THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Friday, November 16, 1984

Arnold Michlin

Arnold Michlin and Henry Saad
have had a busy week together. They
first appeared Friday night at Shabbat
services at Cong. T'chiyah downtown.
But their major event of the week was
Monday evening before 45 Arab and
Jewish couples in Southfield.
Continuing an eight-year dream
of Miehlin's, and three years of quiet,
irregularly-scheduled meetings, the
Detroit and Southfield programs were
the first public acknowledgements of
the existence of the American Arabic
Jewish Friends of Metropolitan De-
troit.
Those two events were sand-
wiched around the national conven-
tion of the Arab American University
Graduates which met over the
weekend at the Westin Hotel in the
Renaissance Center. Although unre-
lated to the American Arabic Jewish
Friends (AAJF), the anti-Israel litera-
ture distributed at the weekend con-
vention has much to do with the mak-
ing — or breaking — of the fledgling
AAJF.
The historic enmities of the Mid-
dle East are what the local group is
trying to overcome. "Being divided on
issues does not mean we have to be
divided as human beings," says Saad,
a third-generation American of Arabic
descent who co-chairs the AAJF. We
welcome everyone with open arms who
wants to sit down and discuss."
Both Saad and Michlin candidly
admit, however, that many members
of the group are impatient "because
they want to see tangible results.
Many of these people are doers and
achievers, and they get impatient."
The doers and achievers include
names like Woodrow W. Woody,
George Bashara, Rev. Imam Muham-
mad A. Karoub, Robert M. Radner,
Victor Ross, Izzy Malin, Sheldon Lutz,
Rabbi Richard C. Hertz, Tallal Turfe,
Marcel Hage, Joseph Borrajo, Sami

25

Henry Saad

OVERCOMING
USPICION

Detroit Jews and Arabs have formed a
social group to discuss common concerns
and alleviate prejudice

BY ALAN HITSKY
News Editor

Jihad and others who attended the
September meeting of the American
Arabic Jewish Friends at the Sheik
restaurant downtown. Nearly 100 per-
sons attended Monday's dinner at
Southfield Manor, which included two
Jewish singers and Chaldean music.
To combat the impatience, the
AAJF drafted a statement of princi-
ples:
We are a group of American citi-
zens who agree that all states and
peoples in the Middle East should exist
in peace. We agree to meet regularly to
promote Arabic-Jewish friendships,
communication and understanding
through increased social dialogue. Ex-
penses will be borne by the individual
members.
"Discussions will be divided be-
tween local cultural, ethnic, business
and/or other concerns. Our primary

_ interest is to establish friendships
through dialogue and examination of
our various cultures and points of
-view.
"This group will make no political
endorsements of any candidate, par-
ticular party position, or any other
partisan issue."
Will Monday's dinner and a
statement of principles satisfy the im-
patient ones? Probably not.
Ed Deeb, a prominent food dealer
in the Detroit area, wanted the group
to have a public dinner for 400 several
years ago. Other members of Arab deg-
cent question the absence of Detroit's
, more prominent Jewish leaders at
AAJF meetings. Some Jewish mem-
bers ponder the absence of meetings
and dialogue during the Lebanon War
in 1982.
"It is a sad commentary on human

relations that it is supposedly
courageous to sit down and talk to fel-
low human beings in America," Saad
told The Jewish News during a recent
interview in his downtown Detroitlaw
office. "On the other hand, there is an
equal number of people who are con-
cerned about adverse publicity. Others
are concerned that we don't have set
objectives. Some people feel it is
worthwhile to meet, but a formal
group isn't necessary to maintain so-
cial relations.
"I see it as an experiment that can
still fail."
Michlin, a past president of the
B'nai B'rith Council of Metropolitan
Detroit, is the founding father of the
American Arabic Jewish Friends,
along with one of the most visible
political figures in Detroit's Arab
community, George Bashara.
Michlin sees the AAJF as the
most important thing I've ever done in
my life," a vehicle to bring people to-
gether to discuss local issues of com-
mon concern. He knows of only two
similer groups in the United States.
"Several years ago, there were
problems between Chaldean and
Jewish students at Southfield-
Lathrup High School," Michlin said.
"We offered to come in and mediate
between the two groups." Although
school officials declined the offer,
Michlin feels the AAJF was ulti-
mately responsible for the officials ad-
dressing the situation.
Michlin also said his contacts
within the group helped to start a
dialogue between leaders of the Na-
tional Association of Arab Americans
and B'nai B'rith International.
Saad and Michlin frankly admit
that Middle East events color every-
thing the group has been trying to do.
Israel's invasion of Lebanon in June
1982 caused the group to be inactive

Continued on Page 36

