, • • • 22 Frida Se tember 16 1977 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Australia Jews Uneasy Over Bias, Intermarriage MELBOURNE—The ap- pointment of a distin- guished academic, lawyer and leading member of the Jewish community, Sir Zel- man Cowen, to the highest positioniin the land, that of governor-general, was a highlight for the Australian Jewish community in the year 5737. But it also sym- bolized some of the uncer- tainties and anxieties which surround the changing na- ture of Australia's popu- lation of 72,000 Jews. An eminent constitutional lawyer with an inter- national reputation, Sir Zel- man was appointed in July 1977 after seven years as vice chancellor of the Uni- versity of Queensland. When he first took over the post in the early 1970s he was faced with a series of anti-Vietnam War student demonstrations which flared into violence against university authorities. There were also elements of an anti-Semitic hate cam- paign directed against Sir Zelman and his family. At the time the anti-Semi- tism was widely condemned by all sectors of Australian public opinion just as Sir Zelman's Jewishness was seen as a source of the next governor-general's small "1" liberalism when his ap- pointment was announced. In short, Sir Zelman's ap- pointment underlines the continuing acceptance of Jews in Australian society at all levels and was wel- comed by the Jewish lead- ership as a confirmation of this acceptance. Australian Jews are pre- dominantly a post-World War II community; more than 65 percent are Holocaust survivors or their children. They have not had the time to sink the same roots as other English- speaking communities, and to some degree show their insecurity by seeking to avoid public identification as a group or as individ- uals. The first generation status of Australian Jewry and its predominantly east and central European ori- gin also means that it is a very strongly Zionist- and Israel-oriented community. During 1977, the Zionist Fed- eration of Australia cele- brated its 50th anniversary and in reports submitted to various conferences the Zi- onist leadership was able to point to some significant achievements in the fields of education, public rela- tions, fund-raising and aliya. Politically the Australian government has followed a Middle East policy in many ways aligned with Presi- dent Jimmy Carter. Since early 1976, when the Liber- al and National Party coali- tion government of Mal- colm Fraser replaced the Whitlam Labor govern- ment, Australian foreign policy generally has moved back towards a closer al- liance with the United Announcing: I JERRY TURKEN IS NOW WITH The New York Diamond Cutting Company "The Diamond Cutters" 3000 Town Center, Southfield, Michigan Out Of Town Call Collect 313-355-2300 Wishing Health and Happiness for the NEW YEAR s THE FRIEDMANS Jean & Phil Gary Sandy, Harriet, Lisa, & Scott Marc & Michele States and away from the tilt towards the Third World which was apparent under Whitlam. The result has been a Middle East pol- icy which has been less ori- ented towards the Arab world and the Palestine Lib- eration Organization, al- though ironically, as Wash- ington moves closer to the Palestinians, Australia is not far behind. During 1977 there were two significant devel- opments which pointed to possible long-term changes in Australian attitudes on the Middle East. First there was the admission of 3,000 Lebanese refugees— both Moslems and Chris- tian—which dramatized the growth of the Australian Arab community in recent years to almost twice the size of the Jewish commu- nity. Second, the govern- ment announced a major in- crease in gasoline prices from around 65 cents to 80 cents a gallon over the next 12 months. Further price in- creases are to follow there- after as Australia moves from its present position of 70 percent self-sufficiency in oil (30 percent imported from Middle East oil pro- ducers) to 30 percent self- sufficiency and 70 percent imports by 1982. Although public opinion as expressed in the media is still overwhelmingly pro- Israel, there are signs of an erosion of support in some sections of the American and British press. In response to the anti-Is- rael propaganda, suppor- ters of Israel have set up the Australian Academics for Peace in the Middle East based on the model of the American Professors for Peace in the Middle East (APPME). During the year a new bi- weekly, the Australia-Israel Review was started in order to provide a vehicle for a balanced presentation of the Arab-Israeli conflict and issues of concern to world Jewry. The Review is a news magazine aimed at opinion makers and was sponsored by the Australia- Israel Publications Corn- mittee set up as an informa- tion and public relations unit by the Zionist move- ment. The Jewish day school network continued to ex- pand and late in 1976 Is- rael's Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi, Shlomo Goren, opened a new wing and synagogue complex at Mount Scopus College. With 2,300 pupils it is the largest private school in Australia. Bialik College, a smaller Melbourne day school also opened a new school build- ing as part of its expansion plans. The other three day schools in Melbourne, a community of 36,000 Jews, all announced plans for fu- ture growth which indicate that by 1980 some 60 per- cent of primary school age children will attend Jewish day schools. While the rising number of Jewish children at day schools encouraged Jewish leadership, a rise in inter- marriage figures to approx- imately 15 percent was dis- turbing. Another concern was the growing problem of mar- riage breakdown, separa- tion and divorce in the under-35 age group. A Mar- riage Guidance Council of rabbis, social workers and youth leaders was formed in Melbourne to try to in- vestigate the problem which shares some features in common with similar de- velopments in the United States. 260 Campaign Workers Attend Stag Day Event More than 260 Detroit Service Group members filled the dining room of Franklin Hills Country Club to overflowing Sept. 7 in one of the best-attended Stag Day celebrations in re- cent years. The DSG, the year-round organization of Allied Jew- ish Campaign-Israel Emer- gency Fund workers, spon- sors the annual day of golf, tennis and relaxation for Campaign volunteers. The day is capped by an awards dinner. The DSG Loving Cup, pre- sented annually to the Cam- paign division which solic- ited the greatest percentage increase in pledges over the previous year, was awarded to the Mercantile and Professional Divisions, which tied for first place. Before announcing the chairmen and co-chairmen for the 1978 Campaign, Jew- ish Welfare Federation President Martin E. Citrin paid tribute to the Cam- paign's outgoing officers. Citrin praised 1977 Gener- al Chairman Daniel M. Ho- nigman as a "young, dy- namic and innovative indi- vidual whose goal was to keep Detroit in its rightful place as the leader in funds raised for worthy local and overseas programs." He reminded his listen- ers that the Detroit Jewish community had the fourth largest campaign in the U.S., although it ranks 11th in Jewish population size. Honigman was presented with a mounted and engrav- ed photograph of the Men- ora in front of the Knesset building in Israel, a scrap- book telling the story of the 1977 Campaign, and the Fed- eration Medallion. The co-chairmen, associ- ate and vice chairmen, pre- Campaign officers and divi- sion chairmen were also presented with engraved photographs of the Menora. Citrin warned the au- dience to have "no illusions about the coming year for Israel. I think it will be very difficult," he said, since the Israelis face not only heavy military, eco- nomic, social and immigra- tion burdens, but also "a growing sense of isolation as political pressure from 4•' all segments of the world community ,mounts." The continued support of Israel by the American Jew- ish community, as refe- lected by next year's Cam- paign, will have a "con- DETROIT SER sequential effect" on the way the U.S. government deals with Israel, he said. Arthur Howard is presi- dent of the Detroit Service Group. Thomas I. Klein was chairman of Stag Day. ROUP Daniel Honigman, chairman of the 1977 Allied Jewish Campaign-Israel Emergency Fund, is shown thanking AJC-IEF workers at the 28th annual stag day of the Detroit Service Group. Honigman was awarded the Jewish Welfare Federation Medallion at the event. A tie for the honor of leading all other di- visions in Campaign increases over the pre- vious year was achieved by the Mercantile and Professional divisions. Holding the De- Phillip Stollman, left, and Philip T. troit Service Group, loving cup, on which Warren, right, whose names were an- their and the divisions' names will be in- nounced as 1978 chairmen of the Allied Jew- scribed, are Dr. Paul Feinberg, left, chair- ish Campaign-Israel Emergency Fund, chat man with Dr. Milton H. Goldrath of the Pro- before dinner with Myron L. Milgrom, chair- fessional Division, and David Frank, chair- man of prizes for the. 28th annual Detroit man with Richard A. Kahn of the Mercan- Service Group Stag Day. tile Division.