,ISRAEL [President Nelson] Mandela be- declares, "It's never been easier lieves in free enterprise, and this to be a Jew in South Africa." He government has bent over back- notes that the country's chief rab- ward to reassure whites who had bi, Cyril Harris, sat a few seats fears." from Mr. Mandela at the inau- Their fears these days are not guration. The housing minister, about black dictatorship, or po- Joe Slovo, is a Jew. So is Ronnie litical reprisals against whites, Kasrils, the deputy defense min- or expropriation of white proper- ister. Albie Sachs is a kind of min- ty. Mr. Mandela's government is ister without portfolio. Mr. democratic and well-intentioned, Mandela personally opened the concerned with bringing the ba- Anne Frank Exhibit, now tour- sics of a decent life to millions of ing the country. illiterate and unemployed blacks, When you ask Jews about without looting the whites. The anti-Semitism, they complain white — and Jewish — fear for about the Afrikaners, or the Mus- now is over crime. The fear for lims, but not the blacks. And the future is over how the black some even speak of a religious masses, currently so hopeful, will "revival" among many young react once they discover that the Jews, spurred by Lubavitch rab- end of apartheid does not mean bis who came over from the Unit- the immediate end to poverty and ed States and who are fast all the misery that comes with it. gaining influence in the commu- The government is making nity. lofty promises. One is that a mil- For all this, the Durban com- lion new housing units will be puter consultant intends to move constructed in the next five years. to Israel within the year. "The Cynics say it's more likely to be problem here isn't racial or polit- five housing units in the next mil- ical, it's economic," he says. lion years. `There's so much unemployment, "The government can't deliver so much illiteracy, there's no on all its promises, that's taken work ethic. You can't provide jobs for granted," says Mr. Kopelowitz. for all these people, or housing. And what happens when the This is not a viable country. I crash comes, when reality sets want to live in a viable country." in? What happens if the impov- He speaks of how South erished blacks, seeing that even African Jews and other rich Nelson Mandela can't turn their whites cut themselves off from lives around in months or even what's going on around them, liv- years, resort in their despair to ing behind the walls of their even greater crime and violence? homes and the rolled-up windows How would the Jews react then? of their cars. "If you're willing to This would be a tragic conse- live with blinkers on, you can quence for the black and poor, have a great life here," he says. Mr. Kopelowitz says, "but it A divorcee in Durban, living wouldn't impact on the Jewish alone with her two grown sons community." long gone overseas, puts it even Over a sumptuous dinner at a more simply: "They're living in a Durban steak house, a success- fool's paradise." ❑ ful Jewish computer consultant A trip to Israel should pull your heartstrings. Not your purse strings. Now for as little as $1164 from Chicago or $1040 from New York, you can fly EL AL roundtrip to Israel. Stay 6 days/5 nights in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv. With Breakfast. And get a Hertz car rental free. Plus, you'll get our new EL AL PASS coupon booklet, filled with hundreds of dollars' worth of savings. Handkerchief, anyone? For more information about all our „„ Milk & Honey Vacations, call your ,fid AMIN/ travel agent or 1-800-EL AL SUN. The Airline of Israel. 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"The government of Israel be- lieves Shanghai is of very great economic importance," said Press Consul Avi Nir. "This is the main reason Israel decided to open the consulate general in Shanghai." The newly established con- sulate, Mr. Nir said, will focus on economic matters, facilitating commercial cooperation between China and Israel. Mr. Nir said it might be hard for Israel to compete with big firms because of the abundance of foreign companies here. Still, he said, "It will be easi- er for us to compete in the fields where we have unique knowl- edge, such as telecommunications and medical equipment. The Chi- nese are really interested in these fields right now." The Shanghai consulate be- comes the second Israeli diplo- matic office in China after the Israeli Embassy in Beijing. Israel and China established diplomat- ic relations in January 1992. Moshe Ram is serving as con- sul general. Mr. Nir, who majored in Chi- nese studies at the Hebrew Uni- versity in Jerusalem, said that maintaining Jewish life is diffi- cult in Shanghai because there is no Jewish community. He said he knows of 20 to 30 other Jews, including children, and that most of them went out of town for the High Holidays — to Hong Kong or Singapore. AL THE NEW... REGISTRY FOR ALL OCCASIONS BRIDAL JEWELRY BRIDAL PARTY GIFTS 810-356-6430 Ceramic Tile Marble Granite Whirlpool Tubs Faucets Bath Accessories HOME ACCESSORIES JEWELRY WATCHES A R T F U L OBJECTS FURNITURE CERAMIC TILE SALES 4 TJ Marble and Granite Shop 23455 Telegraph Rd. North of / Mile in Southfield 356-6430 ORIENTAL RUGS We'buy them, sell them, appraise them, clean them repair them and love them! In-Home & Office Carpet Cleaning (313) 399-2323 OAK PARK OUTLET • 546-RUGS BIRMINGHAM • 646•RUGS ANN ARBOR • 973-RUGS FREE GIFT WRAP SHIPPING AVAILABLE ...traditional shopping with a contemporary edge. THE BEST KEPT SECRET IN TOWN 203 E. 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