The Charlotte Jewish News - December, 1997 - Page 5
Dennis Prager to speak on
December 7
World renowned author, scholar,
television and radio personality
Dennis Prager will be in Charlotte
on December 7 to speak to speak to
the community at 8:00 p.m. at
Temple Israel.
Considered “one of America’s
five best speakers” E>ennis Prager is
one of America’s most respected
radio talk show hosts and
commentators. He has been
broadcasting on KABC Radio in
Los Angeles for IS years and has
his own daily national television
show.
Prager is also a respected scholar
and author. His most recent book,
Think a Second Time, 44 E^ys
on 44 Subjects, was published by
Harper Collins. Bill Bennett called
it “one of those rare books that can
change an intelligent mind,” and
USA Today columnist and
Professor of Law Susan Estrich
called it “Brilliant, a tour de force.”
His next book Happiness is a
Serious Problem due in January
1998 from Harper Collins, is his
long awaited book on happiness,
about which he has lectured around
the world for ten years.
For ten years Mr. Prager has
Of GfeEATER QiARLOnTE
conducted a weekly interfaith
dialogue on radio, with
representatives from virtually every
religion in the world. Since 1985 he
has been writing his own
newsletter, first the quarterly
journal Ultimate Issues and now,
twice monthly The Prager
Perspective.
This is the second time that Mr.
Prager has lectured in Charlotte.
Both lectures have been sponsored
by the Gorelick families. O
White House conference marks
first step in reducing hate crimes
By Daniel Kurtz/nan
WASHINGTON(JTA) - When
President Clinton convened a White
House conference in November
aimed at countering the scourge of
hate-driven violence, a major
breakthrough was achieved: a
president had put the weight of his
office behind such efforts.
Calling hate crimes the “antithesis
of the values that define us as a
nation,” Clinton announced a series
of law-enforcement and prevention
efforts to address the problem,
including plans to create a network
of local hate-crime groups to
coordinate investigations and
prosecutions. He said the Justice
Department would assign more than
50 new FBI agents and prosecutors
to work on hate-crimes.
During the conference, Clinton
participated in a panel discussion
that included a Jewish woman form
Billings Montana who rallied her
community against an outbreak of
anti-Semitic activity four years ago.
Tammie Schnitzer, who had
converted to Judaism, said she was
rudely awakened to anti-Semitism
when a brick came hurtling through
her son’s window, where he had
displayed a menorah.
In a extraordinary show of
solidarity, the people of Billings
responded by posting pictures of
menorahs in their own windows,
ultimately driving the perpetrators
out of town.
“We came together as a
community, we fought back with
weapons of the spirit —
determination, commitment, com
passion. empathy and understanding
— and we won the battle of
Billings,” she said.
Clinton praised Schnitzer as a
“remarkable citizen who changed
the whole psychology of a
community,” and others pointed to
Billings as an example for other
communities to follow.
Russian speaking families come
to Charlotte
B\ Ellen Dubin, Volunteer Coordinator, H.l.A.S. refugee resettlement
It is mid October and Yom Kippur
has passed; we have asked
forgiveness from our fellow man and
have prayed to G-d that our fate for
the coming year is sealed in the
Book of Life. While fasting I think,
“Have I done all I could this past
year ‘to lessen the severity of the
decree?’ No! I did not ask the
Charlotte Jewish Community or the
recently resettled Russian speaking
Jewish community to forgive me for
my oversight. Ah, but it is too late.”
Then I remember, “no, it’s not. Some
believe that the Book isn’t totally
sealed until Hoshana Rabah, the
seventh day of Sukkot.” So although
you will not read this until
December, 1 am asking your
forgiveness now and will try to make
amends for not informing you of all
the families which arrived in 5757.
Semen and Yelena Shvarts came
at the beginning of the year, along
with his grown son, Alex, and their
baby daughter, Sophia. Semen has
been working for an electrical
construction firm and Yelena’s
baking and cake decorating talents
arc appreciated at the Fresh Market
in Strawberry Hill. Alex works for
the Marriott City Center.
Yakov and Angela Yashayev
arrived in Charlotte at the end of
December. Their children, Tatyana
and Alex attend Lansdowne
Elementary. Yakov keeps himself
busy with various jobs and Angela is
employed at the Westin Hotel.
Iosif and Etel Gorentsveyg were
reunited with their son, Vladimir the
end of December. He teaches
mathematics at UNCC and can often
be seen driving his parents to various
Chai Group events at the JCC.
Valeriy and Larisa Felnietsger
came here in February. Valeriy has
been working for an electrical
construction company but is k)oking
for a professioniy position as an
engineet/physicisL He has a dozen
patents (in the FSU) and auth(^
numeroo* papers and technical
reports related lo vacuum and
plasma thin film techndofies.
Larisa is a housekeeper at the
Westin. Her previous experience was
as a bookkeeper.
Vladimir and Alla Bukengolts
were reunited with their daughter,
Julia Glauberman, and her family.
They are very happy to be here with
friends and relatives.
Sergey Krivoruchko, his wife
Nataliya Zuyevskaya, and their
daughter Anna arriv^ during June.
While Anna attends Lansdowne
Elementary, both parents are busy at
work in the Fresh Market. Sergey is
excellent at repairing radios, TVs,
VCRs, etc. and would like to find
employment in that field. Nataliya is
a chemical engineer and has been
seeking a position that can utilize her
education, experience and talent.
Imagine arriving in Charlotte on
the eve of the Fourth of July! That is
just what happened to the Novikov
family. Sergey, his wife Viktoriya,
their daughter Julia, and his mother-
in-law Eleonora Polichcnko
celebrated their freedom from
tyranny as our nation celebrated its
freedom! Sergey is working for an
electrical conU-acting company while
Viktoriya works at the Westin Hotel.
Julia attends Lansdowne Elementary
and Eleonora has been going to
CPCC for English classes.
Leonid and Tatyana Beregovskiy
canK to Charlotte with their son,
DmiU’iy just before school started.
Dmitriy is a senior at Myers Park
High School and works part time at
Papa Johns. Leonid repairs and
assembles computers and you can
see Tatyana at the Eckerd at Sharon
Comers. The family is very
computer literate and both parents
are seeking employment that can
better utilize their talents and
education.
Alex Blyudov, his wife
Yevgeniya, and their tons Dmitiiy
and Vl«dislav were reunited with
family in late August Alex is
working at the Fresh Market He is
fluent m English and Fre»* and
would like lo teach locally; he is
willing 10 iBlor both Unguafes as
well as Russian. Yevgeniya works at
the Westin. The boys attend middle
and high school.
Anna Esina came to Charlotte
most recently. As of this writing, she
is ‘settling in’ and looking for
employment.
We are expecting an average of at
least one family each month. On
their way right now is a family of
four that was able to flee war-tom
Chechnya. They came to the
Western Hemisphere on a freighter
and need a lot of TLC.
Along with each of the new
families, we continue to need
volunteers, furniture and household
goods. Beds, tables, chests and
lamps are just some of the items in
lowest supply. Please call Ellen
Dubin at 574-8550 and let me know
how you can help. Also, please
accept my apologies for not
introducing all of the families before
now. Make and keep your
commitment to help in 5758 so as
next Yom Kippur approaches we
will not need forgiveness. ^
“Something Has
Begun”
Charlotte *s two~day Conference on Race
Relations to Take Place December 7-8 at the
Convention Center
On December 7-8, hundreds
of area residents will meet
to examine Charlotte-
Mecklenburg’s increasingly
diverse racial and ethnic
makeup and explore ways the
community can build improved
cross-cultural understanding.
The conference, which opens
on Sunday afternoon and
concludes at lunch on Monday,
is called “Community
Building: Something Has
Begun” and is being held at the
Charlotte Convention Center.
The December 7-8 event
follows months of work by a
fifty-member Community
Building Task Force zeroing
in on how Chari otte-
Mecklenburg is changing and
how citizens are handling the
city’s increasing diversity. The
conference’s goal is to create
an active community building
process among people of
diverse racial and ethnic
backgrounds. That process will
begin by identifying key issues
surrounding racial and ethnic
barriers and energizing
attendees who are willing to
study those issues and make
recommendations to eradicate
those obstacles.
An Urban Institute report
will be presented on Sunday,
December 7, along with data
being collected through focus
groups and in surveys. TTie
conference has been designed
to allow for interaction, much
of which will be conducted in
small mixed groups with
seasoned facilitat(xs. Conference
planners hope the format will
create a safe zone for
meaningful dialogue.
Speakers at the conference
will include nationally-known
diversity trainer Elsie Cross of
Philadelphia. Cross speaks on
Sunday and will help lead
Monday’s interactive discussion
groups. National Urban
League president, Hugh B.
Price, speaks on Monday
morning, December 8.
Conference attendees will also
get an update Monday on what
other communities are doing
on these issues from Paul
DuBois, the co-director of the
Center for Living Democracy.
Community Building Leader
ship Team chair James
Ferguson II will give a
welcome on Sunday and Task
Force member Reverend
Claude Alexander will close
the conference on Monday
afternoon.
As important as the two-day
conference will be, it will
begin an even more intensive
six-to-nine month period when
groups will study the issues
identified during the
conference. They will examine
existing programs on race
relations and possibly suggest
others. They will create an
oversight mechanism to
continue the work begun at the
conference. They will design
long-term solutions in an
attempt to build a better, more
culturally diverse community.
To sign up for the
conference or volunteer to
work in the follow up, call the
Community Building Task
Force at 704-333-2595. O
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