Our 63rd Year
Since 1930 the only; weekly publication serving Jewry of the Pacific fviorthwest
An independent Newspaper
Publisher and Editor-in-Chief ;    SAMUEL KAPLAN
Advertising Manage!^ RONFREEDMAN
Assistant E'ditor ARIELA FRiEDMANN
"News Desk L ETHANMINaVITZ
Thursday^ June 17i 1993
f Published 47 timeis per year by Anglo-J?wish Publjshers Ltd;
3268 Heather SIm Vancouver, British Columb ^Subscription in Canada: $40.00 per year piiis $2,80jGi.S.T.
Saudi Arabia, the ortly country in the world named after its ruling family, has, for decades, been among the most reactionary of the Arab regimes.
Its anti-Israeli politics and rigid Wahhabi Isl^m; added to enormous oil revenues, made Riyadh a formidable totalitarian force in the Middle East.
For decades under different kings and princes Saudi Arabia led the political and financial onslaught against Israel, the first through the United Nations and the boycott and the second through massive financing of the PLC and oth^r terrorist coalitions. ■.
With accession of the Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran, after 1979 Saudi Arabia hot only found itself displaced as theArab world's protector of Islam.but also targeted by fundamentalist groups as a front of "western corruption."
Since the 1990 Gtilf War, the Saudi authorities have further woken to the possibility that Israel may not indeed be the incarnation of cosmological sin, and that the new strident ideology of Islamic fun-damehtalism may be the real menace in the Middle East. --i^
Accordingly, the New York Times reported
The application of computer technology to religious texts is already a light industry in Israel. At Bar-Ilan University, for example, scholars have been working for several years with Talmudic responsa literature which affords researchers the opportunity to trace Halachic decisions reached by rabbinic scholars over hundreds of years. And they can execute the search in a matter of minutes.
It is only recently, however, that a computer program has been prepared for research into the Torah and the result is a program developed by an American a/^/i in Israel whose product will revolutionize both formal study of the Tprah and reseafch activities associated with it. The new program has already received a haskama or rabbinic endorsement from the Bostoner Rebbe Rabbi Levi Yitzhak Horowitz.
Jeff Milgram's program runs on Macintosh and IBM XT/ AT and 100 percent compatible PCs and requires a hard disk, a mouse and a EGA Double Scan monitor. The Jerusalem Post reports that it contains the Pentateuch with a line-by-line English version, the Rashi text, a concordance and an integrative archive of iOO illustrations.
In the Macintosh version, it also possesses a recording feature that reads the texts or provides the cantillatiOn according to traditional melodies.
Milgram's program is especially attractive for children or other young people studying Torah because it comes with up to 10 windows on the screen and the capacity to print sheets "with text, translations, charts, historical maps, drawing and Biblical texts for pupils." Some of the illustrations can be made available for coloring by preschoolers.
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recently that the government in Riyadh has now removed from key government and university positions militant Muslim scholars who have preached against the country's modernization trends. ^>
At the same time the Saudis have stopped their generous flow of financing to Muslim groups in the Middle East who have been using those funds to circulate their fundamentalist Islamic need. In addition, Riyadh is now cooperating with Egypt and Tunisia in exchanging information about funda-nientalist guerillas and propagandists.
The Saudi move is especially significant because it has always considered itself to be the protector of Islam's most sacred teachings and practices and the move against fundanientalists within the country shows that the Saudis finally understand the danger to established governments represented by the Muslim Brotherhood and other organizations supported by the fundamentalists.
With Egypt, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia now being buffeted by the fiindamentalist challenge, perhaps the international community will understand better the difficulties which Israel has been experiencing with Hamas in Gaza and the Territpries,
		
		Bringiiig Israel to You... By drit Katzov Israel Emissary, Jewish Federation, Cornbined Jewish Appeal
		the absorption of scientists
If that were not enough, Milgram's program — called appropriately enough "Torah Scholar" — furnishes a list of the 613 mitzvot arid a cross-referencing feature to compare Rashi texts. Finally there is a gematria feature which will produce the numerical equivalent of every Hebrew word "according to any seven systems."
This amazing teaching and research tool is bound to become a success in years to come. It will be an indispensable support mechanism for rabbis, teachers and scholars anxious to probe deeply into the Tprah's linguistic patterning and other themes.
The use of the computer for the stiidy of Torahis asmpmentousa development as the transformation which saw the printed book replace the scroll and manuscript. At the dawn of printing,one could never have foreseen the revplutiori it ushered in.
The arrival of the computer and its link with the Torah will undoubtedly produce similar results and probably in the not too distant future.
Clothing the world
A forecast of the Manufacturers' Association of Israel reveals that the scope of exports of the textile and clothing industries for 1993 will be more than $ 1 billion.
The total of exports of the above industries amounted to $957 million during 1992, a rise of 11 percent oyer 1991 and comprised 11 percent of Israel's industrial exports.
In 1992,63 percent of textile exports were directed to the EC, 27 percent to the U.S. to EFTA countries and 8 percent to other coiintries.
Science gets a raise
The budget of the Ministry of Science has been increased by NIS 20.8 million ($7.5 million) to absbrb new immigrant scientists.
Most of the amount, nearly NIS 19 million ($6.8 million), is designated for the financing of research ; Carried out by new immigrants and the rest towards
in
lent centres.
Immigration tops 2 million
Since the establishment of the Jewish state in 1948, 2.3 million olim have arrived in Israel, 486,661 of which have arrived since 1989, Simcha Dinitz, chairman of the Jewish Agency said.
He said that the current wave of immigration is holding steady at about 6^000 per month.
Ethiopians mentpriali^ed
A memorial to the 5,000" Ethiopian Jews who perished during their trek to Sudan in preparation for Operation Moses was dedi^ cated recently at the Jewish National Fund's Ethiopian Jewry forest, south of Jerusalem.
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Absorption Minister Yair Tsaban joined the kessim and thousands of the Ethiopian community at the site.
Dear Mn Kaplan:
On my recent trip to Poland, I met Prof. Daniel Green-berg ,who is director of the Jewish Historical Inistitute of Warsaw. v■•';;^:,^^:';^■■■■''■^
He requested that I extend his thanks to all who contributed for this cause. H^ extends his heartfelt thanks to everyone and hopes they will have an opportunity to visit the Institute and.see how their contributions were put to good
Prof. Greenberg also promised to help the Vancouver Jewish.community organize any exhibition of memorabilia from the Holocaust.
As well,T:would like to advise the community that a yideo depicting the' 50th anniversasry of the Ghetto Uprising memorial proceedings in Warsaw on April 19 is available in Vancouver. Those interested should contact the writer at 733-6386.. ■  : r---^ .    -V.^:''    '-^^-0^:■_;•;v■
ALEXANDER DIMANT
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STATEMENT OF BULLETIN POLICY
As a Jewish newspaper whose raison d'etre is the survival of the Jewish people, for overthree decades it has been JWB policy to publish only those engagements Of marriages in which both partners are either born Jewish or Jews by choice (they have converted to Judaism). Thjs newspaper does not announce inters marriages where there hais been no conversion. This policy lias been endorsed by the Rabbinical Council of Greater Vancouver and Victoria (Reform, Conservative and Orthodox rabbis). ^„       ■ ^
' The Publisher
Dear Shalom Vancouver: X
M y husband and I are in the process of getting a divorce. Since we separated last year, our daughter has been living with me and visiting him on weekends. What happens about Custody of children when a divorce takes place?
1 always thought that the mother got custody, but friends \: tell me that this has changed. Who decides? Thejudge or the parents?
Thank you for any information you can give me.
"^■■?V JR.
Dear J.R.
: In deciding Custody, the law foCuses oil what is in the best interest of the child/children. This takes precedenc^e over the "rights" of either parent.      ; - ^
U is true that in the past^ustody of children was almost always awarded to the mother, but this is changing as times change. -^.:'^:/:. ■
It is n0w considered in the chiId's best interest to have both parents involved in his/her life. Hence, possibly the arraingement you presently have would be acceptable to the
If one parent is awarded custody and after a reasonable period, it is apparent that the situation is not working well, the other parent can return to court and seek custody,
The court then would look again at what is in the best interest of the child.
We hope things work out we 11 for your family.
' Shalom Vancouver
Shalom Vancouver provides Jewish community Information and a ^ welcoming service. For information, call 266-9111, 10 a.m>2 p.m.,Monday-Frlday. Write or drop in at 950 West 41st Ave., Vancouver, B.C. V5Z 2N7.