THE JEWISH NEWS
THIS ISSUE 60c
SERVING DETROIT'S JEWISH COMMUNITY
AUGUST 14, 1987 / 19 AV 5747
Battle For Souls
Skirmishes in the Knesset have fueled the war over
whether Israel is to be guided by religious law or
keep synagogue and state separate
HELEN DAVIS
Israel Correspondent
Jerusalem — Israeli legislators
last month came to within a whisper
of tearing apart the fragile fabric of
the Jewish world.
The issue was not the proposed in-
ternational peace conference or the
controversial West Bank settlements,
which have created so much dissen-
sion — and so much indecision — bet-
ween the major partners in Israel's
government of national unity.
Rather, the point of contention
was a concerted campaign by the
religious parties in the Knesset to
push through a succession of bills, any
one of which would have had the ef-
fect of delegitimizing Reform and
Conservative converts in Israel.
Such attempts are not new.
Israel's religious parties have been
trying for years to change the Law of
Return, which confers automatic
right to Israeli citizenship on those
born of Jewish mothers and those who
have converted to Judaism.
The battle thus far has been to
add three critical words to the legal
formula, which would stipulate that
the conversions must be conducted
"according to Halacha," religious law.
It is a change that would have ex-
cluded Reform and Conservative con-
verts — and, in the case of women con-
verts, their children, too — from
eligibility under the Law of Return.
Continued on Page 18
Canada Took In
Nazi War Criminals
New York (JTA) — A secret appen-
dage to the Deschenes Commission
report on war criminals living in
Canada which was released — heavi-
ly censored — to the public last week
concluded that Canada took in
suspected Nazi war criminals follow-
ing the war years and as late as 1983.
The Canadian Jewish Congress
said the secret report prepared by Alti
Rodal, an Ottawa historian, "shows
Canada's insensitivity to the issue as
recently as four years ago."
Rodal's 560-page report sum-
marized his research of secret
documents and interviews with of-
ficials and criticized the Canadian
government's policy. Rodall recom-
mended the prosecution of 20
suspected Nazi war criminals in
Canada and investigation of 218
others suspected of Nazi
collaboration.
Rodal noted that a member of the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
(RCMP) allowed two alleged Nazi war
criminals, whose names were not
released, to enter Canada in 1983.
The RCMP senior official who admit-
ted the alleged war criminals said the
issue was exaggerated by the "Jewish
lobby." Rodal reported that the Moun-
tie was transferred after the incident
became publicly known and officials
continue to investigate the case.
Continued on Page 20
LAB WARS
Interlochen offers future
virtuosos new avenues
of expression
Yiddish concert attracts hundreds.
CONTENTS PAGE 7
Humanity
Vs.
Technology