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Page 4 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE December 5, 1 986
Editorial
‘Remember when...’
Who among us has not at one point or another said,
“Remember when...?
And the older we get, the more memories we have to share.
No wonder, then, that “Remember When...?” is the name
chosen for a cooperative effort to reach out to shut-ins and
other isolated and lonely elderly Jewish persons.
Bringing together resources of Jewish Family Services Inc.,
the Atlanta Jewish Community Center and Ahavath Achim
Synagogue. “Remember When...?” will train volunteers to
provide members of our aging community with extra caring
and the opportunity for reminiscing about their life experiences.
It has long been known that contact with young people has a
beneficial effect on the elderly. Perhaps less realized is that this
contact is a two-way street. In today's mobile society, when
grandparents often live in distant cities, young people may
miss out on marvelous reminiscences of a time and a lifestyle
they never knew.
Though training for the program is not limited to the
young, it is available for those 13 and older.
Sharing memories encourages intergenerational friend
ship. helps older persons to come to terms with aging and to
recognize their own self-worth.
In the program, emphasis is placed on “venerable” rather
than “vulnerable.”
Like so many programs w hich can be coordinated by pro
fessional staffs but depend on volunteers to really make them
work, “Remember When...?” is seeking volunteers now.
There's even a training period to help volunteers learn to
draw out others' experiences and to make them more comfor
table with older people. The training is free for those who agree
to v isit someone a minimum of one hour a week for 12 weeks;
but for a small charge, others interested may participate.
There's another benefit. Besides helping others and enrich
ing one’s own life, the program provides a tool to record and
preserve the history of our Jew ish community.
Harriet Cohen, 873-2277; Dot Cohen, 525-61 58; or Shonni
Schwartz, 875-7881, can give more information.
It's a mitzva.
‘Curiouser and curiouser’
The still-unfolding story ol who knew what, when they
knew it. and what they did about it gets curiouser and
curiouser.
Now it appears that President Reagan personally sought
help from Shimon Peres last year to get hostage William
Buckley (who turns out to have been a top CIA agent) freed
from his captors.
It will take a lot of unraveling before all the ramifications
come clear.
Still, we're encouraged that the wheels have been set in
motion.
Vida Goldqar
New news is old news
1 justified taking advantage ol the lull holiday
weekend and not popping into the office Sunday by
promising that at least I would write this column at
home. 5
There’s only one problem with
that. All of my background ma
terial and my “column idea”
folders are at the office. Perhaps a
logical topic would be Iran, but
99 percent of columnists all over
the country have done or are
doing that. I don't know that I
have anything constructive to add
t-o that subject at this stage, though 1 may later.
So here I sit. typewriter humming. Sunday's
gloomy afternoon last fading to night. To add
insult to injury, the toothache that's been plaguing
me all weekend is again battling the painkiller, and
il the light bulb ol an idea doesn't flash soon, there'll
be no “60 Minutes" for me.
Aha! An idea. Those of you w ho've v isited me
at the office won't be surprised to learn that my
office at home is equally well-stocked w ith stacks of
newspapers, an overflowing file cabinet and a desk
filled with papers. In this case, though, the news
papers are back issues of The Southern Israelite.
What did 1 write about in this space? Mv
column was about the annual Women’s Plea lor
Soviet Jewry. This year’s plea takes place the dav
this issue goes to press but we'll have a report
next week. In 1984. the program called tor direct
contact between Atlantans and “adopted” refusnik
families. On the day of the event, a mass of pack
ages was mailed to the Soviet Union. Honorarv
chairperson. First l.adv of Georgia Elizabeth Har
ris said. “It is by our actions, it is by our voices, it is
by our commitment that we help them to have the
faitli. the hope and the courage that one dav free
dom will be theirs.”
That certainly hasn't changed. And we will con
tinue to speak out on behalf of Soviet Jew ry as long
as the need exists. It w ould be nice to think that it I
made this same kind of comparison two years
from now there would be religious freedom in the
Soviet Union and those wishing to leave would all
have been granted visas. But don't count on it.
Moving on. I noted that Congregation Beth
I efi 1 lah was being organized and Rabbi Yossi New
was named as its spiritual leader. Now. two years
later, the congregation not only has a “home” on
High Point Road but operates a summer camp as
well.
The Southern Israelite
The Voice of Atlanta s Jewish Community
Since 1925
Vida Goldgar Jeff Rubin
Editor General Manager
Luna Levy
Managing Editor
Published by Sun Publications, Inc.
also publishers of The Kansas City Jewish Chronicle
Stan Rose Steve Rose
Chairman and President and
Publisher Co Publisher
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Contests
My brainstorm was to pull one of those at ran
dom to see what made news then.
I reached into the stack at random and pulled
one out. 1 checked the date. It was eerie. This was
the Dec. 7. 19X4. issue. The first issue of December
that year, just as this is the first issue of December
in 19X6. l et's make some comparisons.
One front page story told of Jewish groups
criticizing a National Park Service decision to use
government funds to sponsor a nativ ity creche on
public park land in Washington. II that sounds
familiar, pull out last week's TSI and reread the
current creche story.
Also on page I is a photograph of Betty Good-
Iriend with a model of the site of the Holocaust
Memorial Museum in Washington. East week we
announced the selection of James Ingo Ereed as
design architect lor the museum. It's rewarding to
sec this project moving along.
i —
There are four types of men: the neutral, w ho savs, “Mine is
mine and yours is yours”; the boor, w ho says, “Mine is yours and
\ ours is mine, , the pious, w ho says, “Mine is yours and yours is
fours , and the wicked, who says, “Mine is mine and yours is
mine.
Mishna: Ahot, 5.10.
And speaking of worship, our synagogue sche
dule of 1984 listed 19 places where Jews could
attend services. Now there are 22.
The Jewish Family Services Inc. had just opened
its doors in the Selig Building next to The J emple.
A recent visit to that agency was a real eye opener
and proved that they’ve settled in nicely.
On an ironic note, the back page of our 1984
issue announced that Bernard Kalb had been
named spokesman for the State Department. It
hasn't been that long since he resigned in frustra
tion alter the administration’s “disinformation
campaign against Qadaffi came to light.
1 here was a lot more in the paper, of course, but
you get the idea.
It will be interesting to check back two years
from now and see how this week’s news relates to
what’s happening then.
Keep readin’.