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Rabbi Alexander
Schindler, president of the
reform movement organiza-
tion, offered opening
remarks at an interfaith
ceremony honoring
Mandela. He called the ANC
leader one of the 36 "just
and holy individuals by
whose merit the world sur-
vives." The service, which
attracted numerous Jewish
participants, raised
$200,000.
At the Geneva meeting
with Jewish leaders,
Mandela said he recognized
Israel's right to exist within
secure borders and express-
ed interest in visiting the
Jewish State.
Sholom Comay and
Maynard Wishner of the
American Jewish Com-
mittee, who participated in
the Geneva talks, said
Mandela's "clear statement
with respect for Israel and
condemnation of anti-
Semitism need to be heeded
by all men and women of
good will."
But last week, appearing
on ABC's Nightline,
Mandela reasserted his view
that the Palestinian
struggle parallels that of the
ANC, "And if the Jews don't
like it, that's too bad."
Such comments disturb
Rabbi James Rudin, inter-
religious affairs director for
the American Jewish Com-
munity. But he did not pro-
test when Mandela visited
New York.
"If we rain on his parade
and cut him off, that doesn't
advance Jewish causes or
Israel," Rabbi Rudin said.
American Jewish leaders
have been critical of
Mandela, he said. "But if we
simply break off relations,
we become unwitting allies
of the real enemies of Nelson
Mandela — the white
supremacists, who are also
anti-Semites."
Instead, Jews should "take
what Mandela says and
build on it," Rabbi Rudin
said. "The effort is worth it
because of who he represents
— the ANC will certainly
play a major role in the un-
folding of events in South
Africa — and because of, like
it or not, the moral authority
he wields."
Wallace Williams, a black
member of the Ameri-
can/Israel Chamber of
Commerce and a vocal sup-
porter of Israel, said
Mandela is not against the
Jewish people.
"Some of the Jewish peo-
ple would take offense to his
statement," Williams said.
"He looks to those in-
dividuals (Qaddafi, Arafat
and Castro) as his friends.
"Mandela's primary objec-
tive is to free his people.
Maybe he is being too
narrow, but he is being hon-
est," Williams said. "He will
say anything or do anything
to get money to free his peo-
ple.
"I don't think the Jewish
people should get uptight
about this," he said. "He is a
charismatic, intelligent in-
dividual with a cause who is
fighting for it. For that he is
to be respected. He is not
wishy-washy. He has prin-
ciples."
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Rebels
Continued from Page 1
the rebels.
MAEJ President Mira
Eisenberg said the Ethio-
pian government for the last
six weeks has openly allow-
ed Ethiopian Jews to leave
for Israel in cases of family
reunification. But observers
are worried that if the
government falls, the Ethio-
pian Jews will become a
target of the rebels.
There are 14,000 Jews left
in Ethiopia and 18,000 Ethi-
opian Jews in Israel.
When Operation Moses
was in full swing several
years Ago, clandestinely
moving Ethiopian Jews from
Gondar to the Sudan for a
secret airlift to Israel, bribes
were paid to soldiers and
guides. The same thing is
happening this year to move
the refugees through the
war zone to Addis Ababa,
the Ethiopian capital, for
flights to Israel.
Eisenberg said the Ameri-
can Association for Ethio-
pian Jewry is raising funds
to pay emissaries to speed
the paperwork for family
reunification. "It can take
three to four months to pro-
cess the paperwork in Ethi-
opia and Israel," Eisenberg
said. "The shlichim
(emissaries) can speed that
to two to three weeks."
The MAEJ planned a
Detroit-area event last week
to gain donations and recruit
volunteers. Sen. Carl Levin
was the scheduled speaker.
But the organization
cancelled the event when
only 40 to 50 people re-
sponded, Eisenberg said.
Eisenberg hopes to build
support this summer and
reschedule the event in the
fall. In the meantime, the
MAEJ is seeking contribu-
tions, and volunteers to
lobby Congress to keep the
pressure on Ethiopia. 0
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 11