BACKGROUND
144nikee3 Dag
England's 'Iron Lady' Chief
And The Jewish Mother Image
All merchandise
is offered at outstanding
discount prices. All sales can
be exchanged or refunded. Gift
wrapping is free.
England's Prime Minister identifies
closely with Women's International
Zionist Organization founder Rebecca
Sieff and her strong, pioneering qualities.
HELEN DAVIS
Foreign Correspondent
WEAN- IT/AIX
"Sunset Strip" 29536 Northwestern Highway
Southfield, Michigan 48034
HOURS: M - F 10 - 5:30
Sat 10 - 5
PHONE: 357-4000
Celebrate Spring at MCC!
,Tg.j•-•r••••••••;:•:,...,••:•••••:••••,, • 11•:••••••14V:12•?..",W,is.: •
•••:`
Super-286E
Enhanced AT compatible w/ 12 MHz,
80286 microprocessor, 640 K RAM,
1.2 Mb floppy, six expansion slots.
$788*
Super-386SX
•
n•••+•
],...t•WQQ ,K,a kk4sMOM
nesmagrosymmeammiAmemiona
s
16 MHz, 80386 processor,
1 Mb RAM, 1.2 Mb floppy
$ 1288 .
i\HYUNIDAI
Practical Compatibles.
Mention this ad for
a FREE box of disks with
any system purchase!
Midwest Computer Centers
W. Bloomfield • 33060 N'westrn at 14 Mile • 313-851-5222
Berkley • 3237 Woodward at 12 Mile • 313-542-1980
• Video board and monitor extra Offer valid through April 21, 1990.
Hours: Mon, Tue, Wed, Fri; 9:30-6:00; Thur 9:30-8:00; Sat 10:00-4:00
SPRING
CLEANING?
Barry's
Let's Rent It
LIBRARY BOOKSTORE
545.4300
PARTIES EXCLUSIVELY
call
We Buy (and Sell)
Secondhand Books
Books Bought
In Your Home
M. Sempliner
• Tents • Tables • Chairs
• China • Paper Goods
4393 ORCHARD LAKE RD., N. OF LONE PINE
IN CROSSWINDS
855.0480
The Bright Idea:
Give a Gift Subscription
34
FRIDAY, MAY 11, 1990
THE JEWISH NEWS
T
here are probably no
Western leaders
around today who are
so openly and so obviously
well disposed toward Jews as
Margaret Thatcher. Indeed,
her idealized image of
Jews— studious, hard- work-
ing, industrious, family-
centered, socially aware
represents the personifica-
tion of the New Britain she
has sought to create.
It is a curious and little-
understood phenomenon
that while Thatcher can
stare down the collective
heads of Europe and the
Soviet Union, the Iron Lady
grows positively emotional
when talking of Jewish
qualities and Israel. And
this in a country where
neither Jewish votes nor
Jewish money is a signifi-
cant factor in political life.
"Jewish people have
taught us so much," she told
a recent meeting of the
British Board of Jewish
Deputies, the umbrella
organization of British Jews.
"It is your creed which first
said, 'Love thy neighbor as
thyself.' It is your creed
which taught us that, both
as individuals and nations,
we are accountable for our
deeds. It is your creed which
taught us that as we have
received, so we have an
obligation to give to the
community of which we are
a part. We owe you a debt of
gratitude for your enormous
contribution to our national
life and our achievements."
To a Guildhall luncheon of
the Women's International
Zionist Organization (WIZO)
last week, she allowed
herself to expand on the
theme: "Jewish people," she
said, "must surely be the
most talented people . . . in
history. Their only possible
rivals might be the ancient
Greeks — or, more accu-
rately, the Athenians.
"One great difference bet-
ween classical Athens and
the Jewish people," she con-
tinued, "is the enormous
part which women have
played in Jewish history.
You can trace in the Bible
the tremendous tradition of
strong and courageous Jew-
ish women —Ruth, Naomi,
Rebecca. In Israel's more re-
cent history, no single figure
stands out more strongly
than Golda Meir."
Thatcher, who is the only
British prime minister to
have visited the Jewish state
while in office, also express-
ed her admiration "for all
that has been achieved in
Israel — above all, for the
spirit of Israel's people:
pioneering, brave,
resourceful, determined; an
example of how indomitable
will can overcome almost
every problem."
Thatcher, however, is not
an uncritical admirer of
Margaret Thatcher:
Bold, tough, confrontational.
Israel's Likud policies. She
has called on Israel to
negotiate a land-for- peace
settlement with the Palesti-
nians and, to her WIZO au-
dience, she expressed the
hope that "the great satis-
faction which we all feel at
this tremendous achiev-
ement [of Soviet Jewish
emigration]will not be
diminished by a policy of set-
tling Soviet Jews in the oc-
cupied territories."
Having absorbed a succes-
sion of political defeats and
anticipating yet more the
following day, Thatcher
might have been forgiven for
having sought a brief respite
and indulging in a warm
bath of uncritical acclaim.
Britain's quintessential
working woman was exercis-
ing her stroking hand on
some of Britain's
quintessential homemakers,
and they positively purred
back.
The Guildhall, however, is
a long way from the real
world of hard-ball politics
and from the gray-suited
figures who make and break
political leaders. All the re-
cent opinion polls agree that
Thatcher is the most un-
popular British prime min-
ister since polling began,
while her government is the
most unpopular since World
War Two and appears on
course for disaster at the
next general election, which
must be held by 1992.
Margaret Thatcher has
endured rough patches in
the past, but even some
senior members of her own
party are privately con-
ceding that there is so much
blood on the floor that it will
be difficult to clean up the
mess in time for the next
election.
It was a predicament that
led some pundits to predict
that Thatcher's days as
leader of the ruling Conser-
vative Party — and as one of
the longest-running British
leaders in modern history —
were numbered; that she
would be replaced within
months. They may yet be
proved correct, but contrary
to all the pollsters, last
week's election, while giving
little cheer to Thatcher, was
not the massacre that had
been predicted: Thatcher's
party did badly, but not as
badly as had been an-
ticipated.
Whatever the causes and
effects of the results, the
less- than-catastrophic out-
come has been interpreted as
a last-minute reprieve for
Thatcher's continued
leadership and bad news for
her potential challengers,
who had already unsheathed
their finely honed swords.
The political obituaries, ap-
parently premature, have
been consigned to the scrap-
heap — for the time being, at
least.
Margaret Thatcher has
never demonstrated the poli-
ticians' overriding need to be
liked. Her style, is bold,
tough and confrontational.
.