16 Friday, September 10, 1976
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Jewish Groups Differ Over Continued Trade for Romania
WASHINGTON (JTA)
Two Jewish organiza-
tions differed over
whether the U.S. should
extend for another year
ost - favored - nation
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status in its trade rela-
tions with Romania
which the Ford Ad-
ministration supports.
The Conference of Pres-
idents of Major American
Jewish Organizations
endorsed the Administ-
ration's position, but ex-
pressed .disappointment
that Romania's Jewish
"emigration expectations
have not been fulfilled."
But the Center for Rus-
sian Jewry and the Stu-
dent Struggle for Soviet
Jewry opposed con-
tinuance of the present
waiver. They recom-
mended a "conditional
waiver" that would con-
tinue until the end of this
NEW CADILLAC?
BUY OR LEASE FROM
ANDY BLAU
in BIRMINGHAM at
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RES. 642-6836
1350 N. WOODWARD, BIRMINGHAM
-
year because "the Roma-
nians will surely need to
give us more concrete as-
surances of improve-
ment."
Spokesmen for the
Jewish organizations tes-
tified Wednesday before
the Senate finance sub-
committee on interna-
tional trade headed by
Sen. Abraham Ribicoff
(D-Conn.) that the waiver
of emigration require-
ments under the
Jackson-Vanik Amend-
ment to the trade Act of
1975 is necessary with the
consent of Congress be-
fore the MFN relation-
ship can be extended. The
House subcommittee on
trade is also expected to
hold hearings on the mat-
ter.
Rabbi Alexander M.
Schindler, president of the
Conference of Presidents,
representing 38 national
Jewish organizations, said
the conference "ap-
preciates the extensive
rights" the Romanian
Jewish community enjoys
"fully on a par with those
Maxwell House Coffee
Honors Famous Jewish-American Patriots
REBECCA GRATZ 1781-1869
From the birth to the rebirth of the Nation.
of the most beautiful and gracious
women of her time, Rebecca Gratz
was born to wealth in Philadelphia
and devoted her life to charitable
causes. As a little girl she heard talk of the new
Constitution, saw the drafters entering Inde-
pendence Hall and giving birth to the Nation.
She lived•o see its rebirth after Lee's surrender
at Appomatox.
Among her friends was Washington Irving.
who, on a visit with Sir Walter. Scott in Eng-
land, told the great author how Rebecca. at
peril to her own life, had nursed Irving•s
fiancee, 18 year old 'Matilda Hoffman, dying
from tuberculosis. Scott. never knowing Jews
and indulging in the prejudices of the day, was
struck w ith the compassionate Rebecca and
the high esteem in which Philadelphia held the
Gratz family. Scott immortalized her as the
lovely and faithful Rebecca in his celebrated
novel. - Ivanhoe. -
Rebecca Gratz fell in love with a man not of
her faith. Instead of marriage she wedded her
NE
A tradition in American-Jewish homes
for half a century
K CERTIFIED KOSHER
Good
to the
Last Drop*
(
.111.1
GIN (*al tOOOS
_life to the service of fellow Jews less fortunate
than she. Among her charities and the Jewish
organizations which she helped to found and
worked in were: the Philadelphia Orphans'
Home: the Female Hebrew Benevolent Society:
the Jewish Foster Home and also the Hebrew
Sunday School Society of Philadelphia. For
many years she was concerned with the relig-
ious training of all Jewish children including
those of her own synagogue. Under her direc-
tion. the first Jewish Sunday School in the U.S.
opened in 1838.
Rebecca Gratz was acclaimed -- as one of the
noblest women in the world, when laid to rest
in \likvah Israel Cemetery in Philadelphia in
1869 at the age of 88.
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accorded
to
her
(Romania's) other minor-
ity. groups."
However, he noted a
decline in the total
number of Jews permit-
ted to leave that country
which, he said, "takes on
dramatic proportions
when measured against
the flurry of departures
during the months im-
mediately preceding and
following last year's hear-
ings on the basis of which
the original waiver was
approved."
Therefore, Schindler
said, the Conference of
Presidents qualifies its
endorsement of the
waiver renewal "with the
urgent request that
emigration figures be
kept under continuing
review" and that "our
government representa-
tives bend every effort"
to make certain that_the
objective of free emigra-
tion "be in fact attained."
Jacob Birnbaum, na-
tional director of the
Center for Russian Jewry
and the SSSJ, observed
that with the 1975 waiver
on MFN legislation and
President Ford's assur-
ances "we might have ex-
pected a substantial ex-
pansion of emigration
and a diminution of in-.
ternal obstacles, instead
of a steep decline and in-
creased local difficulties
consequently," he said,
"a straight-forward
waiver at this time would
seem hard to justify."
Birnbaum also urged
creation of a "systematic
Congregational review
mechanism" to monitor
Romanian emigration and
"a more informed and fre-
quent dialogue with the
Romanians" on emigra-
tion and harassment cases.
He noted that-Romanian
emigration to Israel is
presently at the rate of
about 2,000 a year com-
pared with 4,000 in 1973
and 3,700 in 1974.
The waiver was en-
dorsed by Administration
spokesmen appearing be-
fore the subcommittee.
Milton F. Rosenthal,
head of the U.S. section of
the U.S.-Romanian
. Economic Council, said it
would benefit U.S. trade.
But Reps. Edward I. Koch
(D-N.Y.) and Robert F.
Drinan (D-Mass.) urged
caution on the waiver.
Koch pointed out that
on both human rights and
emigration "the same
sets of figures are leading
to extremely different in-
terpretations." He called
for "adequate answers"
to questions in these
areas from the Romanian
government. He said the
Romanian Ambassador,
Nicolae Nicolaw, has not
yet replied to his ques-
tions. Drinan claimed
that "the actions of the
Romanian government
simply do not match its
stated policies or its legal
and moral obligations."
—
1[WIS11- A NI
ICAN PATRIOTS
Box •1188, (;rand Central Station
New York, N.Y. 10017
Women's American
ORT is the largest of
groups in nearly 40 na-
tions supporting the
global program of ORT. It
now has 115,000 members
in 900 chapters located in
all major American cities.
Boris Smolar's
'Between You
... and Me'
Editor-in-Chief
Emeritus, JTA
(Copyright 1976, JTA, Inc.)
JEWISH WOMEN: Jewish women's organizations
in this country count at least 1,000,000 members. This
is no small force in American Jewish communal life,
considering that the total Jewish population in the
United States — men, women and children — is below
the 6,000,000 mark.
The importance of the Jewish women's organiza-
tions is usually seen in the fact that they raise millions
of dollars each year for Jewish causes. Of equal impor-
tance, however, is the fact — often overlooked — that
through the activities the women play a tremendous
role in strengthening Jewish consciousness in their
homes among the younger members of their families.
THE HONOR ROLL: The best known organization
of Jewish women in this country is HadAssah. It has
350,000 members, which is more than the total mem-
bership of all the Zionist groups of men in the United
States taken together.
Although Hadassah is the organization of Zionist
women in this country, it would he a mistake to think
that its program is devoted exclusively to Israel. It
maintains a wide program of cultural activities en-
lightening its membership on issues concerning
American Jewish life. However, the major task in
which Hadassah is engaged is fund raising for the
programs it conducts in Israel, primarily in the medi-
cal field. This has been the center of its work ever since
the organization was established about 65 years ago,
when it sent the first group of American Jewish nurses
to Jerusalem.
Highly active in American Jewish communal life
are the women's divisions of the United Jewish Appeal
and of the Jewish federations.
The Women's American ORT is also one of the
important women's groups in this country. It has more
than 120,000 members deeply interested in financing
and promoting the vocational training programs
which ORT is conducting for Jews in countries of the
free world, teaching them various technical profes-
sions — from artisanship to complicated modern elec-
tronics — and enabling them to stand economically on
their own feet. Women's American ORT contributes
$3,000,000 a year for this program to the World ORT
Union.
Women's ORT also lays stress on developments in
American Jewish communal life. It conducts lectures
on various subjects concerning Jewish life in this
country, it sponsors adult Jewish education and it pub-
lishes literature on the structure of the American
Jewish community.
THE JEWISH SPIRIT: The National Council of
Jewish Women is the oldest prestigious group of or-
ganized Jewish women in this country. It was founded
in 1893 when the waves of Jewish emigration from
East European countries grew larger with every year.
The Jewish newcomers were especially in need of legis-
lative and educational aid. The National Council of
Jewish Women did much in helping immigrant Jews to
become American citizens. It is active now in conduct-
ing programs in education, social and legislative ac-
tion and commonly service for children, youth, the
aging and the disadvantaged.
Bnai Brith Women conducts public affairs prog-
rams, adult Jewish education programs, community
service programs, and welfare programs. It is support-
ing a variety of services in Israel.
The Women's Division of the American Jewish
Congress is similarly one of the major national Jewish
women's groups in this country. It follows the policies
of the American Jewish Congress and raises substan-
tial funds for the AJCongress. The Pioneer Women is a
well-developed organization of Labor Zionist women
in this country who are interested primarily in raising
funds for the women's labor movement in Israel.
There are, of course, many thousands of women
active in temple sisterhoods, in the synagogue sis-
terhoods, in the Mizrachi Women's Organization, in
the Agudath Israel women's division, in the women's
division of the Jewish Labor Committee and in other
national Jewish groups. There are also women's or-
ganizations at the Yeshiva University, Brandeis Uni-
versity and other Jewish educational institutions. All
of them contribute greatly to Jewishness in America.
A million organized Jewish women — strongly Jewish
in their outlook and activities — contribute the best
guarantee that the spirit of Jewishness is not
evaporationg in this country in the Jewish family,
even though the number of mixed marriages in-
creases.
Soft Reply
Have a soft reply to
turn away anger, and let
thy peace be abundant
with thy brother, with
thy friend, and with
everybody, even with the
Gentile in the street, that
thou shalt be beloved
above and esteemed be-
low. —Talmud