EDITORIAL

Budgeting Our Elderly

The budgetary crisis at the Jewish Home for Aged has
ramifications that range far beyond elderly Jews in this community.
The Jewish Welfare Federation this year allocated 11 percent of
the funds it earmarked for local agencies to the Home for Aged. That
$846,000 allocation does not include the $600,000 granted this spring
by United Jewish Charities and the Home's own endowment funds.
If we accept the premise that the Jewish community will take care
of its own, where should we stand on the future needs of our
expanding aging population? The 400 residents of the Jewish Home
for Aged's three facilities currently have 200 friends waiting to join
them. How many more are not getting the care and services they
would prefer?
There are several dangers in the budgetary shortfall. The level of
services at the Home must be kept at their historically high standard
in order to prevent our facilities from becoming a haven only for the
poor elderly. They must also attract the wealthier, private-pay patients
for both monetary and social reasons.
In addition, the Jewish community of Detroit may now be facing a
serious crisis in funding which will affect all of its agencies and
services. A continuing need for funds at the Jewish Home for Aged
will draw funding away from other local groups. It could also force a
re-thinking of the allocation formula that has governed the Allied
Jewish Campaign for so many years, dividing the pie between, local,
national, overseas agencies and Israel.
Have local needs reached the point where they will draw funds
away from national agencies and Israel? There is no easy answer, just
as there will be no easy answer for the community task force studying
the fiscal picture at the Home For the Aged. On both levels, it would
be extremely damaging to separate the haves from the have-nots.

provide the programming answers to some of their own questions.
Although The Jewish News poll on Page 88 this week had a
limited response, its conclusions are not surprising. Jewish singles
would prefer to meet, date and marry other Jews. Jewish singles
believe that communal leaders do not pay enough attention to their
needs. And, while Jewish singles abhor the bar-hopping scene, they do
not feel that the synagogue today is the best place to meet other
singles.
Jewish community leaders stress that additional programming
for singles is desperately needed and is being planned. But input from
singles, their assistance in planning and execution, is mandatory for
any program to succeed.
It is easy to sit back and bemoan a lack of programming and
blame others for not doing enough. Taking the step forward to improve
the situation can be compared to walking permanently away from the
bar with an improved attitude and renewed resolve.
In this age of spectator sports, when vast numbers watch while the
few perform, singles need to take an active role in formulating
programs that are relevant to their situation.

acii5MFAM SLAV
'ME idERVIEr l a RINI!

Trying Harder

Jewish singles in Detroit, and the communal agencies and
synagogues which are trying to serve them, have a major gap to
bridge. According to the results of our poll of Jewish singles, Detroit is
still searching for the proper mix of programs and services to properly
address the problems of its Jewish singles population.
Part of the problem is the singles themselves. Too few are willing
to help their fellow singles, to step in with ideas and manpower, to

LETTERS

Overreaction
To Pollard Affair

I believe there has been a
great overreaction to the
Jonathan Pollard case by the
American Jewish community. I
also believe his sentence was
quite harsh compared to the
sentences imposed on traitors
who spied for the Soviet Union,
such as the Walkers.
It has frequently been said in
the United States that Israel is
an ally and close friend. If so,
information such as the atomic
capability of Iraq, poison gas
facilities of Iran and Iraq, and
the location of key PLO ter-
rorist installations in Tunisia
and Libya should have been fur-
nished by the U.S. government
to the appropriate agencies in
Israel.
After all, Israel has furnish-
ed much valuable information
and captured Russian military
equipment to the United States
including a radar installation,

6

Friday, May 15, 1987

aircraft, tanks and many other
weapons. In addition, Israelis
have died doing this and defen-
ding themselves and the West
from communist-inspired and
equipped Arab aggression.
If I were an Israeli I would be
furious at the "carrot and
stick" policy of the United
States which leaves Israel in a
vulnerable, no win, no lose posi-
tion. If Israel had not been
pressured by the United States
from achieving decisive victory
in 1948, 1956, 1967 and 1973
etc., perhaps less military aid
would have been necessary.
And more importantly, less
young and older Israeli men
and women would have been in-
terred in graves prematurely.
If one agrees or not with my
thesis, it seems that some of the
hysteria I have read written by
Jews in many publications
makes me wonder about their
emotional security and self-
con.fidence as Americans.

James A. Hack
Southfield

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Education Is Key

The Jewish News should be
commended for the attention
you have given to the threat
posed to our community by mis-
sionaries and cults. We have
found that the key to fighting
these purveyors of spiritual
genocide is an informed Jewish
community and your
newspaper is providing the
necessary information .. .

We would, however, like to
correct two inadvertant inac-
curacies. First, we are forming
a chapter of "Jews for Judaism,"
not "Jews for Jews!' Jews for
Judaism is the leading in-
dependent counter-missionary
group and has branches in
Baltimore, Los Angeles, Har-
risburg, Toronto and
Jerusalem. They have found
that not only can the mis-
sionaries be stopped from gain-
ing new followers but we can
also retrieve Jews from their
grip and lead them on a path

Study Groups

towards authentic Jewish belief
and practice. Anyone interested
in helping should contact us at
967-3343.
Second, your articles repeated-
ly used the word "picket" in
connection with our activities
at churches hosting Jews for
Jesus . . . We simply stood by
the churches' driveways, smil-
ed and politely handed out our
literature to those who stopped
to take it. Since we were trying
to convince these churches to
listen to our viewpoint, pickets
would have been considered of-
fensive and thus counter-
productive to our efforts.
Our respectful approach was
reflected in the fact that out of
over 300 people who read our
literature, only two people ex-
pressed any hostility at all. As
your article on April 10 in-
dicated, we were not interested
in confrontation but, rather,
education .. .

I was very happy to read the
front page article (May 8) that
described the numerous Torah
study opportunities that are
springing up all over the com-
munity. My class at Mark
Schlussel's office that was
featured in the article is well
attended by attorney and non-
attorney alike and is open to
anyone interested .
The first program of "learn-
ing, lunch and litigation!' began
in the offices of Steven Z. Cohen
of Cohen and Ellias. For the
past 3 1/2 years we have devoted
an intensive hour every Thurs-
day afternoon at 12:30 to week-
ly Talmud study. The class,
hosted by Steve Cohen, now
meets in his new office at 6735
Telegraph Rd. The hour is a
very spirited and lively intellec-
tual endeavor. Guests and the
curious are more than welcome
to attend.

Ronnie and Batya Schreiber
Jews for Judaism

Rabbi Elimelech Goldberg
Southfield