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i ~ uthern Israeli! jtlanto's Jewish Community Since 1925 vt c x : > rr. O Wiesel quits as Holocaust Council he£ ‘Practicality’ given as reason Goodfriend disappoint* r-' r > X > •> a X by Joseph Polakoff ISI's Washington correspondent WASHINGTON-Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wie sel has resigned as chairman of the United States Holo caust Council which he has lead since its founding during the Carter administration, but he v\ ill remain as a member of the council. No successor to the post, a presidential ap pointment. has been named. Wiesel told the 65-member council on Dec. 4 that he was resigning and asked those present not to go public with his action since he felt the announcement should come from the White House. The Southern Israelite was in formed. At press time, no an nouncement had been made, two White House spokesper sons said. After making his statement Elie Wiesel to the Council, it was report ed, Wiesel went to the White House and handed in his resig nation and his request for re tention as a member of the Council. Both were reported- McDonald ‘McMouse’ drawing sharp criticism by Andrew Muchin NEW YORK (JTA)-What’s a nice Jewish cartoon character like Fievel Mousekewitz doing in places like these? The rodent star of Steven Spielberg’s new' animated film “An American Tail" is the cen terpiece of two major Christmas sales promotions, both apparently with Spielberg’s blessing. At more than 7,000 McDon ald’s restaurants across the Unit es States, Fievel is pictured on four facsimile-stocking Christmas tree ornaments, each given free to purchasers of a $5 book of gift certificates. The books also contain a cou pon for $5 off a $25 Fievel doll at 801 Sears department stores na tionwide. Sears has exclusive rights to sell merchandise based on the movie’s characters, accord ing to James Podany, director of marketing communications for Sears Roebuck & Co., Chicago. Sears is placing the characters on a variety of children's pro ducts as a draw for sales during the Christmas season, however, Podany insisted that Fievel is not pictured on any Christmas-related items such as a wreath or tree ornament. The use of an identif iably Jew ish character to boost Christmas sales is incongruous to say the least, isn't it? "I think it's ill- advised" and “tacky,” said Dr. Eliot Spack, executive director of the Coalition for Alternatives in Jewish Education. He noted that he was expressing his own opinions, not his organization’s policy. However, he told JTA that the Fievel campaigns did not pose major assimilation problems for Jews “I'm not personally wor ried that we’re going to lose thousands of Jews over it." he said, explaining that children won’t easily identify the mouse as Jewish, since f ievel is an uncom mon Jewish name. He chalked up the Fievel pro motions to capitalism. “Hanuka and Jewish linkages have clearly been exploited for many years" in the promotion of Christmas and non-religious events, he added. Spokespeople for the compan ies involved denied any tackiness or incongruity in the use of Fievel. Podany of Sears said the Fievel-centered campaign appears at Christmas-time only to concur with the release of the movie. Marvin Levy, a consultant to Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment and Universal City Studios Inc., both of Universal City, Calif., acknowledged that Fievel is Jew ish and even receives Hanuka gifts in the film, but he said the film is less a Jewish story than one of immigration that fosters universal American values such as the “melting pot.” "No one thought of it with a religious significance," he said of the many Jews, including himself and Spielberg, among the leader ship of Amblin and Universal. “We would probably be as sensi tive as anybody,” he added. But might not children who see the film and then see the character pushing Christmas sales get the wrong impression of Jud aism? “1 really don't think so," he said. “1 don’t think anybody here thought of it as being as much of a Christmas promotion as a (generally ecumenical) holiday promotion.” According to Terri Capotosto, media relations man ager for McDonald’s Corp., Oak Brook. 111., the movie represents American values of intercultural understanding, hope and family heritage. Moreover. both C’apatostoand See McMouse. page 25. ly accepted. Whether he met with President Reagan could not be confirmed. According to a brief report in the New York Times, Wie- sel’s resignation “had nothing to do with any unhappiness with the Reagan administra tion." It said he had passed up an opportunity to resign in 1985 when many of his col leagues urged him to quit to protest Reagan’s visit to a German cemetery where Nazi war dead are buried. "Instead of quitting then." the newspaper added. “Wiesel made an impassioned plea in the presence of Mr. Reagan that he not v isit the cemetery. “Instead of quitting then." the newspaper added. "Wiesel made an impassioned plea in the presense of Mr. Reagan that he not visit the cemetery. “Reached at his home in New York, Wiesel said" the Times continued, “he had decided to step down, not over any issue of principle, but rather for practicality. The council is overseeing con struction of a memorial and Mr. Wiesel said, ‘We are en tering a phase w hen we need people who know a lot more about management and archi tecture than I do.”' In the council's first meet ing after President Reagan's visit to the cemetery at Bit- burg, debate ensued about resignations en masse but such action did not prevail and no member resigned. Former assistant deputy secretary of state, Richard Krieger, was appointed by Reagan last May as director of the council, with responsi bility to oversee all its activi ties, including museum plan ning and fundraising for con struction. Wiesel was in Oslo receiv ing the Nobel award and could not be reached for further comment. by Richard Bono IS I stall writer Cantor Isaac Goodfriend of Atlanta's Ahavath Achim Synagogue is concerned that the resignation of Elie Wiesel as chairman of the U.S. Holo caust Council could hinder efforts to raise $100 million for the new Holocaust Mem orial Museum. Goodfriend, w ho serves with W'iesel on the 65-member council, did not dispute Wie- sel’s contention that he lacks the administrative and finan cial wherewithal for the job. But, said Goodfriend, the 1986 Nobel Peace Prize w inner brings leadership and prestige to the U.S. Holocaust Coun cil. "Wiesel is worried, as he stated in his letter to President Reagan, that his administra tive shortcomings and finan cial inadequacies are not good enough for the job." said Can tor Goodfriend. “I know Elie Wiesel to be a humble man. He is primarily a writer and an author. 1 take it for what he says ihat lie doesn’t feel ade quate for the job.” Goodfriend said that should President Reagan accept Wie- sel’s resignation, the U.S. Holocaust Council will likely recommend that he remain as honorary chairman of the group. He indicated that Wie- sel’s involvement with the council’s current effort to build the world’s second larg est Holocaust museum, next to Yad Vashim in Israel, is critical. "He is it. Wiesel’s leader ship is vital to the building of the museum,” said Goodfriend. “It’s his name that adds pres tige to our project. It will not be as respected if he resigns." A paid staff employed by the council will continue to handle the day-to-day details of the building of the new C Isaac Goodfriend museum in Washington. D.C. Goodfriend said everything is set for actual construction. “The shovels are ready to be put into the ground." The main task for the coun cil is meeting their financial goal of collectingSKH) million. "The council will not fall apart, but it will be set back quite a bit if he resigns,” said Goodfriend. “Wiesel is not a politician. He doesn’t mince words. But, he was the right person for this job and in my opinion, he still is.” THIS WEEK Enhanced 911 8 A Jewish Scarlett? 12 Singles .....20 Arts & Entertainment 22 Business 24 Obituaries 27 Classifieds 27 & 28 10 & 25 years ago 31 In support of Soviet Jewry Members of more thay 40 Jew ish organizations participate in a refusnik roll call during the 1986 Women's Plea for Soviet Jewry. See story, page 2. C— L r rr, n r x