THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
LETTERS
From Europe To You
Ladies Fashions By
The World's Finest Designers
• Lorenzo
• Piani
• Farber
• Maduson
• and others
he debate over
Who is a Jew?'
The article "Who is a Jew?"
ritten by Irving Greenberg
ept. 14) contains gross distor-
Jns of fact and many inconsis-
ncies.
On the one hand, Greenberg
tates that "al pi Halacha (accord-
ng to Halacha) is exactly the pre-
ent situation in Israel. When
onverts apply for Israeli citizen-
an Orthodox rabbi checks
em out and their conversion
ust meet halachic standards."
.,everal paragraphs later he says,
In the early years, the response
f American Reform and Conser-
Itive movements was temperate
f n_ot apathetic. Some — most? —
heir converts were being ac-
epted."
Reform rabbis do not claim that
heir conversions are according to
alacha. In fact, their conver-
ons are not according to Halacha
nce the convert is not expected
0 observe most of the command-
nts. Thus if Reform conver-
sions which are definitely not ac-
ording to Halacha are being ac-
cepted in Israel how can Green-
erg claim that the present situa-
n is halachically acceptable?
Greenberg also quotes statistics
1, s - -put American aliyah, indicat-
ng that very few converts move to
7ael. He conveniently forgets
e a.t a sizeable portion of the olim
are from South America, South
Africa and other countries where
the same problem exists.
His attempt to make this a mat-
er of internal Orthodox politics is
an effort to cloud one of the most
.,,..portant issues in Judaism to-
day. This is not a question of Or-
lodox versus Conservative and
Reform. It is rather a question of
adherence to Halacha and Shul-
an Aruch. It is not a political
question or an attempt to insult
yone — but rather the fight to
etain the 3,700-year-old
standard as to who is a Jew, dic-
tated to us by the Oral Torah
which Jews have always consid-
ered to be the word of God.
Far from being divisive, those
who are in the forefront in the
battle to amend the law to read
"Giur K'Halacha (conversion ac-
cording to Jewish law) are actu-
ally fighting for the preservation
of Jewish unity. The proliferation
of non-halachic conversions and
their ipso facto acceptance in Is-
rael is creating a sub-culture of
"Jewish non-Jews," individuals
who will not be accepted as Jews
by a significant percentage of our
people, and who will certainly, at
one time or another, experience
the frustration and heartbreak of
rejection.
It is not fair to them; it is not
fair to the Jewish people.
Jocelyn Krieger
at
EUROPEAN FASHIONS
La Mirage Mall
Hastings Street
and Westminster
Between 12 & 13 Mile
The six residents of the JARC's
Rabbi and Mrs. Solomon H. Grus-
kin Haverim Home on Devon-
shire in Beacon Square will be
forced to move "sometime after
the first of the year." The Devon-
shire home, near 11 Mile, will be
removed by the 1-696 freeway
construction.
Lena Kheynsr)
plIZER S
Of Harvard Row
THE LARGEST HEBREW BOOK SHOP IN THE MIDWEST
We Have High Holiday
MACHZORIM
For All Synagogues
In The Detroit Metropolitan Area
Just Arrived
ISRAELI
Esrogim 11 , Lulovim
''Staff report
The Woodhaven Neighborhood
Association and the City of South-
field filed suit to block the JARC
from purchasing a home on
Woodhaven, between 12 Mile and
13 Mile, because the home was
within 1,500 feet of a JARC home
Normandale in Beverly Hills.
The Woodhaven homeowners said
the 1,500-foot rule in Michigan
iaw was valid despite the homes
Thurs. 10 to 8
Tanya Kaufman
JARC still seeking group home
near Woodhaven in Southfield
being located in different cities.
The City of Southfield's lawsuit
challenged what city officials con-
tend is an "excessive concentra-
tion" of 17 adult foster care
facilities in the city.
Both suits were withdrawn last
week after JARC withdrew its
state application to operate the
Woodhaven home.
Keller said the application was
dropped because the JARC did not
want to move the residents twice
if the JARC was defeated in court.
She said two moves would be dif-
ficult for the JARC residents and
expensive for the organization.
29555 Northwestern Hwy.
357-5424
Mon., Tues., Wed., Fri. 10 to 6
Saturday 10 to 4
Concerning your Purely Com-
mentary article (Sept. 28) on
"When Bubbe and Zayde waved
Hank Greenberg around the
bases," I was an adolescent at that
historical moment. I state that
Hastings, Oakland and
Westminster were in the descen-
dancy at the time referred to.
Greenberg did not play for the
Tigers prior to the Roosevelt Ad-
ministration. The "soon to be
populated 12th Street" was al-
ready a developed Jewish area be-
fore Roosevelt — my grand-
parents had purchased the house
at 2030 Hazelwood near 14th
Street that I spent the first 28 1/2
years of my life in, in the late
autumn of 1921 and there wasn't
the developed system of Sarnoff-
inspired radio broadcasting for
years ahead.
Sherm Schooler
LOCAL NEWS
The Jewish Association for Re-
tarded Citizens is seeking to pur-
1 chase a new home in the same
area where it was forced last week
to withdraw an application for a
,,group home.
' JARC executive director Joyce
Keller told The Jewish News, "We
ant to keep the residents in the
Lahser-11 Mile or Lahser-12 Mile
area because they are familiar
with the area. If we could find an-
other home on Woodhaven, we'd
Jake it. We are looking in the im-
mediate area and surrounding
Friday, October 5, 1984
at reasonable prices
1
Super Special
6 Doz. Israeli Dripless
CANDLES
good with
coupon only I
mom= wilmumwommeromommommi
$2 59
SPITZER'S
Hebrew Book & Gift Center
11 Mile & lahser, Southfield
Harvard Row Mall
356-6080
11111111111
Open All Day Sunday
■
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