EDITORIAL

New Look For

Jewish News

Dear Reader,
The Jewish News you are holding in your
hands has a new look on its front page and
Table of Contents — the first phase of a re-
design that will soon carry over to the rest of
the paper.
The new look is lively, contemporary and
designed to make our award-winning articles
easier and more attractive to read.
Although the "old" look of The Jewish News
has won a national award for layout and
design, we believe in continually striving to
improve our product, and we think the new
look is even more exciting.
The body type remains Century, because it
is highly readable and prints well. The type-
face for headlines has been streamlined from
bold to condensed Helvetica to create units of
type that are reader-friendly.
In general, the motivation for the re-design
was to give the newspaper a livelier look while

Dry Bones

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at the same time making it more accessible
to the reader.
We feel we have a continually improving
product to market — with quality reporting
on local, national and international issues —
and we want to appeal to new readers as well
as those who have been loyal readers for many
years.
The re-design done by our staff art directors
was made possible through the use of the
latest in computer equipment and technology
here in Detroit.
It's all part of a pursuit of excellence that
we are committed to carry on. So we really
hope you like our new fresh, clean look, and
would appreciate hearing from you. After all,
your interest and support is what keeps us
going.
Cordially,

-

Charles A. Buerger
Publisher

Judgment For Demjanjuk

The trial in Israel of John Demjanjuk,
the former Ohio auto worker accused of be-
ing Ivan the Terrible, a notoriously sadistic
Treblinka death camp guard, has gone
from a national history lesson to a national
embarrassment.
After Mr. Demjanjuk was extradited
from the U.S. to Israel in 1986, his trial in
Jerusalem on charges of murder, war
crimes and crimes against humanity
became a major event. It continued for
many months, capturing the memory of
Israelis who lived through World War II
and the imagination of the nation's young,
who hungered for knowledge about how six
million Jews were slaughtered by the
Nazis. The trial was broadcast on televi-
sion and, all told, attracted some 250,000
spectators to the courtroom.
Five eyewitnesses testified that Mr.
Demjanjuk was Ivan, and in 1988, the
court found Mr. Demjanjuk guilty and
sentenced him to death. The only other
person to receive the death penalty in
Israel was Adolf Eichmann, one of Hitler's
key henchmen.
Ironically, Mr. Demjanjuk's most
outspoken defenders in America, including
Patrick Buchanan, insisted that it was
wrong to rely on the former Soviet Union
for the key piece of evidence — in this case an
identity card that was said to identify Mr.
Demjanjuk. Now, the new evidence that

Dry Bones

raises considerable doubt as to whether
Mr. Demjanjuk is indeed Ivan, has come
from archives in the former Soviet Union
— but Mr. Demjanjuk's defenders are not
questioning their authenticity.
Last week, a federal court in Cincinnati
decided to reopen the 16-year-old extradi-
tion case because of concerns that Mr.
Demjanjuk was wrongly accused. But it
should be noted that even if Mr. Demjanjuk
is not Ivan the Terrible, it seems increas-
ingly clear that he served the Nazis by
sending Jews to their death, and he lied
about his past when he came to America —
an offense that, according to law, denies
him citizenship.

The Israeli appeals court, which will rule
some time this summer, has three un-
satisfactory choices: to uphold the death
penalty, despite this new evidence that in-
dicates Mr. Demjanjuk is not Ivan; free Mr.
Demjanjuk, though the new evidence pro-
vides even stronger proof that he was a
Nazi concentration camp guard; or order a
new trial to judge Mr. Demjanjuk's conduct
at the Sobibor and Flossenburg camps.

Given the serious doubts that have been
raised, Israel should not execute Mr. Dem-
janjuk. Unlike those he served, John Dem-
janjuk will have his fate determined by
people who value law and humanity over
revenge.

C-S

--

I OPINION

The Hidden Benefits
Of Day School Education

CARLA JEAN SCHWARTZ

G

raduations are always
a reflective time of
the year. As I con-
template the years my son
and daughter spent at Hillel
Day School, I marvel at the
wonders of Jewish day school
education.
Of course, I could tell you
about their command of the
Hebrew language, knowledge
of Torah and their superb
secular studies. But there is
more than learning that
takes place at a Hebrew day
school. There is a special feel-
ing and comfort level about
Judaism that enables
students to know about their
roots, know who they are and
know where they are going.
Let me list some examples
of the hidden learning that I
have noticed over the years.
All these anecdotes are true;
some are frivolous and some
are substantive, but all are
demonstrative.
• Day school students are
experts in the Bible studies
category on the television
show "Jeopardy." Of course,
any New Testament inter-
pretation elicits an im-
mediate argument with the
TV host.
• All biblical allegories in
literature and television are
recognized. "Star Trek"
reruns are constantly
analyzed.
• Christmas is not exciting.
It's a Christian holiday. They
know Santa Claus isn't real
and can't understand how

anyone would want to sit on
his lap. They question why
menorahs aren't in depart-
ment stores if Christmas
trees are present.
• When a pet dies, there is
a Jewish burial in the bac'--
yard with kaddish said and a
marker.
• Your sukkah will be the
best decorated in town. Paper
chains are for kids who go to
public school.
• Day school graduates arP
leaders in the Jewish youth
groups.
• Reading from the Ibrah at
your synagogue is a naturalc=
progression.
• There is an extended
family feeling. Children know
the siblings of their peers, as
well as cousins and grand-
parents.
• Students are upset when
the Holocaust is only covered.
in one paragraph in a history
textbook. They know better.
These are just some of the
hidden benefits of a day
school education that only a
parent can point out. But the
best example was last week.
My daughter tried out for an
elite high school singing
group. She practiced songs-7'
from Phantom of the Opera all
week. When it came time for
the try-outs, she became very,
nervous and just could not
sing the song.
"Mom, you'll never guess
the song I chose. It's a song
feel comfortable singing," she
said.
My daughter sang
"Hatikvah."
Need I say more? Ill

,