EDITORIAL

The Race Is On

ongressman John Conyers' entry into the Detroit mayoral
election is an interesting development for the city and
its suburbs.
Not that we are endorsing John Conyers. The Jewish communi-
ty for years has had philosophical differences with his attitudes and
voting record on Israel and the Middle East. But Conyer's decision
to throw his hat into the Detroit election ring could bring a much-
needed dose of honesty and self-appraisal to the city's mayoral race.
For too many years Mayor Coleman Young has swept Detroit's
problems behind a facade of rhetoric. Criticism of Detroit is
automatically translated as criticism of the mayor and the issue is
forgotten in a torrent of counter-charges of racism and media bias.
Conyers is a credible force in the black community and a positive
one if he helps the city, and the entire metropolitan area, focus on
the issues. The problems of crime, drugs, education, employment and
revitalization affect areas far beyond Eight Mile Road. No mayor
is an island — and neither is Detroit.

C

official status as marriage registrars in Israel. The decision reaffirm-
ed that marriages and other matters of personal status remain in
the hands of Israel's Orthodox rabbinate.
So each side claimed a victory and suffered a loss — and each
side said it would take action to rectify its setback. What is impor-
tant for us to remember is that despite all the rhetoric and fury of
last winter's crisis, provoked by the Israeli national elections, little
if anything has been done in the way of seeking a resolution out-
side of the political arena. Those who think that the issue is resolv-
ed and will not return are in for a painful surprise. The conflict over
Who Is A Jew is still simmering just below the surface, waiting for
the next elections to rekindle the debate.
Once more we urge that our leaders, in America and Israel, turn
their attention to its resolution before we are faced with another
religious crisis.

IiklEt(7 WE
MET SoMMERE,
BErcRE

1

Warning From Israel

he Israeli Supreme Court's two decisions relating to the Who
Is A Jew controversy this week gave each side a victory, and a
defeat, and served as a needed reminder that the controversy
that exploded in the Jewish community last winter has not gone
away.
The -High Court in Jerusalem ruled that the Interior Ministry
must register non-Orthodox Jewish converts as citizens. The deci-
sion was hailed by Conservative and Reform leaders as a major vic-
tory for Jewish unity; they have been fighting Orthodox efforts to
invalidate non-Orthodox conversions.
While criticizing that decision, Orthodox leaders welcomed the
court's unanimous rejection of efforts by non-Orthodox rabbis to gain

T

111011111fflikk

Trip To Israel
Was Impressive

We have just returned from
the UJA July Family Mission
to Israel. Our family had a
wonderful trip into our past,
our Judaism, and a multitude
of unique sightseeing
experiences.
Israel is so safe and inviting
for the tourist — not at all the
way the medi would suggest.
Please visit Israel! They want
our support and need our
fellowship.
We in the Diaspora need to
be with our family in Israel.
We are one!

Ethan, Susan, Daniel Stettner
Huntington Woods

Bellant Report
Is Called Biased

The Michigan chapter of
the Ukrainian American
Coordinating Council — a
sponsor of the town meeting
held June 25 is disappointed
and offended by Mr. Russ
Ballant's article concerning
the meeting and its par-
ticipants ("National Cam-

6

FRIDAY, JULY 28, 1989

LETTERS

paign Against Nazi Cases,"
The Jewish News, June 30).
Mr. Ballant, in his apparent
zeal to please readers of The
Jewish News,
whose
legitimate feelings about the
Holocaust and its
perpetrators are perfectly
understandable, not only
falsely reported the pro-
ceedings and discussions but
also dishonestly ascribed to
the critics of the Office of
Special Investigations (OSI)
intentions and purposes
which they clearly do not
have.
Either deliberately or
wrecklessly, Mr. Ballant
painted the Ukrainian
American Justice Committee
and its sponsoring organiza-
tions as a group whose pur-
pose is the eventual halt of all
war criminal investigations
and proceedings. That is not
true.
Had Ballant been a more
objective observer and com-
mentator, he would have
reported that the entire focus
of the meeting was the discus.
sion of perceived and now well
documented abuses by the

OSI, and not its abolition .. .
Mr. Ballant, in a direct ef-
fort to smear the individuals
involved in the town meeting
as nothing more than Nazi
sympathizers and col-
laborators, failed to truthful-
ly report that the speakers
and participants spoke out
not for the abolition of the
OSI's investigations and pro-
secutions of alleged Nazi and
other war criminals, but
against the shortcomings in-
herent in civil deportation
hearings, and particular, ob-
jectionable practices of the
OSI.
Mr. Ballant did a dis-service
to both the Jewish communi-
ty and the Ukrainian com-
munity, and needlessly tend-
ed to polarize our com-
munities, rather than at-
tempting to honestly show
the legitimate concerns of the
Ukrainian community.
Members of the Jewish com-
munity are cordially invited
to view an un-edited
videotape of the proceedings
of the town meeting, to decide
for themselves whether the

criticisms of the OSI appear
to have reasonable and
arguable merit .. .

Myroslaw Chrin
Ukrainian American
Coordinating Council
Warren

Editor's note: See Opinion,
Page 7.

To Patch
Or Parsch?

I read with interest your ar-
ticle on Hugh Sanders ("Mr.
Platza," June 9). I enjoyed the
text but noted an error I feel
compelled to bring to your
attention.
Calling the platza-giver a
"patcher" is incorrect. The
person wielding the oak-leaf
broom (bayzum), especially in
a professional capacity as a
steam-room attnedant or
bath-house employee, is pro-
perly referred to as a "par-
shchik" or "parchik" from
the Yiddish (via Russian)
word for steam — "para." I
believe your writer heard this
word and transcribed it as
"patcher" (Yiddish for slap-
per or hitter).

Close — but no cigar. The
word steam is listed in
Harkavy's Yiddish English
Dictionary as being "para."
As Casey Stengel once said:
"You could look it up."

Richard D. Brown

Prof ssor of Schritzguistics

Oakland Are. Unirersity
Detroit, Michigan

Editor's note: Some opinions
also relate "patcher" to "par-
chik" because it applies to
using the oak-leaf broom on
the body. "Parchik," never-
theless, is the accepted term,
and Editor Emeritus Philip
Slomovitz recommends its
preference.

Abortion Fight ,
Halachic Debate

I am writing on behalf of
the Women's Orthodox
League — an organization
representing over 500 Torah
observant women and their
families residing in the Metro
Detroit area — in response to
the front page article on abor-

Continued on Page 10

