EDITORIAL
To The Pope II
We are heartened by the efforts the Catholic Church has made
in recent years to reach an understanding with the Jewish people.
Your visit to the Rome synagogue in April 1986 was a gesture greatly
appreciated. And your willingness to prepare an official Catholic
document on the Shoah, the historical background of anti-Semitism
and its contemporarry manifestations, is an historic step.
Other Vatican policies, however, point to insensitivity where Jews
are concerned. During your U.S. visit, you have declined to address
our anger over your meeting in June with Austrian President Kurt
Waldheim, whom many suspect to be a Nazi war criminal. When
pressed in Miami to recognize Israel, you responded by bringing up
the Palestinian problem. Both Israel and the Palestinians are a reali-
ty. Jews recognize the existence of both, why does not the Vatican?
Since your visit to Detroit occurs on Shabbat, we have encouraged
our rabbis to open a general discussion of the state of Catholic-Jewish
relations with their congregations. We further believe that any
reasonable public demonstration this Shabbat by any member of the
community is appropriate.
Relations between Jews and Catholics have come a long way, and
for this we are appreciative. And much good work has taken place
on the local level. But there is more work to be done. We are hopeful
that steps by the Vatican to develop closer relations with the Jewish
people will continue with all deliberate speed.
Back To The Books
Many parents may be relieved that Johnny is back in school, but
what he will be learning there may worry many others. Two cur-
rent best-sellers, for instance, claim that illiteracy and historical ig-
norance are among the major products of our school systems. These
conclusions are supported in a report issued last Sunday by Lynne
Cheney, the chairman of the National Endowment for the
Humanities. Cheney charges that teachers and textbooks that em-
phasize skills over content are keeping children ignorant of history
and literature. Students are unfamiliar with classics — Whitman,
Hawthorne, Melville and others — and have dramatic gaps in their
knowledge of such epochal dates as the Civil War, the writing of the
Constitution, and Columbus' arrival in the New World.
The study made a few well-chosen recommendations: Free future
teachers from "excessive study of pedagogy" and give them more
time to roam in the humanities. Hire fewer curriculum supervisors
and more classroom aides so that teachers have more time "to study
and think."
Perhaps in its infatuation with process, the training of teachers
has lost sight of the forest because of the trees. Content, sometimes,
has been sacrificed for the sheer pedagogic fascination with method.
But when method supercedes content, the result is an unseemly and
embarrassing vacuum: For Johnny to learn how to think, he must
have something to think about.
In a national Gallup Poll released last week, 43 percent of parents
polled gave their communities' schools a "C" or less. We cannot af-
ford to have schools that are barely passing. To have students who
truly learn, we must have curriculums and faculty that challenge,
not with methods, but with knowledge.
GORSIACIIEV,
LITTLE
ON ADVICE. OF NiS P.R. STAFF,
HIRES
DIPPED INTO THE GLAMST ME.
iliS LATEST 6iG TRiCK
WAS TO RELEASE A
AND PROCLAIM
"WHAT A Goo) 601 AM
LETTERS
Detroit Is Silent
Like Auschwitz
I was not surprised when I
read the remarks of Mr. Gale
of the Jewish Community
Council: "We have heard no
word of protest, it's really
quiet here," ("Pope's Visit,"
Aug. 21).
Is this the position of the
organized survivors? The
least they can do, for example,
is to place ads prominently in
the local general press at the
time of the Pope's arrival in
Detroit. They can voice their
displeasure as well as outrage
toward the Pope-Waldheim
meeting. Taking these
measures will inform Pope
John Paul II, his office in
Rome and the local Catholics
that the crimes against the
Jewish people can not be
forgotten nor their killers be
forgiven .. .
Well, here we go again: The
6
FRIDAY, SEPT 18, 1987
survivors follow in the
footsteps of the American
Jews in the 1940s, whom the
survivors claimed were quiet
and did not do enough to
rescue the Jews in Europe.
This time it is so quiet, as it
is serene in Maidanek and
Auschwitz in Poland, land of
the Pope.
Shlomo Micznik
Southfield
Whose Ox Is
Being Gored?
I support Harold Norris'
opinion against the nomina-
tion of Robert Bork and op-
pose the position of Ms.
Schlussel (Aug. 28 and Sept.
4).
I have a few questions to
ask (Ms. Schlussel).
What is the National
Jewish Committee? Whom do
they represent . . .?
The role of the courts is to
interpret the laws. Laws per-
taining to abortion or any
laws may be appealed to the
Supreme Court for inter-
pretation. There is no legal
basis whatsoever to state that
abortion is a states right
issue.
What is the role of the U.S.
Senate in the area of appoint-
ments, judicial or otherwise?
Much discussion has taken
place on the issue of advise
and consent since the ratifica-
tion of the U.S. Constitution.
The recent extreme case
was the filibuster led by
Senator Thurmond opposing
the elevation of the late Abe
Fortas to chief justice based
solely on Fortas' political
views. This is the senator who
now expresses some of the
same views as Ms. Schlussel.
I guess it depends on whose
ox is being gored .. .
Melvin Weisz
Southfield
Holiday Support
For the Pollards
It is imperative that Jews
throughout the United States
speak out against the unjust
sentences of Jonathan and
Anne Pollard. It is understan-
dable to feel helpless in the
face of this tragic situation
but there are things we all
can do to help the Pollards at
this time.
1.)Write your Congressman
and express your outrage over
the judicial imposition of a
life sentence for Jonathan
Pollard. Jonathan was in-
dicted on a single count of
transmitting classified infor-
mation in support of the
security of Israel. A second
count of harming the securi-
ty of the United States was
dropped for lack of evidence.
2.) Jonathan's case is now
up for a reduction of sentence
hearing. Successful appeals
cost money. We can help by
contributing to the Pollard
Legal Defense Fund . . . Your
contributions can be mailed
to: The Pollard Defense Fund,
Account 52-130847-8, First
Source Bank, South Bend,
Ind., 46634.
3.) Send New Year cards to
Jonathan and Anne Pollard
. . . Let us flood the prisons
with our Shana Tova
greetings! Not only will our
good wishes provide en-
couragement and support,
they will convey to the
authorities the unmistakable
and dramatic message that
thousands of American Jews
care . . .
Send your greetings of hope
and concern to: Jonathan
Pollard I 09185-016, P.O. Box
4000, Springfield, Mo. 65808
and Mrs. Anne L. Pollard /
09189-016, ECU-2, 3301
Leestown Road, Lexington,
Ky. 40511-8799.
D'vorah Weiss
Margate, N.J.