Ohio Jewish Chronicle, 1991-02-21

              THE
Ohio Hist.Society Libr.
3 9 82 Veima Ave.
Columbus, Oh jo
4 3 211 COMP
f     *     ?     *    %     * *
The Ohio Jew ish Chi omck
J   «\. I
VOLUMfc 6'l
NLMBI'RH
I MiRL'MU 21, l'>91
7 ADAK oTil
Anti-Semitic incidents
hit record
, ■> ■
Chevra Kadisha
i BJ to honor
! Helen Rosen
pane
page 3
page 6
WWH Resident Council
installs officers
page 6
Hillel elects new
. student board
page 11
LOCAL FEATURE
[CJF Crisis Team chair        New Americansy old dreams
| reports to community
I page 14
! CTA students to help
■ local ARMDI chapter
1 paj»c 18
In The Chronicle
At! he JCC
19,20
Community
6-11
Federation
14,15
Front Page
2
LUeiycte    .
u
Marketplace
16,17
New Generation
IS
Synagogues
13
Viewpoint
3-5,
'
By Nicki Chodnoff
They have hopes and
. dreams. But staying in the Soviet Union won't fulfill them.
So they hitch their stars to the
United States, and like so
many immigrants before
them, try to carve out theit
slice of the American dream.
Tp see Gregory and Alia
Yakover today, one would
never imagine that they and
their children Maria, age 9,
and Dmitiy, age 8, plus Ala's
parents, came to the United
States a scant nine months
ago, in April 1990. Their eyes
twinkle, their smiles are
broad, even though they work
long, hard hours. Some of the
pieces of their future-hopes-
and-dreams puzzle are starting to fit together. As pf Dec. 1,
Gregory Yakover is the proud
owner of Gregory Shoe Repair, 1213 S, James Rd.
236-5686.
Getting started wasn't easy.
There are no shoe factories in
Columbus so former shoe designer Yakover had to consid
er another way to eam a living. Jewish Family Services,
through Resettlement Coordinator Sara Chay, learned of
a shoe and orthopedic repair
store where the owner was
willing to teach a New American a trade. "
Yakover was told of the opportunity. Both men met and
agreed to an arrangement.
Having no car, Yaftover would
walk 30-minutes to the shop
each day so he could observe
and learn how shoes are repaired. During his three-
month "apprentice-like stint,
Yakover received no salary,
just the satisfaction of learning a trade that may insure his
future-
The match was made. Instead of finding prospective
mates like Yenta the matchmaker of old, JFS is matching
New Americans with prospective employers. It's the first
rung on the ladder to self-sufficiency and success.
Having mastered enough
job skills, on Sept. 1, Yakover
was upgraded to an employee,
his first paying job in the United States. From there, details
were worked out so Yakover
could purchase the business,
paying installments to the former owner for the value of the
business. Dec. 1 was a red-
letter day.
Life in the Soviet Union was
hard but doubly hard for Jews
like the Yakovers. Living near
the capital of Tashkent, in the
republic of Uzbek, brought the
added problems of living
amongst a population that is
70 percent Moslem.
.The situation was never
pleasant, but after perestroika
and glasnost problems escalated. There was constant tension between Moslem and
Jew, Though Pamyat, the ul-
tranationalist hate group
that's entrenched in other
parts of die nation isn't active
here, Tashkent has its own
counterpart, the Berlik. The
Moslem hate group wants to
rid the republic of all Jews.
Smear tactics like spreading
rumors that Jews started the
Russian Revolution are used
to incite hate.
Other nationalities suffer
under the repressive Moslem
majority too. However, the
others cannot move from
Uzbekistan or leave the Soviet
Union. Jews can leave the
country. Because of this, Jews
are hated all the more.
But all that anguish is behind them now. Yakover's
shoe and orthopedic repair
shop is growing steadily and
business is good. New customers come in every day, recommended by loyal long-time
customers.
Alia Yakover started an
entry-level clerical position
with a prominent Columbus
law firm. She eventually
hopes to pass the Ohio bar exam and practice law as she
did in the Soviet Union. Opportunities presented themselves,
with some assistance from
JFS, and the Yakovers were
able to seize them, unfettered
by anti-Semitism or Soviet bureaucracy.
The American dream is the
see DREAMS pg. 5
•*M|
'■* i\