UP FRONT

Jews, Christians Work
On 'December Dilemma'

KIMBERLY LIFTON

D

Special to The Jewish News

Ilene and Matthew Kaplowitz picket in Madison Heights.

Women Are Waving WAND
On Nuclear Disarmament

LILA ORBACH

Special to The Jewish News

T

hey speak in the vernacular
of the nuclear age. They know
the difference between an
ABM Treaty and a comprehensive
test ban. Their cars are decorated
with bumper stickers that read,
"Nuclear weapons: May they rust in
peace" or "One nuclear bomb can
ruin your whole day." They read
magazines like Nuclear Times and

hold walkathons, peace breakfasts
and protests.
They are the active members of
Women's Action For Nuclear Disar-
mament, a national organization
dedicated to ending the nuclear arms
race.
And they are growing.
Claiming more than 20,000
members nationwide, WAND serves
as a watchtower for peace — keeping
constant tabs on military develop-

Continued on Page 20

wring the Christmas season,
Jews and other non-Christ-
ians annually confront a pro-
blem that appropriately has been
named the December dilemma.
The dilemma, according to the
Jewish Community Council, begins
each December in the public schools.
In school, children of Jews and other
non-Christian faiths often become
confused when the Christmas holiday
is treated as a national holiday.
"It is a trying time for Jews and
other people who are not Christian
when they are bombarded with this
Christmas message," said Robert Ar-
cand, director of the Greater Detroit
Interfaith Roundtable of the National
Conference of Christians and Jews.
"The Christians must become more
sensitive."
Arcand and members of the
Jewish clergy say the answer to the
dilemma is education. Parents must
begin teaching children the meaning
of Christmas, which commemorates
the birth of Jesus Christ, the Chris-
tian messiah.
"We must remember that the
religion of Jesus Christ may have
been Jewish, but that the religion
about him is Christian;' explained
Rabbi David Nelson of Cong. Beth
Shalom. "We have Chanukah and
they have Christmas. We cannot
blend the two since they are not
related?'
Nelson and several other local
rabbis agree that putting large,
lighted menorahs next to brilliantly
decorated Christmas trees in public

or private places is not the answer to
the dilemma.
"Dual displays of menorahs and
Christmas trees are disturbing," said
Rabbi Elliot Pachter of Adat Shalom
Synagogue. "It distorts the meaning
of Chanukah?'
Rabbis Nelson, Pachter and
others say parents must reinforce in
the home the significance of
Chanukah, the festival of lights that
celebrates the victory of the ancient
Maccabees over the powerful Syrian
empire.
While parents teach their
children about the holidays, Jewish
and Christian leaders must attempt
to educate those persons who in-
fluence children, said Howard
Wallach, who chairs the church/state
subcommittee of the Jewish Com-
munity Council.
"Teachers, administrators and
government leaders must learn to bet-
ter understand the (U.S.) Constitution
as it applies to the separation of
church and state," Wallach said. "We
do live in a Christian society, but that
does not mean everybody believes in
Christianity. There has to be some
recongition of our beliefs and sen-
sitivities?'
To help educate the public, the
Jewish Community Council has
prepared a brochure called "The
December Dilemma?' The brochure
defines the Council's position on the
separation of church and state in
schools and in public places.
The Council advocates educating
children in the schools about the prin-
ciples of religious freedom and liber-
ty. • It states that teaching inter-

Continued on Page 18

ROUND UP

Dept. Doesn't
Like Sara Lee

New York (JTA) — The
Chicago-based Sara Lee Corp.
is calling "misleading and
grossly exaggerated" Com-
merce Department charges
that it violated anti-boycott
provisions of the Export Ad-
ministration Act.
Sara Lee has not been
charged with boycotting
Israel or Israeli firms.
However, the Commerce
Department "believes that in
providing information about
its business ties, Sara Lee was
furthering the Arab boycott of
Israel in a manner prohibited
by Congress," according to
Donald Creed, a Commerce
Department spokesman.

Sanctions of up to $10,000
per violation — a potential
penalty of up to $2.35 million
— could be assessed against
Sara Lee and its export
privileges could be denied if
the company is found to have
breached the law.

Silence Appeal
Is Turned Down

Washington (JTA) — A U.S.
court of Appeals ruling that
a New Jersey law requiring a
minute of silence in public
schools for "private con-
templation and introspec-
tion" was unconstitutional re-
mains in effect because the
Supreme Court refused to
deal with the issue on
technical grounds.

The 8-0 decision Tuesday on
the case of Karcher v. May,
written by Justice Sandra
O'Connor, said that Alan
Karcher, former speaker of
the New Jersey State
Assembly, and Carmen
Orechio, former president of
the state senate, could not ap-
peal the lower court decision
because they no longer held
the leadership posts in the
legislature.

House Rules
On Stingers

Washington (JTA) — The
House of Representatives
voted last week to ban the
sale of Stinger anti-aircraft
missiles to any country that
is not a member of NATO or

designated a "major non-
NATO ally."
The House approved the
ban by a 322-to-93 vote. The
Senate, however, is unlikely
to approve such a ban in light
of tight scheduling before it
adjourns in December.

The ban would not apply to
Israel or Egypt, both recent-
ly designated as major non-
NATO allies, or to Turkey.
Rep. Stephen Solarz (D-N.Y.)
urged unsuccessfully during
the debate that the amend-
ment be modified to allow
Stingers to be sold to Bahrain
and to any other country pro-
viding the United States with
access to military facilities.
The administration is con-
sidering selling Stingers to
Bahrain.

Israeli Elected
To Post

Geneva (JTA) — The In-
tergovernmental Committee
for Migration has elected Pin-
chas Eliav, Israeli am-
bassador of the United Na-
tions in Geneva, as its presi-
dent for one year It is the first
time an Israeli has been ap-
pointed to preside over an in-
ternational organization.
The committee handles the
transfer of the jews leaving
the Soviet Union, among
other activities. After World
War II, it helped bring im-
migrants from the ruins of
Europe to Israel. Altoghether
it handled the transport of
some 400,000 Jews who sur-
vived the Holocaust.

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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