Editorials

IN FOCUS

Honoring Jewish Education

group effort. The artists come from three
Buy a gift-quality calendar showcasing chil-
Michigan day schools (Hillel Day School of
dren's drawings from Michigan and the Cen-
Metropolitan Detroit in Farmington Hills,
tral Galilee — and, in the process, show you
Akiva
Hebrew Day School in Lathrup Village
care about Jewish education.
and
Hebrew
Day School in Ann Arbor) and
The "1998/99 Israel's Jubilee" wall calendar
three
Central
Galilee elementary schools
salutes Israel's 50th anniversary of statehood.
(Hazav,
Gilad
and Shalom Aleichem).
It's a joint project of the Partnership 2000 Cul-
"The
intent
is to educate people about Part-
tural Committee of Southeastern Michigan
nership
2000
and
afford an opportunity to dis-
and Israel's Central Galilee Region.
play the . watercolor
Reproduced
with
permission
of the
The 18-month,
Partnership 2000 Cultural Committee of Southeastern Michigan
art of children from
brightly colored cal-
both regions," said
endar runs from Sep-
Lisa Adelman, the
tember 1998 through
Jewish Federation of
February 2000. It
Metropolitan
includes Shabbat can-
Detroit's staff liaison
dlelighting times for
to the Partnership
Michigan and the
2000 Cultural Com-
Central Galilee as
mittee.
well as U.S., Israel
The $10 charge
and Jewish holidays.
will help recoup
The Central
costs of the calendar,
Galilee is the Michi-
which was printed in
This artwork, by Hiders Rachel Diskin, Haley
gan Jewish communi-
Israel. To place an
Gordon and Rochelle Rosenberg, is part of the
ty's Partnership 2000
order, call Adelman:
"1998/99 Israel's Jubilee" wall calendar.
sister region. That
(248) 203-1459.
makes purchase of the
Partnership
2000
is
sponsored
by Federa-
charming calendar an ideal way to honor the
tion
in
cooperation
with
the
Jewish
Agency for
Jewish education that children in both regions
Israel. It encourages relationships in a variety
are receiving.
of fields between the people of Michigan and
Representatives of both Michigan and the
Israel. In that spirit, buy a calendar and say yes
Central Galilee chose the 19 showcased pieces
to spotlighting Jewish education both in
of art, whittled from 88 submissions. So the
Michigan and the Central Galilee. ❑
selection process was a truly international

About 200 people enjoyed the first joint picnic between resi-
dents of Fleischman Residence and the Marvin and Betty
Danto Health Care Center and their families last Sunday.
Here, Eileen Silverman of the Hechtman Residence takes a
break from helping younger members in the crowd make
visors. Silverman was among those from other apartment
buildings on the Jewish Community Campus in West
Bloomfield who lent a hand for the event, which was held in
the parking lot between Danto and Fleischman. Entertain-
ment was provided by the ABZ Orchestra and Lots of Dots
the clown.

❑

LETTERS

Watching Out For Russia

When the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded
before the nation's eyes in January 1986, we •
were a country that took the dangers of space
travel for granted. Shuttle flight was so com-
mon that launches went from the front page to
an insider filler. Challenger was NASA's 25th
attempt at shuttle flight.
Now, we are in danger of saying some-
thing similar about the estimated 1.5 million
Jews still in Russia. For so many years, there
was a Jewish urgency of sneaking prayer
books to refuseniks and watching rabbis and
other leading Jewish names get arrested out-
side of the Soviet embassy in Washington.
This all played no small part in the crushing
of the Berlin Wall, and the opening of a
steady flow of immigrants to the United
States and Israel.
We welcomed Soviet Jews with programs
and financial aid. Many of us recounted the
emotions of stories of seeing ohm, immigrants,
disembarking from planes at David Ben-Guri-
on Airport.
Under the current and immediate past
political regimes in the former Soviet Union,
Jewish life became more accepted, more do-
able. Jews ascended to leadership positions in

A Family Affair

the government and economy. But with the
latest economic and political crisis in the
region, being Jewish and living in Russia might
again not be such a good thing.
Jewish leaders in Detroit and across the
country need to be aware that we could soon
be called into service again. Boris Yeltsin
already has said that he won't seek re-election.
Renowned Russian affairs expert Dr. Robert
0. Freedman, president of Baltimore Hebrew
University, said this week the chance for a
Communist Party prime minister in the year
2000 is not out of the question. Meanwhile,
dangerous nationalists, ones not known for
embracing Jews, also are vying for power.
What would then be in question is the
future of Russia's Jews. Our community can't
be in a position of organization through reac-
tion to a crisis. We should be talking about the
"what if's" now. We should be urging our
political leadership to do what it can to moni-
tor and discourage what many see as the
inevitable sale of weapons of mass destruction
to enemies of Israel and the United States.
The crisis in Russia is real. Our reaction
to it needs to be as urgent . . . before it
explodes.

Presentation
Short Sighted

As we reflect on the dramatic
success of the 1998 JCC
Maccabi Games, in the spirit
-of fairness to the Maccabi
athletes, it is necessary to
respond to Arlene Sorkin's
letter to The Jewish News
("Performers Recognized"
Aug. 28). Ms. Sorkin
describes as "rude" the Mac-
cabi athletes' reaction to the
performance of "Israel's
Story."
It is obvious that the tal-
ented performers and sup-
porting staff of the JCC, in
the presentation of "Israel's
Story," were extremely dedi-
cated and well prepared. Ms.
Sorkin, indeed, should be
proud of the quality of the
performance and every effort
should be made to encourage

frequent encores of this qual-
ity presentation at local
venues throughout the cele-
bration of Israel's silver
anniversary.
However, it has been well
recognized to the Maccabi
Games organizing personnel
that brought 3,000 young
athletes to Detroit that many
of the athletes attending
opening ceremonies would
be traveling long, tiresome
hours getting to Detroit.
Many host families would
have to wait patiently for
hours for their athletes to
arrive at the JCC while
transportation problems —
late planes and buses -- were
resolved. All athletes were to
arrive at the Palace of
Auburn Hills, many without
rest or dinner, at 6 p.m. to
stand in line to march into
the Palace at 7:30 p.m. The

❑

9/4
1998

Detroit Jewish News

29

