I UP FRONT
Local Synagogues Forming
New Seniors Organization
ALAN HITSKY
Bob Mc Keown
Associate Editor
Boris Krasny of Israel's Labor Party and Avner Tavori of the Golda Meir Association.
Labor Party Official Happy
With The Unity Government
DEBBIE L. SKLAR
Special to The Jewish News
srael's national-unity government
is performing quite successfully,
thank you. "And although we vote
differently in Israel, things have been
accomplished successfully with this
type of government," says Boris
Krasny, a Soviet Jewish refusenik
who emigrated to Israel in 1972 and
,who is now highly-ranked in Israel's
Labor Party.
Speaking to a meeting of the
Jewish Community Council's Com-
mittee on International Concerns last
Friday, Krasny pointed out that Israel
has been doing rather well lately.
"Inflation has decreased from
about 700-800 percent in 1984 to
about 20 percent today;' he said.
Another success was the withdrawal
of troops from Lebanon.
"I don't want to say that much
about this issue:' he commented. "It
I
was successful because we're keeping
security on the northern border."
A third positive in Israel is that
"at least 48 percent of the marriages
in this region are inter-marriages bet-
ween the Sephardi and Ashkenazi
communities. It's unbelievable,
because many of the 18- or 19-year-
olds don't know whether they are
Sephardi or Ashkenazi when asked;'
he said.
Krasny, who is an adviser to
Labor's Shimon Peres and serves as
Labor Party secretary in Jerusalem,
says that these successes at home
allowed Peres to step into the inter-
national arena. They enabled Peres to
pursue peace negotiations with
Jordan.
"I suppose that Jordan wants to
go to negotiations, but King Hussein
is afraid to go without guarantees."
Peres understood this, Krasny ex-
plained. "The meetings between
Continued on Page 30
cross-denominational senior
citizens organization is being
formed by senior citizen units
from Cong. Shaarey Zedek, Temple
Beth El and Temple Israel. The group
is recruiting members from Orthodox,
Conservative and Reform congrega-
tions in an effort to increase the
amount of programming available to
seniors.
The new organization, Inter-
congregational Seniors, has been in
the planning stage for two years and
plans to hold its first event on Oct. 21.
"We need afternoon events for
seniors;' said June Weinberg, former
executive director of Hillel Day
School, who conceived the idea with
her husband, Max. "There are just too
many events at night when some
seniors are unable to get out. We also
want to be part of the effort to break
down the barriers between Jewish
denominations:'
The Weinbergs and members of
the Seniors of Shaarey Zedek, Beth
Elders of Temple Beth El, and the
Treasures of Temple Israel have form-
ed a core group of 20 who have been
working with area synagogues to
form additional seniors groups. Beth
Achim, Adat Shalom and B'nai David
have shown interest, Mrs. Weinberg
said, and a Beth Achim seniors group
held its inaugural event this week.
The first Intercongregational
Seniors program will be held at
Shaarey Zedek, with Rabbi Irwin
Groner speaking and Temple Israel's
Cantor Harold Orbach performing a
musical program. A luncheon will be
served.
By doing things jointly, Mrs.
Weinberg said, "we should be able to
strengthen the programming. We are
trying to Combine forces on entertain-
ment events, and we hope to come up
with a monthly schedule?'
As an example, Mrs. Weinberg
said the Shaarey Zedek group had
100 seniors last week at an event
featuring a Dearborn dance group,
the Grandmas. The Weinbergs first
saw the group at a Temple Israel
event, and they believe Intercongrega-
tional Singles will be a means to
share programming like the Grand-
mas, reduce costs, and promote har-
mony. Working through the
synagogues also gives the group the
support of the rabbis and cantors, and
ready access to facilities.
The organization is scheduling a
fall or winter performance by the
Michigan Opera- Theater, and hopes
to have a complete monthly schedule
of entertainment events.
Working with the Weinbergs on
the Intercongregational Seniors
board are Robert Harris, Florence.
Goldman, Alvin Goldman, Stephen
Fox and Gerry Barr of Temple Beth
Elders; Saul Glosser, Faye Glosser,
Bert Chassin and Phyllis Chassin of
Temple Israel Treasures; and Shaarey
Zedek Seniors' Erwin Kornwise, Bess
Kornwise, Rhea Silver, Joseph Silver,
Esther Benson and Dr. David Benson.
ROUND UP
PLO Office
Ordered Closed
Washington — The State
Department announced Tues-
day that it has ordered the
closure of the Palestine
Liberation Organization's in-
formation office in
Washington D.C. The PLO
must cease operating and
divest itself of its prperty
within 30 days.
The closure may be
challenged in the courts on
constitutional grounds. The
decision was criticized by the
American Civil Liberties
Union and Arab American
organizations. The decision
does not affect the PLO's
observer mission at the
United Nations.
The State Department said
the closure "demonstrates ,
U.S. concern over terrorism
committed and supported .. .
by the PLO."
Shamir Refuses
Biton Meeting
Jerusalem (JTA) — Premier
Yitzhak Shamir has refused
to see Chadash Communist
MK Charlie Biton who
returned from Geneva Sept.
10 claiming to have a
message for Shamir from
Palestine Liberation
Organization chief Yassir
Arafat.
Biton was one of four leftw-
ing MKs who met with — and
embraced — Arafat at a
meeting of Non-
Governmental Organizations
(NGOs) in Geneva. Biton said
Arafat told him he was ready
to meet with Israeli leaders
outside the framework of an
international conference for
Middle East peace. PLO of-
ficials denied that Arafat had
made any such offer.
Labor Party sources also
reacted with skepticism to
Biton's claim and to Arafat's
remarks at the NGO
conference.
envoy, Moshe Arad, and stir-
red controvesy in Israel by
having a private meeting
with Secretary of State
George Shultz in Washington
last weekend, Haaretz
Dinitz Meeting
Causes Flap
Dinitz informed Arad of his
talk with Shultz only after
their meeting.
Tel Aviv (JTA) — Simcha
Dinitz, a former Israeli am-
bassador to the U.S., now a
Labor member of the
Knesset, caused embarrass-
ment to the incumbent Israeli
Before he took up his post in
Washington this year, Arad
had a firm commitment from
the Foreign Minister that the
Israeli Embassy would not be
bypassed.
reported Tuesday.
According to
Haaretz,
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 5