UP FRONT
Gates May Open
For Ethiopian Jews
planned Resettlement Ser-
vice expansion. The rest will
be available "preferably to a
small Jewish professional ser-
vice agency or a division of
such an agency," he said.
ELIZABETH KAPLAN
Features Editor
Greeks Launch
Investigation
Athens (JTA) — The Greek
government is about to
launch the first official in-
vestigation into the exter-
mination of the 50,000 Jews
of Salonika under Nazi oc-
cupation during World War II.
The investigation, formally
requested by West Germany,
could lead Bonn to seek the
extradition of Alois Brunner,
one of the last major Nazi war
criminals still at large, who is
known to be living in Syria.
It also may implicate
Austrian President Kurt
Waldheim, who served as an
intelligence officer with the
Germany army in Greece and
Yugoslavia during the war.
A Chasidic-Navy
Connection?
New York (JTA) — The
Chasidic community of New
York's Williamsburg section
hopes to acquire the Brooklyn
Navy Yard and use it to pro-
vide housing for the growing
number of Chasidic families
in New York.
The famed naval station,
where ships were built during
World War II,- is among the 86
U.S. armed forces bases that
the defense secretary's Com-
mission on Base
Realignments recommended
be closed in 1990 for
budgetary reasons.
Rabbi Chaim Stauber made
the request as president of the
United Jewish Organizations
of Williamsburg, an umbrella
group for the Williamsburg
Chasidim.
Da, Comrade,
Another Center!
New York (JTA) — A second
Jewish cultural center will be
established in the Soviet
Union, the World Jewish Con-
gress announced this week.
The first Jewish cultural
center opened last month in
Moscow. The second center is
to be established in
Leningrad.
The Leningrad center will
include a lending library, an
audio-visual center, courses in
Hebrew and Torah, and
seminars and lectures on
Jewish literature and art.
Compiled by
Elizabeth Kaplan
'
S
Rep. David Gubow, left, presents a copy of the ethnic intimidation act to
Michael Traison, center, and Robert Gordon.
State Approves
Intimidation Bill
A Michigan law which goes
into effect March 20 makes it
a felony for a person to
"maliciously, and with
specific intent, to intimidate
or harass another person
because of that person's race,
color, religion . . . or national
origin . ."
Originally titled the
"ethnic intimidation act," the
bill; signed into law by Gover-
nor James Blanchard in
December, prohibits threats
against or physical contact
with another person; and
damaging, defacing, or
destroying property, when
such action is motivated by
race, religion, or national
origin.
Introduced by Anti-
Defamation League board
member David Honigman,
and co-sponsored by Repre-
sentatives Berman, Gubow,
Musell, Smith, Stabenow,
Willis, Bullard, Fitzgerald
and Martin, is based on ADL
model legislation recently
passed in 18 states.
Michael Traison, ADL's
legislative chairperson, was
one of several persons who
testified on behalf of the bill
in legislative committee
hearings.
Robert J. Gordon, ADL's
Michigan Board president,
praised the bill as a " signifi-
cant protection, and more im-
portantly a significant pro-
secutorial and police tool" in
addressing the increased
number of anti-Semitic and
racist acts of vandalism
which the ADL has seen in
the past year. "We expect van-
dalism, graffiti, and other
mischievous acts aimed
against minorities, to in-
crease again in 1989:' he
said. "This bill is the first
really helpful tool police have
for monitoring such acts, and
the first law in Michigan to
expressly acknowledge that
vandalism aimed against a
minority member is really in-
tended to terrorize and in-
timidate the entire group."
Although the original bill
identified sexual orientation
as one of the protected groups,
it was removed as a condition
of approval by the Senate
Judiciary Committee. Gordon
said "ADL intends to work for
the restoration of protection
against intimidation based on
sexual orientation. We cannot
forget that homosexuals,
wearing pink triangles, were
in the death camps of the
Nazis, alongside the Jews and
others. And we are mindful
that no minority is safe in a
country that withholds pro-
tections for any minority."
Casino Owner
Is Fined
Las Vegas — A casino owner
who displayed Nazi
memorabilia and hosted a
party in honor of Hitler's bir-
thday was fined $1.5 million
last week.
The Nevada Gaming Con-
trol Board filed a complaint
last. December against Ralph
Engelstad; owner of the Im-
perial Palace, charging he
had damaged the reputation
of Nevada and its gaming
industry.
The board also prohibited
any further parties
celebrating Hitler's birthday
or glorifying Nazi Germany.
Engelstad said he meant no
offense by holding the party.
His lawyer, George Dicker-
son, defended Engelstad's ac-
tions, adding that they were
done in private.
usan Pollack Schecht-
man was greeted the
same way in every
village she visited. Ethiopian
Jews, their fingers clutched
tightly around photographs,
came running to her
"These are my relatives in
Israel," they cried, pointing to
the pictures. "Do you know
them? Can you help me?"
Schechtman, a member of
the executive board of the
American Association for
Ethiopian Jews, returned last
month from Gondar Province,
Ethiopia. She was in Detroit
last week as part of a national
speaking tour to discuss her
meetings with some of the
15,000 Jews — most of whom
are women, children and
elderly — remaining in
Ethiopia.
While Schechtman describ-
ed the Ethiopian Jews as
beleaguered, she is optimistic
about their future.
For 15 years, Ethiopia has
been plagued by drought and
famine and economic pro-
blems, and the Soviets and
Cubans are decreasing sup-
port to the country. Now,
Ethiopian President
Mengistu Hailmariam is
looking to the United States
for assistance.
"Mengistu wants economic
aid and trade agreements and
understands Western nations
expect human rights conces-
sions in return," she said.
"This is the most opportune
time we've had in 15 years to
negotiate for the release of
the Ethiopian Jewish com-
munity."
Schechtman found while in
Ethiopia that "privately,
government officials express-
ed a new openness to the West
and a new interest in dealing
with the West."
This was one of the few
pleasant surprises during her
two-month trip. She found the
Ethiopian Jews in very poor
condition.
"Every other person I saw
needed some type of medical
care," she said. "And they
were in worse shape physical-
ly than they were two years
ago," during her last visit to
the country.
Even getting to see their
villages was more difficult
because Ethiopian
authorities do not allow
visitors to Jewish areas.
Schechtman finally managed
this trip to sneak in with a
charitable organization work-
ing in the country.
The Ethiopian Jews live in
small, wooden huts called
tukkels with thatched roofs
and mud-covered walls, she
said. They cook on fires made
of dung because wood is rare.
Most are farmers and grow
sorghum, chickpeas and
barley. The grains are a fre-
quent food and some meat is
available, but the people do
not have access to fruit or
dairy products.
Ethiopian Jewish women
wear white dresses with Stars
of David embroidered at the
bottom. They cook bread from
a grain called tell and prepare
a special bread for Shabbat.
The center of every Jewish
village is the beit knesset,
which is almost always in a
state of disrepair,
Schechtman said. The Jewish
communities also each have a
'This is the most
opportune time
we've had in 15
years to negotiate
for the release of
the Ethiopian
Jewish
community.'
.
kosher butcher and an Orit,
or Ibrah, composed-of flat par-
chments carefully contained
in a wooden box.
While "the conditions in
which they live are primitive,
the Ethiopian Jews
themselves are not," she said.
"They are bright and in-
quisitive and filled with a
sense of longing and bewilder-
ment. They haven't seen their
families in four years, since
Operation Moses. They
wonder why it's taking so
long for them to get out."
So, Schechtman is lobbying
for American Jewish finan-
cial support and encouraging
U.S. Jews to contact their
representatives in
Washington about the Ethio-
pian Jews.
"Ethiopian Jews trust us to
give them guidance and to
bring them out," she said.
"They believe that because
we're Jewish and they are and
we're all brothers, naturally
we'll do everything in our
power to get them out.
"We did half the job with
Operation Moses; now it's
time to finish it. And we must
act as quickly as possible
because we don't have an
unlimited amount of time to
save them."
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
5