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LET US CREATE A HAIRSTYLE THAT BECOMES YOUR LIFESTYLE! - New Clients Only 2111 WOODWARD AVE., SUITE 1006, DET., MI 48201 • 963-7271 In the heart of Detroit's New Theatre District 46 FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1988 Could A New Joseph Stop Israel's 'Famine'? New Clients Only $5 00 OFF $5 00 ANY HAIR SERVICE Except comb out Participating operators only MANICURES Participating operators only T he continuing story of the Joseph saga reaches its climax with last week's sedra as Joseph reveals himself to his astonished brothers: "I am Joseph, does your father yet live?" Joseph was the first Dias- pora Jew. Born in Jacob's old age to his favorite wife, Rachel, Joseph the dreamer finds himself in Egypt as a slave. Yet he resists the sexual advances of Potifar's wife. He is cast into prison. Because he can interpret dreams, he is brought before Pharaoh, solves his dilemma and winds up becoming prime minister of Egypt. He marries the daughter of Pharoah and has two sons with her. Was Joseph Jewish? Were his two sons Jewish? Accor- ding to Halachah, Joseph was Jewish because his mother, Rachel, was Jewish (or was she?). But Joseph's wife, the daughter of Pharaoh, clearly was not Jewish. The question of their sons becomes interesting because of the debate now going in Israel over "Who is a Jew?" The debate has taken on bit- ter political overtones. The Law of Return, first adopted after Israel became an in- dependent state, declares that anyone born of a Jewish mother or who is converted is a Jew, and therefore entitled to automatic citizenship. On- ly an Orthodox rabbi, not a Conservative or Reform, may officiate at such conversions and find them acceptable. The religious rigidity of the Orthodox rabbinate has become national news as the head of Likud, Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, seeks to form a new govern- ment. Lacking his own par- ty's majority, he is turning to the 18 seats held by the Or- thodox to gain a majority of seats in the Knesset. The issue is not new. Only this time, the balance of power for forming a new government by a coalition rests with the Orthodox parties. And what is the price of their participation in the new government? A pledge to amend the Law of Return, close down the State of Israel on Shabbat, have full control over the purse strings suppor- Richard Hertz is rabbi emeritus of Temple Beth El. ting the schools and yeshivot and turn Israel into a theocratic state under their control. As never before, the non- Orthodox elements, especial- ly the North American Con- servative and Reform sup- porters of Israel, are outrag- ed by the Orthodox power grab. An Orthodox-supported amendment would change Israel's immigration law to deny automatic citizenship to those converted non- halachically. Such a change would, in the eyes of 90 per- cent of affiliated Jews in the United States, deligitimitize them and alienate their adherence. They are Jews who love and support Israel emotionally, politically and financially. Prime Minister Shamir, at last report, has promised Israel's four Or- thodox parties that he would ensure passage of the amend- ment by his new government in exchange for their support. The heat of anger over Israel's political paralysis has almost overshadowed the diplomatic dilemma of West Bank and Gaza territories. Supposedly, that was the policy issue to be decided in the elections. Although the Palestine Liberation Organization has declared an independent Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital, the Algiers Declaration is large- ly a paper, one; the Palesti- nians are still under the con- trol of Israel. Last August, King Hussein of Jordan cast off the lifeline the Palestinians held to Jor- dan. Their money and sub- sidies were cut off. The Jorda- nian solution is no longer viable. The Palestinians felt rejected the abandoned by their own brethren in the Arab world who were pre- occupied by the Iran-Iraq war, The Palestinian uprising, the intifada, got them nowhere despite more than a year of viiolence carried out in broad daylight in the streets. The Israelis themselves are utterly di- vided on how to deal with the Palestinian problem. In such a dilemma, the stalemate in Israel's recent election has given a unique opportunity to the Orthodox to fill the power vacuum. Since neither Labor nor Likud has anything near a majority, each side had to bid for Orthodoxy's 18 seats to form a successful coalition.