UP FRONT
Free Press Publisher
Has Communal Ties
KIMBERLY LIFTON
Federation Is Offering
To Purchase B'nai Moshe
Staff Writer
R
obert Hall, who took
over the helm of the
Detroit Free Press last
month after publisher David
Lawrence resigned, said he
is committed to maintaining
good relations with the
Jewish community.
"I want to be as fair and
accurate as possible,"said
Hall, who came to the the
Free Press as general man-
ager and executive vice pres-
ident in 1985. "When a sub-
ject is controversial, such as
the Middle East, it is tough
to be perceived as fair.
"When there are two sides
to an issue, the perception of
one side is always that you
do something for the other
side," Hall said. "But
through efforts of David
Lawrence, Editorial Page
Editor Joe Stroud and Exec-
utive Editor Heath
Meriwether, we have
countered misperceptions."
In the past few years,
members of the Jewish
community have criticized
the Free Press for being sen-
sational and biased in its
coverage of the Middle East.
Among the incidents men-
tioned are pictures of Arab
women desperately crying
for help, an opinion article
by. a Duke University pro-
fessor blaming Israel for
sour relations between the
United States and the Soviet
Union and editorial cartoons
that readers labeled anti-
Semitic. Lawrence and
Stroud defended the news-
paper's position, reiterating
its pro-Israel stand.
Hall too defended the
newspaper, saying the
editor's consistently try to be
unbiased, and that editors
realize there is always room
for improvement. As
publisher, Hall said, he will
meet regularly with key
players in the Jewish com-
munity as well as with
members of the black, Arab,
Christian and other com-
munities. But, he added, the
newspaper is made up of
many people and he doesn't
intend "to make it a one-
man show."
"Our newspaper reflects
everybody's opinion," Hall
said. "The awareness of our
coverage of the Middle East
has been raised, and we will
continue to strive to be fair.
"I think the Free Press has
made tremendous progress
in its relationship with the
Jewish community in the
last four and one-half
KIMBERLY LIFTON
Staff Writer
S
Robert Hall:
Free Press leader.
years," Hall said. "We've
made efforts to do a better
job explaining the issues."
Since Hall moved to
Michigan, he has been visi-
ble within the Jewish com-
munity. His wife, Ronna, a
freelance writer, is Jewish,
and the two pledge money to
the Allied Jewish Campaign
of the Jewish Welfare Fed-
eration. They are members
of Tam O'Shanter country
club.
Their daughter celebrated
a bat mitzvah and their son
had a bar mitzvah.
"Because of Ronna's
background, I probably have
a closer interest and under-
standing of the way the
Jewish community feels
about certain issues," Hall
said.
Jewish community
leaders, including American
Israel Public Affairs Com-
mittee National President
Edward Levy Jr., Jewish
Community Council Presi-
dent Paul D. Borman and
JCCouncil Executive Direc-
tor David Gad-Harf, already
have met with Hall.
Borman said he is im-
pressed with Hall's creden-
tials and is confident he will
be open to the Jewish corn-
munity because he is a good
newsman — not because he
has ties to the Jewish com-
munity.
"Bob Hall is a mentsh,"
Borman said. "He is a fine
newspaperman and is
somebody who is very
capable. We will not bring
him down by talking about
ethnic favoritism. The entire
Jewish community is well-
served with him in charge."
Hall, 44, came to Detroit
from his hometown of
Philadelphia, where he was
publisher of a Knight-Ridder
sister operation, The
Philadelphia Inquirer and
Daily News since 1973.
aying it is committed
to maintaining a
strong and vital
Jewish community in Oak
Park, Southfield and Hun-
tington Woods, the Jewish
Welfare Federation Tues-
day night agreed to buy the
Congregation B'nai Moshe
building in Oak Park.
The offer follows a year of
attempts by the congrega-
tion to sell the building at
10 Mile Road and Church
so it could move to a pro-
posed $5 million facility in
West Bloomfield. Recently,
three churches expressed
interest in the building;
and last week, a church
submitted a bid to buy the
building for $1.5 million.
B'nai Moshe has pur-
chased an option to buy 15
1/2 acres on the west side of
Drake Road between Maple
and 14 Mile roads.
"We are deeply gratified
that what was our home for
over 30 years will remain
in the Jewish community,"
"The agreement is
a victory for the
entire Jewish
community."
_ said Robert Roth, im-
mediate past president of
B'nai Moshe. "The agree-
ment is a victory for the en-
tire Jewish community."
B'nai Moshe officials met
with Federation represen-
tatives on Tuesday and
agreed to accept Federa-
tion's offer, pending ap-
proval of congregation
members. Details of the
offer were not disclosed.
Congregation President
Sharlene Ungar said a
general membership
meeting is expected within
the next three to four
weeks.
Federation President
Mark Schlussel said offi-
cials are considering
several options for the use
of B'nai Moshe. The pur-
chase of the building will
figure into plans for the en-
tire 10 Mile corridor, in-
cluding the Federation
Apartments and the
Jewish Community Center.
"We had explored all
avenues for the sale of our
building a long time ago,"
Ungar said. "Our concern
all along was to keep it
within the Jewish com-
munity. I think everybody
will be pleased." ❑
ROUND UP
Ethiopian Twinning
Program Begins
Washington — The
American Association for
Ethiopian Jews (AAEJ) is
urging young men and
women in the Jewish com-
munity to twin their b'nai
mitzvah with Ethiopian
Jews, who are forbidden to
worship freely.
Each participant will
receive a biography of his
twin, details about how to
make the ceremony unique,
information about the more
than 10,000 Jews still in
Ethiopia, a twinning cer-
tificate and a poster.
For information, contact
the AAEJ, 1836 Jefferson
Place NW, Washington,
D.C., 20036.
was closed after several ar-
ticles were published in the
local Ukrainian newspaper,
Lvovska Pravda, complain-
ing that the synagogue serv-
ed as a meeting place for
"speculators" and other
criminals.
Israeli Stamps,
You Send Me
Stamp collectors can find a
haven of Israeli stamps hi —
where else? —Wyoming.
That's right, Wyoming.
Wyoming is home to the
Israeli Stamp Agency in
North America, which offers
ROSA DAMASCENA
'KU Viral
111
Lvov Synagogue
Is Reopened
_
New York — After 25
years, the sole remaining
synagogue in Lvov in the
Ukraine has been reopened,
the World Jewish Congress
reported.
"The synagogue was clos-
ed in accordance with the
decision by city authorities
and we had to hold illegal
services in private apart-
ments," Jewish community
leader Filipp Nyukh told
TASS, the Soviet news agen-
cy.
In 1962, the synagogue
North America, 1 Unicover
Center, Cheyenne, Wy.
82008.
U.S. To Purchase
Israeli System
Tel Aviv (JTA) — The
United States will purchase
a highly sophisticated and
apparently top-secret
weapons system designed
and produced in Israel, ac-
cording to Moshe Peled, di-
rector general of the
government's arms de-
velopment authority.
Peled said the $140 million
deal is pending, but would
not give further details. He
said a special committee of
the Israel Defense Ministry
decides which weapons may
be made public and which
may be sold abroad to raise
revenue for new projects.
Jews Take
The (Nobel) Prize
A stamp of an Israeli rose.
Israeli mint stamps with
tabs, mint souvenir sheets,
mint plate blocks and
booklets and first-day
covers.
For information, contact
the Israel Stamp Agency in
Seventy-three, or 16 per-
cent, of the 460 persons
awarded the Nobel Prize
since 1901 were either
Jewish or of Jewish descent.
In the United States,
where Jews account for
about 2 percent of the
population, 28 percent of the
U.S. winners have been
Jewish.
Compiled by
Elizabeth Applebaum
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
5