Editor's Notebook

Community Views

In America, Ideals Observed
More In Theory Than Practice

When Terror
Strikes Home

ALAN D. GOODMAN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

GARY ROSENBLATT EDITOR

My biggest dis-
appointment on
"coming to Am-
erica" was that a
number of the
ideals which the
United States of
America is sup-
posed to stand
for were observed more in the-
ory than in practice. South
Africa, the country of my birth,
has been rightfully criticized
for her racist and undemocra-
tic policies and practices. The
Western world and the United
States have decried the living
conditions of the majority of
outh Africa's residents and
the laws which promote the in-
sidious growth and perpetua-
tion of inequality and racism.
Having left an environment of
overt social inequality, racial
prejudice and general intoler-
ance of cultural and religious
pluralism, I had high expecta-
tions that things would be dif-
ferent in this country. They are
very different, but not neces-
sarily in the ways that I had
hoped or that one would expect
of the most affluent and tech-
nologically advanced nation in
the world.
Bigotry is alive and well in
America today. The fact that
you are not surprised by this
evelation is part of the prob-
lem. Many Jews (myself in-
1uded) have very little social
ontact with the pluralistic so-
iety that makes up our world
is Americans. We seek friends
ho are like us and rarely so-
ialize with those who are not.
s tendency to affiliate with
ne's own is what has made
he apartheid system, which
terally means separateness,
vork so well in South Africa.
hrough apartheid, this ten-
lency was reinforced and in-
titutionalized through an
ntricate web of legal and so-
ial taboos. There was also a
ear of the consequences of
ion-compliance which served
a strong deterrent for social
ontact between the various
acial groups. As a child grow-
ng up, the people of color who
ntered our home were either
hose who worked for us, or on
ccasion, those involved with
he classical music world (my
other's passion). In this coun-
ry, we often perceive plural-
sm as encroachment and
acially integrated communi-
ies as "changing" or not a vi-
ble option for home in-
estment. The major difference
hich I see is that in this coun-
prejudice is not woven into
e fabric of our legal system,
t it is as much a part of our

D. Goodman is executive
for of the Jewish Fami-
rvice.

social and economic system as
it is in South Africa today.
While the economic in-
equalities in South Africa are
startling, the huge disparity
between the haves and have-
nots in this country is greater
than it has ever been. With all
our affluence as a world super-
power, there are children and
families starving in our midst.
In 1991, 14.2 percent of the na-
tion's population lived below
the poverty level, a significant
statistical increase for the sec-
ond consecutive year. Half of

"Bigotry is alive
and well in America
today. The fact
that you are not
surprised by this
revelation is part of
the problem."

these individuals were either
children under the age of 18 or
elderly. Homeless and desti-

tute individuals and families
are well represented in the
Jewish community. I have of-
ten addressed groups of Jews
in our community who, despite
the evidence, will not ac-
knowledge this reality. Addi-
tionally, hundreds of Jewish
children with disabilities, an-
other form of difference, are
virtually "unadoptable" in the
Jewish community. This is in
part because anyone who is not
perfect in our eyes is undesir-
able. Jews are known in adop-
tion circles as having a par-
ticularly poor record both of
keeping babies born with dis-
abilities and being willing to
offer them a home.
Within the Metro Detroit
area, educational inequalities
coincide very strongly with the
racial and ethnic make-up of

the schools. In Mississippi re-
cently, the courts found the
state guilty of promoting a two-
tier system of education, with
blacks and minorities pre-
dominantly represented in the
inferior system. This parallels
the situation in South Africa,
where there is a major dis-
crepancy between the expen-
ditures for white children and
children of color. Even though
some of the underlying reasons
for this situation in South
Africa may differ from the
U.S., the result is the same.
For the majority of children of
color in both countries, a high
quality education is inaccessi-
ble.
Finally, even though I left
South Africa four years after I
had the right to vote, I never
cast a ballot in that country. I
felt totally disenfranchised and
was convinced that there was
nothing that I could do to
change things. Although many
younger voters participated in
the recent elections and there
is a new feeling of optimism
and empowerment, the sad
fact is that many young people
in this country today feel the

same way as I did growing up
in South Africa. Unlike the
majority of young South
Africans, they do have the
right to vote and could make a
significant impact on the po-
litical climate in the country.
I believe that we can bring
about change in these serious
social, economic and political
issues. As Americans, we need
to realistically take stock of the
strengths and weaknesses of
our own country. It is only then
that we can truly assess our
proper role in the world polit-
ical arena. It is only then that
we can accurately assess the
impact of the President's bud-
get proposal, his blueprint for
the economic and social agen-
da which will impact on the fu-
ture of our country and our
people. D

The bomb that
exploded at the
World Trade
Center last
week not only
left a four-story
hole below the
110-story twin
tower complex
but ripped apart any pretense
we Americans might have
had that we are somehow im-
mune from world terrorism.
Suddenly, we worry not
only about airport security
but about our daily work en-
vironment as well. Can we
feel protected against those
who would bomb us into
oblivion?
Perhaps more Americans
will identify now with the
way Israelis must live their
daily lives. Not in fear, but
with a constant awareness
that at any moment they
could be the target of an Arab
terrorist whose goal is simply
to murder Jews.
That message was brought
home again this week, here
and in Israel. On Monday, a
19-year-old Arab man from
Gaza wielded two knives on
a crowded Tel Aviv street,
killing two people and injur-
ing at least seven more before
he was subdued. The motive
given for the attack? Israel's
deportation of some 400 sus-
pected Hamas terrorists in
December. But have we al-
ready forgotten that those
deportations were in re-
sponse to the brutal murder
of six Israeli civilians in a sin-
gle week in attacks similar to
this one?
The political and diplo-
matic repercussions of ter-
rorist attacks are well
documented. Governments
speak out; security agencies
redouble their efforts and the
United Nations introduces
resolutions of condemnation
(though it should be noted
that the UN has never done
so on behalf of Jewish blood
spilled). But what of the hu-
man dimension of these
tragedies?
On Tuesday evening at a
Baltimore synagogue, the rel-
atives of four Israeli victims
of Arab terror spoke of their
pain and bitterness over los-
ing a loved one to hatred. It
was a poignant reminder that
while terrorist incidents at-
tract headlines for a day or
two, the emptiness that fam-
ilies live with lasts forever.
"I paid the price for terror,"
Shela Shoshani said softly,
holding her seven-month-old
son, Doron, in her arms. On
January 5, 1992, her hus-
band, a farmer, was shot five
times in the head and killed

by two Hamas terrorists
about a quarter-mile from
home. She was two-months
pregnant at the time with
her fourth child. Mrs.
Shoshani said she chose to
come to America to speak
of the tragedy so that
American Jews will come
to understand that "the
war of terrorism that began
in Israel will spread all
over the world if we don't
stop it."
She explained that her
baby is named after his fa-
ther and that Doron means
"gift" in English. "This is
the last gift my husband
gave me," she said, cud-
dling the child.
What heart would not
ache to hear such a story?
But as the sister-in-law of
Nissim Toledano, the po-
liceman in Lod whose kid-
napping and murder in
December led to the most
recent deportations, told
the small crowd, "For you
it was just a picture in the
newspaper but for me he
was more than a brother."
American Jews have
long been sensitive to Is-
rael's concern about ter-
rorism. Anyone who has
visited the Jewish state be-
comes aware immediately
of how pervasive the con-
cern with security is among
Israelis. Armed soldiers on
the streets are a common
sight, attendants at grocery
stores routinely check each
person entering, and a
package left unattended
anywhere in the country
will draw a bomb squad
within minutes.
That has to take its toll
on citizens, and it does. For
one thing, it makes them
more appreciative of the
government's delicate bal-
ancing act of maintaining
a democracy while at-
tempting to protect its peo-
ple and punishing would-be
murderers. When Israel de-
cided to deport several hun-
dred suspected Hamas
leaders in December, the
rest of the world expressed
outrage at this alleged vio-
lation of human rights, but
more than 90 percent of Is-
raelis supported the gov-
ernment move.
Americans, including
many Jews, have been
among Israel's vocal critics
regarding the Jewish
state's precautions against
terrorism, disapproving of
such tactics as expulsions
or imposing curfews on the
residents of the Gaza Strip.
But would Americans feel

TERROR STRIKES page 8

