Jewelry that's Always In Style Auschwitz Convent Relocation Progressing ALLISON KAPLAN Special to The Jewish News T JEWELERS 1111 32940 Middlebel INC. ad • Farmington Hills, MI • 855-1730 DYSAUTONOMIA • The world's leading custome closet company. • A decade of service and experience • Ond day installation, spotless cleanup. •Fully adjustable - 3160 Haggerty Rd. West Bloomfield (North of Pontiac Trail in West Bloomfield Tech Center (313) 624-1234 ()1988 Calif °ma Closet Compare, Inc. AR Rights Reserved. Each franchise independeneir owed and operated. Richard Dreyfuss "Through my friendship with a courageous young man I am delighted to accept the position of Honorary Chairman and to lend my support to this devastating, rare disease." Dysautonomia Foundation Inc. 20 E 46th Street Room 302 NY, NY 10017 212/949-6644 18 FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1989 Bruce m. weiss Custom Jewelry 26325 Twelve Mile Rd. In the Mayfair Shops At Northwestern Hwy. Monday-Saturday 10-5:30 Thursday 10-8:30 353-1424 he controversy over the Carmelite convent at Auschwitz has dropped from the headlines over the past several weeks, but those in contact with the Catholic Church and the Polish government say they are confident that progress toward its relocation, is con- tinuing. Seymour Reich, who serves as chairman of IJCIC, the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations, said he an- ticipates that the issue may be resolved by the end of this year. Though Reich and others know that completing con- struction of a new convent and interreligious center away from the site of the former death camp is a goal that looms far in the future, they believe the nuns will be moved from the current building to temporary quarters shortly. Kalman Sultanik, vice president of the World Jewish Congress, recently reported after a trip to Poland that a number of the nuns had already moved. The present time is being described as a period of breathing space for both Jews and Catholics, follow- ing the heated exchanges of August and September, when the conflict reached its boiling point. One reason for the quiet ' regarding the convent is Jewish uncertainty over the changes taking place in the Polish government, as the grip of the Communist party loosens. Rabbi A. James Rudin of the American Jewish Com- mittee, who returned from Poland last week, observed that the country is now at an important crossroads. A cur- rent overriding concern for Jews, he said, is whether the emerging nationalism in Poland and other parts of Eastern Europe will bring with it the resurrection of the region's traditional anti- Semitism. Parallel to the uncertainty about nationalism are doubts about the renewed in- fluence of the Catholic Church in Eastern Europe. With the resurgence of the church's power, Rudin said, he is concerned about whether the theology of the newly strengthened Catholic Church will be "pre-Vatican II or post-Vatican II." Before the Second Vatican Council, which took place from 1962 to 1965, it was commonly taught in the Catholic Church that the Jews were responsible for the death of Jesus and that Judaism was essentially a heretical religion. The document that emerged from the council formally stated a more tolerant view of Judaism by the church. ❑ Jewish Telegraphic Agency 'No E. German Reparations' Bonn (JTA) — An uniden- tified West German official has chided Jews and others for displaying "unjustified enthusiasm" at hints that East Germany would pay war reparations. He also inferred that West Germany, which has paid indemnification toward Holocaust survivors, acted for all of Germany. The high-level official, who spoke to reporters on condi- tion he not be identified, was referring to vague promises of reparations made last year by former East German leader Erich Honecker. The West German official essentially told Jews not to expect such help from the East German regime, which has never acknowledged responsibility for Nazi persecutions. According to the official, East German talk about paying indemnification to Jewish persecutees was not a serious offer, motivated by ideological or moral con- siderations, but rather an attempt to seduce the American Jewish communi- ty into supporting more favorable U.S. trade rela- tions with East Germany. Egypt Is Holding Israeli Tanker Tel Aviv (JTA) — The Egyptian authorities since Oct. 21 have detained an Israeli oil tanker and 28 crew members and family aboard, for allegedly spilling oil in the Gulf of Suez. The incident is being handled at the consular level with Egyptian police and legal authorities, according to the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem. Capt. Zvi Yosef, 41, master