FOCUS
„T AB!.
"Where You Come First"
Kosins
Uptown
Southfield Rd. at
11 1 /2 Mile • 559-3900
For those who
want- the finest custom
furniture at...
Big & Tall
Southfield at
101 /2 Mile • 569-6930
AFFORDABLE PRICES
The simplest cube to the most
intricate wall unit built to your
specifications by meticulous craftsmen.
IF FOOD CONTROLS YOU
IT'S TIME TO TAKE CONTROL!
Selections for every room in your
home or office in fine woods, laminates,
marble, glass and specializing in...
• Individualized Dietary
Program Designed to Fit
Your Needs
• Individualized Weekly
Counseling
OUTSTANDING LUCITE DESIGNS
HEALTHY OPTIONS, INC.
DEA FARRAH, MSW, ACSW
t
cir ri
Weight Control Therapist
647-5540
BINGHAM CENTER, BIRMINGHAM
661-3838
MOVADO
The MuseumWatch.
Nirrirriri
The Movado Museum Watch. This watch dial design, distinguished
by a single dot, is in the permanent collection of The Museum of
Modern Art.
A classic in 18 karat gold micron finish electroplate. Water
resistant, quartz, Swiss-crafted.
357-5578
fine jewelry and gifts
SAVINGS, SELECTION AND PERSONAL SERVICE
26400 W. 12 Mile Rd. (N.E. corner of Northwestern)
in the Franklin Savings Center.
Mon.-Sat. 10 till 5:45. Thurs. till 8:45.
38
FRIDAY, JANUARY 22, 1988
American Jews Unsure
Of Response To Riots
New York — As violence in
the Gaza Strip and West
Bank continues to pit Israeli
soldiers against Palestinian
youths, American Jews are
examining their relationship
to Israel to an extent perhaps
not seen since the Lebanon
War.
Quietly and with some
discomfort, American Jews
are heard asking: Is it a duty
to defend Israel's actions
when it is "set upon" by the
news media? Is it fair for
Diaspora Jews to criticize
Israel? Must all criticism of
Israel be kept "in the family"
and not shared with the non-
Jewish majority? And will im-
ages of unrest erode support
for Israel, or even lead to
anti-Semitism?
"The concern is comparable
to what it was during the
Lebanon war and the Pollard
(spy) affair," remarked Martin
Raffel, director of the Israel
Task Force of the National
Jewish Community Relations
Advisory Council. He said he
based his evaluation on the
dozens of calls he has receiv-
ed from local community rela-
tions councils.
He said "the primary com-
plaint — beyond the events
themselves, the loss of life —
is with media coverage, which
many feel has been excessive-
ly harsh."
"I also think there's some
real frustration at speaking
out," he said. Because the
situations in Gaza and the
West Bank "are ugly, and the
Israelis themselves have said
that not all situations have
been handled with utmost
restraint," how to interpret
the unrest publicly is "dif-
ficult and complex."
A case in point is Los
Angeles, where, according to
Steven Windmueller, there
are "certain frustrations'
among some Jewish leaders
with Israeli policy in the ad-
ministered territories. But
because so much of the local
coverage of the unrest is
negative — Windmueller
calls the Los Angeles Times'
coverage "very harsh" — most
leaders have agreed not to air
those frustrations.
Windmueller, executive
director of the Community
Relations Committee of the
Jewish Federation Council in
Los Angeles, said that among
the city's Jewish leaders, "the
theme is that Israel is in a dif-
ficult situation and that
(negative) public and private
comments are not helpful."
Steven Cohen, professor of
sociology at Queens College
in New York, said that when
Israel is involved in an un-
popular conflict and seems to
be under attack by the press,
the short-term reaction by
American Jews is to close
ranks behind Israel.
The long-term reaction,
however, is "the sharing of
the doubts towards Israeli
policy as they have been ex-
pressed by others," he said.
Those doubts, said Cohen,
will center on the viability of
Israel's presence in the ad-
ministered territories. "I
think for the first time,
American Jews are able to
peer inside the occupation
and see how dangerous it is
for Israel," he said.
Neither Cohen nor Raffel
sees the unrest leading to an
anti-Semitic or strongly anti-
Israel backlash in the United
States.
Nevertheless, communal
leaders feel statements by
U.S. officials have been un-
duly critical, which when
combined with television im-
ages of Israel as occupying
power could erode the emo-
tional and financial support
American Jews provide to
Israel.
Since the war in Lebanon in
1982, American Jews have
had to learn to live with the
real, imperfect Israel, as op-
posed to the mythic one of
Meir and Dayan, according to
Leonard Fein, visiting scholar
at Reform Judaism's Relig-
ious Action Center in
Washington, D.C.
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
NEWS
Universities
Link Computers
Toronto (JTA) — A new com-
puter link between the
University of Toronto and
Israel's Bar-Ilan University is
streamlining the study of
classical Jewish texts.
The University of Toronto
recently became the first
educational institution out-
side Israel to obtain on-line
access to the Global Jewish
Database at the Israeli
university. It is available
through the local university's
Centre for Computing in the
Humanities.
The database — one of the
largest in the world — con-
tains the Bible, the Babylo-
nian Talmud, 250 volumes of
rabbinic responsa, the Code of
Maimonides, midrashic
literature and the major
medieval biblical
commentaries.