UP FRONT
Israel Tourism Is Hit Hard
By Cancellation Of Jewish Trips
New York (JTA) — As
American Jewish organiza-
tions stand firmly with
Israel through the Persian
Gulf crisis and the after-
math of the riots on
Jerusalem's Temple Mount,
Jewish federations across
the United States are cancel-
ing major fund- raising mis-
sions to Israel because of
fear that hostilities will
break out.
While the national United
Jewish Appeal is going
ahead with its programs in
Israel, five out of six major
missions planned for this fall
by local federations have
been postponed, including
"mega-missions" from
Philadelphia, Washington,
Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and
Fort Lauderdale, Fla. An 80-
person mission from
Baltimore was also cancell-
ed.
A major mission sponsored
by the Jewish Federation of
South Broward, Fla., is still
planned for Nov. 11-20,
although officials said the
number of participants has
declined.
Detroit's Jewish Welfare
Federation sent a small mis-
sion to Poland and Israel last
Sunday. Some 21 Detroiters
are on the Morasha Mission.
A Federation spokesman
said there was only one
"When a real crisis
occurs, they
couldn't convince
their constituency
to go."
Raphael Farber
cancellation, and that was
for personal reasons and not
conditions in the Middle
East.
Detroit has also added a
Federation Board of Gover-
nors leadership study trip to
Israel in January.
Nationally, officials stress
the missions have not been
cancelled, but postponed,
with smaller fact-finding
missions being organized in
lieu of the original missions.
But postponement of the
mega-missions, which in the
past could bring up to 1,000
people to Israel at a time,
has dealt Israel's already
beleaguered tourism in-
dustry a major blow.
Although federation offi-
cials say they believe it is
safe to travel to Israel at this
time, the Israeli army last
week began distributing gas
masks to its civilian popula-
tion as a precautionary mea-
sure. And the U.S. State
Department last week
issued an advisory warning
U.S. citizens to avoid travel-
ing to east Jerusalem or the
administered territories.
Washington's "Miracle
Mission" started receiving
cancellations as the Gulf
crisis unfolded, dropping the
original number of par-
ticipants from just over 500
to "somewhere still in the
hundreds," said Debra
Adelstein, director of com-
American tourists gather atop Masada.
munications for the United
Appeal Federation of
Greater Washington.
"There were a substantial
number of first-timers"
signed up for the mission,
explained Philip Margolius,
co-chairman of the mission,
"and some people have a ge-
nuine fear of what's going
on.
"Let's face it," he said,
"there could be a war. We
don't think Israel is going to
be involved, but people have
a genuine fear."
The federation postponed
the mission and instead sent
a delegation of 40 people to
Israel on Sunday.
Officials of the Federation
of Jewish Agencies of
Greater Philadelphia, in
deciding to postpone their
"Mission 1,000," cited the
changed circumstances in
the Middle East since the
trip was originally planned.
Instead, the federation is
sending a smaller fact-
Continued on Page 10
ROUND UP
Chanukah Campaign
For Soldiers
From Donkeys
To A University
Beersheva — Dr. Ismail
Abu Saad, a Ben-Gurion
University of the Negev
graduate and the first Israeli
Bedouin to receive a Ph.D. in
educational administration,
has received BGU's Wolf
Foundation Post-Doctoral
Fellowship. He will work in
BGU's Humphrey Institute
for Social Ecology, coor-
dinating activities with the
Bedouin sector, with em-
phasis on community organ-
ization and development.
Dr. Saad, 32, is the oldest
of 10 children and the only
one in his family with a uni-
versity education. He said he
owes his achievements to his
father.
"When I was a child, I rode
on a donkey to school and
back, 10 kilometers each
way," Dr. Saad said. "When
I was older, my father sent
me away from home to study
at a good high school in an
Arab village in northern
Israel, even though this was
a financial burden on him.
Throughout high school I
lived alone in a rented room,
cooking for myself, visiting
home only once a month. My
father bought me books and
newspapers to stimulate my
intellectual curiosity, and
Dr. Ismail Abu Saad
urged me to go on to univer-
sity."
Dr. Saad received his
bachelor's degree in edu-
cation from BGU, and by age
21 was principal of the
Bedouin al-Hawashla grade
school in the Negev. He later
received a Ph.D. from the
University of Minnesota.
Since returning last year to
Beersheva, he has been
teaching in the BGU edu-
cation department's training
course for school principals,
as well as courses in educa-
tional counseling for
Bedouin teachers.
Jewish military personnel,
in conjunction with the Jew-
ish Welfare Board's Jewish
Chaplain's Council, are
sponsoring a drive to pur-
chase Chanukah candles for
each Jewish serviceman par-
ticipating in Operation
Desert Shield.
Donations of $4 for one box
of candles may be mailed to
Operation Maccabee, Jewish
Chaplain's Council, 15 E.
26th St., New York, N.Y.
10010.
Meanwhile, military offi-
cials report that Jewish
marines, soldiers, sailors
and airmen deployed in the
Gulf Coast received more
than 3,000 cards and letters,
including many from the
Detroit area, during the
High Holiday season.
Members of the Jewish
community wishing to help
with Operation Desert
Shield are encouraged to
write letters to servicemen
stationed in the Gulf. Paper-
back books and sports pro-
gram videos taped from tele-
vision are especially appre-
ciated. Send letters to: Any
Sailor or Marine; Operation
Desert Shield; FPO New
York, N.Y. 09866-0006, OR:
Any Soldier or Airman;
Operation Desert Shield;
FPO New York, N.Y. 09848-
0006.
Reform Receive
Israeli Funding
Ramat Gan, Israel — For
the first time in Israel's his-
tory, a Reform congregation
has received a major alloca-
tion from a city government.
A grant of 10,000 shekels
— about $4,000 — from the
municipal council of Ramat
Gan to Congregation Emet
Va'anava represents a
breakthrough long sought
by Reform movement offi-
cials, according to Rabbi
Eric Yoffie, executive direc-
tor of the Association of
Reform Zionists of America
(ARZA). He called the grant
"a historic departure from
previous practice, under
which national and local
government funding for
synagogues in Israel has
been given only to Orthodox
institutions."
The allocation to Emet
Va'anava, which was found-
ed in 1962, was obtained
largely through the efforts of
the ARZA-sponsored Israel
Religious Action Center, a
public advocacy organiza-
tion that promotes religious
rights and social justice in
Israel.
October Named
Respect Month
Michigan Gov. James
Blanchard has proclaimed
October "Respect Month," a
time for "all citizens to
reflect upon the significance
of respect in our everyday
lives," in response to a call
from six community organ-
izations fighting racial
hatred and anti-Semitism.
As part of the project,
adults are being encouraged
to speak with young people
about respect, to "try to
create an atmosphere of
respect that can counter
youthful destructiveness
and racial or religious pre-
judice," said Ron Seigel, ac-
ting chair of the coalition
representing the six organ-
izations involved.
The RMC, which includes
the Greater Interfaith
Round Table of the National
Conference of Christians
and Jews, is encouraging
teachers at local high
schools to participate in the
program.
For suggestions about
what individuals and com-
munity organizations can
do, write RMC, P.O. Box
03015, Detroit, MI. 48203.
Compiled by
Elizabeth Applebaum
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
5