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PAGE 4 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE May 2, 1986 Vida Goldgar The Southern Israelite The Weekly Newspaper For Southern Jev v ' v Srnce 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. Ca (ISSN 003881 (UPS 776060; POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Southern Israelite, P O Box ~7J88. Atlanta, GA 30357 Mailing Address: P.O Box 77388. Atlanta. Georgia 30357 Location: 1S8 15th St.. N.W., Atl . Ga 30318 Phone (404)876-8248 Advertising rates available upon request. Subscriptions: $23.00, I year; $41.00, 2 years Member of Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Religious News Service: American Jewish Press Assn . Georgia Press Assn,; National Newspaper Assn, A dream comes true This Jewish community has so much to be proud of that we run the risk of sounding like a Jewish Chamber of Commerce spokesman each time we laud an institutional or individual achievement. Well, so be it. Our attention this week goes to the opening of the Zachor Holocaust Center, a unique resource facility which will serve the entire Atlanta community. The Center, which opens to the public Monday, began as the dream of a handful of survivors of the Holocaust to ensure that this city had a permanent public record of the Holocaust experience. The result not only fulfills that purpose, but is a tribute as well to what can be achieved through cooperation. Joining hands to make the Center a reality are members of Hemshech/Organiza tion of Survivors from Nazism. Children of Holocaust Survivors, the Atlanta Jewish Federation and many individuals. They have done well in creating a moving chronological dis play that will defy anyone to negate or downplay the Holocaust. We foresee busloads of school children solemnly trooping through the Center, getting a fuller understanding of that period of horror than any textbook provides. Adults of all creeds cannot help but gain a more thoughtful view of history. Nuclear warning At press time, very little more is known about the tragic- nuclear disaster in the Soviet Union than was known when the first announcement was made Monday. Experts all over the world are speculating and in some cases trying their best to allay fears but, with the Kremlin unwilling to share whatever information it has, nothing said has much of an authoritative ring. If any good can come of this tragedy, it will be that all coun tries in the nuclear circle will rethink their arms policies. If a “peaceful use” accident can have such consequences, it doesn’t take much imagination to consider what would happen with nuclear weapons, accidental or intentional. VOTE WALDHEIM O.K.-20HELED-I TQfcV&A MZi' - 20 ffe WiT DDW® SOME i)EW5-ITS stil aor my m.' Mm mm, good! There are interviews—and then there are inter views. I’m not sure w hat I expected a few weeks ago when it came time to interview David Mint/, but what 1 got was a mid- afternoon (you should excuse the expression) pig-out. David Mint/ is the Brooklyn kosher caterer who spent years searching for a good milk substi tute to use in desserts and sauces for his clientele. He finally found the answer in totu, the soy bean product so popular in Oriental dishes. But it’s a long way from “spicy vegetables with bean curd to kosher “ice cream’’ and it took Mint/ almost 10 years of off-hours experimenting before he hit upon the now familiar Tofutti. What made Tofutti take off was more than just being kosher. It’s also cholesterol free, contains no butterfat and. important to those who suffer from lactose intolerance, it provides a rich, creamy, delicious dessert that is milk-free. Mint/ didn’t stop with his initial conquest and w hen he came to my office, he brought samples of his latest concoctions. Now, it would have been rude not to try everything, wouldn't it? So, with my desk turned into a cafeteria serving section, I went to town. Every time 1 thought I couldn’t manage another bite, he sent his aides to the car for more. I started with his newest pride and joy w hich—it was easy to understand after I tried it—he calls Love Drops. That's a dessert, too, but it’s a special blend of creamy Tofutti, filled with tiny morsels of what he said was a special graham cookie coated with chocolate. If I say they seemed to sparkle on the palate, it may sound nuts, but they did. But there's more! On the sweet side, there was rugelach. Imagine rugelach without butter, eggs or cream. There were crunchy oatmeal and chocolate chip cookies and an “ice cream” sandwich called Tofutti C'utie. And that’s not all! There was tofu lasagna and several dips. David even brought the fresh vegies to dip. There was a burger that was a far cry from the soyburgers I'd sampled before. He and his wife Rachel beamed proudly as I nibbled. With my mouth full, I couldn’t ask questions but David just went on with his story, including the fact that in a “coals to Newcastle” situation Tofutti is very big in Japan. There are plans afoot to package the rugelach unbaked so the consumer can take it home, bake it and pretend. Despite his success. David Mint/ is humble when it comes to credit. He said, “The Lubavitcher Rebbe gave me the inspiration” to continue; “gave me the spiritual strength.” Every time he became discour aged, he thought of the rebbe’s words: “The Lord will help you. When you think you have come to the bottom - that’s w hen you go over the hurdles and will accomplish.” In an uncharacteristically quiet voice Mint/, said, “1 have experienced that personally." In his own way, David opened the door to others. As his catering, restaurant and take-home shops busi ness grew, he “wanted something special.” So he put an ad in the paper that said, “Bubbes Wanted.” J'here was, he said, “a whole busload of answers.” It was a happy shidduch. “There’s a whole world of talent out there that has been discarded.” There were calls like: “I make a very good stuffed cabbage; I don’t care about the money, I just want to cook.” A tip he learned from that lady was to freeze the cabbage leaves to make them pliable instead of boiling them. He attributes much of the success of his operation to these w omen: “I don’t care how many cookbooks you read; you can't substitute for experience.” And despite his busy schedule—both in New York and traveling to promote his product, David Mint/ is always willing to talk to groups of budding entrepre neurs. He says, “When I was a young man, I would have given my right arm for someone I could talk to. I remember that.” And when he does, you can bet he takes samples. Now. excuse me but 1 still have a Tofutti Cutie in the freezer gotta go. May Day in Israel by Carl Alperl Haifa 1 here was a time w hen Mav Day was one of the great holidays of Israel, enthusiastically observed bv hundreds of thousands of people. They used to pack the sidewalks of Tel Aviv and other cities to watch the passing parade of laborers, proudly marching behind massed banks of bright red flags, in dem onstration of their solidarity with the workers of the world. Things have changed considera bly in Israel. This is being written before May I. but if recent years are any indication, the 1986 May Day will be only a pale shadow of w hat it used to be. To be sure, most private industries w hose employees are organized in the Histadrut, and of course all the major industrial and commercial enterprises ow ned and operated by the Histadrut it self. will observe the holiday with full shutdow n. But almost all stores will be open. Banks will be open. Government schools arc supposed to be open, since this is not a national holiday, but where large numbers of teachers make it know n that they will not be reporting for work, the pupils know enough to stay at home. In many public institutions and government offices a happy com promise has been found. All wor kers for whom cessation of work on May Day is a matter of personal conscience, may absent themselves. And in order not to penalize the others, it is now common routine to afford the same matter of “con science" for all w ho choose not to work on Tisha b’Av and every body is satisfied. None of the newspapers, (except the religious daily, Hat- zofeh) publish on this day. The press has pointed out that non- appearance of the papers on May I means, in effect, that the journal ists and printers don’t have to be at work on April 31 —but in order to produce a paper for May 2, they have to work on May Day. There is obviously something illogical in this, but the Histadrut has insisted. Last year one independent daily, Hadashot, whose workers are not organized, served notice that it would publish as usual. This was on the eve of the 1985 Histadrut elections, when the labor federa tion was spending large sums on political advertising. It has never been confirmed, but stories were told that Hadashot was threatened it would not benefit from the lavish advertising budgets. The upshot was that Hadashot did not appear on May 1, and in the days there after its pages were filled with good, profitable Labor adverti sing. With the decline of May Day, there has been a corresponding reduction in the display of the red flags. They will be seen on Labor- owned buildings, and here and there hung out of the windows of the home of some doughty Social ist of the old school. J he parades, which used to be the major attraction, have all but disappeared, since the celebrating workmen prefer to go to the beach, especially if it is a warm day. Here and there the Communists still keep the red flag flying, mostly in Arab towns. It is difficult for the Israelis of any party or class to display enthusiasm for the same holiday which the Soviet Union makes so much of, with its massed phalanxes of workmen and military men in Red Square. The public is not permitted to forget. The day before the holiday the Histadrut inserts large display ads in the newspapers, proclaiming the solidarity of the working classes of the world, and calling for dem onstrations in support of a just society, peace, security, full em ployment and fraternity among all peoples. These are usually accom panied by other, smaller ads, in serted by non-Socialist bodies, de claring in large black type: “May Day is not our holiday—and the red flag is not our flag.” No, despite annual attempts to w hip up some old fashioned labor enthusiasm. May Day and the red Hag ain't what they used to be in Israel.