jUP FRONT
Lack Of Job Opportunities
Haunting Soviet Emigres
ELIZABETH KAPLAN
ly all speak at least a fair amount of
English when they arrive.
The majority of immigrants are
technical
engineers, including
ark is a mechanical en-
mechanical,
electrical, computer,
gineer who has worked
chemical
and
civil. In addition, a
more than 15 years in his
number
are
physicians and
field. He speaks English and has ex-
mathematicians.
Some
hold economic
perience in testing, maintenance and
degrees.
repairing industrial machines.
But he does not have a job.
It takes between six months and
Mark is a one of a number of a year of training to raise the im-
Soviet Jewish immigrants in the migrants' job skills level to
Detroit area who want to work. Like "somewhat competitive" with those of
Sam, a tailor with more than 25 American workers, Goodenough said.
years' experience; Maya, a lab techni- This means another delay in their
cian with a medical degree, who just securing permanent work here and
completed a data processing course; often pits Soviet Jews against job-
Gennady, a civil engineer; Yaker, a seeking graduates, many of whom
photographer; and Natalia, a have computer skills.
librarian who recently completed a
Goodenough said the immigrants
data entry course, Mark S. came to also are trying to improve their skills.
the United States in hopes of starting "They're more interested in career
a new life.
development than those who came
His difficulty in securing a vital here 10 years ago," he said. "Many of
component of that new life — a job — them are opting for training."
often is a result of the fact that the Because these individuals often have
Soviet Union is less technically relatives here, some are able to de-
sophisticated than the United States. pend temporarily on family as they
Many Soviet immigrants, for exam- obtain advance training, he said.
ple, are engineers who do not have the
When they first arrive in the
CAD, or Computer Aided Training, of United States, the immigrants
their American counterparts. Few receive 90 days' resettlement service
engineers are able to find positions in from HIAS, the Hebrew Immigrant
this country without CAD.
and Aid Society.
This is not to say the Soviet
At the end of those three months,
workers are untrained. Roger they may apply for refugee assistance.
Goodenough, job placement super- This federally funded program pro-
visor at the Jewish Vocational Ser- vides the immigrants with a small in-
vices, said Soviet Jews now settling come and medical care for up to 18
here are more highly skilled than the months.
last wave of immigrants who came in
Goodenough said the JVS works
the late 1970s.
with immigrants in both long-term
He also said that about 90 percent
hold college degrees, and that virtual- Continued on Page 22
Staff Writer
M
Jennifer Bar-Lev's painting is part of an exhibition at the Tel Aviv Museum celebrating Israel's
40th anniversary. All of the artists were born in Israel after the state was proclaimed.
ADL Is Trying To Trace
Anti-Semitic Letter
ELIZABETH KAPLAN
says that Jews control "every major-
profit-making scheme of business and
world trade including the most pro-
he Anti-Defamation League of fitable one, the drug business."
B'nai B'rith is investigating
Carol Gallup of Rochester Hills is
an anti-Semitic letter sent last listed as author of the letter, but ADL
week to individuals and Jewish and Director Richard Lobenthal said
Christian organizations throughout Gallup did not write it. He said the
the metropolitan area.
author of the letter appears to be so-
A headline reading "Jews in the meone trying to cause trouble for
Drug Business! The Real Story the Gallup, rather than seeking to spread
Media is Afraid To Print" runs across anti-Semitism.
the top of the letter, which alleges
"We have had extensive contact
that "Jewish people control and are with Carol Gallup," he said, "and we
the major stockholders in such power- have every reason to believe this has
ful corporations" as AT&T, Turner nothing to do with her, but is part of
Broadcasting, CBS and NBC. It also Continued on Page 22
Staff Writer
T
ROUND UP
Who Is A Jew
Bill Rejected
Jerusalem (JTA) — The
Knesset on Tuesday firmly re-
jected two Orthodox-proposed
measures governing conver-
sions to Judaism.
It voted 60-53 against the
so-called "Who Is a Jew"
amendment to the Law of
Return, which would have
recognized as Jews only con-
verts converted by Orthodox
rabbis. The sponsors were the
ultra-Orthodox Agudat Yis-
rael and Poalei Agudah
parties.
The Knesset also defeated,
by a 60-51 margin, an emen-
dation to the Law of Return,
which would have required
anyone seeking to convert
from one faith to another to
obtain the consent of the head
of the conversion faith. For
converts to Judaism in Israel
that would be the Chief Rab-
binate, even if they were con-
verted abroad.
The Labor Party and others
of the center and left opposed
the measure, as they have in
the past. But bills introduced
by two small secular parties,
Mapam and the Citizens
Rights Movement, were
decisively defeated. They of-
fered more liberal definitions
of a Jew than even the
unamended Law of Return.
Election Results
Are Announced
The results are in from
Monday's Oakland County
school district elections. The
winners are Louise Mitchell
and Ezra Roberg in Oak Park,
James Abernethy and Helen
Prutow in Farmington,
Patricia Armstrong and Jane
Klatt in Berkley, Malcolm
Hay and Judith Perryman in
Birmingham.
Also: Linda Finkel and Ed-
ward Fleischmann in Bloom-
field Hills, Diane Andreae
and Edwin Basile in West
Bloomfield and Zelda Robin-
son and Donald Fracassi in
Southfield.
Electoral Reform
Is Considered
Jerusalem (JTA) — An elec-
toral reform bill that would
replace the present system of
proportional representation
passed its first reading in the
Knesset Tuesday by an im-
pressive 69 to 37 majority.
The bill will need the votes
of at least 61 of the 120
Knesset members on its se-
cond and third readings in
order to become law. It would
institute the direct election of
Knesset members on a
regional basis.
Likud won a victory when
the Knesset decided by 51 to
49 in favor of state control
over the elections of
Histadrut, the labor
federation.
The Knesset voted 67 to 16
to elect retired Supreme
Court Justice Miriam Ben-
Porat the new state
comptroller.
The reform is fiercely oppos-
ed by the religious parties,
which represent a small
minority of the electorate and
owe their Knesset representa-
tion to the present system.
Under that system, Israelis
do not vote for their
legislators but for party lists.
El AI Sees
Revenue Drop
rIbl Aviv (JTA) — El Al,
Israel's national airline, is
scaling down operations in
anticipation of an $11 million
drop in revenue this year,
caused by the adverse effects
on tourism of the Palestinian
uprising.
El Al President Rafi Har-
Lev told a news conference
Sunday that the company
planned economy measures
including combining flights,
use of smaller aircraft and the
dismissal of temporary
workers.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
5