OPINION

Sometimes The Nicest
Presents Aren't Gift-Wrapped

PHIL JACOBS

r Managing Editor

C

hanukah came
around this year, and
I wasn't ready for it.
Maybe it came a bit too
soon after Thanksgiving. We
still had turkey leftovers in
our refrigerator and we were
dropping potato latkes in oil,
all in the same weekend.
Going to a mall on Sunday
for some of those last-minute
Chanukah gifts, I needed to
buy a roll of Chanukah
wrapping paper and white
ribbon. There among the
gold garlands and red and
white plastic molded Santas,
I found the blue wrapping
paper with the menorot on
it. The only way to get the
ribbon was to buy a multi-
ribbon pack, complete with
the official colors of
Christmas, green, red and
gold.
Ever feel like a stranger in
a strange land?
Maybe Chanukah wasn't
close enough to Christmas
this year to get more in the
"mood of the holiday." Isn't
it a shame that for many
Jews, Chanukah can't effec-
tively stand on its own.
Listen to this scenario: It
feels more like a holiday
when it's closer to
Christmas. We need
Christmas to enjoy Chanu-
kah. There are many of us
who believe that Christmas
isn't a religious holiday
anymore; it's an American
holiday, a time of glitter,
color and warmth. Some of
us have relatives who might
even hang Christmas stock-
ings on Christmas Eve or
decorate a tree in their liv-
ing room. There's a menorah
probably nearby in these
same households.
Confused? I hope so. I hope
I'm not the only one feeling
this way.
You know, there are also
Jews who don't go around
buying eight presents for the
kids, having parties or try-
ing their best to do what
their Christian friends are
doing.
Herein lies the problem.
Since when is giving just a
November and a December
thing? Why only during
these two months? Why not
April? Why not July? There
are still little children wear-
ing the same pair of ragged
shoes during these months.
Yad Ezra is crowded with
Jews standing in line for

food every month of the year.
Why are we warmer and
nicer to one another during
these two months?
There are Jews who
celebrate Chanukah by giv-
ing more of their money and
time to charity. There are
Jews who light candles,
study the history of the holi-
day and who even pray.
There are even Christians
who don't celebrate
Christmas by going crazy at
the mall. They are people
who believe that the re-
ligious sanctity of their holi-
day has nothing to do with
electronics and high-tech
toys.
Lighten up. This is a time
to forget what's going on
around us.
Can't lighten up. Keep
thinking of the battle, the

The "spirit of the
season" has
become the wrong
spirit.

25-year-battle that the Mac-
cabees fought just because
they wanted to live as Jews.
Here it is, 1991, and a
Klansman is going to run for
president of the United
States. He'll never win. But
he did get 600,000 people in
Louisiana to vote for him.
Unless we take the light
from Chanukah and use it to
symbolically make civility
and understanding a priori-
ty, then David Duke wins.
This is a man who once
designed a picture of the
United States as a white
person's country, a country
that would have a handful of
substates for its minorities.
One of those substates he
called "New Israel." Guess
where that was located — in
the New York, New Jersey
region of the country. Along
with that was "New Africa"
and even a state for
Hispanics.
It's tough to lighten up
when you get a phone call
that a friend's birthday par-
ty has been canceled.
Reason — he was just pink
slipped from his job. His wife
still wants to hold the party,
but he doesn't want to see
any of his friends right now.
What kind of presents is he
lined up to buy this year?
Holiday spirit? Maybe the
best present we can give is to
review this past year and
think about the year coming
up. Let's not try and hide

under silvery wrapping
paper words, events and
names like Saddam Hussein,
Scud missiles, Jeffrey
Dahmer, David Duke, the
fall of Soviet Communism,
Madrid, Magic Johnson, the
Royal Oak Post Office,
recession, Clarence Thomas,
Anita Hill and others.
We all know we need a
break from all of this. This
year coming up is an election
year; it's the year of the
summer and winter Olym-
pics. Hopefully we can learn
and really make changes.
The best present we can
make is one we can give to
ourselves. If we can in-
dividually seek changes to
be better people, think of the
presents we can give every-
one else.
Improve yourself, and then
give that improvement to
your friends and family. It
could be giving up cigarette
smoking; it could be curtail-
ing alcohol consumption.
Maybe you'll talk things out
with your children instead of
spanking. Maybe you won't
use the word shvartze
anymore. Maybe you'll do-
nate to charity more
regularly.

Let this be the symbol of
your candle this year. Not
your new stereo system.
There's an ad published in
many of the national maga-
zines showing a bearded
man with a headline over
the photo that reads, "Sure
I'm Jewish. And I celebrate
Christmas."
Further confused? Feel
even more like you want to
be part of the Christmas
spirit?

The Jews For Jesus want
you to be.
Get it together. You won't
need Jews for Jesus or any
other missionary or cult
group to come along. You'll
have you, under new
management, new and im-
proved.
Better yet, we'll have you.
Now that's a Chanukah gift.
Even if the holiday comes
early this year. ❑

Why Israel Opted
To Take It On The Chin

GARY ROSENBLATT

Editor

It was Decem-
ber and the
peace talks were
scheduled to be-
gin. But there
was a disagree-
ment about a
seemingly minor
procedural issue, and the
talks were delayed.

Sound familiar?
Actually, I'm talking
about December 1968, when
the peace talks between the
North and South Viet-
namese were delayed for a
month because of a dispute
over the size and shape of
the table. So the war con-
tinued, with more killing,
including American soldiers,
while governments haggled
over whether the table
should be rectangular or
round.
Yes, there was an outcry
about the foolishness of pro-
longing a war because of
symbolism. But to the

disputants, outward symbols
are merely the context for
deep-seated views — and
fears — which should not be
taken lightly.
The government of Israel
has taken a beating in the
media in recent days be-
cause of its decision not to
send a negotiating delega-
tion to the second round of
Mideast peace talks in
Washington on December 4
as an indication that it will
not be bullied by the ad-
ministration.
An editorial in the New
York Times last Thursday
asserted that Prime Min-
ister Shamir "seems capable
of no more than angry pro-
cedural gestures to show
that he won't be pushed
around," and concluded:
"Peace is worth the risks."
But it is difficult for
Americans to understand
that for Israel, the stakes in-
volved are its very survival.
No rational person knowing-
ly rushes into an ambush.
You and I may debate
whether or not Israel should

have accepted Washington's
invitation — surely we
would be less uncomfortable
if Israel simply bit the bullet
and attended on time — but
we need to understand
Israel's very real fear that
the peace talks may not be a
true face-to-face negotiation,
after all, between represent-
atives of the Jewish state
and Syria, Lebanon, Jordan
and the Palestinians.
Israelis are concerned that
in refusing to meet in the
Mideast, and in allowing the
Washington talks to go
beyond the procedural level,
the Arabs are indicating an
unwillingness to deal direct-
ly with Jerusalem. Instead,
the feeling is that the Arabs
will be speaking more to the
United States than to Israel,
urging the U.S. to put in-
creased pressure on the Jew-
ish state.
Uri Savir, the Israeli Con-
sul in New York, noted re-
cently that for all of the op-
timism generated by the

Continued on Page 10

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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