EDITORIAL
Telling Loss
His stories were legendary, as were stories about him. And even
though illness had slowed University of Michigan Dean Emeritus
William "Bill" Haber in recent years, his smiling presence and
acumen in the local and international Jewish scene will be sorely
missed.
He was a rare breed, a brilliant academician who was equally
at home in the world of scholarship and the world of practicality.
Dr. Haber symbolized the World ORT Union, which he led for
more than three decades. The. Oganization for Rehabilitation through
Training was a continuation of his European work after World War
II to resettle Jewish refugees. He traveled throughout the world for
ORT and, in its formative years, was the guest speaker-storyteller
for the annual fund-raising brunch for Detroit Men's ORT.
The diminutive Haber, with his regaling tales and wonderful
sense of humor, helped bring a growing audience to Men's ORT each
year.
His economic and administrative expertise pushed the Univer-
sity of Michigan economics department into the national forefront.
His experience and charm were officially retained by the U-M ad-
ministration for a decade after his retirement in the specially created
position of adviser to the university's executive officers.
Bill Haber leaves an important legacy to his state, the nation and
the world.
modation, and he may be their next target, or b) the perpetrators
are his colleagues, his partners in crime, and he can appear
magnanimous while throwing the U.S. off the true track.
In any event, in Washington's understandable eagerness to track
down the terrorists responsible for this most recent airplane bomb-
ing, let her not forget that the PLO has more than two decades of
innocent blood on its hands.
The truth is that there are no easy shortcuts to prevent airplane
bombings. What is needed, as Israel's national airline, El Al, has
proven, day in and day out for many years, is intensive, meticulous
screening of passengers and baggage, regardless of the inevitable
inconveniences. That is the price that must be paid in this age of
terrorism.
Finally, one must ask what the United States would do if it iden-
tified the terrorists responsible? Increased security is easier than
the resolve needed to retaliate against the perpetrators of such crimes
and the nations that sponsor these groups. When hundreds of U.S.
Marines were killed by a terrorist bomb near Beirut more than five
years ago, President Reagan talked tough but took no action. This
only emboldens the terrorists to strike again. One can only imagine
their reaction to the news that Yassir Arafat is hot on their trail.
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Sherlock Arafat
We didn't know whether to laugh or cry when we read reports
of Yassir Arafat's offer to help the United States track down the
perpetrators of the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing.
The news strikes us as a variation on the joke about the defini-
tion of chutzpah: when a young man kills his parents and then pleads
for sympathy from the judge because he is now an orphan.
In this case, -which is all too real, the leading Middle East ter-
rorist, responsible for deaths of hundreds of men, women and
children, now offers a grateful United States his assistance in track-
ing down those who have carried out this dastardly deed. One need
not be a cynic in this it-takes-one-to-know-one scenario to conclude
that Arafat is eager to help because either a) the perpetrators are
indeed his enemies, displeased with his soothing talk about accom-
Mixing Facts
And Opinions
The article about Miriam
Huffstutter ("Local Woman
Asks Israel To Change Law of
Return," Dec. 16) was most
disturbing. Huffstutter
speaks with conviction
however, much of her infor-
mation is totally inaccurate.
To begin with, the effort to
ammend the Law of Return
had nothing to do with chang-
ing Halachah. Rather, it was
an effort to change the Israeli
definition of "who is a Jew."
The famous "Brother Daniel"
case in Israel's early years
made it quite clear that
Israel's definition of
Jewishness is not bound to
HalaChah's definition. Israel
is not a halachic theocracy.
Huffstutter states that Con-
servative rabbis do not accept
Reform conversions. As a
6
FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 1989.
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LETTERS
Reform rabbi, I have never en-
countered a Conservative col-
league who would not accept
my conversions, which in-
clude immersion in a mikveh.
In fact, a Conservative rabbi
is usually part of my batei
din.
Also, contrary to Huffstut-
ter's blanket claim, every
Reform and Conservative rab-
bi I know does tell prospective
converts that the Orthodox
will not recognize their con-
version. I would agree that
any non-Orthodox rabbi who
fails to do so is doing the pro-
spective Jew by Choice a
tremendous disservice.
Though the "offending rab-
bis' " side of the story is not
presented, it would appear
that Huffstutter may have
had a bad experience with the
rabbis she encountered.
Nonetheless, generalizing
about approximately 3,000
non-Orthodox rabbis based on
hernegative experience with
one or two is both ludicrous
and irresponsible.
Huffstutter says Reform
and Conservative rabbis "sur-
vive by preying Upon the ig-
norance of their people." I
would suggest that in trying
to built up Orthodoxy by at-
tacking Reform and Conser-
vative Judaism, it is Miriam
Huffstutter who is preying
upon the ignorance of those
who might mistake her stri-
dent, personal opinions for
facts.
Rabbi Daniel Pernick
Pearl River, N.Y
A Comment On
`Crisis In Aging'
In response to the Dec. 23
article "Crisis In Aging" and
its special report on our
mother, Hermine Weber, we
would like to make the follow-
ing comment:
It is hard to express feelings
of love, respect, appreciation,
kindness, goodness or
gratitude. Words are hardly
adequate to describe family
warmth and concern for each
other.
Mother has been, and
always will be, the crown of
our lives and at all times the
very best of care will be made
available to her.
Alex and use Roberg
Oak Park
Both Sides Guilty
On Who Is A Jew
The question "Who is a
Jew" has gotten a great deal
of attention. But the more in-
teresting question may be
"Who is authorized to decide
`who is a Jew?' "
Reform and Conservative
Jewish leaders have con-
demned those Orthodox
leaders in Israel who would
arrogate to themselves this
authority and who would ex-
ercise that authority in a
manner that would strictly
and narrowly define who is a
Jew within the limits set by
Halachah.
Less than two years ago, the
leaders of Reform Judaism, in
a similar display of disregard
for their co-religionists, ar-
Continued on Page 11
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