THE JEWISH NEWS
SERVING DETROIT'S JEWISH COMMUNITY
SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS
CLOSE-UP
SEPTEMBER 13, 1991 / 5 TISHREI 5752
Levin Confident
On Guarantees
ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM
Assistant Editor
S
en. Carl Levin of
Michigan this week
labeled "morally
wrong" President George
Bush's proposal to delay a
Congressional vote on
Israel's request for $10
billion in U.S. loan guar-
antees, and said he is con-
vinced the majority of the
Senate supports his position.
"Soviet Jews should not be
used as pawns for a political
purpose," Sen. Levin said.
"And that's the feeling here
(in the Senate)."
Israel has requested that
the U.S. government cosign
a $10 billion loan to be
granted by commercial
banks, with funds being
used to help provide job
training and housing for
Soviet and Ethiopian immi-
grants.
Late last week, President
Bush recommended postpon-
ing for 120 days any vote on
the matter, saying in a letter
to congressional leaders that
approval of the loan guar-
antees could be detrimental
to a Middle East peace con-
ference.
"If Congress chooses to
press forward now, we stand
a very real chance of losing
the participation of either
our Arab or Israeli negotia-
ting partners," he wrote.
On Thursday, a group of
Detroiters representing the
Jewish Federation, the Jew-
ish Community Council, the
Michigan Board of Rabbis,
Michigan AIPAC, the
American Jewish Com-
mittee, Hadassah and the
Zionist Organization of
America left for Washington
to discuss the loan guar-
antees with Michigan repre-
sentatives.
They slated meetings with
Sens. Levin and Donald
Riegle, as well as Reps.
David Bonior, the House
majority whip; Dennis
Hertel; William Ford; John
Dingell, chairman of the
House Energy and Com-
merce Committee; and
William Broomfield, rank-
ing minority member of the
Hou s e Foreign Affairs
Committee.
Continued on Page 20
Abortion Action:
Will Jews Join In?
NOAM M.M. NEUSNER
Staff Writer
A
AITERN.DAY
Miracles
Three Detroiters talk about remarkable
events in their lives.
Page 24
fter a summer
picketing abortion
clinics in Wichita,
Operation Rescue is looking
for a new venue. Some
reports place Detroit at the
top of the list, which means
clinics in Southfield,
Lathrup Village and
elsewhere in the area could
be host to anti-abortion
demonstrators from around
the country.
But beyond the possibility
of headlines of unrest and
arrests lies an unsettling
issue for the Jewish com-
munity: how does it fit into
the Operation Rescue
philosophy? Many Jews are
decidedly pro-abortion, and
fear that Operation Rescue,
a highly evangelical move-
ment, will apply Christian
morality to American poli-
tics if given the chance.
"The real question is not
one of abortion," said Rabbi
Daniel Polish of Temple
Beth El. "Jews see this issue
as one where government
might be used to impose
someone's value system on
others.
"They would like an
America that sees things a
certain way," Rabbi Polish
added. "It's not the way
Jews understand things."
Jewish law on abortion
varies, depending on who's
interpreting it. Strict inter-
pretation defines life as
beginning 30 days after con-
ception, but still others feel
Jewish law places a
premium on the mother's
right to privacy and,
therefore, allow abortion.
But these interpretations
are peripheral to the issue of
Continued on Page 14