EDITORIAL

Israel Judges Herself

Amidst all of the negative publicity coming out of Israel in recent
months — from the Pollard spy scandal to the debate over tuition fees
for Arabs attending Israeli universities to revelations last week that
the Shin Bet illegally imprisoned an Israeli Army Moslem officer —
there is a positive side that should not be overlooked.
What is healthy and inspiring about Israeli society is that in each
of these disturbing cases, a government committee or court has acted
to help correct the wrongs and improve the system. That is the
definition of a democracy.
Perhaps most remarkably, the judicial decision exposing
lawlessness by the Shin Bet, Israel's domestic intelligence service,
found that a Moslem officer had confessed under duress to false
treason charges and he was freed from prison. How many countries,
even democracies, hold their secret service accountable to law? (It has
been noted that Britain refused to allow publication of a book alleging
a secret service plot to overthrow a prime minister in the 1970s.) Time
after time, Israeli democracy has been rescued by her judicial system
keeping government on track, responding quickly and wisely to the
most complex problems of the day.
The problems in Israeli government and society have been serious
and troubling, but as long as the built-in corrective system is at work,
there is hope for the future.

Good Vs. Evil, Again

by the Holocaust Survivors of Metropolitan Chicago. Growing in years,
and concerned about perpetuating the memories of the victims,
survivors sought to erect this symbol of remembrance in a community
which, to the outside world, is synonymous with the intolerance and
evil brandished by neo-Nazi marchers less than a decade ago. In short
order, the agents of intolerance and evil surfaced again.
The line between good and evil — between gold veins and silver
spray paint — remains too fine for comfort.

Good News?

How should Jews react to seemingly good news coming from the
Soviet Union, where bad news for the Jewish people has been the
norm for so long that one's initial reaction may be to dismiss a
positive occurrence?
This past week the Soviet-appointed chief rabbi of Moscow
described the easing of religious restrictions in that country, including
the opening of a kosher restaurant, the restoration of a ritual bath,
and permission for Hebrew teachers to earn a living from private
lessons.
So is Glasnost merely window dressing, an artful public relations
scheme authored by Mikhail Gorbachev, or is it the birth of a genuine
policy in the Soviet self-interest which will bring on profound changes
for the Soviet people, emigration for Soviet Jews, political recognition
of Israel and the chance for closer relations with the United States?
It is something to ponder. And while a helthy cynicism toward the
Soviets is appropriate, anything that lessens the plight of Soviet Jews
is a positive occurrence.

The morning after .. .
In West Bloomfield, colorful flowers, manicured shrubs, freshly
polished plaques and squeaky clean benches. A lone, crumpled
styrofoam cup bears sole testimony to the crowd which gathered the
previous day to dedicate the Holocaust Memorial Center's Benard L.
Maas Garden of the Righteous.
In Skokie, swastikas and other expressions of hatred and
intolerance are spray-painted onto a just-dedicated monument to the
Six Million.
More than 300 miles apart. Yet, too close to home.
Sharing the same partly sunny skies, Jew and Gentile congregated
in West Bloomfield and Skokie — one to honor the good in people and
the other to remember their evil. A vein of gold embedded in a stark,
black pillar at the Maas Garden symbolizes the righteousness of those
who refused to turn their backs on humanity during one of
civilization's most uncivilized periods. The righteous in our
community's midst, as determined by Yad Vashem, receive standing
ovations when introduced to the gathering. They are practically
speechless. They saved lives because it was right, even when friends
and next-door neighbors turned their backs. What else could they say?
There is no vein of gold in Skokie this week. Only squiggly lines
and swastikas from' cans of silver spray paint. The bronze monument
unveiled Sunday was the culmination of*a 3 1/2-year fund-raising effort

LETTERS

Chicken Scare
Coverage Slanted

After reading David Hol-
zel's article regarding the
chicken scare (Current Chic-
ken Squawk, May 29), I feel
compelled to write to take is-
sue.
My impression upon read-
ing the article is that the re-
porter has engaged in irres-
ponsible journalism by decid-
ing to slant his article sup-
porting a catchy byline which
mitigates the difference -be-
tween kosher and non-kosher
poultry, despite having evi-
dence to the contrary ...
The reporter pits the

6

Friday, June 5, 1987

United States Department of
Agriculture against a local
butcher to give credence to
the argument that there is no
difference between kosher
and non-kosher poultry.
While it may be true that by
following some safety rules
incidences of salmonella
poisoning can be reduced,
that doesn't change the fact
that kosher, by definition, is
a more natural, clean,
healthy and humane process.
You don't have to be a sci-
entist to realize that by not
using any artificial ingre-
dients or growth stimulants,
by never using injured or un-
healthy birds, and by not

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

using hot or heated water at
any stage of processing
thereby retarding the growth
of bacteria, you will have a
cleaner, healthier ... bird.
Today, strict observers of
kosher laws and non-
observers of all religious af-
filiations have come to equate
the word kosher with
superior quality for good rea-
son. As a Jewish forum, The
Jewish News should espouse
the merits, if not the virtues,
of eating kosher, and not
suppress it purely for the
sake of finding a story.
Leslie Kleiman
Vice President,
Morris Kosher Poultry

JCC Neglecting
10 Mile Branch

Is the Jewish Community
Center neglecting its over-
crowded Ten Mile Road
Branch? As an active
member of the JCC and
chairman of the hoard com-
mittee which opened the
branch, I have a long affilia-
tion and loyalty to the JCC
and the branch.

At a recent concert perform-
ance of the Institute for Re-
tired Persons at the branch,
the front of the decrepit piano
over the keyboard fell onto
the keys. The large gym-

nasium, which was built onto
the original building without
a cooling system, and is now
heavily used, is unusable
when the temperature rises
from May through September

Could a small part of the
large agency budget • be
spared for correcting such
small but significant lacks
among others to make the
building more usable ?
A study of the branch's
needs is in order by the
community to meet the ex-
panding needs of its growing
user population .

Dr. Leon Lucas
Oak Park