BACKGROUND • Hostage Update SEE What wonderful parents they've been. But now, they're depending on you. We're here to make it easier. At Novi Village, we offer the security, companion- ship and enjoyment that should mark everyone's senior years. Along with comfortable, inviting, private apartments, our residents enjoy: • A spacious, beautifully appointed great room for gracious entertaining or mingling with friends. • A lovely dining room, serving nutritiou s , quality meals at no extra charge. NI MI MIN I a • Free housekeeping services including daily room checks. • An exciting social calendar — no one is ever bored! • Free scheduled transportation for shopping or appointments. • Safety and security features throughout, guaranteeing peace of mind. They've always cared, and you have, too. So do we. Call us today and let us introduce the people you care about most to the finer things in life. IM 1E1111 NM 1 1 OM V I L L A GE RETIREMENT COMMUNITY !-j 17-4 -= = Tables • Desks Wall Units Bedrooms Dining Rooms 12 Years' Experience & Expertise in the Design of Affordable Laminate, Lucite & Wood Furniture For Appt. Call Muriel Weisman 661-3838 A poignant subtext to the unfolding Lebanese drama is the plight of the 12 Western hostages — six Americans, three Britons, two Germans and an Italian — being held by Hezbollah. The key to their release, however, may well hang on the fate of the seven Israeli servicemen who were captured in Leb- anon, some of whom are also held by the funda- mentalists. Since the pacification of the Lebanese capital by Syrian troops, all of the Western hostages and Israeli prisoners are believed to have been moved out of the slums of south Beirut, the former Hezbollah stronghold, and are now being held in the Iranian-controlled Bekaa Valley. Israel holds a key card in the person of Sheikh Abdel-Karim Obeid, a prime-mover in Hez- bollah's hostage-taking operations who was snat- ched from his Lebanese home in an Israeli com- mando operation two years ago. In addition, 350 Shi'ites are being held by the South Lebanese Army at the Khiam jail in south Leb- anon. The Israelis are ready to deal, on one very large condition: Any exchange, they say, must involve the return of two Israeli in- fantrymen and an air force navigator who were captured in Lebanon in 1986 and are now being held by Hezbollah. The four other Israeli servicemen who were cap- tured in Lebanon are now believed to be dead, in- cluding at least one who was executed recently by his captors in reprisal for an Israeli air raid. Israel places a virtually unlimited value on its servicemen. In 1985 it freed 1,050 top-security Palestinian prisoners in exchange for three Israeli soldiers, and it is likely to pay almost any price to win the release of its men once again. Iran undoubtedly con- tinues to hold the key that could spring the Western hostages and the surviv- ing Israeli prisoners, but its Lebanese creation, Hezbollah, is likely to hold out against any such deal for as long as possi- ble. Hezbollah wants a price for its hostages. This may involve cash and political favors, but above all, it will involve a guarantee that the movement will not be destroyed by Syria. Precisely how such an in- demnity can be provided for an organization which has largely outlived its usefulness will demand a large measure of ingenui- ty and skill. No one involved in the negotiations is in any doubt that if Hezbollah believes it has been cornered and that it has no reasonable chance of survival, its fanatical fighters will choose to take that ticket to paradise — and their cap- tives with them. ❑ NEWS PNN4kz1/4.- SHIRT N3OX 5004.70% OFF ALL NAME BRANDS • • • • Vertical Blinds Levolor Blinds Pleated Shades Wood Blinds Men's furnishings ono accessones 19011 West Tin Mlle Rood Southfield, Michigan 45075 (Ilehmen Soulheeld and Cipeopess) Hours: 21728 W. Eleven Mile Rd. Harvard Row Mall Southfield, MI 48076 Free Professional Measure at No Obligation Free in Home Design Consulting 32 FRIDAY, JUNE 21, 1991 352-1080 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m.. Mon.-Sal. Thursday 9:30 a.m.-7 p.m. PARKING AND ENTRANCE 1N KM . CLASSIFIED GET RESULTS! Call The Jewish News 354-5959 Jews Jailed In Syria Go On Hunger Strike New York (JTA) — Two Jewish brothers in Syria, de- tained without charges since 1987, have begun a hunger strike to protest their recent sentencing to six-and-a-half years in prison. Jewish organizations, in- cluding the National Jewish Community Relations Ad- visory Council, the Council for the Rescue of Syrian Jews and the Canadian Jew- ish Congress' National Task Force on Syrian Jews, are urging Jewish communities and others to issue protests against the prison sentences and the secret trial that preceded them. According to Amnesty International, a human rights organization, the closed trial was held March 5, apparently on charges of espionage or treason. Eli and Selim Swed were originally detained for violating emigra- tion and travel restrictions. The Sweds, who are phar- macists, were also accused of "making contact with the enemy," which means hav- ing traveled to Israel.