Campaign ’94
Pages 16-17
5007 Providence Rd.
Charlotte. NC 28226
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Charlotte. NC
Perinit No. 1208
The Charlotte 'JEWISH =NEWS
Vol. 16 No. 4
Charlotte, North Carolina
April 1994
Rita Mond: Magic Is As Magic Does
By Harvey Cohen
The difference between the
magic David Copperfield per
forms and the magic retiring
editor Rita Mend performs
every month offstage, is that
Copperfield’s magic is an illu
sion, Rita’s is very real.
Every month for the past 16
years, Rita Mond magically
made the newspaper appear in
your mailbox. How she did that
almost single-handedly is a story
in itself. But, go back to the first
paragraph and see if you caught
a key word in describing Rita.
The word, in case you missed it,
is “retiring.” She is not retiring
in the sense that she is shy or
bashful. You can’t be an effective
editor and be either of those
things. Neither is she retiring in
the sense that she is departing
or leaving the newspaper. After
all these years, she may focus her
unlimited energy into other
areas of the newspaper.
In an attempt to create a little
magic of our own, we asked Rita
to reflect on the past, comment
on the present and predict the
future. This is what she had to
say:
“When Ann Langman and I
first started The Charlotte Jew
ish News, we knew relatively
little about putting a newspaper
together. We had both been
involved in doing bulletins for
various organizations (in fact we
started the Keeping Posted for
the Jewish Community Center);
in my high school days, I was
a feature writer for the school
paper. By trial and error we
managed to work together as
coeditors and friends for over six
years strictly as volunteers. It
was a ‘fun’ thing and a challenge
for us; truly a ‘labor of love.’
“For the next five years,
continuing still as a volunteer,
by myself, I saw the paper grow
in scope and readership and in
advertising. Every month I tried
to improve and innovate new
ideas into The CJN. There were
happy moments, tiring moments
and always, always, challenging
moments. And there was ‘the
icing on the cake’ we were
recognized 10 times by the CJF
for ‘outstanding newspaper with
advertising.’
“Six years ago when the paper
took up more and more of my
time, I went on staff of the
Federation, i.e. from volunteer
to professional status. I am
currently a member of the Amer
ican Jewish Press Association
and the International Jewish
Media.
“I wish that I had a crystal
ball, or really could work magic
to predict the future for the
paper. I hope that it will con
tinue to grow and be a viable
part of the Charlotte Jewish
community. I feel strongly that
the paper is at the point where
it should be coming out twice
Rita Mond
a month, for there is so much
interesting, important and edu
cational information that one
can not presently include in a
monthly. The paper is an impor
tant link between all factions of
the community.
“I wish the new editor much
success and hope that the com
munity will continue to support
their publication. I appreciate
having had the opportunity to
serve all these years as its editor.”
For a moment, let’s look at
who this practical dreamer is,
whose dream of yesterday benef
its everyone in the Jewish com
munity today. Her dream, inci
dentally, was shared in 1978 by
Marvin Bienstock, former di
rector of the Charlotte Jewish
Federation, Ann Langman and
Martha Brenner.
She is the wife of Irving Mond
and mother of three children:
Darren, Jered and Mrs. Jodi
Irene Opdyke, Righteous Gentile to Speak
At CJF Women’s Division Program
Judy Kaufmann and Ann
Langman, cochairs of the Wom
en’s Division Education Com
mittee of the Charlotte Jewish
Federation, are proud to an
nounce a very special program
to be held Sunday, May 1 at 7:30
p.m., at Temple Beth El.
Guest speaker, Polish-born
Irene Opdyke, hid 12 Jews in the
basement of a villa belonging to
a German major for whom she
did housekeeping during WWII.
During those years, she risked
her life many times to aid Jews,
even though it was considered
a capital crime, punishable by
death. She is one of 5,000
Irene Opdyke
individuals in the world recog
nized for bravery during the
In the News
CAJE
24
Calendar
9
Classifieds
30
Community News .
... 8-10
Dining Out/Ent. ...
.. 25-27
Eng./Marriage
.. 30-31
Family Service
5
Federation
.. 12-17
JCC
.. 18-21
Lubavitch
II
Op-Ed
.... 2-3
Teen Page
.. 22-23
This ’n That
24
World Beat
4
Special Features
“Stepping into Peace”
page 6
TRAVEL:
Israel pages 28>29
Holocaust.
At the war’s end, she was
interred in a displaced person’s
camp in Germany. She left
Europe in 1949 and came to New
York City without skills, friends,
family or financial support.
Since that time, Opdyke has
become a U.S. citizen and settled
in California where she is active
in civic and community affairs.
In recognition of her wartime
heroism, she was awarded the
Medal of Honor by Yad Vashem
in Jerusalem in 1982. She also
earned international acclaim
through the Commission for the
Designation of the Righteous,
and has been awarded the title
of “Righteous,” given to Gentiles
who risked their lives to save
Jews.
Ms. Opdyke is a vibrant and
dynamic personality who travels
constantly to satisfy speaking
engagements. Committee mem
bers, Dorothy Ashendorf, Alice
Buxbaum, Wendy Hennes, Su
sie Lepow, Linda Levy, Nancy
Tarbis, Marilyn Tuckman, Mar-
ci Willcnzik and Women’s Di
vision Chairman, Sara Schreib-
man, cordially invite the entire
community to attend this event.
It is free and open to the public.
Please RSVP to Audrey Krako-
vitz. Federation staff associate,
366-5007, ext. 209.
Michel, who is expecting the first
Mond grandchild (Rita would
tell you that whatever she is, she
is first a wife, mother and soon
to be grandmother). Originally
from Chicago, Illinois, she has
lived in Charlotte for 32 years.
She has a B.S. in Zoology from
the University of Illinois and was
awarded a Fellowship to Wash
ington State University to pur
sue graduate studies in Parasi
tology. Her professional career
was in the field of Cytology
doing cancer research. She said
that one of her greatest thrills
was seeing work that she had
done to initiate a new operative
technique for colon cancer writ
ten up in the AM A Journal.
Rita was president of the
Charlotte Chapter of B’nai
B’rith Women (BBW) and
served for several years on the
executive board of District Five
of BBW. She is a life member
of BBW. She was the first
woman ever to be recognized for
“outstanding service” by the
N.C. State Association of B’nai
B’rith Men. She has served on
the boards of many other Jewish
organizations including NC/Va
ADL, Hebrew Day School,
Sisterhoods of Temple Beth El
and Temple Israel, Foundation
of the Jewish Communty, and
was a member of the Board of
Directors of Temple Beth El.
She also served on the boards
of the National Conference of
Christians and Jews, and the
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Mental
Health Association.
What do all these things have
to do with being an editor, you
might ask? Simply, everything!
The mix of her background,
coupled with her interests and
commitment to family and the
community are essential to her
view and the scope of that view.
In that context, Rita has per
formed a service to the Jewish
community that created a magic
all its own and she will continue
her brand of legerdemain in
whatever she does.
Gratitude all too often is left
unspoken, generally because our
attention doesn’t have to be
diverted to think about activities
that are running smoothly.
Rita’s magic made that smooth
ness happen. From every Jewish
organization you wrote for and
about during these past 16 years,
and for every reader you kept
informed over these past 16
years, thank you Rita Mond!
May the magic you started
continue to flourish as The
Charlotte Jewish News embarks
on a new beginning. Abbraca-
dabra!
®ERATfON
Of Greater Charlotte
Annual Meeting
Sunday, April 10
Gorelick Hall, Shalom Park
9:30 A.M.
The Nominating Committee has recommended the following
people to serve as Members of the Board for a three year
period ending in 1997;
Lynne Sheffer Butch Rosen
Diane Schwartz Milton Tager
Norman Levin Jonathan Goldberg
Judie Van Glish Gary Silverstein
Also recommended for a two year period ending in 1996:
Mark Lerner Todd Gorelick
Evelyn Berger* Ron Weiner*
Also recommended for a one year period ending in 1995:
Jack Levinson Phil Solomon
Adam Bernstein Shel Goldstein*
* Elected by Board during 1993, recommended to complete
term.
Recommended to serve as officers for 1994/1995:
President: Harry Lerner (one year term)
V. President: Rich Osborne (President Elect)
V. President: Sara Schreibman
V. President: David Swimmer
Secretary: Paul Edelstein
Treasurer: Allan Oxman