Ohio Jewish Chronicle, 1980-12-25

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liWf Serving Columbus and Central Ohio Jewish Community for Over 50 VeaiT^AK
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VOL.58   NO.53
DECEMBER 25,1980-TEVET18
amat Hovav May Become 'Love Canal' Of Israel
Kathy Worly (top photo, 1. to r.) and David Milenthal, Co-chairmen of the 11th annual Night For Life,
are shown addressing the over 220 young men and
young women who attended the kickoff event, sponsored by the Young Women's and Young Men's Divisions of the 1981 United Jewish Fund Campaign. Congressman John Anderson (bottom photo) was the evening's main speaker.
Federation Plight For Life
Event A Resounding Success
The 11th Annual "Night
For Life," held Dec. 14 at
the  new' Hyatt  Regency
• •-..., Columbus,-was a -resounding
success. Kathy Worly and
David Milenthal, Co-chairmen of the event, report that
the capacity crowd of over
220 young women and men
was the largest in the 11-year
history of "Night For Life."
The program was the
kickoff event for the Young
j Women's and Young Men's
Divisions of the 1981 United
Jewish Fund Campaign.
Congressman John .Anderson, who recently ran as an
Independent - candidate. for
President, was the featured
.keynote speaker.
' Congressman Anderson, in
his remarks before the
group, emphasized the importance of a secure and
vital Israel; both to the Jewish community, the United
States and the free world. He
further indicated that in today's world we are faced
with critical choices and the
necessity to make sacrifices.
Despite those hard choices,
the Jewish community has
always responded to the
needs set before it and this
the Congressman remarked
was a credit due to the community.
In their comments to the
gathering, Karen Moss,
Chairman of the Young
Women's Division, and Dr,
Jeffrey Tilson, Chairman of
the Young Men's Division,
highlighted the scope of
Federation activities and
agencies which service the
Columbus Jewish community. They also addressed the
needs of the Jewish' community here in Columbus as
well as nationally, overseas
and in Israel.
Those in attendance at
.'. "Night For Life" pledged
over $60,000 to the 1981 United Jewish Fund Campaign;
representing a 25 percent in-
•-.crease ~ over—the "-previous^*
year'spledges.
*' Both Mrs. Worly and .
Milenthal attributed the success of the evening to the
hard work of their committee. Members of the "Night-
For Life" planning committee were: Dr. Jackie Berkowitz, Shelley and Bill Callif,
Gail* Fe'rber and Jenny
Simons.
In addition, the chairmen
especially offer their thanks
to the sponsors of the 11th
Annual "Night For Life":
Sam Baker, Ron Bloom,
Howard and Ellen Burnett,
Bill and Shelley Callif,
James and Gail Ferber, Jeff
and Nancy Fromson, Donald
and Eydie Garlikov, Larry
and Marilyn Gill, Stuart and
Laura Gordon, Steve and
Carol Handler, Steve and
Linda Klayman, Jack and
Helissa Meizlish, Dennis and
Judy Mellman, and David
and Bonnie Milenthal.
Other sponsors also included: Neil and Karen Moss,
Jeff and Cini Paine, Ralph
and Marianne Pariser,
Gregg Robins, Bruce Roth,
Larry and Robin Ruben,
James M. Schottenstein,
Scott and Sidney Sher, Bruce
Silberstein, Jeff and
Bethanne Tilson, Randy and
Rochelle Topolosky, and Jay
and Kathy-Worly..    ,
In addition, the following
men and women served as
table hosts and hostesses
that evening:   Chuck and
' Bonnie . May, Howard and
Jenny Simons, James and
Gail Ferber, Dennis and
Judy Mellman, Steve and
Linda Klayman, Jackie and
Wendy Berkowitz, Gary
Schottenstein, Donald and
i '» l; KC^MiwepoiyPAGE^ ,
ALBANY, N.Y.,
(JTA)—Ramat Hovav may
become the "Love Canal" of
Israel, according to some environmental experts. The
Israel government has proposed a national hazardous
waste facility at this site, 12
kilometers from Beersheba,
Dr. Philip Alkon told the
Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Alkon is senior research
scientist at the Desert
Ecology Center of .Ben
Gurion University of the
Desert in Sde Boker.
Dr. Urj Marinov, director
of Israel's Environmental
Protection Service (EPS),
has stated that "Israel is
(already) sitting on a bombshell of waste." In an interview last month with this
reporter, he said: "The sites
are full and there are no new
ones available. Since 1973,
I've been pushing for using
waste for energy."
In addition to the potential
threat of hazardous wasteat
Ramat Hovav, there are
already four chemical-companies Ih the area. -Alkon's
unit is planning to study the
impact of these industries on
.the soilr vegetation, wild .life,,
air and water quality, A New
Yorker who made aliya in
1978, Alkon is project supervisor for Ben Gurion Univer-
sity's Rama£ Hovav
research. , -
"Our study is to find out
what the Ramat Hovav
pollutants are, by taking
measures of air and water
quaity," Alkon said. "We
will begin to measure as
soon as we have the right
equipment and support.
There have been incidences
of illnesses among the
workers at Ramat Hovav.
Right now no one lives there
but Bedouins, and animals
also graze in the vicinity:
Our plan is for at least a
three-year study, to see if we
can deduce what in the environment is responding to
pollutants."
Two of the Ramat-Hovav'
offenders, the' Dead Sea
Bromine Works and
Makhteshim, a manufacturer of insecticides and
other agricultural'
chemicals, also threaten the
residents of Beersheba with
air pollution, according to
American environmental
. engineer Jack Lauber.
Lauber, chief of the Toxic
Technology Section, New
York State Department of
Environmental Conservation in Albany, spent two
months in Israel |ast year, as
„ j&jeansultanUo Israel's EPS,..
When Lauber Was in Israel
he discovered trouble spots
that range from mere
nuisances to potential
killers. After he returned io-
the U.S., one industry he had
called a major offender, the
Tzedakah Stressed In Schools
NEW YORK (JTA)-A
reform official has, reported
that more than 30,000 Jewish
children from ages 8 to 12
are learning about and experiencing one of Judaism's
most important values,
Tzedakah, the Jewish obligation of giving.
They are doing so, according to Gilbert Tilles, co-
chairman of the Reform
Jewish Appeal (RJA),
through an innovative program introduced last month
in religious schools of
Reform Judaism in the United States and Canada. The
RJA is the fund-raising arm
of Reform Judaism.
The "text" for the curriculum is a new 24-page activity book, "My Tzedakah
Menorah,'.' which uses the
significance of Chanukah
and the Jewish values symbolized by its menorah
candles to teach the meaning
of Tzedakah, embodying the
concepts of charity- and
righteousness.
Tilles said that despite the
importance of tbe concept, it
is a generally neglected subject in the religious schools.
To help correct this deficiency in Reform schools, he
said, "My Tzedakah
Menorah" was'published by
the RJA as an educational
program developed in
;qopjpei!a|ipnj with t the. VtAon
of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC), the
association of Reform congregations; and the Hebrew
Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR).
Written by Michael Schubert, the booklet makes extensive and entertaining
uses of comic strips, games,
puzzles and drawings to
teach Jewish children of
elementary school age about
Tzedakah, Tilles said.
Each candle in the
Tzedakah menorah is
related to a specific mitzvah
or duty, which in turn is illustrated by a specific program carried out by the Reform movement and its components, including the training of rabbis and cantors at
the HUC-JIR; the social
justice activities of the
UAHC social action commission; study and education
promoted by the UAHC; and
activities for young people.
Tilles said that to complete
the Tzedakah study pro*
gram, each pupil makes a
gift of five dollars to the RJA
and receives a certificate
and a pin representing commitment "to one of the
highest values of Judaism,
that of giving," and thanks
from the RJA for helping to
keep "the light of Reform
•, Judaism burning.",.,        t
Frutarom chemical plant in
Acre, made headlines in
Israeli newspapers.
In April 1980, residents of
Acre and members of a nearby Kibbutz, Ein Hamifratz,
became ill and several were
hospitalized with respiratory
ailments caused by emissions of. large quantities of
toxic gases from a series of
accidents at Frutarom. The
plant' manufactures vinyl
chloride, a building block for
vinyl plastics.
Describing vinyl chloride
as "an invisible but lethal
gas that can cause a rare
form of liver cancer," Lauber said "the- Frutarom
facility has some-controls,
but I suspect there may be
losses of ten tons or more of
toxic gasper day."
Lauber recommends
education here and in Israel
about environmental
hazards, to motivate the
public and the government
of Israel to take effective action. He further finds "much
apathy and ignorance"
about these hazards, both
here and in Israel, and he
urges major Jewish
American organizations to
put environmental education
on their agendas.
Asked to sum up'Israel's
basic- problem .regarding
pollution, Marinov said,
"The legislative approach is
geared to nuisance control
rather than an attempt to
prevent or reduce various
types of pollution through
planning and strategy. Even
the comprehensive water
pollution laws stress
economic rather than environmental concern." As
examples, he cited inadequate legal coverage of industrial waste problems,
and no direct coverage of
systems for handling
disposal and recovery of
solid waste:
BLOO
HP   fl
At Agudas Achim
from 11a.m.—5p.m.
ai AVk jI'iV.sfiBjKRs-uTPisi^lfi^*-i"*^SK-%?s™/f:i|1Mf.,;itt»-»^:
Israel Cannot Afford Recession
NEW YORK, (JTA)-Leon Dulzin, chairman of the World
Zionist Organization and Jewish Agency Executives, said
here yesterday that Israel "cannot afford" to go into a recession in order to bring down inflation. A recession, he told
nearly 200 Zionist Organization of America leaders attending'
the organization's national executive committee meeting,
"would bring about a large number of unemployed, and while
it would help bring down inflation it would be at the expense
of new immigrants and aliya."
. Settle Families In Jordan Valley
JERUSALEM, (JTA)—The government unveiled a plan
yesterday to induce young families to settle in the Jordan
Valley. Spokesman for the Ministry of Labor and Welfare
told reporters at a press conference that financial incentives
would be offered to settle collective farms in the region and
that the emphasis will be on motivation.
LA Temple Arson   <
LOS ANGELES, (JTA)—Suspicions that a recent
synagogue fire in the Los Angeles area was motivated by
anti-Semitism were confirmed by the arrest of two members
of the American Nazi Party announced by the Los.Angeles
County Sheriff's office last week.
The fire gutted the sanctuary of the Reform temple,
destroying many of the Torahs. The County Arson Squad
reported at the time that it was a clear case of arson.
V
i
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