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SERVING NEBRASKA, IOWA Vol. LXI No. 31
Omaha, Neb., Fri., April 15,1983
On remembering Editor'* note: • T h e following remarks w e r e prepared b y Rabbi Myer 8. Kripke for the D a y s of Remembrance of the Holocaust program scheduled for April 13 at tbe office of Governor Bob Kerrey. By Rabbi Myer S. Kripke When Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous Gettysburg Address, he managed to put into a sharply restricted number of words the core of the tragedy of the Civil War. He touched the heart* of his generation. But he did not stop there: Ho tried to nee what the terrible sacrifices of the War were for — and to what good purpose they might lead. When we confront the HolocnuHt we ore unable to do what Lincoln did. There was no high purpose behind the daggering tragedy. The words would choke us if we tried to my that there was somehow a good purpose behind t h e mindless degradation of bunion beings, behind the starvation, entlavemcnt, torture nnd murder of nix million Jews, and millions of others. The construction of factories of death, the HUM production of death, is a Nazi achievement, but it is at the very nadir of human corruption. There are things) we roust say. In the firei place, it is not (continued on page 2)
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The Jewish Press Congratulates Israel On Her 35th Independence Day 18th April 1983 See special section Pages:11*16.
Sen. Grassley reports on Soviet Union Editor*! Note: The following tetter accompanied a group of photograph* taken recently during a trip to the Soviet Union by Iowa Senator Charles E. Grassky.
My transportation, as it turned out, was by private passenger car, it* moonlighting owner eager to pad, hia income with taxi fares from foreigners. Openly defying laws against his capitalistic pursuit, the driver claimed that within two Enclosed please find the photographs from my January hours he could collect as much with this underground cab trip to the Soviet Union. I hope they prove useful. as he earns in two days as an engineer. I would like to take thin opportunity to recognite and As we sped through Leningrad streets I had to admit thank Mm. Shirley Goldstein and the Omaha Committee slight apprehension at this expedition to analyze the plight for Soviet Jewry for the instrumental role they played in of Russian Jews seeking immigration to free societies. my trip. Though I have maintained nn interest in Soviet Other such treks to private homes, warned officials at tbe Jewry for ionic time it was not until I met Shirley, and at U.S. Consulate in taningrad, had resulted in KGB harher urging, that t actually contemplated visiting refuseniks assment. Their preference was that I gather the refuseniks in the U.S.S.R. in my hotel, allowing them to talk with Senate aides and Omaha i» very lucky U> have such a tireless and effective myself in a more secure environment. worker. My experience in the Soviet Union haa proved to Either way, our discussions were sure to be monitored be one of the most enlightening of my career in the U.S. since the refuseniks' applications for exit visas make them Senate. Thank you again and to Shirley — keep up the suspect for life, assuring constant surveillance of their good work. homes, their movements, and their contacts!. But as a Sincerely, member of the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration and Charles E. Crasaley Refugee Policy, I was convinced I could best 'discern the United States Senate character and problems of such freedom seekers in their own environment. B y Senator Charles Grasaloy Aba greeted me at the door of his family's modest twoLeningrad's britk January wind stung my face as 1 waited room apartment where he was soon joined by about 15 other for a taxi to take me to a meeting in the home of a family refuseniks who, by prior arrangement, hod como to describe of "refuieniiu," Soviet Jew* who have been refused per- their daily struggle for human dignity. Clustered around a mission to emigrate. living room table, they poured out talcs of oppression and
suffering, yet their tones reflected extraordinary strength of will and spirit. Well educated, many of them had earned respectable wages as scientists and engineers — until they applied for exit visas. Once their applications were refused, these Jews were treated as national traitors and stripped of their professions. Those who failed to secure the lowest paving jobs .an janitors or elevator operators now survive only through outside assistance from sympathetic Westerners. Oppression is an everyday way of life for rcfusoniks, who are subject to constant KGB surveillance, threats, searches, and occasional physical abuse. Often they are even cut off from basic communications with relatives and friends when government officials disconnect their telephone service. Illustrating the cradle-to-grave difficulty of life for Jews in Russia is the job hunting experience of one young man, not a rcfusenik, who had graduated at the top of his class. During a series of interviews, ho consistently received positive feedback from prospective employers — until he was asked to produce an internal passport needed by all Russians for movement within the country. There, stamped prominently on the passport was the word "Evrei," meaning "Jew." Suddenly employers denied the existence of any job openings. On his tenth interview the young Russian landed a job — only after conveniently placing his thumb over the indicting term when asked to (continued on page 3)
Cult industry grows in wealthand power
Friedmans go to Washington Later this montb, Herbert J. Friedman, a Lincoln attorney, will appear bofore tbe United Statea Supreme Court in tbe case of Marsh v. Chambers. Mr. Friedman will ask the Court to rule that the present practice of the Nebraaka Unlcameral in utilizing tbe aervlcea of a clergyman and allied activities violates tbe Establishment Clause of toe First Amendment. Accompanying Mr. Friedman will be bia wife, Brenda, and their children, Betty, 17} Charles, 15, and Daniel, (even.
By/ Morris Mnllno The billion dollnr religious cult industry is growing rapidly in wealth and power and no one seems to be doing much about it, Omahans were told last week. Ychudah Fjne, of New York City, the only rabbi and possibly the only full time worker specializing in exit counseling from cults, wan here April 7-10 to provide the Jewish community with a greater awareness of the problem. Rabbi Firio told several hundred adults and teenagers that an estimated 100,000 Jews join new religious movements in the United States every year. Cults are active in Israel too, he said, estimating their number at 10,000. He said the cults recruit on almost every college campus including the West Point Military Academy where "20 members of the graduating class were identified as Cult members." Rabbi Fine said the magnitude of the problem can be understood better with the recent disclosure that Prime Minister Bogin's proposed trip to the Southern Baptist Conference last November was financed (without hia .knowledge) by a religious cult. Rabbi Fine also charged that the booking
agent for the annual Hadassah tour of children to Israel was connected with a cult. Rabbi Fine and his associate Zalman Corlin met with Talmud Torah students and with the Jewish community at large during their four-day stay. They were joined on their final night by Nossan Sachs, also of New York City, a rabbinical student who leaves for Israel this summer to become a chaplain in the Israel Defense Force, Their final appearance was at the residence of Paul and Margie Alpcrson where they joined' with the Alpersons' daughter, Amy, in appealing to community leaders for financial. support to carry on with their work. As reported in last week's Jewish Press, Rabbi Fine was instrumental in assisting Amy Alperson in exiting from the Mananatha Christian Fellowship at the University of Michigan. Ms. Alpcrson is now attending New York University and is working part time as an assistant to Rabbi Fine. The Omaha program was presented by the Jewish Family Life Education Committee, Jewish Family Service and the Department of Jewish Education.