World

LEASE PULL AHEAD
IS BACK!

2005 9-3 LINEAR SEDAN

24 Mo. Lease

.111.
A*HICAPN.W,Y&WI:

IIHS Double
Best Pick

$140*

2005 9-2X AERO AWD

MSRP
$28,245

GM FAMILY MEMBERS

'17 258•

As Ethiopians plan for aliyah, Israel is
unprepared for new arrivals.

NON-GM

GM Family
Members

"°"-Gm$288.

X19,435'

RACHEL POMERANCE

NEW 2004 9-3 CONVERTIBLE

Jewish Telegraphic Agency

SPEC/AL PURCHASE
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New York

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$40,690 $3

*24 Mo. Leases plus tax, tile & plate. Sec. deposit waived on approved credit. 9-3 = $2500 total due. 'Plus tax, title, plate, destination and doc. fee.
$2500 down, 72 mo. Purchase 42) 6.99% APR. *Plus tax, title, plate, destination and doc. fee. All based on approved credit. All based on GMS pric-
ing, must qualify for Oldsmobile loyalty. All rebates to dealer. Sale ends 5/21/05.

GLASSMAN SAAB

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The dining room moved to the middle of the

I house, the kitchen moved to the back of the
house, the master bedroom got new space all its
own and after rockin' and rollin' through their most
extended remodeling gig ever, Jim and Carolyn
Johnson finally pronounce their classic
1955 ranch-style home "done."
"Now we are just going to enjoy it," said Johnson,
who counts 6 different projects begun and
completed by the impeccable work force of
Gittleman Construction. "They treated our home
like it was their home."
The Gittleman crew worked around the schedules
of two kids—Davis and Lindsey, and two busy
parents—Carolyn's a lawyer and JJ's the guy who
fires up the Motor City's workforce every morning on Detroit's Classic Rock WCSX; plus they took
care of every little thing. Gittleman's "attention to detail" said JJ, was beyond compare.
As to a new favorite room in the house they love in a neighborhood they didn't want to leave, JJ
says it's a toss up. The master retreat is awfully nice "but the all-new state-of—the-art kitchen" is
enjoyed by everyone. "We both cook,' he says and now that the kitchen overlooks the family room,
meal prep is a time for camaraderie and conversation.and that's something JJ likes to dish out
regularly, on his morning show and in his home.
Listen to JJ and next time you need an inspired workforce to get your project done, get Gittleman.

JUST ASK JIM AND CAROLYN JOHNSON.

GC CONSTRUCTION inc

GITTLEMAN

Impasses

248.538.5400

5/26

2005

22

CUSTOM

RENOVATIONS

hough tens of thousands of
Ethiopians are anticipating
making aliyah, little has been
done in Israel to prepare for their
move.
Officials estimate that it will cost
$23 million for the immigration of
about 20,000 Falash Mura, Ethiopians
whose Jewish ancestors converted to
Christianity but who have since
returned to Judaism.
Beginning in June, plans call for
600 Falash Mura to make aliyah each
month, twice the current level. At the
new rate, it will take about two and a
half years for the immigration to be
complete.
The North American Jewish federa-
tion system, which is expected to fund
the operation, hasn't begun its special
campaign.
Israel, too, is dragging its feet. The
Israeli Cabinet decided in February
2003 that Falash Mura who could
prove a maternal link to Judaism
could make aliyah. Early this year,
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
and some of his Cabinet ministers
decided to double the monthly immi-
gration rate.
Sharon required an interministerial
committee on the Falash Mura to
report back to him by April 30 on
budgeting and planning for the opera-
tion, according to Joseph Feit, past
president of the North American
Conference on Ethiopian Jewry
(NACOEJ). The interministerial com-
mittee hasn't yet submitted its report;
the group was scheduled to meet
Monday, but the meeting was post-
poned. Israeli Interior Minister Ophir
Pines-Paz, who chairs the committee,
is slated to travel to Ethiopia at the
end of June.

The expected aliyah comes amid other
developments that could hinder the
operation. For one, Sallai Meridor,
chairman of the Jewish Agency for

28580 ORCHARD LAKE RD., SUITE 102
FARMINGTON HILLS, MI 48334

www.gittleman.net

Aliyah Issue

929460

Israel, which handles aliyah, will
resign next month. Meridor was one
of the Falash Mum's greatest advo-
cates, lobbying Sharon and other key
officials to support the group's aliyah.
It's not yet clear to what extent his
expected successor, Ra'anana Mayor
Zeev Bielski, will champion the cause.
Secondly, NACOEJ, which has
funded community programs in Addis
Ababa and Gondar since 1992 and
which helps run compounds in those
cities where many Falash Mura live
while waiting to emigrate, may lose its
operating ability in Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian government recently
stopped the group from operating in
Addis Abba because it lacked a non-
governmental-organization license.
The group continues working in
Gondar.
The Jewish Agency is slated to take
over the compounds three months
after the expedited immigration
begins, or after it has a complete list
of eligible immigrants.
The $23 million estimate for Falash
Mura aliyah was presented May 10 to
officials of the United Jewish
Communities, the coordinating body
for the North American Jewish federa-
tion system, by its overseas partners,
the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI)
and the American Jewish Joint
Distribution Committee. JAFI is
budgeting $18 million for the opera-
tion; the JDC expects to pay $4.6
million.
The figures do not include the cost
of absorption once the Ethiopians
arrive in Israel, said Mike Rosenberg,
JAFI's director general of immigration
and absorption.
At its board meeting, set for June 5-
6 in New York, UJC is expected to
approve a fund-raising initiative for
the Falash Mura and to help absorb
Ethiopians in Israel.
A few years ago, federations were
asked to give an additional 5 percent
above their previous overseas alloca-
tions to the Ethiopian National
Project, said Richard Wexler of
Chicago, UJC vice chairman.
But that campaign was overshad-
owed by Israel's needs during the
intifada.

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