■
Jewish Welfare Federation,
is well aware of Israelis'
frustration with American
Jews. Mr. Aronson and a
group of other area resi-
dents returned late last
month from a five-day
solidarity mission to Israel.
The trip had been resched-
uled from an earlier mis-
sion, cancelled after the Ira-
qis began attacking the
Jewish state.
Of the Israelis' disappoint-
ment with American Jews
during the war, Mr. Aronson
says, "We do feel badly
about it and that has to be
said."
At the same time, Mr.
Aronson spoke with many
Israelis who said it would
have been inappropriate for
Americans to pour into the
country during the Gulf
war. Gas masks were al-
ready in short supply, they
said.
Mr. Aronson also pointed
out that the U.S. State
Department issued a travel
advisory, warning American
citizens not to go to Israel.
Now that the Gulf crisis is
over, "We have to work
harder to rebuild relations
with Israel," Mr. Aronson
says. In addition to their
questions about U.S. Jews'
actions during the war,
Israelis are anxious that
"the American Jewish com-
munity is still not suppor-
tive enough on issues of war
and peace in the aftermath
of the wary"
Mr. Aronson says he was
discouraged to see that
despite the war's end, few
American Jews are coming
to Israel.
"It's perfectly understand-
able that people did not go
to Israel during the war," he
says. "What's not under-
standable is why they
wouldn't return now.
American Jews are not
returning to Israel in large
numbers, and that's more
damaging than not going
when the Scuds were fall-
ing."
Daniel Levine is vice
chairman of Melitz, a Jeru-
salem center for Jewish-
Zionist education. He de-
scribes the mood of the coun-
try now as "Don't be happy.
Worry"
The average Israeli has
little interest in the Dias-
pora, he says. But he is deep-
ly ,concerned about o/im,
new immigrants, and yor-
dim, Israelis who leave and
settle outside the state.
Mr. Levine calls aliyah
"the lifeblood of the coun-
try." And the ohm comman-
ding most attention these
days are Soviet Jews, who
are pouring by the hundreds
of thousands into Israel.
Their first job: learning
Hebrew.
A group of Soviet ohm sit
in a horseshoe in a class-
room on the second floor of
a community center in
suburban Jerusalem. They
arrived three weeks ago.
The teacher is religious,
herself a former Moscow
resident who came in 1970
to Israel.
The teacher leads the
students in Hebrew recita-
tion: "She sees Yitzhak
every day. She sees him on
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday,
Wednesday and Thursday.
But she does not see him on
Friday."
Then comes a barrage of
questions: "Does she see
UJA Press Service Photo/Robert Cu m ins
Time stands still in the
rubble of a home in Ramat
Gan after an Iraqi attack.
■
Remains of Ramat Gan
homes destroyed by Scuds.
After an attack near their
apartment, the city's
deputy mayor, his wife and
the family rabbi took shots
of whiskey and said,
"L'chayim."
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
31