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THE
THIS ISSUE 60cP
SERVING DETROIT'S JEWISH COMMUNITY
Local Members Watch
The B'nai B'rith Feud
ALAN HITSKY
Associate Editor
T
he continuing battle
between B'nai B'rith
International and
B'nai B'rith Women has not
changed the working rela-
tionship between the two
organizations in the Detroit
area. But local ties between
the two groups are not as
strong as they once were.
Peter Perlman, president
of the Detroit Men's Council,
said last week that there
would be no changes at the
local level until the dispute
at the national level "is
totally addressed." Perlman
does not expect any
definitive action until the
B'nai B'rith International
(BBI) convention in Dallas in
April.
The two organizations
have been feuding over a
BBI decision several years
ago to allow women to join
B'nai B'rith men's units and
B'nai B'rith Women's efforts
to gain autonomy.
Although no formal
interaction exists between
the two local councils, there
has been no change in joint
lodge-chapter functions and
in women's participation on
local Hillel and B'nai B'rith
Youth Organization boards,
Perlman said. BBW leaders
participated in the B'nai
B'rith Foundation's Great
American Traditions dinner
in November and in last
year's Soviet Jewry pro-
gram.
Perlman estimated that
the local B'nai B'rith men's
council has 4,400 members,
including an estimated 40
women in the Health Care,
Real Estate, Barristers and
Detroit units.
Lucy Gersten, local
counsel for BBW and a
regional officer, said
"Nothing is really happen-
ing on the local level. We are
continuing business as
usual. We have had a good
relationship with the men's
council. Nobody has a
crystal ball to predict what
will happen after April, but
we want to move forward in
a positive manner.
"We will continue our
work with Hillel, with
BBYO, with our projects in
Israel," Gersten said.
A former BBW Council
president described the
situation as "sad, making a
lot of us unhappy." She said
BBW has 3,500 local
members.
B'nai Moshe To Battle
Township In Court
SUSAN GRANT
Staff Writer
C
ongregation B'nai
Moshe has a date in
Oakland County Cir-
cuit Court after a second
effort to pitch their case to
West Bloomfield Township
failed last week.
Because trustees voted 4-3
Dec. 21 to deny the congrega-
tion's plans to build a
synagogue on the west side of
Drake Road, southof Maple
Road, B'nai Moshe and
township trustees will meet
Jan. 3 with Circuit Court
Judge Hilda Gage for an
evidentiary hearing.
The decision was made at a
special township meeting
held after township and
synagogue attorneys met
with Gage last week.
SH NEWS
Township officials had
agreed to meet so they could
tell B'nai Moshe why the
proposal was originally re-
jected by trustees Nov. 20.
At the earlier meeting no
reason had been given before
the vote.
After listening to both
sides, trustees denied the
synagogue's proposal in part
because it would adversely
affect the development of a
five-acre parcel south of the
B'nai Moshe site.
Attorney James Iafrate,
representing his parents,
Tony and Marianne Iafrate,
told trustees if the
synagogue is built, his prop-
erty would be "economically
impossible to develop it as it
is now."
Iafrate estimated it would
cost his parents about
Continued on Page 12
DECEMBER 29, 1989 / 1 TEVET 5750