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THE JEWISH NEWS

Serving Detroit's Metropolitan Jewish Community
with distinction for four decades.

Editorial and Sales offices at 20300 Civic Center Dr.,
Suite 240, Southfield, Michigan 48076-4136
Telephone (313) 354-6060

OP-ED

Romanian Jewry: Remnant
Working To A Conclusion

although there is a vigorous Jewish
life, we'll see the end of a structured
communal life probably within a de-
cade.
We were the guests of the Jewish
federation and visited the entire
gamut of programs supported by the
JDC. We learned that the budget of
the federation was approximately $5
million, of which $4 million was
supplied by the JDC. These monies
were used for food and clothing,

STUART E. HERTZBERG

PUBLISHER: Charles A. Buerger
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER: Arthur M. Horwitz
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
STAFF WRITER: David Holzel
LOCAL COLUMNIST: Danny Raskin

OFFICE STAFF:
Lynn Fields
Percy Kaplan
Pauline Max
Marlene Miller
Dharlene Norris
Phyllis Tyner
Mary Lou Weiss
Pauline Weiss
Ellen Wolfe

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES:
Lauri Biafore
Randy Marcuson
Judi Monblatt
Rick Nessel
Danny Raskin

PRODUCTION:
Donald Cheshure
Cathy Ciccone
Curtis Deloye
Joy Gardin
Ralph Orme

c 1986 by The Detroit Jewish News (US PS 275-520)

Second Class postage paid at Southfield. Michigan and additional mailing offices

Subscriptions: 1 year - S21 — 2 years - S39 — Out of State - S23 — Foreign - S35

CANDLELIGHTING AT 8:40 P.M.

VOL. LXXXIX, NO, 22

Bashing And Baiting

America's Arab community has taken the brunt of national backlash
against Middle East criticism and attacks on U.S. foreign policy, and in
reaction to Arab terrorism. Vandalism against Arab shops in Dearborn, the
boming death of an Arab leader in California, vindictive newspaper
editorials and blistering verbal attacks by private citizens were the focus of
Congressional hearings last week.
Unfortunately, those hearings by Rep. John Conyers' criminal justice
subcommittee added some very sour notes to a very serious problem.
Oliver Revell, assistant executive director of the FBI, told the
committee that "Jewish extremist elements" were responsible for the death
of Alex Odeh of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee in
Santa Ana, Calif. last October. Revell would not reveal names and added
that "no particular group" was involved.
Others testifying on Capitol Hill repeatedly linked the Jewish Defense
League and the Jewish Defense Organization to anti-Arab violence. It has
been nearly a year since the death of Alex Odeh. The FBI has now gone on
record, with Revell's testimony, promising the Arab community in the
United Statesgreater concern for its protection. He has also smeared the
Jewish community by pointing a finger at unnamed Jewish groups without
having enough evidence that would stand up in a court of law.
The United States and all of its governmental infrastructure, including
local police agencies, have a duty to uphold the law for all American
citizens. It is a duty based on the spirit of law that has held this nation of
diverse peoples together for 210 years and kept the U.S. from following the
path of an Ireland or a Lebanon.
But within that spirit of equal protection under the law, American
citizens have a duty to address issues fairly and compassionately.
Slandering another group without evidence and using a Congressional
hearing to further Middle East political goals will not advance the safety of
Arab Americans or further their political agenda.

Special to The Jewish News

Romania is possibly the most re-
pressive society in the entire Eastern
Bloc and has an economic crisis today
that is second to none. This was my
first experience traveling in a Com-
munist nation in Eastern Europe and
it is difficult to convey the suffering.
For example, because of the shortage
of fuel, one rarely sees a motor vehicle
on the roads. Between January and
March there are no street lights, pro-
ducing a strange and eerie feeling as
one sees people moving along in the
dark. To make matters worse we were
told that, after a certain hour, the
people were able to burn only one 15
watt bulb in their homes.
But there is a bright light that
shines out of all that darkness: Jewish
communal life that is being carried on
in Romania today as a result of the
efforts of the American Jewish Joint
Distribution Committee (JDC) and
Rabbi Moses Rosen, who has been the
chief rabbi in Romania since 1948.
Rabbi Rosen is a member of the
Romanian legislative body and has a
personal relationship with President
Ceaucescu. This is the primary reason
why there is total cultural and reli-
gious freedom for the Jewish commu-
nity. At the end of World War II there
were 400,000 Jews living in Romania,
survivors of the Holocaust. There are
only 26,000 today, of which 60 percent
are over 60 years of age. They are
desperately. trying to get the young
people out of there, and are achieving
this at the rate of approximately
1,500 to 2,000 a year. Although no-
body talks about it, they are not get-
ting out free of charge. Thus we have
a situation in Romania today where

Hertzberg is a member of the board of the
Jewish Welfare Federation of Detroit and
participated in a United Jewish Appeal
mission to Romania and Israel in March.

4

Friday, July 25, 1986

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

homemaker services, meals on
wheels, support for the aged, and
other programs which are similar to
the very kind of programs run by our
Federation in Detroit.
The elderly in Romania receive a
pension from the government but, un-
fortunately, because the Jews were in
labor camps, they were not qualified
for the same kind of pensions as other
elderly citizens in that country. The
JDC has attempted to supplement in
food and direct relief the difference.
We learned that the JDC now has
a caseload of 5,000 people. It is getting
larger every day because of the aging
of the existing community. They have
a meals on wheels program which de-
livers three meals a day, six days a
week. We visited the warehouse from
which clothing is distributed pur-
suant to a point system set up on an
annual basis. A pair of shoes is 1,500
points and a coat is 3,000 points. It is
up to the recipient to decide how he or
she wants to spend the 6,000 points
during' the year. We were told that
5,000 food packages are distributed by
the JDC eight times a year, mostly on
the holidays.

Continued on Page 19

4gFoi mnsfaim
ftinankt, am, HE

Trouble Ahead?

A sobering report in the Wall Street Journal this past week suggested
that the current U.S.-Israel relationship is at a high point now and will be
coming down in the weeks and months ahead.
While stressing that the relationship is a very strong and solid one, the
report noted that several factors are combining to create a problem: the
rotation in Israel, slated for October, will find Shimon Peres, a well-liked
moderate by Washington standards, replaced by Yitzhak Shamir, who is
regarded as a right-wing leader less willing to take risks for peace. The
Pollard spy episode and reports that Israel was less than forthcoming in
providing information has upset a number of lawmakers on Capitol Hill. On
the domestic level, the serious budget cuts are making foreign
appropriations look more like a luxury than a necessity, and Israel is at the
top of the U.S. list for foreign aid.
These and other issues may mean that pro-Israel advocates in this
country will have to work that much harder to make their case for continued
support at current levels.

The JDC is attempting to
supplement the difference
in pensions through food
and direct relief.

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