Summer Daily Sumiimr I dition of TI MIt'llIGAN DAIlIY Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan Wednesday, June 20, 1973 News Phone: 764-0552 Soviet Jews deserve freedom BEFORE PRESIDENT Nixon and Russian leader Leonid Brezhnev sign any important trade agreements we would hope that Nixon will have exacted from his Rus- sian guest a promise to grant free emigrationtrights to _the Soviet Jews. It is indeed shameful that religious persecution con- tinues in the world today, even after the moral outrage which was felt after the extermination of six million Jews by Nazi Germany in World War Two. Yet, in Rus- sia, freedom of religion remains quite limited. Jewish schools, books, films, and other forms of cultural ex- pression are forbidden. There are thus over 100,000 Soviet Jews who have expressed their desire to leave Russia, and to emigrate to Israel. An expensive emigration tax imposed by Rus- sian authorities has successfully prevented many Jews from leaving the Soviet Union. And many of those who have announced their intent to leave have been fired from their jobs, and have been subjected to other forms of harassment. BREZHNEV, AWARE of American antagonism towards Russian' anti-semitism, and also eager to receive favorable concessions from America in the current Nixon- Brezhnev summit, recently announced a "suspension" of the emigration tax. Furthermore, he stated in his defense last week that some of his best friends are Jews. He also noted that 29,800 Jews have left Russia last year, and that as many may leave this year. However, this would still leave many tens of thous- ands of Jews seeking to get out of Russia. Furthermore, what guarantee does the American public have that the emigration tax will not be reinstated once Brezhnev has secured the trade agreements he seeks, as is widely sus- pected by many? Though it is not up to the United States to act as moral arbiter for the world, we note that about 77 Sena- tors and 281 Congresspeople have pledged to deny "most favored status" to any nation that limits free emigration of its citizens. Though this country has been totally de- void at times of justice for its own citizens, it does still remain a country based on the principles of recognizing human rights. WE CAN ONLY hope that the President will be able to convince Brezhnev of the moral wisdom of allowing free emigration for Russian Jews. Contact your reps- Sen. Phillip Hart (Dem), Rm 253, Old Senate Bldg., Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C. 20515. Sen. Robert Griffin (Rep), Rm 353, Old Senate Bldg., Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C. 20515. Rep. Marvin tsch (Rep), Rm. 412, Cannon Bldg., Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C. 20515. Sen. Gilbert Bursley (Rep), Senate, State Capitol Bldg., Lansing, Mi. 48933. Rep. Perry Bullard (Dem), House of Representatives, State Capitol Bldg., Lansing, Mi. 48933. PASE I, 2, 34 5, 6 ETC. NDER - PRIVATE _ U / 1- Br t- HRP is still alive and kicking; A roundup of party activities By BETH BRUNTON TS IT TRUE that Hippos hibernate in the summer? Not in Ann Arbor they don't! Although h a If our membership and constituency dis- apears every May, there is still enough energy in the Human Rights Party for some activities. HRP recently finished a school- board campaign. Our candidate, Diana Autin, was the only one who called for an end to institutionalized racism, sexism and tracking, abol- ition of the property tax, creation of community control of schools with more input from the students and staff, and student rights and protection from the discipline pol- icy and proposed segregated schools. It was a rewarding edu- cational campaign; but everyone is happy that there will be no more elections until next' spring. THE CITY Committee is spend- ing the summer drafting propos- als for citizens' grievance proced- ures, especially against the police, and a way to review and change police priorities. They are re- searching alternative policies on handling rape cases based on New York model units. There will also be resolutions forbidding employ- ers to require that job applicants submit to a lie detector test. The committee is also trying to reach out to find new problems by hav- ing precinct meetings. If you would like a meeting with the city council members in your neighborhood please let us know. Beh Brunfon is Coordinator for IIRP. In case you are curious about what became of the mass transit bond, it's going to take a while. Meanwhile, the rent control study committee is still meeting. And the reason there are still nonre- turnable bottles around is that the city ordinance has been appealed in court. One of the major activities of the party labor committee is support for the lettuce-grape-and A&P boy- cott. The United Farm Workers Union is still struggling for t h e right to collective bargaining, as well as safe, decent working and housing conditions for the pickers. But the growers, with the help of the U.S. govt. have been abla to bring in scab labor and continue marketing the produce. So it is not enough just not to eat non-union grapes and lettuce; the stores that sell them must be boycotted. A&P and its western counterpart Safe- way sells the most and is also the largest grocery chain in the coun- try. So all across the U.S. it is being picketed in hopes of forcing it to change the policy of supporting scab growers. IN ANN Arbor alone, four stores are being attacked and we need you out there. The statewide party also decided to circulate a gen- eral anti-strikebreaking petition that would aid new and weak un- ions (the big ones already have such a clause in their contracts). It is also trying to support the ef- forts of local waitresses and U. clerks and secretaries to organize. Members of the party women's caucus have continued working hard on the Community Women's Clinic. This summer most of the activity is fund raising and dis- cusion about types of services, how it's organized, etc. The caucus is also having a series of dinner discussions in relationship to the gay movement and sexism within the party. OF COURSE, the Human Rights Party should be doing more, but considering the general tranouil- ity of the campus lately, this isn't completely within our control. Last April only 3 per cent of the regis- tered voters in student precincts, bothered to-vote. Also, although our country has been bombing Cam- bodia daily for several months, and although the University is raising tuition and has not complied with hard-fought-for BAM demands, stu- dents are quiet. Although wanes have remained stable, prices and corporate profits have been zoom- ing, and although the economy is booming, unemployment is hitting the young, old, and unskilled espec- ially hard this summer - no one seems to care. It is certainly disappointing that the only issue that has gotten a rise out of anyone is the reieal of the five dollar marijuana law which is far from a revolutionary issue! It seems that people lately have preferred to istrivert and get high rather than have collective consciousness and action. So perhaps the local HRP shuld also spend this summer discussing what we have been trying to do, to what extent it has succeeded and why, and what we might do instead in the future. And so the hippo may emerge with a clearer direc- tion (and better tacti:s) by next fall. Letth Irate citizen To The Daily: I LIKE THE colossal gall of Paul McCracken, past chairman of the President's Council of Econom- ic Advisors, now Prof. of Business Ad. At a time, and a long one, may I add, that the Great American Public has been financing his and other Prof's, -trips around the world, in donated cars and planes (which use a hell of a lot more gas) while in their role of ad- visers to the President, to the Legislature, from Federal, State, County, to Townships and public education (which is one of the largest, most costly businesses in the world) on how to play, how to work and how to die,' just take a good look at the stinking mess they have made of all of it! We have a war no one wanted, which is still going on in spite of the so-called "Honorable Peace", and a drug culture, -that not only cost a fortune to support it, but another to kick it, and that a small percentage! Our buck is not worth the paper it is written on. Our government is so full of administration, we can't afford it. We can't pay our taxes now or buy meat. Our crops are manipulated so we have con- trived shortages. The Railroads di- versified to the point of bankrup- ers to The Daily tcy, and air freight and ma i I rates are so high, they lose pat- ronage. Utilities, a monopoly, go up and up and Blue Cross, blue shield, and any type of insurance is priced out of reach! Any other scheme t h e Honored Prof. might dream up, we will be sure to be saddled with! We have people movers and mind manipulators and worst of all we allow it, like a flock of stupid sheep! McCRACKEN'S OWN statement, "We have elaborate government machinery and a large bureau- cracy', is just the point I'm trying to make; it is too big and has too much power and all on our money! In case he wasn't around in the 30's, gas was five gallons for a buck, in Ann Arbor! Since he is an authority on the 30's, he'd bet- ter remember the depression! Note an old saying, "You can lead an elephant to water, but you can't make him drink it." So when the prices go up to where working stiffs decide they have had enough, they might unite and all decide to quit working! For when you get"no'fruit from your labor, why labor? I believe it is called passive resistance. The young al- ready have it, now we older people need to let go! What then will happen to the McCrackens??? -Dorothy Hunawill June 15 Hamill column To The Daily: I WAS wondering what prompted you to change all the references to New York in Pete Hamill's col- umn (Daily, June 14) to references to Detroit and Ann Arbor. Speci- fically, I had difficulty understand- ing why you would have us be- lieve that Mr. Hamill, who writes for the New York Post, was look- ing into the future imagining a scenario that included Mr. Flood's, the local newspapers mentioned (i.e., The Daily) and Metro airport. Is this a token of future things to come - will we be reading Mike Royko columns about Mayor Rich- ard J. Stephenson and Herb Caen columns about how the BART tun- nel to Windsor is still not in use? -Jonathan Kahn June 14 Editor's Note: The changes were made as part of a one- shot experiment - which dras- tically failed. Sorry. The Editorial Page of The Michigan*Daily is open to any- one who w is h e s to submit articles. Generally speaking, all articles should be less than 1,000 words.