EDITORIAL

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Slavery Of The Mind

Weeks prior to his death, author Alex
Haley came to the University of Michigan
as a guest speaker. Mr. Haley, whose book
and television series, Roots, brought
slavery to our contemporary consciousness,
died of a heart attack in Seattle.
One hundred years from now, when
historians study the way we're living and
thinking now, they'll undoubtedly choose
Roots as one of the most important works of
its time. It made slavery as personal as
possible for an unknowing society. Yet,
even Mr. Haley said in recent writings that
Roots was just a tiny exposure to the slave
experience. However, Roots, which sold
over 5 million copies, educated us and left
us changed, all of us, black and white, Jew
and gentile.
Soon, Dr. Leonard Jeffries will be bring-
ing his message of Afrocentrism to the
same University of Michigan. This is the
same man who is at the forefront of a
movement espousing that Africa is the
center of civilized man and woman, be it
biblical, intellectual, economic, or
sociological. His major platform for what
he sees as the demise of black people is to

put the blame squarely on the shoulders of
Jews.
This is a message of premeditated hate. It
is an unbalanced picture that simply takes
the ills besetting black civilization and
blames the Jews for practically all of them. •

It is important that a diversity of views
be put on the platform and heard, even if
these views differ radically. But to incite
hate in others without that balance can be
anything but productive. In the memory of
Alex Haley, we use that "balance" word
again, especially when it comes to edu-
cation.
The slave experience is an important
component in world history. There is prob-
ably much more to it than most of us will
ever know or understand. But we'd rather
learn through a balance of education, the
kind Mr. Haley would teach us, than
through a one-sided agenda of hate.

Pride in one's ethnic heritage is a
wonderful experience. But more than
chains or shackles, hate can possess and
enslave a person. Education and truth will
set us, all of us, free.

Campaign Realities

It's no secret that George Bush is not a
favorite among American Jews, having
brought the U.S.-Israel relationship to new
lows during his tenure. But for those who
assume that a Democratic presidential
candidate will be more supportive of Israel,
it's time to take a look at the track records
of the five contenders.
Though the focus of their campaigns has
been on domestic issues, all five are oppos-
ed to Israeli settlements in the territories.
And each candidate, while professing an
empathy for Israel and Jewish causes, has
at least some problem areas:
Jerry Brown's liberalism has largely
avoided Mideast issues; Bob Kerrey strong-
ly opposed the Gulf War and unconditional
loan guarantees for Israel; Paul Tsongas
was a strong critic of Israel's invasion of
Lebanon in 1982; Bill Clinton has many

Jewish advisors but his chief foreign policy
aide is of the Jimmy Carter camp; and Tom
Harkin, whose support for Israel has been
solid in the Senate, opposed the Gulf War
and is viewed by some American Jewish
leaders as "too liberal."
All of which is not to say that we should
sit this election out. Indeed, the opposite is
true. As Washington Correspondent James
Besser reports this week, while American
Jews have, to date, not reacted enthusi-
astically to any of the candidates, it is
believed that the Jewish vote will be
critical in this election.
With domestic affairs the major priority
and dissatisfaction with Israel running
high, it is all the more important for
American Jews to involve themselves in
the campaign and make sure that their in-
terests are addressed.

LETTERS

Yeshiva Operating
At Efficient Level

I take issue with the letter
response of Rabbi Mayer
Kahn in your Jan. 17, 1992
issue. Being a Yeshiva parent,
it was my impression that no
constitution existed and that
some form of weakness in the
internal structure existed at
the "corporate" level. This
was reinforced when
members of one board resign-
ed and a new parent board
was subsequently elected.
This new parent board was
then replaced by an appointed

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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 1992

board. In my opinion, the
Yeshiva school program is
running at its most efficient
level in years. This is due to
the skillful direction of its
principal, Rabbi Raphael
Skaist.
With regard to the com-
ments about Rabbi Goldberg,
it should be noted that his
statements were made as a
spokesman for a very
prestigious group and
reflected their opinions. This
letter makes him out a
villain, when in fact he works
extremely hard for many
religious causes in our com-

munity without remunera-
tion. I believe he is entitled to
an apology.

Dr. Isidore Steiner

President
Young Israel of Southfield

Dropping School
In Our Laps

The Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit has
tossed down its glove and
challenged the synagogues to
take on the responsibility of
running their own Hebrew
schools.

ANYONE c► 4N
11-05 UP lige V

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LETTERS

As a metnber of Congrega-
tion Beth Achim and a very
active parent in the Beth
Achim branch of the United
Hebrew Schools, I can honest-
ly say that this is an enor-
mous challenge. Our
synagogue recently made the
commitment to stay in South-
field. All our energy is cur-
rently directed at improving
every aspect of synagogue life
at Beth Achim to make our
congregation the very best it
can be.
Now, the Federation has
dumped a huge burden on us
by saying: Here, take your
Hebrew school and add it to
your list of expenses. Oh yes,
and figure out how to run a
Hebrew school while you're at
it. Don't worry, we're nearby
in case you need us for a lit-
tle consultation. Funding you
ask? We'll see how it fits into
the total picture.
The Federation is doing
more harm than good by
agreeing with Dr. Conrad
Giles' 10-member committee
to get out of the business of
teaching elementary school-
age children. If the Beth
Achim Hebrew school doesn't
survive this transition,
Southfield will lose its only
afternoon Conservative re-
ligious school.
Without the Best Achim
Hebrew school, young
families will not readily
choose to affiliate at Beth
Achim and of course the
scenario goes downhill from
there: The synagogue won't
flourish and eventually will
find it difficult to remain in
its Southfield building.
This has been an ex-
hausting year for Beth Achim
members and Jewish South-
field homeowners. Between
the merger question at Beth
Achim and the members'
eventual vote to remain in
Southfield, the disappointing

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three-week Jewish News
series about "Southfield at
Risk," and now the dismantl-
ing of the Agency for Jewish
Education, how much more
are we expected to take?
What we need right now at
Beth Achim is a promise from
the Federation that they will
give us a genuine monetary
commitment to establish our
Hebrew school, financial
assistance to run it, and a lot
of support to help make it
work.
Members at Beth Achim
have made the commitment
to stay in Southfield. We need
the Federation to make a
commitment to us to help
fund and support the school
they've dropped in our laps.

Andrea S. Gordon

Southfield

Federation Denies
Its Responsibility

We read with dismay the
plan to remove the Federation
from the communal respon-
sibility of financing and pro-
viding elementary Jewish
education. This move to com-
pletely privatize elementary
education is unsound and will
further accelerate growing in-
difference and assimilation.
With the prevalence of
divorce, how will these
mothers be able to both join
a synagogue or temple and
pay tuition? How will new
congregations be able to both
afford a building and an
operating school budget?
Even were these not the case,
parents cannot be forced to
affiliate.
The United Hebrew Schools
has a history of maintaining
a minimum of hours and cur-
riculum below which their
schools cannot go. They have
established certification stan-

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