EDITORIAL
Desperate Penny
We don't need a rocket scientist to tell us
that these are not easy times. Certainly,
the thousands of General Motors auto
workers can describe what it's like to wat-
ch an invested, "secure" career dissipate
with a single announcement.
Sudden and unexpected unemployment
is hardly the property of the auto industry.
Many of us know people who have been
hurt by this terrible recession. Yes, we can
help. But we don't have to reinvent any
wheels here. The helpers are in place.
When Federation says they need pledges
paid early from those who can do it, it's not
some sort of Campaign ploy. It will help
people living lives of silent desperation in
and out of this Jewish community.
Every dollar, every penny now is des-
perate. In the past months, we've written
about the stresses of our neighbors and
ourselves. We've also talked about the
hungry, and those hurting to pay their rent
or mortgage. There's a gut-check that
many now go through the first time they
need to use a Jewish Family Service or a
Yad Ezra for food or other services.
Along with that gut-check for help comes
one that is often more difficult to overcome.
Financial stress in a family can often lead
to family violence. It may hurt a family
that's never experienced it before, or it
may get more pronounced with an already
disfunctional family.
In this issue of The Jewish News, we
learn that the Skillman Foundation grant,
used to help families who are victims of
domestic violence, will run out early next
year. Domestic violence does happen in a
Jewish home. At a time that it is likely the
problem will increase, we learn of a possi-
ble money cutback.
At the same time, it's got to be awfully
difficult to sit in Alan Goodman's chair.
Mr. Goodman, the JFS executive director,
has seen his agency work hard to help vic-
tims of spouse and child abuse. Now, with
fiscal worries in this area, his agency will
be beating the bushes for money to keep
programming going.
Perhaps Mr. Goodman's biggest
challenge is that many others in his posi-
tion are also out there beating the bushes
for the same dollar.
You've responded, through the work of
Federation and other giving organizations
to help the poor, the emigres, the disen-
franchised, the substance abuser, and the
victims of AIDs. But nobody's child de-
serves a punch or an image-destroying
word from an angry parent who just lost a
job.
The need is again greater. The penny, the
dollar are again desperately needed.
Baker As Bully
The Bush administration is making a
mistake by openly confronting Israel with
the choice of loan guarantees or set-
tlements.
Secretary of State James Baker, testify-
ing before the House Foreign Operations
subcommittee this week, publicly declared
for the first time that the administration
will not approve $10 billion in loan guar-
antees unless Israel freezes new settlement
activities in the territories. He, no doubt,
felt it was a savvy political move to put the
onus for loan guarantees on the Shamir
government and, at a time when foreign
aid is unpopular at home, show that the
administration can be stingy about doling
out U.S. money.
Clearly, Washington would prefer to deal
with an Israeli government led by the more
moderate Yitzhak Rabin, who was recently
elected head of the Labor Party. With
Israeli elections scheduled for June 23, it is
worth noting that Mr. Baker, in his
testimony, referred to the government in
Jerusalem as "the current government."
It may be wishful thinking on Mr.
Baker's part to believe that bullying
Jerusalem will turn Israelis, desperate for
economic aid, against Mr. Shamir, who in-
sists that settlement activity will continue.
On the contrary, Israelis are more likely
to rally around the embattled Mr. Shamir,
asserting their independence and refusal to
be manipulated by Washington. Similar
efforts on behalf of the Labor Party by the
6
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1992
U.S. helped assure a victory for Menachem
Begin as prime minister in 1977.
Thoughtful Americans, regardless of
their views on loan guarantees vs. set-
tlements, are offended by Washington's
efforts to manipulate a foreign democracy
and ally. More upsetting is the fact that the
administration is using the absorption of
immigrant Jews in Israel as a form of polit-
ical leverage.
To their credit, a number of members of
the Senate Foreign Operations subcom-
mittee criticized the administration this
week and came to Israel's defense, noting
that Mr. Baker made no demands on Arab
participants in the peace negotiations. Will
Mr. Baker insist that Syria stop exporting
drugs from Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, or
that Saudi Arabia end the economic
boycott of Israel, they asked. Will any of
the Arab states be asked to recognize
Israel's right to exist?
The administration's tough attitude with
Jerusalem has already had a negative
effect on the peace talks. An emboldened
Palestinian delegation this week rejected
an Israeli plan for self-rule for Palestinians
as "preposterous" and insisted on a halt to
Israeli settlements.
Rather than enhancing the peace talks
and weakening Mr. Shamir, the ad-
ministration's heavy-handed tactics have
called into question its role as a fair broker
in the peace process and strengthened "the
current" prime minister back home.
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LETTERS r"---
India Backs
State Of Israel
Your paper reported on a
peace prize for Yassir Arafat
by an Indian organization.
Which organization? There
are thousands of Indian
organizations.
India is the largest
democracy in the world with
about 900 million people. The
new Indian Congress Govern-
ment has recently supported
to abolish the U.N. Resolution
on Zionism. This is a great
change in Indian policy. The
majority of Indians in the U.S.
and India support this policy
change.
Jewish Americans should
work closely with Indo-
Americans in the U.S.A. to
improve relations between In-
dia and Israel. India is the on-
ly country in this world which
has not persecuted Jews! Jews
live peacefully in India. We
are your friends! You should
be our friends.
D.K. Parekh
Detroit
UHS Remains
The Right Venue
We have studied the report
of the Federation's education
committee and do agree that
a fresh look at our goals for
the future is required. Due to
changes in demographics and
the social structure of many
Jewish families, we agree
that services should be ad-
justed and expanded to meet
educational needs. For exam-
ple: full bus service, vigorous
outreach and a variety of
meaningful educational ex-
periences.
However, we emphatically
do not agree that removing
the elementary school system
from the Agency for Jewish
Education (AJE) will be
financially or educationally
advantageous or superior in
the long run, or that
synagogues will be able to
reach more families or retain
more students.
We believe our present com-
munity elementary school
system, with proper support,
is equipped for and is capable
of appropriately serving all
the children in our communi-
ty who wish to attend: those
affiliated with a synagogue
and those unaffiliated.
Implementation of the per-
tinent recommendations in
the report can be achieved
within the structure of the
AJE by using AJE's existing
facilities, resources, and
trained teachers.
It is commendable and pro-
per that Federation wishes to
ensure the education of every
Jewish child. This can be best
accomplished by expanding
the AJE, in cooperation with
all our area's Jewish school
systems, but our Jewish com-
munity will certainly lose
more students and families if
Federation destroys our com-
munity school system, the
United Hebrew Schools divi-
sion, the strongest component
and the foundation of the
ME.
Anna Mickel
Florence Gantz
Co-presidents, Woman's Auxiliary
of the United Hebrew Schools
Type Of Refugee:
What Difference
I believe that the policy of
the government of the United
States of America towards
Haitian refugees is immoral
and unwise. I pray that Presi-
dent Bush will take action to
allow these unfortunate
human beings to remain in
our country as immigrants,
and to contribute to its
strength.
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