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Israel Remembrance Day
YOM HAZ1KARON
TUESDAY, APRIL 12, 1994
7:30 p.m.
Jewish Community Center
ISRAEL
REMEMBRANCE
DAY
Maple/Drake Building
Join in the Dedication
of Metropolitan Detroit's
Permanent Memorial to Israel's Fallen Soldiers
Since the found-
ing of the State
of Israel, 17,000
men and women
have given their
lives for the
Jewish nation.
Keynote Address:
51710M0 Avineri
Former Director-General
Israel Foreign Ministry
• Free transportation from the Center's Jimmy Prentis Morris Building,
15110 W. 10 Mile, Oak Park. Bus leaves 6:20 p.m., returns after program.
Spbasoreti
• Free babysitting available at the Maple/Drake Building
SAVE THE DATES
Saturday, April 30
WAN 'ItiltiEL
Noa (Achinoam Nini) & Gil Dor in Concert
Sunday, May 1
,FE0t,s,
ICC
%
Israel Independence Day Celebration
01 Metropolitan Detroit
25% off
all shorts and
short sleeved t-shirts
T HE D E TRO IT J E W IS H N EWS
Friday, April 1
Saturday, April 2
Monday, April 4
48
all sales final
0131:(w 1 rig") \'`c
120 B. West Maple
Birmingham
540-1977
Rights Nominee
Progress Shown
Washington (JTA) — Presi-
dent Clinton's nomination of
Deval Patrick to head the
civil rights division of the
Justice Department has
Jewish groups hopeful that
the administration's focus
on civil rights issues will
now grow sharper.
Jewish organizations,
which breathed a collective
sigh of relief after Mr.
Patrick's nomination on
Feb. 1, welcomed him as an
intelligent and capable can-
didate likely to make strides
in improving race relations
and in other civil rights
matters.
And after a year during
which the top post at the
civil rights division remain-
ed vacant, Jewish groups
were pleased that Mr. Clin-
ton had finally chosen some-
one to lead the fight against
bigotry and hatred.
"There is now a sense of
relief that we can get on
with the business of the day
at the civil rights division,"
said Michael Lieberman, as-
sociate director of the Anti-
Defamation League's Wash-
ington office.
Jewish groups hope that
Mr. Patrick will provide
strong leadership for the
civil rights division on
several matters, including
an investigation of the riots
in Crown Heights, Brooklyn,
and religious rights cases.
Mr. Clinton entered office
amid expectations that his
policies on personal rights
issues, such as abortion and
school prayer, would be
markedly different from his
predecessor.
Most Jewish groups eager-
ly anticipated this change,
which they hoped would ex-
tend to the civil rights
arena.
Mr. Clinton's expected ap-
proach promised to
strengthen federal civil
rights laws, which many
Jewish groups thought were
weakened under the Reagan
and Bush administrations.
"There was a conscien-
tious downgrading of civil.
rights issues in the last 12
years," said Rabbi David
Saperstein, director of the
Religious Action Center of
Reform Judaism.
Richard Foltin, legal
counsel for the American
Jewish Committee, called
the previous 12 years a
period in which civil rights
laws were narrowed, thus
making it more difficult for
victims of discrimination to
prove their cases in court.
But despite the prospect
that Mr. Clinton would ad-
vocate for broad application
of the civil rights laws, the
post responsible for that
duty remained unfilled.
Mr. Clinton appointed
Lath Guinier, a University
of Pennsylvania law pro-
fessor, to the position laSt
year, but later withdrew her
nomination following con-
troversy about some of her
writings.
Some Jewish groups ex-
pressed their concern over
Ms.' Guinier's nomination
and welcomed her
withdrawal.
David Saperstein:
Civil rights to the fore.
In the period following Ms.
Guinier's withdrawal, there
was a sense of disappoint-
ment that the position had
not been filled "but not a de-
tection of abandonment" of
Mr. Clinton's civil rights
policy, Rabbi Saperstein
said.
Now, with a nominee who
is expected to be confirmed,
Jewish groups hope for ac-
tion on a variety of fronts,
including the prosecution of
those suspected of par-
ticipating in the Crown
Heights riots.
"It is most important (for
the civil rights division) to
raise civil rights issues to a
higher level," Rabbi Sapers-
tein said.
Mr. Foltin agreed. "We
expect generally vigorous
enforcement of the civil
rights laws," he said.
The Senate Judiciary
Committee approved Mr.
Patrick's appointment by
voice vote last week. The
matter was expected to come
before the full Senate
sometime next week.