COMMENT Adding A Lot Of Value. Moment Of Truth Continued from preceding page half an hour to fill the 200 seats with 400 Ethiopian Jews. Avital had told me: Don't behave like a jour- nalist, help the people; only this way will it be a mission of saving lives, for which even Shabbat may be violated. So I set to work as a steward, distributing water and bread. The Beta Israel were obviously hungry but were impressively serene. They displayed a noble sense of their own dignity for the entire four-hour journey home. We shared only two words: shalom and Yerushalayim. But each time our eyes met, they were smiling, respon- sive. Sometimes I held and patted one of the clamoring children so their parents could open food parcels. But this was a pretext: I simply wanted more communica- tion and contact. Clearly, this was their desire, too. Through all the events of that night, our passengers showed full trust in the messengers from Israel, and were calmly confident despite the astonishing events overtaking them. Again, this implacable con- fidence in the future reminded me of my own state of mind in the plane that took me from Russia. As I had then, they now experienced a pure rapture and knew no fear. They too left with almost no posses- sions. I had then two things which they did not: I had shoes, while many of them were barefoot; and I had my Book of Psalms — but they themselves seemed like fig Looking for a pre-owned car? Starting this Friday, we'll deliver the lot right to your mailbox. From near- new Cadillacs to dependable Hondas, from slightly used Caravans to vintage Corvettes, The Jewish News brings you the best and latest models offered by area dealers and private owners. Just look for the new automotive section in The Jewish News' Amazing Marketplace classifieds. And drive away with the perfect vehicle. Automotive Classifieds. The Perfect Vehicle. THE JEWISH NEWS 354-5959 up mil mil I. am 11 ALL UNDER ONE ROOF : ALWAYS 20% OFF 1 PRESCRIPTION DELIVERY 1 MEDICINE CABINET 'The Fast Fnendly Discount Phormocy That Delivers' U 27159 Greenfield At NW. Cane, Of 11 Wee. Next To Forney Jock L We deliver prescriptions daily at discount prices. II Limited delivery area, Free with coupon. Expires 'b/21 /91 557-8840 NEWS MI INS INN l ■ MIN. INN 1=3 MIN MOM ■ I Rochelle, Imber's Knit, Knit 855-2114 ■ Iimmiummo ■ Immemmoimasimemmi SI INIMMININI•11111111111•1=1=11=1111•1===1 • IN THE ORCHARD MALL WEST BLOOMFIELD 66 FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 1991 ures come suddenly alive out of the Psalms. Their very journey was a psalm of re- joicing. I felt as though my own particular history was suddenly being shared by great numbers: I had come out of prison where I had been held as a political hostage, traded for whatever benefits the government could obtain. But here was a whole people who had been held against their will, pawns of a doomed regime. Again I was gripped by that sense of faith trium- phant. For me, and for the other Israelis, journalists and crew, all the doubts and anxieties of daily life were abruptly erased by this sense of trust and faith. The sun rose. The plane started its approach to Israel. The pilot brought the plane low so we could see the land and it was announced in Amharic that below us was the land of Israel. We all began to applaud and never stopped during the whole descent. Everyone was laughing and crying. This, then, was the answer to the question of what had impelled me to make this brief, eternal journey. This was the moment I had come for. Here were no black or white, educated or unschool- ed, cynics or idealists, left or right, believers or secularists, immigrants or oldtimers. Here was one Am Yisrael (People of Israel) returning to its land whose applause, singing and African ululating merged into one impossible and triumphant symphony. ❑ Polish Jews Upset With Pope New York (JTA) — When Polish Jewish leaders met in Warsaw with Pope John Paul II, they complained about his comparison of abortion to the Holocaust in comments he made during an earlier stop on his nine- day tour of Poland. His comparison prompted an uproar in Jewish com- munities worldwide. The delegation of six Polish Jews also urged the pontiff to establish diplo- matic relations with Israel, something which the Vat- ican has refused to do. The pope told the Jewish leaders that the Middle East situation does not yet permit such ties. The Vatican has rejected. Jewish criticism of the pope's comments, saying there was nothing wrong with comparing the "killing of the unborn" to the Holo- caust, in which the Nazis systematically murdered 6 million European Jews. During their meeting at the Vatican Mission in War- saw, the Jewish leaders also told the pope that they hope he will work to uproot the residual anti-Semitism in Poland. Poland's prewar Jewish community of about 3.5 mill- ion people was wiped out in the Holocaust. Today, under 10,000 Jews live in the overwhelmingly Catholic country.