Jewish Post, Indianapolis, Marion County, 9 January 1981 — Page 7

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Are These The 50 Leading U.S. Jews?

What could possibly represent itself as the 50 leading American Jews have been selected to serve as an honorary committee to mark the 75th anniversary of the American Jewish Committee which will be observed in Washington in May. Headed by Jerome J. Shestack, the 50 distinguished Jews include Julius Axelrod; Salo W. Baron; Daniel Bell; Leonard Bernstein; Robert L. Bernstein; Marver H. Bernstein; Edward J. Bloustein; Baruch S. Blumberg; Arthur F. Burns; Sol C. Chaikin; Benjamin V. Cohen; Gerson Cohen; Henry Crown; Nathan Cummings; Rabbi Louis Finkelstein; Abe Fortas; Max M. Fisher; Betty Friedan; Paul Freund; Eli Ginzberg; Alfred Gottchalk; Chaim Gross; Philip Handler; Rabbi Arthur Hertzberg; Irving Howe; Jacob K. Javits; Max M. Kampelman; Henry Kissinger; Philip M. Klutznick; Irving Kristol; Norman Lamm; Frank R. Lautenberg; Edward H. Levi; Seymour Martin Lipset; Howard Metzenbaum; Martin Meyerson; Yehudi Menuhin; Arthur Miller; Newton N. Minow; Louise Nevelson; William S. Paley; Jan Peerce; Arno A. Penzias; Roberta Peters; Chaim Potok; Jay Pritzker; Isidor I. Rabi; Abraham Ribicoff; Simon H. Rifkind; Eugene V. Rostow; Abram L. Sachar; Jonas Salk; Bernard Segal; Isaac Bashevis Singer; Albert Shanker; Rabbi Alexander M. Schindler; Michael I. Severn; Robert Strauss; Jerry Wurf; Laurence A Tisch; Elie Wiesel; Sidney R. Yates; and Jerome B. Wiesner.

Richest Israeli Shaul Eisenberg is a name to be conjured with in Israel and even in the financial world of Japan, and now of the United States as he and other Israeli interests have purchased 10.4 percent of United Merchants and Manufacturers, Inc. for approximately $30 million. The American company with revenues of $700 million last year produces and distributes textiles and garments. The transaction was arranged through the Piryon Investment Trust Co., whose owners include three of Eisenberg’s sons-in-law. Eisenberg jets around the world in a Boeing with gold fittings and lives in swanky Savyon, the rich Israel suburb of Tel Aviv. He is said to be Israel’s wealthiest person and owns 20 companies operating in 30 countries with annual sales estimated at $1.25 billion. He is one of the Jews who escaped in 1939 from Nazi Germany reaching'Shanghai where after marrying the daughter of a Japanese artist he remained, and opened a diamond factory. Having made his way to the top in world business, he built a mansion in Israel so his five daughters and one son could have a Jewish upbringing.

— Jerusalem Poet photo TWO MAYORS — If New York’s Mayor Koch needed any convincing on Israel, he got it in his nine-day visit when he did everything that most tourists accomplish in five or six trips. He was wined and dined by hosts who constitute Israel’s top echelon in every phase of activity and came away convinced that Israel could not yield parts of the West Bank without endangering her security. He is shown here with Mayor Teddy Kollek with whom he shared experiences, not to mention their griefs and frustrations, in operating cities of such complex populations.

With The Rabbis Rabbi David B. Rosen has been elected to the pulpit of Suburban Park Jewish Center, East Medow, Long Island... Congregation Schara Tzedeck, Winnipeg, has named Rabbi Menahem Fogel as assistant rabbi...Rabbi Martin Sandberg has resigned as spiritual leader of Rodeph Sholom Congregation, Tampa, FI...Rabbi Howard F. Soldin-Sommer has been named associate rabbi of Temple Emanu-El, Westfield, N. J. ...Elected to the pulpit of Beth Joseph Center, Jersey City, N.J. is Rabbi Ephraim D. Becker...Temple Shir Hadash, Los Gatos, Ca., has named Rabbi Jerold B. Levy as its spiritual leader...Rabbi Peter G. Weintraub has resigned as associate rabbi of the Westchester N.Y. Reform Temple...Rabbi Peter Tarlow, Temple Beth Am, Bayonne, N.J., has assumed the pulpit of Circulo Israelite, Santiago, Chile.

Unbelievable

It’s difficult to believe but the first translation of Rashi into Russian has been accomplished by Frima Gurfinkel, who didn’t know Hebrew until her arrival in Israel six years ago. At that time, she had never heard of the 11th century exegist considered | the greatest Jewish commentator on the Bible. "There is a mistaken idea in Israel that RusIsian Jews aren’t interested in Torah,” she says. Her father joined in setting up a nonprofit publishing venture, and the translations . are provided free. So far five booklets have I been published, and three more are at the Gurfinkel printers. The funds have come from the pockets of the Gurfinkels aided by private donors. Requests have come from Russian immigrants in the army and in absorption centers, and it is hoped that “dropouts” in the United States may be interested in receiving copies. The name and address is Gesher Hateshuva, P.O. Box 5269, Jerusalem. Frima envisions at some time producing her own commentary on Rashi.

Offenbach Centennial The centenary of the death of Jacques Offenbach, is being celebrated worldwide with performances of many of his works, recalls the conversion of the German-born composer to Catholicism when he married Hermlne de Alcain, whose stepfather made that stipulation before agreeing to the union. The Offenbach family had been given a house in Cologne by that city’s Jewish community for the 24 years’ service as a cantor of his father. It was his father who gave him his first music lessons when he was barely five years old. At the age of 14 his first compositions were published. One of his teachers when he went to Paris was Halevy, the composer of “La Juive”. The fact that Offenbach had been born a Jew led to his works being banned by Hitler wherever the Nazi flag was raised.

Sermon Of The Week Who Shot J.R. (Jewish Religion)? — Rabbi Edward R. Kandel, Beth Shalom Synagogue, Columbia, S.C.

Quotation Of The Week This past week I was on a pane! discussion on KET dealing with the recent Supreme Court decision on the placing of the Ten Commandments in the school rooms of Kentucky. One of the panelists was Representative Claudia Riner of Louisville, who was the sponsor of this bill in the legislature and also introduced legislation to have Scientific Creationism taught in our public schools. I had not met Mrs. Riner before and so was really unprepared for her tactics. She never answered the questions of the moderators, but proceeded to make her statement of faith and the need to teach the Christian history of America in our schools. I reacted to this woman on two levels. First I was insulted. She was reading me as a Jew, as well as any other nonChristian of her persuasion, out of the mainstream of ' America. She is intent on rewriting American history to suit her zealously fundamentalist Christian presuppositions. And secondly, I was afraid — afraid that, in this time of increasing religious conservatism, she is the type of religious demagogue who can attract a following and do great damage to our American traditions of religious pluralism, a tradition which has taken two centuries to nurture, and is still very shaky, as the reaction to the recent CKJA-ADL-CLU request to cease the distribution of Gideon Bibles in Madison County indicates. After this shaking experience with Mrs. Riner, I am more than ever convinced of our need to be alert to the possible attacks on our freedoms which may occur in the next few years. We cannot be complacent.—Rabbi William J. Leffler, Temple Adath Israel, Lexington, Ky.

Three Prisoners Become Converts JACKSON, Mich. - Three

inmates of the Jackson Prison were converted to Judaism, according to The Menorah, publication of the Jewish prisoners. The name of the Rabbi was listed in the bulletin only as “T”, but evidently he is a Reform rabbi since the lead article relating about the conversion noted that “there are those who do not hold to q any conversions done by a c Reform rabbi”. ^ The men are Mike Smith, « Gary Knopp and Chester 3 Cambell. *

All Tel Aviv Grads Pass Medical Exam TEL AVIV — All 38 stu-

dents in the first graduating class of the Tel Aviv University medical school, who had gone to Israel to study because they were unable to secure admission to American universities, have passed exams qualifying them for residency training in American hospitals. The students, who were aided by funds from the New York State, have conunitted themselves to serve three years in New York state areas short of

physicians.

Conservatism, Reform Get Another Setback JERUSALEM - Another setback for Conservatism and Reform in Israel was admin- , istered by the Knesset as it voted down by 42-26 a bill to give the non-Orthodox wings equality with Orthodoxy. The bill would have enabled the two wings of Judaism to perform marriages and receive government subventions similar to those of the Orthodox. _

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