Community Views
Editor's Notebook
Remembering Our
Precious Possessions
.
SIDNEY BOLKOSKY SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
I My professional
other mass murders or geno-
the photographer; a youth
training has of-
cides of the 20th century. One
brass band; a soldier. Jewish
ten been an af-
leaves the building, perhaps,
life, in all its diversity, sur-
- fiction of sorts.
embarrassed for belonging to
rounds you on that bridge and
As a historian, I
the human race, anguished
returns on the floor below, as
observe and ex-
over the plight of the dead. If
you re-enter the same tower.
amine varieties
that means universalizing, it
Over a thousand pictures, a
of texts, books,
strikes me as unavoidable.
mosaic embodying the end of
films, events,
But the subject is the Holo-
900 years of Jewish commu-
buildings —
caust, not genocide in our
nity in that place. The Ger-
from a critical, analytical per-
time. The claim that the sub-
mans, with help from
spective. What now seems an
ject has been somehow trivi-
Lithuanians, snuffed it out in
\intellectual instinct proved
alized or diluted is simply
two days in 1941. But with
again to be of ambivalent val-
false.
this pictorial bastion, as Leon
ue in Washington, D.C.: first
Every written text seem
Wieseltier pointed out in a
at the dedication ceremonies
impeccable. Visual exhibits
brilliant piece in The New Re-
for the U.S. Holocaust Memo-
powerfully, but not sensa-
public, "Now we know who
rial Museum on April 22;
tionally, drew me in and I
died."
then inside the museum.
found myself staring at pho-
To Mr. Rosenblatt or other
My most vivid memories of
tographs and film which I
critics who question the use
the dedication remain en-
have seen dozens of times be-
of the past, or who pit the so-
veloped in cold, mud, rain and
fore. At the heart of the mu-
licitude for history and mem-
wind. Like a mantra, I kept
seum is the tower of
ory against the concern for
repeating to myself, "This
isn't Auschwitz," but it didn't
seem to help — even recog-
nizing the symbolic appropri-
ateness of the dismal day.
The ceremonies produced
nothing terribly new or mov-
ing. Elie Wiesel, pertinent as
always, nevertheless drew
from previous talks and es-
says; President Clinton made
no mistakes, but offered noth-
ing terribly stirring; nor did
/anyone else, with the possible
exception of the Polish res-
cuer. A junior high school
choir extended the ordeal of
the inclement weather; East-
ern European heads of state
appeared as aggravatingly,
;historically unsuitable and in-
sensitive.
There was no Kaddish.
Elie Weisel at the dedication of the Washington, D.C, Holocaust Museum.
As a critical observer, I felt
simultaneously privileged
and cheated.
photographs of the Jews of
the future, I would suggest
On the following day, I
Ejsyski, Lithuania. Literally
that memory triumphs here,
\went through the museum,
breathtaking, the pictures
painful, perhaps, but critical
approaching the building with
rise to the ceiling and contin-
to understanding Jewish
great skepticism, even after
ue, like the Western Wall, be-
identity in Europe and Jew-
reading rave reviews, in
neath the ground, a bridge, on
ish tradition anywhere.
search of historical inaccura-
which you stand. They exude
Where else will Americans —
cies, sensationalism, theatri-
such life and vitality that they
Jews and non-Jews — learn
cality, even kitsch. But I
engulf a visitor.
about this tradition so
found none of these. From the
Here are children playing;
poignantly? And without
'moment we entered the great
these memories and this his-
hall accompanied by Raye
tory, on what solid ground
Farr, the director of exhibits,
can the future be erected?
and Joan Ringelheim, coordi-
This is not to say that Jewish
nator of the oral histories, the
identity must be built upon
exquisite care and concern for
only the annihilation of Eu-
, detail became apparent. If the
ropean Jewry. Nor does it
>dedication had lacked a soul,
deny that the Holocaust has
the museum assuredly did
been exploited for less than
not.
honorable purposes.
In my view, every criticism
At issue, it seems to me, re-
that has been leveled is un-
mains not whether to exam-
founded or founded on misin-
ine the Holocaust but how. In
formation. For example, there
my own courses on the Holo-
,Jeems to be a belief that the
a pious, bearded man; a
caust my students read some
museum "universalizes" the
young woman, posing and
nine books and are required
Holocaust. It does not. There
staring seductively into the
to study at least three sur-
are no exhibits that address
camera; a group of athletes;
vivor interviews. This fuses
children on skis; a woman
History with history, or, as
Dr. Bolkosky is a professor
and her lover, obviously pos-
Mr. Wieseltier discussed, his-
of history at the University of
ing for effect; families; stu-
tory and memory. They are
Michigan, Dearborn.
dents; young men joking with
PRECIOUS POSSESSIONS page 6
"The Holocaust,
paradoxically, must
not be perceived as
simple; no word
can be spoken
about it without
controversy."
\
`For My
Last Issue'
GARY ROSENBLATT EDITOR
For as long as I
can remember, I
have kept a file
in my desk draw-
er at work la-
,—
beled,
half-
jokingly, "For My
Last Issue." It
contains notes
and ideas about
a dozen or so controversial top-
ics — from the business of
kashrut supervision to the
salaries of those who work in
and for the Jewish community
— that I felt were legitimate
stories, though certain to gen-
erate a good deal of criticism.
I always figured I'd get
around to those stories. But
now that this is indeed my last
issue as editor, I guess I'll have
to leave those and countless oth-
er important stories to my able
successor, and take this space
to try to explain why it's so hard
to say good-bye.
The fact is that I have always
loved my job, though there were
days when I felt the Jewish
community was too cantanker-
ous, petty and thin-skinned to
deal with reality. But for every
angry phone call or nasty letter
I received over the years telling
me how I was hurting Israel or
splitting the community apart,
I found that my skin was grow-
ing thicker. It's not that I en-
joyed controversy, but I felt it
was part of my job to help the
community confront aspects of
itself that it would prefer to
avoid.
I dealt with the criticism by
choosing to focus on the more
positive responses from those
who said they appreciated read-
ing a publication that made an
honest attempt to bring them
the truth.
Sometimes the truth wasn't
pretty. Sometimes it wasn't ob-
jectively stated— we do make
mistakes.
But presenting an accurate
portrait of a Jewish communi-
ty, American Jewry, Israel and
world Jewry, was, and is, our
goal. And over time, we and the
community have grown to new
levels of maturity.
Where once officials would
not talk to us about problems,
at least some have come to rec-
ognize that the role of a Jewish
newspaper is to inform, and
they have gotten better about
trusting us to tell the story. And
where once we journalists may
have bridled at suggestions that
we hold off on a story before we
rush it into print, we now try to
be more sensitive about the tim-
ing of delicate stories.
I don't want to cast too rosy
a picture, though. There are still
those who believe that a Jew-
ish newspaper should just tell
"nice" stories and promote
charitable causes. But an in-
creasing number of profes-
sional and lay leaders
recognize that they wouldn't
bother to read such a publi-
cation because it would be not
only misleading and myopic
but dull.
The task of informing the
Jewish community remains
incremental — each week we
try to raise the ceiling of tol-
erance a bit higher about
what subjects we can discuss
honestly and objectively,
whether it's homosexuality
or fund-raising, prejudice or
assimilation.
Much of the credit for this
higher threshold of accep-
tance goes to you, the reader,
for recognizing our mission
and abiding by our attempts
I came to
appreciate the
wisdom of Gonzo,
of Muppets fame,
who once said: "I
want to go there. I
just don't want to
leave here."
to please, or at least inform
and entertain, so many mas-
ters. (One pleasant surprise
of the last several months
was the many letters and
phone calls I have received
wishing me well and thank-
ing me for my efforts. Much
of this correspondence has
come from people I have nev-
er met, but who tell me that
they feel they have come to
know me through my writing
over the years — a powerful
reminder of the responsibili-
ty — and rewards — of this
job. To all of you who have
written, called or sought me
out in person, my deepest
thanks.)
All of which is to say that
I am going to miss this
unique Jewish community
and the friends I have made
here during my visits from
Baltimore. You strive for ex-
cellence and, let me say it, so
does this publication, not only
because its publisher is com-
mitted to excellence and it is
staffed by talented, dedicat-
ed professionals, but because
a community gets the kind of
Jewish publication it de-
serves. And this community
has high standards.
Why, then, am I leaving
this post and people I love
LAST ISSUE page 8
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