Relevant Facts
To Be Weighed

- Following a lengthy period of
silence on the Pollard case,
The Jewish News in a Jan. 10 ar-
' title by Publisher Arthur Horwitz
suggests that the Jewish com-
munity should abandon its efforts
to gain Jonathan Pollard's free-
dom. This view is based on the be-
lief that Pollard's punishment is
commensurate with his crime of
spying for Israel.
Such an assessment is not, un-
fortunately, based on full knowl-
edge of the relevant facts in the
case. And therein lies a problem
for the journalistic community.
Approximately 12 years have
passed since Judge Robinson sen-
tenced Jonathan Pollard to life
in prison. Before rendering that
decision, Judge Robinson had in
his possession Casper Wein-
berger's pre-sentencing memo,
intended to influence this deci-
•sion.
If that memo contains "lies and
distortions," as some suspect, lead-
ing the judge to impose a maxi-
mum penalty under the law when
a lesser one would have been ap-
propriate, can one say justice was

served? About this Mr. Horwitz is
silent.
Instead, he reasons that justice
has been served since Jonathan
Pollard received the same pun-
ishment as did John Walker, who
admitted spying for the former So-
viet Union. Such a comparison is
somewhat arbitrary.
It could also have been made
between the punishment Pollard
received and that meted out to Lt.
Cmdr. Michael Schwartz, U.S.
Navy, a non-Jew who admitted
spying for Saudi Arabia. Mr.
Schwartz was sentenced to a less-
than-honorable discharge from
the Navy. Unlike Pollard, he did
not have to spend a single day in
prison.
Like the Dreyfus affair, the Pol-
lard case is about excessive gov-
ernment secrecy, masking the
truth. In the Dreyfus affair, large-
ly as a result of the outstanding
journalism of Emile Zola, Alfred
Dreyfus was able to leave Devil's
Island alive. In the Pollard case,
no comparable journalistic effort
has been made to uncover the
truth.

until you have your watch
pressure tested.

WE OFFER FREE
PRESSURE TESTING
If any repair is needed

an estimate will be given,
while you wait.
Make sure its water resistant.

CERTIFIED WATCHMAKER

on premises.

rf

Irving Warshawsky

West Bloomfield

Comment
Playing Monopoly,
Unfairly

Diamonds
and Fine Jewelry

At Tapper's our Cash Refund Policy ensures that you shop with complete confidence every time.

West Bloomfield, MI 48322
Orchard Mall ♦ Orchard Lake Road at Maple Road ♦

(810) 932-7700 ♦ 1-800-337-GIFT

JONATHAN PERLMAN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

ince the founding of the
State of Israel, political
parties representing the
Orthodox have manipulat-
ed Israel's parliamentary system
for their own ends.
For example, tens of thou-
sands of Orthodox yeshiva stu-
dents receive exemptions from
serving in the Israel Defense
Forces. Per capita education bud-
gets for Orthodox children far ex-
ceed that of other Jewish
children.
Knesset members represent-
ing Orthodox parties have served
prison sentences on charges of vi-
olating the public trust and mis-
use of funds.
These incidents and others
have created a sense in the mind
of the Israeli public that Judaism
is not a system of holy acts that
sanctify life, but rather a power
play of the Orthodox to broaden
their influence over sectors of the
Jewish state.
When the Reform and Con-
servative movements in Israel
try to offer an alternative inter-

S

Rabbi Jonathan Perlman is
assistant rabbi of Beth El
Congregation in Pikesville, Md.

pretation of Judaism to the Is-
raeli public, representatives of
the Orthodox movements use
every method available — in-
cluding violence — to block these
initiatives.
A major religious issue faces
Israeli society today with the im-
migration of an estimated
100,000 non-Jews among the
Jewish exodus from the former
Soviet Union.
Instead of embracing these
new Israelis and educating them
Jewishly, the Orthodox rabbinate
is converting fewer non-Jews to-
day than they did prior to the
wave of Soviet immigration.
Recently the Israeli Supreme
Court ruled that there is no rea-
son why Conservative and Re-
form conversions should not be
recognized in Israel. Instead of
welcoming a possible solution for
the question of the Jewish status
of the former Soviets, the Ortho-
dox political parties are consid-
ering how to disallow the
possibility of Conservative or Re-
form conversions in Israel.
Why won't the Orthodox in Is-
rael allow the Jewish citizens to
decide what kind of Judaism they
want to practice? Fl

*most mfrs.

Colorful perfume bottles
are available in a variety
of designs. Shop
Sherwood.. its worth it!

Fine Designer Furniture,
Accessories & Gifts
6644 Orchard Lake Road
at Maple Road
in West Bloomfield

Mon-Thur-Fri 10-9
Tue-Wed-Sat 10-6
Sun 12-5
810 855-1600

77:1

Stu d

Complimentary Gift Wrapping