ANN ARBOR]
Reaching Out
Ann Arbor takes up the cause of Central America
LINDA BENSON
Special to The Jewish News
entral America seems to
be on everyone's mind
in Ann Arbor.
The city is twinned
with Juigalpa, Nicara-
gua. In 1986, it sent a delegation in-
cluding Mayor Ed Pierce and State
Rep. Perry Bullard to Juigalpa and
Ann Arborites later raised money to
provide the town with a garbage
truck.
And while Ann Arbor is on record
as supporting humanitarian aid for
Nicaraguans, whose Sandinista
government the United States seeks
to overthrow, some of the city's Jews
are trying to help another segment of
the troubled region: refugees from the
United States' Central American
allies.
Temple Beth Emeth's Rabbi
Robert Levy took up the cause of
persecuted dissidents in friendly
countries after attending "A Con-
sultation of Conscience," a 1985 sym-
posium sponsored by the Reform
movement's Union of American
Hebrew Congregations.
His subsequent efforts bore fruit
in 1987. Mario Vasquez, a Honduran
Catholic adopted by the temple, was
brought to Ann Arbor and granted
legal asylum. Vasquez's family join-
ed him earlier this year.
When American Jews pursue this
sort of humanitarian work, are Jews
in distress left wanting? Why is Tem-
ple Beth Emeth the only Jewish con-
gregation in Michigan to work on
behalf of Central American refugees?
Those escaping Soviet client
states such as Nicaragua and Cuba
are routinely granted asylum in the
United States. Refugees from friend-
ly Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, El
Salvador and Guatemala — some
with abysmal human rights records —
are not. Rabbi Levy rails at what he
calls the politicization of the U.S. Im-
migration and Naturalization
Service.
"Here were honest-to-God refu-
gees, leaving their countries because
of fear, political harassment and in-
timidation, and we were not accepting
them because their governments are
considered friends and allies."
Rabbi Levy's fervor was con-
tagious. His congregation followed his
lead and joined the Sanctuary move-
ment. Sanctuary aims to provide a
haven for Central American refugees,
often breaking U.S. law in the process.
Rabbi Levy stresses that Ann Arbor
Sanctuary activities stay within the
law.
In 1986, Rabbi Levy enlisted the
support of the Ann Arbor New Jew-
ish Agenda and St. Claire's
Church, which shares a build-
ing with Temple Beth Emeth.
Nationally, 70 Jewish organi-
zations have joined Sanctuary.
Some Sanctuary members
have followed their cause to
its moral and emotional lim-
its, straying beyond the law.
Milwaukee's Temple Emanu-
el was threatened with a law-
suit by the INS for acting as
an accomplice in defying
immigration procedures.
Other groups are con-
tent with making politi-
cal statements. The na-
tional New Jewish Agen-
da for example, supports
the right of self-deter-
mination for all Latin
American countries, in-
cluding Nicaragua.
For a refugee to be
granted political asylum
in the United States, INS
officials must determine
that he has a "well-founded
fear of persecu-
tion" in his
homeland. The
INS places a
high burden
of proof upon
these from
friendly nations..
Statistics sup-
port this conclusion. Since
Sanctuary was formed in 1981,
800,000 refugees from friendly
countries have sought asylum in the
United States. Only 3 percent have
been granted asylum.
Rabbi Levy cites Jewish history as
his rationale for making Sanctuary
his primary cause. "As Jews, we have
a specific responsibility to help
refugees because we have been
refugees throughout history."
The rabbi says his congregation's
Sanctuary activities do not detract
from work on behalf of Jewish issues
like Ethiopian and Soviet Jewry.
Jewish support of non-Jewish
Central Americans "does not dilute
support of other Jewish issues;' adds
Glen Stein of the UHAC's Religious
Action Center. He cites the 200,000
persons who rallied in Washington,
D.C., last December for Soviet Jewry.
Some observers note that Sanc-
tuary, with its non-sectarian appeal,
is the perfect cause for a Jewish con-
gregation which shares space with a
church in a town with liberal-to-leftist
leanings.
Other Detroit-area congregations
have been lukewarm to Sanctuary.
"Even though Detroit is a port-of-
entry city, Sanctuary has not semed
to catch on here," says Rabbi Lane
Steinger of Temple Emanu-El in Oak
Park. "Our social action committee
felt the movement dealt with matters
of legal jeopardy rather than just con-
science and did not wish to become in-
volved."
"Some congregations are leery of
supporting politics that contradict the
Reagan administration," says Rabbi
Ernst Conrad of Temple Kol Ami in
West Bloomfield. "After all, the ad-
ministration has been so supportive
of Israel."
And, Rabbi Conrad adds, "be-
coming accomplices in illegal ac-
tivities is very serious."
"What most groups do to help
Some Sanctuary
members have
followed their
cause to its
limits, straying
beyond the law.
Neil Beckman
these refugees is legal,"
Glen Stein counters. There
are three main illegal activi-
ties, he says: providing per-
manent residence to an alien
in a manner that would
avoid his detection by au-
thorities; providing transpor-
tation to avoid detection; and
providing employment to some-
one of illegal and undocu-
mented status.
"When we create a climate that
supports all refugees fleeing persecu-
tion, it helps Jews;' argues Stein.
"There is a growing awareness I see
around the country. Jewish values
kick in and the only normal instinct
is to be of service?'
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
73