Page 4-THE NEWS-AprU 1981
WORLD BEAT
edited by Marta Gorelik
The Over-70 Generation:
Jewish Geriatrics & The Bible
DenounceB Arabs
For Charging Israel With
Violating Human Rights
GENEVA (JTA) - An im
passioned denunciation of Arab
charges that Israel violateei'
human rights in-the occupied
territories was delivered here by
Michael Novak, Uie new head of
the U.S. delegation to the Unit*
ed Nations Human Rights Com-
mission. “I was shock^ at hear
ing so much hatred, so many
lies, such squalid racism, such
despicable anti-Semitism, all in
the sacred name of human
rights,” Novak declared.
Novak, a theologian and jour
nalist, was a founding member
of the Coalition for a
Democratic Majority and
supported Reagan’s election. He
is of Czech origin and non-
Jewish. He opened his speech by
remarking: “I have heard here
attacks upon 2Sionism in accents
of a murderous hatred not heard
since the days of the Nazis. It is
though this chamber has retro-
gresi^ by 40 years, as though
this is not 1981 but 1941 and not
Geneva but along the Hitler-
Stalin axis.”
Historic Precedent For
A Converted Jew
Becoming A Cardinal
PARIS (JTA) — CathoUc
sources have recalled that there
is only one other known in
stance, besides that of Msgr
Jean-Marie Lustiger, of a con
verted Jew becoming Archbi
shop with the rank of Cardinal
Lustiger was appointed Ar^bi
shop of Paris and will be ofi&-
cially elevated to the rank of
Cardinal at the next Consistory
by Pope John Paul II.
The Catholic Church has had
several Cardinals of Jewish
origin but only one other. Car
dinal Pietro Pierleoni, who was
bom a Jew and later became a
Catholic convert. Pierleoni was
baptized when he was 14, just
like Lustiger, and appointed
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Thousands Visited
Dachau Museum
BONN (JTA) - More than
800,000 people visited the
Memorial Museum at Dachau
last year. Thiis was the largest
number of visitors annually to
the museum which is situat^ in
the former concentration camp
site near Munich, reflecting a*
continuous trend since 1975
when 452,000 visitors were
recorded.
Barbara Distel, the museum’s
director, said that although the
German public’s interest in the
museum has been constantly
growing, the majority of visitors
are from abroad. For many
years there were few visitors to
Dachau, and Germans were a
small minority of the visitors.
But since the screening of the
American NBC-TV series,
‘holocaust,” in West Germany
in 1979 there has been a
remarkable increase in the
number of visitors, especially
school children.
Hie museum was established
by former prisoners, members of
'the International Dachau Com
mittee. It is now maintedned by
Bavaria’s Castles, Museums,
Grardens and Lakes Administra
tion.
Fashion Week in Israel
TEL AVIV (JTA) - Some 300
foreign buyers from over a
dozen countries were here in
February inspecting the fashion
goods displayed by 82 local
manufacturers at this year’s
Israel fall/winter faishion week
at the Hilton Hotel. The
organizers said they were not
worried by the decline in the
number of buyers, from 500 last
year. Israeli fashions were in
brisk demand despite the
worldwide economic slowdown
which had kept some buyers at
home.
Fashion center and export in
stitute sources said exports were
down to the U.S. this year due tp
high customs barriers, but
fashion exports to Britain had
increased by over 80 percent
between 1978 and 1980. West
Germany remains Israel’s main
customer for fashion goods. It
purchased $127 million worth
last year. Exports to Britain,
Holland and ^ance have also
risen, industry sources said.
Israel and Science
HAIFA (JTA) - Waste
products of coal-fueled power
plants could be recycled to
provide raw material for ce
ment, concrete and road-build-
ing industries, according to
research at Tedinion.
TEL AVIV (JTA) - Dr. Chris
tian Barnard, the pioneer heart
transplant surgeon, said that he
“would not be surprised if Israel
is the country to make a break
through in ^e problem of im
munology, enabling the safer,
transplantation of human
organs with lesser risk of rej^
tion.” Barnard, who was in
Israel attending a South Africa-
Israel seminar on immunology
at the Weizmann Institute of
Science in Rehovot, said the In
stitute was ^e world’s leading
research institute in the study of
immunology.
TEL AVIV (JTA) - Israel
will produce between a quarter
and a half of its electric power
requirements from nuclear
energy by the year 2(X)0, accord
ing to Uzi Eilam, chairman of
^e Israel Atomic Ener^ Ck)m-
mission. At the present rate of
planning and preparation, three
or four nuclear power stations,
each of 1,000 megawatt capaci
ty, will be constructed within
tifie next 11 years, he said.
Experts are investigating a
number of possible sites for con
struction of the first nuclear
power plants. Most of the equip
ment will be built within Israel
but agreement will have to be
reached with another country
for the supply of the nuclear
core. Eilam said that Negev
phosphates could l>e utilized for
the supply - of part of the
uranium required to fuel the
reactors.
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Budget DBllvers the Kind of Service I
the Competition only Talkm About |
by Raphael Panitz
When a Jewish person
receives a compliment, it often
sounds like this: “May you live
to be 120 years old,” “May you
be as wise as Solomon,” or “May
you have the strength of Sam
son.” These compliments often
refer to Jewish biblical heroes
who demonstrated honored vir
tues and traits. The Bible tells us
a great deal about many of its
heroes — when they were bom,
where they lived, what they ac
complish^. I would like to
share some thoughts wi^ you
about old age and the Bible —
what it was like to be over seven
ty when Moses, Aaron, David
and other biblical heroes walked
the face of the earth.
We may begin with Adam. We
are told in the Bible that he Uved
to be 930. Rabbinic tradition
holds that he was originally
destined to live to be a 1()00, but
out of his generosity, he took off
seventy years and gave them to
King David, who did live to be
seventy years old. We also know
that Adam sired a son at the age
of 130. Some i^ple take these
figures and believe them; others
feel that they are exaggerated. It
is true that many of the biblical
heroes were given long lives to
show that go^ dee^ would
result in long life.
FVom Adam, we next move to
Abraham. Of his youth, the Bi
ble says very little. We know
that he received his call from
God when he was seventy-five
years old, that is, to leave his
homeland and to travel to Eretz
Yisrael. At 86, he sired Ishmael;
at 90 he was circumcised and at
the age of 100 he sired Isaac.
Throughout his life, Abraham is
depict^ as a strong warrior, one
who defends his family and
fights with Grod in order to save
the cities of Sodom and
Gomorrah from destruction.
Most of his activity occurs when
he is already past 70 and he
must have possessed
remarkable strength for a man
at that age. He di^ at the age of
173.
We know very little about
Isaac’s old age, except that he
became blind. You may be
familiar with the story of how
Jacob stole his brother Esau’s
blessing. Isaac’s blindness was
necessary for this event to occur,
because only that way could
Jacob have passed himself off
as Esau. It is curious that
Isaac’s life reached its high
light when he was a young boy,
when Abraham nearly sacrific
ed him to God. He then
reappears when he is blind and
ready to die. He died at the age of
180 years.
Of Jacob’s old age, we know
that he lived to see his grand-
childrc^n. He lived to the age of
147. Vhisd he did in his last
years is not recorded in the Bi
ble. ^
You may be wondering what
the Bible tells us about Moses.
The truth is, very little. We know
that he led the Jews for forty
years in the desert and that he
was 120 when he died. It sounds
mighty impressive that an
eighty year old man led his na
tion in the desert for forty years.
Perhaps Moses took some kind
of medicine that made him act
younger than his years.
Apart from looking at certain
biblical heroes, we also might
consider what the Bible says
about old age in general. How
long should a person live? The
Bible gives two answers: accord
ing to one verse, 120 years;
according to another verse, 70
years. The Bible regards long
life as a blessing, to 1^ obtained
by obeying the words of the
Torah. But the Bible is also very
realistic and provides some
honest looks at old age.
Biblical characters are
described in terms that we
would call senility, loss of
appetite, desifiiess, blindness
and frailty. Aging in the Bible is
also described as the loss of
natural body heat. Perhai» the
best description of old age in the
Bible is found in the book of
Ecclesiastes, written by King
Solomon when he was old and
wise.
Finally, it must be said that in
the eyes of the biblical writers,
old age brings wisdom; that the
old must be respected and
honored, and that they must
always be asked their advice
and counsel when planning and
building for the future. Thus,
while Scripture portrays old age
in some bleak terms, there is
also a positive side to it, a side
that I have tried to point out to
you.
Preilicoff
Dead at 94
Many of our community will
probably remember the visits
that Morris Preilicoff made to
Charlotte. I remember that
when my oldest son, Darren,
became Bar Mitzvahed in
February 1975, Mr; Freilicoff
was given an Aliyah at the ser>
vice at Temple Israel because it
was the anniversary of his own
Bar Mitzvah. Several people
had the pleasure of meeting him
also at the home of Rose and
Abe Luski.
Morris Freilicoff, who worked
for the DayMoming Journal, a
New York-based Yiddish news
paper, from 1925 to 1963, died
late in January at George Wash
ington University Hospital in
Washington, D.C., at the age of
94. In addition to his work on
the now-defunct Yiddish paper,
Freilicoff was a student of Yid
dish literature and lectured
widely on the subject. He was
one of the founders of Labor
Zionism in this country.
Bom in Russia, he grew up in
London and moved to the U.S.
when he was about 17 years old
and settled in Washington. He
eamed two degrees at the
National Law ^hool. At the
time of his death he resided in
Bethesda, Md.
— Rita Mond
B’nai B’rith HQ
By Judy Siegel
Jerusalem Post Reporter
B’nai B’rith recently moved
its intemational headquarters
from Washington, D.C. to
Jerusalem, as a symbol of sup
port for Israel’s capital.
Jack Spitzer, president of the
“largest Jewish organization in
the world,” presided over the
ceremony at the B’nai B’rith
lodge in Rehov Keren Hayesod.
Though the basement quarters
are inadequate, they wUl serve
as the world headquarters until
a new building is completed in
about three years in Rehov
B’nai B’rith a few kilometres
away, he said.
The organization, represen
ting 500,000 meml^rs in 42
countries, decided at its last in-
ternational meeting in
Washington last September
that the headquarters should ^
moved to Jerusalem as a
response to the embassies mov
ing out of Jerusalem.
Both men and steel lose their
mettle when they lose their
temper. —Harry C. Mabry