24
Friday, May 24, 1985
11 .14e DETROIT JEWISI4 NEWS
LINDA GARFIELD: "I hope we are able
to resolve this situation . ."
• SIMA SHAW: "Can we deny them (the
men) their means of functioning?"
HARRIET HORWITZ: "Doing nothing
would send some . . . messages."
B'nai B'rith
women are
divided over the
men's proposal
to merge.
BY ANNE Y. MEYERS
Special to The Jewish News
4
I
Dorothy Storchen asks a question at the town hall meeting.
B'nai B'rith Fight: To Marry Or Divorce?
divorce where there
are children in-
volved" — that's
how Harriet Hor-
witz, B'nai B'rith
Women's international vice president,
views the future of joint programs
after the proposed separation of B'nai
B'rith International and B'nai B'rith
Women.
The proposed "divorce" has raised
a few tempers and temperatures in the -
B'nai B'rith family. The May 7 B'nai
B'rith Women's meeting at the Zionist
Cultural Center perfectly illustrated
this point.
" A
One woman asked the question,
"Why do you think the men decided
they wanted to have women in their
organization?" Heated mumbles and
hypotheses were interrupted by a
louder voice in the back of the room —
"So we can ,serve the coffee," the
woman said.
The decision by B'nai B'rith
Women to explore a split came as a
result of B'nai B'rith International's
decision last fall to admit women into
its declining ranks.
The possible break-up of B'nai
B'rith is a heated issue. Open exposure
in the press is detested by some, sol-
icited by others. The issue is of great
importance to B'nai B'rith Women,
and their well-respected image is at
stake. The May 7 town hall meeting
drew 80 Detroit BBW members.
When Linda Garfield, chairman
of the East Central Region Board, got
up to hush the crowd, it took several
"Ladies, please." But, when it got to
the real heart of the matter, these
women were concerned for their future
and the future of their causes.
BBW international vice president
Harriet Horwitz of North Miami Be-
ach, Fla., is speaking at five of 50 BBW
town hall meetings during May and
June. "This is to give information to
members and to take information back
— questions or concerns," she said.
"The executive board of 50-plus
members can't make a decision for
120,000 some members. This must be a
grass-roots decision."
The women fidgeted a bit, some
looking quite inattentive as Horwitz
talked about BBW's remarkable
organization. Some clock-watched.
Most seemed to have heard this kind of
speech before.
But, it was merely an introduc-
tion. Horwitz calmed the crowd and
said, "At this time, we are faced with
what is undoubtedly the most impor-
tant challenge of our long organiza-
tional life — To find the right solution
to the problem that has arisen in our
relationship with BBI (B'nai B'rith In-
ternational)."
On March 30, BBW's executive
board voted 41-2 in favor of the follow-
ing resolution: "Resolved: B'nai B'rith
Women, Inc. shall develop a plan to
terminate its relationship with B'nai
B'rith International, to be submitted
with appropriate constitutional
amendments for adoption at the 1986
Biennial Convention .of B'nai B'rith
Women, Inc."
According to Horwitz, the original
suggestion by BBI of an eventual
merger was disguised semantically as
integration or assimilation.
"When the B'nai B'rith Women
leadership, in response to the an-
nouncement at the Board of Gover-
nor's meeting, went across the country
last summer to 33 town hall meetings
similar to this one, explaining what
was happening and what had been