Ohio Jewish Chronicle, 1994-06-16

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The Ohio Jewish Chronicle
Serving Columbus and the Central Ohio
Jewish Community since 1922
VOLUME 72
NUMBER 24
JUNE 16,1994
7 TAMMUZ 5754
Jordan, Israel report
breakthrough on peace
page 2
Rabbi Menachem Scheerson,
"Lubavitcher Rebbe,' dead at 92
page 2 :
Florence Melton to be
honored by Foundation
page 2
Secret letter prompts
political fliror iii Israel
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Portrait of a £ather
, /■ ■■>.---•■• ', ■'   •■ - •  '      ' page 4
Mate Simon, LaurieAdelman
receive M. Wallick Award
page 14
ABOUT THE COVER
Rabbi.Hirsh Chinn, director of Yad Hazaka -
New American Outreach Program, is pictured at
the recent New American Bar/Bat Mitzvah with
. Bar Mitzvah Yan Belenky (center) and Tuli Weisz,
  In The Chronicle '■ ««
At The JCC 12
Calendar......... , , 7
.Community , ......5-9
Fifty Years Ago 7
FrontPage 2,
In The News , ..,..,....10
Lifecycle '.. , 10,11
Marketplace '. ...15
New Generation .-. ,  14
Scoreboard.............. 12
Synagogues . 13
Viewpoint ; .3,4
World's Week .;..„ ..... .*...;., 14
Want Ads ...„ .............: 12
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COMMUNITY FEATURE
What comes after Exodus?
By. Rabbi Hirsh Michel Chinn
'''■•' . ' ■,. r
"True, Emes, Pravda." As
Americans joined together on
Memorial Day to reaffirm
their commitment to the ideas
and principals that we have
.fought fo^ four New American Jewish children also
voiced their dedication to
"The Thirteen Principles of
Faith."
Close to 200 in the audience
joined in the refrain, "True,
Emes, Pravda." These four,
Yan and Svetlana Belenky,
Igor Eskin and Irina Katon,
trained by the "Yad Hazaka
— New American Outreach
Program;" joined with the rest
ofthe local Jewish community
to celebrate their Bar and Bat
Mitzvah. This was far more
significant than your average
celebration.
"I come from Volgograd...
I wanted to war a star of David
but they were inaccessible. I
made one out of paper and
wore it around my neck so that
I could feel like a real Jew....
Today I feel tha* I am a part of
a whole Jewish community."
Irina's story brought tears to
my eyes. How many other
New Americans havesurvived
as Jews during three generations of anti-Jewish domination, only to have this spark
extinguished as they find freedom on our American shores?
How many Jewish bodies have
we helped resettle while their
Jewish souls remain homeless?
Jackie Jacobs of the Columbus Jewish Foundation spoke
eloquently to these children
referring to them as role models not only to other New
Americans but for the entire
community.
"My generation was raised
on the 'melting pot' American
ideal. This resulted in a sense
of apathy towards our heritage
and traditions. You show us
that in becoming part of the
American fabric, we don't
have to shed our Jewish identities," he said.
Yah, Svetlana, Igor and
Irina are treasures that we risk
losing daily. As the New
American population acclimates to this wonderful city,
due to their education, culture
and thirst for opportunities,
they are quickly Americanizing. This is the good news. The
bad news is that they have not
developed a connection with
the Jewish community and are
quickly disappearing into Hil-
liard, Gahanna, Upper Arlington, etc., with their talents and
souls lost to us forever.
Americans take Jewish pride
and identity for granted ...
the sense of Macabbean dignity and dedication to Israel. We
are a bit miffed when we have
opened up our homes and
hearts to brothers and sisters
who seem to have no interest
in this identity. Our frustra-
tion stems from our own misreading of our incoming fam*
iiy.-
For over 70 years, the Jews
of Eastern Europe, particularly those from Russia, were
taunted and demoralized for
having the "misfortune" of
being Jewish. The Soviet gov-,
eminent stamped the letter
"J" on passports which would
The four New American children who recently became Bar/
Bat Mitzvah are (L to r.) Irina Katon, Igor Eskin, Yan Belenky
and Svetlana Belenkaya.
limit travel and employment
opportunities. The very meaning ofthe word "Yevrei"(Jew),
was reduced to the unsavory
"Kike." Is it realistic to expect
the parent who finally has the
chance to free his children
from this slur, to accept it willingly? '>. ; '
What; is desperately needed1
is a total re-education of what
the word "Jew" means. New
Americans must be patiently
given opportunities to understand that there is something
noble about being part of a
Jewish community. Jewish history, art and culture had contributed to the world civilization wh,ile European culture
was receiving prenatal care!
The New American community needs traditional Jewish
nurturing unhindered by our
own expectations. They do not
reject Jewish heritage; they are
unaware of its existence. They
do not spurn Jewish identity;
they need to experience it on
their own turf, at their own
pace.
In the spirit of understanding these needs, a number of
"community organizations and
leaders, led by the creative vision of Herb Glimcher and
Frank Nutis, have established
the Yad Hazaka — New
American Outreach Program.
Yad Hazaka has been created to reach the New Americans where they are, Jewishly
and geographically. This will
see EXODUS pg. 9
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