EDITORIAL
Federated Strength
Our front page this week features three stories revolving around
the Jewish Welfare Federation of Detroit and Jewish communal life.
The Federation on Monday celebrated the closing of the most suc-
cessful Allied Jewish Campaign in its history, projecting a record
$26 million this year for communal needs at home and overseas.
Our Close-Up story features Mandell "Bill" Berman, a long-time
leader in the Federation who has taken his personal concern for his
home community to the national scene. He now leads North
America's Jewish community as president of the Council of Jewish
Federations.
Finally, we note with deep sadness the death of Marty Citrin,
who followed Berman in local Federation duties but preceded him
at the helm of CJF. The loss of Citrin leaves a void on the Jewish
scene, for he was a knowledgeable, concerned influence and a man
dedicated to the Jewish community.
These events, expressing communal emotions from the joy of
celebration to the sorrow of death, also signify the federation ideal
at its best: a rallying point in times of triumph as well as tragedy.
and evil, black and white. There were, rather, deep shades of gray:
it was learned that the girl had been struck in the head by a bullet
fired by one of her group's guards, Romam Aldubi, 26, a known mili-
tant, who apparently fired out of panic, and that some of the Arab
villagers had sought to rescue the children. Aldubi was a supporter
of Rabbi Meir Kahane and had been barred by the army from enter-
ing Nablus because of provocative behavior.
Jewish settlers are now accusing the army of being too lenient;
the army accuses the settlers of provoking the Palestinians. And The
It is disturbing that many people are choosing to ignore the facts
in this case, which represents an all-too appropriate symbol for the
complexity of the conflict and the spiraling hatred between Arab
and Jew.
People must begin to deal with realities, whether or not they
mesh with their own preconceptions. Not all Arabs are killers; not
all Jews are saints. Perhaps Tirza Porat's death will open our eyes.
Tragedy In Beita
The death of Tirza Porat,. a 15-year-old Jewish girl killed in the
Arab village of Beita on the West Bank last week, is a tragedy on
several levels.
First, and most obviously, it is a personal tragedy, a teenager
killed as the result of taking part in a holiday hike during Passover.
It is an indication of the level of fear and violence that has gripped
Israel since the outbreak of the Palestinian uprisings in December
that Jews are no longer secure within the borders of their own state.
There is also the tragedy of blind hatred underscored by the cir-
cumstances of last week's episode. Initial reports that the girl was
stoned to death by Arab villagers led to deep anger. At the girl's
funeral, Prime Minister Shamir vowed that "God will avenge her
blood." The army made arrests and razed 16 homes in the village.
But when the sequence of events leading up to the girl's death
became known, the incident was no longer clear-cut, between good
I LETTERS
Indecisiveness
Peace's Enemy?
Can a lasting peace outside
of Israel's borders ever
materialize, with the recent
unrelenting peace mission by
George Shultz? Before the
Palestinian question became
so prominent, the Reagan ad-
ministration generally
thought that the long quest
for a sincere peace agreement
was within reach.
Enter now a new and bloody
roadblock to a U.S. peace plan
that once had a chance to
take root. The Palestinians,
"stone throwers, inc," are so
committed to a voice, that
rock throwing becomes their
basis for negotiations. Can
giving them a piece of land be
enough of an incentive to
quiet them?
Prime Minister Shamir
stands for the hard-line
stance that giving up land on-
ly leads to more of the same
6
FRIDAY, APRIL 15, 1988
somewhere down the road in
an effort to make peace with
the Arab states. On the other
side of the coin is Foreign
Minister Peres who argues
that individuals can be
quieted if you give up land
the opposing parties want.
Is this latter opinion right?
Or is it just the fuel that is
needed to give the Arab coun-
tries a way to get more? Un-
til Israel makes peace within
it's own squabbling two par-
ty system these issues will lie
dormant in a pool with so
many questions, and so few
concrete solutions .. .
Robert N. Seffinger
Southfield
Support Better
Child Care
The Week of the Young
Child, April 10-16, is a time-
ly affirmation of the need for
concern over the fate of
children born into the family
of the 1990s. Of the 50 million
women in the workforce to-
day, over 80 percent will
become mothers during their
working lives, meaning
children of the future will
spend an increasingly
substantial portion of each
day in the care of day care
providers.
Yet, according to a recent
study by the National Coun-
cil of Jewish Women's Center
for the Child, many families
most in need of affordable,
quality care are forced to
either compromise the quali-
ty of their child's care or to
give -up needed work oppor-
tunities because quality care
is beyond their means . . .
We urge all Americans to
take a step towards rectifying
this situation by informing
their congressmen that they
support the Act for Better
Child Care (H.R. 3660, S.
1885), which provides states
with critically needed funds
to better meet the growing de-
mand for child care. By sup-
porting this important
legislation we can invest not
only in the future productivi-
ty of American parents, but
also in the future success of
their children.
Terran R. Leemis
President, National Council of
Jewish Women
Greater Detroit Section
Pesach Paucity
In Petoskey
The small Jewish popula-
tion, members of Temple
B'nai Israel of Petoskey, had
little in the way of Passover
supplies with which to
celebrate this festival.
It seems that we have an
anomaly here in Petoskey. On
the south side of town we
have Carter IGA Super-
market, non-Jewish owned,
with its two non-Jewish co-
managers, Doug Mann and
Ken Zoppa, doing everything
in their power to get Passover
supplies for their Jewish
customers.
On the north side of town
we have Giant Supermarket,
Jewish-owned and head-
quartered in Bay City,
Michigan, whose local
manager has consistently
refused to accept and process
any Passover orders despite
the fact that its trucks
regularly service this store
with supplies from downstate.
Carter's IGA had contacted
Raskin Food Company of War-
Continued on Page 10
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