▪ - 62 Friday, September 7, 1984 111 III 1 . THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS II 11 1 1111111111111111 11 1111111 NEWS OPENING SEPTEMBER 1 an International Shopping Experience at Reagan Mideast peace proposal still valid: State Department pa OH • Fine Imported Giftware • Stylish Accessories • Washington (JTA) — The State Department last week noted the second anniversary of President Reagan's Sept. 1, 1982 Middle East peace initiative by stressing the Administration still considers Reagan's proposals the most "valid" means of achieving peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Department spokesman John Hughes, declaring that the pro- posals in the initiative "remain as valid today as when they were presented," rejected as "unfair" charges that the Administration has not been pursuing it in recent months. He said that while there have been many "obstacles" such as the "upheaval in Lebanon," the Ad- ministration has had a continuing • Exotic Fashions • And Much More!!! COME, EXPLORE, ENJOY CORNERS OF THE WORLD SHOPS 25909 Coolidge Hwy. (between 10 and 11 Mile) in Oak Park "just around the corner for shopping around the wortd" A9IKKEICOSSIMUSNIQUKUM 11-14)8111EWCIRIS Windows, Walls & Room Ideas CUSTOM DRAPERIES • BALLOON SHADES 300/0 on labor and materials FULL RANGE OF WINDOW TREATMENTS WINDOW WALLS • ROOM IDEAS YOUR ACCESS TO THE TROY DESIGN CENTER • r- 1 Patti Kommel ▪ r- ▪ r-- ..41 r- r- WOOLF ROOFING 1 COMMERCIAL & RESIDENTIAL L L L L FLAT ROOFIN HOT TAR 1 • 1 Ply Systems • Shingles • 24-Hour Emergency Service 1 ASK FOR SCOTT OR SAMMY WOOLF West Bloomfield Southfield 682-7336 18161 W. 13 Mile Rd. 2496 Walce 646-2452 INSURED • FREE ESTIMATES - 111/ 111/ 1110"- 110P" • David A. Kott, D.D.S., M.S., P.C. Practice Limited to Orthodontics announces the opening of a second office 31800 Northwestern Hwy. Suite 360 Farmington Hills, Michigan 48018 Telephone 855-4142 however hard the assignment may be and however long the road." However, many observers be- lieve that the Administration's Mideast effort has been put on hold pending the U.S. and Israel elections. Reagan did not mention his initiative in his acceptance speech to the Republican Na- tional Convention nor is it men- tioned in the Republican Party platform. Hughes refused to comment on whether a new Israeli govern- ment will accept the Reagan in- itiative. Premier Menachem Begin rejected the proposal as soon as it was announced and his successor, Yitzhak Shamir, main- tained this position. There's more to Dijon, France than just mustard and wine wallcoverings • lighting fixtures • custom formica furniture 399-3094 t' "major diplomatic effort" in the Middle East. However, he stressed, that does not mean that any "imminent breakthrough" is expected. "That does not alter the fact the peace is worth pursuing; that no- body else has come up with any other kind of alternative that seems to make a great deal of sense," Hughes said. He rejected the Soviet Union's proposal for an international con- ference on the Mideast as not "a particularly helpful or construc- tive approach." Hughes refuted the idea that the U.S. would "do nothing and sit back while people kill themselves in the Mideast." He said that in- stead the Administration's posi- tion is to "continue to work at it, Dijon, France (JTA) — Twenty years ago, several hundred thousand North African Jews, fleeing an unstable and seem- ingly dangerous future, sailed across the Mediterranean to France. Not everyone headed for Paris, however. Many planted their roots in small towns where there had been few or no Jews. One such settlement was Dijon in Burgundy, an area which con- jures up "a special mustard," world-famous fine wines and de- licious poultry. Forty years ago Dijon was lib- erated from the Nazis who occu- pied the city throughout the war and who kept the town of 160,000 under tight surveillance because it is an important railroad and highway center. Although the town synagogue was used as a stable and garage by the Germans. the house of wor- ship survived the war. One person who may have been responsible for its escaping destruction was a Catholic clergyman, Chanoine (Canon) Kir, who later became mayor of the municipality as well as a member of Parliament. Kir pursuaded the Germans not to de- stroy the temple, and hid Jewish ritual objects in his home. In the fall of 1944, the first Yom Kippur of liberated Europe, American Jewish GI's from throughout the battle zone flocked to Dijon. "There were so many American Jewish troops here, that the overflow prayed in the streets," recalled H.C. Bloch of Dijon. After World War II, the Jewish community began anew. Since the vast majority of Dijon Jews had been deported during the war, it was not until the 1960's with the influx of the North African Jews, that it flourished again. Today, 250 Jewish families re- side in Dijon, about 200 miles southeast of Paris; a city of clean, winding pedestrian streets, with wooded 15th century houses; a city where the old town remains the shopping center; a city which features the majestic palaces of the Dukes of Burgundy. Half of the 1,000 Dijon Jews are Sephardic. There are no real ten- sions to speak of between the Sephardim and Ashkenazim, though the service in the synagogue is Sephardic ritual. It is safe to say that as in all parts of France, assimilation in Dijon is high. After all, French Jewish leaders said that, France assimilated Jews faster than any country in the world. One French rabbi added that when the Sephardim first came here two decades ago, they accused the Ashkenazim of assimilating. "Now becau of the free society here, the Sepharidm,'.' he said sadly, "are doing the very same thing. They also are assimilating; and at a fast rate, too." In discussing the nature of this Jewish community, there are two prevalent viewpoints. One is that young people are moving toward "traditional Judaism," according to Bloch. But Ms. Claude Houlmann, who is Jewish and a tour guide in Dijon disagreed. She thinks as- similation is rampant. She also said she has many Christian friends and that she herself "never experienced anti- Semitism." There are two kosher butcher shops in Dijon, and a mikvah. Rabbi M. Sibony said that the synagogue is still the focal point for the Jewish community. Serv- ices are conducted Friday night and Saturday morning. On Saturday afternoons, there are special services for young people. Activities are held in the synagogue on Sunday, including Hebrew-language classes and meetings of the Jewish National Fund, WIZO, and an active com- mittee for Soviet Jewry. Argentine President promises strengthening of Israel support New York (JTA) — Argenti- nian President Raul Alfonsin told a visiting American Jewish Committee delegation this week that "Argentina will stick by its moral principles and will not again allow our representatives to take knee-jerk anti-Israel posi- tions at the United Nations and elsewhere." His remark referred to a vote in favor of an Arab-sponsored reso- lution against Israel last March in Geneva, at a meeting of the UN Commission on Human Rights. He termed the vote "a mistake," adding that his government's representative had voted against official instructions. Alfonsin's comments were made during discussions with Rabbi Marc Tanenbaum, director of AJC's International Relations Department, and Jacobo Kovad- loff, director of the agency's Latin American Office, who spent a two-week fact finding mission in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay last month. Dr. Vivaldo Barbosa, secretary of justice of the state of Rio de Janeiro, informed the AJC offi- cials that his office had recently banned a PLO publication, entitled Jerusalem, which carried a flagrantly anti-Semitic article. During a meeting with Foreign Minister Dante Caputo, Tanen- baum and Kovadloff discussed the importance of the country's tran- sition from a military dictatorship to a constitutional democracy committed to upholding human rights. Caputo stressed that the moral and practical support of the American people and the Ameri- can Jewish community was of "profound meaning" to the Argen- tine government during what he called "this critical period." Vocational service aids older workers Boston (JTA) — The Jewish Vocational Service (JVS) of Bos- ton is one of nine participants in the first state-funded job training program in Massachusetts targeted for older workers.