THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
ME YOUR PICK!
U.S.-Etorn Israeli Pollster
Is Hailed bespite Faux Pas
By SIMON GRJVER
World Zionist Press Service
The runlikely name of
Smith was as much on Is-
raeli minds as Begin and
Peres during the country's
closely fought election cam- -
paign. For American-born
Hanoch Smith is the undis-
puted king of the nation's
pollsters.
As the recent election at-
tracted unprecedented
worldwide attention, Smith
found himself courted by
the major world television
networks and widely quoted
in the international press.
And as voting closed on the
all important day, Israelis
were glued to their TV sets
as the pollster revealed the
results of his election day
sample that in 1977 had
been on the button.
But horror of horrors —
Smith got it wrong twice,
before and after midnight.
Not by much but by enough
to imply that Shimon Peres'
Labor Alignment would be
forming the next govern-
ment. Peres publicly
claimed victory and the
news was flashed around
the world. When the error
became apparent both
Labor and Menahem Be-
gin's Likud supporters were
angered by the confusion
caused.
Relaxing in his office
after the controversy had
died down, Smith re-
mains unperturbed de-
spite his tarnished image.
"For me it's a bit of fun to
be in the limelight," he says.
"It's a change from the
routine statistics that earn
me a living. rm lucky be-
cause when the electioni
are past rm off the hook,
while the politicians stay
under pressure. But I'm
angry about the mistakes
which arose simply because
the computer programmers
misread the data. Next time
Israel TV has promised me
that I can select my own
computer services and
everyone can rest. assured
that there'll be no blun-
ders."
Smith sits beneath a pen-
nant of the Pittsburgh 'Pi-
rates, the hometown
'baseball team he still fol-
lows. He was born in that
city in 1923 and later
studied Economics and
Statistics at the local uni-
versity before doing post-
graduate work at - Co-
lumbia University. His
German-born wife Emma
was a fellow activist in the
U.S. Zionist movement and
they were married a week
after they emigrated to Is-
rael in 1950.
For several years they
lived on Kibutz Gesher
Haziv in the north before
moving to Jerusalem where
they now live. They have
three children. Smith was
involved with the govern-
ment as a statistical adviser
and set up the Manpower
Planning Authority, before
establishing his own Smith
Research Center in 1962.
Smith notes that the
U.S. Presidential system
is very different from the
Israeli Prime Ministerial
and proportional repre-
sentation method of gov-
ernment. Despite the dif-
ferences he considers
both democracies to be
equally virtuous and
does not advocate elec-
toral reform.
He feels the system as it is
has endured and served the
country well. He observes
with interest the way the
country has almost evolved
into a two-party system
with Likud and Labor tak-
ing 80 percent of the seats in
the 10th ICnesset. He enjoys
the irony that the National
Religious Party has had its
seats halved to six, yet au-
gmented its 'strength
through holding the bal-
ance of power.
Smith is critical of the re-
cent campaign which he
feels placed too much em-
phasis on personalities and
not enough on issues. Then
there was the violence
which his research indi-
cates cost Begin a sizeable
lead. But he nevertheless
feels that democracy in. Is-
rael is alive and well.
THIS YEAR. THE JEWISH NEWS IS OFFERING ,
THE FOLLOWING TYPES OF NEW YEAR
GREETINGS TO BE PUBLISHED IN OUR
HOLIDAY ISSUE SEPTEMBER 25, 1981.
TO ALL OUR
FAMILY AND FRIENDS
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NEW - YORK — Dr.
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American Friends 'of Ben-
Gurion University of the
Negev at the Pierre Hotel
Sept. 15.
Learning requires a
lent for sitting.
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all their friends and relatives
a happy and healthy New Year
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Army. One of the major
aims of the Liberation
Army is to "liberate
Palestine" and to "fight
Zionism."
Meanwhile, police- in
Nuremberg said they now
know definitely that the
Jewish publisher, Shlomo
Levin and his non-Jewish
woman -friend, Frida Poes-
chke, were murdered last
December by neo-Nazis.
Henry Kissinger
at BGU Dinner
WE WISH OUR FRIENDS
AND RELATIVES A
HAPPY, HEALTHY
1.1113n i12110 MPS '
PLO, Libya Recruit Young
Arabs in West Germany
BONN (JTA) — The Fed-
eral Service for Domestic
Security of West Germany
reported that it has detected
in recent weeks an increase
in the activities of the
Palestine Liberation
Organization and of Libyan
agents among members of
the Arab community in the
country.
According to the services,
both are engaged in a major
campaign to recruit young
Arabs and Moslems for
military training.
The recruits are told that
the cease-fire along the
Itraeli-Lebanese border is
only temporary and the
battle against the "Zionist
aggressor" will take place
soon.
The Libyan govern-
ment is trying to recruit
soldiers for the so-called
Moslem Liberation
Friday, September 4,.19131 69
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