UP FRONT
Herzog Issues Passionate Plea;
Peres To Form New Government
Jerusalem (JTA) — Israeli
President Chaim Herzog has
assigned Labor Party leader
Shimon Peres the task of
forming a new government.
Herzog followed his an-
nouncement on last week
with an impassioned plea on
television to change a failing
political system which, he
said, had "no parallel in the
democratic world."
"The people are sick and
tired of it," declared Herzog.
Peres was summoned to
the president's residence to
receive an official letter of
appointment.
To create a new govern-
ment, Herzog had to choose
between Peres and Likud
leader Yitzhak Shamir after
the Likud-Labor unity coali-
tion government collapsed
with a no-confidence vote in
the Knesset on March 15.
This was the fifth change
of government in Herzog's
seven years as president.
The situation, he said in his
TV address, was not normal
for any country and certain-
ly not healthy for a country
with Israel's problems.
Under Israeli law, Peres
has 21 days to form a gover-
ning coalition. If necessary,
he can ask for a 21-day ex-
tension if necessary.
By law, the president of
Israel is politically neutral.
Before assigning his man-
date to form a government,
he is required to consult
with every faction in the
Knesset and with individual
members of the parliament
with no party affiliation. In
his televised statement,
Herzog said he had asked
himself "the central ques-
tion: Who has the best
"Woe betide us if
we miss this
historic
opportunity."
President Herzog
chance to form a government
as quickly as possible?
"It became clear to me," he
said, "during consultations
that Peres has the best and
most reasonable chance of
winning a Knesset
majority."
Herzog said the pre-
sent situation is quite
dangerous, especially in
view of the many vacancies
in the caretaker cabinet.
Since March 13, when
Shamir fired Peres, ten
cabinet seats have been va-
cant. Peres' dismissal
prompted resignations from
the other Labor ministers.
Herzog noted that as the
intifada enters its 28th mon-
th and terrorist incursions
along Israel's northern
border continue, Israel lacks
a defense minister.
Herzog also said that
unemployment has become
critical and far-reaching
economic decisions are need-
ed. Yet, there has been no fi-
nance minister since Shamir
fired Peres.
"Above all," he said,
"hundreds of thousands of
[incoming Soviet]Jews are
knocking at our gates — and
we are involved in internal
political struggles. Woe
betide us if we miss this
historic opportunity."
Herzog attributed these
problems to Israel's political
system, which is "bad and
diverts the attention of our
leaders time and again from
the main issues facing us."
Herzog recalled that he
The next government may be Peres'.
had urged Shamir "to deal
with the phenomenon once
and for all" when the Likud
leader became prime min-
ister 16 months ago.
"Not only," said Herzog,
"has the situation not been
put right since then — it's
gotten worse. The fall of the
government last week was
proof of that."
Herzog urged all parties to
"rise above sectarian inter-
ests and change the system
as soon as possible."
Although the government
was brought down last week
by a 60-55 vote, Peres and
Shamir had each won prom-
ises of support from 60
Knesset members.
Likud then argued that all
60 of its supporters would
participate in a coalition,
while supporters of Peres in-
cluded the Communists, a
non-Zionist party that would
never be invited to join a
government.
Labor countered that
while all of its 60 backers
would vote against a Shamir
government, several factions
in the Shamir camp would
not object to serving under
Peres. Labor specifically
mentioned possible alliances
with the ultra-Orthodox
Shas and Degel HaTorah
parties, as well as with the
more moderate-Orthodox
National Religious Party.
Labor already has a pledge
of support from the ultra-
Orthodox Agudat Yisrael
party. ❑
Passover questions. The
number is 1-800-843-8825.
The UTCJ, headed by
Rabbi Ronald Price, will ac-
cept authorization notes for
the sale of chametz through
April 6. The authorization
should be worded "I hereby
authorize Rabbi Ronald D.
Price or his delegate in the
appropriate time zone to sell
of the chametz in my posses-
sion by 10 a.m. 14 Nisan,
5750 (April 9, 1990)."
The authorization must be
signed and include the
sender's address and phone
number. A donation of at
least $1, to be used for chari-
table projects, customarily
accompanies the authoriza-
tion. Checks should be made
payable to the Union for
Traditional Conservative
Judaism and sent with the
authorization to the UTCJ,
145 N. Fifth Ave., Mt. Ver-
non, N.Y. 10550.
or on audio cassettes as a
free gift to blind and visually
impaired Jewish adults and
children.
ROUND UP
Raiz Family
To Emigrate
Refuseniks Vladimir,
Carmella, Moshe and Shaul
Raiz of Vilnius have receiv-
ed permission to emigrate
and are expected to arrive
this week in Israel.
The Raiz family,
"adopted" by students at
Hillel Day School, waited
more than 18 years for per-
mission to leave the Soviet
Union. Carmella is a
violinist; her husband is a
mathematician.
Jewish Volunteer
Rate Is Low
Contrary to popular
perceptions, Jews may actu-
ally volunteer less fre-
quently and for fewer hours
than do other Americans,
according to a new study at
Brandeis University's
Cohen Center for Modern
Jewish Studies.
While 45 percent of all
Americans say they vol-
unteer time to help others,
31 percent of the Jews in
Baltimore, 41 percent in
Cleveland and 41 percent in-
Rhode Island say they
volunteer time either for
Jewish or non-Jewish
organizations, the study
found.
Only in San Francisco,
with 50 percent of Jews
reporting that they vol-
unteer, does Jewish volun-
tarism exceed the national
average for all Americans.
The study found that in
most cities, Jews are more
likely to volunteer for Jew-
ish than for non-Jewish
causes, but that those Jews
who volunteer for Jewish
causes also are more likely
to volunteer for non-Jewish
causes.
Team Puts Tiger
In Their Tank
Grrrrrrreat news comes
from everybody's favorite
Israeli baseball team, the
Yavneh Tigers.
The Tigers, who are being
sponsored by the Detroit
Committee of Israel-
American Baseball, have
been asked to send two
players to a national Israeli
team that will participate in
Vitunril
Oigrro
The Yavneh Tigers' new logo.
playoffs next summer in
Germany.
The Detroit Committee re-
cently sent $1,500 to help
cover the cost of coaching
and transportation for the
team.
UTCJ To Open
Passover Hotline
The Union for Traditional
Conservative Judaism
(UTCJ) is once again offer-
ing Operation Pesach, a pro-
gram to assist Jews in
observing the laws and
customs of Passover. The
program includes a day for
taking Passover questions
on the UTCJ's toll-free
hotline and a national center
for the sale of chametz.
The UTCJ will open its
toll-free phone line 9 a.m. to
8 p.m. April 5 to answer
Two editions of the Hag-
gadah in large print are
available: a traditional
Haggadah, edited by Philip
Birnbaum, and the Reform
movement's New Union
Haggadah.
Braille Institute
Issues Hagaddot
Available in Braille are: a
one-volume edition edited by
the late Dr. Cecil Roth; the
Silverman (Conservative)
edition; the New Union
(Reform) edition; and the
Goldstein edition for chil-
dren.
The Koren Haggadah,
edited by Edward Fisch and
recorded by the late Cantor
Paul Kwartin and the choir
of Union Temple in
Brooklyn. N.Y., is available
on cassette.
To obtain the Haggadot,
contact the JBI, 110 E. 30th
St., New York, N.Y., 10016,
(212) 889-2525.
The Jewish Braille In-
stitute is offering free Hag-
gadot in large-print, Braille
Compiled by
Elizabeth Applebaum
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
5