14 friday, line 2, 1978
THE DETROIT JEWISH HEWS
MOVING?
ZOA Honors Meany Sunday
Priced Sale of Household Contents
Conducted In Your Home
Estates Liquidated
EDMUND FRANK & CO.
Liquidators and Appraisers
368-4044
875.7650
NEW YORK — Labor
leader George Meany will
receive the Zionist Organi-
zation of America's Theodor
Herzl Gold Medal Award on
Sunday.
Meany recalls that in
1933, "I attended a meeting
with William Green, David
Dubinsky, Matthew Woll,
Johnny Vladeck and a
number of people in New
York who were interested in
what was happening in Hi-
tler's Germany 6,000 miles
away. And that night two
organizations were formed:
The Anti-Nazi Nonsecta-
rian League, to boycott the
products of Nazi Germany,
FOR FATHER'S DAY
and
GRADUATION GIFTS
WE'VE JUST JOINED
THE SEIKO FAMILY!
~ `
rr
Shown, left to right: Model No. DWOO1ht-5195.00. Stainless steel, black dial frame, adjustable
bracelet. Model No. Y)016M—S195.00. Yellow top/stainless steel back, textured gilt dial,
adjustable bracelet. Model No. FE006M—S250.00. Yellow top/stainless steel back, white dial,
adjustable bracelet.
We're very proud to announce that we now have one of the
largest and most varied selections of Seiko watches in
town. So do come in and find just the particular model you're
looking for.
We have those sleek Ultra-Thin men's dress quartz styles; Multi-
Mode LC Digital Quartz models with continuous readout, like
the amazing World Timer that gives you the time around the
globe; and exquisitely special occasion quartz models for a
woman's delicate wrist. And everything from sport watches to
day/date calendars to chronographs. And beautiful Lady Seiko
watches combine fashion with Seiko quality.
-
Do come in and have the time of your life looking at
Seiko watches.
SEIKO
Widenbaum
Creative Jewelers
in the Franklin Plaza
Northwestern at 12 Mile
Southfield 356 2525
-
Daily: 10-6 Thurs: 10-9 Appraisals by appointment
Boris Smolar's
`Between You
. . . and Me
Editor-in-Chief
Emeritus, JTA
(Copyright 1978, JTA, Inc.)
GEORGE MEANY
and the so-called German
Labor Chest, to help labor
trade union victims of Hi-
tler who were in the Con-
centration Camps or who
had to flee the country."
According to Meany, the
significance of this early in-
volvement was that it hap-
pened a scant two months
after Hitler came to power.
American labor was already
responding, and George
Meany is proud of his role in
that early response.
He was interested in
the developments in the
Holy Land — that he
watched with concern
the growth of the early
settlements. The Jewish
members of the labor
movement in New York
kept him informed, and
he became a personal
friend of many of Israel's
top leadership.
Golda Meir described how
highly she valued his
friendship when she ac-
cepted the AFL-CIO Mur-
ray Green Award, in May of
1976.
In October 1973, when Is-
rael was attacked, "I, as
Prime Minister, looked
around — 'Who in the world
can I call for help, for under-
standing, with the know-
ledge that if I call him I do
not have to go into long exp-
lanations. He will know. He
will understand.' The ans-
wer," she said, "was George
Meany. I don't think he
knows," she added, "what it
meant to me just to hear his
voice."
Vacation Trip
Catskills Prize
NEW YORK — Ransome
Airlines, an Allegheny
commuter, in co-operation
with the Catskills Resort
Association, has announced
the "Allegheny Commu-
ter/Catskills/Sullivan
County $50,000 vacation
sweepstakes."
The contest period ends
July 31. There will be 80
grand prizes of one-week
vacations for two at a
Catskills Resort Associa-
tion hotel: Brickman,
Brown's Concord,
Fallsview, Grossinger's,
Kutsher's, Pines and
Stevensville.
Each prize also includes
free air service aboard Ran-
some Airlines, from Ken-
nedy Airport or Newark.
Winners must provide their
own transportation from
their hometown to New
York or Newark.
Entry blanks are availa-
ble at participating travel
agents or by contacting Al-
legheny Airlines offices.
The contest is open to all
.U.S. residents. over 18-
years-old.
JEWISH ANXIETIES: What is troubling American
Jews? This question was posed at the annual meeting of the
American Jewish Committee by AJCommittee executive
vice president Bertram H. Gold in his keynote address.
In an excellent presentation he revealed very interesting
facts about the "worries" of the American Jewish commun-
ity and cited a study conducted on this subject by the
American Jewish Committee.
The study was based on answers to a questionnaire sent
out by the AJCommittee to some 1,100 individuals in vari-
ous parts of the country. It did not pretend to be a scientific
sampling of the entire Jewish population, but a good cross-
section of American Jews.
The questionnaire was carefully thought out and listed
10 areas of concern. The answers indicated that the an-
xieties among Jews are deep and prevalent, but two-thirds
of those interviewed said they were optimistic about the
future of the American Jewish community.
The greatest anxiety of American Jews, the study estab-
lished, is the future of Israel. While 90 percent of the re-
spondents expressed great concerns about Israel's security
— and 93 percent considered Israel's survival essential to
the American Jewish community — only a little more than
half said they were very concerned about problems of "in-
ner security" of American Jewry such as assimilation, in-
termarriage, Jewish education, attraction of the cults for
American Jewish youth, and racial quotas in jobs and uni-
versities. Jewish family life and the problem of Jewish aged
were both cited .as grave concerns to 62 percent of the
respondents.
THE LOW-FERTILITY ISSUE: Gold, in analyzing the
study in his address, was sharply critical of those who
justify low fertility among Jews.
He warned that low fertility combined with the high rate
of assimilation is the fact leading to Jews becoming an
"endangered species." He emphasized that "no growth" in
Jewish births may eventually spell "disaster" for the
American Jewish community. (See article on Page 2.)
Already the fact that Jews are having fewer children and
are having them later in life has an important effect on the
level of participation in Jewish activities, he pointed out. A
recent study found that while only 22 percent of young
married couples with no children belong to a synagogue, 56
percent of couples with children under 14 are members of a
congregation. Only three percent of young married couples
without children have high levels of Jewish organizational
activity; but that figure grows to 33 percent in the case of
parents of children five-years-old or younger.
The AJCommittee leader urged the burgeoning Jewish
women's movements to give serious consideration to this
phenomenon. It is obvious, he said that parenthood is a spur
to involvement in Jewish life because Jewish parents de-
pend on Jewish institutions rather than their own home life
to provide Jewish identity for their children and this con-
nection draws them into other Jewish ties.
THE DISSENT ISSUE: A most interesting approach
regarding policy and decision-making by the AJCommittee
on matters concerning Jewish life in this country and in
relation to Israel was advocated by Gold.
AJCommittee policy and program decisions, he said,
must be based on understanding the nature of the changes
that have taken place in Jewish life of which the most
profound are: the shift from religious tradition to secular
and ethnic factors as the principal tie that binds us as Jews;
and the overwhelming influence and claim of the state of
Israel upon American Jewry. These two developments are
inter-related, the AJCommittee leader asserted.
As American citizens, Gold pointed out, Jews seem to
have few qualms about dissenting from any number of
American policies, including those that effect Israel — and
the AJCommittee will not hesitate to dissent and criticize
American foreign policy when disagreeing with it. But
when it comes to public disagreement or difference with
Israeli policies, American Jewry is much less surefooted.
The argument is that after all, we are not Israeli citizens; it
is the Israelis who must live or die by the decisions they
make; and if Israel's leaders make decisions that are un-
popular with their people, the democratic process within
Israel will see to it that new leaders are substituted.
American Jewry has, in the opinion of Gold, a responsi-
bility to be honest — and critical where necessary — be-
cause of the concept of peoplehood and the inter-
relationship between Israel and the American Jewish
community. One way to meet this responsibility, Gold
suggested, is to make the critical views known to the Israeli
government, and thus have some input into the decision-
making process there. This, he indicated, the AJCommittee
has done for years. It intends to follow this policy also in the
future, although it is not always easy to keep privately-
conveyed critical views from becoming public.