Pollard Rally Planned For Bloomfield

RUTH LITTMANN STAFF WRITER

s Jonathan Jay
Pollard sits behind
bars in Illinois, local
Jews are planning a
rally in support of his
release.
The Young Israel
Council of Metropolitan
Detroit will host a pro-
gram to protest the life
sentence Mr. Pollard
received from a legal sys-

A

tern they say unfairly han-
dled his case.
The rally will be held
8:30 p.m. June 16 at the
Maple-Drake Jewish
Community Center.
"Individuals in many
segments of the Jewish
community of Detroit have
been outraged at the
harsh sentence and treat-
ment accorded Jonathan

Pollard," wrote Fayga
Dombey, Council presidi-
um and a member of the
planning committee, to
leaders in the Jewish com-
munity.
In 1985, Mr. Pollard
was arrested for selling
classified information
from the U.S. Navy's Anti-
Terrorist Alert Center to
Israel's embassy in

National ADL Statement
Denies Calif. Allegations

LESLEY PEARL STAFF WRITER

T

he national office of
the Anti-Defamation
League issued a
statement April 16
denying illegal acts of
operating a "spy net-
work," "keeping files" and
"violating civil rights."
The statement mirrors
the sentiments of Richard
Lobenthal, executive
director of the Michigan
Region ADL, in response
to possible felony charges
against the ADL in San
Francisco and Los
Angeles.
"In the 34 years I have
been with ADL, I have
never known ADL to
knowingly violate, permit
or encourage violation of
the law," Mr. Lobenthal
said. "Obviously I am
unfamiliar with the
specifics of the operations
of ADL in another city.
But my experience leads
me to conclude that these
allegations are ridicu-
lous."
Charges against the
California ADL offices
were made following an
investigation of the activ-
ities of former San
Francisco
Police
Inspector
Thomas
Gerard. Mr. Gerard has
been accused of illegally
collecting and selling
information to foreign
governments and individ-
uals identified as ADL
informants.
From that investiga-
tion, a California police
affidavit has accused
ADL of keeping tabs on
more than 950 organiza-
tions and 12,000 individ-
uals ranging from the Ku

Richard Lobenthal

Klux Klan and the White
'Aryan Resistance to the
American Arab Anti-
Discrimination
Committee and the
National Association for
the Advancement of
Colored People.
It also accuses ADL of
using undercover opera-
tives to collect informa-

ADL called the
allegations
distorted and
misleading.

tion.
ADL claims no knowl-
edge of, or involvement
with, Mr. Gerard's
alleged surveillance of
individuals and groups
and unauthorized main-
tenance and sale of confi-
dential police informa-
tion.
ADL does not deny the

keeping of files or the use
of informants to monitor
hate groups like neo-
Nazis and skinheads. All
sources, according to
ADL's statement, must
operate under guidelines
which ensure constitu-
tional rights of all groups
— including extremist
organizations.
"ADL concerns itself
with two types of people:
enemies of Jews and
avowed enemies of
democracy. Without vio-
lating their rights, or the
law, ADL keeps files on
their public statements.
That's what we are in
business for," Mr.
Lobenthal said.
The national statement
explained ADL's monitor-
ing work as, "mostly pub-
lic and open. But many
extremist groups are
secretive and dangerous,
and it has been necessary
at times to use individu-
als who have had to
engage , in undercover
work in order to find out
the truth about these
groups."
Michigan Region ADL
President Norm Beitner
called the situation " a
shame."
"I think there are a lot
of unsubstantiated alle-
gations here," Mr.
Beitner said. "Our repu-
tation is being marred.
This is counter-produc-
tive to our goals for civil
rights for everyone."
According to both Mr.
Beitner and Mr.
Lobenthal, the Michigan
Region office is not being
investigated. ❑

Jonathan Pollard

Washington, D.C. In 1986,
he pleaded guilty and was

sentenced to life in prison
without the possibility of
parole.
Advocates
of Mr.
Pollard's release point out
that others have sold U.S.
defense secrets — to ene-
mies, rather than allies.
Yet, when these individu-
als were convicted, they
did not face a life sentence
without parole.
Rabbi Avi Weiss, a
prominent advocate of- Mr.
Pollard who regularly
meets with him in prison,
will speak at the rally.
Organizers hope the
event will kick off a series
of grassroots efforts to
help Mr. Pollard.
"The rally should not be
an end, but rather a
beginning," said David
Tanzman, committee
chair. ❑

Southfield Hosts
Town Meeting

T

he Southfield-Lath-
rup Multicultural
Coalition, a grass-
roots organization
comprised of repre-
sentatives from South-
field-area governments,
schools, churches, syna-
gogues and multicultural
organizations, is hosting a
community forum, "Living
in Southfield/Lathrup —
Changes, Choices, Chal-
lenges," on Thursday,
April 29, from 7-9:30 'p.m.
at the Southfield-Lathrup
High School North Com-
mons Cafeteria, on 12
Mile Road just east of
Evergreen Road.
The forum is intended
to provide an opportunity
to hear from area resi-
dents what they like
about the community and
what they can do to
improve the quality of life.
The Coalition's mission
is to create a common
sense of community
among the diverse ele-
ments comprising
Southfield and Lathrup
Village. Coalition mem-
bers believe that the com-
mon good can be fostered
through cooperation, com-
munication and commit-
ment of shared beliefs,
values and understand-
ings; and that quality of
life can be enriched by
promoting mutual trust

and respect.
"It's the goal of the
Coalition to bring together
the various components of
the Southfield and
Lathrup Vilage communi-
ties as an independent
body to work together to
make their communities
livable areas for the resi-
dents and to promote the
multiculturalism which
we feel is a real benefit to
those who live and work
here," noted Robert
Brown, board co-chair.
Among recent Coalition
efforts were a voter regis-
tration drive during last
summer's Star Spangled
Southfield Fourth of July
celebration and a "get out
to vote night" sponsored
the night before last
November's general elec-
tions, during which 3,000
area voters received non-
partisan reminder calls to
exercise their right to
vote.
"The forum will bring
residents together to hear
their likes and dislikes
and formulate and ad-
dress the issues, not to sit
back and wait for others
to take charge. It is
incumbent on all of us to
take responsibility. Multi-
culturalism is a good
opportunity for people to
grow up and learn about
SOUTHFIELD page 16