N EIGHBORHOOD PROJECT LOSING page 128 Summer Colic featuring Sunday, August 25, 1996 3 - 4 p.m. Inglenook Park, Southfield W. Twelve Mile Road between Evergreen & Lahser k Parking available at Congregation Beth Achim / • Bring a chair or blanket • Refreshments • Clowns • Canceled in case of rain Co-sponsored by: City of Southfield & The Jewish News For information: The Neighborhood Project (810) 967-1112 A program of a x)(4001104 THE D ETRO T J EW IS H NE WS FALL SPECIAL SALE 130 ALL DANCE WEAR SHOES... LEOTARDS... TIGHTS... UNITARDS... I WITH THIS AD I L Expires 9/30/96 j OPEN SUNDAYS 12-5 855-0650 In Orchard Mall • Orchard Lake Rd. at Maple GIFTS • 50 SIDEWALK SALE CONTINUES Order your New Year's Cards Early! Through the end of July Orchard Mall (810) 737-4888 • • • • • • • • • • • • • SO5 E. MAPLE • 111101INGII.V11 Wet. , t(1(1 »s ,K Hunter) 810-647-9( CLASSIFIED GET RESULTS! Call The Jewish News 354-5959 specific school prayer language, setting up the prospect of a show- down between pro-school prayer conservatives. The Oklahoma lawmaker is de- manding "a clear, explicit and un- mistakable provision that the Constitution permits student- sponsored prayer in public schools ... We should do what the Amer- ican people want and expect, and what the congressional leadership pledged to do." Few observers expect that to happen in the few weeks left be- fore Congress adjourns; accord- ing to several Jewish activists, the issue is being raised this month to give groups such as the Chris- tian Coalition a benchmark issue to use in their upcoming voters' guides — "a cynical use of the leg- islative process," said Richard Foltin, legislative director of the American Jewish Committee. But even if the current push is little more than a political pay- off to Christian Coalition director Ralph Reed, it will force the school prayer issue into the fall cam- paigns, and it will almost certainly set the stage for a renewed battle in the 105th Congress. "It's a cumulative process," said an official with a major Jewish group here. "When you have peo- ple in Congress like Representa- tive Istook pushing extreme positions against more moderate — but still unacceptable — posi- tions by other party leaders, it shifts the whole debate. We prob- ably won't lose this round, but this be." But Mr. Istook, the sponsor of round will make it harder to win the original amendment, is dig- the next time, or the time after ging in his heels and demanding that." f: speech. I don't understand how anybody can be threatened by hearing something with which they disagree." Mr. Istook and supporters in Christian right groups regularly cite cases of children forbidden from reading the Bible, or saying grace before meals. Jewish and mainstream Christian leaders in- sist that such incidents are almost always the result of local officials who do not understand what cur- rent law allows and prohibits. A series of congressional hear- ings around the country failed to make a compelling case for Mr. Istook's position; as a result, Re- publican leaders shifted gears and pressed for a much vaguer amendment simply stating that the government shall not "deny to any person equal access to a benefit or otherwise discriminate against any person on account of religious belief, expression or ex- ercise." That's hardly an improvement, Jewish leaders say; if passed, it would replace decades worth of First Amendment jurispru- dence with vague constitutional language that would result in fu- rious court battles over interpre- tation. `This is a 'toss the dice' amend- ment," said Michael Lieberman, associate director and counsel for the Anti-Defamation League's Washington office. "No one can possibly predict what the outcome of this kind of amendment would A Lifestyle Choice Has Made A Difference EILEEN GOLTZ SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS B ecoming an observant Jew is hard work. Good work if you can get it, but not the easiest thing I've ever done. Our family became shomer Shabbat after years of living a secular life. Trying to create and maintain this life style in a small city in the Midwest with fewer than 500 other Jews (none of whom are observant) has been the real challenge. There were times while we were in transition when I wondered if there is any- one else out there who felt as hes- itant about embracing the whole megillah that goes along with be- ing observant as I did. None of these "restrictions" I had to con- tend with seemed to make any sense to me. It was only as we came to really live what we were trying to "do" that it all fell into place. I was raised in a loving, liber- al Jewish household in the Chica- go area. We practiced what I like to call Bacon, Lettuce and Toma- to Reform. I traveled the Friday -\ night service, Sunday school route and attended all the bar/bat Mitzvah extravaganzas I was in- vited to. A few speeches, a can- dlelighting ceremony followed by a slew of relatives and friends dancing the horah was the height of the special day. The service / was something I had to endure-c- \ to get to the party. LIFESTYLE page 132