OPINION

Seven reasons to shop
House of Watchbands.

The Church

Continued from Page 7

Judaism through the rise of
the Church and Christiani-
ty.
In subsequent centuries,
these demonic images of
Jews and the Jewish religion
were intensified,
penetrating the marrow of
Western Christian society.
In the 12th and 13th cen-
turies, Christians enlarged
the impact of that hostility
and rejection through Pas-
sion plays, the slander of
ritual blood libel, and
through artistic presenta-
tions of Jews as being in
league with Satan, i.e. the
Jews as "anti-Christ."
The Reverend Martin
Luther, the Augustinian
monk who fathered Protes-
tantism, hoped to convert
the Jews through kindliness.
When Jews did not respond
to his "friendly" conver-
sionary appeals in the 1500s,
he wrote several hostile
pamphlets in which he ap-
propriated entirely the
demonic images of Jews and
the synagogue from the
writings of the Church
Fathers.
The verbal violence was
invariably followed by the
physical violence of
pogroms, inquisitions,
crusades, auto-da-fes, expul-
sions, ghettos and other fre-
quent persecutions.
Scholars make a convinc-
ing case that both Nazism
and Communism created a
secularized demonization of
Jews that borrowed exten-
sively from the surrounding
overflowing cornucopia of
anti-Jewish metaphors,
caricatures and icons.
Vatican Council II in-
spired Roman Catholics to
remove such scandalous
group libels of Jews as
"Christ-killers," and as
"wandering Jews" punished
by God for not accepting
Jesus.
These revisions are a form
of theological cleansing in
keeping with the church's
religious renewal. The Nazi
Holocaust and the restora-
tion of Jews to Israel gave
strong impetus to that
purification process. But,
after 25 years of work in
Jewish-Christian relations, I
am convinced there needs to
be, and can be, more than
that academic, pedagogical
religious house cleaning.
To vanquish anti-
Semitism at its malignant
source, theological refor-
mulation must be corn-
prehended as a radical
psychological transforma-
tion. It involves a conscious,
systematic de-demonization
of Jews . and Judaism, and
replacing those dehumaniz-
ing images with a whole new

mentality that views Jews
as normal human beings,
with strengths and
weaknesses, "the elder
brother" without whose con-
tinuous, living spiritual tra-
ditions and values Chris-
tianity might never have
emerged into history.
This is not an issue of
resolving guilt for past
offenses, or of being nice to
Jews, especially in light of
the Holocaust. The future
character of Western
societies is deeply affected
by this challenge. Neither
Germany, Poland, France,
Brazil, nor any other Chris-
tian country will be able to
build stable, unified,
peaceful societies as long as
the land mines and time
bombs of anti-Semitism lurk
in their cultural sub-
consciousness, exploding
periodically as political or
economic crises erupt.
Poland is Exhibit A of that
destructive pathology which
witnesses anti-Semitism
flourishing without Jews.
The term Dr. Rubin uses is
"symbol sickness" to explain
the phenomenon of transfer-
ring hostility for Jews to the
symbol of the Jews, making
inhuman action plausible.
The psychological task of
cultural therapy involves
facing up — finally — to the
magnitude of the
dehumanization of the Jew-
ish people that has
dominated Western Chris-
tian civilization over the
past 1,900 years.
A theological renewal that
is fully conscious of that
systemic illness and
mobilizes all its moral and
spiritual resources to heal
profoundly, in depth, that
sickness would hold the
greatest promise for the
future health of Catholic-
Jewish relations in the next
25 years, and beyond.

.

❑

I LOCAL NEWS

Super Sunday
Chairs Named

Sharon Hart and Ronald
Riback have been named
chairmen of the 12th annual
Super Sunday telephone ap-
peal for the 1991 Allied
Jewish Campaign Dec. 2 at
the United Hebrew Schools.
Mrs. Hart is a former presi-
dent of the Jewish Welfare
Federation Women's Division.
Mr. Riback is a member of
Federation's Culture and
Education Division and vice
chairman of the Campaign's
Attorneys Section.
For information on Super
Sunday or to volunteer, call
Leonard Milstone at Federa-
tion, 965-3939.

1. HOWB Selection. The widest
variety. Thousands of watches to
choose from...just what you'd
expect from the House of Watch-
bands with one of the largest
collections of fine timepieces.
We have diving watches, chrono-
graphs and watches for dressing
up...we have them all.

c•lVIEWAN CLASSICS
by HAMILTON

2. HOWB Time. Since 1927, we've
been watches and straps.

3. HOWB Quality. All the finest
names in watches.. world famous
craftsmanship built into every one.

4. HOWB Straps & Bracelets.
Choose from our wide selection of
leather, stainless steel, 14K gold or
18K gold.

N

NOBLIA

As tine goes bv, only the classics endure, especially a Noblia
timepiece, crafted with quartz precision, imported lizard
strap and roman numerals or stick markers set in soft hues
of faux ivory dial. Priced at S210

_J

V entura. Hailed as a work of art when

introduced in 1957 as the star of the world's
first electric watch line. Yellow micron plated
case with silver or dark grey dial; rose case
with black dial, or white with silver dial.

The most elegant-looking sports watch
ever to emerge from the sea.

We designed the Sports Elegance to be as appropriate for
dining out as for diving under. Features a scratch-resistant
sapphire crystal, uni-directional turning bezel and a
screw-in crown that ensures water resistance to a
depth of 660 feet.

5. HOWB
Price. Our
watches are
competitive-
ly priced to
fit your
budget.
You'll always
find an
outstanding
value at
HOWB.

SEIKO

6. HOWB Service. We offer auth-
orized service from factory-trained,
certified technicians. Only the most
careful hands service our watches.

7. HOWB Experts. People like
Howard, Darrick, Rhonda,
Michael, Stuart, Tom, Naomi,
Earl, Scott, Matt, Dan, Dolores,
Ralph & Mark. They're all ready to
answer your questions and help
you select the perfect watch.
You're always welcome to come in
and browse.

THE
HOUSE
OF

SOUTHFIELD
Southfield & 12 Mile
552-0080

Look at
the world from
time to time.

The World Timer. With Seiko Intelligent Quartz
computer-driven subdial automatically indicates the
time in up to 21 cities around the world. Striking
black dial and polished gold-tone case.

Full service watch and jewelry repair.

WATCH BANDS

... X111d

FARMINGTON HILLS
Orchard Lake & 13 Mile
851-0440

Wa tillCS

MADISON HEIGHTS
Dequindre & 12 Mile
541-0808

.

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

11