THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Boris Smolar's `Between You . . . and Me' Editor-in-Chief Emeritus, JTA (Copyright 1983, JTA, Inc.) JEWISH POLICY-MAKING: The National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council (NCJRAC) — which opens its four-day plenary session in Cleveland on Sunday — is one of the most important agencies in the United States. It is little known to the average American Jew because it is not hungry for publicity and because its long name is too difficult to remember. The NJCRAC can be considered as "the general staff" of American Jewry in directing national planning and strategies for combatting anti-Semitism. It also coordi- nates policies and actions in other fields of Jewish commu- nity relations that are of concern to the Jewish community. It is the coordinating body of 11 national Jewish organiza- tions and 111 local Jewish councils across the country engaged in community relations activities. Their volun- tary cooperation through the NJCRAC has made Jewish community relations more effective as a common cause, while affirming at the same time the autonomy of each group. Created by the Council. of Jewish Federations in 1944 — when anti-Semitism ran high in the U.S: through Hit- ler's propaganda machine and the venomous anti-Jewish radio broadcasts by Father Coughlin, a Detroit Catholic priest — the NJCRAC comes each year to its plenary con- clave with a Joint Program Plan which is actually a guide for its constituent organizations in planning their pro- grams of action. Such a Joint Program Plan for 1983-1984 will now be brought before the plenary session. COMMON CONCERNS: The NJCRAC does not con- sider itself a separate community relations agency, but a mechanism through which the agencies in this field seek to agree on joint policy formulation, on joint program plan- ning and coordination, on reassessment and evaluation, on what issues to take position and what those positions should be, what priority each program should be given, how well the methods in use are working, and how the total resources of all the agencies can be best used to advance the entire effort. The NJCRAC builds its program on the basis that no matter how widely American Jews may differ among them- selves in economic status, educational and cultural levels, social and political viewpoints, synagogue affiliation and in many other ways, they themselves have much in common, especially in the following fields: Determination to combat anti-Semitism and all other forms of bigotry; a commitment to equal rights and to freedom of thought and religion as the basis for creative Jewish life in a free America; a sense of affinity with Jews in Israel and throughout the world; concern for security and welfare of Israel; concern for the Jews of the Soviet Union and other lands where Jews are oppressed and persecuted. Through a broad program the NJCRAC helps its na- tional and local affiliates in acting together harmoniously in these fields. It also seeks to strengthen amicable rela- tionships between Jewish and non-Jewish groups in the country and to insure separation of church and state. Among its constituent national groups are such organiza- tions as the American Jewish Committee, American Jewish Congress, Anti-Defamation League of Bnai Brith, Hadassah, and the central bodies of the Orthodox, Reform and Conservative congregations. At one time the AJCom- mittee and the ADL left this coordinating body, but they rejoined it later. Friday, February 11, 1983 21 El Al Will Fire _650 Employees GIVE HER A TEL AVIV (JTA) — The El Al management last week presented a list of 650 employees they intend to dismiss to Histadrut in order to restore the airline to economic health. The employees have 14 days to protest. But about 300 of them are prepared to leave willingly. Of 21 pilots on the list, 10 will accept early retire- ment. The others include 24 flight engineers, 60 flight attendants and 200 techni- cians. The airline, which re- sumed service on a limited scale three weeks ago after being grounded for four months, is operating under a new set of work rules that supersede all previous ar- rangements. VALENTINE'S WARM UP SUIT1, Bright hearts on white fleece. $72 Monday-Saturday 9:30-6:00 tehhIS time S. E Corner Maple & Lahser BirMingham, MI 646-4475 his could be your $2,000,000 week! ' You could be closer than ever to $2,000,000 this week—if you've.mailed your entry to the Tic Tac Two Grand Drawing. New semi-finalists are drawn from each week's entries. Each automatically wins $2,000 and is entered into the Grand Drawing. You've got a chance to win every time you play. And a chance to get closer to $2,000,000 every week. Shamir Visiting in Europe BONN (JTA) — Israeli Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir said Monday that he hoped West Germany's assumption of the rotating presidency of the European Economic Community's Council of Ministers would contribute to improved rela- tions between the EEC and Israel. Shamir spoke to reporters after his first meeting with West Germany's Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher. The Israeli dip- lomat is on the first leg of a European tour which will take him to Luxembourg and Brussels. He described his talks with Genscher as a "tour de'horizon" that encompassed various world problems, includng the Arab-Israli conflict. Asked to comment on Genscher's recent state- ment that Bonn expects Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization to move toward mutual recognition of . each others rights, Shamir re- plied that "responsible. people in this country know very well our posi- tion." He expounded on that position in an interview published in Die Welt a day before his arrival in Bonn. Israel will not talk to the PLO nor will it accept an in- dependent Palestinian state on the West Bank, Shamir said. To enter the Grand Drawing: sign the backs of three non-winning Tic Tac Two tickets. Put them in one envelope with your name and address printed legibly on the outside. Mail first class only to: Tic Tac Two Grand Drawing, Lansing, MI 48916. 44.• ■•■■ 10V MICHIGAN LOTTERY SUPPORTS EDUCATION. The instant game with the biggest Grand Drawing ever!