Myriam Mendilow: Mother of Jerusalem

Grade 5-9-An inspiring book whose subject can be a role model for us all. Educated in Palestine and France, Mendilow taught in the Alliance Schools for many years. After her marriage, she learned English and eventually taught it in the Hebrew University where her husband was a professor and administrator. Upon returning to Jerusalem, she became aware of the poor, elderly Jews from Eastern countries who sat idly around the marketplace, and decided to open a club/workshop where they could regain their dignity and earn some money. She later tackled other problems of the elderly poor, fighting for health, dental, and foot-care clinics. She also originated the "Meals on Wheels" program. What is particularly appealing about this book is that it shows what can be done through dedication and devotion at a grassroots level to change a disastrous social situation. There are also interesting descriptions of life in pre-state Israel. The writing is conversational and anecdotal. Abundant, good-quality black-and-white photographs appear throughout.
Marcia Posner, Federation of New York and the Jewish Book Council, New York City
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Mendilow was an enterprising, compassionate native Israeli who founded and directed a network of craft workshops and social service programs for the elderly residents of Jerusalem; by providing them with meaningful work, congenial companionship, and a wide range of cultural programs and medical and dental care, between 1961 and her death in 1989 she improved the lives of countless individuals. Unfortunately, while she was clearly admirable, and though this is the only juvenile biography of her, the Cytrons' text is too dry to interest most readers. Mendilow must have been quite a dynamo to have masterminded the ``Lifeline for the Old''; but though the authors have read her unpublished notes and interviewed her family and friends, they seldom enliven their book with quotations. A dull introduction to someone who must, in person, have been delightful. B&w photos; source notes; index. (Biography. 11-15) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.