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News Briefs
Drug abuse worse behind bars
NEW YORK (JTA)—Drug abuse in Israeli prisons is at a
higher proportion than in the general population, according to
Raphael Suissa, commissioner of Israel Prison Services. About
1,200 of some 9,000 inmates are using drugs, he said.
Of the 9,000 inmates, 3,000 are Arab terrorists, and 6,000 are
Israelis, 1,000 of whom are Israeli Arabs. Most of the prisoners
involved with drugs are non-terrorists and Israeli Arabs between
the ages of 17 to 25, Suissa said. The terrorists are too disciplined
and organized to get addicted to drugs, he added.
About 89 percent of the criminals involved with drugs are from
Sephardic families, according to Suissa.
France supports Palestinians
PARIS (JTA)—Foreign Minister Jean-Bernard Raimond re
stated that his government “firmly supports the right of the Pales
tinians to self-determination” during a two-day visit to Saudi
Arabia this week. His remarks were reported by the French press
on his arrival Sunday in Jeddah.
On Monday, he held talks with Prince Faisal during which he
delivered a message from French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac to
King Fahd before returning home. News reports said his talks with
the prince focused on the Persian Gulf war, the Palestinian ques
tion and bilateral cooperation.
Help for dying refusniks urged
BOSTON (JTA)—One-hundred-and-one cancer specialists
have signed letters to President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail
Gorbachev urging that five refusniks, dying of cancer, be given
permission to leave the Soviet Union to secure treatment and join
their families in the West.
Kollek raps spending policy
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Mayor Teddy Kollek charged that the
government was allocating more funds for education in the Jewish
settlements in Judaea and Samaria than it was willing to give
schools in Jerusalem.
Some 107,000 Jewish children will go to school this year, an
increase of four percent. Kollek noted that the education system in
Jerusalem was especially complicated because of the large number
of new neighborhoods with heterogeneous populations.
El Al eyes routes to S. Africa
TEL AVIV (JTA)—El Al is checking alternate routes for its
South African service in the event that certain unnamed African
countries, over which the Israeli airline flies on its route from Tel
Aviv to Johannesburg, forbid El Al flights through its airspace,
Transportation Minister Haim Corfu said.
France may pull out of UNIFIL
PARIS (JTA)—Prime Minister Jacques Chirac has issued a
new warning that France will pull its soldiers out of the United
Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) unless new guaran
tees for their safety are given by the United Nations.
Chirac urged the U.N. to “redefine the objective of its forces in
the Middle East. Should this not be done, it would be absurd to
maintain troops there under current conditions, whatever their
nationality, particularly those from France.”
Honor sought for unsung hero
WASHINGTON (JTA)—Seventy members of Congress have
sent a letter to President Mario Soares of Portugal asking his
government to posthumously honor a Portuguese diplomat who
saved some 30,000 Jews and others during World War II.
Aristides de Sousa Mendes do Amaral e Abranches headed the
Portuguese Consulate in Bordeaux in the south of France in 1940
where Jews and others fled in the wake of the Nazi invasion of
France.
As the Germans approached the city, thousands lined up in
front of the Portuguese Consulate seeking Portuguese visas for the
only open escape route, over the Pyrenees into Spain and into
neutral Portugal. Working around the clock for three days, de
Sousa Mendes gave visas to Jews and others fleeing Nazism despite
orders from the military government of Antonio de Olivera
Salazar not to do so.
When Lisbon learned what de Sousa Mendes was doing, he was
recalled and ousted from the diplomatic corps. He was forbidden
to practice his profession of law or hold any other job and died in
poverty in 1954. Most of his 14 children had to leave Portugal.
Ombudsman Program can help
Editor:
I read with interest your recent
column on theft in nursing homes.
It is a concern which previously
prompted our office to write an
article on the subject in our Om
budsman Newsletter.
In hopes of dealing with the
problem it is important for the
Metropolitan Atlanta community
to become more familiar with the
Ombudsman Program. The prim
ary responsibility of the Long-Term
Care Ombudsman Program is to
protect the rights of nursing home
and personal care home residents
by investigating and resolving
problems and grievances related to
the services provided by the facility.
Investigation of items lost or
stolen are included in the myriad of
problems we handle. Ombudsman
also deal with problems related to
residents’ rights and concerns about
the care of treatment provided in
areas such as admissions, health
services, drugs, food, patient funds,
transfer and discharge. In addi
tion, we are available to answer
people’s questions relevant to all
aspects ot long-term care. This
includes providing information on
residential resources available in
the community.
All our services are provided
free of charge. Any inquiring party
or complainant has the right to
complete confidentiality. We can be
contacted at (404) 586-9800.
The staff of the Ombudsman’s
office are available to discuss any
questions concerning long-term
care.
Roy Herzbctch,
Program coordinator
Waldheim called two-faced liar
Editor:
I read with deep concern the let
ter of Walter H. Bunzl in reply to
your article of Aug. 1, in regard to
(Kurt) Waldheim.
Mr. Bunzl chooses to overlook
the fact that Waldheim is a two-
faced liar. His and his opponent’s
service in the Wehrmacht were
inevitable circumstances dictated
by the war. No one in his right
mind condemns either man for it.
Waldheim lied about specific
situations by denying irrefutable
evidence that he was there when he
said he wasn’t.
It is an insult to the American
people to equate Austrian anti-
Semitism with American anti-Sem
itism as stated by Mr. Bunzl.
Knowing the sentiment of the
Austrian people, it is my consi
dered opinion that, had it been
proven that Waldheim participated
in war crimes, they would have
given him, in all likelihood, a 75
percent or even better plurality.
Fred Kaunitz
Kids enjoy Camp Barney experience
Editor:
Being new to Atlanta, this past
summer was my children’s first
opportunity to attend Camp Bar
ney Medintz. My son Geoff (16)
was an SIT (staff-in-training) and
my daughter Wendy (13) was a
camper.
Both my children feel this was
the best summer camp and expe
rience they have ever had.
Thank you, Larry Melnick and
the entire Camp Barney staff!!!
Ruth Melkonian
Help for terminally ill
by Ben Gallob
JTA
Formation of a National Jewish
Hospice Task Force to seek action
on sorely needed hospice programs
for the Jewish terminally ill and
their families has been announced
by the Synagogue Council of Amer
ica. The SCA represents the con
gregational and rabbinic agencies
of Orthodox, Conservative and Re
form Judaism.
Martin Bareli, chairman of the
SCA board of governors, in an
nouncing the Task Force, said it
would work with Conservative, Or
thodox and Reform congregations,
as well as with Jewish Federations,
to facilitate their involvement in
hospice programs. He said that of
the 1,800 hospice programs in the
United States, only 15 are under
Jewish auspices.
Bareli said the Task Force will
work with synagogues to identity
and produce volunteer care givers
to be trained by hospices to give
service to Jewish terminally ill per
sons and their families.
He said the Task Force would
also offer guidance to existing
hospices, generally now under
Christian or secular auspices, seek
ing information about the needs of
their Jewish clients. The Task Force
will also serve as a resource center
for synagogues and Federations
seeking information, and will mon
itor existing hospice activities and
collect data.
Bareli said the Task Force
plans to publish a newsletter to
keep Jewish communities informed
of progress and problems, and work
with the the National Hospice Or
ganization (NHO) and Childrens
Hospice International (CHI) to
strengthen the role of Jewish or
ganizations in those nationwide
activities.
Rabbi Henry Michelman, SCA
executive vice president, noted with
satisfication the proliferation of
Jewish Hospice activities stimulated,
he said, by the SCA’s first National
Hospice for the Jewish Commun
ity in 1984.
He said the conference was at
tended by 250 representatives from
22 states. He added that “numer
ous requests for information and
guidance have come in from all
over the United States.” Michel
man reported that the Good Shep
herd Hospice in Boston, the first
Jewish Hospice in Manhattan at
the Beth Israel Medical Center,
and the Jewish Outreach and Sup
port for Hospice Organization of
Denver were among the organiza
tions which sought guidance from
the SCA.
He said an “outstanding exam
ple” of the impact of the first SCA
conference was a recent conference
in Philadelphia, which brought to
gether area rabbis, social workers,
Jewish communal leaders and non-
Jewish Hospice professionals, all
seeking a better understanding “of
hospice from the Jewish point of
view.”
Michelman said the SCA plans a
second national conference in the
spring of 1987, declaring that the
first conclave “was designed to
stimulate interest, raise conscious
ness in the Jewish community, and
clarify that the principle of Hos
pice is compatible with Judaism.”
Michelman declared that “our
mission was successful, judging by
the number of organizations that
are now concerned about the needs
of the Jewish terminally ill. Our
second conference will bring to
gether the organizations which are
now addressing Jewish Hospice, so
that information on current devel
opments can be shared and activi
ties coordinated.
Michelman declared that “our
mission was successful, judging by
the number of organizations that
are now concerned about the needs
of the Jewish terminally ill. Our
second conference will bring to
gether the organizations which are
now addressing Jewish Hospice, so
that information on current devel
opments can be shared and activi
ties coordinated.”
He explained that Hospice is a
procedure which seeks to prolong
the living rather than the dying of
the terminally ill person. When
cure is not possible, providing care
and comfort can be just as signifi
cant a contribution to the patient,
he said.
Attending to the patient’s emo
tional, social and spiritual needs,
along with his medical needs, is
compatible with the Jewish con
cern for human life, Michelman
said, adding that “our mission is to
address the need and to identify
strategies for implementing hospi
ces under Jewish auspices and to
develop the role of the synagogue
community in these efforts.”
PAGE 5 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE September 5, 1986