THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS has also served as Clawson city attor- ney, Clarkston village attorney and Groveland Township attorney. In both areas he has worked extensively in the district courts. Sosnick's campaign literature L; i mentions his handbook on school law, r which is used in 40 states, as well as his handbook on child molesting. He claims he has the experience and re- spect it takes to be a judge. Sosnick serves on the boards of ( -17)mmon Ground in Birmingham, (_f-,laven domestic violence shelter and rape crisis center, and the Federated Council of Domestic Violence Pro- grams. His extensive list of endorsements iP cludes two former judges of the 48th '" District Court, a circuit judge, two tormer circuit judges, six former State Bar Association presidents, Oakland County Prosecutor L. Brooks Patter- son and former Prosecutor Thomas _Plunkett, and U.S. Attorney Leonard 'R. Gilman. Sosnick has also been endorsed by a number of police officer associations in the district and numerous lawyer ',. groups, as well as eight of the ten can- didates he and Ajlouny defeated in the August primary. Ajlouny has -been endorsed by the national president of the American Bar Association, two former State Bar presidents and others. He is a member of St. Hugo's parrish, Kiwanis Inter- i_national, Knights of Columbus, the Law Enforcement Board of New De- ' Sit and the Bicentennial Commis- sion. He has served as a youth baseball coach and manager for 14 years. Sosnick has centered his cam- paign theme on his many years of ex- - p erience working in the district courts, and his opponent's 'lack of experience /in those courts. Many of his suppor- ters, however, express a greater fear about Ajlouny's Middle East views than about his qualifications. In defending his views, Ajlouny points to a number of Jewish friends who have - endorsed his candidacy. "I snared office space with four Jewish lawyers for nine years," he says. "We lived like a family together. I am also involved with the American Arabic Jewish Friends of Metropolitan De- , troit," a group of Arab and Jewish De- f otters who have been quietly meet- i.ng on a monthly basis for the past three years. He included among his Jewish friends Irving Blum, Steve Lupiloff, Al Lopatin and Shel Miller. Blum gave Ajlouny a ringing - - endorsement. "Eddie Ajlouny used to -work for me," Blum told The Jewish News. "He was an employee of mine and he is a friend." Asked about Aj- 1 ouny supporting the PLO, Blum re- sponded vehemently: "Bullshit! Eddie -- doesn't advocate any PLO stuff and I've heard him say it on many occa- sions. I wouldn't support anyone re- motely connected with the PLO — my sister-in-law and brother-in-law live Iin Jerusalem! I'd certainly support Eddie Ajlouny." r---- -= Lupiloff also gave Ajlouny strong „praise. "I've known Eddie for 15 years, since I've been practicing law. He's a real gentleman." But Lupiloff gives a different in- L -: terpretation of Ajlouny's Palestinian 2 - views: "I talked to him when he began his r-campaign about ties to any organiza- tions that would not curry favor with ; . - I - the Jewish community," Lupiloff said. "I talked to him at great length. He has changed (over the years) from what I would say was radical to some- one of great moderation. Clearly, he is not a supporter of violent activities. He advocates everyone living together, mediating and negotiating to solve these problems. He didn't just take these positions recently to curry favor." Told of Lupiloff's comments, Aj- louny responded that he "had never been a radical. I spoke in my capacity as an official of a Palestinian organiza- tion. Since then, we have all seen the folly of violence." Asked by The Jewish News about his current views, Ajlouny explained "In my own thinking, I don't think a Palestinian state is feasible, gio- nomically or politically. I wouldlii6 to An Arab and a Jew are opposing each other as judicial candidates. see the West Bank and Gaza linked to Jordan." As for PLO leader Yassir Arafat, Ajlouny said, "He is the leader of the Palestinians in the Middle East. Be- lieve it or not, he is a moderate within the PLO. His group is the most moder- ate. But I am disappointed that he has not accomplished his agenda of getting a homeland. He has not lately been a strong leader." Ajlouny reiterated his criticism of PLO violence and repeated that "terror does not solve anything." Asked about Israel, Ajlouny stated, "Israel is a reality. I recognize it as such. It is my hope that the Pales- tinians and Israel will work together for their future and build an area that they will be proud of for future genera-• tions. So much talent is being wasted in warfare. It could be used to develop farmland and solve the area's prob- lems." Two Jewish members of the Arab-Jewish friends group, Arnold Michlin and Victor moss, were also generous in their praise of Ajlouny. Michlin, a former president of the Greater Detroit B'nai B'rith Men's Council, said that he has met Ajlouny on several occasions after checking on his PLO views. Jewish members of the American Arabic Jewish Friends had vowed that they would not meet with members of the Palestine Liberation Organization. "I confronted my Arabic friends," Michlin said, "and they said he was not a supporter of the PLO. He is conge- nial, warm, friendly, and has lots of Jewish friends. I don't want to infer that I support him (for judge), but we have a duty to clear the air." Ross, father of former State Sena- tor Doug Ross, said he has seen Aj- louny's educational and professional background "and it is very impressive. "I have. met him twice. He said clearly and unequivocally that he does not believe in terrorism and does not support the PLO. He believes in the existence of Israel and in a Palestinian homeland." Ross added, "I think 50 percent of Jews here and in Israel would agree with his positions. My impression was very positive." Listing his own credentials as a member of the American Jewish Committee, B'nai B'rith, the Anti- Defamation League (ADL), a suppor- ter of the American Israel Public Af- fairs Committee and other Jewish causes, Ross added that "we Jews should try to establish relations with Arabs." He stated that he would feel comfortable voting for Ajlouny in any election. That view was not shared by Peter Alter, president of the Michigan Region of ADL. "Ajlouny has made no disclaimers about the Detroit News ar- ticles until now. I would view any dis- claimers a few weeks before the elec- tion as too little, too late. I don't see any doubts about him if you see the Detroit News articles. I think the facts should be made public and then let everybody judge his explanations, or support or lack of support, for any organization." "People who have met me," Aj- louny commented, "get a different pic- ture. I am not a monster. I do not have horns. I like to believe that I am totally fair to people of all religions." The Middle East overtones, how- ever, have led to an expensive election race. As of the end of August, Ajlouny had raised nearly $37,000 and spent $26,000. Sosnick at the same point had raised $43,000 and spent $37,000. The vast majority of the contributions are for less than $200, with the exception of Sosnick's brother, Robert, a Troy real estate developer, who has con- tributed $6,000 to his brother's cam- paign. A Sept. 25 fund-raising meeting for Sosnick — with a minimum contri- bution of $100 — was sponsored by Guy Barron, Bart Berman, Maurice Binkow, Paul Borman, Martin Citrin, Milt Dresner, Burt Farbman, Morris Fenkell, Stanley Frankel, David Hermelin, Dan Honigman, Joe Jacob- son, Ira Jaffe, Emery Klein, Tom Klein, Ed Levy Jr., Albert Lopatin, Friday, October 19, 1984 15 David Mondry, Bob Naftaly, Graham Orley, Norman Pappas, Spencer Par- trich, Asa Shapiro, Mickey Shapiro and Bob Sosnick. The issue of campaign spending has been raised by Sosnick supporters, who question "the large sums" being raised by Ajlouny outside Michigan. The suggestion is that he might be a front for Arab organizations who would ultimately like Ajlouny to win a Congressional seat whenever long- time Congressman William Broom- field retires. The election records through Aug. 31 show that Ajlouny has received 50 contributions from individuals outside Michigan totaling $3,700. The five largest contributions ranged from $125-$400, with the rest at $100 or less. "I was the president of a national organization several years ago," Aj- louny said, referring to the Ramallah group. "I have many friends around the country who have contributed to my campaign as individuals. They are Arab Americans. I am sure Mr. Sos- nick has relied heavily on the Jewish community." Ajlouny scoffs at the suggestion that he is running as a front man for Arab organizations, or that he has higher political aspirations. "Higher office?" he asked. "I'm having trouble enough getting elected to this position. "I wouldn't foreclose any future possibilities, but this is my first effort in politics. I want to be a judge because I feel I have something to contribute to this community. All I want to be is a good judge." He added that Arab organizations "would stand to gain very little from my election as judge." He said he is running for office in order to give something back to the community in which he has lived for 14 years, and residency is one of Aj- louny's major campaign issues. He charges that Sosnick moved into a Bloomfield apartment nine months ago simply to fulfill the residency re- quirement for the judgeship. The residency issue and a drunk Continued on next page The American Federation of Ramallah, Palestine Pro-Arab Propaganda in America: Vehicles and Voices, pub- lished in :1982 by the Anti- Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, included the following aspects in its description of the American Feder- ation of Ramallah, Palestine; ". . an AFRP 'Organizational Profile' states that as an association of Palestinian Americans, the group has a duty to endeavor to change U.S. foreign policy vis-a-vis the Palestinians from callous dis- dain to a position consistent with the national rights of self- determinatioi for the Palestinian people.' "Toward these goals, the AFRP has met with federal and local offi- cials to urge cuts in U.S. aid to Is- rael, and 'U.S. recognition of the PLO as the sole legitimate repre- sentative of the Palestinian people.' In the fall of 1982Jhe AFRP spon- sored several fund-raising events for the re-election campaign of then Rep. Paul Findley, (R.411.) who had been outspoken in his support for the PLO and the Palestinian cause "From time to time, the federa- tion has run full-page ads in U.S. newspapers. In one such AFRP ad- vertisement, the organization as- serted its support for the Palestine Liberation Organization by stating: `So long as one Palestinian lives — irrespective as to whether that Palestinian is in Lebanon, in Pales- tine, in America, or elsewhere — so long as one Palestinian lives, so too, does the struggle of the PLO to re- turn to Palestine.' " Figward Ajlouny served as president of the organization in 1981 and as counsel for five years.