THE JEWISH NEWS
SERVING DETROIT'S JEWISH COMMUNITY
THIS ISSUE 60s
MARCH 2, 1990 / 5 ADAR 5750
Operation Exodus Seeks
$16 Million For Israel
ALAN HITSKY
Associate Editor
T
Mubarak Awad:
Non-violence is "to empower people to choose what they want."
Awad Pleased
With Intifada
ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM
Assistant Editor
T
wo years ago the man
often touted as the
Middle East's answer
to Mahatma Gandhi was ex-
pelled from Israel for
allegedly inciting violence in
the West Bank and Gaza.
Mubarak Awad, then di-
rector of the Palestinian
Center for the Study of Non-
violence, was said to have
encouraged civil disobe-
dience in the occupied ter-
ritories and refused "to con-
demn armed struggle," us-
ing non-violence "as merely
a convenient tactic," in the
words of former Israeli Am-
bassador Moshe Arad.
Now Awad is back — still
using some of the same
language that prompted the
Continued on Page 16
he Jewish Welfare
Federation board of
governors next week
is expected to approve a
separate three-year cam-
paign to fund the reset-
tlement of Soviet Jews in
Israel.
Operation Exodus, which
has a Detroit goal of $5.5
million per year above the
regular Allied Jewish Cam-
paign goal, will begin in
April, just weeks after the
closing of the 1990 Allied
Jewish Campaign.
"Our message is that this
is not business as usual,"
said Federation President
Mark Schlussel. "The
urgency is as acute as at any
time in Jewish history, but
this won't sink in until, God
forbid, Jews are being killed
in the Soviet Union."
Schlussel and Robert
Aronson, Federation exec-
utive vice president, said no
one knows when the Soviet
Union will lock the gates
again, halting the emigra-
tion of Soviet Jews. Recent
reports of rising anti-
Semitism among Soviet na-
tionalists underscore the
urgency of Operation Ex-
odus. The national United
Jewish Appeal campaign
has a goal of $500 million to
resettle up to one million
"The urgency is as
acute as any time
in Jewish history
but it won't sink in
until Jews are
killed."
Mark Schlussel
Soviet Jews in Israel.
Operation Exodus will
alter the usual Campaign
fundraising, the two leaders
warned, and will also affect
local priorities.
"We may have to borrow
from the banks so that we
don't have to tap community
resources," Schlussel said.
"Nobody senses the
precarious position we are
in."
Aronson said the money is
needed now by Israel and
will be sent before it has
been collected. Loans may be
needed rather than dipping
into United Jewish
Charities endowments.
The two said Federation is
looking carefully at its re-
serves and they expressed
concern about local needs
and future Campaign goals.
Last year, Federation col-
lected $28 million during the
regular Campaign and $2.2
million in a special Passage
to Freedom campaign for
Soviet Jews immediately
afterward. This year, Aron-
son said, Operation Exodus
will immediately follow the
Campaign, which ends this
month, and the 1991 Cam-
paign will begin in mid-
summer.
"There's a precarious bal-
ance," Schlussel said.
"Every place we look we
have a special campaign.
There is only so far we can
go with the same people. Bob
(Aronson) and I are very
worried about this."
Continued on Page 18
CLOSE-UP
A Few strikes against Jewish
institutions hoping to relocate
to West Bloomfield have raised
suspicions over motives.
Outside West Bloomfield trustee chambers, Rabbi
Kagan and attorney Joel Margolis discuss options
for Lubavitch Town.