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News Briefs
Fund steps up war on poverty
NEW YORK (JTA)—The Jewish Fund for Justice has an
nounced seven new grants for projects aimed at attacking poverty
in America.
An ongoing agricultural aid proiect for the Navajo Indians in
Arizona’s Painted Desert that the Fund has supported for the past
two years is an example of the type of community self-help groups
the organization targets for grants.
A youth action project in New York’s East Harlem neighbor
hood, a project in Iowa to aid small farmers in coping with the
economic farm crisis and a Florida-based farmworker’s associa
tion striving to bridge ethnic barriers among migrant workers all
received $5,000 from the fund.
Barbie trial to be held in Lyon
PARIS(JTA)—When Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie goeson
trial, the trial will be held in Lyon, the city he terrorized as chief of
gestapo during World War II.
The Paris Court of Appeals made that official in an announce
ment. Barbie, who was ousted from Bolivia on Feb. 5, 1983, and
taken into custody by French authorities, may go on trial early
next year. But no date has been set.
Israeli banks listed in Forbes
NEW YORK (JTA)—Three Israeli banking firms are among
the 500 largest international companies listed in the annual Forbes
Foreign 500 rankings. Tel Aviv is also listed among the cities
headquartering some of the 500 largest firms.
According to the prestigious Forbes listing, appearing in its
July 28 issue, the three firms are Bank Hapoalim, ranked 51 in 1985
(17 in 1984); Bank Leumi, ranked 98 in 1985 (49 in 1984); and IDB
Bankholding Corp., ranked 235 in 1985 (112 in 1984). Tel Aviv is
listed as home to these three banks.
Teenager hurt in bomb explosion
TEL AVIV (JTA)—A 17-year-old girl was slightly injured
when a bomb exploded in the cafe-and-shop-lined Dizengoff
Street near Dizengoff Circle Sunday night. Inbar Shapira, of Kib
butz Amir in upper Galilee, was strolling with her parents when the
bomb, concealed in a plastic bag which had been deposited in a
garbage bin, went off.
“I lived safely through terrorist Katyushas at home in Galilee
for years, only to come here on vacation to Tel Aviv to be hit by a
bomb,” Shapira remarked as she was taken to the hospital for
treatment. At the time of the explosion, the street was filled with
strollers.
Arab terrorist inadvertently freed
TEL AVIV (JTA)—An Arab terrorist between jail terms was
inadvertently freed last week and Police Commissioner Rafi Suissa
has ordered an inquiry to find out how it happened.
The prisoner, not identified by name, had completed a prison
term for one offense and was awaiting trial on charges of entering
the country illegally to commit a terrorist act. Instead of going to
court he was included in a group of three other Arab prisoners
being expelled to Egypt.
The four were turned loose at the border in the dead of night
since Egypt would not officially accept them. Prison sources said
the mix-up occurred because the man awaiting trial had a name
similar to a prisoner about to be released.
3,000 dance in Israeli festival
TEL AVIV (JTA)—Some 3,000 dancers from II countries
stepped out lively at the opening of the Sixth International Folk-
dance Festival in Haifa Saturday night, at which Prime Minister
Shimon Peres said he hoped the day would come when people
would abandon the strategy of war for the strategy of football and
the dance.
The participants at the week-long festival come from Poland,
Yugoslavia, Spain, Portugal and Britain, together with groups
from Mexico and Bolivia. The United States, which provided the
Sixth Fleet band for the opening ceremonies, also sent a folkdance
group from the Mormon Brigham Young University in Utah,
whose Jerusalem premises now under construction arc at the cen
ter of a controversy.
The Israeli dancers include a number of ethnic groups repre
senting Hasidic, Yemenite, Circassian and other dances.
etters to the editor
Jewish unity vital for survival
Editor:
This has been a bad year for Jew
ish unity. The Jewish press in recent
months has turned from its focus
on the traditional topics of Israeli
security, anti-Semitism, and Soviet
Jewry to the current erosion of
relationships now taking place be
tween the various factions in our
religious community. At the pres
ent time, there is no lack of name
calling and threats of writing off
this or that group of Jews is ram
pant. One Cassandra has even pre
dicted that we are on the verge of a
cataclysm which will ultimately tear
the entire fabric of Jewish life into
shreds.
Orthodoxy is concerned about
Reform and Conservative Judaism’s
halachic relativism and their strug
gle for full legitimacy. Conserva
tive Judaism, while searching for a
strong self-definition, is anxious to
steer clear of the extremes of both
Reform and Orthodox. And Re
form Jews continue to struggle for
equality and dignity within the
state of Israel.
It is time to be honest with our
selves by admitting that Orthodox,
Conservative and Reform Jews are
probably never going to succeed in
convincing each other of the right
ness of their individual points of
view. In spite of that fact, recent
statements and actions by right-
wing religious zealots is a genuine
cause for concern. We Jews have
already proven that we can survive
even the meanest external threats
to our existence. The question now
to be answered is whether or not
we can survive the threats which
fellow Jews are creating from
within.
Before any one of us comes to
that dangerous point of writing
someone off, we had better stop for
a moment and consider how much
we depend upon each other for our
physical survival as Jews. Fund
raising, the delivery of social servi
ces, and the protection of Jewish
rights around the world know no
ideological, theological or sec
tarian boundaries. The person who
solicits me for the annual federa
tion campaign never asks me what
synagogue I attend or which hala
chic point of view I espouse.
Before we succeed in destroying
the Jewish community, let us con
sider how much we need one an
other for the important tasks of
strengthening the Jewish commun
ity institutions we have worked so
hard to build, of guaranteeing the
survival of the state of Israel and
of establishing a strong defense
against those who continually seek
to damage or destroy us simply
because we are Jews.
Some of those who speak so glibly
of writing off this or that Jew had
better think a little harder and
longer. We simply cannot afford
the consequences of disunity.
Rabbi Philip N. Kranz
Temple Sinai
Mainstream Orthodox hold the key
Editor:
Vida Goldgar’s column in the
July 11 issue succinctly described
the threat to Israel resulting from
the escalating violence perpetrated
by both the “ultra-Orthodox” and
the “ultia-secular.” Let me begin
where Ms. Goldgar ended, “It must
be stopped!”
Unfortunately, the nature of Is
rael’s political system makes this
problem more difficult to deal with
than any other—security, econom
ics and territories included. One
group, and one group only, holds
the key to bridging what appears to
be a growing impasse. I’m referring
to the majority of religiously ob
servant who find the violence of
the “ultra-Orthodox” to be no less
abhorrent than that of the “ultra-
secular.” Their leaders, be they
rabbis or elected Knesset members
from the National Religious Party
have failed their constituency by
their refusal to draw a distinct line
between themselves and the zea
lots. They are unable to see that
oft-times their best interests place
them in the same camp with the
“secular Zionists” and now with
the non-Zionist (or anti-Zionist)
“ultra-Orthodox.” Their words and
and actions, on the other hand,
have created an environment that
espouses secularity in preference to
observance of tradition that does
not conform to strict Halacha.
Perhaps the recent instruction of
the interior minister to have con
verts so designated in'their identity
cards may finally make it clear to
all how some are willing to subvert
even Halacha for their own politi
cal gain. This “silent” observant
majority should not be mistaken
into believing that it is only the
secular “g-dless” community which
is under attack. Both they and the
Judaism they cherish are also
targets.
For good or for bad, there are
few things that happen in Israel
that do not affect world Jewry at
the same time. Because of this
effect and because of the influence
that sometimes accompanies money
from the diaspora and political
clout in the diaspora, world Jewry
and, in this case in particular,
mainstream Orthodox world Jewry,
is not powerless. The religious
leadership of this silent majority of
Israelis is not insensitive to the
concerns of what they see as an
extension of their own constituency.
They will listen to the “right” peo
ple if their voices are made loud
enough and clear enough—even
from Atlanta, Georgia.
Shai Robkin
Response to letter baffles reader
Editor:
In response to Ms. Spielberg’s
response (TSI, July 4) to Mr. Cor-
tell’s “Kahanist” letter, I should
first admit that I did not read Mr.
Cortell’s letter, but I am neverthe
less baffled by Ms. Spielberg’s
response.
As the late, great mayor of Chi
cago, Hizzoner Mr. Daley, was so
fond of saying: “Anyone can throw
stones, but who’s got the program?”
Mr. Kahane has the program, and
his program is farsighted enough
to realize that Israel could con
ceivably vote itself out of exist
ence. Mr. Kahane realizes that
Israel must choose between a Jew
ish homeland or a bastion of de
mocracy, not both.
A few quick observations re
garding Ms. Spielberg’s letter:
1. God is One—but Allah and
G-d Israel are not one—Koran and
Torah are not one.
2. Arabs are not one nation—
but they certainly agree to be of
one mind.
John Tschura
No more funds for Haredi
JERUSALEM (JTA)—The
Jewish Agency will no longer fund
non-Zionist Haredi educational in
stitutions in Israel and overseas,
the concluding session of the Jew
ish Agency Assembly decided last
week.
According to the resolution, the
Jewish Agency from now on will
transfer funds to Jewish schools,
Yeshivot and other institutions,
“which recognize the State of Israel,
support its existence as the national
homeland of the Jewish people,”
and integrate Zionist values in their
study programs.
The Mizrahi delegates to the
Assembly tried to oppose the reso
lution, but eventually it was ap
proved by a wide majority.
However, Rabbi Yitzhak Meir,
head of the Torah education de
partment, said he would appeal the
resolution before the Zionist Ex
ecutive, terming the resolution
“irresponsible and not operational.”
According to Meir, it was unac
ceptable that an instituion, in which
only 50 percent of its members are
Zionists, would determine the cri
teria for Zionism.
** AGE 5 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE July 18, 1986