THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
16 Friday, May 22, 1981
AJCommittee Speakers, Delegates Worried by Reagan Cuts
increased spending for de-
fense, yet the Jewish com-
munity remains committed
to aiding the poor and dis-
advantaged.
This dilemma was appar-
ent at the five-day, 75th an-
niversary meeting of the
American Jewish Commit-
tee at the Washington Hil-
ton last week. Speakers and
some of the 1,000. delegates
WASHINGTON (JTA) —
The American Jewish
community is in a quandry
over the Reagan Adminis-
tration's deep cuts in federal
spending for social and eco-
nomic programs. Many
Jews, along with appar-
ently the majority of the
American public, support
the Administration's eco-
nomic program, including
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argued that inflation was
the main threat to the
United States and particu-
larly to Jews.
Michael Horowitz, special
counsel to David Sotckman,
director of the Office of
Management and Budget
(OMB), stressed that he had
worked as a civil rights
lawyer in Mississippi in the
1960s and had supported
most of the liberal programs
that the Jewish community
had backed until he saw the
"bankruptcy" of those pro-
grams as demonstrated by
New York City's fiscal
crisis.
Horowitz argued that
the Reagan Administra-
tion is dedicated to social
justice but not in terms of
symbols that •do not
examine whether the
programs aimed at help-
ing the disadvantaged
actually work. He said
the Administration is
keeping programs that
give cash directly to the
CONGREGATION BETH SHALOM
14601 West Lincoln, Oak Park, Michigan
cordially invites you to attend "
FRIDAY EVENING SERVICES
MAY 29th, 1981 — 8:30 P.M.
.Conducted by
RABBI DAVID A. NELSON and CANTOR SAMUEL GREENBAUM
accompanied by the SHIR LEADERS
— Services Will Conclude With —
THE INSTALLATION OF OFFICERS and BOARD MEMBERS
of
THE ZIONIST ORGANIZATION of AMERICA
Detroit District
Installing Officer — Rabbi David A. Nelson
and Featuring: IVAN J. NOVICK, National President
ZIONIST ORGANIZATION OF AMERICA
Who Will Speak On
"AMERICA
ISRAEL and
THEIR NATIONAL INTERESTS"
RABBI DAVID A. NELSON
IVAN J. NOVICK
Pres. Z.O.A.
CANTOR SAMUEL GREENBAUM
ONEG SHABAT FOLLOWING
THE PUBLIC IS INVITED
poor and eliminating
those where "it is not the
poor who benefit but
public service bene-
factors."
But, Mark Talisman, di-
rector of the Washington
office of the Council of
Jewish Federations (CJF)
said voluntary agencies are
already hard pressed to
meet the needs of the people
they serve. He stressed that
the Jewish federations
throughout the country will
continue to meet the needs
of individuals who come to
them for help because that
is a requirement of the
Jewish tradition.
However, Talisman said
the Reagan budget means
that the Federation of
Jewish Philanthropies in
New York City will lose $43
million in federal aid for its
program; the federation in
Philadelphia, $12 million;
and Chicago federation $16
million.
In addition, Talisman
argued that by cutting the
$5 billion for the CETA pro-
gram the government will
end up paying $10 billion
for welfare for the persons
who have lost their jobs
with CETA. He also
stressed that the "safety
net" the Administration has
promised for the poor and
disadvantaged will not help
the working poor who are
being cut off from the aid
they need to survive. Many
Jews, particularly the el-
derly, fall into this category.
Bertram Gold, AJC
executive vice president,
said, It is clear that this
country is embarked on a
new economic course and
that for the present, at least,
most Americans support the
Administration's program.
It is equally clear that as a
group, we Jews, who have
generally favored the wel-
fare state concept, and the
creation of social programs
on the national level, are
not at all certain how we
feel about it.
"We are going to have
to learn to work more ef-
fectively on a state and
local level, and to redou-
ble our efforts to achieve
economic expansion in
this country. Because
there can be no doubt
that only with an expand-
ing economy can we
ameliorate the plight of
the disadvantaged and
prevent dangerous inter-
group tensions and rival-
ries."
But, Gold cautioned, "we
must never lose our Jewish
passion for compassion" as
American Jews shift gears
to adjust to changing na-
tional conditions and
moods."
Increased anti-Semitism
in Western Europe during
the past few years calls for
heightened vigilance and
continued protest, not
exaggerated alarm.
This was the conclusion of
a report of experts from
eight Western European
countries, submitted by the
American Jewish Commit-
tee's Foreign Affairs De-
partment.
The report, based on the
experts' conference on
anti-Semitism held in
Amsterdam at the end of
March, was discussed at a
meeting of the AJC's
Foreign Affairs Commis-
sion, chaired by Rita
Hauser, the commission's
chairperson.
Maynard Wishner,
president of the AJCom-
mittee, and Sol Linowitz,
who was the special
representative of
President Carter for
Middle East negotiations,
made pleas for strong
U.S. support of the rights
of individuals.
Wishner pledged the AJ-
Committee's aid in "our
country's effort to protect
the forces of freedom and
justice wherever they
struggle to assert them-
selves." He called on the
United States to frame and
to further a coherent and ef-
fective human rights policy.
Alain de Rothschild,
president of the Represen-
tative Council of Jewish
Organizations of France
(CRIF), said on Sunday that
it is too early to forecast the
attitude of the French gov-
ernment under Socialist
President Francois Mitter-
rand. But he hoped that it
will have a "style" that is
"warmer and friendlier" to
Israel.
De Rothschild, who spoke
on the fifth and concluding
day of the 75th annual con-
vention of the American
Jewish Committee, said the
position of the French gov-
ernment will depend upon
the outcome of the Par-
liamentary elections next
month. But he said it was
hoped that the new gov-
ernment would have a more
positive position toward the
Camp David agreements
and would agree to "dis-
agree in a constructive way"
on differences with Israel.
At the Diamond
Jubilee dinner last
Thursday night, Edwin
Meese, the White House
counselor, said that
President Reagan and
his Administration
"share" the Jewish com-
munity's commitment to
Israel and to human
rights.
Meese said that Reagan
stood by his pledge during
the Holocaust Remembr-
ance Day ceremonies at the
White House to fight
against prejudice wherever
it is found. Meese, one of
Reagan's closest aides, did
not touch on the Adminis-
tration's proposal to sell ad-
vanced weaponry to Saudi
Arabia.
Three legislators at the
meetings opposed the pro-
posed AWACS sale. Sena-
tors Howard M. Metzen-
baum of Ohio, Rudy Bos-
chwitz of Minnesota, and
Representative Benjamin
A. Gilman of New York
warned that the dangers
inherent in giving the radar
airplane to the Saudis far
outweighted any conceiva-
ble benefit.
In other events, the direc-
tor of the American Jewish
Archives declared that
American Jewry is "living
in a golden age" and that it
is "the greatest Jewry the
world has ever known."
Dr. Jacob Marcus, pro-
fessor of American
Jewish History at He-
brew Union College -
Jewish Institute of Reli-
gion in Cincinnati, said
that American Jewry
constitutes "a dawn in
the west" for world
Jewry.
A leading South Ameri-
can magazine publisher re-
ceived an award from the
American Jewish Commit-
tee for "his outstanding con-
tributions to humanism and
pluralism in Latin
America."
Adolpho Bloch, whos
enterprises include Brazil's
largest weekly news maga-
zine, more than 20 other
publications, and several
radio and television sta-
tions, was also cited for
symbolizing in "exemplary
fashion how Jewish immig-
rants have enriched the de-
velopment of this conti-
nent."
The publication of an AJ-
Committee booklet was also
announced at the meetings.
"Religion and Politics in Is-
rael" is a 32-page booklet by
Daniel J. Elazar and Janet
Aviad. The booklet con-
cludes that most Israelis,
whether religious or not, be-
lieve Israel can only survive
if it remains a Jewish state
and that the Jewish char-
acter of the state will be
preserved most fully by the
Orthodox.
The American Jewish
Committee, which was
created as a response to a
pogrom in Kishinev, Rus-
sia, has marked its 75th
anniversary in part by an
oral history project re-
counting the experiences
of present-day Soviet
Jewish emigres.
The scheduled publica-
tion of the first-person
stories of 175 recent Soviet
Jewish newcomers is in the
format of the AJCommit-
tee's 250 oral memoirs of
Holocaust survivors in
America, the basis of the
recently-published "Voices
From the Holocaust."
Both are projects of the
AJCommittee's William
Wiener Oral History Li-
brary.
.
Fails to See
Double Standard
WASHINGTON (JTA) —
The State Department saw
no contradiction in the re-
cent United States order
closing the Libyan diploma-
tic mission here for miscon-
duct, "including support o
international terrorism,'
while continuing to allow
the Palestine Liberation
Organization to have an in-
formation office here.
The State Department
announced recently that all
27 Libyan diplomatic per-
sonnel and their families
had been ordered to leave
the United States by last
week. The department ac-
cused Libya of "provocation
and misconduct, including
support of international
terrorism."