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NEIVS BRIEFS
Marry less, live longer?
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Israelis divorce more and marry less,
according to a survey of the Central Bureau of Statistics.
The survey shows that in 1976 some 26,000 Jewish couples got
married, compared to 29,000 who did so a year before. The number
of divorces rose from 2,900 in 1975 to 3,100 in 1976.
According to the survey, the average marriage period of the
couples that divorced was eight years and half of them had
children. The survey also reports a rise in the number of illegitimate
babies—591 in 1976 compared to 72 in 1951. •
Life expectancy in Israel is among the highest in the world.
Males reach 71.6 years, and females 75.4, the survey showed.
Bullets visit Israel
JERUSALEM (JTA)—The champions of the American
National Basketball Association, the Washington Bullets, met
Sept. 6 with President Yitzhak Navon at his residence here. The
Bullets are in Israel to play against the Maccabi Five in Tel Aviv.
“This was probably one of the highlights of my career, and of my
life. It's a great and wonderful honor and pleasure to meet the
President of Israel, because it’s like the beginning of everything,”
said Bullet star Elvin Hayes. “This is the holiest city in the world,'
and just to be here in Jerusalem and in Israel is a great pleasure for
me as a Christian.” Hayes added that he feels the Israeli team
against which the Bullets are matched is a good one, but added that,
“we are the best in the world.”
Medical meeting on holiday
NEW YORK (JTA)—The American Jewish Congress has
protested the “insensitivity” of the National Institute of Health
(NIH) in scheduling a National Conference on Medical Research
Principles on Oct. 3, the second day of Rosh Hashana, and asked
that the date be changed.
Protesters support Israel policy
NEW YORK (JTA)—Some 40 to SOyoung Americart Jews who
are planning to settle on the West Bank, staged a vigil Monday at
the Isaiah Wall opposite the United Nations in support of Israeli
Premier Menachem Begin’s policy “in keeping the West Bank part
of Israel,” according to Daniel Fliegler, a spokesman for the
American governing council of Lev Tzion, the group which
sponsored the vigil. The theme of the vigil was “keep the West Bank
Israeli to prevent another Tisha B’av tragedy from occurring."
Finger lickin' in Israel
TEL AVIV (JTA)—The first Kentucky Fried Chicken
restaurant in Israel was opened recently in Herzliya by an ,
American lawyer who came on aliya and decided that Israel has
enough lawyers but apparently not enough American-style fried
chicken. Erwin James has a concession to open a chain of
Kentucky Fried Chicken eateries in Israel and he hopes to open
some 30 restaurants all over the country. The equipment and the
chefs at the first restaurant are from America—until Israelis learn
to be more polite in dealing with customers.
Take me to your leader...
NEW YORK (JTA)—Activities at the El Al terminal would
have been routine this afternoon except for the presence of a first-
class passenger named Klatu who is bound for Tel Aviv where he is
hosting the Bergmann sewing machines exhibit at the exhibition of
new patents.
Klatu is no mortal human being. He is a 5 ft. 2-inch, 240-pound
rpbot, produced by Quasar Industries of Rutherford, N.J. Klatu
has a vocabulary of 4,800 words and is programmed to converse in
Hebrew for this special assignment. Klatu can also recognize up to
six individuals as well as vacuum floors, answer doorbells, serve
refreshments, and monitor homes or offices for fire or burglary.
The first robot ever to travel to Israel, Klatu was observed,
photographed and interviewed during check-in and later in the
King David lounge where he served refreshments. Special ar
rangements provided for Klatu include an extendable seat belt,
since he will make the entire trip to Israel standing up.
Orthodox block traffic
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jews from
the Mea Shearim quarter blocked busy intersections and stoned
cars and other vehicles last Saturday on roads that are normally
open to traffic on the Sabbath. Police and security forces
intervened to disperse the religious zealots. More than 20
demonstrators were arrested and scores of stone-throwers, drivers
and policemen were reported injured.
Arafat dreaming again
NEW YORK—Despite the problem of bloody infighting that
threatens to destroy the terrorist PLO, Yasser Arafat had his head
in the clouds. According to Reuters News Agency. Arafat now
claims a mythical air force in addition to a non-existent army and a
phantom constituency.
Betters (o tlieeditor
Problems at Holocaust Library?
Editor:
I am dismayed and disgusted
over the so-called Holocaust
Library at Emory University. As a
public school teacher gathering
sources for a course on Nazi
Germany, 1 immediately thought
of the Holocaust Library to begin
my research of “The Final
Solution.”
After speaking with several
Emory personnel about acquiring
a card to gain admission into the
stacks, I was told that only Emory
University students, faculty,
alumnus, and local researchers
who plan to publish their works
could be admitted.
If only a minute portion of the
total population can use the
sources, then what good is a
Holocaust Library? Why isn’t
there a library, of such great
magnitude housed within a Jewish
institution, available to anyone
who wishes to use its sources?
It is appalling and shameful that
some sixty books written about the
Holocaust remain on the shelves of
a Methodist school unavailable to
all who want to learn.
Rhoda Gerson Wexler
Dr. Herbert F. Johnson,
Director of Libraries, Emory
University, replies:
/ appreciate the opportunity to
provide information on the
policies for use of Emory
University Library collections.
First, however, may / say how
disturbed / am that any serious
student or researcher who needed
our special resources had difficulty
gaining access to the stacks of
Woodruff Library. Had the
request come to my attention /
would have provided access and
still would be delighted to do so.
As a private institution Emory
has a staled policy limiting use of
the libraries to Emory students,
staff, faculty, and alumni, visiting
scholars, local research workers,
and members of University Center
institutions. Local research
workers are defined as persons
"not connected with an institution
of higher learning but who have
made full use of local resources
and who need material for a book,
a scholarly article, or an address
requiring scholarly research for
which Emory has unique sources
or the only material in the area."
These policies have been in effect
for a number of years and predate
the establishment of the Cantor
Isaac Goodfriend Collection of
Holocaust materials. Unfortunate
ly no specific policy addressing
access to these materials has been
written, but / plan to ask the
Library Policy Committee to
address this lack.
The general policies stem from
days prior to the construction of
the Robert W. Woodruff Library
when seats, even for Emory
students, were at a premium and
when the collections of other
libraries in the city were not as
strong as they are today. There
also is a concern that Emory not
pre-empt the proper role of public
institutions, including the public
and school libraries of the greater
Atlanta area, to provide library
materials and services to citizens.
Be that as it may, it is difficult to
reconstruct exactly what may have
occurred in this instance. It is
probable that circulation desk staff
indicated the slated need did not
exactly fit the criteria of a local
research worker. In such
circumstances, however, staff are
instructed to refer people to a
reference librarian to apply for a
guest library card. The applicant is
asked to have identification and to
give as a reference an Emory
faculty member or an Atlanta
resident. A guest card is then
issued which carries with it
borrowing privileges for six
months. Guest cards also can be
renewed. If a person is denied
registration as a local research
worker, he or she has the
opportunity to appeal to the
director's office. Staff are
encouraged to refer people here for
special determination.
The Cantor Isaac Goodfriend
Holocaust materials are a
significant resource jtnd an
important part of the developing
program of Judaic studies at
Emory. Although the collection is
primarily to support study and
research in connection with
Emory's educational program, it is
our continuing and firm intention
to make the resources of Woodruff
Library available to all serious
inquirers who have special needfor
what is here. I sincerely regret that
anyone was refused access here
without being referred to a
reference librarian or to the office
of the Director of Libraries. /
appreciate your helping to clarify
our policy and through your good
offices invite the person to give us
another opportunity to respond to
his/her request.
Correction on Katherine Graham
Editor:
To correct a correction, (The
Southern Israelite, Sept. I, 1978)
Mr. Stuart Lewengrub was wrong
when he described Mrs. Graham’s
parents as Jewish. Only her father,
the great Eugene Meyer, was a
Jew. Her mother, Agnes Meyer,
one of the greatest ladies I was
fortunate to know, was both
German and gentile, a flaming em
bodiment of the progressive spirit,
warm hearted patron of the arts
(including Nobel laureate Thomas
Mann in exile), and the inspiration
of her husband and her children.
The daughter of a Jewish father
and gentile mother. Katherine
Meyer married Philip Graham,
another remarkable human being,
who, with his dedicated father-in-
law, developed the Washington
Post into the institution which we
know and respect today.
There is, of course, no point in
wasting too many words on the
hoary canard, especially in Mr.
Lewengrub’s terms. Jews have no
reason to be either ashamed of or
apologetic about their connection
with the media in the United
States.
Remember that men like
Greeley, Hearst and McCormick,
who demeaned the press, were
gentiles. But Jews like Pulitzer,
Ochs, the Sulzbergers (father and
son). Stern, the Newhouse
brothers joined with such
distinguished publishers as
Gannett, Copley, the Chandlers,
the Fields to endow our press with
that special quality of excellence
and integrity that makes their
newspapers unique in both history
and in the world.
Ladislas Farago
Bridgewater, Conn.
Fashion show coming to Atlanta
Editor:
Your presentation on the
Seligsberg-Brandeis High School
fashion show (The Southern
Israelite. Sept. I, 1978) that will be
touring the United States this year
was beautifully done. The fine
academic and vocational programs
as depicted in your article provide
the young people with the tools
they need to enter the mainstream
of life as productive citizens. Their
skills, trades and professional
training are vital to the future of
Israel.
The Atlanta Chapter of
Hadassah will proudly host this
outstanding Fashion Show on
Thursday evening. March 8, 1979.
A nominal admission will be
charged, the proceeds from which
will benefit the Hadassah Israel
Education Services, the body
which maintains Seligsberg-
Brandeis.
Thank you for highlighting this
feature. The American Jewish
community appreciates this kind
of insight into how and where
funds are spent which are
channeled into Israel through
organizations such as Hadassah.
Roz Levey
President,
Atlanta Chapter Hadassah
Page 5 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE September 15, 197g
