UP FRONT
Wayne County Exec Finds
Similar Problems In Israel
feeling was the [Canadian decision]
was wrong," McNamara commented.
Staff Writer
For McNamara, the highlight of
the
week-long visit to Israel, his se-
ayne County Executive Ed-
ward H. McNamara be- cond, was spending Shabbat with the
lieves that large urban Rosman family of Jerusalem whose
areas suffer from much the same pro- relatives, Emil and Eda Reed, live in
blems, whether in the U.S., Europe or Oak Park.
Of the city itself, the Wayne Coun-
Israel.
ty
Executive
remarked about the
McNamara was one of eight U.S.
beauty
and
strong
construction of
mayors and county executives to at-
Jerusalem's
buildings,
suggesting
tend the eighth annual Conference of
that
American
builders
could
learn a
Mayors in Jerusalem. Held Sept.
DAVID HOLZEL
W
An artist's drawing of the new Hillel.
And TheWalls Of U-M Hillel
Are Comingnimbling Down
ALAN HITSKY
Associate Editor
D
emolition of the building that
has housed the University of
Michigan Hillel Foundation
since the early 1950s began this week
following, Sunday's groundbreaking
ceremonies for a new $4.6 million
structure.
Construction is expected to begin
on the new two-story facility at the
1429 Hill Street site in Ann Arbor
within two weeks, and is expected to
take 12-14 months. Meanwhile,
Hillel, which serves 6,000 Jewish
students on the U-M campus — 1.5
percent of all Jewish college students
in the U.S. — is working out of rented
quarters at 339 Liberty.
A national fundraising campaign
to pay for the new structure, con-
ducted by the Jewish Welfare Federa-
tion of Metropolitan Detroit, has
already raised $2.5 million. Two
Detroit leaders of the campaign for
13-19, the conference was also attend-
ed by eight European mayors.
According to McNamara, the civic
leaders discussed the restoration of
cities, -building preservation, plann-
Hillel, Mandell Berman and Joel ing for the future and "how to keep
Tauber, hosted organizational and cities from deteriorating!' The ongo-
fundraising meetings at their homes ing task of all the mayors and county
this summer, and additional funds executives attending the conference is
have been received from U-M Hillel to "make democracy work, and to pro-
alumni. The fundraising is expected vide the necessities — water, sewers,
to concentrate on U-M alumni in recreation, parks — [despite] budget
Chicago and on the East and West constraints!'
The delegation also passed a
Coasts in the coming months.
Those funds will be used to pay for resolution recommending Jerusalem
a 27,589-square foot structure that Mayor Teddy Kollek for the Nobel
will include a multi-purpose "great Peace Prize. McNamara said the
hall" that can seat up to 600, a kit- mayors were impressed with Kollek's
chen, offices, study areas, classrooms relations with Jerusalem's Arabs,
and a Sabbath elevator. "We will have "not like victor and vanquished," but
more program space in the same "eyeball to eyeball!'
The mayors also forwarded a com-
amount of overall space" as the old
building, said Harold Radin of Harley. plaint to the American League of
Ellington Pierce Yee Associates in Cities, protesting Israel's exclusion
Southfield, which designed the new from the upcoming Capitals of the
facility. Contractor is O'Neal Con- World Conference in Ottawa, Ont. An
struction of Ann Arbor, which built U- invitation to the conference was ex-
tended to the mayor of Tel Aviv, but
M's Power Center.
Hillel director Michael Brooks was returned with a note stating that
said that repairs to the old structure Jerusalem is Israel's capital. Canada
were becoming more costly, does not recognize the status of
Jerusalem as Israel's capital. "The
Continued on Page 20
Ed McNamara:
Shabbat in Jerusalem.
lesson from the Israelis. "So many of
our buildings we construct with the
idea of lasting 30 or 40 years and
throw them away," he complained.
Despite its beauty, Jerusalem suf-
fers from urban planning short-
sightedness, he said. Jerusalem is a
"community that didn't allow for
parking or wide streets. Substantial
buildings stand too close to the
streets," he observed.
ROUND UP
Curse Beats
Waffic Citation
Jerusalem (JTA) — A rabbi
believed by his Moroccan
disciples to possess super-
natural powers beat a traffic
ticket one recent Friday by
implying a curse of sorts on
the police officer who was
writing it.
As the story unfolded, Rab-
bi Baruch Abuhatziera of
Netivot, known to his
followers as Baba Baruch,
had his car stopped on the
highway because his driver
was not wearing the man-
datory seat belt. The rabbi
emerged from the car, in-
troduced himself, and polite-
ly asked the policeman to tear
up the ticket. The latter refus-
ed, whereupon Baba Baruch
expressed the wish that he
not return home safely.
The cop, himself of Moroc-
can origin, apparently had se-
cond thoughts. He contacted
his superior officer by radio to
explain the situation,
remarking that "after all,
such things happen." The
superior advised him to use
his own discretion. The ticket
was torn up and Baba Baruch
bade the officer a jolly "Shab-
bat Shalom."
Slave Labor
Tel Aviv (JTA) — The
Daimler-Benz Co. of West
Germany, manufacturers of
the Mercedes, will pay com-
pensation to slave laborers it
employed during World War
II when it built tanks and
other mobile equipment for
Hitler's army, a company
spokesman announced in
Haifa this week. Many of the
slave laborers were Jews.
House Approves
Hate-Crimes Bill
Washington (JTA) — A
"hate crimes" bill that would
impose federal criminal
penalties for damage to
religious property and injury
to persons in the free exercise
of their religious beliefs was
approved by the House on a
voice vote Monday.
The bill, introduced by Rep.
Dan Glickman (D-Kan), pro-
vides for fines up to $250,000
and/or imprisonment for
anyone who causes $10,000 or
more damage to a church,
synagogue, religious
cemetery or other religious
real property or causes
serious bodily injury to a per-
son trying to exercise his
religious beliefs.
Le Pen Remark
Condemned
Paris (JTA) — Prime
Minster Jacques Chirac last
week criticized remarks made
by Jean Marie Le Pen, who
said in an interview broadcast
on Radio Luxembourg that
the Holocaust was a "mere
detail" in the history of World
War II. It was "horrible to
listen to such things," said
Chirac, the first French lead-
er to speak out publicly on
the matter.
Le Pen's, leader of the ex-
treme rightwing National
Front, popularity plummeted
by 60 percent according to a
poll published in Le Figaro,
apparently in reaction to his
remarks, in which he ex-
pressed doubt that the Nazi
gas chambers ever existed.
Chirac urged French
schools to continue to teach
the history of World War II
and the tragedy of the Holo-
caust. Chirac's condemnation
of Le Pen indicated he has
given up any plans he might
have had for a political
alliance.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
5