The
i
Charlotte
Jewish
NEWS
Non-l’rofit OrKHnization
nUl.K RATK
U.S. I’oHlage PAID
Charlotte, N. C.
I'ertn it No. I20B
VOL. 1 NO. 6
Charlotte, North Carolina
«June-»luly, 1J>7{)
ICC
Moves
Ahead
The JCC building committee,
comprised of Harold Josephson
(Chairman), Henry Ijerner, Bud
dy Abrams, Brenda Meltsner,
Paula Musler, Norman Max
well, Mark Bernstein, Abe
Luski, and Ben Jaffa, Jr. has
made great strides. They are
working under a real sense of
urgency to put the building fund
contributions into the kinds of
changes desired by the com
munity, and to fulfill the needs
of a rapidly growing center.
Several months ago the firm
of Omni Architecture was
retained to draft proposals. The
resulting two approaches for the
major changes are in the final
stages, waiting for approval by
the June Vioard meeting. Harold
gta.tftat’.■'‘ We are
committed (o creating a facility
which the community c-an look
at and w-alk into with pride.” In
addition to a completely new
physical appearance at comple
tion, the JCC will house kitchen
facilities which w'ill bo able to
cater meals for 150 people, an
auditorium which will comfort
ably seat 200, and lounge and
recreation areas. Also included
will be multipurpose rooms for
classes, special activities, board
. and committee meetings, and
CO m m u n i ty organization
meetings.
'I’he committee extends its
a p o 1 o g i e s for t ii e i n -
conveniences that will occur
during construction. In the
meantime, with the busy
summer season upon us, the
JCC will undergo a short term
face lift for the present facility.
In addition to a paint job for
the front of the building, the
pool area is undergoing a com
pletion of its transition, which
began last year. What will be
seen are crepe myrtle trees,
plantings, additional lounges,
tables, and umbrellas. What
isn’t visible is a complete new
water system serving the pools.
The playa lake*, betw^een the
drinking fountain and the
stairs, has been permanently
dessicated. I’he honeysuckle,
which has been the cause of in-
.sect annoyance during the past
years around the pools, has
already been eliminated. It is
hoped that every member will
have an enjoyable summer with
the present facilities, and look
forward to enjoying the new
ones in 19M0.
*Noie: A playa lake is a body
of water which appears in a
desert following a rainstorm.
Holocaust Square
"During the years 1939-1945 eleven million human beings, amongst
them SIX million Jews, one-third of the Jewish population, were
tragically slaughtered by the Nazis and their collaborators. We
dedicate this square to their memory, and to our belief that a reminder
IS necessary so history dare not repeat itself.
The above quotation is
the inscription on the
monument that will be
located on Holocaust
Square, at Dilworth and
Morehead, and dedicated
on June 10th at 12:15 p.m.
This is being done by Tem
ple Israel in conjunction
with Convenant
Presbyterian Church
which is also located at
the Square.
Participating in the
program, which will be
done simply but • with
religious reverence, will be
Mayor Ken Harris, Rev.
Randy Taylor from Myers
Park Presbyterian
Church, who is the presi
dent of the Charlotte
Clergy Association, and
Julian Hirschfield of Gas
tonia. Mr. Hirschfield is a
survivor of the brutality of
the Holocaust. Also par
ticipating will be the rab
bis and Marvin Bienstock,
director of the Charlotte
F'ederation.
All members of the
Jewish community are
urged to be present at this
historical occasion.
From Leningrad With Love
Twins Attend Academy
Genrietta, Isaac, Veronica and Mary Baikin.
by Sally Schrader
Our newest Russian family arrived in Charlotte from l^eningrad
via Rome on April 24th. They are Isaac and Genrietta Baikin and
their 8 year old twin daughters, Veronica and Mary. Isaac says that
they are very happy that they came to the USA and are very
grateful for the help and care they have received here. They were
astounded by the high quality work done by HIAS.
Isaac is a mechanical engineer with strong electrical training.
Genrietta is an electrical engineer with some experience in com
puter programming and in teaching computer science. Because of
their limited knowledge of English they realize that they probably
cannot begin working asengineers buthoptto find technical jobs in
their field.
Both have their N.C. learners permits and are presently taking
driving lessons. They will be looking for a good used car soon.
'I'he girls are attending school at the Hebrew Academy and are
thoroughly enjoying it and doing very well in their studies.
Veronica and Mary have also participated in several events in the
Dilworth community and school with Darcy Bienstock and made
'’riends with a number of people there. This summer they will be
attending camp at the JCC.
The Haikins have met all the other Russian Jewish families here.
They are also interested in meeting other people in the community.
They live at the Yorktown Apts. (148 Tyvola IW., apt 4) and can be
reached at 527-3411. They are most anxious to learn more about
Charlotte and in becoming a part of the community. They have
attended religious services at Temple Beth K1 and Tem()le Israel,
(Continued on Page 11)
NCCJ Implements
Special Studies
Under the auspices of the
National Conference of
Christians and Jews a
Holocaust, atud^, tOsfijfi^im-
system has been undertaken..
Several meetings have been had
with definite goals established/
The-first of these goals Nvas to
identify materials f^or teachers,
form a learning packet and dis
tribute a copy of that packet to
each junior and senior high
school. I’his task was ac
complished in April, 'i'he com
mittee involved received feed
back that teachers in several
schools were pleased and
enthusiastic about receiving
this material which will support
their teaching activities. There
was also a feedback about the
attention being given in instruc
tion to the Holocaust.
'I’he second goal was to ex-
ami ne the social studies
curriculum K-12and identify ap
propriate inclusions of other
historical events such as the
(Continued on Page 4)
Yiddish Leibt
Fifty people from all over the
south - N.C., S.C., (leorgia, and
H^lorida - attended the recent
Wildacres Yiddish Institute.
l''hoy came from near and far
not to talk about Yiddish but to
tiilk about and lecture on topics
of concern of people who “use”
V’iddish. Workshops were held
in basic and advanced Yiddish,
J ewish culture and folklore, and
Jewish theatre and music. In
between there was time for
ineals, snacks, and socializing.
Speaher-in-Residence
The group was privileged to
liave with them Abraham
Shulman as their guest lec
turer. Mr. Shulman spoke on
“'I’lie Life,'I'imes and Writings
of Isaac liashevis Singer” and
on “Jewish Humor". He was
l>orn in Warsaw, l\)land, where
lie lived until the outlireak of
Workl War II. lie lived for ten
years in Australia, and then ten
years in Paris, Krance. He came
to the United States in 1%I.
in Australia Mr. Shulmnn
edited a Yiddish monthly, (Jyf-
a Yicl-
i« presently a member ot the
editorial slail’of the'y’«7sA /Jai-
, ly Forward and writes for many
V.Viddish and Knglish
tnaga/.ines. He has written two
books. The Old Conn try n\n\ The
('ountry {both in Knglish).
1 lis next l)ook i'unung H(tnie to
y^mx has an introduction by
(iolda iMeir and is just off the
presses. A novel. 'V h r
/\nt/ir)f)(tl()gist and the (iirl,
will be publishefi this fall, in
l-'rcnch, in I’aris. i le has written
Viddish e.ssays andsevtM-al Vid-
clisli plays, all music als which
bave been produced in Canada
tind New York. Dne of them./V/
f^intvl liricf, was produced Uist
year as a showcase by a New
Vofk oil-oH-Broad way theater.
1980 Yiddish Institute
The interest and involvement
(> I the Bluinenthalsand the staff
(Continued on Page 1)
Yiddish Institute Wildacres, May 1979
Planning Committee
Front row I. to r. — Rose Luski, Estelle Hoffman, Sarah
Ackerman, Baila Pransky, and Mae Goldman.
Second row — Abe Luski, Leo Hoffman, George Acker
man, Julius ' Goldman, John Pransky, and Herman
Blumenthal.
SUMMER EDITION - WELCOME NEWCOMERS
Special Feature - Organizations Page 5-8