Newspaper Page Text
The ‘waiting’ game
Jack Freedman, AJCC president, with “waiters” Harry Popkin,
Rachel Rosenberg (left) and Patricia Bernstein and Gertrude Krick
at Senior Adult Volunteer Recognition Dinner. Picture story on
page 15.
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The Weekly Newspaper For Southern Jewo
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Vol. LX1 Atlanta, Georgia, Friday, August 16, 1985
No.
‘Communist Jews’ blamed
for farm crisis in Midwest
BBI pleads for release
of six Lebanese Jews
WASHINGTON (JTA)—B’nai
B’rith International has appealed
to the Lebanese authorities and the
Syrian government to help bring
about the release of six prominent
members of the Lebanese Jewish
community, one of whom had been
abducted more than a year ago and
the others during the last six
months.
“It is clear that the victims were
abducted solely because they are
Jews,” Dr. Daniel Thursz, execu
tive vice president of B’nai B’rith,
said in separate letters to the Leba
nese and Syrian ambassadors to
the United States. “They are native
Lebanese who had no ties to any
political groups,” he added.
The B’nai B’rith official noted
also that the kidnappers had not
made any demands for the victims’
release. “No one even seems to
know whether they are still alive,”
Thursz wrote, adding that this lack
of contact has triggered a great
deal of mental suffering and anguish
among their families.
The six Lebanese Jews who have
been adbucted are Eli Khallack, a
55-year-old physician; Jack Trab,
a 75-year-old merchant; Chai Cohen
andEliSrour, both about 50 years
old, and both merchants; Izaak
Sasson, 65, chairman of the Jewish
Community Council; and-Salim
Jamus, secretary of the Council.
Jamus was kidnapped in August
1984.
by Kevin Freeman
NEW YORK (JTA)—“Interna
tional Communist Jews” and the
owners of “false money systems”
are being blamed by rightwing ex
tremists and pseudo-ministers
preaching the gospel of the radical
right for the crisis afflicting farmers
in the Midwest plains states.
“You wonder why you’re losing
your farms and your ranches and
businesses out there,” an unidenti
fied “preacher” tells farmers on an
ABC News “20/20” segment. “Be
cause your minister had lied to you
concerning a bunch of international
Communist Jews that have stripped
your wealth and your land.”
According to correspondent Ger-
aldo Rivera, farm protests have
recently “carried no particular ideo
logical or political labels.” But, he
declared, “a group of pseudo-minis
ters preaching the gospel of the
radical right have been attempting
to parley this farmer frustration
into increased following for their
cause.”
A transcript of the “20/20” seg
ment, “The Seeds of Hate,” was
made available to the Jewish Tele
graphic Agency. Produced by Bob
Lange, the segment is described as
“a look at the growing movement
in the farm belt of right wing
armed militant farmers fighting
the big banks.”
The rightwing extremist groups
focused on by Rivera in the “20/20”
documentary include the Aryan
Nations based in Idaho, the Posse
Comidatus of Wisconsin, the Cov
enant, the Sword and the Arm of
the Lord in Arkansas, and others.
All are losely connected, though
they share a common racist ideol
ogy as preached by the Identity
Movement.
Sam Van Pelt, a retired Nebraska
state judge, involved in the investi
gation of the violent death of a
farmer, said that the continuing
farm crisis had led farmers to
blaming—“scapegoating”—“either
the bankers or the lawyers or the
Jews or some sort of international
conspiracy” for their plight.
Rivera interviewed the Pastor
Dave Maroteck of the Identity
Movement in Wisconsin on the
teachings and views espoused by
the sect. Maroteck, expressing revi
sionist ideology, said of the Holo
caust: “Maybe it happened, maybe
it didn’t. And I’m not saying there
were six million Jews. I don’t believe
it ever happened. They didn’t kill
six million Jews, no way. Maybe a
couple of’em got eliminated.”
Continuing, he said, “And you
want—what I like is that—the other
races or Christian people gobble
that up daily. 1 think that’s great. If
they’re so gullible, they—to suck
up that garbage every day, fine.
See Midwest, page 20.
First-hand report
Atlantan reviews Nairobi Women’s Forum ‘85
by Carolyn Gold
“When I think of the African
woman I think of someone who
spends six hours a day looking for
water and firewood, who is bent
over from carrying heavy loads,
and who is responsible for family
care and agriculture. Yet she is
warm, pleasant and friendly.”
Susie Elson painted this picture
upon her return from Nairobi, Ken
ya, where she served as chairper
son of the American Jewish Com
mittee’s delegation to Forum ’85.
This conference of non-governmen
tal, volunteer, issue-oriented organ
izations overlapped and had im
mediate impact on the conference
marking the end of the United
Nations Decade for Women, which
was taking place across town.
Maureen Reagan, the president’s
daughter, led the official U.S. dele
gation, with its administrative agen
da, to the U.N. Conference. The
American Jewish Committee’s dele
gation. the largest American Jew
ish representation at Forum ’85.
was made up of 21 women from
business, law, political life, and
academia. Each AJC delegate paid
her own way because she keenly
felt a responsibility to be there.
Two earlier conferences on the
U.N. Decade for Women, the 1975
kickoff in Mexico City and the
1980 Copenhagen meeting, had been
marred by anti-Zionist, anti-Israel
statements. The American Jewish
Committee has an active women’s
issues committee which thought it
important to have representation
in Nairobi. “Our first reason for
going was ‘damage control’—to
prevent ugly things before they
happened,” explained Mrs. Elson.
“Next we went as American fem
inists interested in the worldwide
issues of pay equity, employment,
aging women, single parents, child
care and health care. We went with
a positive agenda, which accounts
for the successes we enjoyed.”
Time magazine, Aug. 5, 1985,
reports that U.N. statistics “...show
that women still shoulder more of
the world’s responsibilities but enjoy
fewer of its benefits. Women per
form two-thirds of the world’s work
but earn only one-tenth of its in
come and own only a hundredth of
its property.”
Susie Elson explained that at
this third conference women had
become more sophisticated, freer
than before, and less manipulated
by the men in attendance. “Also
the world situation is different.
The oil producers are not as solidly
powerful; Iran and Iraq are at war;
apartheid is a hot issue; and Kenya
was determined to make the con
ference a success, not just a sound
ing board for political statements.”
The conference goals were Equal
ity, Development, and Peace. In a
convening statement Dame Nita
Barrow of Barbados said. “I want
to change my world for a better
place of my own. 1 do not want to
exchange my world for your world.”
With that in mind, women attend
ed 1,000 workshops to learn about
and discuss such diverse topics as
polygamy, female circumcision, di
vorce, birth control and/or the
freedom to control one’s own fer
tility, and women’s status as to cus
toms and leadership within all reli
gions. Susie Elson describes the
workshops as instructive, with only
10 percent of them being “angry”—
anti-American or anti-Israel. The
Soviets, she reports, were very active
in stirring up anti-American sen
timent; but the problems of women
See Nairobi, page 20.
Susie Elson with youngsters in Nairobi.
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