4 Friday, March 21, 1986 'THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS. OP-ED THE JEWISH NEWS Terrorism Strikes Abroad, Jewish Paranoia At Home Serving Detroit's Metropolitan Jewish Community with distinction for four decades. . Editorial and Sales offices at 20300 Civic Center Dr., Suite 240, Southfield, Michigan 48076-4138 Telephone (313) 354-6060 PUBLISHER: Charles A. Buerger EDITOR EMERITUS: Philip Slomovitz EDITOR: Gary Rosenblatt CONSULTANT: Carmi M. Slomovitz ART DIRECTOR: Kim Muller-Thym NEWS EDITOR: Alan Hitsky LOCAL NEWS EDITOR: Heidi Press LOCAL COLUMNIST: Danny Raskin OFFICE STAFF: Lynn Fields Marlene Miller Dharlene Norris Phyllis Tyner Pauline Weiss Ellen Wolfe ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES: Lauri Biafore Allan Craig Rick Nessel Danny Raskin PRODUCTION: Donald Cheshure Cathy Ciccone Curtis Deloye Ralph Orme BY CAROL COTT GROSS Special to The Jewish News ©1986 by The Detroit Jewish News (US PS 275-520) Second Class postage paid at Southfield, PAchigan and adcitional mailing offices. Subscriptions: 1 year - $21 — 2 years - $39 — Out of State - $23 — Foreign - $35 CANDLELIGHTING AT 6:27 P.M. VOL. LXXXIX, NO. 4 The Post-Begin Brawl Even by rough-tough Israeli standards, last week's Herut convention in • Israel was a complete fiasco. The political struggle to succeed Menachem Begin within the party was split not only between personalities, with Yitzhak Shamir and Moshe Arens on one side and Ariel Sharon and David Levy On the other, but also between ethnic groups. Shamir-Arens represent the Ashkenazim, and Sharon-Levy the Sephardim. The result was a shouting match that skirted on the edge of violence, forcing a visibly shaken Shamir off of the stage and abruptly ending the convention before a leader could be selected. The immediate victim is Shamir. Selected by Begin to succeed him, and less than eight months from the scheduled rotation whereby he and Prime Minister Shimon Peres will switch jobs, Shamir appears to be a man who cannot control his own party, much less a divided nation. How can he deal with Arab enemies if he can't deal with his fellow Herutniks? A cynic might respond that it's easier to deal with the Arabs, but the fact remains that David Levy and Ariel Sharon set out to take over Herut and embarrass Shamir by exploiting ethnic tensions, and to a large degree they have succeeded. Now, in an effort to salvage Herut, we have the image of Ariel Sharon the peacemaker, shuttling between Shamir and Levy, who Spent the past week calling each other terrible names in public. This may be the fruits of a true democracy in action, but it . sends dangerous signals to those who fear that Israel may fall victim to its own inner tensions and frustrations. If Shamir has any hope of regaining his stature to the level that he could serve again as Prime Minister, he must take the reigns of Herut firmly and quickly. Let us hope that the exploitive Levy-Sharon ploy will not be lost on the Israeli voter. The society has enough problems without having so-called leaders stoking the fires of ethnic divisiveneis. As a result of recent terrorist ac- tivities in Europe, Americans are be- coming uneasy about foreign travel. American Jews like myself who enjoy traveling abroad are suffering much more than uneasiness though. We have begun to pose paranoid-like questions which sound frighteningly familiar, and are not easily answered. I have visited Israel several times in recent years. Is it wise, or safe to travel with an Israeli stamped passport these days? A friend voiced a similar concern about her daughter's passport. "Linda went on a Teen Tour to the Middle East this past summer so her passport has Israeli and Egyptian stamps," my friend explained. "Now she has been chosen for a high school exchange program in France, and I'm nervous about her passport stamps. I'd have her apply for a new passport if the process wasn't so complicated, or I wasn't concerned that my fears would ruin Linda's trip." Passport stamps are only the be- ginning of my anxiety about traveling abroad. What about my last name? Does "Gross" sound Jewish? Maybe it could be taken as German. I have fair skin, blue eys and (dyed) blond hair. Do I look German? Could I "pass"? I don't know, and to actually ask anyone about my appearance seems incredibly demeaning. Maybe I could solve the problem by traveling under an as- sumed name, something nondescript like Jones or Smith? An acquaintance who has a decidedly Jewish-sounding last name and travels to Europe sev- eral times a year is talking about hav- ing his name changed on his travel documents. Maybe I should check into it too? But whatever name I use for travel, I will not wear my Jewish star Carol Cott Gross is a freelance writer who lives in East Northport, N.Y. abroad. "Why look for trouble? Why advertise?" advised a friend who no longer carries anything on his person when he travels to Europe which could identify him as a Jew. I could wear my "Hand of God," the Middle Eastern symbol for good luck that has no Jewish connotation. Will a change of Do I admit that I am a Jew . . . and die like Leon Klinghoffer and so many millions of Jewish martyrs? names, or a change of charms worn round my neck ease my newly- developed anxiety about travel, and my age-old sense of Jewish vulnerabil- ity? I doubt it! The haunting question is, when push comes to shove, or more to the point, with a terrorist's gun to my head, will I deny my Jewishness, which is an intregal part of my being? My father asked himself a similar question when he heard about the Holocaust. Do I admit that I am a Jew, aboard a plane or cruise ship, and die like Leon Klinghoffer, like so many millions of Jewish martyrs? Or do I deny my faith in hope 'of surviving? And if I do survive because I have be- come a modern day Marrano (the Mar- , ranos were secret Jews of Spain who denied their Judaism to escape the In- quisition) how do I live with my deceit? Perhaps I can avoid soul search- ing and anxiety by avoiding flights which stop in Greece, even to refuel. Or I can avoid the Mediterranean al- together. Or when I travel in Europe, I'll avoid synagogues, and kosher res- Continued on page 6 • Campaign Pinnacle The Allied Jewish Campaign has reached a critical stage in the framework of the 1986 drive and in its funding history. With only three weeks left in the 1986 Campaign, Detroit's Jewish community is close to achieving a record goal of $24 million for local Jewish communal agencies, national needs, and our fellow Jews in Israel and in more than 30 other countries. The hundreds of Campaign volunteers have a right to be proud as they feverishly complete their assignments and close in on another record achievement. But as we near such lofty goals, the volunteers are being sobered by the increasing needs. The Gramm-Rudman budget-cutting legislation in Congress leaves a yet-to-be answered shadow across the budgets of Jewish welfare organizations in the United States. Israel is still trying to recover from an economy decimated by the war in Lebanon. There is also the economic reality of,settling and educating the thousands of Ethiopian Jews who, escaping famine and bias, came to the Promised Land a year ago during Operation Moses. Detroiters can be justifiably proud of their efforts and achievements in the Allied Jewish Campaign. But these final three weeks, and the -critical dollars they raise, could lift this community above a mere milestone. They could provide the additional means necessary to truly make a difference, to lift from the status quo Jewish educational and welfare programs both in Detroit and elsewhere. . , .,.1w,,rvw,*ies;a4 .- NANImONIIIMMEEM