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News Briefs
Thatcher scheduled to visit Israel
JERUSALEM (JTA)—Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of
Britain is tentatively scheduled to visit Israel May 24-27. It will be
the first visit ever by a British prime minister to Israel. Thatcher
will hold talks with Prime Minister Shimon Peres and other
officials.
Peres, meanwhile, received the president of Uruguay, Dr. Julio
Maria Sanguinetti, who arrived here from Cairo, accompanied by
his wife and a large party of Uruguayan Cabinet ministers and
members of parliament. Mrs. Sanguinetti heads the Uruguay-
Israel Friendship Society.
Rockets fired into Galilee
TEL AVIV (JTA)—A man and two children were slightly
injured by Katyusha rockets fired into Upper Galilee last Tuesday.
The 107 mm. rockets appeared to have been fired from outside the
south Lebanon security zone.
The attack did not affect Memorial Day observances for
Israel’s war dead or the Independence Day festivities.
Court upholds deportation order
NEW YORK (JTA)—A three-judge panel in federal court here
has unanimously upheld the deportation order against Karl Lin-
nas, an alleged Nazi war criminal who was sentenced to death in
absentia in the Soviet Union for his part in the execution of 12,000
people, including 2,000 Jews at the Tartu concentration camp in
his native Estonia during World War II.
Linnas, 66, was stripped of his U.S. citizenship in 1981 and was
ordered deported to the Soviet Union in 1983 by the U.S. Immigra
tion and Naturalization Service. He lives in Greenlawn, N.Y.
Tunisian charged in bombing
PARIS (JTA)—A 24-year-old Tunisian, Haabib Maamar, was
formally charged here May 12 with the bombings of the Marks and
Spencer department stores in London and Paris, which caused one
fatality and wounded 13 persons.
He is also charged with bombing the Parish branch of the Bank
Leu mi last Aug. 21 which did extensive damage to the Israeli bank.
Marks and Spencers is Jewish-owned.
IDF kills two terrorists in Lebanon
TEL. AVIV (JTA)—An Israel Defense Force patrol killed two
terrorists in a clash in the eastern sector of the south
Lebanon security zone early last Sunday morning. An IDF spo
kesman said a Kalashnikov rifle, ammunition belts, clips and hand
grenades were found near the bodies. There were no IDF
casualties.
Home of Chilean Jew bombed
WASHINGTON (JTA) B’nai B’rith International denounced
the terrorist bombing of the home of one of its leaders in Santiago,
Chile, on May 8. The blast seriously damaged the house of Amiti
Pilowski, a former president of the B’nai B’rith Santiago Lodge
and a representative to the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai
B’rith.
Neither Pilowski nor anyone in his family was injured. His was
the first home of a Jew in Chile singled out by terrorists.
Suit dropped against official
BONN (JTA) The state prosecutor in Dusseldorf has
dropped legal proceedings against Count Wilderich von Spee,
former mayor of Korschenbroich. who remarked to the town
council’s financial committee last year that the way to balance the
municipal budget was to “kill a few rich Jews.”
The Jewish community concurred in the decision to end the
proceedings after von Spee was fined 90,000 marks (about $41,000)
which he donated to a children’s cancer hospital. The Jewish
community had filed charges against him for incitement to racial
hatred. But the prosecution concluded that the anti-Semitic
remark was an insult to Jews for which von Spee was fined but
not incitement.
tetters to the editor
‘Closet’ Jews draw reader’s ire
Editor.
According to a recent survey,
Atlanta has among its population
60,000 Jews. Based on present
growth rates it is estimated that by
the year 2000 Jewish inhabitants
may be near 100,000.
It is quite understandable why
our city, which about 10 years ago
had a Jewish population of ap
proximately 25,000 or 30,000, has
seen those figures double. Atlanta
has many attributes: climate, lovely
residential areas, business oppor
tunities, many sizeable corpora
tions, regional headquarters for
large national corporations, out
standing educational and cultural
facilities. The list could go on and
on.
What is not understandable is
the disturbing fact that over one-
half of our Jewish residents are
totally unaffiliated with any Jew
ish organization. They are not
involved in anything Jewish. Not
the Federation, the Jewish Home,
any of the houses of worship,
Hadassah, B’nai B’rith, the Zionist
Organization, the Jewish National
Fund, or any of the other worthy
institutions in our midst.
Why are our f ellow Jews strangers
among their own people? Of answers
there are many. Of acceptable rea
sons there are few. Are they con
cerned that venturing forth from
the “closet” will expose them to a
request for funds or that they may
be asked to give a bit of time to a
worthy cause? Intermarriage has
its effect but even among those
who intermarry, must they remain
remote to the values that bind us
together as a people? There are, of
course, some who prefer to deny
M
their Jewishness just as there are 50
those who refer to themselves as _
“Jews for Jesus.”
Their lack of affiliation is cause
for concern. Any Jewish organiza- r*
tion or institution would benefit ^
from their becoming involved.
Those who have excluded them- »
selves would equally reap advan- —
tages on becoming more than just a
number. »
o-
Max E. Robkin
In response
Editor:
We have taken some time to
think about the letter directed at us
in The Southern Israelite of April
23.
It is clear that the writers, who
we do not know, consider them
selves ethical, liberal people, who
are outraged at the merest hint of a
Jew treating another human being
as less than an equal. Thus, they
did not read our letter, but
responded to a few key words that
triggered moral outrage. This is a
good smokescreen to avoid facing
our still unanswered question: How
do we assure the existence of Israel
as a Jewish state without a huge
underclass of Arabs that will make
her the South Africa of the 21st
century?
The answer will not be found in
angry epithets hurled at the ques
tions or the questioners. Rabbi
Kahane’s answer is a sad and pain
ful one. We yearn for someone
wiser than us to find a realistic,
viable alternative.
Linda and Alan Lippitt
This year, Jerusalem
by M.J. Rosenberg
Editor, Near East Report
There are two Israels. The first is
the Israel of the evening news. That
is the Israel of the Arab-Israel con
flict, of West Bank disturbances, of
war threats, and of politics. Then
there is the other Israel. That is the
place where 4,000,000 people live,
love, raise their kids—and spend
the week deciding what they will
do on the weekend.
The first Israel can best be expe
rienced from afar. Israel’s prob
lems are more readily apparent on
American television than on Ben-
Yehuda Street (any of the Ben-
Yehuda streets). As for the other
Israel—the real Israel—you can
only experience it by being there.
For some reason, it just doesn’t
come through on video tape.
That is why it’s time to start
thinking about going to Israel this
summer or autumn. Israel does not
need its supporters spending their
time and energy agonizing over its
fate. Israel certainly doesn’t need
tears. It does need support and,
right now, support for Israel can
best be demonstrated by booking an
El A1 flight and going.
Spending time in Israel is no
hardship. The fact is that Israel is a
“fun" country of beautiful beaches
and landscapes, fascinating historic
sites, and an unusually friendly
population. You can’t worry about
the “Middle East” when you are
strolling along the Mediterranean
promenade in Tel Aviv nor when
you are sitting on the balcony over
looking Jerusalem’s old city at the
King David Hotel The Middle
East of the headlines just disap-
major and minor public place is
the Israel of reality.
The best thing about visiting
Israel is that your trip is enhanced
by the sense of connectedness that
you feel. Visiting most foreign
countries is a passive experience.
You look, admire, and take home
photographs that look like post
cards. Sure, it’s very nice to check
out the ruins in Greece or the
cathedrals in Italy. But these places
have very little to do with most of
us. Israel is different. Seeing the
ancient “City of David” in Jerusa
lem is exciting because our ances
tors lived there. Tel Aviv is thril
ling because the people look
like—and sometimes are—relatives.
You just do not leave a kibbutz the
way you do a Scottish castle,
remarking on how “nice” it is. You
leave proud. Because that kibbutz
has something to do with you.
Everything in Israel does.
Of course, visiting Israel is a
two-way street. It is good for the
tourist. And it is good for Israel.
Last year, 1.4 million tourists
(430,000 from the United States)
came to Israel. While there, they
spent $1.3 billion —more foreign
currency than the country derived
from all its exports. Israeli officials
had hoped that 1986 would be an
even bigger year. In fact, Israelis
were counting on an increase in
tourism revenues to help sustain
and advance the economic recov
ery of the last year. Any drop in
tourism could seriously retard that
recovery.
Unfortunately, it is a drop in
tourism that seems to be happen
ing. This winter the number of
tourists visiting Israel was dow n 41
percent. If the summer figures are
anything like that, Israel’s econ
omy could face some serious new
troubles.
But there isn’t much that Israel
can do to attract tourists who are
afraid of becoming the victims of a
terrorist attack. Israel already runs
the world’s most secure airline, El
Al. The country itself is about as
terrorist-proof as any nation can
be. The U.S. Congress is now con
sidering erecting a fence around
the Captitol. In Israel, it is not only
the Knesset that is guarded. Every
major and minor public place is
protected. Purses and shopping
bags are routinely checked in
theaters and in supermarkets. This
may make some people feel inse
cure. It should have just the oppo
site effect. In Israel, the entire
instrumentality of the state works
full time to prevent attacks on the
entire population. This is true
nowhere else.
In short, there is no reason to
avoid traveling to Israel out of
fear. There is, of course, a small
element of risk in traveling any
where. Take Manhattan, for in
stance, or Miami. The only safe
place, really, is at home. But, then
again, you may live near the San
Andreas fault or within a few miles
of a nuclear reactor. Risk is simply
part of life. Fortunately, in Israel,
the risk is very small indeed. As for
the rewards, they are obvious. You
will be doing Israel a favor if you
go there this year. But it is you who
will be the real beneficiary.
Unlbed Way