OPINION
First You Blink
PHIL JACOBS
Managing Editor
T
hree white men in
their 20s are standing
behind a Jew wearing
a kippah in a crowded Oak
Park grocery store. They are
all waiting in the bottle
return line. They were in it
together, bags, bottles and
all.
Then one of the young men
decides to say in a conversa-
tional voice to his friend, "Of
all the lines in this store, you
had to pick one behind a
mother f Jew."
You blink the first time
anti-Semitism looks you
straight in the eye. It is an
experience that is difficult to
process when it's happening
and even more difficult to
reason through hours later.
Anti-Semitism happens on
the national and interna-
tional pages of Time and
Newsweek. It happens in his-
tory books. It happens on
"Nightline." It's about spray-
painted swastikas and burn-
ing crosses. But the last
place it happens is in subur-
bia, and the last people it
ever happens to are those
who are otherwise cozy and
who want to blend with the
sum total.
Being ba'al teshuvah, or
newly observant, it is still a
challenge to wear a kippah
out of the house, be it in Jew-
ish company or in public. A
kippah is a remarkable
statement. You wear it
among Jews, and no matter
if they are Conservative, Or-
thodox or Reform, a certain
level of religiosity, a certain
knowledge, a certain piety, a
certain something or other is
expected.
In general society, many
gentiles largely just see a
kippah as a sign of one
thing, "Jew." Wearing a
Anti-Semitism
happens in the
newspaper, not in
the neighborhood
grocery store.
kippah is a cinder in the eye
of assimilation. There is no
blend, no hiding with it on.
But for those who sometimes
want to blend, who need to
blend, it is a statement that
is often difficult to feel com-
fortable with. To many,
blending with the world is
easier than covering one's
head.
On a pleasant enough
Sunday afternoon, a 7-year-
old girl reminds her father
during the journey to the
store that he has forgotten to
put his kippah on. He thinks
for a moment, reminding
himself that it is more than
acceptable to wear a kippah
in public in Oak Park.
Nothing to worry about
here. Out comes the maroon
suede circle with a silver clip
from his coat pocket, and the
kippah is fastened securely
to his head.
Needed at the store were a
few items, a dozen eggs, a
bottle of pop and a bottle of
apple juice. But on the way
came the stop at the bottle
line with 80 cents worth of
empties. The big mouths in
line were dressed in short
black or blue satin jackets
with names of sports teams
or a construction firm sten-
cilled in white. Their hair
was dark and slicked back.
These weren't skinheads in
black leather jackets and
black steel plated Doc
Marten boots. These were
guys who otherwise go un-
noticed. And maybe that's
where the problem comes in.
To be noticed, to be cool,
every other word it seemed
began with the letter "f."
When the word "Jew" mixed
in, the immediate reaction
was trembling rage. With
his buddies laughing direct-
ly at the target, they daring-
ly wanted a response that
warranted a trip into the
parking lot.
At first the rage centered
around the men, but then it
turned on the issue of the
kippah. Had there not been
this ba'al teshuvah thing,
this would never have
happened. Had a child not
inquired about the incon-
sistency, this might not have
happened. Had the kippah
remained in the coat pocket,
maybe this would not have
happened.
But there was more shopp-
ing to do after the bottle line.
There were aisles to go
through where the
linemates passed each other
again and again. There was
the crowded express line
where their baskets bumped.
Their bread, his apple juice,
their canned vegetables, his
eggs. As consumers, maybe
they were the same. They
checked prices, complained
about long lines and even
presented their coupons.
The difference, the maroon
suede kippah, stayed where
it was. A symbol of religious
belief, it had also become one
of defiance. Now it will stay
on the head wherever.
The first time I looked an-
ti-Semitism straight in the
eye, it was I who blinked.
But when a person is anti-
Semitic because they see a
kippah, because they see a
man honoring God this way,
then they are really the ones
who are doing the blink-
ing.
will ultimately become en-
tangled in nets of political in-
trigues, economic failures,
bureaucratic nonsense — and
exhaust itself. That is the
failure of secular Zionism. If
Israel is simply a country like
any other, except that it is run
by Jews then it makes no
sense.
Kim Lifton focused on some
failures. It would be nice if
she tried to show the other
side as well. We have enough
bad press as it is.
realize that in war, we all lose.
The most obvious loss is that
of our loved ones. There are
other losses that need to be
taken into consideration: the
losses of the individuals that
have lived through the war
and return physically hurt,
those that are left with the in-
ner guilt.
LETTERS
issued a temporary restrain-
ing order preventing Defense
Ministry officials from expell-
ing the Arabs after Palesti-
nians living in the Gaza Strip
appealed the military orders.
This is democracy in its
highest form!
Now there is new pressure
from the U.N. for Israel to
participate in an interna-
tional conference to settle the
problem of the administered
territories (West Bank and
Gaza). The only breach of in-
ternational law committed in
the West Bank was Jordan's
invasion of that area in 1948,
and its subsequent annexa-
tion. The present occupation
was precipitated by their at-
tack in 1967, which was
repelled.
In rejecting the idea of an
international conference,
Israel is not different from
many other countries. Would
Great Britain submit to a con-
ference to settle the Irish
problem? What about
Afghanistan? We are all
aware that the international
conference on Cambodia end-
ed in failure.
To reach an agreement or a
settlement must be left to the
parties in the region, and not
to intereference from out-
siders thousands of miles
away.
Abe Pasternak
Southfield
Positive Side,
Not Negative
Israel's struggle for sur-
vival has never been easy;
Kim Lifton's article (Nov. 30)
makes it even more difficult
("Feelings Toward Israel
Eroding Among Young").
About 3,500 years ago,
when the Jews were wander-
ing in the desert, Moses sent
out 12 scouts — heads of their
tribes — to go into Canaan
(Israel) and report what they
experienced. All but two
returned and said "Don't go!
There's a security problem
and we can't make a living."
The Bible observes that
because they saw themselves
as grasshoppers, their
enemies did as well. Their
failure was not in reporting
their experiences truthfully;
their perspective was confus-
ed. They had no understan-
ding of the purpose of the
Jewish people and the direc-
tion of Jewish history.
Many people leave Israel in
disappointment, frustration
and bitterness. But what
were they looking for? And,
are their lives more mean-
ingful after they have found
new homes? Did they find a
deeper sense of purpose after
they left?
These are not questions
that sociologist/demographers
generally ask, for it is dif-
ficult to understand precisely
why people uproot them-
selves, especially for idealistic
reasons. Yet, there has always
been aliyah, even when it
meant hardship and a risk of
livelihood and life itself. It
was accomplished because
they had a sustaining mission
backed by biblical and pro-
phetic writings.
They "made it" because
they believed in something
beyond themselves.
The rebuilding of the land
of Israel, however, unsup-
ported by a spiritual ideal,
Moshe D ann
Jerusalem
War Is No Answer
To World Problems
I heard a song on the radio
recently. It asked a question,
"War, what is it good for?" It
then gave the answer, "Ab-
solutely nothing."
I remember this song from
my youth. It was a time when
we were all afraid; we did not
want ourselves, or our loved
ones, to die in a war. Too
many have died already, how
many more will die?
It is time for all people to
And what about the
damage to the land, the
buildings, the environment,
and the innocent people that
are displaced from their
homeland.
When a body of a few
leaders decide that war, or ag-
gressive action, is the solu-
tion to our problems, they
have just added another pro-
blem. We are people of in-
teligence, reason and compas-
sion. We can negotiate and
compromise. If we do not use
these abilities to settle our
differences, then we shall
never have peace.
There is no winner at war.
Both sides lose.
Susan D. Victor
Southfield
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
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