she said. The Irgun said the biggest
enemy of Israel was the Germans
because of the extermination of the
Jews. Lehi members believed the
biggest enemy was the British, for
keeping them from rescuing their
brethren from the Germans.
During the War for Independence,
the Haganah, Palmach, Irgun and Lehi
fought separately against the Arabs,
until the new State of Israel established
the Israeli Defense Forces in 1948.
Newman joined the IDF as a pri-
vate, and worked as a secretary in the
General Headquarters of Chief of
Staff Yaakov Dori. "My active duty
was over," she said.
She knew she was taking part in
history. "I was a witness to the birth of
the State of Israel." It was, she says, a
tzchut, a privilege from God.
She met her husband during the
1948 war. Rudy Newman, of Detroit,
was a former U.S. Navy pilot who vol-
unteered to "bomb the hell out of the
Arabs," she said. Later, he became one
of El Al's first crew members.
They married in 1949, then moved
back to his Detroit home in 1952,
with the first of their three sons.
She applied to work for the Kerr
Co., a pharmaceutical sales firm, one
month after the move. Under the
leadership of William Davidson, she
worked her way from a S1.05-an-hour
stockroom job to the boardroom,
becoming president in 1974.
She still works full-time, as presi-
dent and CEO. Her ever-so-slight
accent, and a lone photograph hung
on the wall showing soldiers firing an
Israeli cannon, give only a hint of
where she grew up and the history she
has seen.
Her love remains for Israel, but she
refused to talk about her political
views, other than calling them "on the
right. The thing about Jews is that we
understand each other. When push
comes to shove, we stand together. We
have survived because of our culture,
because we are the people of the book."
And, when necessary, people of
the gun.

STAN E

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An Israeli Cabinet meeting called
to consider the Wye River
Memorandum on Wednesday
prevented Yitzhak Mordechai,
Israel's minister of defense, from
speaking at the Michigan Friends
of the IDF dinner honoring Ann
Newman. Taking his place as
speaker was Israeli Major
General Ze'ev Livne.

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11/13
1998

Detroit Jewish News

17

