This Week Please loin us for brunch as we pay tribute to World Briefs Another Way To Tie The Knot Israel's Conservative Jerusakm/JTA and Reform movements have launched an advertising campaign aimed at attracting more Israeli couples to marry through a non-Orthodox rabbi. The advertising campaign will target Israeli couples seeking an alternative to the state-recognized Orthodox wedding. Since the Orthodox establishment controls marriage in Israel, couples that are wed by a non-Orthodox rabbi are not eligible to be registered as mar- ried by the state. Instead, most opt to fly to Cyprus afterward to be married in a civil ceremony, which is recog- nized by the state. The Reform and Conservative movements say they married 600 and 300 couples, respectively, in Israel last year. Their .marriage ceremonies differ from Orthodox ceremonies by allowing couples to play a bigger role in crafting the ceremony For example, the liberal ketubah, or marriage con- tract, is designed to stress the partner- ship of marriage instead of the Orthodox concept of kinyan, or "acquisition" of a bride by a groom. The non-Orthodox ketubah is also written in Hebrew instead of Aramaic. — Dr. Morton Plotnick on the occasion of his retirement from the Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit Sunday, April 30, 2000, 11 a.m. at the Jewish Community Center D. Dan and Betty Kahn Building Eugene and Marcia Applebaum Jewish Community Campus 6600 West Maple Road, West Bloomfield Ex-Slaves Benefit From New Fund $36 per person, $360 table of ten Casual dress Seating is by reservation only. — Reservation deadline is April 18. For reservations, call Michelle Haarer, (248) 661 7600. - 248)545-6677 • (248)433-3323 Oak Park Bloomfield Hills www3dclinic.cont NEW IN DETROIT? &O, 3/31 2000 38 German and Jewish Berlin/JTA negotiators reached agreement on how to distribute a $5 billion fund for Nazi-era forced and slave laborers. Each of the approximately 240,000 ex-slave laborers who are still alive will receive about $7,500 each, while up to $2,500 will go to the approximately 1 million living forced laborers. The German government last week approved a bill that would create the foundation necessary to set up the fund, which was hammered out by represen- tatives of the German government, German industry and survivors groups. SHALOM DETROIT WELCOMES NEWCOMERS TO OUR JEWISH COMMUNITY Call the Women's Department at (248) 203-1494 for more information Bay Area Plans 2 Day Schools San Francisco/JTA — Two non- Orthodox Jewish day high schools are being planned for the San Francisco area, both with opening dates slated for September 2001. Kehillah Jewish High School and Jewish Community High School of the Bay are among 13 Jewish day high schools in formation around the coun- try, reflecting a growing interest in day school learning beyond the elementary years among religiously liberal Jews. Projected tuition at the two schools is expected to top $15,000, higher than the national average for such schools. Soviet Jewry Group's Name Changed Washington — The National Conference on Soviet Jewry changed its name to "NCSJ: Advocates on behalf of Jews in Russia, Ukraine, the Baltic States & Eurasia." NCSJ, a non-for-profit agency cre- ated in 1971, is the mandated central coordinating agency in the United States on behalf of the 1.5 million Jews in the successor states. Bible Week Proposal Rejected In Hancock Susan Burack of Temple Lansing Jacob in Hancock, Mich., a Hancock City Council member, helped defeat a resolution declaring Thanksgiving week as National Bible Week, reports the Michigan Jewish Conference. "They needed to be reminded about the First Amendment," she said. — Jewish Lawmaker Asked About Beliefs Frankfurt, Icy/JTA — A Jewish state legislator from Kentucky was ques- tioned about her religious beliefs dur- ing discussion about a bill that would allow the Ten Commandments to be posted in classrooms and public prop- erty. State Rep. Kathy Stein responded to questions about Jesus by saying, "The Jewish faith does not believe he was the Messiah." The bill, which the House passed by a vote of 77-17, now goes to the state Senate. Christian Study At Hebrew U. Jerusalem/JT.A — The Hebrew University established what is believed to be the first Christian study center at an Israeli university. Research at the Center for the Study of Christianity, established with a grant from a Christian family from Belgium, will emphasize the role of Christianity in the Holy Land and the historical relation- ship between Christianity and Judaism.