2 Friday, July 1, 1977 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Purely Commentary Changing Neighborhoods, Flight from Realities, the Orthodox Influence That Keeps Home Close to the Synagogue...Likud's Victory and World Zionism By Philip Slomovitz Oak Park and Southfield: Shaker Heights, Williamsburg, Skokie A measure of panic has been inflamed over the threat of drastic neighborhood changes in Southfield. Fear that this wonderful community, with all its blessings for a population exceeding 80,000, may be facing the fate of Detroit, has resulted in report- orial studies made in the Shaker Heights community bordering on Cleveland, and it is being described as the panacea, as setting an example for workable integration, as rep- resenting a paradise amidst gehennas. Why only Southfield as a threatened community, why not also Oak Park? Why only Shaker Heights as a panacea, why not Williamsburg? The problem is more complicated, more difficult of solution than is suggested by a dream uncovered in Ohio. There is a need for realism and for admission of basic truths that may be kept in hiding. Why isn't the Jewish aspect of Shaker Heights taken into account in the search for proper integration? Why haven't the investigating reporters considered the Jewish Ortho- doxy as a factor in integration? By the same token, why isn't Oak Park as much an object for discussion in the mount- ing problem as the city of Southfield? Oak Park may be as problematic as Southfield and only in the most concerned quar- ters is its future vis-a-vis integration being considered. Are the others taking it for grant- ed that Oak Park is safe from disruption? And if so, what's the reason? There is a basic fact that makes Oak Park akin to Shaker Heights. It may well be that Shaker Heights, with its large proportion of Jewish homeowners, has acquired a great measure of normalcy that has avoided flight from the established residences be- cause there are numerous synagogues there, because they are Orthodox and the worship- pers need homes close to the houses of worship to which they are able to walk without breaking the Sabbath by riding. Is this why Oak Park is more secure now, because all of the Orthodox synagogues are located there and the congregants are able to walk on the Sabbath, their synagogues being in close proximity to their homes? This speculative reason may or may not be the realistic background of workability in Israel's Election Also Affected the Status of World Zionism Whatever the shock that resulted from the May 17 elec- tion in Israel, the effects of it may be even more revolu- tionary in world Zionist ranks. Hitherto, because of the do- mination of the Labor Party in Israel, Labor enjoyed do- minance at World Zionist Congresses. Now that priority has shifted to the Likud. Menahem Begin not only serves as his country's prime minister: he has the ruling role in world Zionism. This may mean that Joseph Almogi soon will be out both as chairman of the World Zionist Organization and of the Jewish Agency. Leon Dulzin may gain the post he aspired to but could not attain, in spite of the leadership he had given in both. Will this also mean a change in lay leadership in the Jewish Agency, now held by Max M. Fisher and Charlotte Jacobson? And if so, who will be their successors? Since change—shinuii—has become a popular term in Is- rael where change, as that term means, is the order of the day, it need not be speculative or worrisome: why can't it bear good fruits? Prospective Non-Jewish Travelers to Israel In recent years, tourists to Israel often numbered a ma- jority of non-Jews. Of course, it is the Holy Land's attrac- tion, and it is also unquestionably the progress that was achieved by Israel in less than 30 years of statehood. In many instances, the concern shown for ISrael's secu- rity by Christians has been most heartening. It has served as a contributing factor towards the U.S.-Israel friendship. No matter what the problems, or the pressures, or the ob- structions, the constant emphasis remains: that there is an American obligation to assure Israel's security. President Carter's views, which have sounded vacil- lating in recent declarations, are always followed by the traditional assurance. This also was the routine followed by Secretary of State Cyrus Vance. Especially interesting also are the views of men like Michigan's Governor William Milliken. Two years ago, speaking at an Israel Bond dinner, the Governor spoke with deep conviction about his interest in Israel. Two weeks ago he delivered a moving address expressing sim- ilar views, at the dinner of the American Friends of the Hebrew University. At that time he said in part: When I was asked to serve as honorary chairman of the reactivated Michigan branch of the American Friends of the Hebrew University, I was proud to ac- cept that post for several reasons. The first stems from a deep admiration I have for the nation and the people of Israel. No people on earth have had to fight harder or remain more vigilant to achieve and keep their freedom than the people of Is- rael. Their battle is not just for themselves. It is for us all. They are on the front line of the struggle for freedom in this world. Theirs is a noble cause and one I firmly believe in... Milliken also announced his desire to visit Israel before his present term of office expires. That view means very much to Israel and to American Jewry. Therefore, the hope that his intention to visit Israel this year will be real- ized. That is how Christians become more intimately ac- quainted with Israel in the process of retention of the his- toric American-Jewish and U.S.-Israel friendship that has deep roots in history and contributes immensely to the as- piration for peace in the Middle East. establishing proper integration, but it should not be ruled out of consideration in judging the painful issue of neighborhood collapse. True: the cost of acquiring new homes in remoter areas is basic to the issue. True: good schools can retain residents' loyalties to their present home districts. But the Or- thodox influence could be more vital than any other juggling of reasons in situations that become more aggravated with time. Had Jewish Orthodoxy been considered seriously, students of integration problems and changing neighborhoods might have gone to Williamsburg in Brooklyn rather than to Shaker Heights in Ohio. What is the cause of the Lubavitch community in William- sburg retaining its identity? Rabbi Berel Shemtov has been more concerned with the threatening neighborhood issues than the local newspapers and the community leaders. For several years he has asked for emulation of the Rebbe's appeal that residents refuse to abandon their homes. There are dangers to Jews from gangdom in Williamsburg, yet the Jews there-have tained a solid community. There is no Rebbe here, but the spirit of Orthodoxy probai. has been more influential in keeping areas intact than any other factor. Rabbi Shemtov attempted some months ago to inspire consideration of the issue in Oak Park. The Jewish Community Council, he believes, remains frightened by its fail- ures to encourage retention of areas by Jews, in Detroit, in the past quarter century. The Chabad Lubavitcher Oak Park headquarters of Rabbi Shemtov apparently could not get the proper support for his appeals from the Orthodox Rabbinate. Is it possible that there is no vision left in Jewish ranks.to deal with so vital an issue and that there is so , little cooperation? Whatever the cause of lethargy, this is certain: Every effort must be made to ele- vate the standards of the school systems, and this applies also to the Jewish schools. That's a major aspiration to keep existing neighborhoods intact. Most essential to the issue is the need for people to stop running away from neighbor- hoods and themselves. Why the flight? Where are you running, ladie.s and gentlemen? Stay put for a long while! Leonard Simons as an Able, Far-Reaching Observer Leonard N. Simons is known for many attributes. He is a tested and highly qualified advertising executive. He tells good stories which he has stored up. for his role as raconteur at public functions. He is unmatched as a fund- raiser. And he is a perfect observer when on his 'travels. no matter where he may be. Leonard can be depended upo'i to give a travelogile that's superb. He proved it on hiS return, with wife Harriet and a group of Wayne State University people, from a less than two weeks' visit in Red China. His description of the visit is both thorough and hilarious. He saw the serious and the humorous. There is a Yiddish saying: "Er kumt far a veil un seht far a meil"—"He comes for a while and sees for a mile." That's Leonard. The memo he wrote about China could well fit into 'de- scriptive material about that country. He is a genuine stu- dent of public affairs and of people and that six-page mem- orandum proved it. A few of Simon's notes on his China trip indicate the trend of his observations: \ When we landed in China, I learned for the first time how it feels to be part of a triple minority group, because I was (1) American ( 2 ) white and (3) Jewish. I guess the thing that made the biggest impression on me—about China—was the fantastically large nuber of people I saw. Eleven million people in Shanghai—with six million in the city alone ..I have ; never seen so many people, and so many bicycles in my life. It didn't make any difference whether it was 6 o'clock in the morning, or late at night, there were always crowds. Not only on the main arteries, but on the side streets, as well. I was told they work three shifts a day ,to accommodate all 'these people. It can best be described like the crowds leaving the Ann Arbor stadium after a Michigan-Ohio State game. * * • I must admit that I admire what I saw in China ... and especially what they have accomplished in only 27 years, since this new regime took over from its pre- vious feudal existence. But I believe that, fundamen- tally, the basic American system is still the best. It is no wonder that Leonard Simons is honored so often. he was by having the Wayne State University Press Building named in his honor. He earns the encomia. Half Truths About Israel Being a Torturer of Arabs When a newspaper like the London Times devotes three and a half pages to charges Of barbarism in Israel, it may be normal for other newspapers to utilize the accusations for editorial comment and for newspaper readers to be- lieve the alledged careful study of conditions in Israel. But such accusations have been repeated ad nauseam for many years. They have been denied and the facts pre- sented by Israel receive little attention. Israel's ambassador to Great Britain exposed the lies in the London Times promptly. The record will show that the charges against Israel have been fantasies. There are always unavoidable spates of anger bypolice when dealing with terrorists who have just murdered Jewish children or have thrown bombs into buses occupied by tourists from foreign lands. But the stories compiled by the London Times are part of the desert mentalities out of which grow many myths. The local morning newspaper does not gain respect by dealing with so serious an issue on a news basis without resort to the refutations of the outrageous charges. It is not too late to correct the insult added to injury. Zevulun Hammer and Norman Lamm: The Yarmulka and the Mehitza ZEVULUN HAMMER NORMAN LAMM To assuage fears that an alliance with the religious par- ties will cause difficulties for the new Israel government, both in Israel and in relations with American Jewry, Zevu- lun Hammer, the minister of education in the Menahem Begin Likud government, asked not to be judged by his yarmulka. At the same time, Dr. Norman Lamm, the recently elect- ed president of Yeshiva University, addressing the conven- tion of Orthodox rabbis in Fallsburg, N.Y., made the reli- giously revolutionary comment, "We have overstressed beyond all necessary proportions the issue of mixed pews. It is the wrong issue on which to fight the battle of tradi- tional Judaism." He said that the observance of the Sab- bath, maintaining kosher homes and family purity were more important than "the requirement of separate seating in the synagogue." Isn't this another conciliatory gesture for those who treat the mehitza as a debatable commandment? Whatever there is in religious differences in the various classifications of Judaism surely could be resolved if there were a Sanhedrin serving with the consent of all such clas- sifications in Judaism. Perhaps the yarmulka would thr symbolize unity in faith. But the hope for such an assen bly presently is so remote! For Adat Shalom aBlessing: Commendations for Norman Allan Adat Shalom Synagogue's return to normalcy and its avoidance of a bankruptcy threat is cause for rejoicing for all Jews in the Greater Detroit area. The synagogue's determination to solve a serious finan- cial problem is to the great credit of its rabbi and the lay leadership. Special encomia must go to Norman Allan who assumed the synagogue's presidency with the aim of ending the threatened calamity to a house of worship that has devel- oped into one of the leading Conservative synagogues in the land. Hearty congratulations for devotion to synagogue and community by Adat Shalom's spiritual and lay lead- ership.