LETTERS

Right, Wrong
And The Army

Reference your article on
Lt. Col. Lewis Barr, which ap-
peared in the Feb. 8, 1991
issue.
As a retired army public af-
fairs officer, I feel compelled
to bring to your attention
several issues. The first is the
correct designation of Colonel
Barr's unit, 5064th U.S. Army
Garrison, which by the way is
not a divisional unit.
Second is your continual

123rd U.S. Army Reserve
Command, which was Col-
onel Barr's major subordinate
unit, ever contacted to ensure
accuracy and releasable
information?
Having worked closely with
the civilian media, both print
and electronic during my 31
years with the army, I am pro-
bably more cognizant than
most readers of the impor-
tance of accuracy during
times of crisis.
Hopefully, this letter will
add to your working
knowledge of military affairs,
and that you will continue
your outstanding work of
bringing to your readership,
the involvement and com-
mitments of our Jewish
personnel.

Dr. Melvin Wasserman
Farmington Hills

Steinberg Firing
Raises Questions

Colonel Barr

reference to the Colonel as
Mister. As he is now on active
duty, it is correct style to refer
to him with correct military
rank.
Third is the statement that
"he volunteered for the
reserves 26 years ago so he
could serve the United States
without being drafted for the
Vietnam War." An individual
enlists in the reserve program
not to avoid the draft, but as
an alternative means of serv-
ing their country.
Fourth, "dog tags" are now
referred to as identification
tags.
Fifth, the use of an official
army photograph, which is
designated for use in military
records such as personnel
files and promotion packets.
Sixth, and most important,
is the violation of the Privacy
Act. I question as to whether
you realize that line 3 of the
identification board at the
bottom left of the picture is
the Social Security number of
Colonel Barr.
Was the public affairs office
from the 5064th U.S. Army
Garrison; Fort McCoy; or the

I was disturbed to read your
lead story Feb. 15 about Mr.
Robert Steinberg being asked
to step down. It raised more
questions than it answered.
1) Mr. Steinberg was of-
ficially installed in the full-
time position after having
been on the job for two years.
Why now does his profes-
sional background become an
issue?
2) What precipitated the
need to make the change,

munity concerning the only
Jewish hospital in the metro
Detroit area.
I want to see Sinai Hospital
continue serving our com-
munity in a positive "Jewish"
way. I feel the community
deserves not to be deceived or
short-changed.

Rabbi Shaiall Zachariash
Southfield

when the doctors and the
community had rallied in
support of our Jewish
hospital? Nowhere was it in-
dicated that the problem was
with the administrator or our
community.
3) In speaking with a
member of the hospital board
of trustees, I learned that this
matter and decision were not
brought to the board, but was
strictly a decision of the of-
ficers. I wonder whether this
decision about a communal
organization is sending a
message of confidence or alar-
ming confusion to our com-

,

DID 1146
'TV- AVIV
MISS ILE
AtrAc Ks

Steinberg Owed
An Apology

I am both distressed and of-
fended by your headline
about Robert Steinberg in
your issue of Feb. 15 ("Robert
Steinberg Is Asked To Step
Down At Sinai Hospital"). I
have been a subscriber to The
Jewish News since its incep-
tion and have never read a
derogatory headline such as
this.
Mr. Steinberg has served
our community for many
years as board member of the
Jewish Welfare Federation,
president of the Jewish Home
for Aged and Sinai Hospital.
Mr. Steinberg stepped in as
director of Sinai when no one
else was available to fill the
bill. Sinai officials knew that
he had no experience in that
capacity but his expertise in
other areas helped smooth
the way for the hospital's
existence.
I believe a public apology is
due to this fine man.

Ida Levine
Southfield

Council Responds
To Letter's Criticism

Robert Steinberg

Dry Bones

A recent letter (Feb. 22)
referred to a Free Press arti-
cle on hate crimes and
mistakenly concluded that
the Jewish Community Coun-
cil was conducting annual
local surveys of anti-Semi-
tism.
The Council defers to the
ADL for the monitoring of
local manifestations of anti-
Semitism. We do not conduct
our own annual survey.
Ms. Simpson might have
drawn that conclusion
because of the article's
repeated use of the words,
"the council." The article was
referring not to the Jewish
Community Council, but
rather to the National Jewish
Community Relations Ad-
visory Council, which does
prepare an annual assess-
ment of anti-Semitism, based
on data provided by the ADL
and other sources.
The Jewish Community
Council and the ADL have
worked together on numerous
projects in recent years. Our
organizations strive to avoid
conflict and duplication, and

tocioute

Amur
ger ear

06

I believe we have been suc-
cessful in this effort to max-
imize our collective impact.

David Gad-Harf
Executive Director
Jewish Community Council

Scuds, Saddam
And Children

I was scared when I first
heard the air raid sirens.
Although we had been
prepared for this moment for
weeks and months — sealing
up a room and receiving gas
masks against a chemical/
biological warfare attack— it
all seemed dramatic, unreal.
The war had started so far
away.
There were no planes flying
overhead, no explosions, only
the quiet shimmering of wind
-through the trees. There was
no real possibility . . . and
suddenly the deceptive calm
was broken by the wailing of
sirens, like wild screams tear-
ing into consciousness.
People began running in
the street towards their
homes. We gathered the fami-
ly in the sealed room, excited-
ly; something new was
happening.
We followed the instruc-
tions that we had learned. We
opened our kits and took out
the gas masks — cold, black
rubber with huge eye sockets
and filter-snouts for
breathing. We adjusted the
straps and waited, looking at
each other like aliens from
another planet.
The boys seemed like old
pros; they had practiced in
school. But the girls, who are
younger, were frightened, and

at first refused. We all coax-
ed them gently into trying
out the "surprises,' but their
eyes were almost as big as the
masks. We pleaded to no
avail.
That night they would have
nightmares, of strange people
trying to break into our home.
For a moment it all looked
like an absurd comedy
slapstick. The whole family
crowded into a small room,
the kids bouncing on the
beds. We listen to the radio for
some information. Nothing
yet; nothing that would give
the Iraqi gunners help in ad-
justing their range.
We try to relieve the anxie-
ty. The children ask when
they will be able to go out,
what we will do if there is an
invasion, what if a missile
hits our home.
We will survive, but at what
cost? Yesterday, Friday night,
Shabbat, a thousand homes
were destroyed and damaged
On TV the following night
are the stunned, angry, con-
fused faces of people who have
suddenly been hit from the
dark, unknown skies. There
has been no earthquake, no
flood or hurricane. They are
guilty of only one thing — be-
ing Jewish and living in
Israel.
Suddenly, the terrible spec-
tre of the Holocaust is before
us, only this time the Ger-
mans, French, Austrians,
Italians and Russians — those
who put weapons of mass
destruction into Iraq's hands
— don't have to do the dirty
work themselves.

Dr. Moshe Dann
Jerusalem

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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