NEWS SUPERIOR FISH Co. r - Cooked, Peeled and Cleaned r 7.49 lb. wicoupon Expires 12-24-88 T FLOWN IN DIRECT CREAMY SMOKED FISH SPREAD ar o, 11 Mile NORWEGIAN SALMON 8 oz. container $8.95 .. IL wlcoupon Expires 12-24-88 Expires 12-24-88 1 KING CRAB LEGS Featuring $2 ■ . 25 Fresh Fillets Alaskan A large variety of Fresh Apple- wood Smoked Seafood, including Smoked Salmon, Sable, Whitefish, Chubs, etc. L 1 (26-30 ct.) Reg. Price $7.99 lb. Reg. Price $16.95 lb. L Shell On — COCKTAIL SHRIMP COCKTAIL SHRIMP (21-25 ct.) with tall on $ 116.45 JUST ADD SEAFOOD TO MAKE YOUR HOLIDAYS TASTEFULLY UNIQUE $9.99 j_ Expires 12-24-88 CELEBRATE WITH HOLIDAY SEAFOOD PARTY TRAYS ,, SUPERIOR FISH CO. 0 • ul . House of Quality Serving Metropolitan Detroit for Over 40 Years 309 E. 11 Mile Rd., Royal Oak, MI • 541-4632 Parking in rear Mon.-Wed. 8-5 Thurs. & Fri. 8-6 Saturday 8-1 BAGEL DELI & PRODUCE CO. 6088 W. MAPLE AT FARMINGTON RD. • W. Bloomfield • 851-9666 OPEN MON. THRU SAT. 9 TO 6 SUNDAY 8 TO 3 THE PLACE FOR SMOKED FISH THE FINEST SMOKED FISH & DELI TRAYS HANDOUT NOVA LOX WE WILL BE OPEN DEC. 25TH, 1988 8:00 2:00 WE WILL BE OPEN SUNDAY the 18th 12:00.4:00 THE LATEST IN FASHION COMPLAISANT ,- THE STADIUM Orchard Lake Rd. at 14 Mile • Hunters Square 855.6566 82 FRIDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1988 855.4460 ■►∎ %. /0%. MIA NMI\ Around the World %1111-1111/ WI MU/ 'VI 1; Fir, WE TRAVEL!! In Search of Exotic' and Totally Unique Things for You! 626-1999 COLONY INTERIORS Ban On Belly Dancing Has Ashdod In Uproar NACHEMIA MEYERS Special to The Jewish News R esidents of the port city of Ashdod, mostly Jews of North African origin who support right- wing and religious parties, are quite prepared to let the Orthodox rabbinate have its way on the "Who is a Jew" issue. But they are in no mood to compromise with the rab- binate on another issue, namely belly dancing. For many North African Jews, no major celebration — and particularly no wedding — can be truly successful without the appearance of an undulating belly dancer. So, naturally, their wrath was in- curred when the Sephardic Chief Rabbi of Ashdod, Rab- bi Israel Alizera, recently ruled that any wedding hall which permitted belly danc- ing would have its kashrut certificate permanently withdrawn, thus effectively putting it out of business. Ashdod residents were par- ticularly taken aback by the fact that Rabbi Alizera, long regarded as a religious moderate, had issued such a ruling. But his traditional moderation had angered the ascendant ultra-Orthodox, and his pronouncement on belly dancing was apparently made in an attempt to ap- pease them. The popularity and pro- fitability of belly dancing is evident from a glance at "The Thousand and One Nights" page in the entertainment section of Yediot Aharonot, Israel's largest circulation newspaper. That page features numerous small ads placed by local belly dancers, who proclaim their will- ingness to appear at "events of all kinds!' There are also a few larger ads placed by "Mediterranean" nights clubs, which have belly dancers from both Israel and abroad — the latter mainly from Turkey. Quite apart from the profes- sionals, hundreds of other women, ranging from teen- agers to 50ish matrons, are taking belly dancing courses all over the country. There is no denying the erotic character of belly danc- ing, though many practi- tioners put strict limits on how excited they will allow their flushed patrons to become. For example, the "modest" ones will forego a substantial source of income rather than allow members of the audience to rush up and stick 20 shekel bills on their sweating bodies or into their bulging bras. It is quite common for men to ask for the dancers' phone numbers, which most of them refuse to divulge because, on principle, they will have nothing to do with patrons after hours. "In point of fact," says belly dancer Yasmin Trainy, "we are more restrained in our behavior than many ordinary women. They are apt to go around making provocative gestures all day long, while we make them for only 20 minutes, perhaps three times a night." The conflict over belly dan- cing in Ashdod illustrates a basic characteristic of Orien- tal Jews which the rabbinical authorities and the political parties will ignore at their peril: such Jews will go along with the rabbis and politi- cians so long as no attempt is made to disturb their lifestyle in the name of religion. However fervent their Jewishness, they intend to go on with "pagan pleasures" like belly dancing at wed- dings, television on Friday nights and soccer games on Saturdays. 4 4 - 4 , TRAVEL immmim Israel Tourism Facts, Figures New York — Since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, over 18 million tourists have visited Israel. In 1949, 4,500 tourists visited Israel. In 1987, tourism in- come amounted to $1.6 billion dollars. Israel was one of 50 coun- tries in the world which had more than one million visitors in 1987, with income from tourism exceeding $1 billion. Israel is 5th in the world of terms of income per capita from foreign tourism ($380 average income per capita). Forty percent of all tourists who visit Israel are Jewish. Among foreign visitors, the average stay in Israel is 17 nights. Israel will have hosted by the end of 1988, 140 interna- tional conferences in which 37,000 participants are anticipated. Israel now has bilateral agreements to promote tourism with 10 countries: Chile, Egypt, France, Greece, Holland, Italy, Philippines, Spain and the United States. 4 1 4