OPINION THE UNBEATABLE DEALER THE UNBEATABLE DEALER THE UNBEATABLE DEALER r o sg o t V 1* 4 0 - . % 0 ; 0 11, IS HAVING A 9.8 ACRE END OF MONTH FINAL SALE Soviet Non-Jews Continued from Page 7 THURSDAY 9 AM to 9 PM, MAY 30, 1991 FRIDAY 9 AM to 6 PM, MAY 31, 1991 SATURDAY 10 AM to 3 PM, JUNE 1, 1991 0 NEW DEMOS 0 A ACTORY FACTORY OFFICAL CHEVYS CARS INCLUDED ARE Chevy Caprices: 2 Drs, 4 Drs & Wagons Chevy Luminas: 2 Drs & 4 Drs Chevy Corsicas: 4 Drs Chevy Berettas: 2 Drs Cavaliers: 2 Drs, 4 Drs, Wagons, Plus Convertibles Chevy Corvettes: ZRI, Convertibles & Coupes GEO Metros: 2 Drs, 3 Drs, 5 Drs & Convertibles GEO Storm: 2 Drs GEO Prizms: 4 Drs — TRUCKS INCLUDED ARE Chevy Full Size Pick-Ups Chevy Crew Cab Pick-Ups Chevy S-10 Pick-Ups Chevy S-10 Blazers: 2 Drs & 4 Drs Chevy Astro Vans Chevy Conversion Vans Chevy Dump Trucks (every size) Chevy Step Vans Chevy W-4 thru W-7 Series FOR THREE DAYS BRING ANY AD OR ANY LEGITIMATE DEAL AND WE WILL MAKE IT BETTER WE NEED USED 1985, 1986, 1987 & 1988 CARS AND TRUCKS ALL MAKES AND MODELS Gec) Dfs3ier MEDIUM DUTY TRUCK CENTER 28111 TELEGRAPH AT 12 MILE & 1-696 SOUTHFIELD • 355-1000 OPEN • MON. & THURS. TIL 9 PM THE UNBEATABLE DEALER THE UNBEATABLE DEALER THE UNBEATABLE DEALER FRIDAY. MAY 31, 1991 creasingly concerned about the number of non-Jews said to be arriving in the wave of aliyah, the immigrants are feeling increasingly ill at ease under the spotlight focused on them in the at- tempt to discover how many gentiles there really are among them. Jews in the USSR often ask each other, in one of the few "Yiddish" phrases I "One of know: nostris? ours?" "Ours" meaning Jewish, trustworthy. Here in Israel, the question has disap- peared. People feel uncom- fortable questioning fellow immigrants. To understand, one must look at both the Jews and the non-Jews arriving today. The Jews, victims of more than 70 years of forced assimilation and persecu- tion, have been deprived of any knowledge of their his- tory, culture, language, and religion. But they know they are Jews, and in the USSR they felt united in their Jew- ishness because of the anti- Semitism. As for the non- Jews, although some have virtually no connection with the Jewish people, the over- whelming majority are spouses of Jews or related in other ways. They chose to share the fate of the Jews in the Soviet Union: They mar- ried into the legacy of anti- Semitism. In the first years after the Bolshevik Revolution, mixed marriages were part of the thrust to change the old order, proof that ethnic and religious barriers were breaking down and a new, universal Soviet nation was being born. A mixed mar- riage testified to a revolu- tionary's loyalty to the cause. Many Soviet leaders had Jewish wives: The last ex- ample was Brezhnev, who married in the early 1930s. By the late 30s, however, anti-Semitism had become a key component of Soviet policy. Marrying a Jew came to mean joining the persecuted tribe, casting your lot, and your children's, with the fate of the Jews. Jewish parents who worried about their children inter- marrying were not concern- ed about violations of Jewish law or tradition; they want- ed to know whether the pro- spective spouse was ready and able to cope with the difficulties of Jewish identi- ty. Were the Zionist dream of mass aliyah from the United States and West Europe to be fulfilled, there would be E an even higher proportion of non-Jews immigrating. Those non-Jews would not have been subjected to persecution as Jews, and therefore would not have had to pass the same tests of loyalty as their Soviet counterparts. What will happen to the non-Jews arriving here, and to the country itself, as the result of their presence? As experience has shown —dur- ing the 70s and 80s roughly 200,000 Soviets immigrated with the same proportion of Jews to non-Jews as among today's immigrants — ab- sorbing non-Jews will not be The religious authorities should bear in mind that these people have already passed significant tests of time and loyalty. a problem unless we make it one. The vast majority of assim- ilated Jews, after going through the trying period of absorption, will gain con- fidence and a sense of com- fort fort in their new country. Many of their technically non-Jewish family members will want to become full members of the tribe. In fact, a large number are already in the process of formally converting. This process should be as simple as possible. Like many Soviet Jews who have experienced first-hand the dangers of a Bolshevism which ran roughshod over tradition, I am hesitant about altering practices and values that have sustained and protected our people for thousands of years. But the religious au- thorities should bear in mind that these people have already passed significant tests of time and loyalty. The prior wave of Soviet aliyah also showed that there are some loyal citizens who nonetheless prefer to remain gentiles in the Jew- ish state. They feel it is hyp- ocritical to convert to a re- ligion one does not believe in, especially if one doesn't believe in religion at all. These people must also be made to feel at home here. Without Bolshevik-style attacks on our tradition, aimed at creating a univer- sal, watered-down Judaism, we must patiently yet vigor- ously seek practical solu- tions to the personal status problems of non-Jewish citizens.