Scholar’s Holiday
Lag Ba’omer, also known as the Scholar’s Holiday, is a time of re
joicing. It was on that day that the prayers of the pupils of the gentle
sage, Rabbi Akiba, brought about the end of a terrible plague in
what was then Palestine. Legend also has it that Rabbi Simeon ben
Yohai had remained hidden in a cave during the persecutions (by
the Romans) for fourteen years. When he died, the rainbow, which
had not been seen for many years, appeared in the sky to remind the
Jews of his prophecy that before the Messiah came to free the
Jewish people, they should see a bow of many colors in the sky. So
in his memory, European Jewish school boys were allowed to leave
their books and roam the woods and fields carrjdng bows and
arrows.
This holiday, therefore, is a nature as well as an historical
festival. It is after the service on the eve of the second day of Pass-
over that the counting of the Omer begins. An Omer (in this case
meaning harvest) is actually a measure about the size of half a
gallon which contained some of the wheat of the first harvest that
was brought as an offering for the priest of Jerusalem. The count
ing lasts for seven weeks. The days of counting, which are called
the Sefirah days, are a time of unhappy memories for the Jews,
because at this period there were terrible massacres, under the
Roman emperors and later during the Crusades. Marriages,
festivals and even haircuts were not permitted during the Sephira
days, except on the New Moon and the thirty-third day of the Omer
(Lag Ba’omer). This year it falls on May 15th.
Rabbi Simeon’s burial place — Meron in Galilee — has remained
the scene of a picturesque ceremony. It is on Lag Ba’omer that the
Hasidim and others bring their young children for their first hair
cut as well as lighting bonfires and dancing throughout the night.
- R.M.
Peace?
By Rabbi Richard K.
Rocklin
The questions are many.
Simply stated, what is the
Israeli attitude toward the peace
treaty with Egypt?
Fortunately, we were in Israel
during the time President
Carter made his historic adven
ture.
The Israelis were not lined up
in the streets to see President
Carter, nor was there dancing in
the streets upon the news that
Egypt had accepted the terms of
the agreement. Why? The
Israeli is neither foolish nor
without understanding in terms
of the precariousness of this
^gyptian-lsraeli treaty.
Let us review. What Prime
Minister Begin has agreed to es
sentially is Israel’s surrender of
a huge amount of vitally
strategic territory in exchange
for Anwar Sadat’s assurances.
Setting aside for the moment the
Halachic objections to retreat
from the Sinai, and they are
weighty, let’s consider the
prospects for Egyptian
adherence to the provisions of
the new treaty.
Historically the Egyptian
record of abiding by peace
treaties with Israel is to put it
mildly, miserable. Egypt has in
the past 30 years violated each
agreement. On February 24,
1949, representatives of Israel
and Egypt signed the United
Nations mediated armistice
agreement ending the War of In
dependence. Paragraph 3 of the
agreement added; “No warlike
act or act of hostility shall be
conducted from territory con
trolled by one of the parties to
this agreement against the
other party.” The Egyptians im
mediately violated the treaty by
blocking Israeli ships from the
Suez Canal, installing artillery
at Sharm el Sheikh, and barring
Israeli shipping from the
Straits of Tiran. That was just a
beginning. It then openly
launched a campaign of
terrorism iri Gaza, Northern
Sinai. In just six years time
there were over 1800 Egyptian-
sponsored border raids and
nearly 1400 armed clashes with
Egyptian forces killinf; 100
Israehs and wounding 3' ..
In similar fashion, the Egyp
tians paid no heed to the cease
fire they agreed to in August
1970 ending the war of attrition
against Israel. With Gamal
Nasser and then Anwar Sadat
at the helm, Egypt whisked new
missile batteries, thousands of
tanks, and several divisions of
soldiers into the Suez Canal
area, all blatant violations of
the armistice.
And the last time — Sadat
made a total mockery of the 1975
accord he signed with Israel.
Although the Western media
has paid scant attention to
Israel’s repeated complaints,
there is little doubt that the
Israeli charges are accurate
since they have been confirmed
by both the United Nations and
the President of the United
States. The accord permits
Egypt to station eight bat
talions in the Sinai. In June
1977 a U.N. report stated that
there were at least ten Egyptian
battalions, perhaps as many as
16 to 18 as Israel had chained.
This past February 23, Presi
dent Jimmy Carter-told^VHie
New York 'rimes that there are
currently at least five full Egyp
tian divisions, 30 to 45 bat
talions facing Israel in Sinai.
Israeli Chief of Staff, General
Mordecai Gur, has further
charged that the Egyptians
moved surface-to-air missiles
into Sinai — another treaty
violation.
One additional fascinating
item which has gained little ex
posure outside Israel is the
astonishing fact that Egypt is
currently building a massive
tunnel beneath the Suez Canal
to link Egypt to the Sinai. As the
Jerusalem Post reported, the
tunnel is large enough for tanks,
missile carriers, armored
vehicles, and would be a crucial
asset to Egyptian troops in the
event of another war. Not only is
this Egyptian military project a
clear violation of the Sinai ac
cord, but it also must pass some
doubt in the mind of the Israeli
concerning this latest quest of
peace. The fact that construc
tion of the tunnel began just
before Sadat’s visit to
Jerusalem and is now nearing
completion as Sadat signed
another peace treaty, makes the
Israeli wonder how believable
Sadat’s pledges of “no more
war” really are.
Let us be very optimistic at
this season of the year, but let us
continue to exercise caution.
I Do Not Know
If My Grandchildren
Will Be Jewish
By Saul Brenner
In 1968, the year before our
older son was born, my wife and
I visited Israel. There we met a
young Scottish Jew who told us,
“A Jew is not someone with all
Jewish grandparents. Rather,
he is someone with all Jewish
grandchildren.”
I wondered if all my grand
children would be Jewish. I still
wonder. We no longer live in a
■society in which one is fated to
be a Jew. Many young Jews
have joined oriental cults, be
come members of Jews for
Jesus, or decided not to identify
with any religious or ethnic
group. Will my two sons leave
Judaism as well?
I believe there is a strong
relationship between the quali
ty of one’s Jewish experiences
and the probability that one will
choose to remain Jewish. My
wife and I have sought to
provide experiences for our
children which generate
enthusiasm for Judaism. We
have sent our sons to the
Hebrew Academy where they
eagerly learn Hebrew and other
Jewish subjects. We try to
celebrate the Sabbath and the
Jewish holidays in a
meaningful way, not only in the
synagogue, but at home as well.
Every year I build a Succah in
our backyard. We expose our
boys to expressions of Judaism
that differ from our own, includ
ing Reform and Chassidic. If we
have the money we will send our
children to Camp Ramah and
later to Israel. My wife and I
plan to make some arrange
ment for the continuation of our
sons” Jewish education after
they graduate the Hebrew Aca
demy.
•*"-We ' believe ’ Judaism a
valuable heritage. Perhaps our
grandchildren will value
Judaism as well.
Page 3-tHE NEWS-May 1979
News Watch
WANTED;
Be porter*
photoip-ap"*'’"
Cartoonist
Ch.rlotteS’e'wl.h New.
REWARD:
lh*t your
helplnl
Knowing
talpntfl
other*
JCC To Host
Newcomers’ Eve
The JCC will host a wine
and cheese evening for all
newcomers who have arrived
in Charlotte during the past
year. The event will be heldi
on Saturday, May 19, from
7:30-9 p.m. at the Jewish
Community Center.
“There are so many new
comers to the Charlotte
Jewish community that it is
up to all the organizations to
help them meet each other,
meet established residents
and feel a part of the com
munity,” says Mrs. Linda
Kaplan, a member of the
evening’s planning com
mittee and herself a recent
addition to Charlotte. “The
Temples and organizations
have done their share in this
process and the JCC is proud
to join in their effort.” (Note:
The News is now publish
ing lists of newcomers for the
benefit of the membership
chairpeople of the various
Temples and organizations
as well as to make the names
familiar to afl our readers. If
you know of any names
inadvertently omitted please
call the JCC at 366-0357. (See
p. 8)
As part of the Newcomer
Evening the JCC will make
available copies of Shalom
Y’all brochures. Data on all
organizations will be includ
ed. Members of the JCC
board will also be present to
help newcomers exchange in
formation and get answers to
the widest range of questions
and concerns about Char
lotte and the surrounding
area.
Invitations have already
gone out to all newcomers on
the JCC list.
Ekiited By
Marta Garelik
ITALIANS ‘REGRETS’
ANTI-SEMITIC
HOOLIGANS; The Jerusalem
Post International — ROME
(Reuter) — Italy has expressed
regret to Israel over an anti-
Semitic-^demonstration by
neofascist youths at a basket
ball match recently.
During a European basket
ball cup match in the northern
town of Verese between Tel Aviv
Maccabi and Emerson of
Varese, a group of neo-fascist
youths shouted insults and un
furled banners bearing anti-
Jewish slogans.
The Foreign Ministry sources
said Ambassador Girolamo
Nisio, in Tel Aviv, had been in-
structed to convey the
government’s regret for “the
contemptible and shameful
episode of hooHganism.”
“Hitler taught us that killing
Jews is no crime” and “Jews
into the oven” were some of the
slogans screamed during the
match.
SCHOLARSHIPS; The
Jerusalem Post International —
The Acre municipality Ranted
19 scholarships worth IL 2,600
each to Arab university
students. The municipality
hopes to double the number of
scholarships for Arabs next
year.
VIENNA DROPOUTS; The
J erusalem Post International—
ITie dropout rate among Soviet
Jewish emigrants arriving at
the Vienna transit camp reach
ed a peak of 76%in the first week
of this month.
Nearly 600 of the 800
emigrants who arrived in Vien
na during the week decided to
elsewhere, even though they left
the Soviet Union-on visas for
Israel. Most of theni come from
Odessa and otheif cities where
Jewish identity is marginal.
Jewish Agency Executive
Chairman Arye Dulzin has sent
aliya department head Raphael
Kotlowitz to the U.S. to confer
with Jewish leaders on the
situation.
THE LITTLE MATTER OF
MONEY DOESN’T WORRY
THE CONDUCTOR;
Jerusalem Post Reporter —
HAIFA — The Haifa Symphony
Orchestra is in serioUs financial
difficulties and does not have
enough money to pay its
musicians. An appeal has been
launched to try to save the
orchestra, one of the North’s
main cultural assets, but
because of the financial uncer
tainty, four new immigrant
musicians have returned to the
U.S.
Reversing the direction,
however, is conductor and
professor of music, David Ep
stein, of the Mass. Inst, of Tech.
He was invited to give two con
certs this month, but the
orchestra withdrew the invita
tion when it found there wasn’t
enough money to pay him.
But Epstein told them he
would be coming anyway, and
would waive both his fee and the
cost of travelling to Israel.
“Cultural life should not suf
fer because of money,” Epstein
wrote to the orchestra manage
ment.
PRESIDENT PORTILLO
AWARDED DEGREE; MEX
ICO CITY — Words of praise for
Israel came fi*om the lips of Mex
ico’s President Jose Lopez
Portillo as he was awarded an
honorary degree from the hands
of Avraham Harman, Presi
dent of the Hebrew University,
at a festive banquet attended by
leading Jews of Mexico, Canada
and the U.S.
The rebirth of Israel was
described by Portillo as a
phenomenon of history and he
praised the Jewish people for
maintaining their identity
through centuries of dispersion
and persecution.
ONLY 30 JEWS STILL LIVE
IN CHINA; The Jerusalem
Post International Edition —
According to a study on “Jewish
Communities in the Far East”
published recently by the
publications service of the
(jovemment Information Cen
tre, 3() of the 839 million people
in China in 1976 were Jewish.
Evidence of the presence of
Jews in China goes back to the
Eighth Century, but a perma
nent Jewish community was es
tablished only in the 1840’s after
the conquest of Hong Kong by
the British and the penetration
of European powers to
Shanghai, and other cities.
SAN FRANCISCO’S
JEWISH MAYOR; The Jewish
Post and Opinion — LOS
ANGELES — Dianne Fein-
stein, San Francisco’s mayor, is
a Jew by choice, according to an
interview in the Los-Angeles
Times. Mrs. Feinstein became
mayor after the assassinations
of Mayor George Moscone and
Supervisor Harvey Milk, a
Jewish gay activist, on Nov. 27.
Born to a Roman Catholic
mother and a Jewish father,
Mrs. Feinstein was qdoted as
saying that her parents en
couraged her to be a free thinker.
She went to a Catholic convent
school.
She also attended a Jewish
Sunday School, and at the age of
20 chose Judaism, she says,
because she “liked the simplici
ty of the religion, the directness,
and I was aware of the prejudice
that exists and of our distinct
heritage. I felt a need to go in
AVIV — A rare liver transplant
was performed by doctors at
Rehovot’s Kaplan Hospital. It
involved giving a 10-day-old
baby a' fetus’ liver containing
antibodies necessary to fight a
disease which had killed her
parents’ two previous children
shortly after birth.
The operation was the first of
its kind in Israel and only the
sixth in the world. The Israeli
recipient was the youngest so
far.
No special problems were en
countered in performing the
transplant.
Children of God
Cult Back In Va*
They distribute literature for
donations on crowded city
streets and in college towns, and
they call themselves the
Children of God. They have also
been known, of recent date, to
use the name of the Family of
Love. By whatever name, they
are an anti-Semitic, anti-Israel,
anti-American, and pro-Arab
religious cult. They have
reappeared in Virginia and are
of concern.
The anti-Semitism of the
leader of the Children of God
cult is blatant. “Therefore, I
shall rise up and destroy thee
who calleth thyself Israel... Oh,
ye enemies of the Almighty and
you crucifiers of the Son of
God...” was part of the mock-
spiritual language in a diatribe
written not long ago by the self-
styled prophet and leader of this
strange worldwide Qult and
propaganda apparatus — David
Brandt Berg, who now calls
himself “Moses David,”
“Father David” or “Mo.”
Tliey began as an offshoot of
the “Jesus Freak” movement
and have grown to number, ac
cording to their figures, 8,000
young people in some 70 coun
tries around the world. Berg
(Continued on Page 4)