MYRIAM MENDILOW: Mother of Jerusalem

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must have been quite a dynamo to have masterminded the ""Lifeline for the Old""; but though the authors have read her unpublished notes and interviewed her family and friends, they seldom enliven their book with quotations.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.