Jewish Post, Indianapolis, Marion County, 25 July 1969 — Page 11

Friday, July 25, 1969

THE JEWISH POST AND OPINION

NAMES IN THE NEWS

Why Third Psalm Was Omitted

Rabbi Zevulun Charlop pointed out at the recent convention of Young Israel that only two of the Psalms that Apollo 10 Commander William Stafford requested as his craft was orbiting the moon were read to them from spaceflight center in Houston. The third, No. 122, was mysteriously omitted. Checking Rabbi Charlop said he discovered that it was a psalm of praise for the redemption of Jerusalem. The rabbi also took the occasion to attack folk singer Bob Dylan, whom he accused of failing to ‘Tell it like it is.” He said the singer tried to conceal his Jewish origin including the fact that his last name is Zimmerman.

uuirf The toast of Israel since her arrival from Russia, where she was a leading folk singer, Nehama Lifschitz has won the hearts of the Israelis by her unassuming manner and exquisite voice and poise. But this did not affect the decision of the Rabbinical court which has issued a temporary injunction barring her from leaving Israel. The injunction was requested by her husband, Haim Binstein, who claims she is planning to desert him now that she has become famous. Miss Lifschitz told the Court that her marriage to Binstein was fictitious — that she had married him in order to save him and his family from the Nazis, after the invasion of Lithuania. She also said there was another — “national” — reason for her marriage to Binstein, but that she could not divulge it for fear of bringing harm to the other persons involved.

LHe Of Princess Changed The intention of Sharon $farash, 17-year-old Israeli who just won the title of Teen Princess of the World was good when she took her Talmud lessons with her to Chicago where the contest with candidates from all over the world was held. But she never got down to studying. Explaining why, she said, “We did quite a lot of sight-seeing, but these were like fleeting spells between hours of constant hard work. We had to have intimate talks with psychologists, walk up and down the platform — some girls had to learn how to do it — and we had to prepare our make-up.” Asked if winning the contest had changed her life, Sharon, whose father is a fifth generation sabra, responded in the affirmative. “It has. Something has changed in my life. When people see me now in the street, some eye me wildly, others understandingly, others.really greet me. And then our mail box has to be widened while the telephone buzzes quite frequently. I would like to add that the Cup for me actually represents all the youth of the world who I think could do much to improve life.”

All The Way Mr. and Mrs. Eld Sernoff and four children have converted to Judaism, and now are going all the way in search of the life promised them by their new religion, as they prepare to leave for Israel next month. A faculty member of the Art Department of Akron State University, Sernoff was early influenced by the Bible, and the couple’s four children, aged three to nine, are named Saul, David, Rachel and Ethan. An exhibition of the paintings of Mr. and Mrs. Sernoff was held at Temple Beth El in Cleveland, where a farewell breakfast was held for them last Sunday. Rabbi David L. Genuth prepared the Semoffs for the ritual of conversion after the family was referred to him by the Orthodox rabbis of Akron.

The Surprised Hostess Any hostess on an airplane would be confused by a passenger bearing a Torah in his arms, but Harriet Carlson, SAS passenger service supervisor, was doubly curious when she saw Abe Weissman, of Toronto, cany the Torah into the plane where he held it throughout the trip to Israel. Rescued from the destruction of the Jewish community of Sandomiercz, Poland, in World War II, the Torah is the lone surviving one from approximately 100 in the synagogues of the town. It is still stained by the blood of the man who died attempting to save it. The Torah is now serving an Israel congregation.

wife of a customs official in Kuwait, she said that all she knew about Israel was what she has seen over television in Beirut. “I would never have believed I would have been treated so kindly,” she added as she was invited to have something to eat until the next flight for Istanbul took off.

With The Rabbis Rabbi Daniel E. Kirshblum, assistant rabbi of Temple Emanu-El, Miami Beach, has been elected to fill the pulpit of Temple Israel, Orlando, Fla. . .Rabbi Mark H. Elovitz, Temple Beth El, Cedarhurst, Long Island, has been named spiritual leader of Congregation Beth El, Fairfield, Conn. . .Rabbi Victor L. Hoffman will assume the pulpit of the Conservative Congregation of New Orleans.

Wrong Number For Mosquito Aid TEL AVIV — The municipality committed a faux pas when it released to the press a private telephone number for those who want the mosquito brigade to fumigate their premises. The private citizen whose number was given out by the authorities announced that he was tired of hearing about other people’s mosquito problems Meanwhile the municipal authorities seemed in no hurry to provide the right number, and that is where the matter stood.

Drug Convictions Rise Sharply JERUSALEM — The influx of volunteers as a result of the Six Day War, mainly from America, was blamed for the increase in drug convictions which showed an almost 300 per cent rise since 1965. In that year there were 247 drug cases which resulted in convictions. For 1967 the figure rose to 547, and jumped again last year to 738. Izhak Berman, of the Ministry of Welfare, noted “the new phenomenon of drug-taking at kibbutzim.” This too he blamed on the volunteers “from the affluent countries.”

Problem Of Rabbis (Continued from preceding pg.) he invited a black chaplain to talk to one of his adult education classes on “Black AntiSemitism,” he was firmly advised that this upset his superiors. The situation does not lend itself to easy solution. It will take more than waving the flag and singing “America.” It requires dialogue with the young men.

Crime In Israel An attorney general who because of his position is wellacquainted with crime statistics, holds the highest regard for Israel because there was not one robbery with a gun or deadly weapon during the entire year of 1966. He is Francis B. Burch, of Maryland, whom columnist Joseph Wesinstein, in The Baltimore Jewish Times, lauds as another Theodore R. McKeldin, former governor and mayor of Baltimore who has been such a staunch friend of the Jews and Israel. Burch told a United Methodist Church audience in Cambridge, Md., he was amazed on his trip to Israel last year to find an almost incredible picture of so very few Jews involved in crime.

Rabbi's Sportsmanship An Orthodox rabbi whose picture was juxtaposed next to that of a topless pin-up girl with whom he was shown chatting in Israel’s counterpart of Playboy Magazine has shown his sportsmanship in accepting a donation of 5,000 Israeli pounds and an apology from the publisher of Ha’olam Hazeh, and his assistant editor. Rabbi Menahem Porush accepted the contribution for the Beit Dvora Children’s Home, and the apology from Uri Avneri, and withdrew his libel suit. Both are members of the Knesset.

Treated Kindly A Lebanese woman who thought the plane on which she was a passenger had arrived at Beirut, took fright when she was told she was at Lydda airport in Israel, but left on another flight a few hours later fully pacified. Mrs. Anayat Anabi failed to change planes at Istanbul for Beirut. Mother of three and

Quotation Of The Week A study by the Survey Research Center of the University of California was just released in which it was reported that one of every three Americans is “virtually free” of anti-Semitic beliefs. Of the remaining two-thirds of Americans, the study proved that one-third has a “negative image of Jews,” and the other third is indifferent to the problem of anti-Semitism. It was also revealed that during an economic crisis period, an anti-Semitic candidate for office would be able to get the support of all those who held anti-SemPic beliefs and a majority of those indifferent to anti-Semitism. In an era devoted to breaking down the barriers between men and rooting out prejudice, this study, financed by the Anti-Defamation League of the Bnai Brith, should give the American Jews a great cause for alarm and concern. One out of every three Americans has “simplistic beliefs” about Jews, and a “low tolerance for diversity.” Is it possible that the American Jewish community has lulled itself in a false slumber, thinking that material success has led to social acceptance? I would like our young people particularly to be made aware of this study so that they will realize that the Jew is never wholly and completely secure. History has proven again and again that when economic conditions of a country are in the red, the Jews are the ones who suffer black times. I am not convinced that there is too much that can be done to redress the situation. The prejudiced soul is comfortable with his closed mind, and refuses to be altered. The only thing we can do is to change the attitude of Jews. The young Jew who knows nothing about his people’s history, who is ignorant of Jewish values and ideas, who is apathetic to the future of Israel, and who generally has a vague conception of what being a Jew actually is, is poorly armed to stand up against the onslaughts of the anti-Semitic. The only armor we have is a sense of devotion and commitment to our faith, our Torah, and our people. — Rabbi Saul L Teplitz, Congregation Sons of Israel, Woodmere, N.Y.

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