THE Official B'nai B'rith Youth s Organization Newspaper ALEPH ZADIK ALEPH (AZA) B'NAI B'RITH GIRLS (BBG) B'NAI B'RITH YOUNG ADULTS (BBYA) 45th YEAR WASHINGTON, USA DECEMBER, 1969 'Babi Yar' Memorial Stirs An American City or an- said the n of or- BBYOers Assist general and, Dramatic Event ood pro- avorable Of Denver Youth et those BBYA! DENVER, was is time in the forefront of an outstand- Inter- ing commemoration here of "Babi Yar", the ravine near Kiev d some where the Nazis slaughtered th. Our 200,000 Soviet Jews two days but are before Yom Kippur, 1941. More than 50 BBYO members took I have part. ust say The city council agreed to ns, cre- designate a new recreation area 'II soon "Babi Yar Park," sometime in 1970-to commemorate the an build martyrdom of the Jewish people. This, in ironic contrast to Soviet , LOOK policy, which has sought to eliminate any mention of Jewish Symbolic candle-lit pathway through darkness was part of "Babi Yar" program. the guitar during mass-singing. Other BBYO participants: Steve Kippur, Karen Settle, martyrs in this grisly episode. In BBYO's Jeff Nevins was dramatic committee chairman. He and Robin Hagler wrote Sheila Ginsberg, Rich Strauss, Terri Huttner, Jeff Marcus, Lisa Politzer, Cathy Lewis, fact, when poet Yevgeny Yevtu- the play which highlighted the event. Jeff also directed it, with Robin's assistance Lynne Robin, Barbara Mellman, Joanie Friedland Also, Robin Saliman, Jim Altenberg shenko produced a poem about Sheldon Zeitlin read Yevtushenko's famous "Babi Yar" poem. Renee Disler played and Chuck Strauss, Jeff Goldstein and Lisa Mellman. (Continued on Page Two) ns How Israel's Teen-Agers Acted When The Chips Were Down gle im- ake sure ifferent. ranging different They Wanted To Create, Not Study, History ry W hen, on the verge of the Six Day War, Israel's pected the job would require three days. Between 500 schools, and serve as police guards. In both Tel Aviv Ministry of Education ordered Tel Aviv's eighth- and 600 young people showed up for duty and fin- and Jerusalem, Youth City projects offer young people ntee va- graders back to school after a brief period of emer- ished it in an amazing seven hours! experience in administration of model civic govern- well- lar. Stu gency service, they got together to draw up a sting- ment. THE 'DUTY ROSTER' ing protest. They asked: Noar Lenoar is especially esteemed for many-sided nal ad- "What shall we tell our own children 20 years from Some of the services were routine, others required activity during the crisis, and for "flexibility"-its quick ter pro- now when they want to know what we did during special skills-but all were essential in keeping the shift from former social action-centered tasks of peace- historic Israel's historic struggle? Shall we tell them that instead city alive in a time of danger. Teen-agers guided time, to urgent war-based duties. The organization's he adds, of making history, we studied it?" infirm, elderly folk to and from bomb shelters, piled warm relations with Druze young people has also been e calen- They complained that older brothers were man- sandbags around schools and museums-and, in highly praised. ur chap- ning gun positions and tanks, and younger brothers fact, filled and transported the sandbags, as well; dug In Jerusalem, Noar Lenoar is regarded the moving if con- had been excused from class to build barricades, trenches, set up first-aid stations-and organized spirit of one of the really promising projects in Arab- perfectly while they, the "in-betweens," were required to pre- singing and dancing groups that traveled through- Jewish cooperation. This began when the Old City of he cele- pare for approaching exams. They demanded an op- out the city to entertain. Jerusalem was incorporated into modern Jerusalem program portunity to serve, with no special considerations in They were mailmen, messengers and, in some in- after the war. token, a return-such as "easy" examinations because of lost stances, electricians--as well as refuse-removers, The depressed Arab population's attitude was-and ram-if school time. (It turned out they were able both to porters, baby-sitters, street-guards and truckers. They is-a vexing problem for Jewish authorities. They not be serve the nation and to pass regular exams with helped to keep essential services from breaking down found there were practically no youth organizations ause "it flying colors.) -including the food distribution, schooling and in the Arab quarter-except for a few sport clubs. the year In Washington, two Israeli visitors to BBYO head- many others. Arab suspicion and hostility precluded any zealous quarters, said the response of Israel's teen-agers to Teen-agers converted an underground garage into a Jewish display of friendship, and Israeli initiatives release the 1967 crisis was astonishing. They are: Yehuda mammoth bomb shelter by removing the clutter, dig- had to be low-keyed and cautious. lity. In Erel, Acting Co-ordinator of Noar Lenoar, BBYO ging new entrances and installing air conditioning equip- PEACE-MAKING PROJECT? old not counterpart organization in Israel, and Yaacov Gill, ment. They performed a staggering clean-up job in pri- hedules. Jerusalem social worker, who heads the city's youth vate shelters that families had been using to store odds Members of Noar Lenoar invited Arab young pre- activities department. and ends. They established nursery schools and sheltered people to visit Jewish centers in the new part of the ing bet- kindergartens for children whose parents, on national city. The Arab youth, impressed with what they had A PLEASANT SURPRISE duty, could not return home each day. seen, were gradually willing to cooperate in forming Looking back at those turbulent hours, Israeli au- a few small centers of their own. This led to Jewish- Tel Aviv's leaders hoped to use everyone who thorities agreed teen-agers can do much more in a Arab sports competition, virtually the only inter- t could help-including teen-agers-in the looming national crisis than they had previously dared to group contact that seemed possible. ts ordeal. But they were hardly prepared for the vast imagine. They can relieve substantial manpower for Now there are indications that the relationship can range of home-front duties young people cheerfully the fighting front by taking on routine and critical be broadened-provided the Arabs are convinced that of all shouldered; nor for the extent of their self-sacrifice, jobs ordinarily performed by adults. But, perhaps Jews don't intend to "convert" them, or destroy their A presi- their extraordinary energy and stupendous morale. even more important, their devoted, businesslike be- Arabic folkways. Cultural programs emphasizing the BYW- And always in evidence where work had to be done, havior proved a great boon to civic morale. ancient relationship-and differences-between Jewish organi- were members of BBYO's brother organization in Israel, and Arab traditions now seem very feasible. In fact, S infor- Noar Lenoar ("Youth to Youth"). Daily experience in THE PANIC FIGHTERS there is already a traveling Arab-Jewish group in Europe ith the social action had especially equipped them for leadership Some frightened adults-and fright can spread which is devoted to this objective. Prospects seem good ry cele- in many essential youth projects in the embattled city. like a contagious disease in a cramped bomb-shelter for developing this relationship-with Noar Lenoar's Whenever a call went out for young volunteers, -avoided hysteria because they were ashamed to active participation. e sent the number who appeared for duty was always at panic in front of their cool-minded, competent chil- Perhaps this tiny beginning will one day swell into national least double the size of the work force requested. dren. a stream of peace and progress that will sweep away e Rud- When a hospital asked for 100 volunteers to work in These lessons are put to daily use in the continuing misunderstanding and mistrust. As the Israelis would Orange, two shifts per day to remove 20 tons of building ma- Youth Civil Defense system. Participants help police say, "H'allevai" (roughly "if only it would come to terials to provide space for the wounded, it was ex- at special events, clean up debris in war-damaged pass").