BACKGROUND INNNE Countdown MIDRASHA-COLLEGE OF JEWISH STUDIES 0 CO-SPONSORED COURSE OFFERINGS BEGINNING JANUARY 1991 TEMPLE EMANU-EL 14450 WEST TEN MILE ROAD, OAK PARK INTRODUCTION TO JUDAISM Instructors: Rabbi David Feder, Rabbi Lane Steinger, Cantor Norman Rose and Dottie Dressler of Temple Emanu-El 11 weeks - Thursdays, January 17 - March 28 Thition: $35 per person, $45 per couple 7:30 to 9:00 P.M. Continued from preceding page necessary to safeguard Israel's security." While Israeli officials publicly express confidence about their ability to withs- tand an Iraqi attack, they privately concede that Israel would be at a serious disad- vantage in any military con- frontation with Iraq. Plane for plane, pilot for pilot, the Israeli Air Force is considered to be superior to that of Iraq, but, they note, Israeli warplanes operating against targets in Iraq would be required to overfly hostile Jordanian territory and to refuel in mid-air, making them extremely vulnerable to attack (see box). Despite Israel's air supe- riority, Israeli military planners have identified a specific danger in Iraq's 20 Soviet-built Sukhoi-24 air- craft, which are capable of DON'T SAY "CAN'T" TO TORAH CANTILATION! Instructor: Cantor Norman Rose of Temple Emanu-El 8 weeks - Mondays, January 21 - February 11 and March 4 - 25 Tuition: $23 per 4 week session 7:00 to 8:00 P.M. UNDERSTANDING THE BIBLE Instructor: Rabbi David Feder of Temple Emanu-El 4 weeks - Mondays, January 21 - February 11 8:00 to 9:00 P.M. Thition: $23 MORE TORAH THROUGH MOVEMENT Instructor: Linda Steinger, Dance Instructor 6 weeks - Mondays, January 21, 28, February 4, 11, March 4, 11 7:00 to 8:00 P.M. TUition: $35 ALL ABOUT ISRAEL Instructor: Narda Oz of the Agency for Jewish Education 4 weeks - Mondays, January 21 - February 11 8:00 to 9:00 P.M. Thition: $23 TEMPLE SHIR SHALOM 5642 MAPLE ROAD, WEST BLOOMFIELD TALES OF THE HASIDIM Instructor: Corinne Stavish of Wayne State University and Lawrence Technological University 4 weeks - Thesdays, January 29, February 12, 19, 26 7:30 to 8:30 P.M. Thition: $23 INTRODUCTION TO JUDAISM THROUGH JEWISH STORIES Instructor: Corinne Stavish 4 weeks - Thesdays, January 29, February 12, 19, 26 8:30 to 9:30 P.M. Thition: $23 CONGREGATION BETH ABRAHAM HILLEL MOSES 5075 WEST MAPLE ROAD, WEST BLOOMFIELD GREAT TRIALS IN JEWISH HISTORY Instructor: Renee Wohl, Instructor and Director of the Resource Center, Agency for Jewish Education 2 weeks - Wednesdays, January 23 and 30 7:30 to 8:30 P.M. Thition: $12 COURSES MEET AT THE CO-SPONSORING SYNAGOGUE OR TEMPLE and are open to the community For registration and further information, please call the Midrasha-College of Jewish Studies at 352-7117. SKIERS: RENT OUR TOP QUALITY SKI EQUIPMENT FOR ADULT AND JUNIOR SKIERS, AVAILABLE BY THE SEASON OR BY THE DAY. Hurry in for best selection! 'Dongkomas L Sporthaus Bloomfield Plaza • Telegraph at Maple Birmingham, Mich. • 626-9500 44 FRIDAY, JANUARY 11, 1991 The West Flank W hen the Gulf crisis broke upon an unsuspecting world last August, Israelis had cause to re- joice in the geographic quirk of fate that inter- posed the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan bet- ween them and the predatory Iraqi leader. But the ambivalence of Jordan's King Hussein over the crisis provoked by his powerful neighbor has provided much cause for concern among Israel's military brass. They are alarmed at the passionate support that the Iraqi cause has evok- ed among ordinary Jor- danians and at the econ- omic and political turmoil which has wracked King Hussein's throne since Saudi Arabia, his major sponsor, turned off the tap of financial assistance. The principal beneficiaries of Jordan's domestic instability has been the burgeoning body of Islamic fundamenta- lists, now the largest sin- gle bloc in the Jordanian parliament, who were fur- ther appeased last week when they were handed five seats in the Jorda- nian cabinet. While expressing con- cern about the future of the Hashemite kingdom, Israeli officials tend to blame the king, once regarded as the most pro- Western Arab leader, for inflaming his population by running with the hares and attempting to keep pace with their violent pro-Iraqi, anti-Israel rhetoric. As both Israel and Jor- dan reinforce their troop deployments along their common border, Israel's Chief of Staff, Maj. Gen. Dan Shomron, has issued a grim warning that Iraq may attempt to use Jor- dan as a springboard for an attack on Israel. Israel has already made it clear that the introduc- tion of Iraqi forces into Jordan would be con- sidered an act of war and the prospect of such a move prompted a senior Israeli government spokesman to issue a blunt warning. "If King Hussein is con- sidering 'inviting' Iraqi troops into his country, he would be wise to think very hard in advance about what our reaction might be," he said. Israel, he said, had no intention of attacking Jordan "and there is no reason for Jordan to in- vite foreign troops to de- fend it." Moreover, he warned, if the Jordanian monarch used domestic discontent as an excuse for "inviting" Iraqi troops to enter Jordan and help restore order, "we might feel compelled to take ac- tion ourselves." In Jordan, where Pales- tinians already constitute a majority of the popula- tion, an old nightmare has returned to haunt King Hussein at the pro- spect of an Israeli-Iraqi clash in which he would be caught, quite literally, in the middle. The nightmare, which he has shared with for- eign visitors, is that Israel might be tempted, under cover of war, to solve its festering problem with the Palestinians in the oc- cupied West Bank and Gaza Strip by transferr- ing them across the border into Jordan itself. Such a move would destabilize Jordan's deli- cate demographic balance and would almost certain- ly ensure that King Hussein is swept away on a tidal wave of Palestin- ian anger. — Helen Davis