halom 1995 5756 From Gary Si Ira Kappy and Ben Kosins With wishes to our friends, relatives and customers for the very best in health, happiness and prosperity on the New Year Thank you for your wonderful and most appreciated support Sheryl Siegel Gwen Burns Claudia Watson Karen Smalls Tony Maranski Zofia Janik Tremaine Holt Arnold Siegel William Anderson Walter Shannon Derwyn Robertson Casper Machese Norman Croco David Drew COLLECTIONS AT ( Ci REGULAR A i BIG & TALL In the former location of KOSINS CLOTHES 27881 Southfield Road between 11 and 12 Mile Roads (810) 569-5405 THE SHOPS & SERVICES OF LINCOLN CENTER WISH TO EXTEND A HAPPY & JOYOUS NEW YEAR TO ALL OUR FRIENDS & NEIGHBORS! Farmer Jack Baskin & Robbins T. Nails Bread Basket Checker Bar-B-Q Coats Unlimited Dillman Chiropractic Life Dots Dollar Castle Glory Jewelers K-Mart King Lim's Garden Lincoln Barber Shop Magic Touch Beauty Shop Marianne Plus Eye Right Metropolitan Dry Cleaners Nora's Fashions Payless Shoes Perry Drug Store Radio Shack Richard's Boys & Girls Wear Secretary of State Sherman's Foot Care Strictly Kosher Meats The Book Beat Towne Theatre Winkelman's LINCOLN CENTER 10% MILE 81 GREENFIELD Environment Is Protected DANNY BEN-TAL SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS W hen discussing the role of non-government or- ganizations (NGO) in protecting the environ- ment, the Society for the Protec- tion of Nature in Israel has a lot to say. With over 90,000 members, the SPNI recently celebrated its 40th birthday by hosting an in- ternational conference of similar NGOs in Israel's Red Sea resort town of Eilat. Some 200 delegates from all corners of the globe attended, rep- resenting groups such as the Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and the Sierra Club. Delegates presented and corn- pared a plethora of environmen- tal challenges from countries with as varied geographic, political and economic backgrounds. "There is about as varied a bunch of peo- ple here as you'll see anywhere," said Jim Brent of the U.S. Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Association. "What unites us all is that we care and want to do our bit to make this world a better place to live in." "Environmental NGOs have been the engine in reforming U.S. environmental law," J. William Futrell, president of the U.S. En- vironmental Law Institute, point- ed out to the conference delegates. "NGO concerns shape an issue and instill public debate with urgency." The SPNI, which has the legal status of "representative of the public," has led with a series of ecological awareness campaigns, the most famous being its three- decade long crusade against pick- ing Israel's indigenous wildflowers, many strains of which were under threat of ex- tinction. The approach, educat- Participants tour the Eilat Mountains. ing the public by using posters and stickers, proved wonderful- ly successful. Today, no Israeli would dream of picking wild- flowers. Thirty years later, the ongoing campaign features posters in Russian and Amharic aimed at recent immigrants from the for- mer Soviet Union and Ethiopia. Thanks to strictly enforced poaching laws, actively imposed in Israel's national parks, previ- ously endangered species such as the gazelle, ibex and leopard have returned to their natural habi- tats. The peace process has pro- duced a new set of challenges to protect the area's environment. A coordinated regional environ- ment plan is being drawn up un- der the auspices of the World Bank, including, for example, a regional contingency plan for dealing with possible Red Sea oil spills. Ultimately, said Kazo Kato, di- rector-general of the Japan Fund for Global Development, protect- ing the environment lies in build- ing partnerships between all parties concerned: NGOs, gov- ernments and business concerns. "Promoting the growth of such partnerships holds great promise for the future of international co- operation." [1] Eilat Provides A New Venue MICHELLE MAZEL SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS T ake the deep blue sea, end- less coral reefs and a myr- iad of colorful fish. Add a sheltered, inviting bay and warm sunshine the year round. You now have the Israeli city of Eilat at the southernmost tip of the country, located on the great African Rift Valley at the cross- roads between three countries and two continents. The site has been settled since biblical times and has known many names:Etzion Gayer, Elah, Eloth, Haila, and Urn Rash Rash. Here the Hebrews, led by Moses, halted on their way back from Egypt. Later, Eilat was the gate- way to the faraway lands of In- dia and Africa as well as the nearby Arabian peninsula. When the State of Israel gained independence in 1948, the inhabitants of Eilat were land- locked between what were then two hostile countries: Jordan to the east and Egypt to the west. In 1979, Israel's peace treaty