A fresh look at some recent stories in the headlines.
Israel Bonds Holiday
Appeal Down A Bit
City-Suburb Differences
On Joint Agenda
ALAN /RISKY ASSOCIATE EDITOR
RUTH LITTMANN STAFF WRITER
I
Conservative, Re-
form and Humanist
congregation will
feature some of metro-
politan Detroit's major
political players in a dis-
cussion about city-suburb
relations.
Congregation Beth
Shalom — Temple Shir
Shalom and the Birm-
ingham Temple have
joined hands to sponsor
Detroit and Its Suburbs:
Confrontation or Cooper-
ation. A Search For a
Common Agenda."
The dialogue will be
held at the Birmingham
Temple 8 p.m. Nov. 25.
There is no charge.
Panelists will include
Oakland County Execu-
tive L. Brooks Patterson,
Wayne County Executive
Edward McNamara, De-
troit City Council Presi-
dent Maryann Mahaffey
and Don Barden, a De-
troit business leader.
A
nitial figures show that
investments in Israel
Bonds from the annu-
al High Holidays appeal
at 14 area synagogues
were down 16 percent
from last year.
Appeal chairman My-
ron Milgrom and Her-
shell Wais, director of the
Israel Bond campaign in
Michigan, said 691 pur-
chasers invested in $1.8
lion.
Mr. Milgrom said
the 1993 figures are
not final, as many
investors take the
pledge cards home
with them and
make their deci-
sion after the hol-
idays. "It's not fair
numbers because
the $2.18 million
is last year's final
figure and the $1.8 mil-
lion this year is prelimi-
nary," Mr. Milgrom said.
"That number always
goes up."
The local Israel Bonds
is planning to send a fol-
low-up letter to persons
who invested last year
but not this year. Last
year's High Holidays ap-
million in Israel Bonds peal accounted for 12 per-
during the Rosh cent of Bonds' $17.9
Hashanah and Yom Kip- million Michigan total.
pur appeals this year. In
Money invested in Is-
1992, 771 purchasers in- rael Bonds is used by Is-
vested nearly $2.2 mil- rael for economic
Milgrom said
the 1993
figures are
not final.
development.
Congregations partic-
pating in the High Holi-
days appeal included:
Adat Shalom, Beth Abra-
ham Hillel Moses, Beth
Achim, Beth Shalom,
B'nai David, B'nai
Moshe, Shaarey Shomay-
im, Shomrei Emunah,
Bais Chabad of West-
Bloomfield and the
Young Israels of Green-
field, Oak-Woods, South-
field and West
Bloomfield.
"The event, we are
hoping, will drama-
tize the need for co-
operation between
Detroit and its sub-
urbs. In order for the
city of Detroit, which
is on the eve of a ma-
jor election, to begin
anew, the polariza-
tion that has existed
and continues to
worsen must be re- L. Brooks Patterson
versed," said Marty
Sponsors of the event
Burnstein, former pres- also say the forum
ident of The Birmingham demonstrates interde-
Temple and event coor- nominational teamwork.
dinator.
"Different congrega-
Rabbi David Nelson of tions with three different
Congregation Beth spiritual leaders can
Shalom believes the come together on impor-
event holds significance tant issues, not in the
for Jews.
spirit of competitiveness,
"When we travel but in the spirit of trying
abroad or wherever we to be part of the solution
are we say we're Detroi- to a major dilemma of
ters. That has to mean our time," Rabbi Nelson
something," he said. "Our said. "The dilemma is our
future is tied to the well- relationship to our core
being of our city."
city."
President Clinton Promises Jewish Community Council
Investigation On Missing
Protests Demjanjuk
ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM ASSISTANT EDITOR
p
resident Bill Clinton
is committed to re-
solving the question
of four Israeli service-
men, three of whom have
been missing in action for
more than 10 years.
In a letter to Rep. Gary
Ackerman, D-N.Y., the
president said the fate of
the men remains an
impor-
tant humanitarian issue
for the United States"
and promised to "contin-
ue to pursue the matter
in every way possible."
This past summer, the
American Zionist Move-
ment and the Conference
of Presidents of Major
American Jewish Orga-
niza-
LESLEY PEARL STAFF WRITER
tions launched major
campaigns to press for
the release of Israel De-
fense Force soldiers
Zachary Baumel, Zvi
Feldman and Yehuda
Katz, all missing follow-
ing a 1982 clash in
Lebanon with Syrian
forces; and Air Force
Capt. Ron Arad, who in
1986 was taken by the
Iranian Revolutionary
Guards.
President Clinton's
comments came in re-
sponse to a letter initi-
ated by Rep. Ackerman
and cosigned by 73
members of Congress.
Rep. Ackerman's letter
urged the White House
and State Department
to "work diligently" to
gain the release of Ron
Arad _ the only one of
the four believed to be
still alive — and in-
formation on the other
three.
eannie Weiner isn't
happy John Demjan-
juk is living comfort-
ably in Ohio.
Neither are other indi-
viduals in the 270 orga-
nizations comprising the
Jewish Community
Council over which Ms.
Weiner presides.
In response to the re-
turn to the United States
of the admitted concen-
tration camp guard, the
JCCouncil has aproached
U.S. Attorney General
Janet Reno in protest.
A letter, following the
unanimous vote of coun-
cil representatives, states
no legal evidence casts
doubt that Mr. Deman-
juk served in the German
SS at the Trawniki train-
ing camp, and his undis-
puted years as a Nazi
war criminal bar him
from entering the United
States.
The JCCouncil sup-
41
ports the U.S. Justice De-
"Some sympathy has
partment and its contin- been expressed that Mr.
uing search for Nazi war Demjanjuk is old and the
criminals and urges ac- Holocaust was a long
tion be taken to deport time ago. Some people
Mr. Demjanjuk
don't think he was Ivan
"For Jews, being sym- the Terrible. That's not
pathetic to
the point."
immigrants
— as we are
an immi-
grant na-
tion — it is
striking
when
there is a
clear ex-
ception to
the law
here," Ms.
Weiner
said.
We're
alerting
Ms. Reno
to the
fact that
more than 270 organi-
zations in Detroit alone
John Demjanjuk
agree with this thinking.