▪ 18 Friday, Febriary 1, 1985 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS lit!!! SI NEWS The Politics Shade Palestinian Commencement-Exercises BLIND SPOT I BY GIL SEDAN Nablus (JTA) — For two-and- a-half hours one day last month, inside the unfinished parking garage at the Arab university, A-Najah, it seemed as though there was no Israel occupation here. Cheering Palestinians — an es- timated 2,000 to 3,000 people — attended the fourth commence- ment exercises at the university which has often been the scene of violent clashes between Arab stu- dents and Israeli soldiers. They sang nationalist songs, chanted Palestinian slogans and listened to patriotic speeches, against the backdrop of a huge red-white-black Palestinian flag hanging, in an illegal public dis- play, in the rear of the garage. The Israeli army kept away from the university; choosing not to inter- vene. As a rule, political gatherings in the administrated territories are forbidden. Any exception must receive prior approval from the military authorities, and this is rarely given. The commence- ment ceremony at A-Najah gave the Palestinian elite a golden opportunity to hold a political rally disguised as a purely aca- demic event. Nobody who attended had any doubt that this was, indeed, a political rally. As the 481 graduating students entered the hall to the strains of the Palestinian national song, Mawtini (My Country) and rais- ing "V" signs with their fingers, the crowd cheered with enthusiasm. Women, whose chil- dren studied at the university, yelled traditional expressions of joy. Among the crowd were many of the national leaders, most of them deposed from their official posi- tions — Bassam Shaka, who was removed as Mayor of Nablus, and Karim Khalaf, deposed Mayor of Ramallah. Next to them sat a distin- guished guest, Wat Clevarius, the American consul general in East Jerusalem — quite openly an ex- pression of American interest in the quality of life of the Palesti- nians under Israeli ocupation. (U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz has often expressed inter- est in the development of Arab universities in the territories.) The participants did not hide the fact that they regarded A-Najah — and seven other uni- versities in the territories — as symbols of national renaissance. The university's management likes to compare it with the He- brew University in Jerusalem, and the role it played in the early days of the Yishuv. nr 50%-70% OFF ALL NAME BRANDS • Vertical Blinds • Levolor Blinds • Pleated Shades • Wood Blinds Free Professional Measure at No Obligation Free in Home Design Consulting A THE BLIND SPOT The Congress Building 30555 Southfield Rd. Suite 255 Southfield, Michigan 48076 Showroom by Appointment 6444001 No matter how you turn the globe The Jewish News keeps you posted on Jewish happenings everywhere! Call 354-6060 TODAY and order your subscription. I/ MIA 6-Month C.D. YIELD' RATE n no U.UL 9.50 12-Month C. D. YIELD. RATE 'Effective annual yield assumes origina deposit and all earnings are reinvested at current rate and annualized. 10 20 9.75 BEVERLY HILLS 24-Month C.D. YIELD' 10.75 RATE 10.25 31255 Southfield Road (at 13 Mile) 644-2999 36-Month C.D. YIELD. RATE 11.02 10.50 WATERFORD TOWNSHIP 2986 Walton Road (at Clintonville Rd.) 674-4901 "We Create Solutions." Money Market 890% Rates subject to change limit to S50,000 per customer LOBBY: M-TH 10AM-4 30PM, F 10AM-7PM DRIVE THRU: M-TH 9 30AM-6PM, F 9.30AM-7PM, Sat 9AM-12 Sterling saing s &loan ISTX A-Najah National University (its official name) is the largest university in the territories. It was founded in 1918 as an educa- tional institution. In 1941 it be- came a college, and in 1965 it was transformed into a teachers' training institution. Under Is- raeli rule, in 1977, it became a university. It has grown from sev- eral hundred students at the be- ginning to a current enrollment of 3,100. Political activity on the A-Najah campus, as on most cam- puses in the territories, domi- nates the students' lives. The stu- dent body is controlled by Al Fatah supporters, with strong op- position from the Moslem Brotherhood. Studies at the university were resumed only two months ago after a four-month ban. The sanc- tion was imposed on the students after they held a nationalist ex- hibition which displayed, accord- ing to the authorities, elements of incitement. Such closure orders have become a part of the univer- sity routine. The authorities close the uni- versity, there is a quiet period, fol- lowed by another exhibit or a demorfstration which triggers a severe reaction on the part of the military. As a rule, though, the military refrains from intervening in most indoor activities as long as they are not considered incitement. Papers Spar On Award To Nazi New York (JTA) — A Miami Beach weekly has charged the Miami Herald with having prev- ious knowledge that Miami Beach Mayor Michael Fromberg unwit- tingly was going to present an award • to a former Nazi SS sergeant at a ceremony last year attended by a large group of Jewish residents of the area, ac- cording to a report in a December issue of Editor and Publisher magazine. The Miami Beach Sun Reporter claimed that the Herald sat on the story until the award was made. But the Herald's reporter and editors said they had no advance knowledge of the identity of Franz Hausberger who was to receive the medallion from Fromberg in recognition of his work to encour- age German tourism. TheHerald said they received a tip shortly before the ceremony regarding Hausberger's past ac- tivities. They contacted sources to confirm his identity and sent an additional reporter to the cere- mony to join the reporter origi- nally assigned to the story. By the time the reporter arrived the Herald said, the ceremony had al- ready begun. Resettlement Aid New York — Pioneer Women/ Na'amat has transmitted $200,000 for newly-arrived Ethiopian Jews.