Ohio Jewish Chronicle, 1990-02-22

              £j|\^yy Serving Columbus ana Central Ohio Jewish Community for Over 60 Years     VuAyx
VOL.68 NO. 8
FEBRUARY 22,1990-SHEVAT 27, 5750
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Columbus,    Ohio    £
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Devoted to A
and Jewish Ideals.
TO BE NAMED'OPERATION EXODUS'
National Fundraising Campaign
For Soviet Jewry Announced
Pictured above is the 1990 Consecration Class of the Agudas Achim Synagogue.
Standing in the back rowjl, to r.) are: Judy Kanfer, Rabbi Hillel Fox, Rabbi Alan G.
Ciner, Chana Fox and Judy Ellman.
Agudas Achim To Honor 1990 Consecration Class
The Agudas Achim Consecration Service for youngJ
sters entering religious
study will be held Saturday
morning, Feb. 24, Shabbat
Shekalim.
Members of the Consecration Class will be called to
the Bimah to chant several
prayers and sing psalms. In
addition, the youngsters will
present a special program
based on the theme of Torah
and Mitzvot, following which
parents andchildrenwilloffer a Pledge of Consecration.
As part of the Consecration Ceremony, the children
will receive a blessing from
Rabbi Alan G. Ciner, and a
miniature Torah, a first Sid-
dur and a Certificate of Consecration from the Congregation, presented by President Sanford Lichtenstein.
Rabbi Hillel Fox, director of
Youth Services, is coordinating the ceremony. Karen
Sherman serves as chairwoman of the Agudas Achim
Education Committee.
Consecration staff who developed the program and
trained the consecrants include: Judy Ellman, Kindergarten teacher; Chana Fox,
first grade teacher; Judy
Kanfer, music director;
Annelyn Baron, art specialist, and Rebecca Brandwein, technical assistant.
Following the Service, a
kiddush will be served in the
Silberstein Social Hall in
honor of the Consecrants.
The 36 youngsters participating in this year's Consecration Service are:
Kindergarten — Monique
Arar, daughter of Salomon
and Sofia Arar; Samuel
Calabrese, son of Joseph and
Monica Calabrese; Erin
Fox', daughter of Ron and
Debbie Fox; Hadara Gill,
daughter of Alan and Rhona
Gill; Herschel Harris, son of
Howard and Diana Harris;
Mira Krivoshey, daughter.of
Drs. Goldie Shabad and
Robert Krivoshey; Nathan
Lever, son of Dr. David and
Cheryl Lever; Matthew
Nistelbeck, son of Susan
Gross; JaclynSchottenstein,
daughter of William and
Amy Schottenstein; Adam
Shulman, son of Steve and
Anne Shulman; Belle Sigal,
daughter of Bernard and
Reta Sigal; Sharon Silberstein, daughter of Bruce and
Marcie Silberstein; Michelle
Smirnoy, daughter of Leo
and Janet Smirnov.
First Grade — Lindsay -
Avner, daughter of Brett and
Wendy Avner; Alicia Baron,
daughter of Richard and
Annelyn Baron; Svetlana
Belenky, daughter of Alexander and Yevgenia
Belenky; Noah Blank, son of
Marvin and Susan Blank;
Murray Borkan, son of Ted
and Marilyn Borkan; Amy
Bornstein, daughter of
Richard and Diane Bornstein; Jackie Carson, daughter of Larry and Amy Car
son; Amy Dworkin, daugh-
"  '       coNTiNuro;ONPAG'§no^Y-a dream come tru'el Fdf us
Members of the Columbus
Jewish Federation Board of
Trustees, at their Jan. 18
meeting, heard reports from
past Federation presidents
and national leaders,
Miriam S. Yenkin and Jack
L. Wallick, in regard to a
campaign to raise $420 million for the absorption in Israel of Soviet Jews.
Named "Operation Ex--
odus," the campaign is part
of a worldwide Jewish effort,
including $180 million from
Jews in other countries and
major financial participation from the Israeli government.
The Federation Board
adopted a resolution in support of the campaign with
the understanding that the
Columbus Jewish Federation will immediately proceed to make plans for a
local special fundraising
drive. '^
Federation President Benjamin L. Zox commented,
"This is truly a historic titpe.,
to have the opportunity to
help hundreds of thousands
of Soviet Jews resettle in Israel represents an answer to
decades of prayers and activism. I know that when
called upon, this central
Ohio Jewish community will
be supportive to the fullest
possible extent.
The total figure to be raised, $600 million over three
years, is double the annual
amount that has originally
contemplated, $500 million
over five years, before the
recent dramatic increase in
the number of Soviet Jews
going to Israel.
The American portion of
the funds will be raised in
one year and collected over
three years and will be funds
over and above the regular
Federation campaigns
(which in Columbus is the
annual Jewish Community
Campaign).
Operation Exodus is based
on information provided by
the Jewish.. Agency for Israel, which is Sponsible for
FEATURE
'"\
Wave Of Aliyah Spurs Euphoria
But Could Mean Disaster
By SherwoodX. Weingarten
Northern California
Jewish Bulletin
(© 1990, JTA)
Vladimir Vitman is fidgety.
His hands are in perpetual
motion as he shifts to the
edge of his chair and sputters in Russian about his
aliyah.
"The problem is that at the
airport we are given a choice
without really, knowing what
it means," the 33-year-old
immigrant says with undisguised anger, his receding
hairline beaded with sweat.
Vitman has been in Israel
only three months. He feels
isolated, despite his wife and
7-year-old son being with
him. He is jobless and lives
in an absorption center outside Jerusalem; he speaks
neither Hebrew nor English.
The Vitmans are part of a
mass influx of Soviet emigres to the Jewish state. Virtually everyone expects at
least 100,000 to arrive this
year, even- though the
government originally
budgeted for only half that
number.        '^wg.
While ..emigre success
stories are cited again and
again by goyernment officials, -the "emigres"? themselves are, (piipk?to,cite'-an
equal^un^FvOf cases marred by bureaucratic entanglement. 	
culture or a lump sum allotment under a "direct absorption" method.
The former, the Vitmans'
choice, has been picked by
only 10 percent of the immigrants; the latter can mean
an allotment of $11,000 for a
family of three - and dependence on family already in
Israel for a place to live.
After  comparing  notes
Officially, of course, the new wave
of aliyah is the greatest thing since
the discovery pf-oliije trees. Some
Israelis are''euphori$£ab'out the huge
demographic^tycrease; more,
however, suggest an impending
disaster fueled by housing and job
shortage.     * _^__
Current government
policy offers the refugees
two options: six months' free
shelter in a center while they
gain language skills needed
to find a job and tackle a new
with friends who chose.differently, Vitman has decided
he's made a huge mistake.
The government won't permit a change of mind, however.
the initial absorption of new
immigrants to Israel. The
announcement was made at
a joint news conference in
January following top-level
meetings of Israeli and
American Jewish community leaders who traveled from
across the country and from
Israel to consult together.
Uimcha Dinitz, chairman
of the Jewish Agency Executive, reported that the projected, unprecedented, wave
of Soviet immigration to Israel is being met in Israel
with enthusiasm.
"What we have strived for
in our advocacy campaign,
is now ours," Dinitz stated.
"A thousand Soviet Jews are
CONTINUED ON PAGE 14
Vitman not only is disappointed by the meager funds
and services provided, he is
nervously- watching the calendar. The time is rapidly
approaching when the dole
will end.
Ira, his 28-year-old wife,
sits silently next to him, her
booted feet crossed beneath
her chair. Like a chastised
child, she speaks only when
asked a direct question. Her
eyes, l^vily made up, are
sad. She starts by saying, "I
"vefy"rOTcfr-l^ke-bei«g.he^e,,'
but quickly shifts to describe
ing their absorption center-
apartment and the "water
leaking down the walls."
With shoulders slumping,
Vitman, who is struggling to
find work as "a sports '
teacher,'! interrupts: "On
one hand, the apartment is
no good; on the other hand,
where can we go - where is
the money to come from?"
* * *
Officially, of course, the
CONTINUED ON PAGE 16
Immigration
The VW and the Arab
states have protested the
Soviet Union's new liberal
emigration policy as it applies to Jews, They charge
that Iswcl has been reset'
thng Soviet .Tews on the
West Bank, thereby dispossessing Palestinian Arabs,
The United States, has
echoed the complaint, and
the USSft has threatened to
^Institute restrictrons on
emigration.
' »ut there is no substance
fay the charge, according to
l%e Afaerjoan Jewish Com*
m\Uee. They say there ie,
t»o IstaeJhpohey of dired-
jhg'Jnewco^ers^to the dis-
pnt&d&fcrltQi'ies -Everyone
t^setttes*eres;erne
$S|P»- Tjiey P«tot
MWrWW» than onfr.per-
.^epf^jlhe129,000 people
'canje ftj live In,feraejt
fcitrwg Mfc&bfove* into the,
xj^Ji% JU^3T!mirtt»^*eIfc
(jfcfes.UWrf flWefcdy, % v_.
" -^epo»C|5an^tho
^di<^teaMh*Y>%
. e$ immigration ofjSbf.
', Jews. •e%,e6'*TnorBi.3mv."
live. Thte.ltaa cause*
" 'toraiqe
migrant^
lteB^r$caily7 '?<
tiW JSxndW' 1» bejiJjj cp$&.
dnuifad ar^plapned b^$#
C<Jum\\Us)Jewj5h^«s*^
FEDERATION TO CLOSE 1990 CAMPAIGN.
See pages 8 ft 9.
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