SECOND CLASS THE JEWISH NEWS SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS SERVING DETROIT'S JEWISH COMMUNITY NOVEMBER 22, 1991 / 15 KISLEV 5752 18 Groups Unify Against `Dukism' CLOSE-UP PHIL JACOBS Managing Editor T Kevin Kline hey may disagree when it comes to peace for territory. They may disagree over the amount of U.S. aid to Israel. But when it came to the issue of David Duke, 18 community leaders repre- senting Jewish, Arab, African American and Chal- dean organizations came to lightning quick and total agreement. The leaders signed a unified statement last Fri- day condemning the can- didacy of Mr. Duke, the day before the former Ku Klux Klansman lost in his bid to become Louisiana's gover- nor. "Whether or not he is elected tomorrow, David Duke is a force to be reckon- ed with by all who seek a Detroit, a Michigan, a United States committed to equal justice and intergroup cooperation," read the statement. "Particularly at a time when our society is suffering great economic stress, we must be on guard against demagoguery that stirs up bigotry, stereotyp- ing and hatred. We repre- sent organizations united in a common goal — halting the further spread of the cancers of racism, anti- Semitism and bigotry in the Detroit metropolitan area." David Gad-Harf, executive director of the Jewish Com- munity Council of Metropolitan Detroit and a member of the New Detroit Committee, proposed that the group come up with a joint statement in condem- nation of Duke's candidacy. "There was no reluctance on anyone's part to sign," said Mr. Gad-Harf. He said the group had no illusions that any petition they might put together would be of any significance to the Louisiana election. He Continued on Page 20 Ten Mile Center Director Named AMY J. MEHLER Staff Writer L I / A look at some entertainers with surprising Jewish connectionsr Page 22 eslie Bash, former assistant director of the Greater Bridgeport Jewish Community Center in Connecticut, has been named managing director of the Jimmy Prentis Morris Jewish Community Center in Oak Park. She begins Dec. 1. Mrs. Bash, who moved to Detroit in February, replaces Irma Starr who left JPM in August. Mrs. Starr, at JPM 16 years, the last two as full-time director, now directs SPACE, a support and counseling program for divorced and widowed families, a division of the National Council of Jewish Women's Detroit section. Mrs. Starr continues to work part-time for Jewish Experi- ences For Families, an agen- cy of the JCC. Mrs. Bash also assumes the administrative duties of Miriam Sandweiss, former director of the senior adult department of the JCC. Mrs. Sandweiss, at JPM nine years, recently resigned. Since September, Mrs. Sandweiss and three other department heads at JPM and Maple-Drake had ab- sorbed much of Mrs. Starr's administrative duties. There are no plans to find a replacement for Mrs. Sand- weiss, said JCC Executive Director Morton Plotnick. Mrs. Bash takes the helm of JPM in the midst of a capital endowment cam- paign launched in September to raise $3.5 mill- ion for an indoor pool, health club, other recreational facilities and funds to operate them. The campaign was approved in August by the Jewish Federation Board of Governors. Mrs. Bash was out of town this week and could not be reached for comment. "We are in the middle of an aggressive fund-raising Continued on Page 21