tween 8 and 9 p.m., agreed sta-
tion operations manager Warren
Cosford.
Despite the less than prime
time slot, "Straight Talk," host-
ed by brothers James and Jeff
Kassouf, might create the same
kind of stir here as it did among
Cleveland's Jews for its frequent
attacks on the Israeli government
and the political stance of some
Jewish organizations.
The Kassoufs' alleged anti-
Semitism was noted by the Cleve-
land Jewish News, which carried
a series of stories about "Straight
Talk" after the Anti-Defamation
League complained to the man-
ager of the Cleveland radio sta-
tion that carried the live call-in
show.
The Kassoufs, third-genera-
tion Arab-Americans, recently
took "Straight Talk" to Windsor-
based CKLW after leaving Cleve-
land's WERE-AM 1300, where
they hosted the show for about a
year. They claim "Straight Talk"
was not canceled but admit that
pressure by the ADL in Cleve-
land silenced the show for a few
weeks.
"We elected to leave," said Jeff
Kassouf, 42. "We were actually
given, over a period of several
weeks, strong urgings to conform
to dictums that the ADL had laid
down. We felt that we're not go-
ing to be censored in that way.
We buy and pay for our time. If
the ADL wants to try to change
our message, they should go buy
their own time and put out their
own message."
On Nov. 3, "Straight Talk" de-
buted on the 50,000-watt CKLW,
which can be heard in 16 states,
including Ohio. The following
week, "Straight Talk" was pre-
empted by a hockey game, but it
resumed Nov. 17 and ran again
Nov. 25.
On the first two shows, the
Kassoufs talked about the plight
of the Palestinians and the Iraqis.
Their guests included a Canadi-
an attorney who is fighting a pro-
posed free trade agreement
between Canada and Israel and
the news editor of a magazine on
Middle East politics who dis-
cussed the funneling of Ameri-
can military technology to Iraq
via Israel.
RADIO page 21
Andrew A. Buerger is named to succeed his late
father as Baltimore Jewish Times publisher.
MICHAEL DAVIS SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
ndrew A, Buerger, a for-
mer marketing director of
the Detroit Jewish News;
will succeed his late fa-
ther Charles A. "Chuck" Buerg-
er, as publisher of the Baltimore
Jewish Times
Mr. Buerger, 31, was named
to the post Tuesday, adding a
fourth generation to a family
publishing legacy that dates
back 77 years. Mr. Buerger, pub-
lisher of the Vancouver Western
Jewish Bulktin, said he plans to
relocate to Baltimore in the first
quarter of 1997. His father, who
Michael Davis is editor of our
sister publication, the
Baltimore Jewish Times.
built the Baltinaore paper into a
North American Jewish jour-
nalism powerhouse, served 26
years as publisher before he died
Nov. 8 at age 58 of complications
from heart surgery. Chuck
Buerger left behind a basic plan
of succession for the Jewish
Times, and family members
used the last two vveeks to install
a timeline for transition.
While Andrew Buerger will
have a continuing interest in the
five other Jewish weeklies and
three magazines created by his
father, he will focus on Balti-
more. He said he intends to rein-
vigorate the Jewish Times with
changes that will attract and
SON ALSO RISES page 26