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CORNELIA'S
SCHOOL of DANCE
Cornelia Sampson, Director
BALLET, POINTE, JAZZ, TAP
(Child. & Adult)
Creative Movement, Pre Ballet,
Tap for 3-6 Yr. Olds
Professional, Certified Adult Staff
Progressive Syllabus That Trains
Students From Beginning Through
Advanced Levels
Positive, Nurturing Atmosphere
Day & Evening Classes
Sprung Wood Floors
Competitive Rates
JAZZ & TAP DIVISION
CUTTING EDGE
CHOREOGRAPHY
HIP HOP • LYRICAL
GOLD MEDAL
COMPETITION GROUP
BALLET DIVISION
RUSSIAN TECHNIQUE
MASTER TEACHERS
NUTCRACKER • SPRING RECITAL
HOME OF THE MICHIGAN
BALLET THEATRE
Michigan Ballet Theater Company Auditions
August 26 • 10 a.m. - Noon
OUR REPUTATION PRECEDES US!
Ibrk City Ballet, ,loffrey Ballot. Pittsbur1;11
nanceo- Currently Performing With:
Ballet Theatre. Miami City Ballet, Cleveland Ballo and Ballo
11•esi.
from page 17
the area, ultimately going to America.
Instead, he decided to enlist in the
U.S. Army at a base near Tel Aviv.
Assigned to a truck unit, Leikin
became a driver-dispatcher on convoys
around Palestine, parts of Europe and
North Africa.
"Since the convoy route went
through Palestine, I used my position
to smuggle arms to the Hagana in a
vehicle disguised as a Coca-Cola
truck," Leikin said. "One time, I took
a load of arms hidden beneath the
floorboards into Tel Aviv, which then
was under 24-hour curfew, and I was
stopped by a British patrol.
"I yelled at them: 'What do you
mean stopping a U.S. Army convoy?'
They replied: 'Take it easy. Just like
you Americans have Al Capone, we
have to worry about Menachem
Begin.' (The Hagana leader later was
elected prime minister of Israel.)
"Of course," Leikin continued, "the
U.S. soldiers didn't like the British too
well. So they were happy that we were
getting the arms into Palestine."
Leikin became a corporal and went
into a military intelligence unit, but
the war ended before he could assume
his new duties. After two years, he was
reunited with his wife and son George
(today a Southfield attorney) and the
family returned to the U.S.
MR. ZOA
Many
u /ents
Receive Scholarships to Major l'niversities And Company Schools.
NEW TO OUR FACULTY
Eli:aboha Penvva - ballet instructor from the lamed Bolshi Ballet
instructor. former !acidly member of the l'irginia School of the Arts
Michael Hicks -
20 Years Of Proven Success
Conte In And Viol . Our Roster Of
Success Stories and
:Ileet Our Nellie(' Faculty
Cornelia's School of Dance
(248) 681-5376
3080 Orchard Lake Road • Keego Harbor
MASTER SESSIONS IN PROGRESS
August 14-25 • Master teachers -David Holiday,
from the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School: Li Chou
Chang former principal teacher at the Boston Ballet
and principal dancer of the National Ballet of
China: Michael Hicks, jazz instructor.
2nd Location
School of Dance
Rochester • 248-652-3117
D
R ochester
Since
1986
STEVEN TARNOW, C.R.
PREFERRED
BUILDING CO.
(248)
626-5603
Fax
248-932-0950
Residential & Commercial Remodeling
Building Quality Into Every Project With Unmatched Personal Service.
8/25
2000
18
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Featuring Andersen Windows
Licensed & Insured
ZOA Career
"My two heroes in life have been
Jabotinsky and Rabbi Abraham Hillel
Silver — two of the most ardent
Zionists of history," Leikin reflected.
"I wrote Rabbi Silver a letter seeking a
job with the ZOA and that launched
my career.
"Rabbi Silver was an outstanding,
magical person with great courage and
an excellent speaker. Although his pul-
pit was in Cleveland, he received
national recognition and notoriety."
In his ZOA career that began in
1946, Leikin served as regional direc-
tor in Chicago, Minneapolis-St. Paul
and Philadelphia before coming to
Detroit more than 20 years ago.
He has picked up many honors and
tributes along the way, such as the
ZOA's Brandeis Award for "exemplary
service to Zionism and Israel" while he
was living in Philadelphia. The
Michigan Region named him Zionist
of the Year in 1981.
beikin maintained his dream of set-
ding in Israel. In 1982, he and Bella
moved to Jerusalem, where Leikin
worked as a consultant with the Israeli
Foreign Ministry. They returned to
America when Bella became ill. She
died at age 70 in 1984. Today, Leikin
still makes at least one trip to Israel each
year, health permitting, and maintains
contact with international ZOA leaders
and his friends from around the world.
Leikin has found time to write a
book and many newspaper articles and
letters to newspaper and magazine edi-
tors during all of his work and travels
with the ZOA. In 1993, he published a
book on the notorious blood-libel trial
in Russia: The Beilis Transcripts: The
Anti-Semitic Trial That Shook the World.
Helping Hands
Reflecting on the more notable members
of the Detroit area's Jewish community
who worked with him to carry forth the
Zionist cause, Leikin singled out Rabbis
Morris Adler of Congregation Shaarey
Zedek and M. Robert Syme of Temple
Israel; engineer Leon Kay, supermarket
moguls Al and Tom Borman; steel offi-
cial Leonard Kasle; paint company
owner Walter Field; United Hebrew
Schools President Bernard Isaacs and
retired Judge Ira Kaufman.
"They were among the great
Zionists in Detroit's history," Leikin
said. "I worked closely with them
through the years, and I have nothing
but admiration for their devotion and
philanthropy to the Zionist cause."
Leikin said he feels absolutely no
pressure from local and national ZOA
officials about continuing so long in
his current position. "They know bet-
ter than to ask me to step down
because of my age," he said.
Mort Klein of Philadelphia, the
ZOA's national president since 1993,
said a decision like that would be
"strictly up to the ZOA's local officers
and board." Klein said he has "the
utmost respect for Zeke Leikin. He's
the most committed Zionist anyone
would ever meet; his knowledge of
Zionism and world affairs is breath-
taking; he's a superb writer who alwa
makes crisp and concise points."
Joseph Savin of West Bloomfield,
president of the ZOA's 1,000-memb
Michigan Region since last
September, said Leikin can remain a
executive vice president "for as long
as he wants.
"He probably could perform his
tasks better at the age of 120 than
someone half that age," Savin said,
adding that Leikin is "an absolute
pleasure on all levels — a marvelous
writer and humorist, [and] deeply
committed to the Zionist cause of
international support for Israel as the
Jewish homeland." 0