CHARLES BRONFMAN of
the Seagram fortune launched a,
major foundation this year for
both Jewish and Canadian
. causes. The CRB Foundation (his
initials), based in Montreal,
seeks to promote Israel-Diaspora
relations.
SKOKIE AGAIN was the site of neo-Nazi strife when the
Chicago suburb found that its Holocaust monument was defaced
by spray-painting vandals a day after it was unveiled.
I
E S
-
LES WEXNER announced the
creation of a major Jewish foun-
dation to provide top quality rab-
bis, leaders and Jewish profes-
sionals. Columbus, Ohio is the
home and center of The Limited
clothing empire which Wexner
owns.
HE
JUDGE ROBERT BORK was the subject of intense scrutiny
after President Reagan nominated him to fill Justice Lewis
Powell's seat on the Supreme Court. Some Jewish organizations
are among the liberals seeking to defeat the nomination.
Religious News Service
OLIVER NORTH starred in
the summer's most popular TV
drama, the Iran-contra hearings
in Washington. Whether he was
considered a super-patriot or
threat to democracy, Lt. Col.
North was given high marks for
his performance before his Con-
gressional inquisitors. Wide World Photo
The first attempt to push through the legisla-
tion narrowly missed a majority, prompting
American Jewish leaders to make an emergen-
cy visit to Israel to explain how such laws
would cause a dangerous rift among the Jewish
people, most of whom are not Orthodox. Led
by Shoshana Cardin of Baltimore, president of
the Council of Jewish Federations, the
American Jews urged that the contentious
issue be removed from the political arena and
be addressed by a religious body.
The Who Is A Jew issue (more precisely, Who
Is A Rabbi) was only one of several religious
debates that has plagued Israel of late, the
most recent being the large and angry protests
by the Orthodox over the showing of Friday
night movies in Jerusalem. Numerous
demonstrations have taken place since
secularists circumvented the Friday night pro-
hibition by holding lectures prior to the screen-
ings and calling the evening a cultural event.
More than 10,000 Jews took part in one
demonstration at the Western Wall and there
have been charges that the police have used un-
neccessarily harsh measures to quell the
disturbances.
About the only sentiment on a religious issue
this year that Jews seemed to agree upon was
anger at Pope John Paul II for agreeing to meet
with Austrian President Kurt Waldheim at the
Vatican, despite widespread charges of
Waldheim's Nazi activities and his refusal to
apologize for his actions. Not only did the pope
break an unspoken boycott by world leaders of
the Austrian president but he had only words
of praise for him following their June meeting.
The pope's meeting with Waldheim threat-
ened to derail Catholic-Jewish dialogue and
cancel a planned meeting between the pontiff
and American Jewish leaders in Miami in
September, during John Paul's U.S. visit. The
Jewish leaders insisted on a prior, substantive
meeting with the pope to express their anger
and disappointment over the Waldheim affair,
as well as their concern about several other
issues, including the fact that the Vatican still
does not have formal diplomatic relations with
Israel.
The Vatican consented and, after a good deal
of intra-Jewish squabbling, a nine-man Jewish
delegation was selected and flew to Italy in ear-
ly September to meet with the pope. He did not
defend, or even mention, his meeting with
Waldheim but the Jewish leaders seemed
satisfied with the fact that the leader of the
Catholic Church met with them and announced
a. study on the Holocaust.
The Who is A Jew issue was
only one of several religious
debates that has plagued
Israel of late.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
65