Ohio Jewish Chronicle, 1994-05-12

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The Ohio Jewish Chronicle
Serving Columbus and the Central Ohio
"Jewish Community imce 1922
VOLUME 72..
NUMBER 19
MAY 12,1994
2 SIVAN 5754
Signing of agreement
in Cairo heralds new
era of Israelis, PLO
page 3
May 16 and 17, 1994
6 and 7 $iv.an 5754
One   of   three   ancient   Jerusalem '
pilgrimage festivals. Shavuot also marks
the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai.
ABOUT THE COVER
Congrcsswonvtn Deborah Price give*, some pointers
on singing to'Ohfo State University President iSofdap
Gee before his upcoming performance at Ihe B'nai
B'rith Hillel Foundation's, "Kosher Karaoke" fundraiser
on May 21.
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COMMUNITY FEATURE
Celebrities to 'sing' for Hillel fundraiser
By Jodi Cohen
Karaoke has become a craze
across the nation, but who
would have thought it would
go kosher? " 'Kosher Karaoke,' " Hillel's major fund-
raising event for the year, is a
star-studded event that no one
will want to miss," according
to Joy Soil, event co-chair.
What is karaoke? It is lip-
syncing taken a step further.
"Kosher Karaoke" is karaoke
taken to the extreme. Well
known members of the community have volunteered to
"perform" by singing classics
as they've never been sung before — all to benefit the new
Wexner Jewish Student Center of the B'nai B'rith Hillel
Foundation at The Ohio State
University. All contributions
received will fund Hillel's
opening expenses this year.
"The King," Elvis Presley,
who will be disguised as OSU
President Gordon Gee, explained his participation in
the May 21 event as an e upres-
sion of his support for Hillel.
"I wouldn't be this foolish in
public unless it was for a really
great cause. The new Wexner
Jewish Student Center adds
significantly to the quality of
life for all in our University
community," Gee said.
As Marc Silverstein of
WSYX TV6 explains, "Ifig-
ure people will give a lot of
money to get me to stop singing, so hopefully [money] will
come in by the pocketful. ...
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I'm just going to keep singing
until people give'enough money.":."     ■". .
Marcy Fleisher of WBNS
TVIO and Ben Gelber of
WCMH TV4 will be singing
with Silverstein as part of the
"B-52's." People may not be
as desperate to make them
stop singing, but they are dedicated to supporting Hillel.
Fleisher supports Hillel so
that students can have someplace to call "home" on campus. "When I went to the University of Michigan, Hillel was
a big part of my four years at
school and so I know how important it can be to have a
home away from home,"
Fleisher said.
Ben Gelber also understands
from his own experiences how
important Hillel is to college
students. "The success of Hillel is very important to me. I
want to see Jewish students at
OSU get more facilities, activities and space. College is one
of the most important times in
people's lives for developing
their Jewish identity. For the
first time, they are no longer
with their parents, and students are both reaching forward toward new independence and reaching back for
stability. I felt very close to the
students I met at the Hillel
Foundation.... Hillel served
me in a critical juncture as a
support system," Gelber explained.
Neil Moss, Columbus Jewish Federation's Campaign
chairman, who is performing
as one of "The Kingsmen"
with the professional staff at
the Columbus Jewish Federation, agreed with Gelber. He
explained, "I think Hillel fills
an incredibly central role in
reaching one of our most important populations of Jews,
our college students, at a crucial time in their lives. As students ponder their connection
to the Jewish people, Hillel
provides the opportunity to
understand and identify with
the positive aspects of Judaism. Our values have kept our
people together for centuries
and these cultural, social and
religious systems deserve a significant place in maintaining
the continuity of the Jewish
people."
As the new Wexner Jewish
Student Center is under construction, Hillel continues to
provide a full array of social
and religious activities for the
greater OSU community. Students depend on Hillel as a
support system as well as a
social outlet. One of "The
Drifters," Jonathan Riskind,
of the Columbus Dispatch,
said, "I think Hillel is an important institution on any college campus, a place where
students can congregate for social cultural and religious reasons."
Hairstylist Jacob Neal, as
one of the "German Village
People," expressed another
important reason for participating ih Hillel's fundraising
event. "As a young Jewish person, I think it's important to
give back to the community.
This is an opportunity to be
part of and participate in the
community, so I'm more than
happy to give," he said.
Bing Crosby, who some may
recognize as Ben Mandelkorn,
former executive director of
the Columbus Jewish Federation, understands Neal's sentiment quite well. "Hillel deserves significant financial
support as it embarks upon a
major new direction. As it
opens the doors for its new
building and has the opportunity to expand its programs,
Hillel needs all the support it
can get and Hillel's friends
should help in every way possible to support for Jewish students at OSU. I'm pleased to
have been asked to participate
in this program and to assist in
this effort," he said.
The Saturday, May 21,
event's venue is "The Metropolis" at the Buggy Works, 448
Dublin Ave. Karaoke performances will be followed by an
evening of dancing with "the
DJ" and kosher dishes will be
created by "David's ori
Main." Tickets are $75 each.
For further information, contact Jay Podolsky at 237-7686.
Jodi Cohen is in charge of
public-relations for "Kosher
Karaoke,"
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