EDITORIAL
Real Days Of Decision
It's a question that surfaces every time
there is a story on the financial woes of
Yeshiva Beth Yehudah in this newspaper.
Why do we have to give so much attention
to a school that needed a $100,000 Federa-
tion loan to pay teachers?
We're told that the Yeshiva represents
such a small segment of Jewish Detroit and
that what happens in Oak Park hardly mat-
ters to a Reform Jew living in West Bloom-
field.
But what happens at Yeshiva Beth
Yehudah, Akiva, Hillel or any other Heb-
rew school should be of interest and should
be important to every Jew living in
metropolitan Detroit, especially to every
Jew who donates money to the Allied Jew-
ish Campaign.
The mere fact that the Yeshiva or any
other school in this community is under
embarrassing financial strain should raise
the alarm in all of us. With the Federa-
tion's Days of Decision upon us, we call
upon this community to understand that
the need for pledges and funds is critical.
Day schools cannot do it alone, not now.
Both the highly touted Tauber and Giles
reports have called for restructured Jewish
education in this community. Without the
dollars needed to successfully implement
the plans, however, reports can become in-
effective. In a down economy, the only way
to adequately fund Jewish education is
through a fundamental change in alloca-
tion priorities.
Within this context, we urge the com-
munity to take these upcoming Days of
Decision seriously. It's important. But in
the long term, we ask that the Federation
also consider decisions — decisions that
change the percentage this community
keeps versus sends overseas. That
percentage needs to be examined and
modified.
breakdowns.
Of course it is better for a child to have
two parents. Of course the family structure
is important. No one argues with that.
But what about the high rate of divorce
in suburban white society? That also
results in single-parent families headed by
unwed, poor women. What about the loss of
moral direction that has allowed us to
place profit before people, and short-term
gain before long-term sensibility?
Unwed mothers did not cause the S&L
scandal. Inner-city gang members are not
responsible for the international arms
race, the plundering of natural resources
by multinational corporations, or the poli-
cies of government that prop up foreign
despots because it's good for American
business interests.
America 1992 — be it black or white,
Christian or Jewish — has largely lost its
way. "Murphy Brown" is not perfect. But
morality is not the purview of conservative
Republicans alone. We all need to examine
the values we live by and how, on an in-
dividual basis, they contribute to the cur-
rent state of affairs.
As for Dan Quayle, he gets what he de-
serves on "Saturday Night Live."
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The situation with Yeshiva Beth
Yehudah is symbolic of all forms of Jewish
education in this community, not just day
schools. It's time, finally, to invest in our
Jewish future here in Detroit. The long-
term loss, economic and political for Israel,
is much greater if we don't.
Quayle's Egg
When Vice President Dan Quayle
criticized unwed TV mom Murphy Brown
for having a baby, he stumbled across the
line that normally separates Washington's
fantasized view of the world from
Hollywood's. It was also a case of the wrong
messenger delivering an incomplete analy-
sis. Still, he was touching on a topic
eminently worthy of public discussion: the
social consequences of personal values and
actions.
The vice president was playing the stalk-
ing horse for a White House that has done
little to reverse the long economic decline
that has contributed mightily to the
breakdown of inner-city family life. More-
over, the Bush administration, held
hostage by anti-choice conservatives, has
helped to eliminate the abortion option for
women, unwed as well as married, who
have good reason for seeking to end un-
wanted pregnancies.
In the aftermath of the Los Angeles riots,
the vice president's "Murphy Brown"
speech was blatant pandering to white
voters who would prefer to blame inner city
unwed mothers for the law-and-order
breakdown than to deal seriously with the
festering conditions that produce such
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LETTERS
Bush Editorial
Was Appreciated
Thank you very much for
your May 22 editorial on
George Bush. Unfortunately,
it is typical of some Jewish
elements to bury their heads
in the sand whenever danger
approaches and to just hope it
will go away.
George Bush and James
Baker are enemies of the
Jewish people and the State
of Israel. Their record speaks
for itself. As a result of this
record, every attempt should
be made to defeat them at the
ballot box.
The State of Israel gained
nothing from the Bush ad-
ministration by allowing 39
missiles to fall on their
civilian population unan-
swered, and neither will
American Jews for. wagging
their tails.
Dr. Jerome Kaufman
Bloomfield Hills
Finkelman Story
Was Not Accurate
The May 22 front page ar-
ticle, "WSU Hillel Rabbi
Quits After Cuts," attempts
to assert a cause and effect
relationship that does not ex-
ist. Mr. Hitsky would have
the reader believe that Rabbi
Finkelman quit because In-
ternational Hillel could not
continue its financial sup-
port. Nothing could be fur-
ther from the truth.
As a member of the ex-
ecutive board of B'nai B'rith
Hillel of Metro Detroit, I
believe the community should
be informed that the board
had decided to continue the
day-to-day operations despite
the reduction of funding. Rab-
bi Finkelman's decision to
take a pulpit is entirely in-
dependent of the actions of '
B'nai
B'rith
International.
This article suggests only a
reflex reaction by our director.
His departure leaves a gaping-,
void for students, faculty, and
the community at large that
our executive board will be (
hard-pressed to fill.
We wish "Elly" the verTjj
best in his new challenges as
a pulpit rabbi and expect that
he will serve his new con-
gregants with the same spirit
and dedication with which he
has served our community.
Paul E. Rochlen-
West Bloomfield
Is Hebrew Memorial
Still Necessary?
Elizabeth Applebaum's_
May 15 article on the Hebrew
Memorial Society raises some
issues about the legitimacy of
their purpose.
The society was created to
provide free burial to those]
people who could not afford a
proper burial. lbday, if a per--
son can not afford a burial,
the Michigan Department of
Social Services will pay for it
This is the reason that there
is no other Hebrew Memorial
left in the cities of America,
only in Detroit.
From my years in Lansing
I know that it is against state
law for a funeral chapel to
own their own cemetery. Does
Hebrew Memorial Chapel get
around this because of their
special non-profit status?
The Jewish News article
Continued on Page 10