Toe-To-Toe Now that the primaries are finished, some congressional races will be heating up. A HARRY KIRS BAUM Stair Writer fter a relatively easy primary election that pitted incumbents against relative unknowns, the real race starts in earnest. U.S. Rep Joe Knollenberg, R- Bloomfield Hills, will face off against Democratic challenger David Fink of West Bloomfield in the Nov. 5 general election for the new 9th Congressional District seat. Knollenberg, a U.S. representative since 1993, beat Ban Baron, a Troy managmeent consultant, in the Aug. 6 primary, 87 percent to 13 percent. Fink ran unopposed, but still campaigned heavily. "We've been running a disci- plined campaign for some time now," said Fink, a Birmingham David Fink attorney. "Now that the primary is over, this campaign will become more aggressive on both sides, I'm sure." Fink said he hopes the campaign keeps on the high road. "While Joe Knollenberg and I agree on the impor- tance of the State of Israel, we disagree on so many social issues," he said, citing a woman's right to choose, protecting Social Security from privatization plans and the importance of reasonable gun safety measures. "I hope that this campaign will be about the val- ues of our community and who can best represent those values in Washington." Fink approaches the general campaign — and the $150,000, two-year term — with a war chest of close to $1 million. Knollenberg has raised about $1.275 million so far. He is taking his opponent seriously "on the basis of the money that he has raised and the idea that he is able to spend money from his own wealth," he think people really want to hear about that." In another local race, U.S. Rep. Sander Levin, D- Royal Oak, a congressman since 1982, will run against Republican challenger, attorney Harvey Dean of Warren, in the newly drawn 12th District. Dean won with 42.8 percent against Republican opponents Charles Frangie of Clinton Township and Jamie Morgan of Ferndale. Levin won with 79 percent against state Rep. William Callahan of St. Clair Shores and Mario Fundaro of Roseville. Callahan came under fire last month when he told the Associated Press he was more representative of the redrawn, heavily Catholic 12th District, and that a Jewish lawmaker might not be a good demographic fit. Sander's brother, four-term U.S. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., will run for re-election against Andrew "Rocky" Raczkowski, a six-year state representative in the 37th District of Farmington Hills. Both ran unopposed in the primary. The Jewish News will profile the candidates in all three races next month. ❑ Governor's Race Rep. Knollenberg Rep. Levin Sen. Levin said. "We had eight or nine days of solid campaign- ing in a variety of places right before the primary, so were hitting every corner we can." Knollenberg said he also wants to stick to the high road. "It can be a campaign without smear, without negativity," he said. "We're going to strive in our best possible way to discuss the issues, because I After a hotly contested primary, Democratic Michigan Attorney General Jennifer Granholm will face off against Republican. Michigan Lt. Gov. Dick Posthumus for the seat at the head of the table in Lansing. Vote counts are unofficial. Granholm, with 48 percent, beat U.S. Rep. David Bonior of Mt. Clemens with 28 per- cent, and former Michigan governor James Blanchard with 24 percent in the Democratic primary. Posthumus beat Michigan Rep. Joe Schwarz of Battle Creek on the Republican side, 81 percent to 19 percent. Both nominees have actively courted the Jewish vote and have active Jewish support. `Gaza First' Plan Israel proposes plan put forward amid wave of Palestinian terrorism. NAOMI SEGAL Jewish Telegraphic Agency Jerusalem new proposal currently under consideration might bring Israel and the Palestinians back from the brink. On Wednesday, the Palestinian Authority Cabinet gave preliminary approval to the plan, pending further talks between the two sides. Under the plan, Israeli soldiers would withdraw from parts of the Gaza Strip and from the West Bank city of Bethlehem in exchange for Palestinian guarantees that no attacks 8/ 9 2002 16 would be launched from these areas. Further withdrawals would take place if peace holds in the first areas. Defense Minister Benjamin Ben- Eliezer presented the "Gaza First" plan during a meeting with Palestinian offi- cials earlier in the week. The latest developments came as a delegation of Palestinian officials left the region Wednesday for talks with Secretary of State Colin Powell in Washington. They also came amid a week of continued Palestinian terror. That left Israeli officials caught between two seemingly contradictory considerations. On the one hand, they want to prevent future attacks. At the same time, they want to avoid harm- ing — or being accused of harming — the Palestinian population at large. With attacks being launched on a near-daily basis, the first consideration appeared to be gaining the upper hand. On Wednesday, as part of continued military efforts to crack down on ter- rorism, Israeli forces killed at least six Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Soldiers killed four Palestinian gun- men during a clash in the West Bank city of Tulkarm. Palestinian residents said one of those killed was a local militia leader. In Gaza, an Israeli sniper killed Hussam Hamdan, 27, a senior Hamas member. Earlier Wednesday, a Palestinian policeman was killed when Israeli troops and tanks briefly entered northern Gaza in a search for terrorists. Earlier in the week, Israel announced a ban on Palestinian travel in much of the West Bank. Monday's move came in response to an onslauaht–of-Palestinian terror a day earlier that killed 13 people. Under the ban, Palestinians cannot drive in the northern half of the West Bank, between the cities of Nablus, Jenin, Kalkilya, Tulkarm and Ramallah, the army said. Some move- ment will be permitted in the south- ern West Bank, including the cities of Hebron, Bethlehem and Jericho. Israel also sealed off a large portion of the southern Gaza Strip on GAZA on page 18