INSIGHT Soviet Jews Continued from preceding page :VOlthi ftea617104„ We have storage facilities on the premises for your convenience. Bring us your fur garment and we will include: • Free minor repairs. • Free fur appraisal. Let Us Restyle Your Old Fur Your older furs will be restyled by our remodeling department into modern, contemporary fashions. 61$ • 181 S. Woodward Ave., 1 Blk. S. of Maple, Next to the Birmingham 'Theatre Free Adjacent Parking • 642-1690 Monday-Saturday 9:30-5:30 SPRING COLORS OF BENETTON. UNITED COLORS OF BENETTON. MOM DESERVES THE BEST BENETTON AT THE BOARDWALK • WEST BLOOMFIELD Orchard Lake Road • South of Maple • 73 7-3 73 7 38 FRIDAY, MAY 11, 1990 defect to the Likud. Both Labor and the Likud are looking hard for other promising Soviet politicians. These will undoubtedly come from among the 170,000 immigrants who arrived in the 1970s, and are now familiar with Israeli life. Thus far, the most prominent former Prisoners of Zion, such as Natan Sharansky and Ida Nudel, have eschewed partisan af- filiation, but the parties are actively attempting to recruit superstars for future campaigns. At a recent meeting of Georgian immigrants, a Likud activist watched long- ingly as Sharansky address- ed the gathering. "Someday he could be prime minister," said the Likudnik. "Too bad he doesn't want to join a par- ty." The battle for the hearts and votes of the Soviets is not unique, of course. Throughout Israeli history, political parties have sought to recruit electoral support from among olim. But there is something almost surrealistic in the present competition. As re- cently as last June, the offi- cial estimate here was that 18,000 immigrants would arrive' n- 1989; now, it is believed that more than that could arrive in each of the next few months. Unprepared for the mas- sive wave, Israeli politi- cians, already discredited by their unseemly coalition battles, seem blissfully un- concerned with anything more pressing than their own welfare. It is an index of the poverty of the current political culture that the country's leaders are ap- parently determined to transform a historic moment into simply another partisan tug-of-war. ❑ Israeli Army Chief Reprimands General Tel Aviv (JTA) — An Israel Defense Force general who publicly criticized the army for not being sufficiently tough in fighting the in- tifada has been reprimanded by the IDF chief of staff, Gen. Dan Shomron. Maj. Gen. Moshe Bar- Kochba, whose sharp remarks were published last week in an interview with the newspaper Hadashot, was summoned by Shomron, who reminded him that his right to criticize the IDF was limited to closed meetings of the army's high command. Bar-Kochba, nicknamed "Brill," criticized the IDF for failing to learn the lessons of the Lebanon war, and said the army was not doing a proper job of sup- pressing the Palestinian uprising. Bar-Kochba reportedly asked the chief of staff for permission to state his charges directly to acting Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, who is also acting defense minister. Ma'ariv reported that the general had, in fact, received permission some months ago to air his complaints to the then-defense minister, Yit- zhak Rabin. But he never asked for an appointment, the newspaper said. Bar-Kochba, a longtime supporter of Shamir's Likud bloc, is known to have been piqued when Shomron was promoted to chief of staff two years ago, instead of him. He claims he could have ended the intifada long ago if the tough measures he calls for had been taken. They include a massive IDF presence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, deploying tanks and other heavy equipment in Arab towns and throughout the coun- tryside. Bar-Kochba's ideas are well known at General Headquarters and have been rejected by virtually every senior commander. Mossad's Cohen May Get Award Tel Aviv (JTA) — Elie Cohen, a Mossad agent ex- ecuted in Damascus in 1965, may become the first Israeli to be posthumously awarded honorary military rank. Acting Defense Minister Yitzhak Shamir and Chief of Staff Gen. Dan Shomron will decide whether to approve the recommendation of a special Israel Defense Force committee. It would make Cohen an honorary lieutenant colonel in the IDF, in recognition of his "exceptional contribu- tion to Israel." The IDF was first ap- proached on the matter by the Institute for Intelligence and Special Posts, acting on behalf of Cohen's widow.