EDITORIAL
Budget Cuts
And Robert Steinberg
News from Lansing and Governor
Engler is not very promising concern-
ing budget cuts that will have a very
real affect on the services provided by
the organized Jewish community.
State budget slashing promises to have
a very real affect on the ability of local
agencies to help Jews in need.
At a time when national Jewish
leaders are calling for increased giving
to help settle a million Soviet Jews in
Israel over the next five years, it now
appears that our responsibilities to
take care of our own will have to in-
crease. And hopefully, as we go to our
checkbooks and our pocketbooks, the
money that is needed locally will not
impinge on the continuing Soviet
resettlement.
When, however, state cutbacks could
cause more Jews to fall through the
economic and social safety net, we are
all responsible to close up the net as
soon as possible. Already organizations
such as JARC and Kadima see fewer
services available. In human terms,
that means an adult with a develop-
mental disability will have to wait
even longer for a residential place-
ment. A person suffering from a mental
illness, or in need of job placement ser-
vices at the Jewish Vocational Sevice,
may not receive the help that is need-
ed.
Certainly, this is not the way we
wanted it to be. Words like recession
and war have been taken out of our dic-
tionaries once again and are serving as
the backdrop to these cuts. As a com-
munity, we should continue to stretch
ourselves to recognize and act on the
cause of Israel's security and the Soviet
Jewish emigration. But now, more
than ever, we can't lose sight of what is
happening in our own backyard.
Bob Steinberg is a friend to this Jew-
ish community. His departure from
Sinai Hospital shouldn't be looked at
as a captain abandoning a sinking
ship. Sinai, like hundreds of hospitals
and federally-dependent agencies
across the country, is fighting for its fi-
nancial survival. Mr. Steinberg did his
best to insure that survival. And he
helped restore a Jewish flavor and
commitment between the hospital and
Detroit's Jewish community. But with
talks of mergers, physician board
takeovers, lowered bond ratings and
continuing losses in the millions of
dollars, it was, perhaps, time for a
change.
Now Sinai's mandate is to find a new
CEO who can take them realistically
into a tumultuous economic climate.
As Mr. Steinberg can tell us, the very
choice of that new president could
clearly be a matter of Sinai's survival.
As Sinai looks deeper into its pockets,
as we look deeper into ours, health and
welfare programs that affect thousands
of individuals in our community are at
stake.
New Equations
For The Middle East
President Bush has announced that
his goal for the resolution of the Gulf
war is to create "a new world order,"
with a focus on resolving the Mideast
conflict. Already the new realities sug-
gest that Washington needs to change
its thinking about the Arab-Israeli
equation.
It was expected that, once Iraq was
defeated, Washington would use its in-
creased clout in the region to pressure
Israel into negotiating with the Pales-
tinians, with the Palestine Liberation
Organization playing a key role.
But Yassir Arafat changed all that
when he threw his support to Saddam
Hussein. The Palestinians lost
credibility and empathy when they
cheered Iraqi missile attacks on Israel.
In addition, King Hussein of Jordan,
long considered the most moderate of
6
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1991
the Arab world leaders, has sided with
Iraq and condemned the United States
for its role in the war. And Israel has
bolstered its diplomatic position in
Washington's eyes by showing enor-
mous restraint in refusing to be coaxed
into the war by Iraqi missile attacks.
The war appears far from over, but
already it is clear that the United
States, in contemplating a post-war
scenario, must shift its emphasis from
Israel-Palestinian talks to negotiations
between Jerusalem and the Arab
states. On a practical level, the U.S.
has little alternative because Arafat
and the Palestinians have removed
themselves from the diplomatic table.
Is it too much to hope for that the Bush
administration will realize that the
key to Mideast stability is Arab recog-
nition of Israel?
LETTERS
The Holy War
To Save Sinai
Before the community em-
barks on a holy war to save
Sinai Hospital, it might be
useful to look at the patriotic
doctors leading this fight.
A review of the hu-
mongous salaries paid to the
in-house medical staff and
their camp followers will
sober the naive as to why
these crusaders are fighting
to save their jobs like a
mother bear protecting her
cubs.
Sinai Hospital, a fine in-
stitution but nevertheless an
anachronism for the 90s, like
many small hospitals, now
serves its doctors as much or
more than its community,
Jewish or otherwise.
Dr. Jack H. Kaufman
Southfield
Israelis Question
Some U.S. Moves
I do not know what the tone
is in the American Jewish
community but I can tell you
that in Israel the mood is
moving quite rapidly against
the United States. Several
events have been cited:
The Syrians are getting aid
which the Syrians say they
will use to fund the purchase
of weapons to use against us.
The U.S. is still holding up
even the $400 million loan
guarantee for housing for
Russian olim. The U.S. said
that we have the right to res-
pond to attack but at the
same time the State Depart-
ment came out against us for
defending ourselves in
Lebanon. The U.S. decided
that the time was not ripe to
rock the boat with the Rus-
sians over Latvia but, on the
other hand, found no reason
to forestall coming out with
what sounded like a new Mid-
dle East initiative with the
USSR.
The U.S. is still withholding
from us the IFF codes so that
we can avoid shooting down
allied jets.
Already the U.S. is starting
to blame us for the slow pace
of the war (since, after all,
they have wasted vital
resources on hunting down
"our" Scuds). The U.S. attack-
ed us for the house arrest of
Sari Nesuaibeh when such
left-wing leaders here as Yosef
Sarid have disowned him
after seeing the confidential
evidence (and he himself ad-
mits to having held conversa-
tions with Iraqis).
Aaron Lerner
Jerusalem
Aid, Restraint
And Retaliation
Recently the Wall Street
Journal and the Toronto
Globe and Mail have publish-
ed op-ed pieces making the
case for Israel's use of
military action against Iraq.
Two questions must be
analyzed regarding Israel's
restraint: Why have
American Jews joined tradi-
tional critics of Israeli
military action by praising
restraint? And why has Israel
not defended herself against
Iraq.?
Israel's restraint and her
rationalizations for it are
evidence of a failure of will.
Israel's hesitancy during the
invasion of Lebanon and the
exchange of 1,000 terrorists
for a handful of Israeli
soldiers greatly weakened
Israel's reputation in the eyes
of the Arab world and gave
the Arabs the confidence to
launch the intifada.
Israel is so dependent on
foreign welfare aid and world
opinion that she is trading
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