THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Reagan Pledges to Aid Soviet Jewry
Boris Smolar's
`Between You
. and Me'
Editor-in-Chief
Emeritus, JTA
(Copyright 1983, JTA, Inc.)
THE JEWISH BOUQUET: Jewish communal organ-
izations in this country are like a colorful bouquet of flow-
ers. One also finds straw added to the variety of colors.
The national Jewish communal organizations are solid
bodies cementing Jewish life. Some overlap, but as a sys-
tem they all provide an impressive service to American
Jewry in various fields. Some, however, have lost much of
their usefulness but are not eager to consider merging with
other groups in similar fields of activity. This brings out
even more the diversity within the unity prevailing in the
American Jewish community. It contributes to strengthen-
ing Jewish continuity. The more Jewish groups, the more
Jewish consciousness.
The Council of Jewish Federations is watching de-
velopments in each of the Jewish organizations. The Large
City Budgeting Conference (LCBC), a body composed of 29
largest Jewish federations in the United States and
Canada, each year evaluates the activities of the national
organizations receiving financial aid from federations.
Each of them must submit its annual budget to the LCBC
for review. _
BUDGETS AND ALLOCATIONS: The American
Jewish Committee emerges as one of the most important
national organizations in activity on the American Jewish
scene. Its total budget for 1983 reaches about $14,800,000.
Towards this total it requested $1,390,000 from the federa-
tions. The remainder is being raised by the organization
from other sources, including private contributions.
The Anti-Defamation League of Bnai Brith will re-
ceive from
the federations in 1983 an even higher sum than
To,
IT
Litn3C- a-pproved $49,000 less than requested. It noted that
this action should not be interpreted as a negative position
toward the ADL but rather a realistic appraisal of what is
attainable from the federations in 1983.
Among the largest allocations is $4,550,000 to the
Bnai Brith Hillel Foimdations at colleges and universities.
The Hillel budget this year calls for income and expen-
ditures of $9,900,000. In addition to . the part to be contrib-
uted by the federations, Bnai Brith sources will contribute
$2,690,000. The remainder is expected to be covered from
student income, support from parents, alumni and other
sources.
-
j‘.1,77, VI:YU .
Reagan M.E. Plan Complies
With Camp David: Carter
JERUSALEM (JTA) —
Former President Jimmy
Carter disclosed here that
President Reagan had con-
sulted him in advance• on
the Middle East peace in-
itiative Reagan announced
last Sept. 1 and that he
found it entirely compatible
with the Camp David ac-
cords.
As one who "knows every
word of Camp David by
heart," there is "no dispar-
ity" between them and the
agreement reached between
Israel, Egypt and the U.S. at
Camp David in September
1978, Carter declared at a
press conference ending his
week-long visit to Israel.
Carter is in Jordan to _meet
with King Hussein.
The former President's
remarks underscored the
deep differences between
himself and Premier
Menahem Begin over in-
terpretation of the Camp
David agreements and the
Reagan plan.
Israel flatly rejected
the Reagan initiative,
maintaining that the call
for Palestinian self-
government on the West
Bank and Gaza Strip in
association with Jordan
and a "freeze of settle-
ment activity in those ter-
ritories are "a departure
from the conceptual
.
Friday, March 18, 1983 11
framework of Camp
David."
Carter said the state of
the Camp David process
with respect to the Palesti-
nians is "dismal now" and
had retrogressed in the last
two years. He maintained,
however, that there were
signs of a gradual shift in
the Arab world "towards
moderation" and suggested
that statements by Arab
leaders that were "despised
in Israel" were nevertheless
significantly more moder-
ate than statements made
by the same Arab leaders
three years earlier.
Asked why the Camp
David autonomy
framework had failed so far
to produce an agreement,
Carter gave two reasons:
"the reluctance of the Jor-
danians and the Palesti-
nians to come forward and
negotiate" and "the sharp
disparity between the con-
cept of full autonomy as of-
fered by Premier Begin and
his government as con-
trasted with President
(Anwar) Sadat's and my
concept at the conclusion of
Camp David."
Deny yourself not the
good which the day brings
you, and let not your part in
joy overpass you.
—Apocrypha: Ben Sira,
14.14
JERUSALEM (JTA) —
President Reagan pledged
in a personal message to the
Third World Conference on
Soviet Jewry that ' the
United States "will lead" ef-
forts by the Free World "to
stem and reverse the trends
of plummeting emigration
and increasing harassment
which plague Soviet Jews."
His message was deliv-
ered by Jeane Kirkpatrick,
the U.S. ambassador to the
United Nations, at the
opening of the conference
Tuesday night, attended by
.3,000 Jewish and non-
Jewish delegates from 31
countries.
Reagan stated in his mes-
sage that "durable progress
in East-West relations can-
not be achieved without
concurrent progress in
human rights." Speaking of
Jews in the Soviet Union,
the President declared,
"Know that we will not
forget them. We will firmly
support their just cause."
The opening session
was presided over by
Simone Veil of France,
former president of the
Parliament of Europe
and a former member of
the French Cabinet.
e^cl.
_
in Soviet Jewish emigra-
tion, which is one of the
main concerns of the confer-
ence. Only 206 Jews left the
USSR in January and Feb-
ruary, the lowest number
ever recorded, she said.
"Soviet Jews are caught in a
trap," Veil stated. "They
have no place in the Soviet
Union but as a result of
their desire to go to Israel
they are labelled traitors."
vlo - -
Mayor Teddy Kollek of
Jerusalem called the
gathering an indication of
Jewish unity and stressed
the importance of holding
the conference in
Jerusalem.
Prime Minister Margaret
Thatcher of Great Britain
sent a message to the con-
ference pledging that Brit-
ain, together with other
Western governments, will
"continue resolutely to
press the Russians for an
improvement in -their
* * *
`11/latza of Hope'
for Soviet Jews
The. Detroit Soviet Jewry
Committee of the Jewish
Community Council, is dis-
tributing the "Matza of
Hope" statement to 1,200
leaders in the Jewish com-
munity, including rabbis
and presidentS of Council's
300 member organizations.
The statement, which is
distributed annually, is in-
tended to be used during the
Passover Seder, to call at-
tention to the desperate
plight of Soviet Jews.
Those receiving the
statement are
encouraged to protest the
plight of Soviet Jewry by
writing to American and
Soviet officials whose
names and addresses are
listed on the back.
Additional copies are
available at no charge from
the Council, 962-1880.
human rights record and to
subject that record to the
most demanding public
scrutiny."
Ambassador Kirkpatrick
observed the symbolic sig-
nificance of the conference
held "on the eve of Passover,
the commemoration of the
first exodus." She pro-
claimed that "the struggle
of Soviet Jews to liberate
themselves from bondage
burns with special bright-
ness that cannot be extin-
guished as long as there are
people with courage and
dignity and a desire for
freedom that cannot be de-
nied."
Kirkpatrick denied
that the "noshrim,"
drop-outs who elect to go
to the West instead of to
Israel, are the cause of
the decline in immigra-
tion from the Soviet
Union. "The reasons
change with the sea-
sons," she said.
Last week, Dr. William
Korey of Bnai Brith Inter-
national said he hoped the
Jerusalem conference will
"re-invigorate" the Soviet
Jewry movement. He said
the Jerusalem conference
should once again move the
conscience of the world.,
An American Jewish
Committee delegation
which flew to Jerusalem for
the conference after a visit
to the Soviet Union, re-
ported that Jews "who had
never sought to immigrate"
are now being set upon by
roving gangs and being be-
aten.
AJCommittee President
Maynard Wishner said this
was a tactic which had been
reserved in the past for Jews
who had asked to immig-
rate. He said that high
school students in Lenin-
grad are now playing a
game they call "Concentra-
tion Camp." For days or
weeks on end they refer to
Jewish acquaintances by a
number rather than by
name.
In New York, Avital
Shcharansky, wife of Soviet
Jewish Prisoner of Con-
science Anatoly
Shcharansky, said rumors
of her husband's impending
release from a Soviet prison
were probably inspired by
the Soviet secret police. She
said her husband is still in
prison "and in very bad con-
dition."
Israel's Shamir Says U.S. Visit
Achieved More Understanding
TEL AVIV (JTA) —
Foreign Minister–Yitzhak
Shamir said Wednesday he
was bringing back with him
from Washington new
American ideas on advanc-
ing the__Lebanon talk*„.
ta ils.
arcrmect dfsalose de
The main issue was the
question of the withdrawal
of all foreign forces from
Lebanon. The discussions
were concentrated around
two groups of problems —
security problems and the
framework of mutual rela-
tions between Lebanon and
Israel.
"On both subjects, more
understanding between Is-
rael and the United States
was achieved," he said.
Shamir said he was not
disturbed by the fact that
the U.S. had invited the
Lebanese Foreign Minis-
ter to Washington at the
same time as he was
there.
He said his extensive
talks with American lead-
ers had been with them
alone. He had had no con-
tact with his Lebanese
counterpart.
He said he had stressed to
the Americans that Israel
was already carrying out di-
rect talks with the
Lebanese.
Shamir admitted that
some differences in view-
point and policy still re-
mained with the American
Administration. "The dif-
ferences on some issues are
now narrower. But we still
have to make an effort to
overcome the remaining dif-
ferences," he said.
In Washington, an official
of the Reagan Administra-
tion announced that U.S.
special envoys Philip Habib
and Morris Draper would
return to the Middle East
this weekend "to a negotiat-
ing environment that is
. . . postivelyaltered" as a
result of the talks in Wash-
ington.
At the same time, U.S.
Ambassador Samuel
Lewis acknowledged
that relations between
Israel and the U.S. "have
soured in the past year"
and expressed hope that
they will improve this
spring. He said the talks
between Secretary of
State George Shultz and
Shamir in Washington
this week augured well
return to normal rela-
tions.
Lewis addressed the
American delegation to the
Third World Conference on
Soviet Jewry which opened
in Jerusalem Tuesday. He
said the distrust and es-
trangement that developed
during the year between the
leaders of the U.S. and Is-
rael were tragic to their
"special relationship."
He said the U.S. was par-
ticularly disappointed with
Israel's "inflexibility" over
the West Bank.
But Lewis thought the
war in Lebanon last sum-
mer was necessary and ob-
served that few countries
understood its importance.
He noted, however, that it
triggered a bitter int.,1
debate in Israel and was the
nest war that generated so
much antagonism, not only
among civilians but within
the Israeli army. "History
will judge whether the sac-
rifices made by Israel in
that war were worth it," he
said.
But the American envoy
cautioned that the reality of
the situation in Lebanon
does not justify' the hopes
the Israelis pinned on the
war. He said that although
relations between Israel
and Lebanon will not be full ,
peace relations, south
Lebanon will no longer be a
threat to Israel's security.