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Page 2-THE NEWS-August 1980 THE CHARLOTTE JEWISH NEWS Published monthly by:^ Charlotte Jewish Federation and Jewish Community Center Marvin Bienatock, Director Charlotte Hebrew Academy Dr. Raphael Panitz, Director Editors Ann Longman Rita Mond Club Editors Rose Massachi & Mary Gordon Feature Writers Muriel Levitt & Michael Shapiro International News Marta GareUk Copy Reader .....Fran Burg Advertising Staff. Terri Byram, Mgr. Lee Keene Copy deadline the 8th of each month P.O. Box #220188 Charlotte, N.C. 28222 Random Thoughts ••• ^ditoH^ Parental Permissiveness A recent article in The Charlotte Observer written by Dr. Harvey Sadoff caught our attention. His closing statement was “Maybe the bumper stickers of the ’80s should read, ‘Have you hugged your parents today?’” However, how many of us have taken seriously the bumper sticker already prominently displayed, “Have you hugged your kid today?” We feel there should be a mutual feel ing of understanding and respect between children and their parents. We must meet the common denominator between our per missiveness with our children and total child control. Dr, Sadoff cited the following example: “If your teenager is con stantly talking on the phone do you restrict the length and number of calls he or she receives? Or, as seems to be the new style, do you in stall a children’s phone in your house? The latter is less bother, the former is what we should be doing.” When »ur children leave the house do we know where they are go ing, with whom they are going and what time they are expected to be home? On the other hand, do they know where their parents are and when they are expected home? We need to go back to “the good old days” when children brought their friends and parties to their homes with parental supervision. How many times has your child attended a party without an adult being present? How many times does she or he bang out in an empty parking lot filled with teenagers or some other out of the way spot? We hope that we have instilled good moral values and judgement in our children, but how easy it is for a teenager to be led astray by his peers for want of teing “accepted by the group”. Recently there was a foray by three teenagers in the southeast Charlotte area, all from prominent families, who for want of anything else to do on a hot summer night, did acts of vandalism to ir> homes and/or automobiles. Did their parents know their whereabouts? They do now because the police apprehended them and their families had to pay an exhorbitant amount of money for the damages. This is only one example, but there have been more in cidents to other “foul play”. Pornography, drugs and alcohol abuse are definitely a part of today’s society. Our children have grown up in this generation much faster than did we in ours. The media is, of course, a large con tributing factor to this occurence. But, more the reason, why we as parents must take more time and interest in our children and their activities. Let’s get back to basics! Parents should include children more in their trips and activities and let the children share in the planning. The teenage years are a very short span of a person’s lifetime; most leave the home at 18 and gain their independence either by going away to school or becoming members of the work force. Let us enjoy each other while there is still time. As mothers of teenagers we are most concerned for them and their friends and WILL “hug our kids tonight”. To me, books are a separate world of magic emd spl«idor. Reading is a mystique to exdte, inspire and charge ^e imagina tion. I cannot imagine a life without books since they are sudi an integral part of my ex istence. Books are like old friends, to be kept for many years and cherished for their worth even though newer and more modem volumes appear. In this connec tion, I’d like to tell you about a few of my favorites. Some are old and some are very old but I have my own particular reasons for keeping them and rereading them peri^ically. Lust for Life by Irving Stone was one of the very first biographies to intersperse fact with fiction. Stone took the life of Vincent Van Gogh and in fused it with drama, depth and pathos, lliis does not mean that Van Gogh lacked color on his own, but Stone took all the myriad threads of artistic genius and fine madness, then wove them into a tapestry of brilliant writing. Each reading of this book brings a new percep tion and understanding of how anguished and tortured the ar tist’s life can be. Another real oldie is Forever Amber by Kathleen Windsor. This is simple, easy summer fare and lest you think that my tastes are totally intellectual, this book should dispel any such notion. It is a purely romantic novel, the forerunner of all the period pieces that have been publish^ during the last five years. The thing that makes Forever Amber different is the author’s incredible power of description. Her book rambles along casually until she writes about the great London fire and the black plague that swept through Europe. Her words take wing and these two episodes will keep you enthralled. The research is so thorough that her descriptions become totally realistic and utterly compelling. You will be spellbound by the authenticity and the drama is so electric that you’ll hate yourself for having to put the book down. Going from the historic to the humorous, I must refer to another old chestnut called The Egg and I by Betty McDonald. TTiis book presented the very first appeamace of Ma and Pa Kettle which ultimately led to many movies about them. The humor of this book springs from the gut level and you’ll find yourself laughing out loud at the experiences of a city couple try ing to adjust to farm living. Of course, you need to understand that this delightful novel was written during a gentler, kinder era... before the space age, ultra sophistication and four letter words. Hiere is an innocence and pureness of values that makes it a book to cherish. I can not remember the last time I en- joykl honest laughter when reading, but I vividly recall how I chuckled going through The Egg and I. How can I discuss my favorite books without mentioning Hawaii by James Michener. He is a prolific author, but in my opinion, this is his greatest work. I must admit that the in itial hundred pages are hard reading, but force yourself to plow through them because what comes after is a rare treat indeed. Tliere are plots and sub plots which fit together neatly, holding your interest and whet ting your appetite for more. Of course, Hollywood turned it into a pedestrian movie which never came even close to the sweep and scope of the book. How Hawaii was bom, the various peoples who settl^ there, and the intertwining of their cultures in an awesome and ma jestic theme to wonder about long after you have finished the book. Of late I have read many con temporary books although few have left much of an impact. However, I must single out one little gem that I adored. It’s name is Compromising Positions by Susan Isaacs, and it makes for great hot weather reading. It is nothing monumen tal and will win no Nobel prize, but it was a charming idea and very well written. The heroine is a Long Island Jewish housewife whose dentist is murdered. She undertakes, on her own, to dis cover “whodunit”. Her in- For the Record Across The Editors* Desks Dear Editor, I would like to use this space to remind your readers that this year Erev Kosh Hashanah falls on Wednesday, September 10, and Kosh Hashanah on Thurs day and Friday, September 11- 12. Section 701(j) of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, strongly encourages employers to accomodate Jewish employees who seek time off to observe religious holidays. We would like to recommend that Jewish employees contact their employers now, so that they will have sufficient time to make appropriate accom modations in scheduling to allow the time off desired. If you hve questions concer ning your rights and respon sibilities regarding the above, please do not hesitate to contact tlie Regional Office of your Anti- Defamation League at 3311 West Broad Street, Richmond, Va. 23230. Norman Olshansky Regional Director Richmond, Virginia by Norman Olshansky Regional Director ADL He is credited with single- handedly saving some 100,000 European Jews from Nazi death camps during an extraordinary mission of mercy in Budapest, Hungary, in 1944. In March of 1944, the Ger mans began the deportation of Hungarian Jews to the Polish extermination camps. Raoul Wallenberg, the son of a dis tinguished Swedish Christian family, agreed to go to Budapest to organize a delicate and dangerous rescue mission. In order to ensure diplomatic im munity while in Budapest, the Swedish government appointed him attache of the Swedish em bassy. Wallenberg’s activities were extensive, death-defying and fortunately, most successful. He and his collaborators succeeded in giv ing direct protection to ap proximately 20,000 Jews in Budapest by the use of special protective passports. When Rus sian troops entered Budapest in January of 1945, Wallenberg made contact with their com mander and soon thereafter was arrested with his assistant. His family was told that they, Wallenberg and his assistant, were under Russian protection and that they were safe in Russia. He has never returned. The Soviets claim that he died in a Soviet prison in 1947. However, reports have con tinued to surface throughout the years citing contact with a Swedish prisoner described as Wallenberg. TTie Sw^ish government has repeatedly requested coopera tion and assistance firom the ^viets in the matter of Raoul Wallenberg and it was only recently that the Wallenberg case gained interest outside of Sweden. In Israel, for example, at a ceremony at the Yad Vashem over a year ago, a tree was planted in recognition of Wallenberg in the “Grove of Righteous Gentiles.” In addi tion, plans are underway to plant a forest nearby with each tree to represent each of the Hungarian Jews Wallenberg saved. Tlie United States has also made considerable efforts on Wallenberg’s behalf by mak ing inquiries to the Soviet Union through the State Department. Unfortunately, heroic acts such as those of Wallenberg’s, were rare during the massacre of Eu ropean Jewry. Hopefully, at this time, more individuals, groups and governments will begin to act on the Wallenberg case. Hopefully, it is not too late. For more information on Raoul Wallenberg, contact your regional office of the Anti- Defamation League at 3311 West Broad Street, Richmond, Va. 23230. by Muriel Levitt vestigations take her away from housewifely boredom and her escapades are enchanting. There is much wit and wisdom coupled with today’s life style philosophy. Compromising Positions is a sleeper, a real find in today’s plethora of dull sameness. Read it! So there you are. If you’ve read all or some of these, read them again. Let the words envelop you to enjoy writing at its best. If you don’t agree with my choices, well, that’s what libraries are for. Visit yours and go off on your own voyage of dis covery to find your own special dreams. If books are magic than you can be a magician. There’s a whole new world for you to con quer. Try it, you’ll like it! Nazi Hunters VIENNA, (JTA) - Nazi- hunter Simon Wiesenthal said that the notorious death camp doctor, Josef Mengele, is closer to capture than at any time in the past 35 years, despite his narrow escape in Bolivia a short time ago. Wiesenthal, who heads the Nazi war crimes documentation center here, said, according to the weekly Allgemeine Juedische Wochenshau, that Mengele evaded being ap prehended recently because the Bolivian police did not take the necessary measures. However, aides of the Nazi-hunter photographed Mengele’s house, his car and his yacht and they know his present hiding place. Mengele, who was the doctor at Auschwitz, was responsible for selecting inmates for the gas chambers and performed in human medical experiments on Jews and other inmates resulting in their deaths or mul- tilation. “Chances to catch him are now better than ever before,” Wiesenthal said. He has offered a $50,000 reward for informa tion leading to the arrest of the war criminal. The Jewish Calendar I CANDLEUGHTING August 1 - 8:18 p.m. August 8 - 8:12 p.m. August 15 - 8:04 p.m. August 22 - 7:56 p.m. August 29 - 7:47 p.m. Deadline is Aug. 8 for September Issue 'I’he Kditors welc)me commenis and letters express ing all points >f view and reserve the right to edit.
The Charlotte Jewish News (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Aug. 1, 1980, edition 1
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