•

n A Jet
Leavin
Plane ... For ZBT

Guess which famous
Jewish notables
belonged to
fraternities?

Elizabeth Applebaum

ternities. In fact, might I suggest it
I be included as part of any exam
for U.S. citizenship? But no more!"-
I delays! Let's
get to it!
Once
belonged to:
• Alpha

AppleTree Editor

Q: Hey, FYI, I am, like, so
overjoyed! I just got into a
prestigious university and,
like, I'm being accepted by
1 the fraternity of my choice!
Are the girls about to go
wild about me or what? My
Dad was the first in our fam-
ily to be in a fraternity; he
was in ZBT and he says some
of the most famous Jews in
the world were in ZBT. But
my uncle was in AEPi and he
says that's the best. Natural-
ly' f -as I begin
i my fraternity
career I want
to know a lit-
tle more.
A: Well, con-
gratulations, you
I swingin' hepcat
you! And thanks
I for your important Mike Wallace
question. Why,
was in ZBT
everyone should
know the membership of certain fra-

Simon and
Garfunkel
were members
of AEPi

Epsilon Pi (Founded in 1913 at
1 New York University): David
Horowitz, Mr:Consumer Reporter;
Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel; for-
mer Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve
Stone; former NBC Television Presi-
dent Fred Silverman; Hebrew Union
I College-Jewish Institute of Religion
I Professor Rabbi Eugene Borowitz.
• Zeta Beta Tau (Founded in
I 1898 at the City College of New
York): former presidential adviser
! Bernard Baruch; former U.S.
I Supreme Court Justice Felix Frank-
: furter; "60 Minutes" host Mike Wal-
lace;
Composer Leonard Bernstein;

Have you always wondered why we light two candles on Shabbat or
how many Jews live in Scotland or whether Robert De Niro is really

Jewish (he is)?
Send your questions to FYI, c/o AppleTree, 27676 Franklin Road,
Southfield, MI 48034; fax to (248) 354-6069, or e-mail to philap-
ple@earthlink.net . Questions may cover any area of Jewish history, reli-
gion or culture, but we will print only those we regard of interest to the
general readership. We regret that we cannot provide answers for
questions that do not run in the column. All queries should include a
name, phone number and address and must be typed. No phone
calls, please.

11/6
1998

88 Detroit Jewish News

entrepreneur Armand Hammer; Bur- I (Zalman Shazar, about Moshe
Sharett, Israel's Prime Minister from
ton Baskin, founder of Baskin-Rob-
1954-1955)
-bins ice cream; Peter Yarrow of

Peter, Paul and Mary.
Q: I'm always interested to
• Tau Epsilon Phi (founded in 1910
see U.S. presidents who are
at the Columbia University School of
genuinely sUpportive of the
Pharmacy): former Boston Celtics
State of Israel and sympa-
thetic toJews. I know
; coach "Red" Auerbach; Benny Good-
I ton is all the rage now in -'--
man; Dr. Jonas Salk; The Graduate
I that matter, and he's better
prOducer Lawrence Turman. --
than George Bush. But the

0: I've got a sister-in-law
who talks constantly about
I herself and how wonderful
she is. I know what a great
cook she is; l.know how
divine she looks in her red
dress; I know how close she
is with her hairdresser; -I
know that she's the most
talented singer in the world.
Perhaps, you could help me
by running this letter, along
with some interesting obser-
vations about famous per-
sons made by others.
Maybe Louise will finally
get the idea that she could
learn a great deal about
herself by listening.
A: Look, pal, this is an informa-
tional column in a newspaper, not
Ann Landers. But because I feel
your pain, I really do, I'm going to
help you out. Besides, these quotes
— all about Israeli politicians —
are great:
"Well, have you learned to follow
orders?" (David Ben-Gurion to
Yitzhak Rabin, in 1967)
"The one-time master terrorist ...
The fiery orator in public, becomes
a quiet person in private, a man
who still kisses ladies' hands." (This
quote appeared in an American-
: Jewish newspaper.
I The subject is
I Menachem
I Begin.)
"The most unap-
proachable man I
I ever knew."
(Golda Meir,
Who
I about David Ben
described Ben-
Gurion)
Gurion as
I "He was the
unapproach-
I most beloved of
able"?
Israel's leaders."

president in recent years
I who seemed most friendly
toward Jews was, in my
I mind, Ronald Reagan. So I -
I would like to know: Did he
come from a religiously tol-
1 erant home?
A: Yes. Born in Illinois in 191 1 ,
Ronald Reagan was the son of John
I Edward Reagan, called "Jack" by
.
(..fri ends, and the former Nelle Wil-
son. Nelle was a Protestant with
roots in Scotland and Ireland, while
Jack was Irish Catholic. A shoe
salesman, Jack was known to have
problems with alcohol — but no
one questioned his kindness or
courage.
The Reagans lived in small towns
throughout Illinois,
1 before settling in
1920 in a small
spot near Chico-
: go called Dixon.
Here, Jack Rea-
1 gan's outspoken
I support of reli-
t gious rights for all
Ronald Reagan
was tested. He
learned reli-
I once went to a
gious tolerance
hotel, then learned
from his father.
management
would not permit
Jews as guests. So Jack Reagan
walked out. D.

Do you have a great tidbit that
belongs in FYI? If so, please send it
1 our way. If you're one of the first
1 five to send us an FYI we can use,
we'll send you (or your child, or
grandchild) a fun-filled calendar
with plenty of stickers and activities!
I Mail to FYI, c/o The AppleTree,
27676 Franklin Road, Southfield,
MI 48034.

