UP FRONT

Shir Tikvah, Detroit Church
To Honor Martin Luther King

SUSAN GRANT

Staff Writer

A

suburban synagogue
and an inner city
church are discover-
ing some common bonds.
The interfaith relationship
between Shir Tikvah and
Plymouth United Church of
Christ began a year ago
when a half dozen temple
members attended the chur-
ch's Christmas worship ser-
vice. They had been invited
by Plymouth members who
worked at the same firms.
During subsequent
meetings the two congrega-
tions have discussed
differences in their religions.
Sunday afternoon they will
share their common belief in
the ideals of Martin Luther
King Jr.
Plymouth United Church
of Christ Rev. Nicholas Hood
III has invited Shir Tikvah
and four Detroit churches —
Bethel AME, Fellowship
Chapel United Church of
Christ, Christ Baptist and
New Calvary Baptist — to an
afternoon ecumenical wor-
ship service commemorating
Martin Luther King Jr. As

part of the Christian service,
each church choir will sing.
Later, the children from the
churches will display art
works.
Shir Tikvah's President
JoAnne Levy said attending
the Martin Luther King ser-
vice "is important to blacks
so it should be important to
us. Jews and blacks have a
lot in common. We are both
minorities. They have a

Rabbi Sleutelberg
wants to meet with
church members
four times a year.

different color of skin and
our difference is because of
our religion. I don't know if
we suffer the same prejudice
because theirs is based on
the color of their skin which
is more noticeable. But it's
there."
While Martin Luther King
Jr. is important to blacks, he
spoke to all minorities, said
Levy who expects more than
50 temple members to at-
tend the service.
Rev. Hood said although
his congregation has often

participated in ecumenical
events with other churches,
it is the first time in the
church's 70-year history that
it has formed a relationship
with a synagogue.
After last year's initial
meeting between the two
congregations at the church,
church members attended a
Shabbat service at Shir
Tikvah and Rev. Hood and
Rabbi Arnold Sleutelberg
have met privately.
Rev. Hood admits Shir
Tikvah's Shabbat service
was different from his own,
yet the two religions share
some common bonds like the
commitment of the lay peo-
ple.
The reverend arrived early
for Shabbat services and saw
the worshipers making sure
everything was neatly and
properly laid out for the ser-
vice.
"It reminded me of my own
church."
The contacts between the
church and the temple will
not end with Sunday's Mar-
tin Luther King worship
service.
Rev. Hood and Rabbi
Sleutelberg plan to bring the
Continued on Page 16

An Israeli policeman swings a stick at Peace Now demontrators Dec.
30 as a water cannon sprays them from behind. Some 15,000 persons
tried to form a human chain around the walls of the Old City of
Jerusalem.
G.F6010/Meda

Ad Leader Doner
Was Generous Giver

KIMBERLY LIFTON

Staff Writer

W

ilfred "Brod"
Doner, founder of
the nation's 26th
largest advertising agency,
was a generous contributor
to the Allied Jewish Cam-

paign and one of the first
leading fund-raisers in
Michigan for the American-
Israel Public Affairs Com-
mittee.
"Brod Doner's outstanding
talent as an ad-man not only
brought tremendous recog-
nition to the advertising pro-
Continued on Page 16

ROUND UP

Belief In God
Is Waning

Ann Arbor — Belief in
God, particularly among
young people, is decreasing,
according to a new study by
University of Michigan Pro-
fessor Ronald Inglehart.
Inglehart, research scien-
tist at U-M's Center for Po-
litical Studies, collected data
from 16 countries during an
18-year period for his book
Culture Shift in Advanced
Industrial Society.
Among Inglehart's fin-
dings:

• A majority of the popula-
tion in each of the 16
societies he studied still say
they believe in God.
• In countries as different
as Mexico and France,
younger respondents (age
18-24) are about 2.5 times
less likely to believe in God
as those 65 and older.
• The decline in the belief
in the importance of God
among younger groups is
most pronounced in Western
Europe and Japan and less
so in the United States,
South Africa and Mexico.

• In almost every country,
a smaller proportion of the
population consider them-
selves religious than believe
in God.

Sale Of Artifacts
Is Suspended

London's famous auction
house, Christie's, has decid-
ed not to host a controversial
sale of items from the Jewish
Museum of Prague, the
World Jewish Congress
reported.
Last September, the Czech
government invited
Christie's representatives to
visit six national museums,
including the State Jewish
Museum, for discussions on
drawing up lists of items for
public auction next fall.
The Jewish Museum
houses a collection of books
and ritual objects seized dur-
ing World War II by the
Nazis, who intended to use
the items to create a muse-
um on "the extinct Jewish
race."
The president of the Czech
Jewish community, along
with the WJC, argued it was

immoral to auction the items
in view of their origin.
Christie's Director David
Allison responded that "it is
a fundamental principle of
our business that we would
never offer for sale any items
with doubtful legal title."
Meanwhile, the WJC is
creating an international
commission charged with
"securing for the Jewish
people and protecting
Jewish claims vis-a-vis
heirless Jewish property and
unclaimed Jewish
patrimony arising from the
Nazi seizures" during the
war.

Herald. "But after you've
been here awhile, you know
how good it is in Israel."
Banyas and a dozen other
families plan to raise funds
from private investors to
create the 250-room resort
they hope to build on the
shores of the Galilee. They
have secured support from
the Jewish Agency, which
leased five acres to the group
and will finance one-third of
the project.
The group, which already
has raised about $500,000,
predicts the facility will be
complete in the next two
years.

An Israeli Resort
For The Disabled

Teaching Children
To Resist Bias

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.:
Teach your children well.

A group of Israeli Jews
who settled in Broward
County, Fla., in search of the
American dream are return-
ing to Israel with a new am-
bition: building Israel's first
resort for the handicapped.
"Almost every Israeli's
dream is the Big Apple, big
money, easy life, less army
and less taxes," Moty
Banyas told the Miami

The Rev. Martin Luther
King Jr., whose birthday
will be observed on Jan. 15,
spent a lifetime fighting
hatred and prejudice of all
kinds.
Now, a new pamphlet
helps parents talk to their
children about prejudice and
how to feel comfortable
around those of another
race, religion or nationality.

To receive the pamphlet,
"Teaching Young Children
To Resist Bias," send a self-
addressed, stamped envelope
to the National Association
for Education of Young
Children, Box WD, 1834
Connecticut Ave. NW,
Washington, D.C. 20009.

Compiled by
Elizabeth Applebaum

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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