Affording the best is not the question...finding the best is. Democrats Go Local A first . . . Apartment living in a Skilled Nursing Facility For the discriminating person requiring an elegant environment Bortz Health Care Family owned and operated for over 33 years Medicare approved CALL 363-4121 For our limousine to pick you up for a personal tour of our facility. 6470 Alden Drive, Orchard Lake The Jewish Community Center Cultural Arts Department presents the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra May 8th 8:30 p.m. THE DE TRO IT JEWISH NEWS Dance to 58 Buddy Morrow, Conductor of the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra Admission: $20.00 Jewish Community Center Maple/Drake Building For further information call 661-1000, ext. 293 The National Jewish Democ- ratic Council, which made its debut in big-time politics in the 1992 presidential contest, is nowflexing its muscles in a Texas primary. The battle centers on the Senate seat va- cated by Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen. The Christian Right has made the contest a major test of strength, and it's a fight the White House can't lose since it needs every Democratic vote it can get in the Senate. NJDC has mobi- lized its Texas network to help Sen. Bob Krueger, who was appointed to fill Mr. Ben- sten's seat until the special nonpartisan election on May 1. The election, which will have a fairly long list of can- didates, will be followed by a June runoff between the top contenders. It will give NJDC a chance to show what it can do at the state level, said Steve Gutow, NJDC's exec- utive director in Washington — and an old hand at Texas politics. "Krueger," he said, "does not have a big grass roots network. We do: It's a chance for us to demonstrate to the party how we can be helpful when involved at the state level." The fact that sev- eral top GOP candidates are strongly identified with the Christian Right, he said, makes the race one more front in the intensifying bat- tle for control of the GOP. Religious Freedom Update There's never a dull moment for backers of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the problem-plagued legislation designed to reverse the 1990 Supreme Court decision in the so-called peyote case.In the frantic days before Con- gress' spring recess, the bill's momentum stalled as the Bu- reau of Prisons indicated it was worried that the mea- sure would force penal insti- tutions to provide special privileges to religious in- mates. That's a particularly deli- cate issue because many re- ligious groups — including some Jewish ones — have long argued against restric- tions that make it difficult for prisoners to fulfill their var- ious religious obligations. But the religious liberties coali- tion wanted to avoid any changes to the bill, which was carefully crafted to attract the support of groups with very different perspectives. The object was to quickly pass a bill without opening up any new cans of worms. That goal became a little more reachable during the congressional recess. Then, Attorney General Janet Reno reviewed the prison bureau's concerns and ruled that the Justice Department would ac- tively support the religious liberties measure as-is. House backers of the bill hope to soon bring it to the floor under suspension, which means that no amendments will be allowed. The Senate Judiciary Committee has scheduled a markup for April 22. ❑ Rockets Land In Israel Tel Aviv (JTA) — In the latest round of clashes bet- ween Israeli and guerrilla forces in southern Lebanon, several Katyusha rockets were fired into northern Israel from Lebanon, caus- ing no casualties or damages. Israeli military sources said they presumed the at- tack came from the Shi'ite Iranian-backed Hezbollah organization, which claimed responsibility for a bombing earlier that killed three Israeli soldiers on patrol in the south Lebanon security zone. The rocket attack was thought to be a response to Israeli bombardment of Hezbollah bases in retalia- tion for the earlier bombing. As soldiers scoured the western Galilee to pinpoint exactly where a round of rockets landed, another Katyusha salvo was fired, with rockets landing in the eastern sector of the security zone. No damage was caused in the second attack either. Although military sources said Hezbollah was the primary suspect behind the launchings, it was also thought possible that the rockets were fired near Sidon by Palestinian or Shi'ite guerrillas interested in proving to local residents that Hezbollah is not the only group engaged in the struggle against Israel. Israeli and allied South -( Lebanon Army gunners again responded by heavy artillery and mortar bar- rages against suspected targets north of the security zone. (