Page 2-The Ganadian Jewish News, Thursday, May 25, 1989
World^National
m-t
't
Rabbi Plaut
By
RABBI W. GUNTHER PLAUT
The recent Solidarity Conference called by Prime Minister Shamir attracted many Jewish leaders from around the world. There is some debate over what the conference accomplished, or who was invited and who was not (and why not), but that is not the topic for today's column.
Rather, I want to bring you excerpts from two Israeli comments, written by respected journalists, Yosef Lapid of Ma'ariv and Ephraim Sidon of Yedi'ot Aharonot. They asked: Why do these proinijient Jews who came here contkiue to live in the Diaspmra and not in Israel, wheire they would help us in a far more tai^ble way than they do now? In raising this basic question they e;q)ressed the palpable frustration of many Israelis and they did so with heavy irony. . " , <
"They came to us (wrote Lapid) from the ghettos of Los Angeles, London, Sydney and Toronto in order to feel that they are not alone, that they belong to something more ih^rtant and more worthy than the sound business they conduct. They are from the villas with the tennis courts, from the Chi-huaha dogs and the chinchilla coats and from the tennis games they were not bom to. They took a vacation of several days from the reserved than-ners of the goyim who show them such generous tolerance, but who despise their strange habits and long noses and mock their manicured wives, BMWs (whichhave replaced their Cadillacs) and the country clubs they biiild because they were not accepted in others.
"They are good aihd warm Jews, clever and successful. But they lead a schizophrenic existence. If they are such good Jews, then why are they there? . . . The tragedy is not occurring here but there. There is no threat of Jewish extinction here but there, Jews do not surrender their identities here but there.
''the time has come for a reveree tonference ... where we the people who live uiZion declare splidarity with the Jews; of the Diasppra. We are free. We are poor, struggling and suffering, but free. They are not. 1,500 leaders of a people without a hbmeland came to the home of the people." .,
Sidon wrote in a similar vein. "So, the whole Jewish people is befiind us . . .It has always been that way, throughout all our history: the Jews of the Diaspora were careful to leave open a wide space and remain a safe d'lslance behind. Our forefathers went ahead to Eretz Yisrael, to build and be built by it — and they, our good brbdiers, stayed on in theif natural place: behind us.
"But we already know that is better to have, a distant brother than a close neighbor. This-is especially so since our close neighbor throws stones ind our distant brother throws declarations."
Quitepbviously, both Lapid and Sidon were exasperated by the very fact that the prominent conference participants who came from afar and who, back ill the Diaspora, command so much political clout and financial rescwrces, do not seriously face the challenge of aliya. There are a lot of Israelis who say that a mere 1,000 immigrants from Western countries would make a substantial difference and, abbye all, vyould dramatieally-lift the morale of the country; And think of it, they will add, if there were several million! Israel would be trpsformed and its human base bemade near impregnable. -
Sidon and Lapid, m their harsh and sardonic pieces (of which I have quoted a portion only) address a subject which we, living comfortably wliere we are, have not faced bead-on. We don't fed like rocking the boat. To be sure, the term ''aliya" is ahniys gben a resfMKtfid pbce on the communal agOBda^ but is not re^ ously. It som^imes seenis to iiie that the presence of Isradis who have s^ed ainpng us is a pretext for not looking at ourklves. I am not sure how we can arrive at a greater degree of introspection, but the jarring notes of the Sidons and Lairds should at least gjye us some ■pausei;,-'"
WASHINGTONCJTA)-
American Jewish groups have welcomed President George Bush's recent announcement of conditions the Soviet Union would have to meet before a waiver of U.S. trade sanctions against that country could be considered.
"Should the Soviet Union codify its emigration laws in accord with international standards and implement its new laws faithfully, I am prepared to work with Congress for a temporary waiver of the Jackson-Vanik amendment, opening the way to extending MoSt-Favored-Nation u^e status to the Soviet Union," Bush said in a commencement address at Texas A&M University.
Bush's statement came a day after Secretary of State Jamies Baker told a news^^^tcnfa^e in Moscow that he told Soviet lead[a^ that it would be appropriate to consider waivii^ Jackson-Vanflc as well as the Stevenson Amendment, which withholds U.S. government credits, should Soviet emigration reforms be "mstitutionalized."
Shpshana Cardin, chairwoman of the National Conference on Soviet Jewry, said she wekomed BiKh's"se^ing of criteria which ' the Soviet Union should meet prior to the rectmunenda-tioh of a waiver*"
Bush's position is consistent with the conference's "continuing reassessment of its position, initiated on Jan. 10,'^she said^
The grpujp's preconditions for consideration of a waiver are a sustained high level of Soviet emigration; codification of Soviet emigration laws; progress on resplvinjg the cases of long-term Refiiseniks; and reversal of emigration refusals to those who allegedly had access to state secrets.
A National Conference " delegation is scheduled to visit the Soviet Union from May 23 to 28, to meet with Refuseniks and Soviet officials. The group's executive committee arid board of governors will consider advocating a waiver of Jackson-Variik penalties at a meeting in Washington on June 12 and 13.
The group's preconditions are in 1 ine with those announced by the Washington-based Union of Councils for Soviet Jews. Officials of that group said they were "relieved, joyful and full of gratitude" for Bush's statement.
Pamela C(Aen, president of the Union of Councils of, Soviet Jewry, said Bush's statement is in "strict compliance" with previously stated U.S. positions on a waiver__and with her group's own position.
Micah Naftalin, the organization's natioiial director, Who was given an advance briefing of the President's speech by a White House official, praised Bush for not easing the conditions for a Jackson-Vanik waiver.
He credited; Bush with
'' resisting the euphoria of glasnost'' by not "crossing the critical Rubicon by granting a 1 year waiver."
Cohen called Bush's statement a "first-round victory" against those "presshig for a premature waiver hi the absoice of Soviet legislative guarantees of institutiomal reform, leading to high and sustained levels of emigration."
Even the normally hardline Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry "warmly welcomed" Bush's remarks and announced it was sending a delegation to the Soviet Union to join Refiiseniks ui drafting proposed emigration reforms to present to the Kremlin:
The grassroots group
said any legislation enacted by the Soviets must guarantee "unhindered exit to anyone who wishes." The group suggested that period of time equal to the duration of a waiver be set aside to test implementation of the legislation before a waiver is granted.
Seymour Reich, chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, said Bush had set ''fair and firm conditions'' for the granting of a waiver.
"Those conditions offer a test of Soviet intentions,'' he said in a statement. "We trust that the USSR will meet that test and institutionalize by law the reforms it has begun to put
jnto effect in its emigration practices."
David Harris, Washington representative of the American Jewish Committee, called Bush's statement "a welcome balance between continued American commitment to the principle of free and unobstructed emigratimi and the recognition of the need for a flexible response."
Harris pointed out that repeal of Jackson-Vanik . "is not an issue." The law allows the President to recommend to Congress an 18-month waiver, followed by aimual renewals.
^ White House fact sheet on Jackson-Vanik said Bush could propose a 1-year waiver by notify-
ing Congress. It added that an faiteragency review is under way in the Bush admmistration to determine whether legislative approval of a waiver is required.
Harris played down any possible negative reaction from Congress should the interagency review determine .Bush-does-not need congressional approval. He noted Bush's statement that he is "prepared to work with Congress."
' 'Clearly the administration understands that the best way to move forward is through a broad consensus of the administration and the Congress, and the relevant interest groups, including the Jewish conrniu-nity," Harris said.
piiiiiitimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiimiiiHiiiiiiiiimn^
f   Sodetypimishes parents I
By :
ELLEN GOODMAN
A parent was arrested in Los Angeles recently. It happens every day, but not quite like this. Gloria Williams, you see, was arrested for being a parent. ■ , ■
More precisely, the 37-year-old mother of three became the yery first person accused under a new California law that holds parents responsible when their kids go bad. She is charged with "failing to; exercise reasonable care, supervision, protection and control" of a child.
The child in question is 17 years old and an alleged member of street gang called the Crips. This son is accused of being among those who raped a 12-year-old girl.
Mind you, if the police are right, Mrs. Williams is no candidate for die Mother's Day Hall of Fame. When they entered her apartment to talk about her son, they found Walls covered with gang graffiti instead of rock posters.. The photo albums showed members of the family pointing guns. The birthday cake for the 8-year-old was decorated with the gang name.
To this day the mother, who works for an electronics firm not far from home, insists that her son is no gang member. Perhaps she is blind or blindly loyal or chooses to believe that the Crips are a local Boy Scout troop and the guns are nierit badges on the wa^K .to^ Scout. Perhaps she does condone her son's gang membership, as the city attorney charges.
But the crime she is accused of is a lackofparen-: tal control. Let me put it this way: It's 10 o'clock at night. Do you know where your 17-year-old son is? Sure about that?
The California law was created and passed in the current desperate mood about street gangs and youth, about violence and drugs. In the sociological search for a cause of all these woes, Americans buy one generic label these days. We blame it all on "the breakdown of the family."
If the cause is the breakdown of family,,jhen surely the cure is the repair of the family. Our search for a fix has taken us to many different family mechanics. The favorites these days are the ones who believe that the breakdown is caused by a loss of parental authority. Their special low-cost repair would put parents back in the driver's seat. Those who won't take the wheel must be forced into it.
This is the fix-it behhid the law that threat-
ens CaUfomia parents of kids hivolved in crimi- =
nalacthitieswithayearhijaUanda$2,500fine. i
It's the thuikhig as weU behhid a Wisconsm law |
that mak^ parents financially responsible for E
the offspring of theh* teen-age chUdren. And it i
is, hi part as well, the support for laws that re- =
quire parental consent for abortion. =
We are now seeing various attempts to put par- =
ents in charge, to shore up authority, to foster at =
least the image and maybe the reality of a tradi- =
tional funily unit. They arc, mosdy, efforts to con- = trol the behaviors that worry society the most:. S
teen-age violence and teen-age sex, the yin and S
yang; the male and female of dangers. ; =
I find this a notable pattern. After all, parents =
have always been held responsible for the care of =
their children. They've been held liable for child =
neglect, for child abuse, for child suRX)rt. We have E
always drawn connections between behavior and = background. Where did they, we, go wrong?      ; =■
But this current society that knows little about , =
how to restore relationships, that has done less to S
help parents trying to raise their children in safety E
and health, has now turned to punishing the S
failures. =
More and more responsibility is passed to par- =
ents, even as we worry about their willingness to E
exercise it. We allow violence on the screen and =
tell parents to control the dial. We allow drugs on E
the streets and tell parents to monitor usage. We E
offer a few alternatives to street life and expect par- =
ents to keep their kids indoors. We remove com- S
munal supports and tell parents to make up the E difference.                                             ■ E
Idon't know about Mrs. Williams' culpability, E
although if they arrested the mother for her "failure =
to exercise supervision," why not the absent E
father? But for every crooked parent, there is = another who hasn't given up but, rather, has lost    : E
control of a teen-ager. For everyone who is truly E
irresponsible, there is another who is over- E
whelmed, a third who is afraid for her child, a E
fourth who is afraid OF her child. Is that parent E
now a criminal? E
They say that California is the leading edge, 1
the social trend-setter. Now the Golden State has E
turned the Bible on its head. They've decided E
that the sins of the sons shall be visited upon E
their parents. =
(Copyright Washhigton Post Writers Group) |
lan ishnews
Directors:
Ctiaries Bronfman,.Dohald Carr, Q.C. Qeorge A. Cohon, Jack Cummings, Murray B. Koffler, Albert J. Litfnef, Ray D. Wolfe. But><n Zimmerman Editor, Maurice Ijjcow Business Manager, Gary Laforet Advertising Manager. Vera Giliman
VOL. XXX, NO. 4 (2,456)
Publistied by The Canadian Jewish News (A Corporation without share capital)
Toronto Office: 10 Gateway Boulevard. Suite 420, Don Mills. Ont.M3C3A1        Tel: 422-2331        Fax: (416) 422-3790
Montreal Office: sijuare Decarie, Ste. 157. 6900 boul. Decarie. Montreal, Que. H3X2TB   Tel: 735-2612   fax: (514) 735-9090
~ SUBSCRIPTIONS
Canaida $20.00 per year................... $35.00 - 2 years
_y.S.A........................................ $35jOO-1 year
All other countries............................... $45.00-1 year
Second Class Mail Postage Paid at Toronto Registration Number,1683
Average net paid circulation ... 50,781 Average total distribution ... 53391
Publisher's sworn statement, April 26th. 19M : r
The Canadian Jewish News assumes no responsibility for the kashruth of the products advertised.