THIS ISSUE 60 0

SERVING DETROIT'S JEWISH COMMUNITY

JUNE 3, 1988 / 18 SIVAN 5748

Israel Travel Off 25 Percent

KIMBERLY LIFTON

Staff Writer

Dr. Larry Miller and a tour group
from Temple Israel gathered last
month in Israel at an outdoor park
and listened intently as the Israel
Philharmonic Orchestra played
"Hatikvah."
"When I heard the orchestra play
`Hatikvah; I knew my trip had
started," Miller said. "Everyone
either got chills or had tears."
The trip, Miller said, was "the
most incredible vacation for all of us."
Yet he remembers best the comments
made by Israelis as group members

months has declined by 25 percent,
Israel tourism officials are projecting
that visits to the country will start to
climb by mid-summer.
"We saw Japanese tourists, Euro-
pean tourists, but very few American
tourists," said Adat Shalom
Synagogue's Rabbi Efry Spectre, who
recently returned from a trip with
synagogue members. "Shops were not
crowded, there was no waiting for
anything. I've never seen that in all
my trips to Israel. People kept saying
they need us."
The problem, said Israel Govern-
ment Iburist Office Spokesman Am-
non Linn-Lipzin, has been media
hype over the recent Palestinian
uprisings in the administered ter-
ritories. But Linn-Lipzin and other
Israel tourism and government of-
ficials said the media blitz has still-
ed, hopefully prompting more
Americans to book trips for the sum-
cording to Sinai President Irving mer and fall.
"We thought this 40th anniver-
Shapiro. In the future, the hospital
sary
year would go beyond the all-
will rely on outside legal counsel. In
time
record," Linn-Lipzin said. "But
addition, the development and plan-
because of the political developments,
ning departments will be merged.
These actions are the result of we are not sure this will materialize
decisions made months ago, Shapiro as a record. But I assume a lot of peo-
said. The number of hospital beds will ple will still go."

toured, shopped and walked through
the streets.
Throughout the trip, he said,
Israelis thanked the group for visiting
the country and begged members to
tell others to follow.
One Israeli sales clerk asked him,
"Did your rabbi put an ad in a
newspaper to get couples to come?"
"They kept telling us how quiet it
had been and that tourism was
down," Miller said. "They couldn't
believe we all came together. But it's
safe, it is great and people really
should go."
Despite estimates that American
travel to Israel in the past three

Sinai Plans Cuts
In Support Services

DAVID HOLZEL

Staff Writer

Sinai Hospital will implement
another phase of its plan to reor-
ganize the facility this month in an
attempt to make it more competitive.
The seven-member legal depart-
ment will be phased out June 30, ac-

CWSE-UP

MORE
THAN
THREE
R'S

Jewish day schools
are the hope
for the future

Continued on Page 10

Continued on Page 10

PITFALLS
OF
SURVIVAL

CONTENTS, PAGE 7