EDITORIAL
Bringing The Mountain
You won't find poison ivy, mosquitoes or crickets. You won't see
brilliant sunsets, starry nights or glowing campfires, either. A camp in the
city — packed into an abandoned supermarket along clogged Telegraph
Road no less — is Tamarack Camps' attempt to bring the balmy summers
of Ortonville and Brighton to the winter doldrums of Southfield.
The Adventure Center, as it is called, opened this week in the former
Chatham Market next to the Tel-Twelve Mall. It is important for
Tamarack Camps and, with the right programming, for teenagers in the
Jewish community. For Tamarack, it serves as a recruitment center for
prospective campers at a time when there is a general slippage in
enrollments nationwide among Jewish overnight camps. If you can't bring
the prospect to the camp, then bring the camp to the prospect . . . For
teenagers, the right combination of activities and a "teenager-oriented"
environment could provide a healthy alternative to "hanging out" at malls
and shopping centers after school or on weekends.
We applaud the creativity which went into developing the Adventure
Center. While we recognize the program will only run through May, it is
our hope the community embraces it and the dilemma of finding a
permanent, year 'round location is created by heavy interest and
participation.
Hillel's Glow
possible on campus. Brooks' rationale is that Jews are not only interested
in the Jewish world but the broader community around them. The Hillel
staff has been successful because it has allowed the students to do the
programming, and that programming has attracted a wide audience.
The Hillel board and the Detroit Jewish Welfare Federation, which
provides a good portion of the funds, should be congratulated for allowing
Brooks to do his thing. The greater question which emerges is how to
duplicate the U-M Hillel model on other college campuses.
Is U-M Hillel unique because of the size of its Jewish student
population and its proximity to Detroit? We think not. Hillel foundations
at other universities must examine their programs and their emphasis,
broaden their student input and their outlook to bring in more of the
Jewish students. Creating a diverse Jewish community on campus, a place
for Jews to meet Jews, will only happen when Hillels follow the U-M Hillel
example and try to meet more of the diverse needs of that community. They
must not allow other organizations, whether on or off campus, to fulfill
these needs.
As Michael Brooks is so fond of saying, "Hillel just might be the last
Jewish gas station before the freeway of life" for many of our Jewish youth.
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The University of Michigan and the Detroit Jewish community is
justifiably proud of the accomplishments of U-M's B'nai B'rith Hillel
Foundation. As our Close Up report points out this week (Page 24), U-M
Hillel is unique in terms of the scope of its programming and the
involvement of students.
We should not be hasty to play the numbers game, the bottom line for
so many Jewish communal organizations endeavors. Numbers are
important, and U-M Hillel's numbers present an enviable report for other
organizations to follow. More importantly, however, is programming
content and critics are quick to question Hillel's results in terms of the
"Jewishness" of its programs.
U-M Hillel director Michael Brooks has a wider view: the "Jewish"
programs at 1429 Hill Street are top quality; there is nothing but praise for
the expansion of the daily and Shabbat minyanim, the variety and content
of programs and groups for Soviet Jewry, Zionism, etc. But should the
organization expend so much time and effort on general programs, such as
its speaker and movie series and Consider magazine?
Why not? Hillel is seeking to attract the broadest Jewish audience
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LETTERS
Barcus Tribute
Is Appreciated
Thank you for the excellent
retrospective on Frank Barcus
and for the fine review of his
recently re-published book,
Freshwater Fury. The Purely
Commentary article printed in
the Feb. 6 Jewish News ex-
presses his younger daughter's
tribute (Dr. Rachelle Barcus
Warren) to her father. I, too,
am extremely proud and fortu-
nate to be the daughter of this
multi-talented man. . . .
The photograph accompany-
ing the article is also a favorite
of mine for I am the daughter
happily sitting on my loving
dad's lap. It should be noted,
too, that my musically talented
mother, Esther Barcus, played
a big part in my father's career,
for she was a guiding light and
an inspiration to him, as he, in
turn, was an inspiration to all
of us.
Incidentally, Rachelle's Ann
Arbor opera company is called
6
Friday, February 20, 1987
The Papagana Opera Co., a
name taken from Mozart's op-
era, The Magic Flute, not
"Pasadena" as stated in her
tribute.
Suzanne Barcus Tushman
Southfield
Oak Park Gives
Equal Service
Your article by David Holzel
(Feb. 13) regarding the hospice
approval by the Oak Park
Board of Education was fine.
My concern is the statement:
"Some residents of the
neighborhood south of Nine
Mile Road contend that they
receive inferior municipal
services." To the contrary, all
areas of Oak Park receive out-
standing services from the city.
It is surprising with two coun-
cil members living in this area
that we have never received
any complaints at our council
meetings or in our depart-
ments from anyone in the area.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Oak Park takes pride in de-
livering services equally to all
residents.
Charlotte M. Rothstein
Mayor, Oak Park
Jewish News
Gets Kudos
I am very pleased at the ap-
pearance of The Jewish News.
It looks great, doesn't come
apart and is printed very
clearly and colorfully. The
Jewish News is worth the extra
dime . . . _
I'm ordering my first sub-
scription because you people
are showing you really care
about quality. The tote bag is
also a fine incentive!
Daniel Eastman
Warren
Welles' Record
Is Ambiguous
I seek to paint an accurate
portrait of Undersecretary of
State Sumner Welles during
the Holocaust. In contrast to
the ("Purely Commentary"
Jan. 23) written by Editor
Emeritus Philip Slomovitz,
Welles' historical record is not
without significant blemishes.
There exists one instance
during the Holocaust when
Welles' behavior was clearly
favorable: his confirmation to
Rabbi Stephen S. Wise that the
reports of systematic Jewish
extermination, arriving from
Swiss Representative of the
World Jewish Congress
Gerhart Reigner, were authen-
tic. However, this meeting oc-
curred at the state department
on Nov. 24, 1942. In late
August, Welles received the
Reigner information. Thus, ac-
cording to historian David
Wyman, "neither Welles nor
others in the state department
pursued (Reigner's informa-
tion as well as other reports)
with much energy."
Also in 1942, Eleanor
Roosevelt asked Welles if
Jewish refugees turned away
by the British from entering
Palestine could be taken into
British colonies in East Africa.
Welles replied that no facilities
for refugees existed there and
there were no ships available
for transportation. This was
simply not true: Wyman shows
that many ships returned to
port empty throughout the war
and that ships were in abun-
dant supply. When the same
question came up at the Ber-
muda Conference a year later,
the diplomats there declared
that the reason Jewish refu-
gees could not go to East Africa
was because 21,000 non-
Jewish Polish refugees were
currently making their way
there.
In April 1943, western dip-
lomats convened in Bermuda,
ostensibly to formulate evacu-
ation plans for European Jews
and other refugees to safe
areas in Spain, Switzerland,
southern Italy and Palestine.
In reality, the conference was
Continued on Page 10