xt7kd50fz716 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7kd50fz716/data/mets.xml Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass Kentucky Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass 2001-03 Newspaper of the Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass, previously named the Central Kentucky Jewish Association and Central Kentucky Jewish Federation. Published ten times annually. The Federation seeks to bring Jewish community members together through holiday parties, lectures, Yiddish courses, meals, and other celebrations of Jewish heritage and culture. They also host fundraisers and provide financial assistance for Jews in need, both locally and around the world. This collection is part of the Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass records, 2016ms010. newsletters 2016ms010 English Central Kentucky Jewish Federation Inc  Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass records Jews -- Kentucky -- Lexington Jews -- History Shalom, March 2001 text image Shalom, March 2001 2001 2001-03 2025 true xt7kd50fz716 section xt7kd50fz716  

Newspaper of the Central Kentucky Jewish Federation

halom

Serving the Central Kentucky Jewish Community Since 1962
March 2001 Adar-Nisan 5761

United Jewish Communities
Young Leadership
Conference March 16—18
G o w E yo u N G S255.233.2531;93222212232:313222313555£32Siiei‘f‘iiiiii‘ffliifi

      

 

 

 

members of Jewish communities from all over North America come together to
L A D E R share their ideas and their expectations as well as to have fun.

Every year the Conference provides the opportunity for participants to listen to
outstanding speakers and key political figures from American as well as Israeli poli—
tics.

Jonathan Miller. State Treasurer of Kentucky, will participate in a panel discussion
entitled. “What Is A Nice Jewish Kid Doing in a Business Like Politics?”

Other conference participants include Louis Lang. a. state representative in the
illitmzw i t yi-Cmturt' tutti Stmeu Bruvxn. the Assistant Attorney enerai of Missouri.

Lari some Lodlti OI LlI Jerusalem Post Will s eak on current l,‘ ~u ,sII'

   
 
  
 
  
   
  

Is a Mitzvah,” and there are workshops on ow to mice a fmily history; and fundamen-
talism and extremism in The Bible Belt.

A party is scheduled at the St. Louis City Museum.

For the first time in the history of this community, a sizable delegation of Central
Kentucky will be participating in this incredible conference. We will be represented by
Jonathan and Lisa Miller, Brett and Alison Caller, Gabriella Pessah and Fran Morris.

Look for their comments on the event in the next issue of Shalom.

m fifififiiflfi

   

 

CKJF NONPROFIT ORG.

340 Romany Road SANDEE WILD

_ ES US. POSTAGE PAID

Lexmgton, KY 40502 L124 NORTH ASHLAND A LEXINGTON, KY
EXINGTON KY 40502 VENUE PERMIT NO. 719

 

 

Change Service Requested

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

r"In—This rssue: MAZEL TOV TO:
Effifi‘é‘ifaifleifii‘i:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: i “mic and hhhh thhheh Oh the birth of their
Jo and Bob Belin ......................................... 3 grandson Zev Landon MeyemWi‘Z 0" February
Israel, Elections and Crocodile Tears ......... 4 17‘ The parents are Sandra and Victor
Music, Music, Music .................................. 5 Meyerowitz 0f LOUISVIHC-
Lexington Singles ....................................... 5 Angie Rachelle Newman on her engagement
HIAS POSICI‘ Contest .................................. 5 to Jonathan Smith The wedding is planned for
Former Rabbi Publishes Book .................... 5 September lst at Temple Adath Israel. Congratu-
Sv‘ili‘é‘é‘fiii‘é‘fiavaaag':::::::~::::::::::::::2 htons t0 Angie’s harsh harry & Janice
Hadassah Fundraising ................................ 7 Newman and Jonathan 5 parents, Judy & Dan
Leisure Club ............................................... 7 Smith.
Rabbi’s Comer ........................................... 8 Gloria and Michael Rte 0“ the birth of their
Hadassah Silent Auction ............................. 8 granddaughter Ariana Danielle Alatis 0n Janu-
Ask JFS .................................................... 10 ary 19. The parents are Stephanie and Savas
Women’s Art Project ................................. 10 Alatis of Roslyn Heights, New York.
More Camp Shalom .................................. 11 Alexis Roth, daughter of Robin & Harold
Women’s Seder ......................................... 12 Roth, WhO has been accepted to New York
B’Tay Avon .............................................. 12 Univesit Gallatin School She will start there in
News Brief ................................................ 12 y, '
UJC Thank You ........................................ 13 the fa“-
Letter to the Editor .................................... 14
Tikkun Lexington. ..................................... 14 REFU AH SHLEMAH (get well wishes):
oil‘i'iifii‘é’iil‘l‘fifii‘fi??3‘.’f‘.‘.’.jjfij l3 Ruth Mm Nata'te Sherman-
Abe Beame Obituary ................................ 15
Dr. Ruth .................................................... 16
Holocaust Survivor Stories ....................... 16
Community Calendar ................................ 17 ,
Bat Mitzvahs ............................................ 18 gig/W [0/ W
028 and TAI News .................................. l9 )
4255/ Ma W W
CONDOLENCES TO:
ane&Rad|elBurgBelinonthedeathof WM/
Imeotmniemonsiafit-gm (gm 9 M
Jemld Osser and Dana Osser Dugatkin on the
death of their mother, Sadie Osser.
The family of Lore Pappas who passed away on
January 28, 2001.
Marcia Risk on the death of her husband, Ken-
neth Freedman, on February 1, 2001.
Tina That on the death of her aunt, Faye 'Ibrrill.

 

$halom

Published ten times annually by the Central Kentucky Jewish Federation, Inc.
340 Romany Road, Lexington, KY 40502

Fax (859) 268-0775
March 2001, Volume VII, Issue 6

Marty Barr, President
Daniel Chejfec, Executive Director

(859) 268-0672 e-mail: shalom@jewishlexington.org

Fran Morris, Jewish Family Services
Lisa Miller, Volunteer Coordinator
Lori Zimmerman, Administrative Assistant
Editor-in-chief, Marcia Blacker

Editorial Board
Michael Adelstein, Evelyn Danlzic Geller, Judy Levine, Ruth Poley, Jonathan Satin

Production Editor & Advertising Manager, Carrie McDanald

The editorial staff has the right to edit all articles submitted for publication in shalom .The appearance of any advertising in
this publication does not represent a kashruth endorsement on the part of CKJF or any other agency or organization.5habm
is supported by the advertisements appearing in the paper.

© 2001 by Central Kentucky Jewish Federation

 

 

 

2 —~*- $halom

MESSAGE

by
Marty Barr

y the time
this column is
published, we

will begin to see if the
recent election in Israel
has led to the formation

 

of a Likud run government, a government of
national unity, or if they are at the beginning of
what will ultimately be a general election. In any
event, it promises to be a period which tests our
ability to remain united as a community and to
continue our support of Jewish life both inside
Israel and around the world.

I say this because, as in most things, our commu-
nity has members who feel strongly about what path
Israel should take in dealing with the Palestinians
and the peace process. It is vital that we do not
forget that the efforts of the Federation and the
United Jewish Communities, which we support, are
aimed at improving the lives of ordinary people. It
is not governments we support, but the Jewish
social services network in Lexington, the United
States, other parts of the Diaspora and in Israel.

The 2001 campaign will be starting soon under
the leadership of Alan Stein. The 2000 campaign
barely missed setting a record for Lexington and it
is our goal to reach new levels of attainment this
year in terms of both numbers of gifts and amounts
pledged. Please‘help us keepthe Federation grow-
ing in its ability to serve its only constituency Aiyou 4‘.
and your neighbors. r

 

Small Cities
Federation Executives -
To Meet In Jerusalem

maller Jewish Communities and their

Federations share many characteristics and

problems. Because of this, United Jewish
Communities organizes each year a meeting for
chief executive officers of federations of similar size
from across North America. Every five years this
meeting takes place in Israel between March 18 and
March 27. Our Federation Director, Daniel Chejfec,
is part of the organizing committee.

The additional funding required every five years
for the Israel meeting is provided by a generous gift
of the Dorothy N. and Louis J. Fox Foundation.

“This year’s program will focus on the social
needs of the Israeli population and how to help,"
says Institute Chair Gloria Schwartz from Spring—
field, Illinois. The program includes meetings with
Israeli government officials, Joint Distribution
Committee Israel staff, representatives of the
emerging volunteer sector in Israel and new immi-
grants.

“1 am always delighted for the opportunity to visit
Israel, and this year I believe it to be more important
than ever to show our support for the Jewish state,”
said Daniel Chejfec. Following his return, Daniel will
report on the conference proceedings to the Central
Kentucky Jewish Federation.

   
  
   
   
  
    
  
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
  
 
    
 
  
 
 
  
  
 
  
  
 
  
 
  
 
 
  
  
  
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
   
   

 

CAMP SHALOM 2001

Sponsored by Central Kentucky Jewish Federation

Don’t miss a terrific time this summerThis will Based on feedback from last year, we have made
be the best Camp Shalom ever!! a few changes in scheduling. Camp Shalom will
Judy Weickel, whom last year’s campers will run two one-week sessions from July 30 - August

remember as Kindercamp and activities director of 10. Feel free to register for both! The hours will be
Camp Shalom, returns as our Director. Judy is Arts 9AM-12PM, M—F for Kindercamp (4-year-olds)
Enrichment Specialist at the TAI preschool, and is and 9AM-3PM, M-F for the “big kids”. We are

on staff at the Living Arts and Science Center. She offering an extended day option from 3PM-5: 15PM
brings remarkable talent, experience and enthusiasm every day and staff will be available for early drop

to our program. off .any time after 8:30AM.
Judy and the committee are lining up a top-notch Use the form in Shalom for early registration.
staff. From specialty leaders to counselors (many Camperships are available through the Central

returning from last year), all will lead a variety of Kentucky Jewish Federation. Call 269-8244 for
exciting camp activities. Kids can look forward to more information.

swimming, arts and crafts, outdoor games, field We hope to see you at the Lansdowne Club this
trips, and activities with Jewish themes. In addi- summer for another great season of Lexington’s
tion, this year we will be offering tennis and swim— own Camp Shalom!

ming lessons!

 

 

JO AND BOB BELIN RUN TOGETHER, ENTERED IN BOSTON MARATHON

by Stan Saxe
t 4:00 am one early January morning this Recalling that he had seen 65 year old
year JO and 30b Belin scraped 196 from marathoner Clarence DeMar run in the
their car windshield in Orlando. Florida to Boston Marathon when Bob was 10 or
Lli"i\ e to the start of the Walt Disncx Marathon. lo ll years old. and prompted by a neighbor
"““i 1‘3“" 1911M“ !' 1311‘: their l‘l'hi Hwhfi‘nir. "no; cwr in ins 7* Urclxu‘inu to run a marathon in
\H ml ., 4" “5’ V?!“ ”1‘ ‘» . ' He‘ll“ Tics.- .r,1_ grub tlimtgiit Eileilltllh‘ll ‘l'hc
_ . . . , , , , . ,
apacew 1c awe. i”-m o‘fir" ." ‘ ‘.‘:"t."* "of ify rrrara‘ 6 my}
hoping to finish the 26.2 mile course under 5 hours. 2000 but only Jo was picked. She
The Lexington couple h0t only completed the declined to run without Bob. They were
marathon in 4 hours, 51 minutes but Jo finished both successful, however, in being
12th in her age group (55—59 WM) and 30h was accepted for the Disney Marathon in
38th in his age group (60—64 years). Orlando in January 2001,
How did these Lexington residents decide to run The Lexington couple began a 16—
a marathon as mature adults? It began about 6 week marathon-training program avail-
years ago when Bob. a pediatric surgeon and Jo, able on the lntemet. They ran 3 to 5
who manages Bob’s office decided to begin walking miles per day with one long run per week
as a healthful exercise. Bob said “It took a lot of for the last ten weeks of the training.

time” so the couple began running. Jo said running “Long run" means 10 to 20 miles. Jo and
was an activity “We really enjoyed, it was fun and Bob are back in training preparing for

could be done together”- the Boston Marathon on April 16, 2001,
Bob, a native of Quincy, Massachusetts is also the day Patriot’s Day is celebrated as a
known as ‘The Yankee Clipper’ because he pro- holiday in the Boston area. A race of
vides his surgical skills as a mohel, or one who can obvious significance for “The Yankee
do ritual circumcisions, for families in Central Clipper” and spouse. April’s race will
Kentucky beginning several years ago when the be the 105th annual running of the
Cincinnati mohel was no longer travelling to Boston Marathon.
Lexington. Jo and Bob have three children.
The Belin’s first race was a 5K run at a pediatric Dottie and her husband Andy Nick are
surgery meeting where both finished with good parents of Jo and Bob’s three grand—
times - Jo placed third among women in her age children: Jordan 7, Alex 5 and Sophie

groun Two years ago Jo and Bob began running 2. The Nicks live in Rye Brook, NY.
the Lexington Fourth of July 10K run (6.25 miles). Son Bruce and his wife Rachel recently
They also ran the Bluegrass State Games 5K run in moved to Lexington where Bruce

1999 and in 2000 where son Bruce and daughter- specializes in colo-rectal surgery.
in-law Rachel ran with them. Jo, a native of Nor- Daughter Ruth, also a physician, lives
folk, Virginia, said her prior experience in competi- in Baltimore, Maryland.

tive athletics was as a cheerleader in high school.

 

Marc/1 200] —ar* 3

  

 

 

 

 

Visit CKJF
on the web at

www.Je wishLexington. org

or e-mail us at
Shalom.JewishLexington.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Lexington Financial Center, Suite 2900

250 West Main Street, Lexington KY 40507

Tel 859 233—0321 KY 800 998-8766 800 354-9066
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4 —*—

\Shnlom

am writing these lines on the day

after the Israeli elections, the

results of which came as no surprise
at all — Sharon won by a landslide. Much
can be said as to why Barak lost, or why
so many Israelis turned to the right wing,
but let us hold that for a minute and review
some notions about the Israeli political
system.

First, the election is not the end but the
beginning of a process. According to
Israeli electoral law, following the electoral
polls for Prime Minister, the President of
Israel charges the leader of the political
party which obtained the most votes - in
this case Likud - with the task of forming a
government. The complete slate of minis-
ters and secretaries must be presented to
the Knesset for approval within 6 weeks.
In case the government is not approved by

Firminimuinof 6] members of the Knesset,

the President has traditionally granted an
extension of 4 to 6 weeks. If after this
extension the Prime Minister elect does not
manage to form a government that the
Knesset approves, two options are open to
the President : either entrusting the leader
of the party receiving the second largest
number of votes (Barak’s in this case) to
form a government, or recommending that
the Knesset dissolve itself and call for
General Elections, which involves election
of Knesset members as well as the Prime
Minister. In the current situation, if the
latter option happens, the balance of power
between One Israel (Barak) and Likud
(Sharon) is likely to change in favor of
Likud. In that event, another player,
Benjamin Netanyahu, implied that he
would be willing to consider being the
Likud candidate for Prime Minister. As I
said before, the elections are just the
beginning.

The second issue is that of Yasser
Arafat and the Palestinian leadership.
Palestinian leaders know the Israelis as
well as Israeli leaders know the Palestin-
ians. Forced into reluctantly living together
for the last 30-0dd years, they know each
other’s hot buttons by heart. When Arafat
says “there was never a Jewish temple at

ISRAEL ELECTIONS, AND

CROCODILE TEARS

By Daniel Chejfec, Executive Director
Central Kentucky Jewish Federation

Haram-Al—Shariff (Temple Mount)," he
knows in advance what the Israeli reaction is
going to be, so he can use it to derail the
process when it is convenient for him. On the
other hand, when Israelis insist that “Pales-
tinians have no right to return to present—day
Israel,” they are also very aware of the
reaction they will get. Israelis and Palestin-
ians are enemies, but they are certainly not
strangers to each other.

Having said all this, let us face the facts.
The Palestinian authority has been encourag-
ing violence since mid-September of last year
to a larger extent than usual. They have
called for Palestinians to “strike the Jews”
wherever they find them. Bir—Zeit University
in Ramallah, an official Palestinian Univer-
sity, recently conducted a poll that shows
that a full 65 % of Palestinians believe that it
is legitimate to attack Israeli and American
targets anywhere. whether military or I V
civilian. Arafat himsclljustilicd the recent
execution of the two Israeli owners of a
restaurant in Tulkarem as “valid action.”
Arafat knew that under the present circum-
stances, he was undermining the Barak
government and pushing the Israeli public
into the Likud camp. Chairman Arafat is
probably many things, but he is not naive nor
is he ignorant in the ways of politics. Arafat
did, in a way, vote in the recent Israeli
elections. The leader he wanted was elected -
one that he can claim is not willing to
negotiate, allowing him to continue his
campaign of terror.

But Mr. Arafat miscalculated, for Sharon,
or eventually Netanyahu, is, in fact, suing for
peace under the same guidelines that Rabin
presented originally — guidelines that were
stipulated in the PLO—Israel Declaration of
Principles of September of 1993.

To my “cousin” Arafat, let me say to him
that I regret his lack of vision and commit—
ment to real peace. American Jewry and
probably the US government itself will stand
steady in support of Israelis in their pursuit
of peace, whether that peace is mutually
agreed or unilaterally imposed. When that
happens, cousin Arafat, just remember that
after the crocodile eats her own eggs, it sheds
tears, but those tears are self—inflicted.

  

 
  
   
  
  
  
  
  
   
   
  
  
  
   
  
  
  
    
 

ave Sunday afternoon, April 24th for a

great musical event. With sponsorship from

the Central Kentucky Jewish Federation,
the Lexington Community Orchestra, under the
direction of Jonathan Roller, is presenting a pro-
gram of music by Jewish composers. The program
will include works by Copland, Bruch, and
Gershwin, among others.

The performance will be at the Singletary Center
for the Arts on the UK campus. It is free of charge
and open to the public, and will be followed by a
reception.

We are fortunate to have two well-known and
talented soloists participating in this concert. Cellist
Benjamin Karp, of the University of Kentucky
School of Music, will perform Bruch’s Kol Nidre.
Alan Hersh, also a professor at UK, will play
Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, a particular favorite

MUSIC! MUSIC! MuSIc!
Ruth Paley
of his.

Alan Hersh has played extensively throughout
the US and has appeared as piano soloist with many
orchestras. Locally he has appeared with both the
Lexington Philharmonic and the Lexington Commu-
nity Orchestra. He is a professor of piano at the UK
School of Music.

Benjamin Karp is the principal cellist of the
Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra and also plays
frequently with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
He will be performing in Florence, Italy this June as
cellist of the Leonore Quartet. He is currently profes-
sor of cello and director of chamber music at UK.

Jonathan Roller is in his eighth season and Music
Director and Conductor of this orchestra. Formerly
he has been Music Director of Conductor of the
Denton (Texas) Chamber Orchestra, the Denton
Community Orchestra, and several other community

 

Dinner for the Lexington Singles

  
 
 
  
  
  

a FUN—tastic evening!

and bread, we were too full to move to the next
location for dessert. So, we changed the plan
and ate the wonderful treats that LisaMarie Price so generously made for

us at Fran’s place instead of Ed Kahn’s. Thanks anyways, Ed. Allin all,

11 February 10 a group of about ten singles in Lexington gathered

together for an evening of food and fun. It was a progressive

dinner/havdalah event that started off at Gabriella Pessah’s home
and moved to the home of Fran Morris. We ate delicious hors d’ouevres and
drank wine for 1 1/2 hrs. before moving on to
the main course. Before dinner we said the
havdalah prayers and then formed a circle for
a rocking rendition of Eliahu Hanavi and ‘

 

“Why America Should Continue
To Welcome Immigrants” Theme For
2001 HIAS Poster Contest

IAS, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society,

is proud to announce its seventh annual

poster contest for new immigrant youth.
The contest is designed to provide young people
with the opportunity to give artistic expression to
their feelings about their new country.

This year’s theme asks participants to illus—
trate “HIAS’ Next 120 Years: Why American
Should Continue to Welcome Immigrants.” The
contest is open to youngsters between the ages of
4 and 15. There is only one entry per contestant
and it must be on paper no larger than 20” x 24”
(50 x 60 cm), in any medium — watercolor,
crayon, pencil, oil, etc.

Submissions will be divided according to the
following age groups: 4-7, 8—11 and 12-15. A panel
will judge all works on the basis of creativity,

originality, technique, and relation to the theme.

The grand-prize winner will receive a $1,000
US savings bond. Three runners-up will receive
special recognition prizes. All 12 finalists will
receive a certificate of achievement and have
their posters included in the HIAS calendar for
the year 2002. Each participant will receive one
of the calendars.

Entries should be mailed to HIAS Poster
Contest, 333 Seventh Avenue, 17th floor, New
York, NY. 10001-5004 and must be received by
May 31, 2001.

The official entry form, which includes contest

rules, may be obtained at the HIAS website
(www.hias.org), or call Fran Morris of Jewish
Family Services of the Central Kentucky Jewish
Federation at 269-8244.

orchestras and productions. He currently teaches
part-time as Asbury College and is also Minister of
Music at Harris Memorial United Methodist
Church in Stanford.

The Lexington Community Orchestra was
founded in 1990 to provide an opportunity for the
many talented non-professional musicians in the
area to play great music with a symphony orchestra.
It is self-govemed and non-profit and exists through
the generosity of the musicians and its patrons.
Many of its members are highly accomplished
players, having previously played with the Lexing-
ton Philharmonic and the Kentucky Youth Orches—
tra. Others, while perhaps not as skilled, simply
love to play the music of the great composers.

This is a unique opportunity to spend an after—
noon enjoying the music of some great Jewish
composers. Bring your family! !

  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
   

March 2001 —*— 5

  

 

COLUMN MUSINGS

by Marcia Blacker

omas Wolfe (the 19305 author, not the Tom

Wolfe of the 805 and 90s) had it wrong—you

can go home again. Ijust got back from a
few days in Omaha. Go ahead and laugh. Who goes
to Omaha, Nebraska in February? Obviously, those
of us who don’t plan ahead very well! I may not
have planned well (I’ve been to Florida in the
summertime, too!), but the trip was wonderful.

Reconnecting with my past has somehow become
a source of great comfort, and I think I’m trying to
encourage others to do the same. Maybe Omaha in
the 408 and 505 was the archetype of middle
America. It was certainly a good place to be a
Jewish teenager. The Jewish Community Center was
directly across the street from the high school I
attended, along with most of the other Jewish teens.
Every day after school, we’d go to the “J” and head
for the youth activities lounge. There was a juke-
box, table tennis, Jewish Youth Council activities, a
library, after-school classes—there was no shortage
of things to do, or companions to do things with.
Besides, my sister worked there and I could go to
her office, drop off my books, and then head for my
friends. I just realized that I was, in my senior year,
the Editor of the Jewish Youth Council News.
Evidently, I didn’t know how to say “no” then,
either!

I had breakfast with one of those friends during
this visit, and we spent three and one-half hours
talking. What was so special about‘mat‘ was that‘we
didn’t just talk about the past, but reconnected here
in the present, as well. We’d picked up almost
where we left off, and said goodbye to each other
knowing that we’d continue to be in touch and enjoy
our newly rediscovered friendship. It was a special
feeling.

No doubt age has something to do with this sense
of happy nostalgia. Maybe one finally reaches a
stage in life where looking back is not painful or

 

uncomfortable or embarrassing. Maybe there comes
a time when you truly can go home again; you just
have to wait a while to do it.

 

ouchers are on the back burners now. But

despite voter vetoes in Michigan and

California, and court defeats in Maine,
Vermont, Puerto Rico, and Cleveland, the issue of
vouchers will move to the forefront. And in view of
Wisconsin’s Supreme Court’s approval of
Milwaukee’s voucher program, the issue is a natural
for the US. Supreme Court.

Interest in vouchers has been supported by the
recent study of a team from Harvard, the University
of Wisconsin, and the Brookings Institute research-
ers who concluded that “the black-White test gap
could be eliminated in subsequent years of educa-
tion for black students who use a voucher to switch
from public to private school.”

Another reason for the continuing support of
vouchers is based on recent interpretations of the
Constitution. Although the issue has been turned
down in the courts previously mentioned, in many
layerspurtsmbfls have been approved when
properly structured. It is part of the breaking down
of the wall separating church and state as exempli-
fied in the Supreme Court’s recent Mitchell v.
Helms case.

In that Louisiana controversy, the court mainly
ruled that public funds used to purchase computers
for private schools were constitutionally permissible
because they were not used to advance religion.

But perhaps most important in motivating public
support for vouchers is a growing sense of social
justice. People are more and more concerned with
the concept of equality: providing better medical
care for all, better housing, better

 

 

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social security, and better nutrition for
children and impoverished adults. Why
not better education for the children of
poor minorities? Unlike the wealthy
who can afford to send their offspring
to private schools, or the middle class
who can move to excellent schools in
the suburbs, the poor must often put up
with crumbling inner city schools,
uncertified or inexperienced teachers,
and outdated textbooks and materials.
The proponents of vouchers,
including Nobel prize winner Milton
Friedman, claim another benefit, one
t stemming from competition. Just as
American car makers improved their
vehicles as a result of competition from

 

  

 

 

WILL YOU VOUCII
FOR VOUCHERS?

by Michael E. Adelstein

the Japanese, so the proponents contend that the
public schools would improve as a result of the
competition from private schools.

Finally, there is the self—interest of Catholics, the
Christian Right, and many Jews. In the latter’s
view, the surest way to stem the tide of assimilation
is to send Jewish children to Jewish day schools. An
infusion of public voucher funds would enable
many more students to receive a Jewish education.
That may be the reason why a poll of Americans
Jews found that 52% favor vouchers.

But many people question their use. These
opponents are concerned about the wisdom of using
public funds for nonpublic education. This reason-
ing is based on the First Amendment’s Establish-
ment Clause stipulating the separation of church
and state. Once this wall is breached, people claim
there will be no holding back the shifting of public
tax dollars to private religious institutions.

Opponents also claim that the problems of poor
schools could be solved through financing smaller
classes and attracting more qualified teachers.
Opponents believe that these reforms would provide
a better solution to the schools’ problems than
money for vouchers.

My feeling is that some small voucher program
should be instituted. I don’t believe that the public
schools will ever obtain sufficient funds to improve
their buildings, schedule smaller classes, and attract
better teachers. People will not pay additional taxes,
not even for schools.

Consequently, I believe that vouchers are the
only answer. But they should be federally financed
with extra funds, not with money from school
budgets. And they should be limited to those
indigent parents’ children demonstrating the interest
and the ability to do excellent academic work. For
example, some outstanding fourth graders in poor
public schools might be awarded tuition money for
private ones.

As for the difficult Constitutional church-state
issue, the Supreme Court might find precedence in
the GI Bill, which I took advantage of after WWII.
As veterans, we received government money to go
to any college, even Notre Dame, Baylor, or Ye-
shiva. Similarly, tuition money could be awarded to
children for private schools.

So here’s a vote for a minimal voucher program.
Anyone disagree?

  

HADASSAH FUNDRAISING
COMMITTEE UPDATE

exington Chapter of Hadassah’s
Fundraising Committee would like to

short amount of time. And we have Steve Caller to thank
for contributing the use of his facility and phones.

 

xtend a heartfelt THANK YOU to

everyone who participated in our very
successful Donor Phonathon. And we extend
special gratitude to the following people who
helped make it such a success: Aida Fine,
Marilyn Moosnick, Janice Newman, Alisa
Levine, Evelyn Geller, Vinnie Dubilier, Judy
Saxe, Judy Baumann, and Gail Cohen.

Thanks also to SunCom and Terri Deluka
for their generous donation of ten cellular
phones, allowing us to reach more people in a

Our next big fundraising project will be an auction in

the spring. Please let us know what
product or service you would like to
donate. And you can help make the
auction as successful as the phonathon by
participating in the planning and imple-
mentation. Just call and volunteer.

Thanks again to all! We look forward
to hearing from you!

Carol Felty - 263-8136

Angie Newman - 245—5622

 

CKJF LEISURE CLUB UPDATE

By Annette Milch, Leisure Club advisor

LEASE Join us at Temple Adath

Israel on March 15, 2001 at 11:45

am. for a POTLUCK LUNCH. Bring
a vegetable, salad, fruit or dessert dish to
share. We will provide salad dressings,
cottage cheese, bagels, cream cheese, coffee,
tea, etc. The Program will be “WHAT IS
J.F.S.?” by Fran Morris.

We are considering having a contest to

rename the Leisure Club. So put on your
thinking caps and come up with some good

E %M

Ruth is recovering from cataract
surgery. She had one eye operated on in
December and the second eye done in J anu-

ary. Join me in wishing her a speedy recovery.

Natalie Sherman is recovering from a fall