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THIS ISSUE 60(P

SERVING DETROIT'S JEWISH COMMUNITY

JNF Cancels
Annual Dinner

ALAN HITSKY

T

Associate Editor

he Jewish National
Fund has cancelled its
spring fund-raising
campaign and June dinner
so that it will not conflict
with the Jewish Welfare
Federation's Operation Ex-
odus drive for Soviet Jewry
resettlement in Israel.
The cancellation is believ-
ed to be the first major
change by a local organiza-
tion in deference to the $16.5
million, three-year Opera-
tion Exodus, scheduled to
begin April 1.
The Jewish National Fund
Council of Greater Detroit
was asked last night by
President Sue Ellen
Eisenberg to affirm the deci-
sion. Of the $1 million an-
nually raised in the Detroit
area by JNF, the spring
dinner brings in between
$60,000 and $75,000.
"All of the organizations
have to cooperate with each
other and all have one pur-
pose — to help Israel,"
Eisenberg said. "Last year
we had our emergency, the
arson fires in Israel's forests.
Burning the trees was like

returning to the desert, and
Federation at that time was
very helpful to us."
She said Operation Exodus
is critical to Soviet Jews and
Israel, and the local JNF is
asking its supporters to con-
tribute generously to Opera-
tion Exodus.
The JNF's spring dinner,
attracting annually between
400 to 600 persons, has tra-
ditionally honored a member
of the Detroit Jewish com-
munity. The honoree's fami-
ly usually makes a signifi-
cant contribution to JNF.
In the fall, JNF in recent
years has sponsored a second
dinner honoring a member
of the general community.
Last fall's honoree was Car-
dinal Edmund Szoka of the
Archdiocese of Detroit.
Eisenberg said the JNF does
not plan to cancel its fall
event. "We haven't really
thought about it," she said,
"but it usually represents a
different community. It taps
people who normally do not
donate to Israel."
The spring cancellation
will have "a significant im-
pact" on JNF's local fund
raising, she said, "but we
hope other groups will follow
our lead." Li

ADL And NAACP
To Host Seder

The
Anti-Defamation
League and the South
Oakland Chapter of the Na-
tional Association For the Ad-
vancement of Colored Peoples
will hold a black-Jewish seder
April 12 at Temple Beth El.
Rabbi Daniel F. Polish of Beth
El will lead the seder with the
assistance of Reverend Ken-
neth Whyte of Faith United
Methodist Church of Oak
Park. The church choir and
the temple's chorale will
participate.
Ben Chaney, brother of the
slain civil rights worker
James Earl Chaney, will
speak on black-Jewish rela-
tions. James Chaney was
murdered, along with
Michael Schwerner and An-
drew Goodman, in Mississip-
pi in 1964.
An ADL spokesman said

the seder follows months of
cooperative programming,
social events and meetings
between the two groups. They
are also planning summer
picnics, family events and
discussions of common in-
terests and black-Jewish
strains.
The two groups began work-
ing together over issues of
prejudice in a suburban
school. Says Linda Soberman,
ADL regional board presi-
dent, "We are simply thrilled.
From ADEs prespective, this
is the natural culmination of
our outreach to different
groups, and our special in-
terest in black-Jewish rela-
tionships."
"The seder is a natural for
black-Jewish celebration. It
commemorates freedom of the
oppressed."

NEWS

MARCH 30, 1990 / 4 NISAN 5750

