NEWS ROLEX Gay Shul Is Accepted, But With Conditions THE TEST OF TIME The Rolex® legacy of excellence is perpetuated in contemporary time pieces of incomparable elegance and durability, each Rolex Oyster embodying an unparalleled tradition of historic performance. ELLEN BERNSTEIN Special to The Jewish News Only at your Official Rolex Jeweler. LADY DATEJUST® 18kt. gold with dial and bezel set with diamonds President® bracelet DAY-DATE ® 18kt. gold with dial and bezel set with diamonds President® bracelet LADY DATEJUST ® steel and 18kt. gold Jubilee bracelet DATEJ UST® mid-size steel and 18kt. gold Jubilee bracelet JULES R. SCHUBOT jewellers — gemologists RELIABLE AND EXPERIENCED SINCE 1930 expert color match, foreign & American TOWING & RENTAL CARS AVAILABLE La Salle Body Shop Inc. 28829 Orchard Lake Road, Farmington Hills, MI 48018 MAX FLEISCHER BETWEEN 12 & 13 Mile Rd. 16 FRIDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1989 ( Ellen Bernstein is a staff writer for our sister paper, the Atlanta Jewish Times. EMBE 3001 West Big Beaver Road • Suite 112 • Troy, Michigan 48084 • (313) 649-1122 insurance estimates accepted . he Atlanta Synagogue Council voted to admit the city's only gay and lesbian congregation under the condition that it cease publicizing its homosexual orientation, a provision re- jected initially by leaders of the gay synagogue. "We see this as no com- promise. They want us to hide our identity to the world," said Betsy Goldin, a representative of Bet Haverim, who presented the gay congregation's applica- tion to the citywide council of rabbis and synagogue presidents. After the Nov. 29 closed- door meeting, Goldin said she expected the Bet Haverim board will also re- ject the restrictions in a vote Dec. 17. In a 14-5 vote with one abstention, the council ap- proved the gay synagogue's application under the condi- tion that it only publicize its Reconstructionist affiliation, according to Marcia Bergman, president of the council. It was Reform represen- tatives who voted against placing restrictions on Bet Haverim's membership, said the council's secretary, Rabbi Barry Friedman of Temple Emanu-el. A proposal that Bet Haverim could advertise its "special outreach to the les- bian and gay community" was not met with opposition by the traditional wing of the council, said Friedman. The proposal was not brought to a vote at the meeting. The decision came after several months of foot dragg- in g by the fledgling organization, which formed early this year. Either way, the outcome of the vote portended the dissolution of the organization. Both the traditional and liberal wings had threatened walkouts over the gay shul's accep- tance or rejection. The more traditional synagogue leaders said they wouldn't recognize a synagogue based on a sexual orientation forbidden by the Torah. Reform congrega- tions have questioned their involvement in an organiza- tion that does not uphold their liberal principles. At least two Reform leaders, Rabbi Alvin Sugarman of the Temple and Rabbi Philip Kranz of Tem- ple Sinai, have indicated they may quit the council if Bet Haverim decides not to accept the restrictions. In a second vote, the coun- cil defeated 11-9 a motion to offer unconditional member- ship to Bet Haverim. The Conservative synagogues sided with the Traditional and Orthodox shuls in voting down the motion. ❑ 553-7111 Quayle Urges U.N. To Repeal Resolution New York — Vice Presi- dent Dan Quayle last week called on the Soviet Union and other nations to cospon- sor with the United States a United Nations resolution rescinding the 1975 legisla- tion equating Zionism with racism. The new resolution, he said, "would affirm that Zionism is what Soviet For- eign Minister (Andrei) Gromyko rightly called it back in 1948: the national liberation movement of the Jewish people," he told an audience gathered for Yeshiva University's annual Chanukah convocation. The vice president pledged that he would tell U.N. Sec- retary General Javier Perez de Cuellar in his meeting that the U.N. resolution must be rescinded for the organization to regain its stature. A spokesman for the secretary general said that Quayle and Perez de Cuellar did discuss the resolution. At that meeting, Quayle gave Perez de Cuellar a $65 million check, representing the U.S. government's dues to the international organization. Only last week, the United States threatened to withhold its contribution of the General Assembly pass- ed a resolution elevating the status of the Palestinian Liberation Organization. is)