Jewish Post, Indianapolis, Marion County, 12 March 1986 — Page 24

Dance fever Gavri Levy, director and choreographer of "Shalom '86," singers, dancers and musicians who have just completed their performances at the Centre East in Skokie, 111., hopes the show will bring many viewers to Aliyah in Israel.

The 45 cast members, all former members of the Israeli Army, and average age of 20, brought an international showcase of modem, jazz, folk.

musical in Israel, country and western and traditional music and dances from Israel, the U.S., U.S.S.R., Rumania and the Orient. Levi started his own career as a dancer in the "Karmon" dance company. From 1960 to 1963, he studied dancing, choreography, and television in the U.S., and created a group, "The Sabra Dancers." In 1964, he returned to Israel, joining the Karmon as general manager and assistant director for the grand

Medal of Honor Twelve naturalized Americans, six of them Jewish, were named to receive the newly created Medal of Honor this summer during ceremonies honoring the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty. They include Henry Kissinger, former secretary of State (Germany); Hanna H. Gray, president. University of Chicago, (Germany, her mother was Jewish); Irving Berlin, composer (Russia); Elie Wiesel, author and recipient of Presidential Medal of Freedom (Rumania); Itzhak Perlman, violinist (Israel); Dr. Albert Sabin, physician, who discovered oral polio vaccine (Russia). The others are Bob Hope (England); I.M. Pei, architect (China); Dr. Kenneth Clark, psychologist and author (Jamaica); James Reston, New York Times columnist (Scotland); An Wang, founder chairman of the board Wang Labs (China); Franklin Chang-Diaz, astronaut (Costa Rica). Their names will be placed on a plaque on Ellis Island. The awards are for immigrants making substantial contribution to American life and will be presented by President Reagan July 3. Town talk "Actually, there are several Jews in town — many of them right here in this parish." So said a local Episcopalian minister to author Richard Todd, according to an article in

the March New England Monthly about the town of Darien, Conn. The "exclusive town" of 19,000 population lists about 150 persons who sell real estate in a market where few houses are priced below $300,000. And they sell houses not to just anybody, he writes. The minister who gave him the painful news, "not terribly surprised and hardly confined to Darien," administered to a wealthy WASP community where the writer had grown up and spent his early years.

Salk award The name of Jonas Salk is a byword to those who lived through the polio days, and his vaccine led to the dread disease

Geula speaks When Geula Cohen, the Tehiya Party Knesset member, received an invitation from the Cambridge Union Society to debate on the motion, "The State of Israel should be partitioned between Arab and Jew," with a representative of the PLO, she responded with considerable emotion. "To the union president, Christopher Steele, she wrote, "The sole dialogue to which I would be a partner with an official representative of the PLO, an organization I consider neo-Nazi in character in that it slaughters Jews merely for being Jews, would be one in which he stood in the dock of an Israeli courtroom and I was the

Ethiopian is top runner in Israel

A 16-year-old long-distance runner whose course through life has taken him from the mountains of northern Ethiopia to AMIT Women's Kfar Batya Youth Village, Raanana (near Tel Aviv) is stirring Israel's sports world. Dani Besta is being hailed as perhaps the fastest youth (under 18) in 3,000 meter track-and-field national competition. In a recent race, He established a time of 9.28 minutes that left the Israeli champions behind. Followup training sessions have enabled him to shave almost a minute from that time. The lanky youth was unaware of his running ability until he participated in an intramural track-and-field competition in 1984. He caught the attention of a teacher who encouraged him to start training seriously. A temporary coach was found to refine his skills. The results were dramatic. In a competition organized by the Israel Defense Forces, Besta came in first among 410 runners from 65 schools. He may have missed out on top honors in last summer's Maccabiah Games' 3,000 meter youth competition because the heat began right after the Sabbath and he did not have time to travel. Instead, he ran with the adults — capturing a bronze medal after finishing just behind the second-place winner. Besta grew up in the Ethiopian village of Humara. At the age of 11, he and his family made a dangerous month-long journey on foot to Sudan. They remained in Africa for two and a half more years before being airlifted to Europe and on to

Israel in 1982. His family in Israel includes five brothers and two sisters. His father, a farmer, and mother live in the development town of Migdal Ha'emek, where Besta spends every second Shabbat. An 87-year-old grandfather, who resides in Beersheva, is regarded as the teenager’s most enthusiastic supporter when it comes to running. The Ethiopian Jew's second "family," at Kfar Batya, includes the 500 boys and girls aged 12 to 17 — and representing some 25 different countries — who live, study and work in the selfgoverning village. Another 500 students commute from nearby towns to join the permanent residents in studying at AMITs high school, junior high school and Junior College for Practical Engineering. In an atmosphere that encourages young people to achieve their full potential, Besta has come up against an inevitable conflict as he pursues

both academic excellence and a gold medal. "Between classes, homework and running,” he says, "I don't have a lot of free time. Right now it's difficult to decide which is more important — sports or homework." In school he is concentrating on studying electricity. He also enjoys learning languages, computers and biology. And he speaks with great love about his religious studies. But he also takes his running seriously. Except for the Sabbath, he runs 15 kilometers each day, including a morning run that begins at 5 a.m. — 90 minutes before official wakeup time — with warmup exercises and a 5 kilometer dash across village grounds and through nearby orchards. Dani, who now has a Russianbom track coach helping him, is getting important assistance from the Jewish Agency's Youth Aliyah department in his long-distance training.

Israel and S. Africa

Continued from pqge 7 begun to take a serious stand against Pretoria. The recent visit to Israel of Zulu Chief Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi, the meetings in South Africa and in Israel between Israeli representatives and black community leaders point to Israel's pursuit of its ideals. Programs of technical and educational assistance to the black community, similar to those with black African states in the 1960s, are being developed. Increasingly, Israel will show its solidarity with

those who oppose apartheid not only by condemning the regime and the system, but by working on a day-to-day basis with those working for change. Considering its marginal influence and its own harsh realities, Israel can do no more. Considering its profound identification with the forces against racism, Israel can do no less. (Kenneth Jacobson is the director of Middle Eastern Affairs for the Anti-Defamation League of D'nai B'rith.)

prosecuting attorney.” mayor of the West Bank town She added that, "The °f Halhoul and a member of the presence ofMessrs.Oweida, and PLO executive, makes my Mohammed Milhelm, former participation impossible."

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The winner of the Post and Opinion Mystery Man contest will receive a free copy of "Jewish Cooking Made Slim" edited by Marjorie Weiner and illustrated by Lea Gabbay. This unique cook book shows you how even the most luscious desserts, breads and pastas and other dishes can be prepared with fewer calories and still have great taste! Each week there will be an additional clue to a well-known Jewish personality. Responses must be made by mail. In case of a tie, each winner will receive the prize.