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PACK 4 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE May 9, 1986 Vida Goldgar The Southern Israelite The Weekly Newspoper Fo Southern Jev v ~ Since 1925 More than a history lesson Vida Goldgar Editor and Publisher Leonard Goldstein Advertising Director Luna Levy Associate Editor 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 77388. Atlanta. GA 30357 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 77388, Atlanta, Georgia 30357 Location: 188 15th St., N W , Atl., Ga. 30318 Phone (404)876-8248 Advertising rates available upon request. Subscriptions: $23.00, 1 year; $41.00, 2 years Member of Jewish Telegraphic Agency; Religious News Service, Amencan Jewish Press Assn., Georgia Press Assn.; National Newspaper Assn Shame on NBC We find ourselves in the unusual position of siding with the administration in criticism of a news organization. Even before Washington’s rebuke to NBC News for agreeing to keep secret the whereabouts of arch-terrorist Abu Abbas in exchange for an interview, we thought it was an abominable decision. Recognizing that there are many times when pursuit of a story might necessitate protection of a source, we do not believe this is acceptable in the case of Abbas, who is accused of being behind the Achille Lauro hijacking in which Leon Klinghoffer was mur dered, among many other terrorist attacks. The frustration and anger we all felt when the Italian government released Abbas shortly after the hijacking, allowing him to flee to Yugoslavia,and w ho knows w here from there, is brought back and reinforced by N BC’s action. Not only did the network give this fugitive a forum for his threats, but pledged not to disclose where the interview took place. No doubt Abbas has moved on again anyhow, but we still think NBC’s deal has a strong odor. Days in May These weeks in mid-May evoke feelings ot both sadness and celebration. We turn from Yom Hashoa, commemorating the Holocaust victims, and Yom Hazikaron, memorializing Israel’s fallen sold iers. to celebration of Yom Ha’atzmaut, the 3&th anniversary of Israel's independence, which falls next Wednesday. In Atlanta, there is an exciting full day of events planned for Sunday. May 18, at the Atlanta Jewish Community Center to mark Independence Day. “Passport to Israel’’ will, quite literally, offer something for everyone, from art exhibits to Israeli food and family projects to the annual “Walk for Israel.” Mark it on you calendars. Regrettably, a conflict kept me from attending the Interfaith Seder last week but reading Sherry Frank’s report in last week’s TS1 brought to mind a small dinner party I attended recently at the home of a friend. If that wasn't an interfaith evening. 1 don’t know what is. The six of us included a Catholic, an Episcopalian, a Southern Baptist, two Moslems and me. The religious mixture wasn't planned. It happened when a friend had visitors from Turkey and in vited a few close friends in to meet them. I accepted the invitation with some trepidation even though I'm usu ally game for the unusual. Em not certain what 1 expected but the stunning blonde stylishly dressed woman corporate executive was not it. I had espe- ciallv worn my Mogen David so there’d be no mistake and took an early opportunity to introduce “Jewish” into the conversation, w aiting for some sort of stiffen ing in her attitude. So much for preconceived notions. What I got instead was a variation—though obviously sincere — of "some of my best friends....’’ Then 1 was told that “in Turkey we are Sunni Moslems. Those Shiites are crazy.” I was also given a lesson in modern Turkish history from 1923 onward and I realized how abysmally ignorant I was of that country. I hadn't known that Turkey was the first Moslem state in the world that separated the powers of church and state (mosque and state. I would imagine); or, that under the first president of the Republic of Turkey. Mustafa Kemai (Ataturk), the country cast aside the harem, the veil and the fez and ■jHnntpH WfPctPrni7pH I aware that Turkey and Israel enjoy good commercial relations. “I’m so anxious to visit Israel,” said my new acquaintance, and since the company she works for does a lot of business with Israel, she probably will. She travels just about everywhere else, including Iran. There, she carefully followed the custom of wearing headcovering and a drab heavy coat until, in the airport on her way out, she read a magazine story which called Ataturk a heretic and said the current president of Turkey should have his hand chopped off for removing the headcoverings of a child in a rural village and saying, “This beautiful child’s brain must not be clouded by a veil.” That did it! Thoroughly angered, my new acquain tance pulled the scarf off her own head and took off the coat that concealed her short sleeved blouse. It’s probably a good thing her plane left shortly or she may very well have found herself in jail. Admittedly, this young woman (in her early 30s) is from a city in western Turkey and her almost unac cented English was the result not only of attending excellent schools but also receiving part of her educa tion in the United States. Whether the views she expressed extend throughout the country or not, 1 don’t know, but she knew a lot about her city’s syn agogues and Jewish customs and life in the home of her “best friend.” Now I know we have many Atlantans who came here from Turkey and they may have very difficult memories of their home country. Remember. 1 was hearing all this from a woman born in the ’50s but the knowledge and descriptions of things Jewish didn’t come from books. I think I got more than a history lesson that even ing. It was another reminder to keep an open mind. Milk and honey by Stanley M. Lefco J hey call it Chalav. an acronym for Chug Ee Hashka’ah B - Yisrael, which translates from Hebrew as the Club for Investment in Israel. Chalav. coincidentally, also means milk. This investment club is the pro duct of a local stockbroker, Doug Ross, who accepted the challenge of Consul General lssachar Katzir. He encouraged Jews to become involved in Israel by investing in the country’s burgeoning industries. Israel, Katzir asserted, was fight ing its second war ot indepen dence: the taming of the economy. A transplanted Bostonian, who graduated from the University of North Carolina in 1978, Ross did his homework. B’nai BYith had been sponsoring such clubs, and he obtained information from it as well as contacting a host of other organizations. He wrote letters to Israel and even made a trip to New York to meet with brokers at Leumi Secuiities. When he returned, he was ready to begin forming an investment club for Israeli stock. He contacted friends and ac quaintances and in a short time had signed up 23 interested members. Under investment club rules, the maximum the club could have is 25. Soon the group began research ing Israeli companies, but realized that the task of deciding where to invest might exceed the collective abilities and analysis of the group. Since the group originally planned to meet monthly, making quick decisions would also pose a prob lem. As it turned out, some of the reports of the companies were in Hebrew, presenting yet another problem. The club decided to focus on hi- tech companies that are actively exporting their wares. For one thing such companies are less likely to be dependent on the unpre dictable and volatile Israeli econ omy. For another they were pro- v iding goods in a growing market. Many of these companies are in volved in the health, aerospace, computer and defense areas. A number are outgrow ths of the mil itary industry. For example, one company, Elbit, developed the technology for destroying the sur- face-to-air missile sites in L ebanon. That capability appeals to a world market. About 25 to 30 of the companies sell on the over-the-counter mar ket, but the club has decided that it will also buy and sell directly on the Tel Aviv Exchange. To com pensate for its lack of expertise, the club made contact w ith a broker at L.eumi Securities in New York, who handles the accounts of a number ofinvestment clubsaround the country. During 1979-80, Ross lived on Na’an Kibbutz, outside of Reho- vot. While on the kibbutz he w orked in the kitchen, which served its 1,200 members. He also worked in the factory, which assembled sprinklers. Ross developed a strong love and commitment for Israel and is trying to master the lan guage by studying Hebrew daily. He’s serving as the club’s first president along with Mike Jacob son, treasurer, and Kenny Berk, secretary. He sees the club as a first step to becoming a liaison between Georgia and Israel. Although he views this as an exciting wav to learn about and support Israel, Ross is not shy to admit that he hopes to see the club make money and, in turn, reap a profit for its members. He expects to see more clubs form soon in the Atlanta area. Maybe the second, suggests Ross, would be known as D’vash. Hebrew for honey. <# f -THE cnly THiNa ESOVllfc FROM THE SCMiET \sm © WiUlHE <5WE8NHENT AlUhl JS«R6QMiKS it Srtlawtrt ■» BWEL BEPOREUt NBCTSWMir 4