BUDGET DEAL page 121 SUNDAY JUNE 1.1997 1 ,,,tTee all-day family " - A or of Istaers 49tA &I birth daY ! It's the Jewish Community's aerobic event of the year: WALK FOR ISRAEL over two competing measures, will be harder to beat this year, Rab- bi Saperstein said. "We're surprised and disap- pointed that groups that stood up last year on points of longstand- ing principle seem to have caved in to political pressure," he said. Mr. Istook claims that chang- ing the Constitution is necessary "to restore religious freedom, to repair how courts have distorted the First Amendment. The pub- lic has long waited to reverse 30 years of court rulings such as those against prayer in the pub- lic schools." NOON 's' starting at the Stuart J. Sachse Soccer Field behind the Maple/Drake Jewish Community Center e followed by a full day of • Continuous live entertainment • • Hands-on activities for all ages • • Kosher food festival • Ernest Istook: Amendment sponsor. Bring a Book to the OPT Rogozin SchoCn Migdal Ha our Partnership 2000 sister co s ity in the Central Galilee. For more information, call the Michigan/Israel Connection (248) 645-7878 (In case of bad weather, all activities will be moved indoors) ED € 1 e 11 J For some children, visions of growing up may be simply that. Visions. Children with cystic fibrosis want to grow up. They have dreams of the future just like every other child. More than half of them will live into their twenties, but that's when life should be beginning not ending. You see, cystic fibrosis is an hereditary disease that attacks a child's lungs and makes it very hard to breathe. Eventually, it's fatal. And there is no cure. So far. But there is hope. Recent discoveries in genetic research can lead to stopping cystic fibrosis once and forever. The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation supports this research. But we need your help. The money you give today will be used immediately to continue the research. And it will go a long way in helping find the cure. Your gift of S15, S25, or even more will give a child more than just a vision of hope. Gilv the future... call 1-800-343-4300, ext. 321 today. VISA/ Master Card accepted. 122 Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Schools Out Soon! Special Package Prices During May! Order Now and Turn Your Backyard Into Your Child's Own Fantasyland! TOYS` 3947 W. 12 Mile Berkley, Michigan (810) 543-3115 Models on display Mon.-Sot 10-5:30 • Fri. 10-8 But Jewish and civil liberties groups, calling the proposal a "re- ligious compulsion" amendment, say that it would destroy decades worth of First Amendment ju- risprudence aimed at preventing the government from sanction- ing any particular religion. The initial strategy for oppo- nents will be to maneuver for fair, open hearings of the Judiciary Committee. They are hoping for help from a group of Republican lawmakers who opposed the measure last year, including Rep. Ben Gilman, R-N.Y., Rep. Steven Schiff, R- N.M., Rep. Chris Shays, R-Conn., and Rep. Connie Morel- la, R-Md. They also are seeking to strengthen the opposition of mainstream Christian groups such as the National Council of Churches. Rabbi Saperstein promised that his group will make defeat- ing the amendment "our No. 1 domestic priority. We want to cast this in the starkest possible terms; this is a proposal that would be devastating to religious minorities. We're not going to give up the religious high ground." Vouchers Ruled Down CELEBRATION CONNECTION in our Classified Section The news was better for Jewish activists on another church-state front. Recently, a school voucher pro- gram in Cleveland that provides government assistance to par- ents who send their children to private and religious schools was rejected by the Ohio Court of Ap- peals in a unanimous decision. The Cleveland program, cre- ated last year for up to 2,000 poor children, was being watched closely by voucher advocates in Washington, who hope to pass federal legislation promoting the concept this year. The court rejected the program on church-state grounds; earlier in the year, a Wisconsin court re- jected a Milwaukee voucher pro- gram that included religious schools. "These decisions help us in Congress because they allow us to say that no court in the land has upheld this kind of scheme," said Michael Lieberman, Wash- ington counsel for the Anti- Defamation League. 'There have been adverse decisions up and down the line, which confirm the point we have been making all along." Jewish activists in Washing- ton hope that the consistently negative court decisions will take the wind out of efforts by groups such as the Christian Coalition — and major Orthodox Jewish organizations — to win congres- sional endorsement of vouchers. Egypt Aid Questioned The foreign aid authorization bill now working its way through the House continues to produce con- gressional huffing and puffing about American Mideast policy. Recently, pro-Israel members beat back a proposal to shift $6.5 million in aid from Egypt and Is- rael to African countries. That amendment was offered by Rep. Tom Campbell, R-Calif, , but re- jected by a bipartisan group of legislators worried about its im- pact on the Mideast peace process. Tom Lantos: Warning to Egypt. While protecting aid to Egypt, members of the committee were vocal in their complaints about President Hosni Mubarak's dis- ruptive role in the Middle East peace process. The panel approved an amendment by Rep. Tom Lan- tos, D-Calif, , warning Egypt that continuing assistance will depend '