CONTENTS
Politics Or Religion
In Christian Quarter?
ABRAHAM H. FOXMAN
T
he move of 150 Jewish
settlers into a hospice
in Jerusalem's Chris-
tian quarter during Holy
Week had understandably
prompted criticism from all
concerned about preserving
coexistence among the city's
divergent religious groups.
Provocative as the action was,
it does not justify some of the
exaggerated responses and
condemnations accusing
Israel of gross violations of
religious freedom which have
emerged from the media and
church community.
Such allegations contradict
the reality which has defined
Jerusalem over the past 23
years. Since East Jerusalem
The settlers'
action in no way
violated Christian
freedom of
worship.
came into Israeli hands and
was reunited with the
western sector in 1967, Israel
has successfully achieved
religious tolerance and har-
mony in the Old City. The
Protection of Holy Places Law
guarantees the sanctity of all
holy sites and makes it a
punishable offense to
desecrate or deny freedom of
access to them. Christians
and Muslims have always ad-
ministered their own holy
places and institutions, and
as the recent incident
demonstrates, they have free
access to Israel's democratic
court system in order to pre-
sent any claim of violation of
these rights. In short, under
Israeli sovereignty the Old Ci-
ty has flourished as a mosaic
of religious and ethnic diver-
sity and freedom.
Regrettable as it may have
been, the settlers' action in no
way violated Christian
freedom of worship. They
moved into a residential
building, not a holy site or a
place of worship. There was
no interference with Chris-
tian access to the Sepulcher
or with any religious rite and
this year's Easter ceremonies
occurred undisturbed with a
record number of Christian
pilgrims.
At issue here, then, is not
the violation of anyone's
Foxman is national director
of the Anti-Defamation
League.
religious rights. Yet, for the
most part, news reports of the
incident have been blatantly
distorted and selected in this
regard. The photograph of a
nun praying in front of a clos-
ed Holy Sepulcher which ap-
peared on the front page of
the New York Times and
other newspapers nationwide,
for example, insinuated that
the Israelis were denying
Christians their freedom of
worship. Moreover, any
tourist or journalist spending
time in the Christian quarter
will inevitably notice that
most of the shops and
businesses there are owned
by Muslims — only 20 Chris-
tian merchants do business in
the entire quarter.
The reaction of some church
leaders has also been
outrageously dispropor-
tionate to the act itself. In
Jerusalem, in the face of no
religious infringement and
the Israeli Supreme Court's
eviction of all but 20 settlers,
the Christian leadership clos-
ed the Holy Sepulcher and
other Christian shrines as a
sign of protest. Ignoring the
unprecedented freedoms
which the Christian com-
munity possesses in
Jerusalem, the Latin Patriar-
chate of Jerusalem and the
World Council of Churches
issued statements of alarm
about the dangers confron-
ting Jerusalem's Christian
population.
Lending credibility to both
the decision to close the
shrines and the international
condemnation of Israel, the
Pope, at the end of mass in St.
Peter's Square and in the
presence of Arab am-
bassadors, implied Israeli
responsibility for "the sor-
rowful decision to close holy
places."
Along with this overreac-
tion has come a selective
memory of the past. Stating
that the "integrity, cultural
and religious autonomy" of
the Christian quarter had
been honored by all of
Jerusalem's previous rulers,
Jerusalem's church leaders
and others rushing to join in
the condemnation have
forgotten Jordanian rule over
the Old City from 1948 to
1967.
The Jordanians, it should
be recalled, initiated a pro-
cess of Islamization of the
Christian quarter which in-
cluded, among other things, a
ban on Christian purchase of
real estate, strict controls
upon charitable and educa-
Continued on Page 12
DETROIT
15
Aiding Victims
ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM
Detroiters are involved
in a local AIDS rally.
CLOSE-UP
26
Jewish Family
In Crisis
HAROLD M. SCHULWEIS
Why today's family
can't withstand modernity.
INSIGHT
37
70,000 Flats
41
ZE'EV CHAFETS
Housing the Soviet emigres
will be Israel's big challenge.
PEOPLE
They Came From
CAMEROON
41
ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM
They're big, bold and ready
to conquer the world.
AROUND TOWN
52
Solidarity Walk
Thousands marked Israel's
birthday, freedom for Soviet Jews.
ENTERTAINMENT
52
73
Z W LT RS
STEVE HARTZ
This actress hit it big
on a different stage.
LIFESTYLES
100
Ayshet Chayil
CARLA JEAN SCHWARTZ
Joanne Zuroff is a true
woman of valor.
DEPARTMENTS
31
45
46
60
66
68
Inside Washington
Community
Synagogues
Education
For Women
Seniors
82
86
102
108
113
142
Fine Arts
Cooking
Engagements
Births
Classified Ads
Obituaries
CANDLELIGHTING
73
Friday, May 18, 1990
8:33 p.m.
Sabbath ends May 19 9:42 p.m.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
7
CONTENTS
OPINION