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News Briefs
Schmidt bridges gap with music
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt
of West Germany plans to heal his long-standing rift with Israel by
appearing as piano soloist at an Israel Independence Day concert
with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra under the baton of
Leonard Bernstein. Schmidt, accomplished amateur pianist, was
involved in a bitter personal feud with former Prime Minister
Menachem Begin.
Young Jews boost Immigration
JERUSALEM (JTA)—The younger generation of Israeli
politicians is promoting internal immigration from the center of
the country to outlying development towns in the hope that this
will encourage young Jews from abroad to immigrate to Israel
and settle in the towns.
That challenge was presented at a meeting in Kiryat Gat of the
younger members of the various political parties, sponsored by the
Zionist Council. Yerah Glatter, mayor of Yeroham, said at the
meeting that Israeli leaders and leaders of world Jewry know very
little about the development towns and therefore they are not on
the immigration map.
Jews to help find disappeared’
BUENOS AIRES (JTA)—President Raul Alfonsin has
appointed Dr. Gregorio Klimovskyof the Latin American Branch
of the World Jewish Congress, and Rabbi Marshall Meyer,
spiritual leader of Congregation Beth El here, to the newly created
national commission investigating the disappearance of
individuals under previous administrations during the “dirty war ’
in the mid-1970s.
Alfonsin decreed the creation of a 16-member commission to
satisfy the "legitimate interest” of civilian society “in participating
in the clarification of the tragic episodes in which thousands of
people have disappeared.” According to reports by human rights
agencies, some 30,000 people have disappeared. Among the
“disappeared ones” are an estimated 3,000 Jews.
Knesset passes education bill
JERUSALEM (JTA)—The Knesset last week passed a
controversial education bill that requires every family to pay an
800 shekel (about S8) a month education fee. The bill, adopted on its
first reading, goes to the Knesset Finance Committee where the
Tami faction threatens to kill it on grounds that it imposes an
unfair burden on low income families.
The two Tami MKs boycotted the vote. They said they did not
vote against the measure because it would have been unseemly for a
coalition partner to vote against the government of which it is a
member. But Ben-Zion Rubin, deputy minister of labor and
welfare who is a Tami MK, said his party would raise the matter in
the Cabinet, and if the Cabinet fails to alter the bill, Tami would vote
against it in the finance committee.
White House rejects Egypt’s view
WASHINGTON (Polakoff)—Egyptian Foreign Minister
Kamal Hassan Ali’s view on behalf of his government that Syria
would leave Lebanon if Israel did so first is not being accepted by
the Reagan administration, a top United States official reported in
reviewing the results of the Egyptian’s Washington visit.
The official, who cannot be named under rules for his
background briefing, said Egypt and other Arab governments
contend that “if there is an Israeli withdrawal first, Arab pressure
can be mobilized to induce Syria to withdraw, too.”
“This is speculation,” the official added. “We haven’t seen that
pressure prevail on Syria.” He reiterated the U S. backs the May 17
Israeli-Lebanese agreement for all external forces to leave
Lebanon simultaneously.
V
Second ‘Barbie’ case revealed
NEW YORK (JTA)—The Anti-Defamation League of B’nai
B’rith last week revealed that U S. Army Counter Intelligence
Corps (CIC) employed a Nazi war criminal convicted by a Belgian
military court of 67 war crimes, including the torture of two
American Army pilots.
The ADL identified him as Robert Jan Verbelen, a former
Belgian citizen now living in Austria, and described his connection
with the CIC as “a second Klaus Barbie case.” According to ADL,
Verbelen who fled his native country after the war, worked for
American authorities in Austria from 1946 to 1955 under the name
Alfred H. Schwab. The ADL said it has information that the U S.
aware of Verbelen’s true identity when he was hired
Army was
titters to the editor
‘Yentl’ gets another rating
Editor:
Regina Abrams may be correct
in stating that “Yentl” is “the most
heartwarming, poignant movie of
1983,” but this is for each
individual to judge on his own.
I do want to share my personal
rating of the movie in the category
of “Jewish Content.” I think the
film is inaccurate in its portrayal of
I B Singer’s “Yentl, the Yeshiva
Boy.” Although this could be
argued scene by scene, 1 only want
to speak to the underlying theme of
the story and film.
Anyone who reads the 20-page
short story can certainly see that
Singer’s point is not one of
“feminist rights” or “soap opera
dramatics" as is portrayed in the
film. Rather, 1 feel that Singer
wants to show us the need that
Yentl has, the need tostudyTorah
She wants to be a Torah-
knowledgeable and Torah-
observant Jew Yentl naively felt
that to be a learned Jew she had to
be a man. It is dangerous to display
shtetl, or any Jewish life in this
one-sided manner. Certainly, the
role of the Jewish woman
(traditionally and in modern
times) can and does include study
of Judaics. We need not look any
further than our own community
to find learned Jewish women.
I also direct your attention to the
comments made by Nehemia
Persoff (who plays Reb Mendel,
Yentl’s father) taken from an
interview with the Philadelphian
Jewish Exponent, Dec. 9, 1983:
“She (Barbra Streisand) realized
she had to make a popular film,
which meant sacrificing items of
Jewish interest. Jewishness is not
an integral part of the picture.”
I wish success for the movie, but
let us not view it as a major Jewish
film of 1983, rather a
heartwarming, poignant movie.
A mold J Draiman
Leo Frank decision sparks anger
Editor:
Like a disease that lingers on
with no imminent cure, anti-
Semitism and bigotry continue to
linger on in Georgia, 70 years later,
with no imminent cure. The
Georgia Pardons and Parole
Board has transparently shown its
true colors by refusing to clear Leo
Frank’s name.
To continue to let an innocent
man’s name carry the label of
guilty is unjust and unfair. How
convenient that there will be no
appeal for Leo Frank’s case. ..
Man never seems to learn from
the past, which is why the present,
past and “future” are the same;
only the names have changed.
Although the parole board did
not grant Leo Frank an “official"
pardon, we know in our hearts and
in our minds, that Leo Frank died
an innocent man in 1915. The
ignorant and the bigoted of the
world can put any label they want
on his name. Deep down, under all
their enormous hatred, they, too,
know Leo Frank was innocent of
murder. T hey just refuse to admit
it.
Regina Ahrams
Bad year for soothsayers
by Carl Alpert
— HAIFA
Many Israelis take astrology
seriously, and the forecasts for the
future based on horoscopes are
often factors to be considered
when business or personal affairs
are being planned. A review of the
forecasts in recent years shows a
fair degree of successful
predictions, including a couple of
bull’s-eyes. At the end of December
1982, the astrologists studied their
graphs, charted the heavenly
movements of the planets, and
pinpointed the zodiac signs of
public personalities. They then
went on public record with their
predictions for the year 1983.
We never accept blindly their
awn reports of success. A year ago
carefully snipped from the
tapers the various prophecies and
low that 1983 reaches its close we
:ompare the prognostications with
vhat actually happened.
It has been a catastrophic year
or the soothsayers. Herzl
ipshitz, the most distinguished
orecaster of them all, managed to
roduce a mixed record. Last year
e foresaw the war in Lebanon and
^ld us that the Reagan plan was
ot worth the paper it was written
n. To be sure he also predicted the
ssassination of Hussein, with
rafat taking over Jordan. All
lat was in 1982. What did he
iresee for 1983?
Contrary to general expectations,
: said, this would be a good year
ir Israel's economy. Despite
iflation, good times would
intinue. As we now know, he
>uld not have been more wrong
Lipshitz also saw national
rctions being held in 1983, with
the Likud emerging as winner.
This year would see the political
collapse of Shimon Peres. Well,
there were no national elections.
Dan Talmor, another popular
crystal gazer, also found elections
in the stars this year. He and
Lipshitz apparently looked at the
same stars. Talmor warned that
war would break out in the north
in September or October. As for
Menachem Begin, he would get
through 1983 without any
problems, but after March of 1984
tiis health would begin to
deteriorate and he would resign
from the prime ministership Reality
came quicker than Talmor had
anticipated.
Still in the political field, he saw
Yitzhak Rabin ousting Peres from
leadership of the Labor Party, but
then falling victim to health
problems himself, with Yitzhak
Navon taking over the leadership
Danny Harman erred in his
predictions on Begin in the other
direction. He declared that Begin’s
health would cause him to resign in
March of this year. This was to be
followed by national elections in
May or June. Ariel Sharon’s
popularity would increase
enormously. Economic conditions
would get even better during the
summer. If the astrologists
invested in the Tel Aviv stock
exchange on the basis of their own
predictions they must all be broke
by now.
Yehudit Gabai expected open
conflict between Egypt and Israel
this year, based on Mubarak’s
extremism and stubbornness.
On a global basis, Israeli
expatriate Uri Geller also had
some predictions for the year 1983.
He foresaw Reagan’s withdrawing
from the presidency because of
illness before the end of 1983, with
Vice President Bush succeeding
him. Ayatollah Khomeini would
die before the end of the year, and
in November a devastating
earthquake would destroy parts of
southern California.
If the "experts” can gel away
with these predictions, why can’t I
try my own hand, and without
reference to Mars, Jupiter, Venus
or Uranus. Personally, I am a
Taurus.
Oracle Alpert proclaims that in
1984 there will be a violent
confrontation between secularists
and religious extremists in Israel;
economic conditions will improve
despite a wave of strikes called by
the Histadrut against the
government; a major technological
breakthrough by Israeli scientists
will make headlines everywhere;
there will be a marked upturn in
immigration to Israel from the free
West, no Israeli will win a Nobel
Prize this year; Yitzhak Navon will
not take over the leadership of the
Labor Party; commercial
television will be on the verge of
making its debut here.
Just check me next year!
Thanks to you...
it works...
for ALL OF US
Unibed tofey
PAGE S THE^OUTHERN ISRAELITE December 30, 1983