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PACE 4 THE SOl'THERN 1SRAEI1TE December 16. 1»»KA
I
The Southern Israelite
The Newipope* For Souihem Jewry
We 1925
iff. 7?;
Vida Goldqar
Making
Vida Goldgar
F-di?or and Publisher
Hambi Jo Eaton
Fearure Editor
Luna Levy
Assistant Editoi
Louis O Hertz
Business Manager
Leonard Goldstein Esc hoi A Harrell
Advertising Director Productton Manager
Published euer\. Frtdai, by The Southern Israelite, Inc
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The
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Comests
Maybe next year
At no time is the issue of church and state separation more in
the news than during the Christmas season
Whether it is religious programs m public schools or creches
on the lawns of public buildings, ihe question of legality to say
nothing ot sensitivity —arises even year at this time.
For a while, it looked as if there might bean official ruling this
vear For the first time, the Supreme Court agreed to review
whether the Constitution permits funds obtained from taxes to be
used to set up nativity displays as part of a religious holiday
celebration The Court also was to tackle the question of whether
government sponsorship of such practices violates the First
Amendment.
The case to be heard involved the municipality of Pawtucket,
R 1 , which for years used city funds to purchase and maintain the
creche.
It didn't happen. The court adjourned before hearing the case.
Was it a cop-out at a time when feelings run high? Only the justices
know for sure.
Oh, well, maybe next year! (
I hadn't thought of Betty for years until last Friday.
Since then I’ve thought about her a lot We were
children together, neighbors on the quiet street of the
small Illinois (own
Betty had a sweet and gentle I
personality and an eagerness to
join in our childhood adventures
even though we sometimes got I
impatient because she didn't keep 1
up
I don't know how old 1 was J
when I first realized that Betty was 1
“different “ 1 must have been 8 or 9 |
when 1 overheard someone
whisper. "She's retarded, you know “ We didn't know
the term Down's Syndrome then All 1 really knew
was that Betty was part of a large, warm, hard
working family whose members nurtured this special
child
When Betty's elderly parents passed away, she
went to live with other members of her family At that
time and in that place the choices were lo live with
family or to live in an institution
For ihe most part, even in a city like Atlanta, those
are still ihe choices and. as Frances Kuniansky puts it:
“The biggest worry of every parent of a retarded child
is what will happen when we are no longer around to
look after our child.” There is another side to the coin:
the desirability of helping handicapped people realize
their full potential; to give them a chance to live as
others do.
That is why F rances was so excited when she called
me last week with the gvod news. After almost four
years of planning, problems and perseverance, the
doors will soon open to the Atlanta Jewish Group Homes
and Services Foundation’s first facility, a group
home that will provide a more independent life for
eight young adults, promoting their sense of dignity
and self-worth.
Under the capable supervision of houseparents, the
residents can develop maximum responsibility.
During the day, they will observe much the same
routine as their neighbors do, taking MARTA to jobs
in the community, or to training centers or sheltered
workshops. In their free time there will be leisure and
social activities, both at and away from the residence.
a home
Prime movers in the accomplishment have been
Robyn Berger, president of the foundation; Frances
Kuniansky, vice president; Rachtcl Burger, secretary;
and Jerry Horowitz, treasurer. Sonia kuntansky has
acted as technical consultant.
Frances and Sonia invited me out to take a look
"It’s like a dream come true,” Frances said, as we
stepped around paint buckets and over boards in the
almost remodeled ranch house.
The dream was shared first by a few parents with
mentally handicapped children. An initial mailing to
40 other families with similarly afflicted children
brought 40 positive responses. With need established
the group sought- and received- Federation’s
blessing lo go ahead. They needed a sponsor in order
to apply for a HUD loan. The Jewish Home came
through They bought a house near the Jewish Home
and needed zoning. The city came through
Now it is our turn to come through. The house is
there, but an empty house is not a home.
There’s a needs list and all donations (tax
deductible) will be joyfully accepted. Each resident
will furnish his or her own bedroom, but furnishings
are needed for the common rooms and the house
managers’ suite. They need 18 ceiling fans with lights,
and a microwave, a refrigerator and freezer are musts,
along with cyclone fence, landscaping and driveway
repaving.
A major requirement is a van and insurance
(they’ll be glad to name the van in honor of a donor).
Office supplies will be required, too.
Once everything is in place, the home should be
self-sustaiping, but for the first year, property taxes
will be paid by the foundation. Funds, over and above
the needs, will provide scholarships as needed.
The whole list doesn’t amount to a great deal of
^moncy, but you have to start somewhere
Contributions can be sent to Atlanta Jewish Group
Homes Foundation, c/o Rachiel Burger, 2260 Pine
Cliff Dr., N.E., Atlanta, Ga. 30345. Furnishings and
services contributions can be arranged by calling
Robyn Berger, 874-4394, or Frances Kumansky, 233-
0690
Our community has always come through with
flying colors when the cause' was worthy. This
certainly qualifies.
Chlldren...fhis month well be making
dreidels for Honuka...prayer wheels for
Duddhism.,.proyer carpets for lslom...o
paper moche' Shiva for Hinduism, and
decorating the classroom Christmas free;
therefore, we re canceling our study of the
separation of church and state os provided
by the Ui. Constitution.
A righteous Russian
NEW YORK (JTA)—In a
dramatic and apparently
unprecedented gesture, a non-
Jewish Russian scholar. Dr. Ivan
Martinov of Leningrad, has
renounced his academic degree to
protest mounting official anti-
Semitism in the U S S R., most
vehemently espoused by the
notorious anu-Jewish writer. Dr
Lev Korneyev, according to the
Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry
Martinov staled in an open
letter to ihe presidium of the Soviet
Academy of Sciences that he was
giving up his title of candidate of
pedagogical sciences (equal to a
Ph D ) particularly because (here
had been no move to expel
Korneyev from the scientific
community, “a professionally
bankrupt ignoramus and falsifier
who disseminates the most vicious
Black Hundreds (notorious
C’zarist pogromists) type of anti-
Semitism in the pages of the Soviet
press."
In his recent book. "On the
Course of Aggression and
Fascism," printed in over 100.000
copies, Korneyev details Zionism's
alleged "criminal alliance with the
Fascists” and concludes that the
figure of 6,000,000 Jewish
Holocaust victims "has been
exaggerated by the Zionists by at
least two or three times. It is the
Zionists who bear the responsibility
for the extermination of non-
Zionist Jews in Europe between
1941 and 1945."
Martinov charged this was “a
blasphemous revision of the
nurqber of Jewish victims.” In
another recent book, “The Class
Essence of Zionism," Korneyev
flatly declares Jews to be “a fifth
column in any country."
According to the SSSJ,
Martinov said: “I am a Russian
bibliographer and historian of
Russian Orthodox background I
was brought up in a Russian
home Russian culture is both my
life work and gives meaning to my
existence. To paraphrase Maxim
Gorky's lamed words, ! boldly
state: ‘Everything good in me 1 owe
to the Jews.” Martinov recalled
that he received much help from
Jewish teachers and scholars in his
career.
The Leningrad academic went
on to protest official retaliations
taken against his Jewish scientific
colleagues seeking to emigrate,
including the elimination of their
names from their published works.
Martinov demanded the
publication of his letter in the
Soviet scientific press, as well as an
open discussion of the anti-Semitic
climate.
He called upon his professional
peers to “mercilessly condemn and
expel” Korneyev “from the
scientific community" and to
refrain from publishing their
articles in journals which
discriminate against Jewish
emigration applicants. Martinov
said he personally regretted
contributing to Neva, a Leningrad
literary monthly, which published
Korneyev's hate, including
material sympathizing with Adolf
Eichmann, “the victim of Zionist
terrorists."
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