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22
FRIDAY, JULY 3, 1987
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Struggle
Continued from preceding page
Zionists and Diaspora
leaders, who together make
up the Jewish Agency.
"I have been disturbed," he
said, "by some of the voices,
on both sides, that I have
heard lately. Words like
`takeover'; statements like
`We give the money, we will
make the decisions: And in
reaction to this, 'We do the
work, we will make the
decisions!
"I hear talk of separation
on both sides?' he added. "It
is not widespread, but it is
persistent?'
Dulzin challenged the
Assembly to work towards
"fusion" of the WZO and the
Jewish Agency, urging that it
appoint a special commission
to study the problems involv-
ed and report back with
recommendations.
Perhaps Dulzin's impassion-
ed plea for unity struck a
chord; perhaps the delegates,
weary of politicking and
alarmed by the consequences
of a schism within the move-
ment, were in no mood for
brinkmanship.
In any event, they -settled
down to the job at hand,
dividing up into six "tracks"
to discuss the bread-and-
butter issues—Israel's social
needs; its urban and rural
landscape; Jewisth education;
*the integration of Israeli
society; deepening the ties
between Israel and the
Diaspora, and funding Zionist
institutions.
"I think," said one senior
Agency source in Jerusalem,
"that • there has been a sober
realization that the 'fund-
raisers' and the Zionists still
need each other:
"The Zionists are very, very
nervous. They've seen that
there are Diaspora com-
munities, particularly in
America, which are dead
serious about by-passing the
Agency and funding their
own projects: The people here
in Israel want to put out the
fire before it spreads?'
He was referring to the fact
that the Jewish Federation of
San Francisco, in a largely
symbolic move, earmarked
$100,000 to by-pass the nor-
mal establishment UJA-
Jewish Agency channel and
go toward direct funding in
Israel this year. No other
Federation has followed suit.
The Zionists are seeking a
formal, accountable system
for disbursing the Agency's
annual budget of $400
million that simultaneously
satisfies the demands of the
"fundraisers" for greater in-
volvement while not
alienating the Zionists and
diminishing their perceived
power.
. There are certainly voices,
both in Israel and the
Diaspora, which call for
dismantling the Agency.
More realistic, though, are
those demanding real, far-
reaching reforms that will cir-
cumvent the stultifying hand
of Israel's political system and
breathe new life into the
WZO/Jewish Agency partner-
ship.
The delegates, however,
decided to leave the nature of
those reforms for another day
and largely ignored Dulzin's
call for "fusion" (the only
other person to mention it
publicly was Jerrold Hoff-
berger who, in his closing ad-
dress, agreed that the Board
of Governors would examine
the proposal.)
In essence, the future shape
of the Jewish Agency has
been left in limbo, awaiting
new leadership. All eyes are
now on two critical meetings
that will take place later in
the year.
A committee, chaired by
Max Fisher, has been ap-
pointed to choose a successor
to Hofflierger. No time-table
was set but October was a
date mentioned. Shoshana
Cardin of Baltimore and
Mendel Kaplan, a South
Africa Zionist leader and
chairman of the Board_ of
Trustees of Keren Hayesod,
are currently reckoned to be
the most likely candidates.
Group Claims To
Have Executed
Lebanese Jew
Paris (JTA) — The mystery
deepened over the fate of Elie
Srour, one of six Lebanese Jews
kidnapped in West Beirut on
March 30, 1985. A terrorist
group, calling itself "The
Organization of the Oppressed
of the Earth," claimed last week
that it had executed Srour in
"reprisal" for recent Israeli air
strikes at terrorist targets in
south Lebanon.
But the same organization.
announced Srour's "execution"
last December 30, alleging he
was an Israeli "spy" who
"belonged to the Mossad while
claiming to act as president of
the Lebanese Jewish communi-
ty?'
The latest "execution" was
announced in a handwritten
note discovered by police along
with a photograph of the vic-
tim. The photograph was iden-
tified as Srour but police could
not -say when it was taken.
Srour was seized more than
two years ago outside his elec-
trical appliance shop in West
Beirut. He had headed the
Hebrat Kadisha, the Jewish
burial society in Beirut.
Ten Lebanese Jews have been
kidnapped during the past two-
and-a-half years.