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Pag* 14 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE December 23, 1*77 STEVEN J. ZIER £& CO. INCORPORATED | Correspondent Members Principal Stock Exchanges 6006 Roswell Rd. N.E./Suite 605/Atlanta, Georgia 30328 '404-S56-27B0 •Homemade Dough Sicilian or Thin Crust •Spaghetti Dinners •Lasagna •Antipasto •Italian Sandwiches •Draft Beer & Wine hella phone 255-9122 Dining Room or Take Out Open 7 Days 6435 Roswell Road 1.3 Miles North of I-285 LESTER PAZOL Hennessy Cadillac Incorporated 3040 Piedmont Rd., N.E. Invites You To Step Up To 78 With the best possible purchase arrangements available for our New Cadillacs and Prior Owned Cadillacs. Warranties up to 36,000 miles or three years. With That Great Hennessy Service PLUS MY EVER PRESENT PERSONAL SERVICE Too*Hhsy To Visit Our Showroomf Call 261-5700 For A Test Drive Uri Zohar Israeli star finds religious roots Uri Zohar and friend by Diana Lerner Anything can happen in Israel and usually does. Take, for instance, the former Yeshiva student from America who eased up on his religious observances when he immigrated to Israel because “in America 1 clung to very strict orthodoxy as a means of maintaining my Jewish identity. Here I’m a Jew without trying.” A religious Israeli could punch milewide holes in that reasoning, but it happened. Or, more astounding than that example of “anything can happen in Israel,” take a case that’s the exact opposite and made headlines here. Hold on to your yarmulkas for this one —Uri Zohar has got religion! A top Israeli showbiz star—very funny comedian, popular host of Israel TV’s “That’s My Secret,” much in demand as a talk-show guest, a so-called freethinker who never disowned his drug-addicted friends—Uri suddenly “converted” to Judaism. He quietly entered a yeshiva a year or so ago; now he always wears a kip a (yarmulka) and tsitsis (the fringe upon the comers of a man’s garment to remind him of the Commandments, the mitzvot). When he first showed up on “That’s My Secret” dressed that way, the cast thought it was a stunt. But he meant it and he hasn't backslid an inch. It seems to be the answer to his personal search for truth, security, a solid place to plant both feet. It has given him roots, he feels, a tradition to be part of and proud of. “People who observe the mitzvot are more free,” he said on TV recently. “I can’t tell you why, but putting on a kipa makes you think. Maybe seeing me in one will make others think.” And it has. As an idol of young Israelis, Uri is makings lot of them think, and the kipa and tsitsis manufacturers are doing very well these days. Mr. Begin’s determination to observe kashrut and attend synagogue, even when he’s abroad, has helped many Israelis gain pride in being observant that they never quite felt before. Even the ex-yeshiva student is having second thoughts. “I admire Uri for what he’s done," he says . Uri hasn’t turned to religion as an escape from an unsuccessful career or an unhappy personal life. He is at the height of his profession, happily married and the father of three. He continues his daily swim off the Tel Aviv beach at daybreak, he’s producing and starring in films, appearing on TV and radio, performing at army bases (no charge), entertaining handicapped children (no charge), entertaining handicapped children (no charge)—aU while studying Torah and practicing the mitzvot like any other observant Jew. Two of his friends are also students at his yeshiva—Ika Israelis, an artist, and Pupik Amon, a rock and roll singer who was recently ordained a rabbi. Says Rabbi Noah Weinberg, head of Ash Hatorah Yeshiva where Uri and his friends study: “A lot of young Israelis grew up believing that religion is the opium of the masses. Now they are turning to Torah instead of the opium.” Rabbi Stanley Gold, formerly of South Orange, N.J., and today living in Petah Tikvah says: “Jews cannot live without Torah and it is natural to return to it. Children of non believers are reaching out for Torah because they feel their emptiness. It is, in any case, a positive phenomenon.” That Uri Zohar’s return to Torah is a phenomenon, no one will deny. jt*uh Di»«i Mail to AMPAL / 420 Lincoln Road Miami Beach, Florida 33139 YES, I want a free copy of "HOW AMPAL WORKS TWO WAYS HELPS YOUR MONEY GROW WHILE IT HELPS ISRAEL GROW” AMPAL WORKSTWO WAYS... HELPS YOUR MONEY#ROW WHILE IT HELPS ISRAECGROW AMPAL was founded in the United States, even before there was an Israel, to forge a sturdy link of invest ment to the Jewish state. AMPAL is now a major American corporation that has made loans and equity investments close to S1 billion dollars in a variety of Israeli industries. And. we've never missed a dividend AMPAL investors have had their trust rewarded with increasingly larger dividends — NOW AT 10°o —and interest earnings—always in U S. dollars. American Israel Corporation THE PRUDENT PIONEER 420 Lincoln Road Miami Beach. Florida 33139 ' (305)532-4476 New York Miami California / Chicago Tel Aviv