100%

Scanned image of the page. Keyboard directions: use + to zoom in, - to zoom out, arrow keys to pan inside the viewer.

Page Options

Share

Something wrong?

Something wrong with this page? Report problem.

Rights / Permissions

The University of Michigan Library provides access to these materials for educational and research purposes. These materials may be under copyright. If you decide to use any of these materials, you are responsible for making your own legal assessment and securing any necessary permission. If you have questions about the collection, please contact the Bentley Historical Library at bentley.ref@umich.edu

July 15, 1988 - Image 7

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
The Detroit Jewish News, 1988-07-15

Disclaimer: Computer generated plain text may have errors. Read more about this.

OPINION

I CONTENTS 1"---

CLOSE-UP

The Clubs

SUSAN WELCH
Born of
discrimination,
Jewish city
and country
clubs remain
a haven
for the wealthy.

38

LIFE IN ISRAEL

Orthodox Divorce

JOE REBIBO
Experts suspect that marital misery is just
as common, but some of the supports are missing.

42

LIFESTYLES

Riveting Robots

Israe l Sun Ltd.

CARLA JEAN SCHWARTZ
Eugene (Evgeny) Rivin has made
the transition from Moscow to Wayne State.

An Israeli flag flies over a Jewish settlement in Hebron: A mundane transaction and a promise.

A Dialectical Spiritualism
At Work In The Middle East

SOL P. LACHMAN

0

ne argument for the existence of
Israel and continued Jewish settle-
ment in Judea and Samaria is the
"religio-historic" argument. It is religious
for those who believe the Torah is God-
given, and historic for those who see the
Torah as written by man.
The Torah contains good arguments for
those of either persuasion. In the "covenant
of the pieces" (Genesis 15), God promises
Israel to Abraham and his seed. For those
who prefer the more prosaic, there is a
mundane real estate transaction (Genesis
23), complete with names of the buyer,
seller, witnesses and price. The plot of land
sold in this transaction is today in
downtown Hebron, Judea, the so-called "oc-
cupied territory" often referred to as the
West Bank.
If God wrote the Torah, why the redun-
dancy? Why must Abraham purchase land
already promised him by God? A similar
situation occurs when King David buys the
threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite as
a place to build God's Holy 'Ibmple (II
Samuel 24:18-25). It would seem-the Torah
was written with the foreknowledge that
one day there would be disagreement over
the ownership of the Temple Mount and
Hebron.
We may wish to reject "security/safe-
haven/necessity" — based arguments for
continued "occupation," abhorring the no-

Sol Lachman is past president of the Detroit Zionist
Federation.

tion that "might makes right;' and still
believe we never gave up or lost title to the
land. Rejecting "might makes right" in no
way implies that it is "wrong to be strong"
If the "religio-historic" argument is the
crucial one, it makes even less sense to corn-
promise on territory. Jerusalem, Judea and
Samaria legitimately comprise historic
Israel and are central to God's covenant.
Can Jews sell their birthright, like
Esau, for a mess of pottage, a piece of
perhaps worthless paper? What respect can
we expect from mankind or God? For 2,000
years when we prayed for the return to
Zion, is it possible that we didn't really
mean Zion but a piece of Philistine
seacoast; not Shiloh where the Holy Ark
stood, nor Bethlehem where David was
born, but some attractive ocean frontage?
Territorial compromise, however noble
in motive, will be seen as hypocrisy. It will
seem as if we truly were colonialists all
along, with no faith in our own convictions
— and not without some justification.
Strangely, many Jews who favor territorial
compromise do so because of their belief
that Jews and Arabs can never live
together in peace. In my opinion, those who
support territorial compromise are similar
to those who want all Arabs to leave Israel.
They may disagree on where the state's
borders should be, but both want the Arabs
on the other side.
It is said that the Messiah can come in
two ways: The Jews by their deeds can
bring about the Messianic era, or even if
they do not, God will nonetheless fulfill His

Continued on Page 11

X46

SPORTS

Mind Game

MIKE ROSENBAUM
Racquetball legend
Mike Yellen
concentrates on
the present
and tomorrow.

55

ENTERTAINMENT

Mrs. Mozart

VICTORIA BELYEU DIAZ
Marguerite Chajes is perpetuating
the composer's work on two continents.

ANN ARBOR

Out Of The Closet

73

SUSAN LUDMER-GLIEBE
Glasnost has opened an artist's
door for the Ann Arbor community.

76

EDUCATION

Study Aid

RONNA HALL
JELS is helping Jewish students
finance a college education.

DEPARTMENTS

80 Engagements
86 Single Life
114 Obituaries

32 Inside Washington
34 Synagogues
44 For Women

CANDLELIGHTING

July 15, 1988

8:48 p.m.

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Back to Top

© 2024 Regents of the University of Michigan