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TOPTRONT1
Hard Sell
Ariel Sharon's Housing Ministry is pushing the
sale of homes in the territories as an unofficial
part of the Likud campaign.
INA FRIEDMAN
Israeli Correspondent
O
n the eve of the fourth
round of peace talks
in Washington, the
Housing Ministry — in col-
laboration with the Jewish
Agency, the Council of Jew-
ish Communities in Judea,
Samaria, and Gaza, and a
collection of other groups
and agencies — launched,
with great fanfare, a
$500,000 drive to sell the
fruits of the past year's
building binge in the oc-
cupied territories.
With four well-appointed
information centers, TV
advertising, a special toll-
free number, mountains of
maps and brochures, tours of
the building sites (tailored to
the needs of the customer),
and special terms and dis-
counts, it appeared that just
as money was no object in
getting the houses con-
structed, neither would it be
spared to get them sold.
The reason for the outlay
is understandable: the Hous-
ing Ministry has an agree-
ment with its contractors to
purchase whatever they fail
to sell. Half a million dollars
represents the cost of just
four town houses in the
Samarian suburb of Ginot
Shomron, and at that rate it
certainly pays for the min-
istry to get as many units
sold as quickly as possible.
Another consideration
behind the drive is purely
political. It was due to the
unprecedented building
spree — and specifically the
government's refusal to
freeze it — that Israel
forfeited the $10 billion in
American loan guarantees
to help defray the costs of
immigrant absorption. Mr.
Shamir's government took a
good bit of flak for that deci-
sion, and if the buildings (or
a fair proportion of them)
were now to stand empty,
they would be a very black
mark against it — and in an
election year, no less.
The Housing Ministry ap-
pears to have decided that
the best defense is offense,
and rather than play down
the issue it has deliberately
placed it in the limelight.
Indeed, it has practically
made the housing drive an
unofficial a part of the
Likud's election campaign.
Peace Now tried to get the
drive's TV ad knocked off
the air on the grounds that it
is essentially electioneering
in disguise. But the court
disagreed, and the spot con-
tinues to run every night,
just after the prime-time
news.
Two weeks into the drive,
its organizers are reluctant
to assess just how many peo-
ple their effort has brought
in. On a cool spring morning
during Passover week, when
many Israelis (and espe-
cially government
employees) are on vacation,
the compact Jerusalem In-
formation Center was bustl-
ing with employees, but
barely a customer was to be
seen.
Danny Shukrun, the soft-
spoken director of the hous-
ing drive in the Jerusalem
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area, explains that more in-
quiries have come in over
the phone than in person,
and some 50 bus loads of
prospective buyers are
scheduled to tour building
sites in the next few weeks.
But the actual results of the
sales campaign won't be
known for months, since
decisions on buying property
are not made lightly.
So far new immigrants,'
Mr. Shukrun reveals, have
made less of a show of inter-
est than native Israelis. But
that is merely a tactical
issue for him. "The immi-
grants tend to be more
isolated and less directly in-
formed by the Hebrew
media," he explains. "In a
few weeks, we're going to
make a special effort to
reach them through the
Russian-language press."
Tastes may be changed by
necessity, but until now
ROUND UP
More R.I.F.s
Come Our Way
Important fax update.
Last week, the Round-Up
advised you on the five R.I.F.
(Really Important Faxes)
The Jewish News received
from the Jewish Agency in
Israel- (a major recipient of
the United Jewish Appeal).
Since then, the paper has
received another five R.I.F.s.
We know you'll want to hear
about them, too.
The Jewish Agency
reports:
1. Jewish Agency Chair-
man Simcha Dinitz is receiv-
ing the Synagogue Council
of America's Covenant of
Peace Award.
2. Mr. Dinitz urges con-
tinued work on behalf of
Syrian Jews.
3. The Agency has been
granted "official status" in
the Russian Federation.
4. The Agency is co-host-
ing a Holocaust memorial
program.
5. The Agency will begin a
series of seminars for Jewish
students in six cities of the
former Soviet Union.
In case you missed last
week's Round-Up, you might
want to know: each fax to
and from Israel costs $2.98
for the first minute and
$1.20 for each additional
minute.
Science Seminar
Open For Teens
The Technion-Israel In-
stitute of Technology this
summer will inaugurate the
Technion International
Science and Technology
Research Summer Program.
Called Sci-Tech, the pro-
gram will run July 19
through Aug. 17. It offers
American students, ages 15-
17, the chance to study
science and technology at
the Technion. All seminars
will be conducted in English.
Topics being considered for
inclusion are robotics,
biology, spacecraft propul-
sion, aeronautics and
biomedical engineering.
For information, contact
Melanie Kraiger at the
American Society for Tech-
nion, (516) 474-7747 or (516)
643-8467.
Oh, Brothers!
Making A CBN Debut
You just never know
who'll turn up on Christian
television these days.
The Christian Broad-
casting Network's "700
Club," founded by
Evangelical Christian Pat
Robertson, is hosting this
week "The Family —Back
Together Again."
It's all part of the net-
work's plan to "reach out
with answers," a CBN
newsletter states. -
Now, about those guests.
They include: Hammer (you
remember him; he used to be
M.G. "Can't Touch This"
Hammer), Growing Pains
star Chelsea Noble (she
married teen dreamboat
Kirk Cameron) and — here's
the fun part —Dr. Joyce
Brothers, a nice, Jewish psy-
chologist.
Id, Superego
And A Diary
Next week — May 6 —
marks the birthday of
psychoanalysis' favorite sub-
with cancer, the rise of
Nazism in Austria, and his
increasing dependence on
his daughter, Anna.
Published in conjunction
with the Freud Museum of
London, The Diary of Sig-
mund Freud 1929-1939, A
Record of the Final Decade
marks the first publication
of the famous psychiatrist's
diary.
What's up, Doc?
ject, Dr. Sigmund Freud. In
conjunction with the date,
Charles Scribner's Sons will
publish the late Dr. Freud's
diary.
Freud began his diary in
1929 when he was 73 and
continued writing until his
death in 1939. It addresses
such themes as his struggle
Historical Society
Needs Jewish Books
The American Jewish
Historical Society (AJHS) is
accepting donations for its
new American Jewish Liter-
ature Book Collection, which
will focus on novels, plays
and poems from the 18th
century to the present.
The AJHS is interested in
books, either by or about
Jews, in good condition.
For information, contact
the AJHS at (617) 891-8110,
or at 2 Thornton Rd.,
Waltham, Mass., 02154.
Compiled by
Elizabeth Applebaum
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 11