58 Friday, December 27, 1985 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Wedding, Rehearsal and Ceremony Assistance Lee Wolin Call The Jewish News 354-6060 3544433 GOING SOUTH? WHEN YOU COME BACK, MAKE SURE YOUR PICTURES ARE AS VIVID AS YOUR MEMORIES. processing by THE CRAINE it CORCORAN'S FULL SERVICE ONE HOUR LAB 443-1808 southfield plaza • southfield rd. between 12 & 13 • across from Farmer Jack YEAR END WINTER SUITS Our entire stock of 100% wool and wool blend suits. Drastically reduced to make room for spring merchandise. Sizes 4-16. Regular S250-S300. WINTER DRESSES Exquisite designs for the office, the board meeting and after hours. 100% silk, wools, crepes, flannels and more. Sizes 4-16. Regular S98-$320. 0% WINTER SLACKS Beautifully tailored 100% wool and wool blend trousers. Many with comfort-ease waistbands. Sizes 2-16. Regular S60- S 105. WINTER SWEATERS 10% WINTER SKIRTS ALL LONG-SLEEVE BLOUSES evoraS's Dp,iGNE I? [MESSING AT DISCOUNT PRICES FOCUS GET SWUM . 100% Italian wool in solids, plaids and herringbone. Some with leather trim. Sizes 4-16. 14 Mile Road & Northwestern Highway next to Jan Drake's Garden Cafe West Bloomfield / Phone 626-5860 Mon.-Fri. 10:30-5:30 Thursday 10:30-8:30 Sunday 10:30-5:00 Closed Saturday Has Aliyah Department Become A Fiefdom? BY CARL ALPERT Special to The Jewish News Haifa -- The Jewish Agency has of late been. subjected to con- siderable criticism, ranging all the way from "The Jewish Agency is just a building in Jerusalem with a bunch of Volvos out front," to more serious critiques of its financing and operations. No department of the Agency is more vulnerable to criticism than the one which is devoted to en- couragement of aliyah to Israel. Few people are more serving of sympathy than many of the de- voted, competent and hard- working shlichim (emissaries) sent overseas by this department, who fail to receive the cooperation and backing from Jerusalem which they require in order to do a good job. Ever since the flagrantly politi- cal appointment of Haim Aharon as chairman of the Aliyah De- partment there has been a steady deterioration both in operations and morale, and in the statistics of aliyah to Israel. In the first half of 1985, immigration from North America declined by 20 percent after a 30 percent drop the previ- ous year. The decline from Latin America was 25 percent. At the same time, shlichim in the field complain of a breakdown in com- munication with Jerusalem. Yet bureaucracy reigns sup- reme in the head office where no less than 62 persons are engaged in office and administrative work, not counting those working in ul- panim, absorption centers, chil- dren's institutions, retirement and nursing homes, social work- ers, etc. It is also reported that the head office provides 20 of these functionaries with cars for the performance of their duties, which in most cases are paper work in the office. The chairman of the depart- ment is always available for tele- vision interviews or for issuance of statements to the press, or for his feud with the Ministry of Ab- sorption, but remarkably silent when it comes down to the actual business of promoting aliyah. A series of letters, dispatched to his office by this writer, seeking lit- erature, information and promo- tional material to enable the writ- ing of a series of articles to en- courage aliyah, all went un- answered, even when sent by re- gistered mail. Unhappy staff members, to whom we reported this state of affairs, were not the least bit surprised. It appears we are not the only ones being sys- tematically ignored. A serious proposal from a re- sponsible American Zionist, which has been endorsed by a number of Knesset members, looking to the creation of an American-sponsored city in Is- rael, has been cold-shouldered by the chairman of the Aliyah De- partment. Meanwhile, the fog has not been lifted from the situation sur- rounding duplication of work done by the Aliyah Department and the government Ministry of Absorption. Duplication, compet- ition and confusion are rampant, with the Jewish Agency com- pletely unwilling to give up any of its operations which provide a political power base, even though vast funds are being spent. The case of aliyah suffers, and in Is- rael many immigrants get a run- around from one agency to another. Last year's budget of the Aliyah Department was $70 million. If that were divided by the number of immigrants, many of whom come independently of the de- partment, we would get a fantas- The head office provides 20 functionaries with cars to perform their duties, which in most cases is paperwork in the head office. tic figure of what each oleh costs. This year's budget is a deep, dark secret. Many question the need for the close to 100 shlichim. now stationed overseas, but at ledst they deserve better cooperation from their head office. The director-general of the depart- ment, an efficient and faithful civil servant, was forced out of of- fice this year because he proved more loyal to the cause of aliyah than to the politician who serves as chairman. A new director- general has been named, a re- markably good choice, but it re- mains to be seen how long he will be able to endure the domination of the chairman. As immigration declines from year to year, the budget of the Aliyah Department goes up. After all, there are lots of jobs to be pro- tected, not to speak of the political ambitions of Aharon. What little is done by the department is re- markably unimaginative, drab and unappealing. Syrian Strength Double Israel's London (ZINS) — The Institute for Strategic Studies says Syria has \ nearly doubled its armed forces within the last three years and now has .a standing army nearly three times the size of Is- rael's. The institute reported that Sy- rian forces have jumped from 220,000 in 1983 to 402,000 in 1985. The Syrians also have 272,000 reservists. Israeli forces are placed at 142,000 and 400,000 reservists. Syria now has 4,200 tanks com- pared to Israel's 3,600. But Israel has 684 combat aircraft compared to Syria's 500.