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Pag* 4 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE April 27, 1979 The Southern Israelite The Weekly Newspaper Tor Southern Jewry Our 55th Year Vida Goldaar Its a mitzva! Vida Goldgar Editor and Publisher Faith Powell Assistant Editor Linda Lincoln Advertising Director Mark Nicholas Production Manager Published every Fridas/ by The Southern Israelite. Inc. Second Class postage paid at Atlanta. Ga (ISSN 0038 4224) (USPS 776060) Mailing Address: P.O. Box 77388, Atlanta, Georgia 30357 Location: 188 15th St., N W Phone (404) 878-8248 Advertising rates available upon request Subscriptions: $15.00 - 1 year; $25.00 - 2 years Member Jewish Telegraphic Agency; Religious News Service, American Jewish Press Assn . Georgia Press Assn , National Newspaper Assn Bad news, good news “There’s bad news and there’s good news” must have had Jewish origins. This week’s news stories tend to support that theory. The terrorist attacks are stepped up—and peace negotiations between Israel and Egypt continue. Jews the world over, in solemn remembrance, gather to honor the Holocaust millions—and plan festive celebrations for Israel’s Independence Day. Falasha Jews struggle for recognition and rescue—and Soviet Jews are released from bondage. Inflation hits new highs—and we increase our charitable donations. Perhaps it is all tied in to our “survival quotient.” No matter how bad things are, Jews hang on to the threads of optimism and weave a new pattern for life. Even our perennial toast—L’Chaim—is “to life.” The coming months are sure to bring many difficult periods and news that is bad for the Jewish people. We must hang on to that thread of optimism. The good news will be there, too. More than a job Too rarely do we who use the services of our community agencies think about the role of the professional staff persons who keep things running smoothly. Last week, however, one of Atlanta’s most dedicated young community professionals was selected for a signal national honor. Jen Feldman, adult services director at the AJCC, was chosen by the Jewish Welfare Board from several hundred nominees for the prestigious Louis Kraft award (see story, page 10). This is not only an honor for her, but for the Center and our community. We are fortunate to have Jen Feldman and others who, week in and week out, go over and above their “job requirements” for the benefit of all of us. JAWS A modern day exodus took place this week as three jets landed in New York, bringing more than 600 Soviet Jews to new lives in the United States. The telecast of the first plane unloading in New York brought tears to the eyes. Free at last. Six hundred individuals! There are whole towns with no larger populations than that. And this is only the beginning. Apparently in hopes of swaying American public opinion toward more favorable trade arrange ments and SALT negotiations, the Soviet Union has stepped up visa grants to Soviet Jews. The United States cooperated and Attorney General Griffin Bell invoked his parole authority so 25,000 Soviet Jews can be admitted. Whatever the politics involved, the end result is good. How happy the new immigrants must be. They waited so long to leave Russia—some as long as four years 1 imagine they must be apprehensive, too. A new country, a new language, new people— customs—jobs. A whole new life. And this is where we come in. “Jews take care of their own!” How many times have your heard that? Here is an example of how true it is. Atlanta accepted the responsibility to resettle 150 Russian Jews between last October and October 1979. This is three times as many as came here last year. Many have already arrived, but many more are coming in the next few weeks. This coming week alone, five families will land at Hartsfield Airport. More the following week. The agencies and organizations who coordinate the program have swung into high gear to make the resettlement process as pleasant and painless as possible. Among others are the Jewish Vocational Service, Jewish Family and Children’s Bureau, Atlanta Jewish Federation and National Council of Jewish Women. These people are professionals and trained volunteers. But there are ways we—you and I—can help. Two main areas come to mind immediately. Furnishings and jobs. National Council of Jewish Women has undertaken the furnishing of the apartments for the Russian newcomers. Just stop and think for a minute how much you would need if you had to go out and furnish 50 apartments. It is hard enough to furnish one. So if you have any furniture, appliances, tv’s or other household furnishings, give Council a call at 262-7199. They’ll be glad to pick it up. Donations are deductible, too. Up to the point of settlement here, the families are pretty much dependent upon outside help, starting with H1AS, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, grants and the local services. Once they arrive, these immigrants are just as anxious to take care of themselves as were our grandparents when they immigrated. For that, they need jobs One reason Atlanta was chosen as a “resettlement” community is our Jewish Vocational Service. JVS, under the direction of Dr. Mark Fisher, does real yeoman work, not only for the Russian Jews, but for the rest of the community. Right now, though, their primary concern is placing the arriving Russians. These are rarely unskilled people. Mr. N, one of those who will be here next week, is an electrical technician. Mrs. R. is a mechanical design engineer. Mr. V is skilled in ventilating system and industrial air conditioning repairs. Others are lathe operators, arc welders—you name it. Admittedly, not all speak perfect English But they learn quickly. All need jobs badly so they can maintain their dignity. For some time, as a community service. The Southern Israelite has listed various workers under “Positions Wanted” on the classified pages. If you are an employer, check those ads. The worker you need may just be listed. Besides, it’s a mitzva. A time for reckoning by Alon Ben Meir A little more than twenty months ago I wrote the following: “Premier Menachem Begin has become the prime minister of Israel in a critical period of its history...No Israeli prime minister since David Ben Gurion declared Israel's independence in 1948 has carried a heavier burden of responsibility for Israel and for world Jewry as Menachem Begin carries now. The fate of Israel, and, to a large extent, that of the Jewish community throughout the diaspora, depends on how well Begin uses his authority to achieve peace with the Arabs and prosperity and social justice at home. Because of my conviction that Premier Begin is best equipped to lead Israel toward the noble goals of peace, prosperity and social justice, 1 am proud to dedicate this work in his honor." (Israel: The Challenge of the Fourth Decade, by Alon Ben- Meir, Cyrco Press, 1978, p. 220.) Today, more than at any time before, I feel proud that 1 dedicated this book to Prime Minister Begin and that my expectations have been at least partially fulfilled However, while the conclusion of a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt is a milestone toward a more secure and prosperous Israel, both socio-economic conditions in Israel and the prospect for improvement in the near future remain poor. Prime Minister Begin, who was preoccupied with the bigger issues of war and peace, had rightfully dedicated most, if not all, of his and other senior government officers’ time and energies to the peace negotiations. As a result, social and economic matters were neglected, or at best delegated to lower echelons with no mandate for drastic action A brief survey of the Israeli socio-economic conditions shows an astonishing inflationary spiral, soaring at an annual rate of 50 percent The number of major crimes has increased considerably, tax evasion and default on government and private loans arc common practices, service- oriented businesses are on the verge of collapse, the gap between the rich and the poor is widening, and the disparity between social classes may soon bring Israel to the point of social breakdown In short, the social and economic ailments that the Likud party inherited from the previous Labor government were further aggravated by the lack of a cohesive socio-economic program that should have been developed in conjunction with the Egyptian- Kraeli peace negotiations. Undoubtedly, Prime Minister Begin and his advisors are aware of this awesome reality. I had, and I still have, profound confidence in Prime Minister Begin’s ability to tackle the situation and provide some remedies. But to allow the situation to deteriorate beyond the present level would be unacceptable to the Israelis, who are increasingly fearful that this internal combustion may jeopardize the future of their country. The benefits of peace may not be felt for a number of years, and within weeks Israel will enter a new phase of negotiations with Egypt to define the concept of self-rule for the Palestinians in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip. There is no doubt that this new phase of negotiations will at the very least be as tedious, difficult, complicated, slow and frustrating as the previous negotiations between the two countries. Can the Begin government at this point continue to relegate crucial, if not fateful, social and economic issues to some later day? Can the government itself survive it these problems continue to cut deep into the soul and body of almost every Israeli? The time has come for reckoning. The time has come to review the whole situation and provide some better remedies to the.,.' alarming problems.