16 Friday, October 12, 1984 v.ai THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS FOR SALE to ; Flumapi6< 70,000 Jews • -- Guaranteed Human at 00 a P1 CFe A 0..741 ...L.* ;•••,, 1 aug, SIM, SEWN 21:1 at WNW II1M ! and interviews with more than three dozen people, focuses on what the Center does, how and why it does it, and why this institution has been both praised and condemned for the way it deals with the Holocaust — an examination in- to what inspires us, and at what price. ID MONO WORM* awn '''1"Z' ....I7 • : AMID am a Irma roar WIN MOE 4.4.rtai ' A Hollywood Success Story freeltfu giroariz agaragi et vaH:l ita ,,,,. .4.01 .41t .4..43.4 tit xemsre .11111.,..g...• 14111* 1.01.0111A• Are 411,04e NNAM v The Wiesenthal Center Museum features a montage depicting Stalin, Roosevelt, Churchill and Pdpe Pius XII as "the bystanders." 444 14.1 1 tion in the Jewish community; it is named after an authen- tic modem hero and deals with the sacred topic of Holocaust education. "To amcha (the Jewish masses), the Center is kedusha (holy)," said one West Coast rabbi, "but there is a growing amount of murmuring among the Jewish elite — the professionals and the scholars." They feel the Center has lost its original purpose as a research institu- tion, that its financial success has far outdistanced its pro- grams, and that its Holocaust-related activities are a means of attracting support for the yeshiva it sponsors. They view the Center as an extension of Rabbi Hier — "slick, aggressive and full of hype," in the words of one national Jewish leader. Holocaust survivors and scholars say he has cheapen- ed and exploited the tragedy through his fund-raising techniques; local and national Jewish organizations feel he has moved in on their turf, isolating himself and the Center from the rest of the community; and community relations professionals charge that he has deliberately over- dramatized anti-Semitic incidents, fueling fear and paranoia among many Jews. "The over-riding message of The Simon Wiesenthal Center seems to be: it can happen again," says Rabbi Harold Schulweis, who heads a large Conservative con- gregation in Los Angeles. "They point up only the dangers and try to scare people." Says a spokesman for the Center: "Controlled hysteria is sometimes necessary as a marketing technique." Martin Mendelsohn, the former head of the Special Litigation Unit of Nazi War Criminals for the U.S. Depart- ment of Justice who is now Counsel to the Wiesenthal Center, smiles when he hears the accusations against Rab- bi Hier and the Center. "Let's face it," he says, "the critics resent him because he's Orthodox, he's aggressive, and most of all because he's so successful. The establishment organizations stirei gevalt, raise money and do nothing. They re-act to events. The Center acts, quickly and effectively. "The reality is that you can't be effective in the Jewish world without stepping on some toes." Does the end justify the means? For years the debates have swirled in the Jewish community on the meaning and demeaning of the Holocaust, on whether Jewish organiza- tions have "used" the Holocaust to raise funds. This report, based on a visit to the Wiesenthal Center "I was intrigued by Los Angeles. My dream was to build a yeshiva there." Rabbi Hier The Simon Wiesenthal Center is, literally and figurative- ly, a Hollywood success story. Located on West Pico Boulevard in the heart of one of the major Jewish areas of Los Angeles, it blends Jewish activism and showbiz glitz in a way no other Jewish institution could, or would. A re- cent gala 75th birthday party for Simon Wiesenthal at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles was described by the Center as "a star-studded dinner" for 1,500 chaired by Elizabeth Taylor and featuring a musical tribute to Wiesen- thal by pop singer Barry Manilow. Other entertainment figures on hand included Red Buttons, Ed Asner, Jayne Meadows, Leonard Nimoy and Suzanne Somers. Personal greetings were sent by President Reagan, Israel President Chaim Herzog, West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and Frank Sinatra. The intermediary between world and Jewish leaders and the entertainment industry is Rabbi Hier, who seems as comfortable chatting with a movie star as he does discuss- ing a point of Talmud. It was Rabbi Hier who recognized the impact of mass media on Jewish causes and who sens- ed the potential for a major Jewish center in southern California at a time when the East Coast, and specifically New York, was considered the only logical place to base a national Jewish organization. Marvin Hier is a curious blend of Lower East Side street smarts and Hollywood sophistication, a fact underscored by his offic% at the Wiesenthal Center. On display are his 1962 Orthodox rabbinical ordination from Rabbi Jacob Joseph, a yeshiva on the Lower East Side of New York, as "They point up only the dangers and try to scare people," says a critic of the Center. But a Center official counters: "Controlled hysteria is sometimes necessary as a marketing technique."