Ending An Era
With today's Purely Commentary
column on Page 2, The Jewish News and
the American Jewish community is seeing
the public conclusion of a proud record of
award-winning scholarship on world Jewry
and Israel.
Philip Slomovitz, who turns 94 next
week, has chosen to end a seven decade
tradition. Despite continuing good health,
Mr. Slomovitz has decided that his weekly
column, which has appeared in The Jewish
News since he founded this publication in
1942 and, prior to that, in the Jewish
Chronicle, has become an increasingly
difficult burden. Protesting colleagues at
The Jewish News have asked Mr.
Slomovitz to continue his column on a
periodic basis, but he has, so far, declined.
He has agreed, however, to lend his vast
expertise and experience to planning the
50th anniversary celebration of The Jew-
ish News in 1991 and 1992. And he plans to
continue to come into the office to catalog
his historic files and memorabilia and
serve as a resource for the newspaper.
A retrospective of historic events of the
last 70 years, as seen through Purely
Commentary, will appear in next week's
Jewish News. It will be an inadequate
tribute to our editor emeritus and mentor
who has served as a defender and inspirer
of Jewish life in Detroit and throughout
the world for more than seven decades.
Man For All Seasons
Testimonial dinners, bronze plaques and
fund raising for worthy causes are well-
established features of the Detroit Jewish
community's social calendar. Honorees are
typically selected for their life-long com-
mitment to good deeds, asked to assist in
soliciting their friends and business asso-
ciates for donations, and, after receiving a
standing ovation, ride off into the sunset
with telegrams, resolutions, proclamations
and warm feelings . . . often not to be heard
from again except via their checkbooks.
Yes, as the recipient of the State of Israel
Bonds Golda Meir Leadership Award last
week, David Hermelin received the stan-
dard treatment of proclamations, standing
ovations and salutations from an array of
family and friends. His service as interna-
tional campaign chairman for Israel
Bonds, vice president of the World ORT
Union, chairman of Israel's Operation In-
dependence, president of the American
ORT Federation, president of the Jewish
Home For Aged and numerous key leader-
ship positions with the Jewish Welfare
Federation and Allied Jewish Campaign
were highlighted.
And the $54 million pledged to Israel
Bonds in his honor by the 1,200 people in
attendance, and others, was a record, sur-
passing the $18.1 million the entire Israel
Bonds campaign generated in Michigan
last year.
But David Hermelin will not ride off into
the sunset. He is not a "checkbook Jew"
either. In fact, he is only now entering his
prime. And through his enthusiasm, car-
ing, commitment and leadership, he is
motivating an entire generation of Jewish
leadership who view him as the ultimate
yardstick for community service . . . and
the person they would most like to
emulate.
Tolerating Terrorism
Unfortunately, there is a correlation
between President Bush's meeting with
Syrian President Hafez Assad in Geneva
and the three attacks on Israel's borders
this week, though they did not come from
Syria.
At least four Israelis were killed and
more than 24 wounded on Sunday when a
man dressed in an Egyptian uniform cross-
ed into southern Israel and began firing at
passing vehicles while two Egyptian
soldiers looked on. The tragedy took place
soon after Israel had sunk a boat carrying
five Palestinian terrorists from southern
Lebanon toward the Israeli shore. That
same day, two Israel soldiers on patrol in
the "security zone" in southern Lebanon
were wounded when a young Lebanese
woman on a suicide mission rushed toward
them and set off a bomb strapped to her
body.
Each of these incidents is horrifying and
deplorable. They indicate once more that
Israel is not accepted as a legitimate state
in the Arab world. Indeed, it must stand
6
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 1990
ever vigilant, on all its borders, against
those whose hatred is so strong that they
would murder Israeli soldiers and civilians
in the name of a Judenrein Middle East.
In choosing to meet with President
Assad, an Arab leader who differs from
Saddam Hussein only in style rather than
substance, President Bush has sent out a
message, intended or not, that terrorism
can be overlooked for expediency.
President Bush, in his obsession to
maintain his coalition of Arab nations
opposed to Saddam Hussein, has chosen to
make Syria our newest ally. Mr. Bush ex-
plained that he had "no problem sitting
down with (President Assad) for this com-
mon purpose." In so doing he has made the
Arab proverb — the enemy of my enemy is
my friend — into U.S. policy. It is such
logic that motivated the United States to
befriend Iraq in its war against Iran. But
the proverb does not quite fit regarding
Israel. There, the enemy of my enemy —
the Jewish state — is to be kept at bay, for
fear of offending other enemy-allies.
LETTERS
`Day After 26 '
Shows The Problem
"The Day After 26" (Nov. 9)
by Phil Jacobs does a great
service to families of
developmentally disabled in-
dividuals by revealing the
growing burden thrust upon
these families by a society
unaware of their plight.
The article notes that the
Jewish Vocational Service
was forced to reduce the
number of slots available to
persons with developmental
disabilities by eight this year.
But it would have been worse,
were it not for the willingness
of JVS staff to take on extra
work loads, and find more ef-
ficient ways to deliver
services.
It would have been worse,
were it not for the extraor-
dinary cooperation between
the administrators of the
Oakland County Community
Mental Health Board and the
JVS who, together, found
ways to maximize the value of
every dollar available to this
program.
But, it is going to get worse.
I have been advised unof-
ficially that, because of a
large state deficit, cuts in fun-
ding from current levels can
be expected within the next
few weeks. Thus, it is likely
that more slots will be
eliminated and the seven-to-
eight year waiting list for JVS
services to people with
developmental disabilities
will grow even longer.
Could funds raised by the
Allied Jewish Campaign that
have been allocated to JVS be
used to help out in this crisis?
Not without denying
assistance to other people in
need because, last year, all
local services not directed at
resettlement of Soviet
emigres received no increase.
This year, The Jewish News
reports, increases in alloca-
tions to local services will be
limited to a maximum of 4
percent.
My colleague, Richard
Cooper, director of Oakland
County Services for the
Developmentally Disabled, is
quoted as stating, "Never in
my 25 yeas in this field have
I seen things so bad." Sadly,
I must concur.
But a concerned communi-
ty can change this bleak pic-
ture. "The Day After 26" took
an important first step by
revealing the problem to the
community. It is now up to
the rest of us, service pro-
viders, Jewish community
planners, state legislators,
state and county officials and
the general public, to,
together, face the issue and
design solutions. We have
been informed; now we must
act.
Albert I. Ascher
Executive Director
Jewish Vocational Service
Dysautonomia
Article Helped
The article in the Nov. 16
issue of The Jewish News,
"Battling A Killer," written
by Adrien Chandler, was an
informative and well-written
story much needed to be
told. Finally our community
can better understand what
the disorder is all about for,
heretofore, many physicians
had not heard of and were not
familiar with dysautonomia.
Ms. Chandler, in a very sen-
sitive and caring manner, did
a superb job and we thank
her.
Max and Elaine Fertel
Oak Park
Editor's note: The Fertels'
children and grandchildren
were the subjects of the story.