54 Friday, September 2, 1977 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Israeli Moshav Prohibits Jews to Avoid Charge of Missionary Role
By GIL SEDAN
(Copyright 1977. JTA. Inc.
NES AMMIM, Western
Galilee—The only moshav
in Israel which will not ac-
cept Jews as members is
Nes Ammim, a cooperative
settlement half-way be-
tween Acre and Nahariya.
Paradoxically, it was the
fear of Jewish reaction that
made this village closed to
Jews.
When Nes Ammim was
launched as a Christian vil-
lage in Israel in the fall of
1962, Premier Levi Eshkol
came under attack by the
religious parties "for giving
aid to the establishment of
a missionary village."
Jewish sensitivity to mis-
sionary activities caused a
public storm, at the end of
which the Christian settlers
committed themselves—in
writing—not to ask for Is-
raeli citizenship and not to
accept Jews as members.
Nes Ammim was to remain
Alex Segal Dies,
Noted Director
LOS ANGELES—Award-
winning stage, film and tele-
vision director Alex Segal
died Aug. 22 at age 62.
Segal won two Emmys
for the Celanese Theater in
1952 and the U.S. Steel
Hour in 1954, two Peabody
Awards for television direc-
tion of the Actors' Studio in
1949 and the Celanese Thea-
ter in 1952 and two Direc-
tors Guild of America
Awards for "The Diary of
Anne Frank" and "Death of
a Salesman."
His Broadway credits in-
cluded "One Flew Over the
Cuckoo's Nest," "Com-
pulsion," "Who Was That
Lady?" and "Porcelain
Years."
He directed the following
TV films: "The Lie" in
1973, "M57 Father's House"
in 1975 and "David and
Saul" in 1976.
Minnie Krugel, 83
Minnie Krugel. owner of
the Modern Delicatessen at
3900 Fenkell in Detroit from
1929 to 1968. died Aug. 25 at
age 83.
Born in Austria. Mrs. Kru-
gel lived 50 years in De-
troit. She was a member.of
the senior citizens group of
the .Jewish Community Cen-
ter and the National Associ-
ation for Retired Persons.
She also was a life member
of Hadassah.
Mrs. Krugel is survived
by grandchildren and great-
grandchildren.
In Loving Memory
Of Our Dear
Husband.
Father and
Grandfather
LOUIS
RASKIN
W'ho passed a ,,,a ∎ Sep-
tember 3. 1919. I(I day, in
Elul. Sadly missed by hi,
N fife. Minnie: sons Nlar% in
and Danny: daughter, NIrs.
Lillian Rosen and 'fir-.
Belle Weingarden: grand-
children and great-grand-
children.
a purely Christian village,
so that no suspicion will
rise as to its motives.
Indeed, the motives of
Nes Ammim are the exact
opposite of the so-called
missionary activities. Nes
Ammim was established, in
the words of its founders,
"to promote greater Chris-
tian-Jewish understanding
and cooperation through a
continuing interfaith dia-
logue."
The original settlers,
most of them Dutch, de-
voted themselves to living
together with the Jewish
people in their own land
and promoting a dialogue
between Jews and Chris-
tians in the state of Israel—
"based on mutual respect
for each other's identity."
Today, 15 years after the
village was officially found-
ed, it is a prosperous settle-
ment, hardly different from
the many kibutzim and
moshavim surrounding it.
Some 120 members, the ma-
jority of them still Dutch,
with a representation of
Swiss, Germans, English
and Americans, earn their
livelihood by exporting avo-
cados and flowers. During
the winter months Nes
Ammim exports roses to
Holland, and business is
booming.
In the years 1956 to 1960,
the Synod of the Dutch Re-
formed • Church issued a
booklet urging a "theologi-
cal rethinking" of Jewish-
Christian relations. in the
wake of the extermination
of six million Jews and the
establishment of the state
of Israel. The booklet said
that "missions io the Jews
should be replaced by a dia-
logue."
Following the publication
of the booklet, a series of
discussions were held by a
group of Dutch workers at
the Scottish Hospital in Ti-
berias. The result was a
conference in Holland in
1960 in which the idea of a
Christian settlement in Is-
rael was porposed. Its pur-
pose would be to demon-
strate solidarity with Israel
by active participation in
the upbuilding of the new
Jewish state.
By the end of 1964, follow-
ing a bitter struggle to con-
vince the Jewish public that
there were no intentions for
missionary proselytism, the
first settlers made their
home in Nes Ammim.
One of the first families
to settle was that of Christ-
ine and Joahn Jacob Pilon.
The Pilons arrived in Israel
in 1950. Johan Pilon, a phy-
sician, was invited to work
in the Scottish Hospital in
Tiberias. He planned to
stay two years—but he
stayed for six years and
both he and his wife devel-
oped during that period a
greater involvement with Is-
rael.
The Pilons went back. to
Holland and helped to or-
ganize Nes Ammim. They
came back in 1966 with
their five children. There
wasn't much to come for,
except for 275 acres of land
and a room that was hardly
Histadrut Angry With Likud,
Internal Labor Party Conflict
NEW YORK JTA)—
Yeruham Meshel. secretary
general of Histadrut. sharp-
ly criticized the economic
policy of the "right-wing"
Likud government and
warned that this policy may
lead to a confrontation with
Histadrut.
Addressing a press confer-
ence at the New York Hil-
ton Hotel. Meshel. whose
Labor Party won the recent
Histadrut election. said that
the labor federation "does
not seek a confrontation
with the government." but
if Menahem Begin's govern-
ment will pursue its policy
of compulsory arbitration
and will introduce legisla-
tion calling for the nation-
alization of Kupat Holim-
the Histadrut sick fund—
and the Histadrut pension
funds. "we will face it
squarely and fight back."
leaders are devoting more
efforts to attacking former
Defense Minister Shimon
Peres. the leader of the
Labor Alignment. than the
Likud government.
Foreign Minister Moshe
Dayan. who was elected to
the Knesset on the Labor
Alignment ticket. said he
agreed to join the Likud
government because the
Labor Party was moving
away from the viewpoint
which he had always held
and which was the majority
belief. to a view closer to
that of Mapam. its partner
in the Alignment.
In an interview with Ye-
diot Achronot. Dayan said
another reason for his join-
ing the Likud government
was the negative attitude of
the Labor Party toward
him which continued even
after Peres was elected
chairman of the party.
But Meshel said the con-
frontation will not take the
form of a general strike.
"We will try to fight it in
the Knesset and will initiate
a public campaign against
it," he said at the press
conference sponsored by
the National Committee for
Labor Israel.
Peres. meanwhile, has
also come under attack
from former Premier Yitz-
hak Rabin and former For-
eign Minister Yigal Allon.
Rabin told Davar that he
does not accept Peres as
the party's leader. Allon
blames Peres for the Labor
defeat, saying it was not
caused by the scandals in
the Labor government but
because the Alignment's
platform was not suffi-
ciently different from
Likud.
Meanwhile, the Labor
Party which led the country
for 29 years has not yet—
three months after it lost
power to Likud—been able
to emerge as an effective
oppostion party go the gov-
ernment of Premier Men-
achem Begin.
Instead. leading Labor
In a reply to his critics.
Peres said that the opposi-
tion to him was personal
and not based on ideology.
enough for the family. "It
wasn't the material diffi-
culties that bothered me, -
said Christine, "but the un-
certainty." The two older
children, Peter, now 28, and
Ellert, 26, went back to Hol-
land to study. The others
were enrolled in regular
local schools.
go. His argument was that
this can be interpreted as
the result of a missionary
activity. "Next thing, the
Jews will suspect us of con-
verting Jews outside and
then admitting them to the
village. This will stop the di-
alogue with the Jews," he
said.
The difficulties in the vil-
lage continued. Two con-
verted Jews wanted to join
the village. There was a dis-
cussion, and Pilon said—no
For this reason, the set-
tlers did not ask for an Is-
raeli citizenship, although.
Pilon says, -Today, this is
my home. I don't feel home-
sick for Holland."
The children want to
stay. Peter is the only one
who now lives in South Af-
rica. Ellert, and Biene, 23,
have decided to stay. Rich-
ard, 22, is studying in Hol-
land to be a veterinarian
and wants to practice in Is-
rael. The youngest one,
Christina, who calls herself
Michal, is completing her
studies at the Gesher Haziv
regional secondary school
and is considering serving
in the army.
Aid Cut for UNRWA Is Sought
By I.L. KENEN
Editor Emeritus.
Near East Report
Ira Hirschman, who once
served in the Middle East
as the representative of the
War Refugee Board in the
attempt to rescue refugees
from the Nazis, has written
a useful paperback entitled
"Questions and Answers
About Arabs and Jews"
(Bantam Books).
Hirschman's most em-
phatic recommendation is
that the United States dis-
continue its support for
UNRWA, which has served
as the staging center for ter-
rorist onslaught. He calls
on the oli-rich states to foot
the bill of resettling the Pa-
lestinian refugees within
the Arab world.
Hirschman's views carry
weight because he made an
extensive tour of UNRWA
camps and reported his find-
ings to the Department of
State.
UNRWA lost control of
the camps in 1969, when, its
Commissioner General
later disclosed, it ceased to
administer the camps and
merely provided services.
The 1975 UNRWA report
shows that U.S. contribu-
tions to UNRWA over the
years have totaled $619.2
Long Island 'Y'
Hinges on Vote
NEW YORK (JTA)—A va-
cateh elementary school in
Plainview has been pur-
chased by the United Jew-
ish Ys of Long Island to
serve an area with more
than 100,000 Jews.
The plan for the Y hinges
on approval from the Oys-
ter Bay Town Board, which
rejected a similar plan in
April because of increased
traffic and neighborhood dis-
ruption.
Healthiest Hearts
TEL AVIV—A five-year
research project at Tel
Aviv University which ex-
amined 10,000 Jews of
Yemenite origin has con-
cluded that they possess
both a unique structure of
the coronary blood vessels
and a genetic immunity to
coronary heart disease,
which result in a low fre-
quency of heart attacks i n
Yemenites. even after pr
longed residence in Israel.
Tourist Officer
NEW YORK—Arie Som-
mer. 31. has been appointed
deputy director for the
Southern Region of the Is-
rael Government Tourist Of-
fice. based in Atlanta.
million, about 60 percent of
UNRWA's total income of
$1.095 billion. All Arab
states donated only $42.2
million; Israel's $6.7 million
was exceeded only by Saudi
Arabia's $16.8 million.
Time, on July 18, report-
ed that the PLO has "what
is probably the richest, best
financed revolutionary ter-
rorist organization in his-
troy"—an estimated $90 mil-
lion last year from contribu-
tions, as well as in-
vestments.
Clearly. UNRWA has be-
come totally obsolete and,
in fact, an obstacle to
peace settlement. Yet, pe_
missive Western democrac-
ies continue to contribute,
presumably because they
do not want to provoke vio-
lent _Arab outcries.
Hirschman warns that
millions of "have-not"
Arabs have every reason to
expect to share in prodi-
gious Arab oil money, and
their being denied has stir-
red up an underground of
unrest, abetted by Commun-
ist infiltration.
Tel Aviv U. Scientists Restore
Vegetation to Barren Desert
NEW YORK—A research
project undertaken by Tel
Aviv University scientists
transformed a sparsely-
vegetaged area of the North-
ern Sinai desert into an
area of natural vegetation
within three years.
The desert vegetation had
been over-grazed by Bed-
ouin flocks and became bar-
ren, but by fencing off an
area of 51/2x51/2 kilometers,
the scientists were able to
NY Law Will Aid
Jewish Students
NEW YORK (JTA)—A
Hebrew day school expert
said the law signed by Gov-
ernor Hugh Carey. making
available $5 per pupil from
the New'York State lottery
fund to school districts to
buy textbooks for loan to
non-public school students,
means an estimated
$250,000 worth of textbooks
for loan to Jewish day
school students in New
York State.
Housing for Aged
NEW YORK — With the
percentage of the elderly in
Israel's population increas-
ing rapidly, housing has be-
come a major problem.
Women's Social Service for
Israel (WSSI) is construct-
ing special housing for the
aged.
Since 1943. WSSI has built
18 senior citizen complexes
containing more than 500
self-contained apartments
with medical and social
services readily available.
NN, ZO Official
Plans to Retire
NEW YORK—Dr. Abra-
ham P. Gannes is retiring
after almost 10 years as di-
rector of the department of
education and culture of the
World Zionist Organization-
American Section.
analyze the climatic
changes that take place
when over-grazing does not
occur. A report on the proj-
ect was presented to the In-
ternational Conference on
Spach Research in July by
Prof. Joseph Otterman of
Tel Aviv University.
On April 26, 1977, the sat-
ellite LANDSAT deviated
slightly from its ._ regular
orbit in order to phOtograph
the fenced area in Sinai,
and the first photographs
from this mission have al-
ready been received. They
indicate- a dark patch in the
formerly light area, which
demonstrates the restora-
tion of vegetation. The nu-
merical data is still being
prepared and Prof. Otter-
man is analyzing it this
summer in the United
States.
Knesseters Donate
Blood in Drive
NEW YORK—Setting an
example to the citizens of
Israel, Knesset members
and personnel took time out
between parliamentary ses-
sions to take part in the
blood donation drive organ-
ized by Magen David Adorn
on Knesset premises.
The Magen David Adorn
Blood Services. headed by
Prof. Bracha Ramot, r- -
nowned hetalogist con:
of three departments; re
cruitment. blood banking
and blood fractionation.
Through its Central Blood
Bank and Fractionation In-
stiaite in Jaffa and assisted
by its nationwide regional
blood banks located at
MDA First Aid Stations,
Magen David Adorn sup-
plies all hospitals with 85
percent of their required
blood and blood by-prod-
ucts. It is responsible for 10
percent of the blood needs
Of the Israel Defense
Forces.