Dr. Lou H. Silberman to Temple Israel Omaha—Dr. Lou ,H. Silber• man, professor at Vanderbilt University, will return to the pulpit he occupied at Temple Israel 25 years ago to p»-" V pate in the anniversary
Serving Council Bluffs, Des Moines, Lincoln, Omaha Vol. I.XIX—1C
OMAHA, NKB., F M ,
JAN. 8, 1971
Treatment of Soviet Jewry Protested In Demonstrations Around the World Canadian Demonstration OTTAWA (JTA)—Seven thousand Jews from Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa demonstrated on Parliament Field and before tlie Soviet Embassy protesting the sentences given the "Leningrad defendants and the discrimination by the Soviet regime against that country's 3.5 million Jews." The protestors were greeted at Parliament Field by Mitchell Sharp, Minister of Foreign Affairs, who told them, "This is a very impressive demonstration that will not go unheeded in Canada or anywhere in the world. I know that all of you here believe that if the principal of human dignity will be upheld, whether it Is a question of Jews or non-Jews, human dignity must.be respected." At the demonstration later at the Soviet Embassy. Sidney Harris, speaking for the CJC, said that "the interest in the fate of Russian Jews will continue as long as the Soviet Union does not respect the human rights, and the rights of human beings to leave their country and go elsewhere in accordance with the principle of human
rights incorporated in the Charter of the United Nations to which the Soviet Union is a signatory." •
Buenos Aires Protest BUENOS AIRES (JTA)-Some 1,200 persons, many of them former Nazi concentration camp inmates, carrying placards reading "Let my people go" and "Free emigration to Israel" concentrated before the Soviet Embassy shouting "Assassins, assassins" and "Freedom, freedom" while police mounted a strong guard to prevent their approach to the building. The demonstrators then marched 20 blocks, escorted by police cars, to Kehilla Hall where an overflow mass meeting took place. The president of DAIAS, Cohen Imach, stressed that not clemency but justice was being asked for the Leningrad 11 and freedom for tl»c three million Soviet Jews. Doctor Nehcmias Resnitsky, general secretary of DAIAS castigated the silent majorities for their indifference. (Continued on Page 2)
rat 1915 t «i S »*"v" the fa* ,,0^ • ^ni> versityr^,t9^ , ienn., as Hillel pr .*r of Jewish Literature and Thought. Dr. Silberman will speak on "The American Jewish Community—Mini, Midi, Max!" at Sabbath Services Friday, January 8 at 8:15 p.m. He will be the third speaker in Temple Israel's C e n t e n n i a l Sabbath Discussion Series. An Oneg Shabbat will follow the service. The former Temple Israel rabbi studied at the University of California, Hebrew Union College and University of Basil in Switzerland and holds degrees of B.H.L., M.H.L. and Dll.L. He served as visiting professor, Judaistik Institute, at the University of Vienna Since 1969, Dr. Silberman has
Dr.' Lou Silberman ; published a number of works, including "Concerning Jewish Theology in North' America: Some Notes on a Decade," "Between God and Man: Tha Meaning of Revelation for theContemporary Jew," and "The American Jewish Community and its Values."
Check for UJA
Back From Israel e By Bennett Greenspan Omaha—Many people travel to Israel and return with a variety of experiences and impressions, I have just returned from my second visit to Israel with remarkably different impressions from that of my first trip, some of which I would like to share with you. I was a member of a United Jewish Appeal ten-day study mission in Israel. It was a trip I shall never forget; an intensely serious, intellectual and. emotional experience. F r o m the cold night we spent on the Jordanian border, to our tour of an Israeli Air Force base and the Bar Lev Line at the Suez Canal, there were experiences that touched everyone on the tour. But more than these dramatic .non-personal experiences were tlie personal
parts of my trip that left lasting Impression for me. The first came at Kibbutz Kfar Ruppin, the scene of very heavy shelling by Arab terrorists. We arrived during the day and went to see the small children, many of whom were playing outside in the sun. We were just 30 feet from the childrens' night home—the shelters. I've read many times about the Israeli children who have never slept above the ground. But seeing the small windowless shelters I was suddenly struck with the stark reality of the situation. Inside the shelters, the children had decorated the walls with pictures. Chanukah decorations, symbols of the first fight for religious fre"eU&m, were present. But screams in the night are not a thing of the
Kill 2 Israeli Children TEL AVIV (JTA)—Israeli military authorities have sealed off a 20-square-mile area of the northern Gaza Strip and placed it under a 24-hour curfew as a search went on for the terrorists who threw a hand grenadeinto a motor car killing two Israeli children and seriously injuring their mother.'Tlie incident occurred on the main Gaza road. The grenade attack is believed toJiave come from one of the refugee camps that dot the countryside along the Gaza-Tel Aviv highway. An upsurge of terrorist activity was reported along the northern frontier over the weekend. An Israeli soldier was wounded in a clash with; guerrillas. Katyusha shells were fired at Kiryat Shemona near the. Lebanese border. No casualties were reported but several buildings were damaged. Bazooka shells were iired at Israeli positions and patrols in the Golan Heights. Mortar shells were fired at Metullah village and Kibbutz Yiftah. There were no reports of casualties or damage. Israeli military circles attributed the Golan attacks'^terrorist.'gangs based, in Syria, \ operating with the consent of the SyrianArmy,' ! I. . , ; . ' , ' . . ; , . ,
past. The children frequently have nightmares as a result of the frequent shelling by the terrorists. At the Suez Canal we spoke with an officer, second in command of the Israeli base at Kantara. He was only 22 years old, younger than several of the students on our tour. After a few questions had been asked of him, it was clear to all of us that he hated the job he had to do. All he wanted was to go home, back to Tel Aviv and attend the University. A member of our g r o u p asked "If the military situation were as it is now, but if Israel had no draft, what would you do?" . He put his Uzi down to his side and said simply, "All Israel, is in this struggle together." Then came the m o s t touching part of my trip, for no one asked nor needed a definition of the word "Israel." We understood.
Morley Zlpursky (right), chairman of the 1970 Omaha Jewish Philanthropies Campaign, presents a $100,000 check to Sidney Edclstein, UJA National Cash Committee Chairman, at the UJA meeting held recently In.New York.
Mother in Israel Pleads For Reunion with Family New York (JTA)—The American Jewish Committee made "public a plea by a 70-year-old woman pediatrician who lives on a kibbutz in Israel, in which she asks Soviet authorities for the 28th time to allow her sick daughter, the latter's ill husband and their two children to" leave Russia and to join her in Israel. - In releasing" the document, Philip E. Hoffman, president of the AJ Committee pointed out that the denial of permission for this family to be reunited wa_s in direct contradiction of the pledge of Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin, who in Dec. 1966, in Paris, asserted that "with respect to reunions of families, if some families want to meet, or if they want to leave the Soviet Union, then the road is open and no problems exist in this respect." Hoffman added that this case, though particularly heart-rending, was unfortunately typical of hundreds of similar pleas that bad gono unanswered.
Tho pedla&lclan, Dr. Fruma Gurwlcb, jjjfo survived, tho Nazj ftCcupajTon of Kaunas, tlthuaWa"ana who now lives in Bennett Crecuspan.,, ,,, KibbuU. Lohamel Uagetaot
("Fighters of the Ghettos"), said that her daughter and her family had been refused permission for the last four years by Soviet authorities to leave Kaunas, where they live, for Israel. Dr. 'Gurwich, in Jcr public appeal, pointed out th.t both her daughter, Etta Levitan, 33, and her son-in-law, Imanuil Levitan, 42. are- H. "Tlie husband has spinal tuberculosis and my daughter had an abdominal operation some time ago, and needs regular medical care," she stated. Dr. Gurwich listed in her plea the many attempts she has made to Soviet authorises seeking permission for her daughter and her family to "leave. "Still believing that the refusal of the Soviet government is perhaps a misunderstanding or even a mistake, I addressed 27 requests for help to different addresses but, no answer has been received . .•', I still wish to hope that our dream be fulfilled and I ' a m waiting that my daughter, her husband and their children'join ' us in the near future."This is the only wish I have in my life, tho life of a 70-year-old mother. Please do your utmost to help i t s . "
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