CLOSE-UP
estinian saeline
Detroit's Palestine Aid
Society is one of
several U.S. 'groups that
sends money to the
West Bank and Gaza.
Although their offices
are small, the groups
are making their mark
both financially and
politically.
ELIZABETH KAPLAN
Features Editor
D
All I Ask
I ask nothing more
Than to die in my country,
To dissolve and merge with the soil,
To nurture the grass,
To give life to a flower
That a child of my country will pick.
lily
All I ask
Is to remain in the bosom of my country,
As soil,
Grass,
A Flower.
c..kop cs , 3 4.4
FADWA TOUQAN
A page from the United Holy Land Fund annual book
24
FRIDAY, MARCH 3, 1989
etroit attorney Noel Saleh
remembers well a journey in
a taxi from the Tel Aviv air-
port to the West Bank. The
driver spoke of only one
thing: his enthusiasm for the intifada.
The Palestinian uprising in the
West Bank and Gaza Strip was just
one month old, but everyone was talk-
ing about it.
On previous visits, Salah had seen
"such a sense of resignation," he said.
"With the intifada I saw a 180-degree
turnaround. I saw a great determina-
tion and new life in the children's
eyes. That in itself was reason enough
for me to donate to the Palestine Aid
Society."
Salah is one of the many Arab-
Americans who supports Palestinians
in the Middle East through non-
profit, tax-deductible American
organizations like the Palestine Aid
Society (PAS) in Detroit. Founded in
1978, the PAS focuses its work on
education and health care for women
and children. It also is involved in a
number of political projects, such as
hosting pro-Palestine Liberation
Organization speakers and raising
funds to help Palestinians imprison-
ed by Israeli authorities. The PAS also
supports the intifada.
Like other U.S.-based groups that
raise funds for Palestinians in the
West Bank and Gaza, the PAS is
thriving. Much of the support comes
from the estimated 200,000 Palesti-
nian Americans who live in the
United States.
A small percentage comes from