students. They get in their
cars and they leave it."
Many students who would
normally become active in
Jewish organizations avoid
involvement because they are
intimidated by the vocal
Palestinian presence on cam-
pus, Goldstein said. Golds-
tein is regularly "harassed"
by Arab students and "forc-
ed into very vocal political
arguments."
Rabbi Louis Finkleman,
director of the WSU B'nai
B'rith Hillel Foundation,
agrees that some students
may feel intimated on cam-
pus, but he contends that
most focus on educational ob-
jectives and less on political
activism.
"Most of the students at
Wayne are concerned with
getting an education. And
they don't want to let
anything interfere with that.

"There is some
infighting among
Arab groups, but
as soon as it
comes to Israel
they all work
together."
Sharon Goldstein

It's always a shock for Jews
the first time they see some
of the propaganda on this
campus. And the usual pat-
tern for most people is that
they kind of put on blinders
after a while. They're used to
seeing that propaganda; they
don't like it, but they go
about their business."
The campus atmosphere
surprised Michelle Walker, a
new student at WSU's cam-
pus. Walker, who transferred
from Michigan State Univer-
sity three months ago, said
she didn't expect to see any
conflicts between Jews and
Arabs.
"I believe that the Jewish
students feel threatened by
the Palestinians," said WSU
student Steve Chudnow,
secretary of the Students for
a Secure Israel group. "But I
don't feel that the Palesti-
nians are a major threat. But
then again, there are a lot
more Palestinians on campus
than Jews."

Chudnow is concerned with
the unified propaganda effort
of various Arab student
organizations on campus.
"Sometimes it worries me,
because groups that are not
specifically Palestinian are
putting up Palestinian pro-
paganda. The Islamic Socie-
ty doesn't mean the Palesti-
nian Islamic Society and the
Iraqi Student Society is sup-
porting the Palestinians.
"There is some infighting
between these groups,"
Goldstein said. "But as soon
as it comes to Israel, they all
work together because it's a
common enemy, and a corn-
mon enemy ties you
together."
Jewish and Arab student
activists have clashed at
rallies and demonstrations
on the WSU campus. During
a Nov. 15 rally corn-
memorating the one-year an-
niversary of the declaration
of an independent Palesti-
nian state, Palestinian stu-
dents allegedly verbally and
physically abused Jewish
counterdemonstrators.
According to Goldstein,
Palestinian students shouted
the "kikes" and "dirty (ex-
pletive) Jews," and a Jewish
student photographing the
rally was "shoved."
Some Jewish students fear
the tension on the WSU cam-
pus could escalate into
violence."
"I feel the tension here
every day. "It's going to come
down to violence and it
scares me," said student
Cheryl Adelman. "I'm really
afraid something is going to
happen. A lot of my friends
wear yarmulkas; they're
prime targets and that scares
me a lot."
Law student Melissa Bren-
ner said she has been the ob-
ject of anti-Semitic remarks
on campus, but tries to avoid
confrontations.
"You sort of feel sometimes
in certain situations around
campus, and in certain areas
of the campus, that you want
to hide your identity as a Jew
— and that's sad.
'When I'm the only Jewish
person around in a particular
area and a group of Arabs is
sitting there, and I hear
something anti-Semitic, the

first thing that goes through
my head is to get out of there.
I just feel very alone."
Face-to-face confrontations
between most Jewish and
Arab students are infre-
quent. Student activists
prefer distributing and
posting literature. Goldstein
collects numerous anti-Israel
fliers that Arab groups post
around campus. She said the
Palestinian Liberation
Organization Department of
Information, the Arab Infor-
mation Center and other
organizations provide an
abundance of material to
Arab student groups.
The barrage of anti-Israel
and pro-Palestinian informa-
tion prevents Jewish student
organizations from influenc-
ing public opinion on cam-
pus, she said; "We're never a
step ahead, we're always a
step behind because they
have so many more resources.
So far, everything we've done
has been defensive."
Law student Stuart Sher-
man agrees. "Jewish
students are facing very
organized groups. We're
always responding to so-
meone else's actions rather
than going on an offensive.
You're trying to discredit
their exhibits rather than
pressing our own views."
Yet Jewish students at
WSU are far from inactive in
promoting the pro-Israel posi-
tion. A number of Jewish
organizations, including the
ZSO, have assembled show-
case displays com-
memorating Israel's in-
dependence. Other students
distribute literature that pro-
motes Israeli culture and
scientific achievements and
the strategic political rela-
tionship between the United
States and Israel.
Jewish students also have
shown their willingness to
play hardball. The ZSO pur-
chased a three-quarter page
advertisement in an issue of
The South End, the WSU
daily newspaper, just before
the Nov. 15 Palestinian rally.
It contained the statements:
"Warning: Beware of Suspici-
ous Objects; Check Your
Automobiles for Explosive
Devises" and "Let's
Recognize the PLO for Exact-

ly What it IS: A Terrorist
Organization." The ad listed
14 PLO attacks in Israel
since December 15, 1988 —
the day PLO Chairman
Yassir Arafat renounced ter-
rorism. Students use similar
anti-PLO approaches in the
Student Center showcases
and other campus displays.
Chudnow hopes Jewish
students will not suggest
that all Palestinians are ter-
rorists. He views such an ap-
proach as facist and believes
it is "counterproductive to
Jewish interests." Chudnow
characterized recent South
End advertisements placed
by Jewish students as "racist

Above, Wayne State
University Tagar
members protest a pro-
Palestinian rally last
November. The center
photograph shows a pro-
Israel display case in the
Student Center Building.
At bottom, Palestinian
students march on the
campus mall.

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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