The Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit classes for your The JCC offers over children, taught by the community's most talented instructors. Check out the JCC's diverse selection at our two convenient locations. 400 he was framed for trafficking drugs by a group of senior police officials who were conspiring to weaken the then- national police superintendent, Herzl Shafir, by blocking his appointment of a close ally to a top position in the northern police command. The ally was a friend of Ohana. TO. have Ohana convicted of selling drugs would hurt the ally — and deny him the post. 7 Ohana claims, moreover, that the police officials blackmailed the judge trying his case over an illicit affair the judge had had with a minor. The judge now holds a very senior position in Israel's judicial system. If he were compromised by Ohana's allegations, the credibility of the entire system could be dealt a massive blow. The role of Ma'ariv in reporting Ohana's charges has also become con- troversial. The paper's publisher, Ofer Nimrodi, is currently serving a jail term on charges of approving illegal phone taps. Nimrodi, too, has long claimed that he is a victim of the legal system and that others — specifically the publisher of the rival daily Yediot Achronot — had gotten away with similar wrongdoing. The conspiracy theorists say Mdariv's role in the Ohana affair is an extension of its publisher's vendetta against the judicial and legal establishments. The paper's editors insist that they were acting purely out of journalistic motivations and that they spent four months trying to corroborate Ohana's charges before they published them. Along a with going b b to Mdariv, Ohana also spoke with the chairman of the Knesset Law Committee, Hanan Porat of the National Religious Party. Porat subsequently transmitted docu- ments and evidence from Ohana to Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein, whom Porat urged to move for a retrial. The conspiracy theorists point to Orthodox legislators' frequent feuds with the Supreme Court — which has issued recent rulings that whittled away at Orthodox control over religious life in Israel — as being behind Porat's decision to take up ()hands case. Porat, however, maintains that his position made him an obvious choice for Ohana to approach. Ohana and his defenders say his 17-year quest for justice can hardly have been motivated by present-day political considerations. But the conspiracy theorists main- tain that the quest — which, they concede, may have intrinsic merit — is now being exploited by political and economic forces intent on undermin- ing the legal and judicial systems. Riven by ideological, religious, ethnic and political divisions, Israel has clung desperately to the last few untainted institutions in its society that are the bedrock of national soli- darity: the army, the courts and a legal system that ensures due process. For the most part, these institu- tions have been kept out of the polit- ical fray. Their integrity and moral authority have always been cited as critical- to the well-being of Israeli society. But now, in the heat of a political campaign, the Ohana affair threatens to throw the courts and the police into the political wringer. As a result, the legal system may emerge stripped of its prestige and credibility — a development that would surely weaken Israel. Fl for Netanyahu alleged that the effort was staged to smear the Likud Party. "It looks like a cheap provocation by our adversaries whose aim is to cast false suspicions on the Likud," Likud spokeswoman Ronit Eckstein told United Press International. "They're just poor-man's Watergate stories." Washington media consultant Steve Rabinowitz, who has also been advising Barak on his campaign, said, "Stanley Greenberg did not break into his own office and then file a false police report." Calling the latest incident "outrageous," Rabinowitz said that "even Watergate wasn't burglarized twice." The FBI and Washington police are investigating both incidents. In last week's break-in, burglars snatched confidential files and petty cash from Greenberg Quinlan Research Inc, located only a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol. Greenberg, President Clinton's for- mer pollster and a partner in the firm, was recently hired as an adviser to Barak, along with Democratic Party consultant James Carville. Greenberg's firm has provided no details about what was stolen in either break-in, saying only it believes its work on the Israeli campaign has been targeted. In Israel, police this week disclosed that members of Barak's team had reported a wave of break-ins in their homes over the past four months. In each of the incidents no personal pos- sessions were stolen. d / -1 • Karate • Swimming • Gymnastics • Basketball • Baseball • Flag Football • Theatre • Rollerhockey • Arts • Ceramics Dance • Tennis • Rollerblading • Personal Training • Soccer • Parent/Toddler • Kindermusik • Weight Training • Computer Tots For a complete Winter II Catalogue of class offerings, please call (248) 661-1000 in West Bloomfield or (248) 967-4030 in Oak Park. LOOK GOOD: • Professional Hair & Nail Supplies • Custom Cosmetics • Tanning & Skin Care SMELL GREAT: • Discount Designer • Fragrances • The Newest, the Classics & the hard to find favorites FEEL SENSATIONAL: • Bath & Body Oils, Shower Gels • Powders & Cremes AND SAVE: • Selections and prices that all others strive to duplicate. WEST Et LOC:31M IF II E 1_ —7323 23 Orchard Lake Road in the West Bloomfield Plaza OAK PARK U• 41- 7 —9669 24695 Coolidge Hwy. at 10 Mile Rd. Plaza We Won't Take the Shirt Off Your Back. ONLY AT THE The Shirt Box. Shirts And A Whole lot More. Always 20%-35% Off Retail SHIRT BOX HOURS: Mon. - Sat. 9:30-6 • Thurs. til 7 2 . 7 Courtyard Center • 32500 Northwestern Hwy. • Farmington Hills, MI 48334 • (248) 851-6770 Detroit Jewish News 1/22 1999 29