THE JEWISH NEWS

SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS

SERVING DETROIT'S JEWISH COMMUNITY

FEBRUARY 7, 1992 / 3 ADAR 5752

Big 'Ifs' Come
With AJE Report

NOAM M.M. NEUSNER

Staff Writer

I

f all goes as planned,
Detroit's Jewish educa-
tional system will
sparkle with energy in just
three years. Synagogues will
run exciting schools,
teachers will be well-trained
and students will look for-
ward to learning about
Judaism.
That rosy picture is predi-
cated on a number of big
"ifs." Chief among them:
will Detroit's Jewish com-
munity raise the kind of
money it takes to run effec-
tive programming and at-
tract competent teachers?
But perhaps more in-
conclusive is the structure of
the plan, which was issued
last week by an education
planning committee, chaired
by Dr. Conrad Giles. The
committee's proposals are
supported by the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit.

For instance, will the new-
ly forged Agency for Jewish
Education be able to interest
individual synagogue school
directors in creating a
resource center? If that in-
terest exists, and many
school directors say it does,
what will the role of AJE be
in creating excellent re-
ligious schools?
"The situation is loaded
with opportunities," said
Harlene Appelman, who
served as an educational
consultant for the planning
committee. "Are there pit-
falls? Probably. Will it force
people to reinvest in the
system? Yes."
At the heart of the com-
mittee's report is a reex-
amination of the way
Continued on Page 34

What about Adat Sha-
lom's and Beth Achim's
religious schools?
See page 35

Voting For Bush
To Hinder Duke

KIMBERLY LIFTON

Staff Writer

D

Russian Jews face a complex future
--if they can survive
the challenges of the day.

r. Larry Freedman
believes he has few
choices in the March
17 Michigan presidential
primary. He will vote for
President George Bush in
the Republican primary.
Although he is upset about
new state laws that require
voters to declare a party
preference to participate in
the presidential primary, he
said he will cast a ballot for
Mr. Bush to protect the
American public from David
Duke, former grand wizard
of the Ku Klux Klan.
"I think of David Duke as
an American Hitler, and I
think we should get out and
vote against him," said Dr.
Freedman, a West Bloom-
field dentist. "He is very
frightening.
"I don't like to be labeled,"
Dr. Freedman said. "I don't
want to be on a Republican
mailing list; I don't want to
be on a Democratic list. I
like the flexibility of split-

ting my ticket. But because
of David Duke, I am going to
bite the bullet."
If the Republican Party
next week again changes its
rules, Dr. Freedman won't
be forced to register Repub-
lican to vote in the primary.
Regardless, his vote will be
the same.
"As far as Duke is con-
cerned, you can't ignore
him," Dr. Freedman said.
"In Louisiana (where Mr.
Duke just lost a bid for gov-
ernor), he got the majority of
white votes. He is still a
Nazi. He is still part of the
KKK."
The Republican State
Committee is scheduled to
meet in Lansing on Tuesday
and is expected to approve
new rules that would allow
any voter to cast a ballot in
the Republican presidential
primary without declaring
party allegiance.
Meanwhile, voters opting
to cast ballots in the Dem-
ocratic primary must still
declare themselves members

Continued on Page 36