DECEMBER, 1982 SHOFAR the B'NAI B'RITH YOUTH ORGANIZATION letter LEPH ZADIK ALEPH (AZA) B'NAI B'RITH GIRLS (BBG) A non- asn't what it EEPING THE PROMISE: CONVENTION REPORT silently the bott e 1982 iggled an by Judy Altenberg YOU her." International N'siah, BBG ver and w?" tion for k Aleph On August 17, 1982 at the B'nai B'rith Perlman Camp in Starlight, Pennsylvania, the International Aers to Conventions of the Aleph Zadik Aleph and B'nai B'rith Girls convened. With a record-breaking 405 up of youth participants from the U.S., Canada, Great w AZAe isco and ITERNATIONAL CON Britain, Ireland and Israel, the Conventions had the spirit and drive of which AZA and BBG are SO even BNAI BR proud! PROMIEE There were many highlights during the 1982 breedin YOU GANIZA International Conventions, "Promises To Keep." b the AZ g men KEEP Several speakers impressed upon BBYOers that they have commitments not only to themselves but ut ideas to others as well. Matthew McCarthy, a school teacher from Long Island, New York, spoke on people, getting Holocaust education into the public school ht"? en would BYO'ER system and gave BBYOers tangible ways of doing MEMBERSHIP so. Horace W. Morris, of the New York Urban es the League, discussed Black/Jewish relations: Changes Mr. SPEAKS OUT MACCABIAH over the past decade, the present situation and the and future course. David Levenfeld, of B'nai B'rith GAINST APPROACHING International, discussed endangered Jewry. He That's stressed the importance of supporting our Jewish NTI-SEMITISM HALF-WAY MARK brothers and sisters in the Soviet Union, Ethiopia and Argentina. This was followed up by a HARMON LEWIS resolution from BBG calling for the release of the nally, Vashem Chapter BBYO, Weston, MA The BBYO Membership Maccabiah, the re- Jews of Ethiopia to Israel. Brenda Silverman, fields SYO ADL Regional Chairman gion-based competition for membership recruit- International N'siah, followed Mr. Levenfeld with a ment and retention, is now in the third month of speech on her trip to the Soviet Union. She ern n Growing up in a well-to-do sheltered Boston its six-month run. Coordinated by AZA Grand captivated the audience as she told about her burb. I had never experienced anti-Semitism on Aleph S'gan Andy Shaevel and BBG Interna- experience getting into the country, meeting Soviet eal level. I have read about the horrors of the tional S'ganit Cheryl Rose, the Maccabiah com- refuseniks, spending Pesach in the U.S.S.R. and locaust and have encountered mild verbal anti- bines competitions based on numbers of most importantly, truly understanding the meaning members recruited and retained, thus favoring of the words, "Next Year in Jerusalem." This mitism throughout my high school years, but I large chapters, with others based on percent inspired the delegates to pass motions regarding never actually seen or personally experienced changes, giving smaller chapters the edge. The Soviet Jewry, including the charter of a symbolic blatant attacks until the morning of Tuesday, result is that every chapter has a chance of BBYO chapter in the U.S.S.R. known as ober 12, 1982. winning at least one event. "Hatikvah." Many times, I have read in the papers about The Maccabiah focuses attention on the chap- This year, two prominent figures were honored anti-Semitic acts such as the destruction of wish temples and the incidents last year at a for their fine career work molded by their BBYO background. Professor Gerald Bubis received the nchester, New Hampshire public school. Every Sam Beber Distinguished AZA Alumnus Award. read about these events, I got extremely He is a professor in Jewish Communal Service. terature at the thought that people would commit Congresswoman Bobbi Fiedler received the Anita an Israe acts, but I felt that it would never actually Perlman Distinguished BBG Alumnae Award. pen in my own community. Monday, night, October 11th, I received a phone Congresswoman Fiedler is a Republican from n youth California who was recently elected to her second from a good friend who lives one street away rs of term in the U.S. Congress. Both award winners me. His family had just come home from a lied ekend trip to find that some people had spoke on the importance of their BBYO background ously drawn swastikas on his property and the in molding their futures and their Jewish identity. action had beer side of his home. When I arrived at his house Horace Stern, outgoing Chairman of the B'nai B'rith Youth Commission was honored for his next day, I found to my disgust a terribly xening sight. There were swastikas all over his dedication and service to BBYO. As a surprise every h for a perty. The vandals had used silver spray paint Membership program at Convention, Mr. Stern was given a place the Nazi symbols on the street in front of Maccabiah moving tribute by Jack Spitzer, Past President of d music ed by house, on his driveway and garage door, a back B'nai B'rith; Anita Perlman, founder of BBG and past chairman of the Youth Commission; and the of his house, and on his tennis court floor. In g the youth leaders. tion. the words "die" and "ded" accompanied of visit swastikas. In fact, there was a total of fourteen Youth leaders spent many hours deliberating the te and the region. Unlike other competitions, business of the International Orders of AZA and C of the tikas spread throughout the grounds. What the Maccabiah is almost entirely limited to intra- dy end BBG. This included elections of International out as a personal vendetta against two girls, regional contests. Only the Best Chapter AIT/ of Officers and the passage of motions geared towards ge into a tragic example of vulgar anti- MIT Training Program and the Most Original ultism. The culprits used everything from the betterment of BBYO. The proclamation by both Chapter Membership Recruitment Program Orders designated this year as "THE YEAR OF d the tacks and trampeline springs to design the events will be judged internationally. All others emblems. THE CHAPTER," marking a new point in BBYO as, ever in my life have I personally witnessed are contests among chapters within each region. programming. Additionally, the new membership feel In each region, AZA chapters compete against plan, the "Membership Maccabiah," marked a disgusting act of anti-Semitism. It literally other AZA chapters, BBG chapters against BBG, renewed thrust towards membership recruitment, vaded close to and home". everybody. I know Jews now and that non-Jews it can happen must with BBYO chapters divided, boys competing retention and re-education. Participants also heard with AZA chapters, girls with BBG chapters. the State of the Order as delivered by Brenda icipation to all the horrendous bigotry and hatred Another special feature of the Maccabiah is in our society. Because this has happened to Silverman, International N'siah and Brian Sureck, formed close friend and neighbor, I can now relate to that each region has the right to change the rules Grand Aleph Godol. problem fully. used so they serve the region's needs. Coordinators of the 1982 International The Maccabiah will run until March 31, 1983. Conventions were Tom Halpern from Freeport, Monthly leaders and final leaders (in March) New York and Judy Altenberg from Englewood, on page 12 will be announced in each region. Colorado.