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 48076-4138 Telephone (313) 354-6060 - PUBLISHER: Charles A. Buerger ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER: Arthur M. Horwitz EDITOR EMERITUS: Philip Slomovitz EDITOR: Gary Rosenblatt CONTRIBUTING EDITOR: Elie Wiesel ART DIRECTOR: Kim Muller-Thym NEWS EDITOR: Alan Hitsky LOCAL NEWS EDITOR: Heidi Press STAFF WRITER: David Holzel LOCAL COLUMNIST: Danny Raskin ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES: Lauri Biafore Millie Felch Randy Marcuson Rick Nessel Danny Raskin OFFICE STAFF: Lynn Fields Percy Kaplan Pauline Max Marlene Miller Dharlene Norris Mary Lou Weiss Pauline Weiss Ellen Wolfe PRODUCTION: Donald Cheshure Cathy Ciccone Curtis Deloye Joy Gardin Ralph Orme 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 4:43 P.M. VOL. XC, NO. 16 Assuring The Consumer After years of hearing, and sometimes publishing, charges and counter-charges between the rabbis and the Detroit area kosher butchers, The Jewish News has been pleasantly surprised by the high reputation Detroit's kosher meat industry enjoys around the country. The weeks of research that led to today's Close-Up report "Kosher Consistency" (see Page 14), convince us that the reputation is deserved, despite several areas of dispute. It was our intention to compare Detroit to, other cities in kosher slaughtering of beef, wholesale and retail practices, and consumer . protection. The report is aimed at the consumer, rather than at the area butchers or the Council of Orthodox Rabbis, and the consumer should be gratified by the findings. Friction remains between the rabbis and the butchers, but several steps are being taken to remove trouble spots. The rabbis are in the process of hiring a full-time kashrut administrator to standardize its supervisory practices and policies. An even stronger step for consumer protection is state legislation to close a gaping loophole in the Michigan kosher food law. Speedy work by representatives of the Council of Orthodox Rabbis and the Michigan Department of Agriculture should lead to a comprehensive proposal for Michigan lawmakers. They must place a fair and efficient enforcement mechanism in the hands of state inspectors. This step will remove years of contention and bitterness that have built up between the butchers and the rabbis. More importantly, it will assure the - consumer that he is getting what he is paying for at a fair price. Other questions remain on the wholesale and retail levels. But the Council of Orthodox Rabbis should be applauded for its intention to appoint an administrator and to initiate legislation. These two moves are essential to lift Detroit's kosher meat industry to a level enjoying unquestioned consumer confidence. Converted Ruling The Israeli Supreme Court decision barring officials from labeling converts to Judaism as "converts" on their Israeli identity papers is a wise ruling that should help ease tension. Reform, Conservative and some Orthodox leaders in the U.S. had been upset that such a lebel would distinguish between born Jews and converts. The Conservative and Reform leaders viewed the labeling attempt as a means of further invalidating the status of their movements. The court ruling nullified an administrative decision last June by Interior Minister Yitzhak Peretz that required the words "Jewish (Converted)" stamped on the identity papers of Shoshana Miller, an American immigrant who had been converted to Judaism by an American Reform rabbi. We agree with the court's ruling that such an action would run counter to Jewish tradition and undermine the unity of the Jewish people. Morocco's Hassan Reveals Syria's Long-Term Goals ABRAHAM H. FOXMAN KENNETH JACOBSON T he irrefutable evidence that the government of Syria was directly involved in the at- tempt to blow up an El Al jet in London' has focused attention on Syria as a terrorist state. Many questions are being asked about Sy- rian motivation. Much of the puz- zlement about Assad's behavior, however, can be clarified by a look at comments by one of the Middle East's most respected rulers, King Hassan of Morocco. Shortly after his historic meet- ing with then Prime Minister Shi- mon Peres, King Hassan held a press conference for Arab journalists. Ostensibly Hassan was using the oc- casion to defend his decision to meet with Peres. But in so doing he also made a number of extremely reveal- ing comments about the Arab world. The contents of this Arab media event were largely ignored by the western press. Nor did Hassan re- peat his comments to the western media. Following are verbatim excerpts from the conference with regard to Syria, broadcast live by Radio Rabat on Aug. 7, with our occasional brief explanatory commentary or parap- hrases in brackets: "I am going to tell you a story which happened in an Islamic con- ference in 1984. If the intervention of the Syrian delegate had not been open, in front of the camera, the re- corders and the video, I would not tell you the following story: The dis- cussion returned to the topic of Palestine and the Syrian delegate Abraham Foxman is associate national director and Kenneth Jacobson is director of Middle Eastern affairs, Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith. then, i.e., Mr. Abd al-Halim Khad- dam (now vice president of Syria), my friend, stood, and said: As re- gards the issue of Palestine there is not a young person, a child, a Syrian child in the primary school, or a young Syrian at university who does not dream of the great Umayyad King Hassan II: Revealing Syria's expansionist dreams. state (i.e., "Greater Syria" of the Arab past, comprising modern day Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Jordan, with Damascus at its center).' "We closed the session, and I asked him to come see me in the office. I told him, by God, what is this you have said and what is this hotheadedness? He said, 'No, this is neither hotheadedness nor anything else. You have to know, Your Majesty, that the issue of the Umayyad state for us is the issue of the" Sahara (i.e., Morocco's disputed annexation of the former Spanish Sahara) for you . . "The territories which are occu- pied (by Israel) are hot, according to Syria, to return to (the people of)