A Week Of Evaluation
This was a week of evaluation and for-
ward moves by the Federation and the
Allied Jewish Campaign. Last week,
outgoing Federation President Mark
Schlussel dared the community to consider
its very survival. Days later, Campaign
leaders expressed concern amid their
typically high level of optimism.
In his address last week at the Federa-
tion annual meeting, Mr. Schlussel
challenged Detroit Jewry to rethink its
views when it came to the definition of
"Jewish community." He said intermar-
riage and assimilation are now facts of life
in our community, and even though we
pound our chests over it, we have to deal
with these issues, even if it means more
outreach to non-Jewish spouses. He also
called on denominations within Judaism to
stop their. bickering and divisiveness. He
questioned the very survival of what we
now call the Jewish community.
Allied Jewish Campaign concerns about
another "flat" Campaign have surfaced in
various interviews and speeches that have
been given locally by Campaign and Fed-
eration leaders.
While federations across the country ex-
perienced a lean year vis a vis the reces-
sion, Detroit maintained its 1990-91 level
of $26 million. Still, there is worry for the
coming year, there is concern.
The Campaign got itself off to a good
start with a total to date of $11,280,000
plus $4,545,000 for the continuing Opera-
tion Exodus program for Soviet Jews. The
regular Campaign total so far represents a
$445,000 increase in gifts from the same
contributors last year.
A great deal of these funds were raised at
the Monday night Max Fisher-hosted
pacesetter meeting. The previous Sunday
it was announced that a Challenge Fund
had been created and already had $400,000
designated to it. This fund is sponsored by
longtime community leaders who view it as
a way of sparking enthusiasm in this
year's Campaign. The fund matches dollar
for dollar every additional dollar over last
year's contribution. For every dollar con-
tributed by a new donor, the matching fund
will add $2.
All of this is encouraging, especially
when around the country many federations
in large cities are facing cutbacks of a per-
cent here and there; the extreme is Los
Angeles with a 17 percent cutback.
The recession has played havoc with
almost everyone in this country. But
maybe the global picture is telling us that
it's not just a recession, but it's also an
American Jewish community that is
redefining itself. Perhaps federations need
more self-appraisal in how they fit into the
redefinition of Jewish life.
If Federation didn't reach the numbers of
unaffiliated Jews it targeted when times
were good, doesn't it figure now, when
times are tough, that outreach is going to
get even tougher?
In a recent interview with The Jewish
News, Campaign chairman Norman
Pappas did not talk about the need to
please the wealthy givers. Instead, he talk-
ed about money that is needed to continue
social service programs for everyone, be it
job counseling, emergency rent money or
even food. The concern is that levels of giv-
ing drop off when there's not a crisis in
Israel or in other world Jewish com-
munities.
But as Mr. Schlussel pointed out, there is
an urgency here; there is a crisis in the
Detroit Jewish community. More people
need to be affected, so that more can be ef-
fected.
Perot-Active Campaign
Texas billionaire H. Ross Perot has
masterfully manipulated the press, the
public and the two major political parties
with his on-again, off-again, on-again cam-
paign for the presidency.
Fearful of his attacks on the media,
reporters have been unwilling or unable to
pin Mr. Perot down on why he got back in a
race that he left in July because he had de-
termined he couldn't win and because he
didn't want to upset the democratic pro-
cess. We suspect that Mr. Perot now has far
less of a chance to win than he did in the
summer and that his reentering the race
still could upset the process.
If the "pols" in Washington had had
some courage, they would have told Mr.
Perot to stuff it when he invited them to
Dallas to pitch their fiscal wares. Instead,
6
by traveling to Perot headquarters, they
humbled themselves, inflated Mr. Perot's
Texas-sized megalomania, and further con-
tributed to the weirdness of this already
strange election year.
Despite all the conjecture, Mr. Perot's
candidacy will probably not determine who
wins the election. A Newsweek poll, for in-
stance, indicates that only about 9 percent
of voters would pull the lever for the
newcomer. This number is likely to
decrease as Nov. 3 approaches: Most
Americans are opposed to "throwing
away" their vote to a third-party can-
didate.
But in the weeks before the election, Mr.
Perot may provide a useful public service.
The federal debt is one of the most wor-
risome issues to voters, and one of the least
discussed by Gov. Clinton and President
Bush. If Mr. Perot's October Surprise
forces the governor and the president to
more fully address the debt, then perhaps
his candidacy will serve a higher purpose
than his ego. And perhaps he will have
continued his record at masterfully ma-
nipulating others, be they paid
"volunteers," talk show hosts such as
Larry King, or Oval Office contenders Bill
Clinton and George Bush.
IMPS
Shofar Blower
Is Not Kosher
While a 10-year-old shofar
blower (Sept. 25) may be an
adorable novelty, according to
Jewish law, those who hear
the shofar blown by a koton
(minor under the age of bar
mitzvah) do not fulfill the
mitzvah of hearing the shofar.
At the Jimmy Prentis Mor-
ris Jewish Community
Center, most of those who at-
tend services are senior
citizens, or new Russian im-
migrants who may be hearing
the shofar for the first time in
their lives. How sad that
these congregants are being
cheated out of this precious
mitzvah for the sake of a cute
show.
Susan Tawil
Oak Park
Accurate
Translations
I am writing to you in
regard to the article about
Israeli literature in transla-
tion that appeared in the
Sept. 25 Jewish News.
First, I agree with the arti-
cle that such translations pro-
vide valuable insights into
Israeli culture that are other-
wise not available to non-
Hebrew speakers. Never-
theless, the article failed to
address the quality of these
translations.
While I have found many
translations to be excellent
attempts to convey the flavor
and content of the original
works, a "bad" translation
can alter the original so that
the translation bears little
resemblance to the content or
texture of the original .. .
There is no doubt that
literature in translation is a
way to experience Israeli
culture in a way previously
prevented by a language bar-
rier. Nevertheless, we must be
able to have faith in the
honesty and integrity of those
who we count on to provide us _
with accurate translations of — ,
the original works. L_
Mike Sherman
West Bloomfield
Ethnic Warfare
In The Balkans
A statement issued by
Children of Holocaust-
Survivors Association
(CHAIM) strongly condemns
the persecution and atrocities
committed by Serbia against
Muslim and Croation people.
(Jewish News Aug. 28).
CHAIM quite properly con-
demns "ethnic cleansing."
This phrase evokes memories
of the Nazi "Judenrein" (Jew
clean) concept. CHAIM did as
it should, protest camps and
atrocities which are reminis-
cent of the German genocide
of the Jews.
CHAIM's statement as-
sumes that the Serbs are the
perpetrators, the Croats and
the Muslims the victims, just
like the Jews of Europe were
victims of the Germans. This
notion is based upon limited
understanding of the present
situation in the former
Yugoslavia and it ignores the
knowledge of the past.
The newly-formed ethnic
states of Croatia and Bosnia-
Herzegovina contain large
Serbian populations.
Bosnia-Herzegovina was a
province of the Austrian-
Hungarian empire prior to
World War I. In 1918, it be-
came a region of the Kingdom
of Yugoslavia. In 1941, it be-
came part of the German pup-
pet fascist state of Croatia.
The Croats and the Muslims
used the power they acquired
under German occupation to
Continued on Page 10