Esteemed Rabbi to speak at Huntington College

HUNTINGTON, IN SEPTEMBER 13, 1996 ---Rabbi Richard Safran will speak at Huntington College Monday, September 16, at 8 p.m. in the Merillat Centre for the Arts auditorium. The lecture entitled, "From Labor to Likud: The Political Scene in Israel," will be the first of this year's Forester Lecture Series at the College. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Safran will discuss the recent election in Israel that has brought the Likud party to power. He will discuss the implications of this shift in power, particularly with regard to Israel's economy and relations with neighboring countries.

The recently retired Safran is rabbi emeritus of Achduth Vesholom, the oldest continuously meeting Jewish congregation in the state of Indiana. He spent 26 years at the synagogue serving as its spiritual leader. Safran made services more mainstream and more traditional at the same time. He incorporated more Hebrew, encouraged bar mitzvahs and bat mitzvahs, and restructured the religious education program. He also helped improve relations with the Catholic church in Fort Wayne, working closely with his friend Bishop John D'Arcy.

Rabbi Safran has had a full life and career. He has served in the U.S. Air Force, presented many lectures to organizations and colleges, and participated in an array of clubs and organizations. He presently is the chaplain of the V.A. Medical Center in Marion, Indiana, as well as associate chaplain of Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne. A graduate of Brooklyn College, he received his Masters Degree from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1960. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity Degree in 1985. Safran has received numerous other awards including Meritorious Hoosier in 1988 and Associated Churches Peace Award in 1993.

Rabbi Safran and his wife, Lois, have two sons, Jonathan and Daniel, as well as two grandchildren.

The Forester Lecture Series is designed to bring interesting persons and topics to the attention of Huntington College students and the public. For further information, contact Professor Jack Barlow at (260) 356-6000, ext. 2043.