ROUND UP
Ms. Ashrawi Upstaged
By Israeli Feminist
Alice Shalvi, a peace activist, got in the last word at an
international gathering, defending Israel's views.
JAMES D. BESSER
Washington Correspondent
H
anan Ashrawi, the
articulate spokesper-
son for the Palestin-
ian delegation to the Middle
East peace talks in Wash-
ington and darling of the
media, met her match this
past week — a leading
Israeli feminist and peace
activist.
The setting was an inter-
national gathering of fem-
inists and the result was a
demonstration of Israeli uni-
ty. Despite bitter opposition
to the policies of Yitzhak
Shamir's Likud coalition,
members of Israel's peace
movement remain fiercely
committed to their country's
right to a safe and secure ex-
istence.
Last week's emotional
demonstration of Israeli
solidarity took place at the
25th anniversary conference
of the National Organization
for Women in Washington.
What happened was that
Ms. Ashrawi, in town for the
on-again-off-again peace con-
ference, was asked to discuss
the role of women in global
affairs.
The Palestinian
spokesperson was on a panel
that included one Israeli —
Tamara G-ozansky, a Com-
munist whose views on the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict
were not appreciably diff-
erent from Ms. Ashrawi's.
A number of Jewish fem-
inists feared that the result
The speech
caused
agitation among
the Jewish women
— and many non-
Jewish women.
would be a highly unbalanc-
ed criticism of Israeli poli-
cies.
They appealed to NOW
president Patricia Ireland to
allow rebuttal by a more pro-
Israeli speaker. Their choice
was Alice Shalvi, leader of
the Israeli Women's Net-
work who is known both for
her vocal criticisms of the
Israeli government and her
lifelong commitment to
Zionism.
The NOW leader agreed,
and Ms. Shalvi, who im-
migrated to Israel in 1949,
accepted the challenge.
"She (Ms. Ashrawi) engi-
neered things so she was the
final speaker," Ms. Shalvi
said in an interview. "What
resulted was a venomous at-
tack on Israel sandwiched
between feminist content;
she manipulated the truth in
such a way that what
emerged was a tremendous
vilification of Israel."
Originally, Ms. Shalvi had
been scheduled to respond to
Friday's attack on Sunday.
"But as it turned out, the
speech caused such agitation
among the Jewish women —
and many non-Jewish wo-
men — that we felt we need-
ed to respond on the spot,"
she said.
Ms. Ashrawi, after laun-
ching her attack, "swept out
of the meeting in her royal
manner," Ms. Shalvi said.
"And I was not prepared to
make any statement unless I
could do so in her presence."
The Palestinian was called
Artwork from the Los Angeles Times by Barbara Cummings. Copyright. 1991. Barbara Cummings. Distributed by L. Angel. Times Syndicate.
back, and Ms. Shalvi — after
an embrace between the two
women — gave a ringing re-
sponse to Ms. Ashrawi's
charges.
"I was able to say what I
wanted to say — which is
that there have to be two
sovereign states, two people,
and that we have to ensure
each other's security be-
cause we simply have to live
in friendly relations with
each other," she said.
Ms. Shalvi's speech had a
visible impact on many
delegates.
"Given that particular au-
dience, the conciliatory tone
of my speech made a good
contrast to the far-from- con-
ciliatory tone of her speech. I
felt it was a good thing that I
had the last word — a mes-
sage of possible peace if both
sides behave as they
should."
Sammie Moshenberg,
Washington director for the
National Council of Jewish
Women, said Mrs. Shalvi
"spoke right from the heart
and her speech had a
tremendous affect on the au-
dience."
Ms. Shalvi, who said she is
not surprised by Ms.
Ashrawi's recent emergence
as an international media
star, characterized the Pa-
lestinian woman as
"brilliant" and "like a
snake."
"She is a perfect
spokesperson, because she
knows how to make the best
UP FRONT
College Translates
Korczak Writings
Jerusalem — The David
Yellin Teachers College in
Jerusalem has just publish-
ed a translation into Arabic
and Hebrew of the works of
Polish-Jewish author Dr.
Janusz Korczak.
Dr. Korczak was a promi-
nent writer in the 1920s and
'30s. Nazi authorities, be-
cause of Dr. Korczak's pop-
ularity, offered to let him
live despite the fact that he
was Jewish. Dr. Korczak,
who cared for numerous
children in the ghetto, refus-
ed. He said he could not
abandon the orphans in his
care and opted to accompany
them to the death camps.
The book, which marks the
first time Dr. Korczak's
works have been translated
into the two languages, was
the brainchild of Hadara
Keich, coordinator of the col-
lege's Center for Advancing
the Heritage of Janusz Korc-
zak.
"Here are brothers in the
same land: generations of
shared destiny and hard-
ship," reads one of Dr. Korc-
zak's writings, on coex-
istence between Jews and
Poles, contained in the book.
"The same sun rises for us;
the same hail destroys our
crops, and the same soil
covers the remains of our
fathers. We had more tears
than smiles, but neither you
nor us are to blame. If we are
poor, let us help each other.
If we are sad, let us comfort
each other."
Mohammed Hourani,
chairman of the college's
Arab special education
department, translated the
work into Arabic.
"I don't see this material
as Jewish or Polish," he
said. "I see it as humane ma-
terial which speaks to all
people."
Number Of Olim
Drops In 1991
Immigration to Israel
dropped by 24,000 in the
third quarter of 1991 accor-
ding to a report issued by
Israel's Central Bureau of
Statistics.
During the third quarter,
33,200 immigrants arrived
in Israel, while 72,260 came
in the second quarter. The
latter figure includes 16,350
Ethiopian Jews who came on
Operation Solomon.
The total number of immi-
grants through October of
last year was 135,561, up
from 122,424 through Oc-
tober 1990.
Jewish Currents also
reports that Israel's popula-
tion has now reached 5 mill-
ion, including 4.1. million
Jews, 695,000 Muslims,
120,000 Christians and
85,000 Druze.
Teen-Age Sex
Subject Of Guide
New York — What
Judaism has to say about
premarital sex, birth control
and other sensitive issues
facing teens today is the sub-
ject of a new manual issued
by the Union of American
Hebrew Congregations.
Love in Your Life: A Jew-
emotional aspects of sex, as
well as religious, cultural
and social issues related to
sexual activity among the
young. It also discusses con-
temporary issues, including
AIDS and abortion.
For information, contact
the UAHC Press, 838 Fifth
Ave., New York, N.Y. 10021.
Jewish Journal
Seeks Submissions
Levittown, N.Y. — Jewish
Expressions, a new quarterly
The UAHC's new guide.
ish View of Teen-age Sexuali-
ty is a 110-page book design-
ed for 13- to 15-year-olds. It
was written by Rabbi Roland
Gittelsohn, rabbi emeritus of
Temple Israel in Boston and
past president of the Central
Conference of American
Rabbis.
The manual provides ex-
plicit information about the
anatomy, physiology and
publication, is seeking sub-
missions from Jewish
writers throughout the
country.
Topics for the journal are
unlimited and may include
raising children, interfaith
marriage, life after death,
assimilation and anti-
Semitism.
Send submissions to Jew-
ish Expressions, 2700 Hemp-
stead Turnpike, Levittown,
N.Y. 11756, or call (516) 735-
3376.
Compiled by
Elizabeth Applebaum
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
11