EDITORIAL

Taking The Plunge

T

he planned purchase of the B'nai Moshe building and grounds
by the Jewish Welfare Federation signals a new, much deeper
commitment to preserving and enhancing the Jewish
presence in Oak Park and Southfield.
While the Federation may not have immediate plans for utiliz-
ing the building at rIbn Mile and Church roads, its ability to react
quickly, and decisively, to keep the building and parcel as Jewish
communal resources warrants praise. -
The B'nai Moshe acquisition must be followed by further com-
mitment to enhance the area. The various Federation committees
studying the proposed expansion of the Jimmy Prentis Morris Jewish
Community Center — which was recently endorsed by an indepen-
dent consulting team from the Jewish Welfare Board — need to be
mindful of the possibilities the B'nai Moshe acquisition presents
should the JPM's next-door neighbor, Temple Emanu-El, express
serious interest in moving into the larger B'nai Moshe building.
However, this should not deter the committees from supporting ex-
pansion, regardless of the form it takes.
And the Neighborhood Project, which has been successful in of-
fering attractive loans to persons purchasing or improving residen-
tial properties in parts of Oak Park and Southfield, needs to expand
its staff — and focus — to include commercial and retail
enhancements and function as a visible and effective "cheerleader"
for the area.
After many years of testing the waters, the Federation has "taken
the plunge" with the B'nai Moshe acquisition. It may prove to be
the first of many important commitments the Federation makes in
this area. Let's hope so.

to the General Assembly's horrific treatment of Israel, condemning
actions on her part without any sense of Mideast perspective.
As New York Times columnist A.M. Rosenthal noted this week,
it would have been a positive signal from the Arabs, at a time of
negotiations about Israeli-Palestinian talks, to do away with their de-
mand that Israel be banished from the community of nations. But the
fact that the Arabs continue to seek to discredit Israel is a painful
but important reminder about why the Arab-Israel dispute is so in-
tractable: with the notable exception of Egypt, the Arab states refuse
to make peace with Israel or even to recognize her right to exist among
the nations of the world.
And it is equally important to note that while many American
newspapers call on Israel to jeopardize her security on the chance that
the Arabs are sincere about making peace, few if any newspapers call
on the Arab states to end their U.N. madness and their rejection of
Israel.
When will peace come to the Mideast? When the Arabs are ready
to make peace.

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U.N. Follies

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f the rite of spring in this country is baseball, the rite of fall is the
Arab states' annual effort to have Israel thrown out of the United
Nations.
It happens every year and receives very little attention. Partly
because it's futile, but partly because the media gives little coverage

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LETTERS

How Welcome
Are Handicapped?

Having spent three of the
last 10 days in synagogue
during the High Holy Days,
we have had the time to do
much thinking and observ-
ing. Many synagogues have
ramps or level approaches to
their entrances. However,
once inside the synagogue,
how welcome are physically
handicapped individuals?
Is there a temple or
synagogue in our community
that has a ramp up to the
bimah? How can a pysically
handicapped person approach
the bimah with dignity for an
aliyah or to be near a chup-
pah to participate in life cycle
events? How accessible is the
bimah for a walker or crut-
ches or a wheelchair? Are
there handrails to assist peo-
ple as they walk up the steps?
Are there accommodations for
wheelchairs within the sanc-

6

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1989

tuary — not just in the back,
but are there removable seats
that allow space for a
wheelchair to maneuver com-
fortably anywhere in the
sanctuary?
As we begin a new year, our
synagogues and temples
must strive to ensure the
dignity of each and every
congregant.

Cheryl and Dan Guyer
Huntington Woods

.

Vigil Protested
Szoka Award

This is to explain to our
Jewish friends why the
Alliance for Detroit Churches
held a prayerful vigil outside
Congregation Shaarey Zedek
last night.
The Jewish National Fund
chose Cardinal Edmund
Szoka to receive its Tree of
Life Humanitarian Award.
8,000 to 10,000 Detroit

Catholics have been affected
by the cardinal's arbitrary
decision to close their chur-
ches. At no time since Sept.
28, 1988, has the cardinal
consented to meet with any
groups of priests, religious or
lay peple. Thirty churches
have closed, another 25 are
"questionably viable" and
could close by the end of
December. That's more than
one-third of all Catholic chur-
ches in the city, in the poorest
areas.
In addition, the Archdiocese
has not provided a means to
supply the social services
(food, clothing, shelter refer-
ral, counseling and youth pro-
grams) furnished by
volunteers at these churches
to ALL in the neighborhoods.
This letter cannot begin to
cover the many heartaches
endured by Detroit's
Catholics this past year.

Delphine Palkowski
Detroit

Free Press Letter
Belies ‘Unbias'

We can't see how The
Jewish News can eulogize the
publisher of the Detroit Free
Press (Oct. 13) when nine
days before, the Free Press
printed a most scurrilous
letter.
The letter writer begins,
"What is the difference bet-
ween the Holocaust suffered
by the Jews and the holocaust
that the Palestinians are
undergoing at the hands of
the Israelis?" To equate the
Holocaust with the intifada is
trivializing the greatest
tragedy of the 20th century.
To give the bright light of the
editorial page to such bigotry
is irresponsible journalism,
stirring up hatred in the
public mind, a kind of perver-
sion that even most Arabs
don't resort to in public let-
ters. The letter writer made
five other statements equally

as spurious and inflammable.
We know the Free Press
does not print all the letters
it receives. This particular
distortion would have been
left unprinted by any prudent
newspaper; but herein is an
example of the basis of the
Jewish community criticizing
the paper for being sensa-
tional and biased in its
coverage of the Middle East.
To date, not a single rebut-
tal (we sent one) has been
printed. In this case, it looks
like the Free Press has suc-
cessfully buried all the letters
of outrage.
The widespread of the dates
of the two insertions in The
Jewish News and the Free
Press indicates all parties
concerned would have and
should have known of the in-
famy of the Free Press.

Sydney Krause
Milton Marwil
Ben Paxton