UP FRONT
0
On The Inside Again
Jewish Democrats, who felt alienated four years ago, are pleased
with the party's strong support of Israel.
STEWART AIN
.
2- Special to The Jewish News
N
y
ew York — What a
difference four years
can make.
Jewish delegates to the
'National Democratic Con-
vention at Madison Square
Garden expressed satisfac-
tion this week that their
party was reaching out to af-
firm America's special rela-
tionship with the State of
,I. Israel. And those who at-
tended the party's 1988 con-
vention said the anti-Jewish
feeling they felt then was
gone.
Queens Borough President
Claire Shulman, who four
years ago confessed that she
was "frightened" by the
tenor of the convention, was
all aglow Monday night.
There was no repeat of a
move for a Palestinian plank
in the platform, she said,
and Israel was actually be-
ing embraced by the party.
. Indeed, the platform had
been carefully worded by
pro-Israel supporters of
Democratic presidential
nominee Bill Clinton, in-
cluding Sen. Joseph Lieber-
man of Connecticut, to af-
firm that "Jerusalem is the
capital of Israel."
Retiring Rep. Lawrence
Smith of Florida pointed out
that the "wonderful Repub-
lican platform on Israel of
four years ago turned out to
be a bust — only words and
no substance. It has been the
Democrats who have been
fighting to protect the rela-
tionship between the United
States and Israel."
Sen. Paul Simon of Illinois
said he has also detected a
shift in the party in the last
The Democratic
platform had been
carefully worded by
pro-Israel
supporters of Gov.
Clinton.
four years, partly because
the Democrats this year
"want to come together. We
simply don't want to en-
courage all kinds of — and I
don't mean this disrespect-
fully to those who favor the
Palestinian plank — but all
of these little fights hurt a
party. But I think the more
significant thing is that we
now have a chance to come
together very solidly suppor-
ting Israel and the peace
process in the Middle East."
Even stronger than the
platform, said Sen. Bob
Kerrey of Nebraska, are Mr.
Clinton and his vice presi-
dential running mate, Ten-
nessee Sen. Al Gore.
"Their combination of ex-
perience and positions
should make every friend of
Israel and every friend of
peace in the region feel com-
fortable," he said.
Eleanor Holmes Norton,
who was elected two years
ago to the newly created
position of a non-voting
senator from Washington,
D.C., suggested that "one of
the reasons you didn't have
a Palestinian plank demand
this year is because negotia-
tions [between Israel and its
Arab neighbors] are going on
that are very hopeful."
The Rev. Jesse Jackson,
who ran for president in
1988 and whose supporters
had unsuccessfully pressed
for adoption of the Palestin-
ian plank, extended an olive
branch to the Jewish com-
munity two weeks ago dur-
ing remarks in Brussels at a
gathering of the World Jew-
ish Congress. Rev. Jackson
for the first time called Zion-
ism, which he once termed a
"poison," a "liberation
movement."
Mrs. Norton hailed those
remarks as a "very impor-
tant breakthrough for blacks
as well as Jews," adding
that she has heard criticism
of Rev. Jackson's recent
remarks in the black corn-
munity and that he "needs
to be supported."
But Rabbi Marvin Hier of
the Simon Wiesenthal
Center in Los Angeles said
he liked the "leadership"
Gov. Clinton displayed when
he "stood up to Jesse
Jackson, putting him in his
place on Sister Souljah [the
controversial rap singer]."
On the other hand, Sen.
Frank Lautenberg of New
Jersey said "Rev. Jackson
Continued on Page 18
ROUND UP
Last Ethiopian Jews
To Arrive In Israel
Sixty-nine Ethiopian Jews
landed last week in Israel,
bringing the total number of
Ethiopian immigrants since
Operation Solomon to 3,817.
With the arrival of the last
of Ethiopia's Jews in
September 1992, the Jewish
Agency will have brought
the entire Jewish population
of Ethiopia — 45,000 — to
Israel.
Some 700 Jews remain in
Ethiopia, 340 of whom will
arrive in Israel in the corn-
Sing weeks. The rest will ar-
rive during September, after
the rainy season, when the
northern regions of Ethiopi-
a, where Jews are scattered
in villages, will be more ac-
cessible.
Murdered Athletes
Are Remembered
The 11 Israeli sportsmen
massacred by Arab ter-
rorists 20 years ago at the
Olympic Games in Germany
were memorialized at the
Hebrew University's recent
induction ceremonies for the
Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
A memorial plaque to the
murdered athletes has been
added to sports figures'
photos on display at the
Cosell Center on the Givat
Ram campus at the univer-
sity.
The 13th induction to be
held, this year's ceremonies
honor Jewish sports figures
from throughout the world.
The honorees include
baseball greats Hank
Greenberg and Sandy
Koufax, swimmer Mark
Spitz, football stars Sid
Gillman and the late Lyle
Alzado, basketball coach
Red Auerbach, and sports
broadcaster Howard Cosell.
El Al Launches
Service From BWI
El Al Israel Airlines late
last month lauched its new
service between the greater
Baltimore/Washington area
and Tel Aviv.
The new service elim-
inates layovers in Europe
and JFK International Air-
port. At Baltimore/
Washington International
(BWI), passengers clear El
Al's security check in, receive
their boarding pass and seat
assignment for the entire
flight to Israel. Service from
BWI is provided via a feeder
flight to JFK, where passen-
gers immediately transfer to
the nonstop El Al 747 to
Israel by walking from one
gate to another.
Hadassah Physician
Restores Boy's Sight
Physicians at Hadassah
Hospital have restored the
sight of an 11-month-old boy,
Ariel Tepper, born with Ring
Chromosome 21 Syndrome,
only 15 cases of which have
ever been reported.
"Ariel was born with a
vestigial left eye and a thick
opaque membrane complete-
ly covering his right eye,"
explained Hadassah oph-
Dr. Shmuel Levinger, Ariel Tepper
and his mother.
thalmologist Dr. Shmuel
Levinger. "We decided on
surgery when he was 7 mon-
ths old."
Ariel was the first baby in
Israel to undergo the deli-
cate procedure. During the
90-minute operation, Dr.
Levinger removed the thick
membrane covering the
right eyeball. He
transplanted a donated
cornea and held it in place
with 16 microscopic sutures.
Ariel's left eye was fitted
with a prosthesis.
Packages, Kashrut
Could Conflict
Responding to an inquiry
by Congressman James
Scheuer, D-N.Y., the Ameri-
can Jewish Congress has
pointed out possible conflicts
between the Resource Con-
servation and Recovery Act
and Jewish laws covering_
the handling of kosher foods.
The bill would require food
packagers to use recycled
materials in their packag-
ing.
Marc Stern, co-director of
the AJCongress Commission
on Law and Social Action,
noted in a letter to Con-
gressman Scheuer that the
bill calls for almost all
packaging materials to con-
tain specified percentages of
recycled materials.
Mr. Stern commented that
for Jews who observe kosher
food laws, "Since some of
these materials may have at
one time been used to hold
non-kosher foods, the subse-
quent use of such material in
packaging which comes in
direct contact with kosher
foods may be problematic."
Compiled by
Elizabeth Applebaum
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
11