JEWiSh NATIONAL FUNd Photo by UJA Press/ Ric hard Lobell PRESENTS Max Sosin Detroit's Best Loved Raconteur and Comedian A young Ethiopian girl reunites with her parents in Israel. On Stage Ethiopian Group Claims To Be Jews Thursday, September 2, 1993 7:30 p.m. Congregation B'nai David 24350 Southfield Road Southfield, Michigan Seating Limited Casual Attire Admission: $15.00 (includes planting one Tree in Israel) Coffee Hour Video services provided by: Jeff Schoenberg of Video Protection For reservations contact: JEWISH nAnaw FM) Jewish National Fund 17100 W. Ten Mile Road Southfield, Ml 48075 (313)557-6644 DON'T LET HOUSEHOLD PESTS HOLD YOU HOSTAGE! CALL THE ERADICO PROFESSIONALS! Eradico's safe and proven methods keep your home free of insects, rodents and other pests. Trust Eradico for an honest assessment of your needs and dependable, affordable service Cockroaches • Ants • Fleas • Bees • Hornets • Wasps • Rats • Mice and any other pests. For a FREE inspection and estimate, Call Today! MI WI& 41•1 MM. MI AMP 411111 ■ M.. as AIM ON WA ismr- ars sr- ar ■ Si MI BIM 111111-All ILAWV11.111/ NEP/ Eat less saturated fats. PEST CONTROL Eradicate With &odic° Michigan's Largest Independent Pest Control Company For Service Throughout Southeastern Michigan Call: (313) 546-6200 WERE FIGHTING FOR YOUR LIFE kr American Heart" Association Jerusalem (JTA) — A peti- tion from a large group of E- thiopians claiming Jewish status and descent is causing sharp concerns here that the group's activities may strain relations between Israel and Ethiopia. The group, known as the Semite Nation of the Gihon, comprises some 4 million E- thiopians. For now, the group is not immediately proposing aliyah. But it does want to set up a headquarters in Israel. The Israeli ambassador to Ethiopia, Haim Divon, voic- ed fears in a cable to Jerusalem that this episode could seriously damage rela- tions between the two coun- tries. His warning was underscored by a reference to recent events in Ethiopia, when the government ex- pelled a group of American Jewish activists who were working among the Falash Mora. The Falash Mora are Ethiopians whose ancestors converted to Christianity from Judaism and who wish to go to Israel, many of them to reunite with kin. The American workers were deported as alleged "missionaries." The Israeli Embassy and government went to great lengths to dissociate themselves from the Americans' activities. The Semite Nation of the Gihon is a separate entity from the Falash Mors. Israel's policy is to allow a small number of Falash Mora to enter the country, as immigrants or under family reunification schemes, after undergoing "back to Judaism" courses while still in Ethiopia. Israel is not anxious to en- courage the wholesale aliyah of groups whose ties to authentic Jewishness are remote at best, artificial at worst. Leaders of the Semite Nation of the Gihon sent letters to both the Israeli and Ethiopian governments explaining their requests. The letter to the president of Ethiopia was signed by Mussa Tagani, an an- thropologist and sociologist who claims to head the organization, which is centered north of the capital, Addis Ababa. In a separate letter to the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem, Mr. Tagani re- quested the Israeli govern- ment's consent for the group to set up an office in Israel. In an interview with the Ha' aretz newspaper, Ambas- sador Divon noted that be- cause economic oppor- tunities for Ethiopian olim in Israel are so much better than those for ordinary working people in Ethiopia, emigration to Israel has become an attractive propo- sition. The envoy stressed the E- thiopian government's sen- sitivity over moves that can upset the delicate ethnic and religious balances in that country. Government officials here are wary that activists in the United States and Israel are hoping to populate the West Bank with immigrants from Ethiopia and elsewhere who have recently put forward claims of Jewishness. If implemented, this strategy would succeed in changing the demographic balance between Arabs and Jews in the territories. 0