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The Charlotte
JEWISH
Vol. 21 No. 6
Sivan-Tammuz-Av 5759
June-July 1999
Jewish Humanitarian Aid Intensifies as Conflict Continues
Local Charlotte Efforts Raise $9500 to Date
NEW YORK — With no
quick end in sight to the
Kosovo crisis, Jewish lead
ers and relief organizations
fear continued fighting
there will further exacer
bate human suffering. That,
says Carole Solomon,
national chairman of the
UJA-Federation campaign
for United Jewish
Communities (UJC), puts
added pressure on humani
tarian aid efforts mounted
by Jews in North America.
Spearheading the inter
national effort since the
second week of fighting
are UJC’s two overseas
partners, the Jewish
Agency for Israel (JAFI)
and the American Jewish
Joint Distribution Com
mittee (JDC) and the Israel
government.
Jews both here and in
Israel have responded to
the plight of refugees with
donations of food, clothing, medi
cine, and other assistance. They're
doing so through relief mailboxes
Food airlifted from Israel by the Jewish
Agency eases the difficulty of life in a
Macedonian refugee camp for these
Yugoslavian children. More than 100 tons of
humanitarian aid, as well as medical facilities
staffed by Israeli docotrs and nurses, have
been provided.
created by United Jewish
Communities and its member fed
erations; and by supporting relief
flights from Israel servicing
camps in Albania and Macedonia
and bringing Jews and non-Jews
back to Israel for safe haven.
Israel, the Jewish Agency, and
JDC have provided more than 100
tons of humanitarian aid, as well
as medical facilities staffed by
Israeli doctors and nurses, said
Ms. Solomon, just back from a
fact-finding mission to Israel,
Macedonia, and Hungary. In
Budapest, temporary home to
increasing numbers of Jews flee
ing Belgrade, she described condi
tions as “extremely tense.” At a
hotel housing refugees, women
and children greatly outnumber
men of army age, reflecting their
inability to leave Yugoslavia.
Many have seen their homes and
villages destroyed in the fighting
that’s engulfmg Kosovo and other
parts of the former Yugoslavia.
JDC has been assisting some
200 Jews who reached Budapest
by bus, setting up temporary shel
ters in community centers and
synagogues. It has also dispatched
a team to Albania to link up with
other international relief organiza
Young Jewish refugees from Yugostavia find safe haven at a temporary shelter
in Budapest. They are among some 200 Jews being aided by the Hungarian
Jewish community, JDC, and the Jewish Agency, part of a Balkan relief effort
supported by the UJA Federation.
tions to determine what further aid
is needed.
Solomon, who traveled to the
region with Jewish leaders from
Atlanta, Detroit, Cleveland, and
Chicago, praised the Jewish
Agency effort to bring some 140
Jewish teens and young aduUs
from Budapest to Israel on pre-
aliyah programs.
Other non-Jewish refugees
coming to Israel will receive full
absorption assistance, including
work permits. Many will live at a
field house in northern Israel once
used by refugees from Bosnia.
“It was the first time in quite a
while they had things given to
them instead of taken from them ”
Solomon said. O
The Aftermath of the
Israeli Elections
Domestic, Regional, and International
Implications with Kenneth W, Stein
Presented by the Jewish Federation of
Greater Charlotte
Thursday, June 3, 1999
7:30 PM
Temple Beth El Sanctuary
Leading a historical and analyt
ical insight into the upcoming
Israeli elections as Israel enters
her second half century of exis
tence, Dr. Stein will discuss how
the new alignment of the Israeli
parliament will shape the defini
tion of the state internally and
externally and how those who are
elected will affect the intense
debate about critical issues con
cerning Judaism’s role in politics,
connections with American Jewry,
conduct of negotiations with Arab
neighbors, the pace of social inte
gration of immigrant and ethnic
groups, and diplomatic relation
ships with Europe and the United
States.
Dr. Ken Stein is the William
E. Schatten Professor of
Contemporary Middle Eastern
History and Israeli Studies at
Emory University and a regular
Kenneth W. Stein
contributor to The Charlotte
Jewish News. His insightful and
thorough analyses of Israeli and
Middle Eastern current events
have made him a well-known
columnist in Jewish community
journalism. 0
Facility Flashes!
New Facilities Will Help Temple Beth El
Fulfill Jewish Educational Mission
Each month The Charlotte
Jewish News will offer a brief
overview of how the Shalom Park
expansion will impact the various
agencies and institutions that par
ticipate here.
Two years ago, the results of
Temple Beth El’s Project Joseph
(their strategic planning research
project) gave voice to the prefer
ences of its membership.
Unmistakably, what was foremost
in the minds of the body of mem
bers completely coincided with the
visions of its rabbinical and profes
sional leadership - education of the
congregation’s children is the #1
priority.
Inspired and guided by the vision
of Rabbi Jim Bennett, the Temple’s
leadership defined a three-pronged
approach to fulfilling this Jewish
educational mission. First, dedicate
resources to hiring a quality Jewish
educator who would infuse the reli
gious school with dynamic educa
tional thought. Next, the education
al director would need to energize
the curriculum with innovative
approaches and train the teaching
st^ to implement the new learning
agenda with robust, new method
ologies. Finally, there was a need to
Comwc ting FamiWis
Sustaining IMKfon
SHAlOM
build state-of-the-art educational
facilities to enhance the learning
environment.
In relatively short order the
Temple’s leadership hired Rabbi
Judy Schindler, an outstanding and
talented Jewish educator. Rabbi
Schindler has instilled new spirit
and sharpness into the Temple Beth
El religious school. Now, accord
ing to Holly Levinson, co-chairper
son of the Temple’s Building
Committee, “The Shalom Park
expansion and endowment project
helps us establish the third compo
nent of our campaign to provide the
highest quality Jewish education
for the children of our congrega
tion.”
The Shalom Park expansion will
provide Temple Beth El with its
own education wing in close prox
imity to the Temple itself. Levinson
adds that, “Having the religious
school within a few steps of
Temple Beth El helps us accom
plish two goals simultaneously. By
being part of the overall Shalom
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Also inside ...
Federation News
pages
4-5
Jewish Family Services
. .. page
7
Temple Beth El
... page
8
Temple Israel
... page
9
Lubavitch of North Carolina ..
. page
10
Women's Page
... .page
12
CAJE
. . .page
13
Speizman Jewish Library ....
. page
14
The Jewish Traveler
•page
15
Jewish Community Center
pages
22-23
Dining Out
pages
24-26
Park building complex, that
includes Temple Israel, the Jewish
Community Center, the Jewish Day
School and the other Jewish com
munal institutions, our children
remain an integral part of the com
munity and benefit from celebrat
ing all that we have in common as
Jews. And, by being so close to the
Temple we can more easily expose
our students to the sanctified space
that will help them develop the
unique religious components of
their Jewish identity.”
The new, three story facilities
will give the Temple Beth El
Religious School approximately
17,000 square feet of “dedicated”
space. This means that there will be
age-appropriate rooms and that the
same class will use the same room
throughout the school year.
Teachers will be able to develop
consistent and creative educational
environments, will have opportuni
ties to exhibit displays to coincide
with lesson plans and will have
adequate space to exhibit students'
work.
Imaginative room design will
allow students to leam in pods, cre
ating exciting learning synergies
and enabling educators to nuuii-
mize a variety of resources. A
music room with tiered seating and
an art room complete with a variety
of aesthetic assets enhance the edu
cational climate, giving students
(Continued an page 29)
For a complete list of all gifts
please turn to page 29