Jewish School Joins in Armenian Relief

The earthquake that ripped Soviet Armenia 2 weeks ago drew two groups of schoolchildren together in Encino on Thursday.

Students from a Jewish synagogue school traveled to an Armenian church school to deliver a check for $3,182 for immediate disaster relief--and to pledge friendship and support in the future.

Youngsters from Valley Beth Shalom Day School raised the money in a special classroom drive. They also brought used clothing from home that was delivered by van.

A delegation of Valley Beth Shalom sixth-graders turned over the donations to a group of sixth-graders at Holy Martyrs Ferrahian Armenian School in an impromptu ceremony. The two schools are about a mile apart, and each has an enrollment of about 650.

“We were all upset about what happened in the earthquake,” said Jason Adelman, 11, of Valley Beth Shalom. “We told the little kids what happened, and they wanted to give, too.”

Classmate Liat Lurie, 11, handed the check to Tamer Apelian, also 11, of Holy Martyrs.

Tamer shyly thanked the visitors. Her classmates then expressed their gratitude by singing an Armenian song.

Holy Martyr officials said the unexpected gift is symbolic of the support the Armenian community has received from the San Fernando Valley. The White Oak Avenue church has raised more than $650,000 in relief funds since the Dec. 7 temblor killed an estimated 55,000 people.

Father Muron Aznikian, dean of the church and the school, said the children’s donation is also symbolic of the difficult backgrounds Jews and Armenians share in their fight for homelands.

“The Jews were among the first to come share in our tragedy,” Aznikian said. “But they have suffered as much as we. They know our situation in this desperate time.”

Rabbi Stuart Vogel told the students at the Armenian school that the world shares their grief.

“A year from now we should remember we all pulled together,” Vogel said.

Holy Martyrs teacher Anahid Meymarian said her sixth-graders read daily in the newspaper “that the whole world is helping us” in the earthquake relief effort.

“But this is the first personal touch these students have experienced,” she said.