Salute to
Qraiuates
Pages 14-15
P.O. Box 13369
Charlotte, NC 28270
Address Correction
Requested
Non-Profit Organization
U.S. Postage PAID
Charlotte, NC
Permit No. 1208
The Charlotte "ilEWISH'NEWS
Vol. 13 No. 6
Charlotte, North Carolina
June/July 1991
A Present for Annie JCC Holds Annual Meeting
Hal Levinson Installed as New President
By Patty Gorelick
With their Russian family in Moscow — Patty is wearing tiic Snoopy
shirt and her son Todd is seated at far right.
The Gorelick boys, Shelton
and William, grew up in Char
lotte without ever having met
any of their father’s family. All
of their cousins, aunts and uncles
were caught behind the Iron
Curtain. Years passed with
sporadic letters arriving whenev
er the cousins felt safe enough
to write. In 1989, with relaxed
restrictions on tourism by the
Soviet government, eleven
members of the Charlotte Go-
retick family left for Moscow
and the long dreamed of family
reunion. Annie Gorelick, moth
er of Shelton and Bill, in poor
health at 88, could not go.
It is now 1991 and we hope
the time for Annie Gorelick and
her nieces and nephews to meet
has fmally arrived. On Aug. 17,
at Shalom Park in Gorelick Hall
there will be a special celebration
of Annie’s 90th birthday. The
Russian nieces and nephews are
planning to be here to share in
this happy occasion. It will be
Aunt Annie’s best birthday
present!
Soviet Jewry Update
Last month we reported that
five new families arrived in
Charlotte from the Soviet
Union, four of whom were
reunited with relatives here. All
are gradually getting acclimated,
learning English and looking for
jobs. A few have already started
working part time.
On May 15, our newest fam
ily, the Kayumovs, arrived from
Tashkent, USSR. They are Yuri
Kayumov, 50, his wife, Makhin-
ur, 34, their daughter, Svetlana,
5, and their son, Mikhail, who
will be 7 next month.
Yuri applied for a visa in 1974
to emigrate to Israel, but just as
he was ready to leave, he was
arrested on some “trumped up”
charges and was imprisoned for
a few months. It has taken him
and his family all these years to
fmally get to the U.S. They have
had a very difficult life escaping
the persecution that they have
experienced in the USSR. A full
story on this will appear in the
August issue of The CJN.
We are anticipating several
more families arriving in Char
lotte in the next few months and
will continue to keep you updat
ed on them as well as all our
other “new Americans.” Above
all, right now, we need your help
to continue to give donations of
money, household items, new
clothing, etc. We desperately
need volunteers to help with
driving and to socialize with all
the families. We encourage you
to take them to Temple, to the
JCC and to special functions,
especially those concerning our
Jewish heritage.
The children of our Soviet
families have done very well in
school and have excelled in
learning English. Like most
youngsters, they are looking
forward to the summer vacation.
Three of our young people have
been accepted in college. Who,
where and what they will be
doing will also be included in
August’s “Update.”
On May 19, the Coalition for
Soviet Jewry held a covered dish
party at Penny and Carl Eisen-
berg’s home for the Soviet
families and all those who have
volunteered this past year. We
thank the Eisenbergs and all who
have helped.
If you can volunteer your time
in any capacity, have goods to
donate, or know of any jobs
available, please call Sally
Schrader, 364-6594, or Penny
Eisenberg, 847-4037.
By Rita Mond
The fifth annual meeting and
installation of the new officers
and board of directors of the
Jewish Community Center was
held on April 28 at 10:15 a.m.
in the Luski Youth Activity
Room. The very well attended
meeting began with a lovely
brunch.
A special tribute and gift were
presented to Mike Van Glish as
outgoing president for the out
standing service he gave in that
capacity for the past two years.
Barry Hantman, executive
director, gave his report, part of
which is presented on page 8 in
The CJN. The newly installed
president Hal Levinson gave his
address.
This was followed by the
presentation of numerous
awards. Among these were the
President’s Cup Award present
ed to Jill Newman for her
outstanding and dedicated work
as an officer of the JCC during
the past two years and for her
work as cochairperson of the
Membership Committee and the
Patrons and Benefactors Pro
gram for the Golden Circle
Theatre/JCC’s fund-raiser.
The Executive Director’s
Award was presented to Ethel
Gordon for her sizable contri
bution in chairing the gala event
of the joint Golden Circle Thea
tre/JCC’s fund-raiser for the
past two years. Her work in
visual arts and beautifying the
JCC is recognized throughout
the JCC and Shalom Park.
The Outstanding Volunteer
Service Award was presented to
Flora and Leon Benveniste for
their giving of themselves for the
enhancement and growth of the
JCC. They have volunteered
Phil’s Deli
Sponsors Annual
Chai Party
Phil’s Deli will be holding its
fifth annual Chai Party on
Sunday, July 21, 3-5 p.m. in
Gorelick Hall at Shalom Park.
There will be a delicious buffet,
entertainment, door prizes and
lots of fun. All our senior citizens
(65+) are invited. Reservations
are a must. Please call Phil at
366-5405 or Marcia Stern, 366-
5007, if you are going to attend.
Transportation will be provided
if needed. There is no charge for
this lovely afternoon, thanks to
the generosity of Phil Levine.
(L to R) Barry Hantman, JCC executive director; Mike Van Glish, outgoing
president, and Hal Levinson, new president.
their mornings and afternoons,
providing many hours of impor
tant work. Their contribution
has enabled the JCC to complete
many projects on time and effect
real cost containment.
Several recognition awards
were also presented to corporate
sponsors, programming organi
zations and an award for Service
to Sp>ecial Children was present
ed to Elise Menaker and Carolyn
Hennes.
After the meeting, the group
went to the New Fitness Center
for a special demonstration.
Dessert and coffee were served
in the Health Club.
A special thanks goes to Linda
Goldsmith who chaired the
annual meeting and presided
over it.
We wish Hal Levinson, the
officers and board of directors
of the JCC a successful year and
thank all who made this past
year for the “J” a memorable
one.
Minkin Assumes New
Position in Massachusetts
Michael Minkin, executive
director of the Charlotte Jewish
Federation, has resigned his
position to assume directorship
of the Federation in Worcester,
Mass.
Minkin worked in his present
capacity in Charlotte since Au
gust 1, 1987 and his last official
day here will be June 14. Prior
to coming here he spent a year
as Executive Director for the
Los Angeles, California office of
the Development Corporation
of Israel.
The Federation Board has
formed a search committee for
someone to take over Minkin’s
position.
Mike Mfaikin
We hope that he, his wife
Janet, and their two sons, Ben
jamin and Josh, will enjoy their
new home in the Northeast.
Kosher Restaurant Opens in Warsaw
By Susan Birnbaum
NEW YORK (JTA) —
Kosher roast beef, gefilte fish,
chopped liver and cookies
shaped like Jewish stars were
available in April in Warsaw, at
the opening of the first kosher
restaurant in Poland in some 30
years.
The Menora restaurant, locat
ed at Plac Grzybowski 2, oppo
site Warsaw’s Nozyck Syna
Book Reviews
26
Family Services
5
Recipes
27
Calendar
27
JCC
8-11
Teens
12
Dining Out/Ent
18-21
Library
7
Temples
22-23
Ed-Op
2-3
Lubavilch
16-17
This ’n That
24
Eng./Marriages
25
Organizations
13
WorW Beat
4
gogue and the Yiddish Theater,
was inaugurated “in the belief
that it would be very beneficial
both to the local Jewish com
munity and Jewish tourists
coming to Poland,” Rabbi Mi
chael Schudrich of the Ronald
S. Lauder Foundation said in a
telephone call from Warsaw.
The restaurant “can also be a
cultural bridge to those Poles
who want to taste authentic
Jewish food,” he added.
The Lauder Foundation,
which has wanted to sec a kosher
restaurant opened in Poland for
the last three years, enabled its
dream to come to fruition
through a grant it made to the
Warsaw Jewish community.
But the enterprise was actually
opened by a Polish gourmet
See KOSHER pace 13
In
The
News