NEWS SEVENTH HEAVEN Huge Clearance Sale!! 50075 % OFF SELECTED BEDSPREADS & COMFORTERS Choose From: • Martex • Dakotah • Fieldcrest Sizes Available: Twin • Full • Queen • King C The largest selection of bed & bath accessories all at drastically reduced prices SEVENTH HEAVEN HUNTERS SQUARE Orchard Lake Rd. at 14 Mile Rd. 855-3777 HOURS: Mon., Tues., Wed., & Sat. 10.6 Thurs. & Fri. 10-9 Sun. 12-5 Designs by Charles Gassam Exercise SPECIALIZING IN I—CUSTOM LAMINATED FURNITURE—I • Tables • Wall Units • Dining Rooms • Custom Bedrooms C.C.C. Cabinetry 24 FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1989 941-3050 regularly. WERE FIGHTING FOR YOUR LIFE American Heart Association Abortion Fight Continued from Page 22 nation's attention, and more mainstream Jewish women's groups have decid- ed it is time to speak out. Jewish women's groups also have reacted to the mo- nopoly on religion claimed by the pro-life movement in the early 1980s, and have begun to see the need to stand up for choice in the context of their Jewish beliefs. Many of the Jewish organizations joined with liberal Christian groups as part of the Religious Coali- tion for Abortion Rights. As a result of these forces, "Jewish women's organiza- tions are beginning to take both of their labels seri- ously," Schneider said. Officials of the organiza- tions said that a great deal of the spur for their activism was pressure from the grass- roots membership. "The grassroots was corn- ing to [the national leader- ship] talking and urging," said Shirley Blumberg of Gaithersburg, Md., who serves as Hadassah's lay representative in Washington. Blumberg's background is typical of the traditionally active "Hadassah lady." In- volved in the group for 40 years, she has visited Israel frequently and has been ac- tive on Zionist issues. But she is equally con- cerned about reproductive rights. She represents Hadassah at national pro- choice strategy meetings. At last April's massive pro- choice rally in Washington, her husband and grown daughter joined her in carry- ing the Hadassah banner. She speaks proudly of her daughter's generation, which is active in the pro- choice battle through Hadassah. "Our young women, juggling professions and families, are making time for this," Blumberg said. Attracting the member- ship and retaining the sup- port of Blumberg's daughter's generation is a practical need that high visibility in the pro-choice movement helps to fill oor Jewish women's groups. Like all Jewish organiza- tions, the women's groups are greatly concerned about their membership rolls, es- pecially as they face a shrinking pool of women who have time available for the volunteer activities to which they have been tradi- tionally oriented. In addition, the women's groups must contend with the fact that previously all- male organizations, like B'nai B'rith International, are not only opening their doors to women, but actively recruiting them as members to boost their own numbers. The conflict between Or- thodox and non-Orthodox positions on abortion, both among Hadassah's member- ship and in the larger Jewish community, stems from varying interpretations of halachah, which permits abortions under certain cir- cumstances. The Reform and Conser- vative movements, which Jewish women's groups have reacted to the monopoly on religion claimed by the pro-life movement in the early 1980s. have both endorsed the Nov. 12 rally, believe that abor- tion should be unrestricted, in order to allow women to make the choice based on their religious beliefs. The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, however, did not endorse the rally and has said that it "cannot endorse a public policy that does not reflect the complex response of halachah to the abortion issue." ❑ Jewish Telegraphic Agency Israel-Poland Ties To Grow New York (JTA) — Poland's new democracy will set the stage for improving relations between Poland and the Jewish world, in- cluding Israel, a leading Solidarity member of the Polish parliament said last week during a visit here. Janusz Onyszkiewicz, who addressed a meeting of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, also said the 1975 U.N. resolution equating Zionism with racism should be repealed and that full diplomatic re- lations between Poland and Israel should be restored. He cited the recent visit of an Israeli trade delegation to Poland as evidence that ties would soon be re-established between the two countries. The declarations followed an emotional exchange with Jewish leaders, among them leaders of Holocaust sur- vivor organizations.