ing of the Jewish community board. Before he knew it, he was unanimous- ly elected the new president. "I had some difficulty explaining this to the State Department," Lauder says, but the delighted local press redoubled its attacks on the combined ambassador and community president. Among Lauder's projects has been a campaign to identify an estimated 70,000 Polish Jews who, as children at the beginning of the war, were hidden by Catholic families. Many of the children were killed, others rejoined the Jewish community after the war, but Lauder believes that some 25,000 of the former hidden children are still in the closet or unaware of their Jewish roots. The Roman Catholic Church has refused to help in the search, but by sending rabbis to Polish towns and through ads in newspapers, Lauder says, some 3,500 of the 25,000 former hidden children have been identified. Some years ago, Lauder flew in kosher food and gave a dinner in Warsaw for 100 of the children, now middle-aged to elderly men and women. As the evening progressed, it became apparent that the guests remained uneasy, with few speaking to each other. At 9:30 p.m., Lauder called over a rabbi and proposed that together they sing the old Yiddish lullaby Raisins and Almonds, and then asked anyone who could remember the words to join in. As Lauder recalls it, "By the end, 80 of the 100 people were singing along, and then the dam burst. Everyone started talking and we stayed there until 1:30 a.m." It was "another critical moment" for Lauder, which gave him the push for his campaign to revive Jewish life in the Holocaust- devastated countries of Central and Eastern Europe. He is proud of his work. "We may have communities with only 7,000 Jews, but they are more active than the 700,000 Jews in Southern California," he says. This work is more satisfying than selling cosmetics." Given his own leadership role, and the equally high profile of fel- low multimillionaire Edgar Bronfman, who is president of the World Jewish Congress, does it take a pile of money to become a Jewish community leader? "It's not only a matter of wealth," Lauder responds. It requires a lot of energy and effort, day in and day out, though it helps to have some means to reach out to other people." ive M e ib GLASSMAN OLDSMOBILE Oldsmobile. 00 0000000 0 1999 INTRIGUE GX 1999 ALERO GX Pwr. windows/locks, air, cruise, CD GMS LEASE SPECIAL 1999 BRAVADA Pwr. windows/locks, air, pwr. seat GMS LEASE SPECIAL Hurry! Sale Ends 09/30/99 Loaded Leather, AM/FM cass/CD, air, tilt, more! GMS LEASE SPECIAL Total due at inception $2159 • Total due at inception $2699 1999 SILHOUETTE PREMIERE EDITION Leather, ABS Brakes, TV, VCR, loaded, loaded! GMS LEASE SPECIAL 1 800-354-5558 Total due at inception $2799 ON TELEGRAP H AT THE TEL-12 M ALL p36-mo. closed-end lease based on approved credit. 12.000 mi/yr. Plus tax, title, lic. All rebates to dealer. Must qualify for Lease Loyalty program. 9/17 1999 01115•1_/