Focus: A Bridge To Evangelicals Candlestick Lamp. Packaged in special holiday gift box. 22 inches high Reg. $169 95 Sale $129 95 Traditional Lamp. Old English brass finish with pleated shade. 28 inches high Reg. $149 95 Sale $129 95 Past Present onternporary Stiffel; on sale through December 24th. Whatever the decor, a Stiffel lamp will enrich your room. And our special sale prices will enrich your savings. Contemporary Lamp. Polished brass finish, ivory inverted flute shade. 27 inches high Reg. $25995 Sale $179 95 htrnhcl ler Where Good Ideas Come To Light Bloomfield 6580 Telegraph at Maple Rd. 810-626-2548 Novi 45319 Grand River, One Mi. W. of Novi Rd. 810-344-0260 Rochester THE D ETRO IT J E WI SH NE WS 200 E. Second St., E. of Main St. 810-651-4302 58 He lives in Chicago, but recently Washington was his stage: Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, who has toiled for almost two decades on Jewish-evangelical relations, is convinced that his lifework is be- ginning to bear fruit. The rabbi was the prime mover behind the Washing- ton summit between Jewish and evangelical leaders. Although the meeting had been in the works for years, it took this sum- mer's public spat between the Anti-Defamation League and the Christian Coalition to make it happen. Rabbi Eckstein fell into his un- usual specialty after joining ADL in 1977: While in Chicago during the Skokie march to rally Chris- tian support for the Jewish posi- tion, he met the head of the Bible Department at Wheaton College, Billy Graham's alma mater. "Before we knew it, we put to- gether what may have been the first Jewish-evangelical confer- ence." Rabbi Eckstein became con- vinced that the Jewish commu- nity was not buildingbridges to evangelicals — and that evan- gelicals were becoming an im- portant force in American politics. The result was the Holyland Fel- lowship of Christians and Jews, later renamed the Internation- al Fellowship of Christians and Jews. Of Jewish leaders' coolness to his efforts, he said, "At the be- ginning, especially, it was hard to convince them that the effort at dialogue was important. Peo- ple like Jerry Falwell were anath- ema to many Jews." And while Jewish leaders were suspicious about Rabbi Eckstein's attitude toward evangelism, he said he has "always" maintained that Jews should not dialogue "with missions that seek to con- vert Jews or with Messianic Jews." But he also believes in evan- gelicals' "right" to evangelize, which, he said, "is intrinsic to their self-definition as Christians. What I've tried to do — and what I've worked out theologically .7— is to talk about how Christians can fulfill their 'great commis- sion,' as they call it, in ways ac- ceptable to us, such as dialogue or blessing Israel or serving as models of piety, rather than sim- ply passing out tracts." This week's Jewish-evangeli- cal conference, with the theme of "Building a Moral Society," was intended to help the two groups "know each other as people and to shatter stereotypes. We want to find ways we can cooperate, when possible, and ways to differ civilly." That latter goal became all the more urgent, he said, after the angry exchanges that followed this summer's ADL report on the Christian right — and the recent GOP victories that were widely seen as a big boost for the Chris- tian right agenda. Arrow Hits Target One of the most important as- pects of Mr. Rabin's trip was barely noticed by the press: He won some badly needed assur- ances that American support for the Arrow missile system would continue, despite the budget-cut fever raging through Washing- ton. Funding for the anti-ballistic missile program was near the top of the agenda for Mr. Rabin in his meetings with Secretary of De- fense William Perry and Presi- dent Clinton. Mr. Rabin apparently came away with a commitment for $14 million a year for the next five years to fin- ish research and development of the Arrow. That agreement will be firmed up in detailed talks be- tween defense officials in Wash- ington and Jerusalem in the next few months. The Arrow missile's future is particularly timely since there were recent reports that Iran and Syria are deploying Scud-C mis- siles, with a range of more than 300 miles. Iran may already be manufacturing advanced Scuds and preparing to add longer- range Nudong 1 missiles to its arsenal. Reform Targets Immigrants Legal immigrants, including Jews from the former USSR, could be the big losers if new Republican leaders in Congress have their way on welfare reform. Under one scenario being con- sidered by the GOP leaders, wel- fare reform will be financed, in part, by denying immigrants who have not yet become citizens ac- cess to some 61 different govern- ment programs. That could affect thousands of Soviet Jews who were brought here under family reunification programs, and who depend on an assortment of government pro- grams to supplement support by families.