THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
A Falasha Prayer
•
Do not separate me, 0 Lord, from the chosen,
From the joy, from the light, from the splendor.
Let me see, 0 Lord, the light of Israel,
And let me listen to the words of the just
while they speak about the Law.
To teach fear of thee, 0 Lord, King forever.
Thou art blessed, 0 Lord, be merciful to me.
By day be Thou my shepherd, and my guardian at night.
When I walk be my guide, when I sit be my guardian.
When I call Thee keep thou not silent.
I love Thee, hate me not;
I have confidence in Thee,
ABANDON ME NOT.
From Falasha Anthology by Wolf Leslau, Yale Uni-
versity Press.
Refugee 13111 Becomes Law
•
WASHINGTON (JTA) —
President Carter has signed
into law legislation which
establishes a comprehen-
sive policy for the admission
of refugees to the United
States and for the provision
of effective resettlement as-
sistance after their arrival.
Rep. Elizabeth Holtzman
(D-N.Y.), chairman of the
House Judiciary Subcom-
mittee on Immigration,
Refugees, and International
.0, Law, who introduced the
legislation with Rep. Peter
Rodino (D-N.J.), chairman
of the Judiciary Committee,
said that the bill "mandates
equity in our treatment of
all refugees; it brings us
into conformity with our in-
ternational legal obliga-
tions; it provides set proce-
dures for admission; and it
creates a more effective and
less costly method of reset-
tlement."
The Congresswoman
added: "Despite our
humanitarian concern for
those fleeing persecution,
the United States has up to
this time had no overall pol-
icy to respond to refugee
situations as they have ari-
sen. This has not only
caused inordinate delays in
admissions and led to great
human suffering on the part
of the refugees themselves,
but has made long range
planning by states and vol-
untary agencies involved in
the resettlement process
difficult. This bill resolves
these problems."
The American Jewish
Committee hailed the bill,
known as the Refugee Act of
1980, which was signed by
Carter last week. Bertram
Gold, AJCommittee execu-
tive vice president, pointed
to several features of the
legislation that were par-
ticularly welcome to the
AJCommittee:
• The broadening of the
definition of the term "refu-
gee" so that it applies no
longer just to persons from
2ommunist nations or the
Middle East but to all per-
sons outside their native
countries "who would face
persecution because of race,
religion, nationality, mem-
bership in a particular so-
cial group or for holding
particular political opin-
ions."
Gold added that this new
definition of refugees,
which now includes persons
in their own countries
whom the U.S. President
specified as subject to op-
pression, would be helpful
to Jews, who "have often
found themselves in this
-
condition with small pros-
pects of relief."
• The section of the law
that excludes men and
women "who have perse-
cuted others" from coming
under its provisions. "This
prevents, among others,
Nazi war criminals from
taking advantage of its pro-
visions," Gold pointed out.
• The increase in the
number of refugees to be
allowed into the U.S. each
year for the next three fiscal
years from 17,400 to 50,000,
along with provisions to
allow the President, "after
carefully defined steps for
consultation with Con-
gress," to augment this
number in case of emergen-
cies.
• The setting up for the
first time of permanent
machinery and procedures
for administering resettle-
ment program for refugees
and defining their legal
status.
Egypt Approves
Israeli Project
Near Port Said
JERUSALEM (JTA) —
President Anwar Sadat has
accepted in principle an Is-
raeli plan for land reclama-
tion and irrigation of some
250,000 acres in an area
south of Pori Said, Agricul-
ture Minister Ariel Sharon
reportedly told the Knesset
Finance Committee.
Israel Radio reported that
Sadat would shortly sign
the project which was
worked out as a joint
Egyptian-Israeli venture.
Six Israeli engineers took
part in the preparation
work for the project. It was
initiated by an Israeli busi-
nessman, Shaul Eisenberg.
He is scheduled to meet
within the next few days
with Egyptian leaders on
this project, and possibly
with Sadat.
Premier
Mustapha
Khalil of Egypt said in an
interview in Haaretz that
he regards the Eisenberg
project as a precedent for
further mutual investment
projects.
Friday, March 28 1980 11
,
Jews and the Presidency
By DAVID SCHWARTZ
(Copyright 1980, JTA, Inc.)
I think one reason Jews
don't run for President is
that they just don't like to
run. I remember mother
used to always say to me in
Yiddish "Lafe nit" (Don't
run).
The Israeli Jews seem a
little different. They don't
mind being president but
even there they don't dis-
play any over eagerness for
the job. When the Jewish
state was established,
Ben-Gurion came to
America and tried to get
Einstein to accept the job,
but he refused.
When Ben-Zvi was
president, one day he was
standing by the window and
saw a friend of his who told
him he was going to the li-
brary. "Wait a minute, I'll
go with you," he said. He
grabbed his hat and had no
sooner stepped out of the
house than several secret
service men followed him.
Ben-Zvi was indignant.
"Why are they following
me?" he demanded "Do
they think I will run
away?"
Yitzhak Navon, the pre-
sent president, warned the
people when he was chosen
not to come complaining to
him. They were to re-
member, he said, that he did
not seek the job.
I believe an Israeli might
get elected President of the
United States if it was con-
stitutional for him to run.
Take Moshe Dayan, for in-
stance. He had the same
qualifications as George
Washington. Washington
was primarily a farmer,
Rabbis Lash
Pesach Prices
in New York
NEW YORK (JTA) —
The Rabbinical Alliance of
America, an Orthodox
group, declared last week
that "unscrupulous
storekeepers" were charg-
ing "exorbitant prices" for
Passover foods and urged
Jewish housewives to warn
such food merchants they
would stop patronizing
them both for Passover and
year-around products if
they continued "these un-
Jewish and unkosher prac-
tices."
In a related. statement,
New York Governor Hugh
Carey declared that the
state's Kosher Law
Enforcement Division was
strictly enforcing state
kosher-for-Passover food
labeling laws. He said the
state has the nation's
largest market for Passover
products, with an estimated
one million consumers of
Pesach Musical
kosher products.
NEW YORK — "The
The Rabbinical Alliance
Haggada," a musical by statement was made by its
composer Elizabeth president,. Rabbi Abraham
Swados, opened in New Hecht, who issued "a stern
York yesterday. The show warning" to food merchants
employs music, dance, selling Passover products to
drama, masks and six-foot "desist" from the practice
shadow puppets that depict, "of raising the prices" of
among other things, the 10 such products to "exagger-
plagues.
ated" levels.
then a soldier. So was
Dayan.
I also think the late Golda
Meir might have been
elected in America. In Is-
rael, she was always called
• simply Golda, never by
her last name. That shows
she had the popular appeal,
like Lincoln, whom people
just called Abe. These little
things are very important
in running for office.
Take Daniel Webster or
Henry Clay. They were
tremendous historical
figures, but they never
became President. They
lacked some of the little
things.
There is of course the
element of prejudice against
minorities which the
Jewish candidate would
have to face. When Disraeli
ran for Parliament, he
asked one man for his sup-
port. "I would vote for the
Devil rather than for you,"
the voter said to him.
"But if your friend is not a
candidate," replied Dis-
raeli, "may I count on your
support?"
Yet Disraeli was elected
and in fact became prime
minister of the British Em-
pire.
Catholics are also subject
to prejudice. Al Smith, the
first Catholic to be nomi-
nated for President, lost out,
but later Kennedy was to
prove that a Catholic could
be elected.
Prejudice is really not
as formidable a thing as it
may appear at first sight.
Some years back, a Jew
in Wisconsin was a can-
didate for state treasurer
and there was much
whispering against him.
So what did he do? He
made that the issue.
In his speeches around
the state he would say, "You
know I am a Jew and you
know how stingy Jews are.
Elect me state treasurer
and I will save money for
you." He was overwhelm-
ingly elected.
No, it isn't prejudice that
keeps Jews from running.
Take Harry Truman. He
and Eddie Jacobson were in
the shirt business together.
Then the depression came
and they had to give up the
business. So Truman turned
to politics and finally was
elected President.
One of these days a Jew
will run for President and
even get elected.
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reetngs
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extend best wishes to you and your family.
May your Passover season be filled with happiness.
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• •
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