"What Do We Sharer MONEY MARKET ACCOUNT A Israeli group explores diversity in the U.S. and among themselves. DEBRA NUSSBAUM COHEN Jewish Telegraphic Agency New York t Paramount Bank, we always look out for your best interest. Our money market accounts offer the highest returns in the area plus instant access to your funds. Paramount Bank is your hometown bank providing convenient extended hours and a wide range of products and services to meet all your financial needs. Visit today or call 1 800 421 BANK and discover the - - - bank where personal service is paramount. CONSUMER ACCOUNTS ONLY *Annual Percentage Yield for balances of $5,000 and above. MAIN OFFICE 30850 Telegraph Road, Suite 250 Bingham Farms, MI 48025 (248) 646-3400 • FAX (248) 646-5187 BRANCH 1732 West Maple Road • Birmingham, MI 48009 (248) 723-4800 • FAX (248) 723-4848 T he plan: to bring a group of Israeli "influentials" in vari- ous fields and from a range of religious backgrounds to the United States to witness the diversi- ty of the American Jewish community. The organizer's goal: to bridge what many describe as a growing chasm between Israeli and American Jews, as well as to foster a positive attitude toward religious pluralism. The impact: not yet entirely clear. The American Jewish Committee brought 10 Israeli leaders from fields as diverse as education, the military, law enforcement and journalism to see for themselves the best that the American Jewish community has to offer in Atlanta, Washington and New York. The trip aimed to examine such questions as "What do we share as Jews? Do we have a common sense of peoplehood?", Steven Bayme, director of Jewish communal affairs for the AJCommittee, said in remarks to par- ticipants at the end of the trip. As they concluded their two-week tour Dec. 12, some strong impressions were given of the differences between American and Israeli Jewry. PARA:N/10171\1T BANK FDIC Your Hometown Bank 12r LENDER INSURED AIR- ASTER HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING CO. RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL. SERVICE • SALES • INSTALLATIONS YOUR INDEPENDENT DEALER FOR Michael Levey IrrrpgwwW.GIOLINK,CONVAIRMASTER BERKLEY 399-1800 1_ 998 N. OAKLAND 682-9090 / e- , 12 / i Advertise in our gr.(' 4 ij i f new Entertainment ., —,:-, ,,, ,, ,.... , ,,, „...i- , , ... - , .... , ' ,..,„ - /: ..„.... Section! Cal The Sales Deportment (248) 354-7123 Ext. 209 ''' . 4'..- , ao Detroit Jewish News E Its Hard Tb Stop A 7hine. VV. BLOOMFIELD 788-9073 '''' /25 LENNOX & • ...... , " . / ,,,,, , f. GROSSE POINTE 882-4870 DETROIT JEWISH XEWS In Atlanta, seminar participants vis- ited Jewish day schools oriented toward each of the main Jewish religious move- ments. In Washington, they met with a Jewish senator, a State Department offi- cial and with executives at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. In both cities, they spent time at Jewish community centers. In New York, the focus was on reli- gion. They met with rabbis from each of the main movements, visited the Orthodox and Reform rabbinical semi- naries, heard from leaders of the • Conservative movement and wor- shipped at a modern Orthodox syna- gogue on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Some Israelis said they were impressed by the intensity of commit- ment to Jewish education for both adults and children. "I was surprised to see Jews who choose to be Jews, and invest in it" by paying $8,000 a year in day school tuition, said Noga Rogel, who works as head of information for the educt Lion and training division of Israel's national police force. "Their drive to study, and their knowledge, is really impressive," shL, said. "As a secular Israeli, I find mvse so ignorant that I feel ashamed." Others said that they were wowed by the power they saw that Jews vviel: in Washington. Many said that while they were happy to see that American Jews believe that anti-Semitism in not cur rently a concern, they were mystified by the Americans' confidence that it would not become one in the future. "I don't buy American Jewish self- assurance, their feeling of security," said' Rabbi Eitan Childi, who immigrated rc Israel from Tunisia at the age of 19 and is now a Conservative rabbi and execu- tive director of the Tali Education Fun( Participants complained about meeting only the elite of the America Jewish community — those most intensively engaged in Jewish study and living — and not having much chance to talk with more typical, unaffiliated Jews. The closest they came, some said, was a chance encounter with a studen at Atlanta's Emory University, where they had gone to meet with Debor ah Lipstadt, a professor of modern Jewis and Holocaust studies. The student described herself as a Conservative Jew, said Moshe Elazar, an Israeli naval officer. But when asked in what way she was a Conservative Jew, i she kept kosher or went to synagogue, she impatiently said, "Of course not," according to Elazar. "I got the impression that there is thin layer of knowledgeable American Jews and a huge layer of ignorant two ple," he said. Seminar participants differed strongly about whether American involvement in promoting religious pluralism in Israel is appropriate. "It is problematic and very danger- ous to accept it," said Aviv Lavie, a Aviv-based journalist and committed secularist. "I prefer that we make our own pluralism by our own hands without Diaspora intervention. " Others, though, said that the American model made a strongly posi- tive impression. U