EDITORIAL
One Germany, One Fear
On Wednesday, the two Germanys
became one. West Germany absorbed the
faltering economy and almost worthless
political system of its sister nation to the
east. Most East Germans, ready to experi-
ence full democracy for the first time in
their lives (and also ready to climb out of
their puny two-cylinder Trabants and into
BMWs) were eager for the disappearance of
the country. West Germans were more
wary, especially since the price tag for
reunification for this year alone is
estimated at around $60 billion.
But most wary were those with a sense of
German history, who realize that, in the
past, a strong and united Germany has
meant war — indeed, two World Wars —
and untold suffering. The Jews of the
world, who hold most sacred the memory,
and lessons, of the Holocaust, are among
those worried that a united Germany could
re-ignite the anti-Semitism that may be la-
tent in the German soul.
The Holocaust was such a gruesome
watershed in moral history that many
regLikis A
Jews feel it is a blot forever upon the Ger-
man state and the German people, a people
who should pay by being deprived of the
powerful nation they had from 1871 to
1945.
But having just observed Yom Kippur,
the Jewish people also, quite obviously,
believe in repentance. They believe that
atonement can balance sin, no matter how
immense.
It is between these two points — the point
of history and the point of atonement —
that Jews are caught regarding German
reunification, between fear of the bleakest
of pasts and the hope that all souls (and all
nations) are capable of the most immea-
surable and difficult of atonements.
It is, of course, much too soon to know
which of these points will be victorious in
the new Germany. One prays that redemp-
tion will be the slogan of the new state, and
that the seeds of potent German anti-
Semitism fully withered during the long
winter when there were two Germanys.
Why We're There
President Bush has done a sterling job of
handling the military and diplomatic
aspects of the Gulf crisis to date, deploying
American troops to the region and winning
international support for the use of force, if
necessary, in carrying out the United
Nations trade embargo against Iraq.
But the President has done a less
thorough job of articulating to the Ameri-
can people why it is necessary to risk a war
in the Persian Gulf. Are we risking our
soldiers' lives because we're too spoiled and
lazy to pay more money at the gas tank,
critics ask.
The truth is that if this crisis ends with
Saddam Hussein still in power, still work-
ing towards developing nuclear warheads,
nothing of lasting impact will have been
accomplished.
The United States is at a disadvantage
because we are bound by the norms of
civilized behavior and Saddam Hussein is
not. The lives of American hostages are at
risk, but if we stand down now, the next
time the lives of millions of people living
within the reach of Iraqi missiles will be at
stake.
The American people need to know that
this crisis is not just over the price of oil but
the need to stop a powerful tyrant who
would not hesitate to destroy Israel and
take over oil-rich Arab states if he knew he
could get away with it. But the end result
must not be appeasement to a dictator
through pressure on Israel.
LETTERS
Meir Kahane
And Real Issues
For a writer like Robert
Friedman to spend 25 or 30
years on the daily life of Rab-
bi Meir Kahane is beyond
belief (Sept. 14). And then to
fantasize that the events are
true or false is a figment of
imagination.
Who cares whether Kahane
did or didn't, and whether he
was married? At an early age,
many of us males have had
imaginary or real affairs with
girls, both Jew and gentile,
and then never to be seen
again. True or false, they were
one of the bases of life.
But ultimately the day-
dreams stop because events
6
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1990
take control. In Meir
Kahane's case it was, "Where
is Israel going after the
wars?" Was Israel supposed to
obey the U.S. presidential
wishes and return territory to
the Arabs? Or, in Rabbi Meir
Kahane's terms, is Israel's job
to annex the territories and
expel the alien population?
"All of Israel for the Jews, by
the Jews" it was called.
These questions captivate
the newswriter and fascinate
the reader. But they are the
questions on which Israel
rises or falls on its choices for
survival or extermination.
Three factors are present:
all of Israel, the Jews, and
alien Arabs. At what cost will
Israel survive, and as what?
To answer Friedman, where
anyone was 25 years ago is ir-
relevant and unimportant.
For today's issues, like sur-
vival as Jews and the future
of Israel, Rabbi Meir Kahane
has found his true voice.
Michael Drissman
Farmington Hills
Remembering
A Dutch Cantor
In "Dutch Book Honors
Cantors" (Sept. 21), reference
was made to my late father,
who was "oppervoorzanger"
(chief cantor) of the
Ashkenazic Congregation of
Amsterdam (membership
estimated at 40,000) from
1926 to 1942. His correct
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Maroko.
It may be true that one of
his predecessors was most
famous among Amsterdam's
cantors. But my father had no
peer in his refined ability
while singing to express the
feelings hidden in the
religious texts.
On High Holidays, crowds
gathered in the street outside
the Great Synagogue of
Amsterdam in hopes of a
chance to enter and hear him
sing. Many had to be disap-
pointed due to lack of space.
The last bit of information
about him I know from a sur-
viving eyewitness: In 1944, in
Auschwitz, he was working on
the roof of a building. While
doing so he was singing Yid-
dish songs. Crowds of Jews
gathered to listen to this "con-
cert" until the Germans
discovered what was happen-
ing and forbade him to sing
anymore.
Dr. Simon W. Maroko
Sylvan Lake
Giving Proper
Credit For Program
On behalf of B'nai B'rith
Women, I want to thank The
Jewish News and Susan
Grant for writing an article
(Sept. 28) on our upcoming
program with Jewish Family
Service on child abuse. I ap-
preciate that they too are con-
cerned and recognize that
child abuse is a problem that
affects the Jewish
community.
The program, "Breaking
Silence" on Oct. 22, will make
the community aware of this
problem.
I was disturbed by how
misleading the headline was.
This program is being spon-
sored by B'nai B'rith Women
and JFS, not B'nai B'rith.
B'nai B'rith is not associated
with this project.
B'nai B'rith Women have
long been involved with the
emotional well-being of
children through their ex-
emplary residential treat-
ment centers in Israel and
their programming on
domestic violence.
In the future, B'nai B'rith
Women will continue to do
programming on domestic
violence in the Metro Detroit
area whether it be another
forum or the development of
support groups .. .
Lucy Gersten
Chairman, BBW East
Central Region
Dealing With
Saadam Hussein
The last item on the na-
tional news Sunday night was
a visit to a grade school
classroom in Israel. The
children were all being in-
structed in the use of gas
masks and were trying them
on. "It's hot and sticky," com-
plained one child, "I look like
a fish," said another.
"It's better to look like a
fish or a horse or a monkey
than be dead," was the
philosophical comment of
another child who was no
more than 10 or 11 years old.
The news commentator sum-
marized by announcing that
by week's end every child in
Israel would have a gas mask.
A commercial followed and
that was the end of the even-
ing news. It was not, however,
the end of the threat to Israel.
Last month, Saadam Hussein
bragged that he would
destroy half of Israel. This
was not idle talk from the
man who has already overrun
and destroyed all of Kuwait
and now has virtually all of
the civilian population of Jor-
dan under his influence.
The entire world has shown
unprecedented condemnation
of Hussein and the United
Nations has instituted sea
and air blockades of all
materials in and out of Iraq.
The world now sits back and
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