•

1 • .16

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 Wiese!
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 Fetch
Randy . Marcuson
Rick Nessel
Danny Raskin

Are We Reaching The End
Of Jewish Upward Mobility?

RICHARD LELAND

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 - 539 — Out of State . S23 — Foreign - S35

CANDLELIGHTING AT 4:45 P.M.

OP-ED

VOL. XC, NO. 17

Shcharansky's Message

Natan Shcharansky, an authentic Jewish 1-11-c) and subject, of
week to speak out against a new Soviet
close-up, was in WeL6hingcon this
law that seemingly improves emigration conditions. But, warns
Shcharansky, the new law, which goes into effect on January 1, will in
effect "close even tighter the doors of the Soviet Union."
Though it calls for applications to be processed within one month, the
decree does not mention repatriation and leaves out thousands of Soviets
who have no relations who can extend them the required invitation
necessary for emigration. Shcharansky estimates that this new law will
reduce Soviet Jewish emigration, already pitifully low, by 90 percent
from current levels. Last month, 102 Jews left the USSR.
Only about 800 Jews. will have emigrated in 1986, down from 1,140
in 1985. Since 1979, Soviet Jewish emigration has dropped by an
astounding 98 percent.
About 375,000 Soviet Jews have taken the first steps to emigrate.
Another 30,000 Jews have been repeatedly refused visas — these are the
"refuseniks."
What concerns Shcharansky and other activists so much is that
Soviet leader Gorbachev has received such favorable media attention in
the West as a moderate, sensible-man. Never, they say, has the gap
between rhetoric and reality been so great. Conditions in the USSR are
the worst in 20 years, says Shcharansky, who praised President Reagan
for denouncing the new Soviet law. The former prisoner called on
Congress to pass a new law calling attention to the plight of Soviet Jews
and pointing out the dangers of the Soviet law.
He warned that the West wants to be deceived" by Gorbachev's
pleasant ways. Said Shcharansky: "Forget about his face and voice and
look at the pure facts, listen to the voices of the witnesses who are crying
to us from there."
It is a message we must take to heart for only continued pressure
from the West will help our brethren in the USSR.

mil-

AWACS Fallout

Buried in the Iran-Contra murkiness this week was the sobering
revelation that the United States has been supplying intelligence
information to Iraq for two years from the Airborne Warning And Control
Systems aircraft (AWACS) that the U.S. made available to Saudi Arabia.
One of the major promises of the Reagan Administration during the
bitter, razor-thin AWACS vote in the Senate in l981 was the assurance
that information gathered by the Saudi AWACS would not be forwarded
to "third parties." The disclosure that f information gathered by AWACS
about Iran was secretly given to Iraqfurther erodes the Reagan
Administration's credibility and foreign policy leadership for friend and
foe alike.

N

ew Jewish immigrants from
Europe expected their chil-
dren would find happiness
and economic success in America.
The second generation expected the
same for their children and so on for
each succeeding generation of
Jewish Americans.
A complex set of circumstances
led to the upward mobility cycle.
The change from peddler to mer-
chant and banker; from tradesman
to builder and developer; from the
"uneducated" to the lawyer and doc-
tor; from the hapless immigrant to
the great artists, musicians and sci-
entists — each generation of Ameri-
can Jews constituted an unparalleled
phenomenon of upward mobility.
Some sociologists explain the
success of Jews in America in terms
of the Jewish experience. Since
Jewish tradition always stressed
learning, it was inevitable that ad-
vanced education would lead to eco-
nomic success. There is general

tell a possible leveling off or, even
worse, a regression to the pattern of
the general population.
The first factor to indicate the
possible ending of upward mobility
is the psychological tendency of
"gravitation toward the middle."
Studies of intelligence show that the
IQs of children of high IQ parents
tend to gravitate toward the middle
of the intelligence spectrum.
I believe an analogy with the
Jewish community can be inferred
from this principle: The tendency of

Can we expect our
children and our
children's children to
continue the
phenomenon?

children of highly successful parents
to be less successful seems to be a
natural consequence of the gravita-
0 ---' genera-
mrld-1
tion toward thei
tne
previous
_
- 1 ' _ __a --- ....vu
1
-
agreemelat that frr,,, x--
tion in perpetuity seems to be an
in- America was a vital determining
unreasonable expectation.
factor in the success story of Ameri-
Jewish families are increasing
can Jews.
statistically at a rapid rate in the
Some social thinkers claim the
factors which lead to family dis-
history of Jewish oppression and
organization. When incidences of di-
ghettoization led to the development
vorce, alcoholism, pursuit of mate-
of the necessary skills to succeed in
rialism, and disintegrating value
an open, capitalistic society. Still
systems approach those of the gen-
others claim the Jewish family
eral population, the forces which in
structure was a contributing factor
the past contributed to upward mo-
to the success story.
bility will diminish at the same rate.
Can we expect our children and
Increased competition from
our children's children to continue
other minority groups and recent
the phenomenon of upward social
immigrants with hard-working value
and economic mobility? There are
systems will limit the opportunities
some disturbing indicators that fore-
on the economic horizon. Jews, un-
fortunately, are not included in any
Richard Leland is a retired assistant
definition of minority groups given
principal of Southfield-Lathrup High
special consideration for job ad-
School and former teacher at Temple
vancement due to past discrimina-

Beth El religious school.

