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PAGE 4 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE January 10, 1986
The Southern Israelite
The Weekly Newspaper Fof Southern Jewry
Since 1925
Vida Goldgar Luna Levy
Editor and Publisher Associate Editor
Leonard Goldstein
Advertising Director
Eschol A. Harrell
Production Manager
Lutz Baum
Business Manager
Published every Friday by The Southern Israelite, Inc.
Second Class Postage paid at Atlanta, Ga (ISSN 00388) (UPS 776060)
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Southern Israelite, P O Box
77388, Atlanta, GA 30357
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 77388, Atlanta, Georgia 30357
Location: 188 15th St., N.W., Atl., Ga. 30318 Phone (404)1876-8248
Advertising rates available upon request.
Subscriptions: $20.00, 1 year; $35.00 2 years
Member of Jewish Telegraphic Agency; Religious News Service;
American Jewish Press Assn.; Georgia Press Assn.; National Newspaper Assn.
It’s a mitzva
Again we call our readers’ attention to an ongoing need in our
community. This is one that doesn’t require a check. Just a few
minutes of time.
This is the American Red Cross emphasis on a critical need for
blood donors. The need is always there, but this time of year the
shortages are particularly critical.
President Reagan has proclaimed January as National Volun
teer Blood Donor Month. Gov. Joe Frank Harris has done the
same for our state.
Giving blood is not just something one does for others. No one
knows when that need may become very personal.
We’ve always been proud of our community’s response to the
quarterly blood drives. We encourage full participation in the
next one. Still, there are many who may find it simpler to drop by
the blood center at 1925 Monroe Drive. We encourage that, too.
It’s safe, it’s easy, and it’s a mitzva.
Say what?
This month, the Committee on Public Doublespeak of the
National Council of Teachers of English announced its annual
awards. There were some good choices, but none seemed as fitting
as the Orwellian Award they gave back in 1976.
That honor went to Yasir Arafat for telling an interviewer: “It
is precisely because we have been advocating coexistence that we
have shed so much blood.”
Arafat’s doublespeak hasn’t changed that much in 10 years but
we have a new candidate for 1986. That has to be Libya’s Muam-
mar Qaddafi.
We won’t even attempt to select a quote from his statements
this week. Anyone of a number of his rantings would qualify.
Vida Goldgar
One from Column A
For years, I’ve been trying to master the art of
eating with chopsticks (only when appropriate, of
course). I’m getting better, but still no expert.
Occasionally, I just ignore the
whole thing and fork up my almond
chicken and fried rice.
Doingjust that last night, I got
to thinking about the relationship
between Jews and Chinese restau
rants.
It has long been something of a
mystery why Chinese food has become
such a staple of the Jewish diet.
New York has kosher Chinese restaurants and 1
understand there is even a kosher Chinese Cookbook.
What, I wonder, is the reason? To help clarify my
thinking, 1 conducted my own informal survey. Here
are some of the answers:
— Because there is a lot of food for the money and
you can take home the leftovers without pretending
they’re for the dog.
A lot of vegetables are used and they are not
cooked to death so the vitamin content is high. . .“it’s
good for you.”
— Because the trefe is disguised —no guilt feelings.
—There is a family atmosphere so the youngsters
are welcome. Tying in with that last answer were
several others. One response said “Because most
Chinese restaurants are more informal.” Another said
“Ordering the family dinner provides something for
everyone, without a lot of‘I don’t like ’”
Contrast seemed to play a large part in the answers.
For instance:
— Many Jews grew up eating bubbe’s pot roast on
Sundays (before “Walt Disney”) and eating mom's
hearty portions of steak (not the cheap cuts, mind you;
only the most expensive ones for her kids!). After
countless meals of steak and potatoes (with liberal
amounts of ketchup), American Jews sought a new
taste with smaller amounts of meat and more vegetables,
rice and fish.
—Jews like variety—something different—and
Chinese food is a contrast to heavy Jewish cooking—
and it’s low in cholesterol.
Others disagreed:
— It isn’t really Chinese—it’s Jewish. Won Ton is
kreplach; egg rolls are stuffed cabbage; fortune cookies
look like hamantaschen (without the monn), and
there are lots of onions.
Psychology may play a part too:
—Jews appreciate the humility and respect Chinese
hold for their elders. Waiters are usually friendly, not
supercilious.
— It has to do with the mystique the Orient has for
everyone.
—Don't know if it is “the chicken or the egg”
syndrome, but there is a good Chinese restaurant in
almost every Jewish neighborhood.
So there you have the results of my survey. I’m
certain you can add your own ideas.
One person I questioned insists it goes back to
Marco Polo's first trip to the Orient. His diary
reportedly noted that Jewish advisers were there-
eating Egg Foo Yung, no doubt.
All this is making me hungry. 1 may have to get out
the chopsticks again. . .
Reprinted from TSI, June 8, 1979
No more double talk
Near East report
Secretary of State George Shultz
was right on target in Belgrade,
Yugoslavia in late December when
he told the Yugoslavian foreign
minister that the hijacking of airplanes
and the murder of innocent civilians
are “not justified by any cause that
I know of.”
Shultz was speaking in a nation
that almost epitomizes international
hypocrisy about terrorism. Yugo
slavia has no tolerance whatsoever
for its native minority separatists
and terrorists who are rooted out
and prosecuted without mercy.
However, it has a heart of gold
when it comes to foreign terrorists
like those ofthe PLO. For Belgrade,
PLO terrorists are “freedom fighters;”
its domestic variety certainly is
not.
George Shultz simply refused to
sit still for that kind of hypocrisy.
He literally shouted and banged
his fist on the table when the
Yugoslavian foreign minister said
that “when speaking of terrorism,
one must view the causes that lead
to it.”
It is good to note that the U.S.
government refuses to buy that
line. It understands that terrorism
is not like “juvenile delinquency.”
It is not produced by deprivation
and the absence of strong parental
figures in the home. Terrorism is
the method of choice of political
thugs and of their more respectable
backers. You don’t cure it by giving
in to it.
Vice President George Bush shares
Shultz’s view, as he made clear in
his recent Yeshiva University speech.
Bush turned to the heart of the
debate when he said that “the goal
of the terrorists is to undermine
Western democratic society. . .to
undermine the institutions, values
and traditions that are at the
foundation of our civilization.”
Bush rejects the pernicious notion
that “one man’s terrorist is another
man’s freedom fighter.” He said
that “formula makes terrorism sound
like something that’s neither right
nor wrong—a phenomenon, not
an evil.”
But it is an evil. It doesn’t matter
whether one is contemplating the
killers of Leon Klinghofferor of Alex
Odeh. A terrorist is still a terrorist.
Those who condone—through a
wink or mere silence—the practice
of terrorism against innocents
anywhere must understand that
they are really condoning the killing
of innocents everywhere. That is
what Shultz was trying to make the
Yugoslavian foreign minister under
stand. You can’t have it both ways.
That message is applicable not
only in Yugoslavia, but around the
world.
Still a bargain
Since our last subscription price increase almost five years ago,
The Southern Israelite has made every effort to hold the line.
Regrettably, our own costs, over which we have no control, have
gone up across the board. Most noticeably, there has been another
second class postage increase effective Jan. 1, 1986. the second
increase in less than a year.
Therefore, effective with subscriptions due April 1, there will be
a slight increase in the subscription rates of The Southern Israelite.
one-year subscription will be $23, with a $5 saving on two-vear
subscriptions at $41.
We believe you will agree that 44 cents a week for 52 weeks ol
nternational, national and local Jewish news, information and
features, along with quality advertising, is still one of the best
bargains around.