Jewish Post, Indianapolis, Marion County, 9 August 2000 — Page 8

NAT 4 August 9. 2000 Obituaries Jan Karski death recalls exploits of Holocaust days WASHINGTON —Jan Karski, the Polish liaison officer who infiltrated the concentration camps and carried news of their wholesale destruction of Jewish lives to the West, died at the age of 86. He was a retired professor of history at Georgetown University. His role in Jewish history is secure. In 1942 at the age of 28 he brought news of the Holocaust to London from two leaders of the Jewish underground. In fact he entered the ghetto to see for himself. He became a skilled courier for the Polish underground. He was captured by the Gestapo and in order to escape after being severely tortured he cut his wrists and in the hospital an underground commando team aided his escape. At one point he disguised himself as a Jew to see the haggard, hungry, dying Jews. In Claude Lanzmann's classic documentary on the Holocaust Karski related seeing many naked bodies lying in the streets and emaciated and starving and dying Jews. His revelations did not make the impact he must have hoped for. In fact, he later wrote that when "in February 19431 reported to Anthony Eden, he said that Great Britain had already done enough by accepting 100,000 refugees." He even brought his account to President Roosevelt, who was not moved to any real action. Karski had planned to return to Warsaw and resume his clandestine work but he was warned that his identity had become known to the Germans so he remained in the U.S. where he gave interviews, wrote magazine articles and wrote a book, "Story of a Secret State." He later became a citizen and in 1965 married Pola Nirenska, a dancer who was the daughter of an observant Jewish father. At age 81 she jumped to her death in Bethesda, Md. Her last dance piece, presented in Washington in 1990, was inspired by Holocaust victims she had known. Mr. Karski established a $5,000 annual prize to be awarded by YIVO to authors documenting or interpreting Jewish contributions to Polish culture and science. Philip Belz dies at age 96 f known nationally also

MEMPHIS — This Jewish community is mourning Jewish leader Philip Belz, who _ has won ev- •*. ery local ® and many national honors and died at the age of 96. He has been president of top organizations here and has been nationally recognized, mostly in Orthodox or-

ganizations. Even in israel his name wins recognition for his various charitable commitments. Among his recognitions are Man of the Decade by Israel Bonds, Humanitarian Award by B'nai B'rith, the Keser Shem Tov Award of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations, the Heritage Award of Yeshiva University and in 1971 he was made an Honorary Colonel by the State.

Congregation too small; disbands

CLEVELAND — The 30family Reform B'nai Emeth Congregation, which has held services at the West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church, has disbanded unable to retain enough members.

Co-president Susan Axelrod said "people were looking for a full-time rabbi or a new building and we just didn't have enough members to acquire those things."

'Fiddler’ due for comeback

NEW YORK — It's three years away but "Fiddler on the Roof" is scheduled on the ABC network modeled on the Broadway stage hit but with

an eye toward a new generation that has seen neither the live musical nor the 1971 movie version.

Hare) Levy runner-up and earns $211,000 prize TORONTO — Israeli tennis players are finally reaching to top rung as Harel Levy almost emulated the feat of Anna Shamshnova in winning an international tennis title. Levy lost in the finals to Marat Safin in the Tennis Masters Series-Canada tournament by 6-2,6-3. Levy more than doubled his career earnings with the $211,000 runner-up prize. He was that close to becoming the first qualifier to capture and ATP tournament since Roberto Carretero of Spain won four years ago. Bakalarz told to take a hike

Supreme Court sides with Arabs JERUSALEM — By unanimous decision the High Court of Justice rejected a petition by two Israeli Arab advocacy organizations claiming discrimination against the Arab sector in budgeting for education but ruled that there had been discrimination which, as the result of the petition, has been corrected. The state was ordered to pay 20,000 shekels in court costs to the petitioners, the Supreme Monitoring Committee of the Coalition of Parents Organizations in the Negev. Not so good for Jews of Russia

JERUSALEM — Ronald Bakalarz had little choice but to resign as president of the Maccabiah World Union after a report by a Knesset Committee said Israel should not finance a team for the 2001

Games if he did not do so. Involved was the bridge collapse three years ago at the Maccabiah Games killing four athletes and injuring dozens of others. ‘

Bertman named Coach of Year

ST PETERSBURG, Russia — Quoting a report in a local anti-Semitic newspaper, the city-owned TV station aired the news that the Jews were responsible for the nation's woes. In a related incident vandals desecrated 40 graves at a Jewish cemetery in the Russian city of Samara.

Britain joins on missile defense

OMAHA, Neb. — After winning the title game here of the College World Series the Louisiana State University baseball team, coached by Skip Bertman, was ranked No. 1 nationally. LSU defeated Stanford 6-5 to win the title

and Coach Bertman, 62, was named Collegiate Baseball's national coach of the year. This was the fifth year in the p5»st decade that Louisiana State has won the national title under Bertman.

Kalesnikov vies in RCA tourney Israeli Yevgeny Kalesnikov whicn began Monday at the is entered in the RCA Cham- Indianapolis Tennis Center, pionships in Indianapolis

Weizmann home with pacemaker

JERUSALEM — Under the heading of "strategic dialogue" Britain and Israel are cooperating on anti-ballistic-missile defense and Maj.-Gen. Dr. Yitzhak Ben-Yisrael has completed a tour of the British defense establishment. Britain is interested in Israel's new Arroud anti-missile system which has been developed with U.S. help. In recognition Temple Israel, Detroit, has honored Rabbi M. Robert Syme on the occasion of his 80th birthday and retirement after 47 years of service The Henrietta Szold Award of Hadassah was presented to Ambassador Ronald S. Lauder at the opening session of Hadassah's national convention in Los Angeles. What probably is the most unusual selection of leadership of local fundraising officials is the naming by the Minneapolis Jewish Federation of Nancy and Steve Schactman as co-chairs. Rabbi Alan G. Ciner of Columbus, Ohio's Agudas Achim Synagogue who is leaving after 17 years to lecture and teach in New York was honored with a special farewell celebration.

JERUSALEM — Just before the Knesset named a new president, former president Ezer Weizmann returned home from the hospital where he underwent a successful pacemaker implant. The 75Running mate

year-old Weizmann resigned earlier this month after revelations that he had not reported gifts of hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash from a friend in Switzerland.

Continued from page NAT 1 He strongly supported the Gulf War resolution in 1991, and pushed for "final victory" over Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. He also has supported sales of F-15 fighter planes to Saudi Arabia in 1992 and sending ground troops to Bosnia after the war ended in 1995. He favored NATO's expansion in Eastern Europe and keeping funding for the Seawolf submarine and the submarine base in Groton, Conn. He has backed capital gains tax cuts for small businesses and he championed the 1996 welfare reform that many Democrats opposed. He has favored sparing the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from the environmental risks of oil drilling there. Lieberman has been successfully critical of daytime TV shows that focus on sex and violence and of "gangsta rap" that glamorizes violence. Corporations pressed for more acceptable shows, and sometimes got them and Time Warner sold its gangsta rap label. Lieberman was indicating that he would be willing to campaign on Friday nights and Saturdays despite his Jewish Orthodox faith, according to the Howey Political Report, an Indianapolis-based political newsletter.