20 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Friday, August 10, 1979 Experts Disagree on New York's Jewish Population Bond Purchase NEW YORK — National Bank of North America will increase its holdings of State of Israel five-year notes to $4 million. ALUMINUM SIDING Custom Trim 545-1110 Try M Prices! PETER s By JUDITH ROSEN NEW YORK (JTA) — The Jewish population in New York may be losing its political clout. At least this is the opinion of Jack Diamond, a statistician spe- cializing in Jewish demog- raphy. Diamond feels that a loss of political influence may accompany a declining" number of Jewish house- holds and Jewish voters. THE FINEST AND LARGEST POOL BUILDER IN THE MIDWEST Almost a quarter of a century of supplying discriminating buyers has earned an unequaled reputation for Miami Pools. And, if you purchase a pool from Miami, we'll give $150.00 to your Temple or Synagogue. You are cordially invited to visit our beautiful indoor dis- play at 33060 Northwestern Highway at Fourteen Mile Road. tioAm. "IN"' miami blue water pools, inc. ECLUE WA T E)1,1 33060 Northwestern Highway West Bloomfield, Michigan 626-5131 SOUTHFIELD OFFICE: 358-0012 ROMEO, MI. OFFICE: 752-6333 AAA Lawn Sprinkler Inc. We Install the Best and Service the Rest 10 years of service Free Estimates On Installations 399-8718 York area are afraid to be- come "visible" members of the Jewish community for fear of being considered pariahs by American Zionists. Diamond feels these Israelis are "not a major factor affecting the Jewish popula- tion."Diamond dwells a great deal on the composi- tion of the Jewish commu- nity. He finds that as of the Diamond is also highly National Jewish Population critical of the methodology Survey (NJPS) of 1970- used for calculating the 1971, New York's Jews numbers of Jews in various were disproportionally communities reported in aged, and included far more the American Jewish Year elderly citizens in relation Book, published annually to other ethnic groups. by the American Jewish Jewish youth has declined, Committee and the Jewish too. For many years, Publication Society of Diamond notes, Jews have America. Diamond warns had a lower birth rate than that misleading reportage other segments of the popu- on the Jewish community is actually at, cross-purposes , lation. to the organizations that sponsor the Year Book, be- cause losses to membership and in fundraising will not be anticipated. One reason, he says, is that higher levels of educa- tion among Jews corre- sponds to a greater aware- ness of birth control methods and the Jewish population's responsiveness to the call for "zero popula- tion growth." Jews also tend to marry later than non- Jews, and a great many households in New York City are "singles" — includ- ing widows and widowers. The New York City area contains the largest Jewish population in the world. A center of Jewish cultural and religious life, Diamond believes that New York's Jewish population now hovers at only 750,000. Critics of Diamond say that he does not account for large numbers of Jews in Nas- sau. Suffolk and Westchester Counties, as well as those in northern New Jersey, which bring the number to two mil- lion. Ehrenhalt maintains that the New York met- ropolitan area is still "the heartland of American Jewry" and that we are "se- eing a golden age in New York City" in terms of the degree of commitment and identification with Jewish life. Feldstein also notes that a great many Israeli immigrants in the New Camp David framework and the (Egyptian-Israeli) peace signing." Diamond disagrees with the findings of Dr. Donald Feldstein, executive direc- tor for Community Services of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies, and Samuel Ehrenhalt, deputy regional commissioner, Bureau of Labor Statistics, both of whom said they believed the figure to be substantially higher than Diamond's. Diamond counts the high rate of intermar- riage and conversion out of Judaism as responsi- ble for the rapid demog- raphic changes visible throughout all American Jewry. Without adequate and up-to-date account- ing of the population, the effectiveness of Jewish organizations' outcries against assimilation will be greatly diminished, Diamond warns. Felds- tein, however, observes that federation efforts are now being aimed at the intermarriage prob- lem. Diamond feels that his figures should have an ef- fect on the way Jewish organizations plan their programs. A smaller and more dispersed community calls for new approaches by Jewish groups, he said. Diamond adds that for the Jews who remain in the New York metropolitan area, a new "theology or a philosophy to buoy their spirits" in light of dwindling numbers of synagogues and community institutions, is needed. State Dept. Denies Charges U.S. Is Changing M.E. Plans for Oil WE WON'T LOSE A CUSTOMER OVER PRICE! TamaRoFF Buick 353-1300 • 28585 Telegraph Across from Tel-12 Mall — Near 12 Mile Out of town calls accepted.Open Mon. & Thurs. til 9 p.m. WASHINGTON (JTA) — The State Department strongly rejected charges in the United States and Israel that the U.S. was changing its policy in the Middle East in order to ensure continued supplies of oil from Saudi Arabia and other Arab oil- producing countries. Department spokesman Tom Reston also denied that the U.S. was trying to "tamper' with or change" United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 to meet Arab demands that references to Palestinian rights be included. "Oil is not a controlling factor — it is in no way linked to our policy in the Middle East," Reston said. "It has been repeated over and over again by Ambassador Robert Strauss, (President Car- ter's special envoy for Middle East negotia- tions), and Assistant Sec- retary of State Harold Saunders, in a recent statement, emphasizing the U.S. is not doing any- thing in the negotiations based on our needs for oil." Reston noted that Strauss, Saunders and other Administration offi- cials have repeatedly de- nied reports that the U.S. agreed to change its posi- tions on the Palestinians in return for Saudi Arabia's promise last month of in- creased oil production. That accusation was reported as fact this week by Time magazine. The department spokes- man reiterated that the U.S. has not changed its pol- icy on the Palestine Libera- tion Organization and that "there has been no change or shift in the U.S. policy of close friendship and firm support of Israel." Reston Similarly, stressed that "the United States is not engaged in any effort to tamper with or change Resolution 242 of the UN. In fact, that resolu- tion remains the basis of our Middle East Efforts, the Reston noted that the U.S is "engaged in the debate on the issue of Palestinian rights" at the Security Council. We are still int he process of determining what our position will be in that debate which resumes on Aug. 23. We are in close contact with the state of Israel and other coun- tries about the debate." Reston said the U.S. had not decided what its posi- tion will be on any resolu- tion that is presented to the Security Council, "except to say that the U.S. position on the PLO remains un- changed." The U.S. has been reported as ready to support a resolution that would change resolution 242 to include support for Palestinian rights in hopes that this will persuade the PLO to support Resolution 242, including the pro- visions affirming Israel's right to exist. In reaction to this, the Is- raeli Cabinet on Sunday adopted a strong resolution rejecting any change in 242 and declaring that Israel will never agree to negotia- tions with the PLO. The resolution was forwarded to Washington and Israeli Ambassador Ephraim Evron was expected to dis- cuss it with President Car- ter Wednesday at the White House. Evron had already discussed it with Vance and Saunders. Reston said that U.S. "Ef- forts are directed toward pushing forward the process laid out at Camp David by all three leaders," Carter, Israeli Premier Menahem Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. He said Strauss will be return- ing to the Middle East Aug. 18-20 "toncontinue the process we have been engaged in." Nazi Dies in Dutch Pirson AMSTERDAM (JTA) — Joseph Kotaella, one of three Nazi war criminals still imprisoned in Holland, died at Breda prison last week at the age of 71. A German by birth, he was, as deputy commandant of the Amersfoort concen- tration camp during World War II, responsible for mass murder and countless other atrocities. Kotaella was sentenced to death after the war for the murders of 77 camp in- mates. In 1951 his sentence was commuted to life im- prisonment on grounds that he was not mentally compe- tent. In 1971, the Dutch gov- ernment announced its intention to free him and three other war criminals for humanitarian rea- sons in consideration of their poor health. Only one, Willy Lages, was re- leased and died soon af- terwards. Nationwide protests forced the gov- eminent to abandon its plan. Kotaella had been partially paralyzed for several years. The surviving war crimi- nals still at Breda are Fer- dinand aus der Fuenten and Frantz Fischer who were in charge of the deportation of Jews from Amsterdam and The Hague, respectively, during the war. Hungarian Rabbi Visits PGEserm( BUDAPEST (JTA) — Chief Rabbi Dr. Odon Singer returned here Monday from an official visit to the Leipzig Jewish community. The visit, during which he conducted religious serv- ices, as "strengthening rela- tions between the Hunga- rian and the East German communities." Rabbi Singer also lec- tured at the Calvinist Cathedral where he was welcomed by the Leipzig University Choir.