Fond farewell

Dan Henkin, whose obituary appeared in the Nov. 15 edition of The Chronicle, was a person who made a considerable mark in this life and who comes along rarely. I’d like to tell you a little more about him.

Dan was a musician. A member of the large and respected Chernikoff family, he received his first clarinet as a gift from an uncle. At the ripe age of 15, in 1945, as a member of the Kansas City Philharmonic, he became the youngest clarinet player in a major U.S. symphony.

As a freshman at the University of Missouri in 1947, Dan joined Alpha Epsilon Pi, a little known Jewish fraternity. He, along with other K.C. high school friends including Stan Bodker, helped build that fraternity become one of the largest and most successful fraternity chapters in the nation. He was honored by the MU chapter as “alumnus of the year” in 1974 for all of his efforts.

He joined The Eddie Sigaloff swing band in college and, at the same time, managed the bookings for other bands as well. There were spring weekends in which Dan had as many as four dance band engagements going at one time.

Following graduation in 1951, Dan entered the U.S. Air Force as a 2nd Lieutenant. He organized a military dance band that played all over Japan and Korea. During his stay there, he met the person that he was destined to spend the rest of his life with, Mary Henkin. The couple was married in 1958.

After the military he served as advertising manager at C.G. Conn, a large band instrument producer in Elkhart, Ind. He next became a business owner, first purchasing K.G. Gemeinhardt, a producer of flutes in Elkhart, for $1.2 million. In the 1970s he sold that same company to CBS for $8.5 million. Eventually he owned another 13 instrument manufacturers, in Elkhart and other nearby cities.

Dan’s influence changed the music instrument business dramatically. His companies changed the way instruments were sold to young people, established programs to educate kids in music, and started band programs around the United States in support of this effort.

Henkin enjoyed friendships in the music industry all over the United States, even calling Doc Severinson, a jazz trumpeter known for leading the band of the “Johnny Carson” show, a personal friend. And, of course, he never forgot his friends in Kansas City. He will be missed.

M J Rosenbloom
Prairie Village, Kan.

Palestinian state a mistake

Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas succeeded in his appeal at the U.N. General Assembly Thursday, Nov. 29, to upgrade the status of the PLO as an “observer state” at the U.N. All presentations that Abbas made to his people in the Arabic language made it clear that his concept of an “observer state” will include all of Palestine, “from the river to the sea,” in accordance with the PLO Covenant, which was never cancelled.

The Palestine Broadcasting Corporation Radio Station, the official voice of the Palestinian Authority, had this to say in a broadcast the day of the vote:

“Today the whole world recognizes the criminality of the occupation, the existence of a Palestinian State … Today is a proud day to be a Palestinian, and we must be united. Today we take the first step towards ending the occupation, and reclaiming our homeland, from Gaza, to Nablus, Jerusalem, Haifa, Afula, all of Palestine.

“We will use our newfound recognition to hold the occupation accountable for its crimes against humanity in the past two weeks.

“We are all one Palestine, and now more than ever we must be united because this is the beginning of the end of the occupation. Our brothers in Haifa, Jaffa, Jerusalem, Gaza, we now all speak with one voice.”

In response to this development, I believe it is up to U.S. citizens to write to every member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the U.S. House Foreign Relations Committee, (members of both committees are listed on the internet) to demand a suspension of U.S. aid to the Palestinian Authority.

You can reach your representative by calling the Capitol switchboard number, 202-224-3121. The comment line for the White House is: 202-456-1111; the White House switchboard is 202-456-1414.

Rabbi Dr. Bernhard Rosenberg
President
Israel Advocacy Task Force