EDITORIAL
The Focal Point
As Southfield's public schools go, so will
Southfield — at least as far as the Jewish
community is concerned. That has been the
recent history of Jewish migration in the
Detroit metropolitan area. In the last 40
years, Jewish mobility has been upward and
outward, predicated on new homes and better
schools.
Southfield, after 30 years, has moved from
the destination point for some Jews to the
point of origin for others. But Southfield has
the potential to shatter the recent pattern.
Its public school system, the breaking point
of other Jewish neighborhoods, remains
vibrant and innovative. It continues to rank
among the elite in Oakland County and the
state. With the influx of other minorities into
Southfield, Michigan Educational Assess-
ment Program scores for the Southfield
Public Schools have remained stable or im-
proved.
The schools continue to have an unparallel-
ed sensitivity to Jewish concerns, closing for
the High Holidays and being in the forefront
of curriculum development for minorities.
These alone, however, are not enough to keep
young Jewish families in Southfield.
Jews must recognize Southfield as both the
economic center of the Jewish community as
well as the residential center. We have a
vested interest in the community and must
continue to support its vibrancy through in-
volvement in its politics, its schools and
neighborhood associations. Many of our re-
ligious institutions are in Southfield, as are
our offices and homes.
Detroit area Jews have been a transient
group throughout this century. From
Hastings Street to Woodward, to Dexter, to
Livernois, Seven Mile, Oak Park, Southfield
and now beyond, we have been the wandering
Jews, seeking the best life for our families. In
these 90 years the community has spread
from a 10-square-mile area to more than 115
square miles.
Some will continue to push outward, but
others will choose Southfield for its affor-
dable housing, central location, quality
schools and city services. But we must con-
tinue to work hard to keep it — as our Close-
Up feature this week states — the center of it
all.
Yassir In Wonderland
Last week, heavily armed Arab terrorists
were prevented by Israeli forces from
murdering Israeli men, women and children
on a Tel Aviv beach. The Palestine Libera-
tion Front, a faction headed by Abul Abbas, a
member of the Palestine Liberation Organ-
ization executive committee, claimed respon-
sibility for the attempted attack.
Yassir Arafat said the PLO was not respon-
sible for the raid and had no connection with
it. But he refused to condemn it or to remove
Abul Abbas from the PLO executive com-
mittee.
Such behavior would be laughable if it were
not for the fact that the United States
government has gone along with this farce.
On the very day of the attempted attack, the
Bush administration testified before Con-
gress that the PLO has kept its promise not to
engage in terrorism. John Kelly, assistant
secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs,
said that while various acts of violence have
been perpetrated against Israel since the
PLO pledge in December, 1988, the State
Department has concluded that either the
acts did not meet the State Department's
definition of terrorism or that they were car-
ried out by PLO members opposed to Arafat.
After listening to Kelly, Rep. Tom Lantos
(D-Calif.) wagged a finger at him and said,
"Alice in Wonderland is a scientific research
document compared with your testimony."
Arafat can't have it both ways. Either the
PLO has given up and renounced terrorism or
it hasn't; either he is the chairman of the
PLO, with control over the group, or he isn't.
And if he does not control the PLO, why is
Washington talking to him?
Clearly, the Bush administration has talk-
ed itself into a corner. Once it took the plunge
to talk to the PLO, it is loathe to end the dia-
logue. But the message it is conveying is that
as long as Yassir Arafat does not take per-
sonal responsibility for terrorist acts, those
acts can continue —Israeli citizens can be at-
tacked and murdered — and the United
States will not interrupt its empty dialogue
with the PLO.
Alice in Wonderland, indeed.
Summit Threats
Israel and her supporters are hoping this
week that several recent threats by world
leaders made at international summit
meetings are simply rhetoric. Otherwise, the
Jewish state is in peril.
First came the Arab summit in Baghdad,
where Iraq's Saddam Hussein held court. He
spoke of "weapons of mass destruction" and
of "burning up half of Israel" if Israel at-
tacks. Though skeptics noted that Hussein
was grandstanding for respect in the Arab
world, it should be noted that Hussein invad-
ed Iran in a war that cost a million lives and
he has used chemical warfare against Iran
and his own rebellious Kurds. His sword-
rattling cannot be dismissed.
Then came the U.S.-USSR summit in
Washington, where amidst all of the smiles
6 FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 1990
and pleasantries between George Bush and
Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet leader
threatened to cut off Jewish emigration if
Israel continues to allow Soviet Jews to settle
in east Jerusalem and the West Bank.
In both the Baghdad and Washington
summits, the threats against Israel were
motivated by Arab concern that more Jews
are coming to the Jewish state, indicating a
deep-seated denial about the purpose and
reality of the state of Israel. Equally disturb-
ing is Washington's lack of response in both
instances. Silence can be misinterpreted, but
a clear statement of support from Washing-
ton for our ally, Israel, could go a long way
toward continuing the flow of emigration
from the USSR and perhaps preventing a
deadly attack from Iraq.
LETTERS
Carnival Raises
More Than $300
Thank you for the wonder-
ful article about our children,
Nathan Miller and Naomi
Loebel, and their carnival to
raise money for Operation Ex-
odus, ("Children Plan Car-
nival lb Benefit Soviet Jews,"
May 25). We are very proud of
them and pleased to report
that they raised more than
$300. They could not have
been so successful without
the help of all our family,
friends and neighbors.
One thing we would like to
clarify: the amount we spent
(to help get the carnival
started) was $7, not $700!
Richard and Judy Loebl
Jim and Arleen Miller
Huntington Woods
Orthodox Families
Are Thriving
In his article "The Jewish
Family in Crisis" (May 18),
Rabbi Harold Schulweis
states that "in a 70-year
period in America, from 1870
to 1940, the population in
America increased two-fold;
marriages increased three-
fold; and divorces increased
20 fold." With these statistics
from the 1940s, one could on-
ly fathom what they may be
like in the 1990s. Although
Rabbi Schulweis contends
that "for Judaism (the dying
of the family) is a particular
threat," he should not include
the Orthodox Jewish com-
munity in these statistics
At the mikvah dinner last
month, Rabbi Leizer Levine,
head of the Council of Or-
thodox Rabbis, said that in
his 50 years of rabbinic duties
in the Detroit community, on-
ly 10 gets (Jewish divorces)
were issued to observant, Or-
thodox couples. This is a far
1"---
cry from Rabbi Schulweis'
statistics!
Rabbi Schulweis believes
that "to salvage the Jewish
family calls for restructuring
the roles of the family
members and struggling
against the mass culture that
threatens the power and
idealism of the Jewish fami-
ly." I agree we must fight to
withstand the influence of the
surrounding culture.
However, I strongly disagree
with the idea that "restruc-
turing the roles of the family
members" would achieve that
goal. Rather, that requires a
return of commitment to
Halachah (Jewish law).
Rabbi Schulweis believes
Judaism "is rooted less in
dogma or doctrine, than in a
people who sees itself as a
world-extended family." On
the contrary, it is precisely
the Jews' total commitment
and adherence to Halachah
that has unified their families
throughout Jewish history.
Only by accepting, studying
and implementing into their
daily lives the divine
teachings of the Torah can the
Jewish people hope to achieve
the results Rabbi Schulweis
envisions. For the Orthodox
Jewish community, family
crisis (as expressed in the ar-
ticle) is the exception, not the
rule. The Orthodox family is
thriving today as it has been
for thousands of years in an
unbroken chain.
Bracha Stein
Oak Park
.
Story Misled
The Community
.
While we are excited about
moving into the next decade
with new opportunities
created by the state's gran-
ting of two certificates of
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