Ohio Jewish Chronicle, 1990-05-17

              Serving,Columbus and Central Ohio Jewish Community for Over 60 Years
Oh i o   hi i st. Soc i et y  L i br.
19SS  Velma  five.    _
Columbus,   Ohio     w
-43S1.1
COMP
VOL.68 NO. 20
MAY 17, 1990-1YAR 22, 5750
Devoted to American
and Jewish Ideals.
Passport To Boast
Statue Of Liberty
You don't have to go to
New York to be amazed by
the Statue of Liberty. Ralph
Rosenblum, a Leo Yassenoff
Jewish Community Center's
decorating committee member, has designed his own 6
by 18 foot version for the
Center's May 27 fundraising
gala.
Kathi Wolinetz, Decorations chairwoman for Passport '90, "An All-American
Celebration," promises
those attending the gala a
''red, white & blue extravaganza featuring favorite
areas of America." Weaved
throughout the All-American
theme are scenes highlighting the "Heartland," "Great
Atlantic Seaboard," "Southwest" and "California" food
stations.
Continues Wolinetz, "Ralph
Rosenblum and committee
members Mairvin Grossman, Art Levy* Sandy
Lewis, Kirk Kelly, Helen
Rosenblum, Mikki Bally,
Joyce Bloch and Marcy Mar-
golis have created some astounding visual delights."
Invitations to the annual
fundraiser were recently
mailed. Cautions Wolinetz,
"Don't miss the party! Send
your reservation cards to the
JCC today and ask your
neighbors and 'out-of-town
guests' to join you for a Memorial Day Weekend celebration they'll never for:
get."
Proceeds from Passport
are used to provide programs to the entire Columbus community. Helping to
achieve these fundraising
goals are Columbus Horizon
Professional Basketball, underwriters, and Mount Carmel Health, gold sponsor.
For further information call
Rozanne Stern, JCC Special
Events Coordinator, at
231-2731.
Hezbollah Rejects Deal On Hostages
That Would Include Missing Israelis
Jewish Magazine Launched
In Soviet Union
the historic first edition of the "Menorah," a new
Jewish journal published by Moscow's Choral Synagogue, is presented to Norman Tilles (left), co-
chairman of JDC's Eastern Europe Area Committee,
and Ralph I. Goldman, JDC honorary executive vice-
president (next to Tilles) by Vladimir Federovsky,
president of the Moscow Synagogue. The "Menorah"
contains news of interest to the community and
features in-depth articles on Jewish religion and
culture. The publication is encouraged and facilitated,
by JDC as part of its Soviet Jewish educational efforts'.
Resolution Passed To Establish
Cooperative Economic Interests
Between State Of Ohio, Israel
State Jtepresentative Tim
Greenwood (R-Toledo) recently announced that the
Ohio House of Representatives unanimously approved
a House Concurrent Resolution to establish cooperative
economic interests between
Ohio and Israel. The resolution was also adopted by the
Ohio Senate. The Government Affairs Committee of
Ohio Jewish Communities
provided background information and facts on trade
with Israel in support of the
measure.
The Toledo legislator said
the House Resolution he
sponsored would lead to
commercial joint ventures
and export opportunities between the Buckeye State and
Israel, Ohio would be joining
several other states currently working in economic
cooperation with Israel.
Close to 200 Ohio companies
have operations in Israel today. Representative Greenwood hopes to use the resolution to expand Ohio's position in the world market, as
CONTINUED ON PAGE 17
JERUSALEM (JTA)
The Shi'ite fundamentalist
Hezbollah, or Party of God,
seems determined to saddle
Israel with responsibility for
the failure of radical groups
in Lebanon to release any
more Western hostages.
A Hezbollah leader in
Lebanon, Hussein Mussawi,
said last week that his movement does not give Israeli
captives the same-status as
Americans and other Westerners held prisoner.
Therefore, it is "impossible" for the Israelis to be
released with the others*,
Mussawi said in a series of
media interviews.
That was his response to
Israel's offer to free hundreds of Shi'ite and Palestinian prisoners it. holds in exchange for 15 Western hostages and seven Israeli prisoners of war in Lebanon.
The offer was made in a
statement issued on behalf of
acting Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir.
It was supported later by
former Defense Minister
Yitzhak Rabin, Israel Defense Force Chief of Stiff
Dan Shomron and Binyamin
Netanyahu, the deputy foreign minister.
The Israeli offer includes
one of Hezbollah's spiritual
leaders, Sheik Abdul Karim
Obeid, seized by Israeli commandos  in  Lebanon  last
EARLY DEADLINE
Deadline For The Thursday, May 31, Issue
Is Noon, Thursday, May 24
The OJC Office Will Be Closed On
MEMORIAL DAY, May 28
Educating Campaign Leadership Now 'Operation Exodus' Priority
As the Columbus Jewish
Community, under the. auspices of the Columbus Jewish Federation, embarks
upon "Operation Exodus," a
fundraising campaign to rescue and resettle the hundreds of thousands of Soviet
Jews expected to emigrate
from Russia over the next
few years, educating campaign leadership has become
apriority.
To this end, a Major Gifts
meeting has been called by
Operation Exodus Co-Chairmen Irving Schottenstein
and Leslie H. Wexner, to be
hosted by Wexner at his
home on Sunday evening,
May 20. At that time, invited
participants will hear from
Yuli Edelshtein, a former refusenik, and Shoshana Car-
din, a national and international Jewish leader.
Previously, Operation
Exodus leaders were briefed
by Marina Furman, also a
former refusenik, who
visited Columbus May 9-10
(see related article in this issue of the Ohio Jewish
Chronicle.)
Born in Moscow and
trained as an English teach
er, Edelshtein was arrested
in Sept., 1984, charged with;
illegal possession of drugs
and sentenced to three years
in a labor camp. Edelshtein
became a refusenik in 1978,
when his -application to emi-
. grate to Israel was refused by
Soviet authorities due to his
father's access to "secret
materials,"
Harassed'by the KGB, he
was forced to l?ave his job.
Edelshtein and his wife lived
in Moscow as observant
Jews, involved in Jewish education and cultural activities, Authorities coerced his
July.
The Israeli offer was
clearly aimed at appeasing
opinion in the United States,
where leading members of
Congress, including supporters of Israel, have expressed
impatience with the continued confinement of hundreds
of Lebanese Shi'ites and Palestinians by the IDF or the
Israeli-backed South Lebanon Army.
The Israelis insist those
prisoners are suspected of
terrorist offenses*
But a sharp rebuke on the
subject from Sen. Daniel
Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.),
one of Israel's staunchest
friends in Congress, elicited
the prime minister's response that Israel is ready
"to play its role in any move
that brings about the release
of all the hjstages, including
the Israeli prisoners missing
inaction." -
Rabin, Shomron and
Netanyahu spoke at a ceremony commemorating Israel's rescue of hijacked Air
France passengers held hostage at the airport in Entebbe, Uganda, in July 1976.
Rabin, who was prime
minister at the time, said he
has always favored military
action in hostage situations
where it is possible, such as
at Entebbe. Where it is not
possible, Israel should be
ready to negotiate, he said.
Rabin referred to Israel's
release of 1,150 Lebanese
and Palestinian prisoners,
many of them security offenders, in 1985, when he was
defense minister. They were
exchanged for three IDF soldiers held by the Popular
Front for the Liberation of
Palestine-General Command, a terrorist organization headed by Ahmed Jab-
rilV       I
Soviet Emigre Visits U.S.
To Relay Urgent Need For
'Operation Exodus' Funds
teenage Hebrew students to
sign statements claiming
they were forced to purchase
Hebrew study kits, thus
making Edelshtein an illegal
profiteer seeking to corrupt
youth. Related searches; of
colleagues' homes resulted
in officials confiscating religious artifacts and claiming
that drugs were hidden in
them.
, Prior to his December 1984
sentencing, Edelshtein
maintained his innocence,
reaffirming that the charges
against him stemmed from
■ * . ; CONTINUED ON PAGE 20
By Judith Franklin
Managing Editor
Jews in the Soviet Union
today have no choice but to
leave, according to former
refusenik Marina Furman.
Furman, who first applied
to emigrate in 1979*, says she
has always understood that
"there is no place for us in
Russia." Having encountered daily anti-Semitism as
a child in school in Kiev (Her
teacher explained that she
was the top student because
she was Jewish, and Jews
drank the blood of non-Jewish babies in their rituals.),
she was denied entrance into
the university even though
she passed the entrance exams and had top grades. She
was beaten and harassed by
the KGB. When she and her
family were finally allowed
to leave in 1988, they chose to
go to Israel.
Others, however, are only
now becoming convinced
that they must leave Russia,
she points out, a difficult decision for those native Russians who have worked hard
and attained a good position
despite the handicap of their
religion. The recent sweeping changes in the Soviet
Union, among them the new
openness which has also allowed anti-Semitism to flourish  and  economic  chaos,
Marina Furman
have made most Russian
Jews   fear  another  Holocaust, she says, telling of one
CONTINUED ON PAGE 20
•OPERATION EXODUS""
SOVIET RESETTLEMENT
This Week '
Educating Leadership... 1
Urgent Need For Funds.. I
Magazine Launched 1
Alarming Trends  .2
Workshop For Tutors 8
Media Recognition 12
United
Jerusalem
:%.
./.
May 20-1 pm
State Capitol