Page 2 - The Canadian Jewish News, Friday, July 22, 1977
Worid News
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Kollek to build sports complex despite bitter religious protest
troversial sports stadium in northern Jerusalem despite bitter opposition from Orthodox residents in the area. He denied that the sta-
JERUSALEM [JTA]—
Mayor Teddy Koiiek announced that construction will begin in two to three months on the con-iL"......."""i""iiHiituiiiuiiniutiuiiiiuniiiiiiiituiuuiuuiiiiunmiiiiiiiuHiiuHuiuiniiiiniiuiinimummiuinuiHii^
dium would destroy the sanctity of Jerusalem, create noise and congestion in the religious neighborhoods or represent an expenditure of municipal
funds needed for other projects.
. The mayor, in a media campaign launched last week, accused religious zealots of distorting the
I orthodox yeshivot | [attract 'converts' 1
Conservatives plan first moshav for tbe nortliwest Negev, in 1979
By HARVEY GOLDBERG
JERUSALEM —
The first moshav to be sponsored by the Conservative movement is being planned for settlement in 1979.
The moshav is an attempt "to encourage people from our movement to come settle the land," says Miryom Shuinan. director of absorpljon affairs at the Centre for Conservative Judaism here.
Moshavim are a type of co-operative agricultural settlement unique to Israel. Individual farms and houses are owned privately, but buying of equipment and supplies and marketing of crops is done co-operarively. AH land holdings on a moshav are the same size.
The settlement, probably to be located in the northwestern Negev, is being sponsored by the United Synagogue of America and the United Synagogue of Israel. Financing for the project is
Exports
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included in the recently approved budget of the Jewish Agency.
The community will be the first Conservative settlement in Israel. It will include a Conservative synagogue, school, and adult education centre. The lifestyle of the community will reflect" the ideology of the Conserva-tive movement. , "
The moshav piytject is one-way of dealing with the absorption problems faced by many Conservative olim, said Mrs. Shuman. Olim who have been brought up in the Conser\ati%e tradition often find it very difficult to settle on kibbutzim and moshavim which are usually either completely secular or Orthodox, she said,
"When you are identified with the Conserva^ tive movement you want to continue that identification and not change it."
The Conservative orientation of the moshav will act "as a link with the
past. and will help the new settlers to adapt to the cultural changes of life in Israel." she said.
Plans call for the community to be settled by 50 young Conservative couples, with or without children. The Jewish Agency requires that settlers be between 25 and 33.
Each couple will be required to invest approximately $15,000 to pay for ifciia house aind glasshouses. Other development costs will be financed by the Jewish Agency.
Although the moshav is still in the planning stage, - about 20 American families have indicated serious interest in it, said Mrs. Shuman. As well, four families who already live in Israel are interested in participating in the project.
The settlement will specialize in glasshouse farming of high quality export crops such as tomatoes. This type of farming has been successfully pioneer-
ed at Moshav Sde Nit-zan. which is located near the tentative site of the proposed moshav.
The moshav project is just one aspect of Conservative Judaism's in-"* creasing involvement in aliyah and Israel, she said.
In January 1976. the board of directors of the United Synagogue of America, meeting in IsraeI;for the first time, "took a new look at aliyah and decided to do something about it." added Mrs.Shuman.
Out of that meeting came the moshav project as well as the decision to establish an aliyah desk in New York and a klita (absorption) desk in Jerusalem. Plans are also underway for a Conservative urban housing centre.
The last four years have seen a rapid expansion of > Conservative Judaism in Israel. While four years ago there were only four Conservative congregations in Israel, there are now 25.
By NECHEMIA MEYERS REHOVOT —
Hundreds of young Jews from secular backgrounds — medical students and army officers, kibbui/niks and actors — have "seen the light" in recent months. Abandoning their previous occupations and preoccupations, they have joined yeshivot, Talmudical academies where they spend every waking hour studying Jewish religious texts.
Rabbi Baruch Horowitz, whose Jerusa' Icni ycshiva caters to such young men, attributes their sudden interest in Orthodox Judaism to the Yom Kippur War, "which destroyed the old gods and the feeling that military strength was sufficient in itself Nechemia Meyers to guarantee Israel's security,
"Moreover," Horowitz adds, "the war certainly proved that the Jewish problem did not end with the creation of the Jewish state,"
The "conversion" of former comedian Mordcchai "Puppik" (belly-button) Amon, however, had nothing to do with the 1973 conflict. It was rather that Orthodox •ludaism gave him an answer to a problem that had long troubled him.
"During all my years on the stage," Arnon recalls, "I was never at ease, never satisfied to be playing the fool in order to amuse people. Yet only after joining a ycshiva did I really understand the folly of niy old way of life.
"Then it became clear to me that I shouldn't have been in the theatre, which is a ercationof theCreeks. a reflection of their culture and rjjjjjjjion. It artificially stimulates pieople to' I^gh or cry, spmething that is ali(yi4oJcwishtradition, which has never glorified hedonism.
"Today I am able to differentiate between the worthwhile and the worthless, and so from the moment I say my morning prayers to the moment I fall asleep, I am at peace with the wOrid and with myself."
One of Arnon's fellow students, 20-year-old Yoram. was attracted by what he saw when he wanderedinto theyeshiva during a visit to Jerusalem. "There were dozens of men pouring over books. That's it — no girls, no entertainment, no nothing. But they were happy, happier than any group I had ever seen, 'higher' than addicts on a 'trip'. In no time dt all I decided to join them, and I've never regretted my decision."
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When he looks back on his old life-style, i
Yoram is filled with disgust, particularly at 1
the way he and his friends used to act 1
towards the girls in their crowd. "Rather |
than treating them with respect, as girls are. i
treated in religious communities, we looked 1
on them solely as objects to be exploited. =
"We'd talk to a girl about art, music, 1
philosophy or whatever until we could get |
her into bed. And." Yoram added, "if it |
took us four hours to reach our objective, we =
were angry at having wasted so much 1
time." i
Another studerit, American-born Jack, =
was brought to the yeshiva by a group of 1
zealous young religious scholars who were =
searching for Jews v^-ho could be rescued =
from assimilation or worse. =
He was, without question, distant from =
traditional Judaism before his "conver- =
sion". In fact. Jack had fallen in with a pro- 1
Fatah group during his college days in the S
U.S., and even attended a year-long =
seminar on the "Palestinian revolution". 1
It was this group that asked him to go to =
Israel in order to encourage Arabs and sow =
discord among Jews. And, indeed, every- s
thing went as planned until the fateful day =
that he chanced to visit the Western Wall, 1
where he was "captured" by a group of =
yeshiva students. h
Actually. Jack thought he could out-ar- =
gue them and their rabbinical mentors. =
However, it turned out that his pro-Fatah S
sentiments melted under the heat of their §
Orthodox fervor. =
Now. a year later. Jack is himself a i
devoted yeshiva student, only putting aside S
his books from time to time in order to go out s
into the streets of Jerusalem looking for g
more Jewish souls to be saved. H
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facts about the proposed sports centre and organizing a pressure campaign from abroad. Kollek's office has received close to 5.000letters from the U.S. and Canada objecting to the stadium. Some contained threats on the mayor's life.
■ Many writers threatened to stop contributing money to Israel for any purpose and some accused the mayor of wanting to erect a monument to himself. The most vociferous protestors here are Orthodox Jews who emigrated from the U.S.
Kollek. however, has wide public support for the stadium. A petition with more than 45.000 signatures endorsing it was presented to him.
The controversy has raised fears, however, that when construction begins, clashes may erupt between non-religious sports fans and the Orthodox, who seem to have become bolder in their demands since Premier
Menachem Begin formed a coalition government in _ partnership with the religious parties.
Observers pointed out that the long simmering conflict between religious and non-religious elements has already erupted into street battles in Bnei Brak.
According to Kollek, access roads to the new stadium will by-pass the religious neighborhoods, thus eliminating traffic on the Sabbath. It will be built further away from synagogues'* and yeshivot than many existing sports arenas, the mayor said.
It will not be "Olympic size," but will contain seats for a modest 25,000 soccer and other sports fans. Finally, Kollek noted, no government or municipal funds are involved.
Half of the cost will come from the football lottery and the rest from private donors here and abroad. The stadium will take about three years to complete.
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JERUSALEM —
Israel's total exports in May increased in value to S235 million, representing a rise of 44% over exports in May, 1976, it was reported by the Ministry ol Finance.
Total exports for the first five months of 1977 amounted to $1.2 billion or 26% over the same period last year.
The figures for May indicate that industrial exports grew by 26%. agricultural exports rose by 85%, and diamond exr ports expanded by 62%.
At the same time, the Finance Ministry reported an impressive rise in tourism. There were 89,000 tourists who visited Israel in May of this year com^^ pared with 65.000 tourists in May. 1976. which represents an increase of 38%.
Israel Bonds have played a major role in the promotion of production for export. With the aid of Bonds. Israel expects to enhance this positive forward trend in exports after July 1, when the Common Market began the implementation of the agreement to allow Israel to ship its industrial' goods duty free to thenine member countries of the European Economic Community.
Beware of home repair
Here are things you can do to protect
If you are considering home repairs:
• Do not let someone talk you into doing work you werent planning to have done.
• Always obtain estimates from several reliable firms.
• Insist that all details be written into the contract before you sign—including the type and amount of work to be dorie. any extras, and the total cost.
• Keep the down payment to an absolute minimum.
• Never pay in full until the work is finished to your complete satisfaction. _
• If financing is necessary, arrange it yourself with a bank or reputable finance company.
In addition, your Provincial government wants you to know what your rights are under the Consumer Protection and Business Practices Acts.
• The Consumer Protection Act allows you to cancel any contract, to be performed and paid for in the future and signed
in your home, if you send a registered letter within 48 hours of signing—even though work has already started.
• The Business Practices Act provides fines and jail terms for people who deliberately deceive, mislead or lie to consumers.
For a free information kit. write to: Ontarno Consumer/Home Repair . Queen s Park . Toronto. Ontario M7A2H6
Sidney Handleman, Minister of Consumer and Commercial Relations
William Davis, Premier
Province of Ontario
Canada Works is back. It's your job creation program and it's ready to work for you. But remember, the deadlinef or application is August 26.
Once again, you have the opportunity to create lasting benefits and jobs for unemployed persons.
If your idea is good, and your group has thewill and expertise to see it through, Canada \Aforks may be able to provide the necessary funding.
Here's how to get things underway
Agree on a project you can all support. - ^ Think it through. ^ How many jobs will it create?
How much for salaries and other costs? Who will run the project on a day-to-day basis?
Thengo to your Canada Manpower Centre or Job Creation Branch and pick up a Canada Works application and "Guide to Applicants"
The application is not complicated, but please supply full details and fill itoutcleariy and accurately And If you need assistance, your C.M.C. or J.CB. off ice can help you out with the application fonm.
Canada Works is your opportunity to improve your community.
So let's get working on some new ideas. —
for all of us.
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