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MultiFoeue in-the-ear and behind-the-mrszyles MultiFocus by Oticon Call today for a Free Hearing Consultation. CRUZ HEARING AID SERVICE (810) 424-8450 18899 W Twelve Mile Rd. • Lathrup Village Note: Not all people with hearing difficulty are candidates for hearing aids. The benefits of amplification may vary among users. Consult your hearing care professional for advice. 82 Advertising in The Jewish News Gets Results Place Your Ad Today. Call 354-6060 Washington (JTA) - The first shots in the battle over prayer in America's public schools were fired on the opening day of the 104th Congress. Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., outflanked his Republican col- leagues by introducing a consti- tutional amendment that would bring prayer back to the schools. "I hope to end a three-decades- long tyranny of the minority in denying to the majority of Amer- icans" the right to pray in school, Mr. Byrd said on the Senate floor as he introduced the measure. Later in the day, Sens. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., and Strom Thur- mond, R-S.C., presented school prayer amendments of their own as part of their traditional open- ing day flurry to introduce legis- lation. Mr. Helms also co-sponsored Mr. Byrd's bill. In the House, Rep. Bill. Emerson, R- Mo., joined the fray, introducing a similar measure. The moves drew sharp criti- cism from Jewish organizations, almost all of which vehemently oppose amending the constitu- tion to include a provision for school prayer. After a concerted lobbying ef- fort by Jewish groups and others, the last Congress defeated legis- lation that would have opened the door to prayer in school. Much of that legislation was led by Mr. Helms. Now that the Republicans con- trol both the House and Senate, opponents of school prayer are preparing for the most serious threat on the issue since the Supreme Court banned prayer in public schools in 1962. "This is a very real campaign and a very real threat," said Mark Pelavin., Washington represen- tative of the American Jewish Congress. "Byrd is a formidable ally as well as formidable opponent," Mr. Pelavin said. Ironically, Mr. Byrd recently drew praise and support from Jewish organizations in Wash- ington for his lead in opposing a balanced budget amendment. Most Jewish organizations also oppose a balanced budget amend- ment. According to Mr. Byrd's' pro- posed amendment on school prayer, nothing in the constitu- tion "shall be construed to pro- hibit or require voluntary prayer in public schools, or to prohibit or require voluntary prayer at pub- lic school extracurricular activi- ties." "As a Democrat, I'm sorry to see that a Democrat is making this a key issue when [Speaker of the House Newt] Gingrich him- self has decided to lay it aside for a while," said Hyman Book- binder, a longtime Jewish activist who serves as chairman of the ad- vocacy committee of the Nation- al Jewish Democratic Council. Although Mr. Byrd's move came as a surprise, his position on prayer and religious issues is well-known. Mr. Byrd joined Mr. Helms in voting against the Re- ligious Freedom Restoration Act in the last Congress. The act, which eventually became law, guarantees freedom of religious expression. NJDC, like most Jewish orga- nizations, has begun to mobilize its members to oppose a school prayer amendment. Although other school prayer advocates like Mr. Helms and Mr. Thurmond use stronger lan- guage in their proposals as well as threats to cut federal educa- tion funding to guarantee the right of children to pray in school Mr. Byrd's proposal will have the same ultimate effect, opponents argue. The Supreme Court banned prayer in public schools in 1962. "This would change the entire church-state landscape and would isolate and intimidate Jew- ish students," said Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Reli- gious Action Center of Reform Ju- daism. Mr. Byrd's amendment would open the door for students to use intercom systems to offer prayers, teacher-led prayers and prayer at school functions such as grad- uations, Rabbi Saperstein said. "The lesson we have learned is that we have to be vigilant," said Jess Hordes, Washington direc- tor of the Anti-Defamation League. "There will be many ve- hicles and methods by which members try to get school prayer." Despite the race to introduce school prayer action on the Con- gress' first day, no serious debate or vote is expected in the short term. Mr. Gingrich has pledged to vote on a school prayer amend- ment by July 4. But school prayer has been rel- egated to the back burner as the Republican majority focuses its attention on fiscal reform.