which will put more people in the city and help create critical mass." While Mr. Kiriluk said he could not be more specific on Kirco's future plans in Detroit, he cited Mr. Archer's fortune in taking over a city that has ma- jor problems. None are as mon- umental as the aftermath of the 1967 riots, when close to 500,000 people fled to the sub- urbs over the course of three years. In addition to the 1967 riots, the mayor's tactics, where Mr. Young tended to polarize the city and suburbs to boost his standing among supporters, had a profound effect in leaving Detroit a city of nearly one mil- lion residents, 80 percent of whom are black. The suburbs, by contrast, are 95 percent white. Detroit's population base, where nearly a third of the city's residents live in a backdrop of poverty, nearly half of whom are children, would benefit greatly from an improved and more responsive educational system. Mr. Archer said he would also work to set up a vol- untary system of collecting weapons, especially automat- ic guns. "Ever since Archer began campaigning (two years ago), he was talking about knocking down walls and creating bridges between the city and suburbs," said Jack Wolfe, pres- ident of World Wide Financial Services, Inc., a mortgage lend- ing firm in Birmingham. "For years, Young had a sec- ular approach to city problems, which was negative. That turned a lot of people off. But now Archer is planning to revi- talize the neighborhoods and get people to move back in. We support that effort and will make a commitment." By June of next year, Mr. Wolfe said World Wide would open its first branch office in Detroit, most likely with a staff of eight to 12 people located along Jefferson Avenue near the city's downtown district. Mr. Wolfe said another branch of- fice in Detroit may follow by the end of 1994. Jim Bellinson, vice president of marketing and acquisitions for Medco, Inc., a home care and temporary services firm in Southfield, said the company planned to expand and relocate its Detroit branch over the next year due in large part to Mr. Archer's election. "I've met several times with Mr. Archer and he recognizes that holding himself out to the business community will create a number of opportunities," Mr. Bellinson said. "Such an ap- ISRAEL DIGS Specially compiled by ?he erusalem Post β€”$1 EQUALS 2.9700 NIS (shekels) - Close Price 12/15193 β€” Economists Pleased With CPI Israel's Consumer Price Index rose 0.8 percent in Nov-ember, marking the first time in four months that the cost-of-living index has risen less than 1 percent. Based on the indexes for the first 11 months of the year, the annual Israel inflation rate for 1993 is estimated at 11.5 per- cent. Economists expected a slightly higher index this month and were pleasantly surprised. Although housing prices continued rising, they did so more moderately, contribut- ing only a quarter of the in- dex's increase. Food prices contributed similarly to infla- tion, while prices for fruit and vegetables, clothing, health and transportation and com- munications contributed 0.1 percent each to the index. Industrial Exports Jump Industrial exports from Israel jumped 16.4 percent to $11.8 billion since the beginning of the year compared to the same period in 1992, the In4utitry and Trade Ministry rePorted last week. The metal and electronics sectors contributed most of the increase. Exports from these sectors, which include defense and most of the high-tech ex- ports, rose 32.7 percent. The plastics and chemicals sectors also contributed to the increase, with a rise of 18 per- cent in the first 11 Months Of the year In particular, phar- rnac,eutical exports grew sig- nificantly. GDP In Territories GrowsY proach will make it much more attractive for businesses to come to Detroit and prosper. "No one from the past ad- ministration ever held his hand out to suburban businesses to locate in Detroit. Archer will be successful in bringing new busi- ness to Detroit, which will cre- ate jobs and the need for housing. These things will just snowball." Mr. Bellinson also said the recently passed North Ameri- can Free Trade Agreement, which will eliminate trade bar- riers between Canada, Mexico and the United States, will ben- efit Detroit, given its close prox- imity to Canada and the large automotive presence in the metro area. Nathan Leader, a partner with the David Leader Man- agement Co., a real estate ac- quisition, development and management firm in Farming- ton Hills, which owns and manages the River Terrace Apartments on Jefferson Av- enue in Detroit, said he had confidence that Mr. Archer would turn the city around. "Obviously we support Archer and we feel he will make a change for the better. We pur- chased River Terrace (in 1985) because we felt the climate was improving," said Mr. Leader. "Our game plan is that we will ot β€žest look more favorably at future deals in Detroit, now that we have a new mayor. "Before, when we received submissions to do something in Detroit, I can tell you, we had many concerns, and it was not just the mayor (Young). The Archer administration shows a lot of promise and we're hope- fill for the future of Detroit and the entire metropolitan area." Apart from business leaders, community organizations are also striving to improve their relationship with the city. "Over the next few weeks, we'll be developing ties with high officials of the Archer ad- ministration, and we urge Jew- ish business leaders and Jewish community organizations to get acquainted with the new city officials," said David Gad- Harf, executive director of the Jewish Community Council in Bloom- field Hills. "At this point, we have no plans to get deeply involved in the business development of De- troit because that has not been a traditional role for the Jewish Community Council. But we're looking to change that. The op- portunity for improved econom- ic and community activity in the entire metropolitan region is too great to ignore." ❑ KUDOS We welcome Your' suggestions. Please mail + Ypea and double-spaced] items for "Kudos" to Kimberly Lifton at The Jewish News. The Gross Domestic Product in the West Bank and Gaza grew eight percent annually in 1991 and 1992 compared to the two previous years, the Central Bureau of Statistics reported last week. The upswing in GDP, which measures the value of goods and services produced by the local economy, came despite sharp fluctuations as a result of the intifada and the Gulf war. During the five-year period between 1986-1987 and 1991- 1992, the GDP grew at an av- erage annual rate of 5 percent. During the same period the population expanded 5 percent a year The domestic product per capita increased 3 percent in 19914992 compared to 1989- 1990, and 1 percent compared to 1986-1987. The territories' GDP totaled 4 percent of Is- rael's GDP. Three-quarters of the GDP came from the West Bank while the remaining quarter came from Gaza. More French Companies May Invest A conference in Paris held last week to encourage French in- dustialists to invest in projects in Israel should yield results soon, Israel General Bank man- aging director Elilrunis said last week #' 040 k The conference, organized by Baron Edmond de Rothschild, chairman of La Companie Fi- nanciere Edmond de Rothschild Banque and Israel General Bank, was attended by dozens of chairmen and managers of French companies. Among the participants were representatives of companies specializing in the establish- inept of airports, commercial companies and representatives of chemical and pharmaceuti- cal comPanies. Eli Hurvitz, managing direc- tor of Teva Pharmaceutical In- dustries, discussed the economic, developments expected here and gave an account on possible in- dustrial and infrastructure in- vestments. Fibronics Establishes Subsidiaries Fibronics reported it recently completed the establishment of three new subsidiaries in Madrid, Milan and Breda, Holland. These subsidiaries join pre- viously established Fibronics' subsidiaries in England and Germany, as well as in Japan and in the United States. During the first nine months of the year, Fibronics, the Haifa-based computer communications company, im- proved its financial results with a net loss of $4.8 million on sales of $37.2 million. Dur- ing the same period last year, the Elron subsidiary showed a net loss of $8.4 million on sales of $40.1 million.