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11.0„1113h3
12:..Friday, July 13, 1984.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS.
.
NEWS
JCCouncil files suit
on voter registration
The Jewish Community
Council of Metropolitan De-
troit joined nine other
Michigan civil rights and
public interest groups Mon-
day in a lawsuit charging
that the state's system of
voter registration creates
unconstitutional barriers tb
the right to vote and pre-
vents participation in polit-
ical activities for some
groups of people.
The suit, filed in U.S. Dis-
trict Court in Flint, asks the
court to withdraw the dele-
gation of discretionary
authority by the state to
local election clerks and to
issue an injunction against
the practice of allowing
local election officials to
apply "arbitrary, capricious
and localized criteria in de-
vising deputy registrar pro-
grams."
The plaintiffs are also
seeking the implementa-
tion of voter registration by
mail, or polling place regis-
tration. These measuers,
•
the suit claims, would help
end discrimination against
minorities and those who
are economically disadvan-
taged.
In addition to the Jewish
Community Council,
groups filing suit include
the Arab-American Voter
Registration Project, the
Gray Panthers — Metro
North, the League of
Women Voters of Michigan
Center for a Barrier-Free
Environment and the
Michigan Citizens Lobby.
Also, the Michigan
Humane Service Employees
Registration, Voting and
Education Campaign; the
Michigan Protection and
Advocacy Service for De-
velopmentally Disabled
Citizens — Lapeer"-Flip
Area Branch Office, the Na-
tional Association for the
Advancement of Colored
People — Flint Chapter and
the Public Interest Re-
search Group in Michigan.
xT
Israeli lawyers in London
to defend 2 in Dikko case
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+OF
London (JTA) — Two Is-
raeli attorneys travelled to
England Tuesday to defend
two Israelis who were ar-
rested by British
authorities for their in-
volvement in the abortive
attempt to abduct former
Nigerian Transport Minis-
ter Umaru Dikko from
Britain to Nigeria.
Uri 'Slonim will take up
the case of Dr: Arye Lev
Shapiro, a 45-year-old anes-
thetist, found hi a wooden
crate alongside Dr. Dikko,
who had been drugged. An-
other lawyer has agreed to
defend Felix Avital, found
hiding with a Nigerian in
another crate.
The Israeli government
has strenously denied that
it was in any way connected
with the affair. In
Jerusalem, Premier Yit-
zhak Shamir said this week
that the government was in
no way involved in the kid-
napping attempt. The inci-
dent was a criminal offense,
in which Israel was not im-
plicated, Shamir said. This
contention was 'upheld by
British Foreign Secretary
Sir Geoffrey Howe, who told
the parliament that there
was "no evidence" of any Is-
raeli government involve-
ment.
Nevertheless, British
newspapers remain uncon-
vinced that' this was the
case, pointing out that Is-
rael and Nigeria retain
strong trading links despite
.their 1974 breach in dip-
lomatic relations.
One paper suggested that
Israel might hope to becOme
a regular customer for
Nigerian 'oil.
Shapiro does not fit easily
into the image of an inter-
national mercenary, as he
was initially described by
British police. He emi-
grated from the Soviet
Union to Israel 14 years ago
a highly skilled physician.
In' Israel he worked at two
hospitals as an anesthetist
and a couple of years ago
went to America for spe-
cialized training. On his re-
turn he became head of the
new intensive care division
of the Sharon Hospital, ten
miles northeast of Tel Aviv.
Meanwhile, the Israeli
Emblissy here has denied
that a visit: to London last
week by David Kimche, di-
rector general of the Israeli
Foreign Ministry, was
linked to the Dikko affair.
Kimche was here at the in-
vitation of the Joint Israel
Appeal, the embassy said.
Kiinche, a former top in-
telligence office is one of Is-
rael's leading authorities on
relations with black Africa.
When the story of the Is-
raelis' arrest was first re-
ported Friday, the embassy
said it was no more in-
terested in the case of the
two Israelis than if they had
been picked up on a drug
smuggling offense.
,
Named to post
New York —* Leonard R.
Strelitz of Norfolk, Va., a
former general chairman of
the United. Jewish Appeal,
has been elected chairman
of the international board of
governors of Tel Aviv Uni-
versity.