Too Much Anger
Over Ecumenicism

There is anger in our community when it comes
to any suggestion of an attempt to bring together
Jews and Christians in a dialogue of understand-
ing.
An Oak Park resident once told us that the ef-
forts of many of Christianity's organized religious
groups to convert or "save" us is like a 100-mem-
ber gang chasing one Jew down a steep hill. When
you realize that considerable dollars are spent year-
ly in missionizing efforts all over the world with
Jews as a target, you can understand what this
metaphor is all about.
However, there are Christians who aren't in-
terested in our conversion and who take offense
at the missionizing methods of their counterparts.
Indeed, a Texas-based minister visiting Detroit
recently told both Temple Emanu-El and Young
Israel of Southfield congregations, in two separate
appearances, that Jews need to focus on things
Jewish and not give credence to the evangelical
message we so often hear.
There are many, many Christians who aren't
chasing around Jews asking for their testimony.
There are Christians who respect Jews and Jew-

Letters

ish history without any strings attached. The ef-
forts of the Detroit Ecumenical Institute are com-
mendable. There is a sincere feeling here of
bringing people together instead of keeping them
apart.
No, there might not be a clear understanding of
what it is like to have had a grandparent killed in •
the Holocaust or an ancestor murdered in the name
of Christ. But Christians who are secure in their
faith understand that we as Jews have the right
to our feelings and impressions. Still, there are
people who happen to be Christian who want to
be friendly and learn more about us. That's not a
reason to hide, nor is it a reason to be angry.
If we're secure and educated in our own faith,
no attempt of a missionary will mean anything. A
good friend can be a good Christian. There's not
always an ulterior motive. A good friend of any
faith will want us as Jews to thrive as Jews. This
isn't worthy of anger and suspicion. As the Ecu-
menical Institute members can tell anyone, their
associations with people of different backgrounds
have been helpful, building understanding instead
of prejudice. Don't we want that?

Spy Vs. Spy

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How ironic that after all the anguish in the Amer-
ican Jewish community over Jonathan Pollard
getting caught spying for Israel, it should now be
confirmed that the United States also spied on Is-
rael.
According to reports, YosefAmit, a 48-year-old
former Israeli Army major now serving a 12-year
prison sentence, was arrested in 1986 and accused
of passing information to the United States — and
possibly a European NATO country — in the ear-
ly 1980s. Israel, claiming security concerns, kept
Mr. Amit's arrest secret until last week, when that
nation's Supreme Court acted to end the secrecy
(although details of the case are still being with-
held).
Mr. Pollard, the former U. S. Navy intelligence
officer, is serving a life term, a sentence that looks
even more extreme when compared to the 12 years
Mr. Amit received. But the ironies do not end here.
Back in 1987, when Mr. Pollard was being pros-
ecuted by the Reagan administration, Sen. Dave
Durenberger, R-Minn., told a private Jewish fund-
raising gathering in Florida that the United States
had also spied on Israel. So who was it that as-
sumed a holier-than-thou stand and publicly blast-
ed Sen. Durenberger for spilling the beans on an
American covert operation?
None other than then-Defense Secretary Cas-

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par Weinberger, whom Pollard supporters view
as the heavy in this case because of his secret
memo to the trial judge that urged him to throw
the book at Mr. Pollard — in violation of an ex-
isting plea bargain agreement that Mr. Pollard
appears to have had lived up to.
Israel and the United States are supposed to
be friends, and one might conclude that friends
have no need to spy on friends. The truth is that
in the Machiavellian world of international re-
lations, friendship is a very relative term and no
nation fully trusts another. Alas, it will proba-
bly always be that way.
But now that Israel has let the cat fully out of
the bag, why not a spy swap that would send Mr.
Pollard to Israel and Mr. Amit to the United
States? The Pollard defense team is known to be
hoping that President Bill Clinton will take an-
other look at the case, and at least grant Mr. Pol-
lard a new trial.
A spy swap is an even better idea. It would put
a halt to this whole sorry spy-vs.-spy affair, one
that reflected poorly on both the United States
and Israel. And it would free Jonathan Pollard —
who has already served eight years — a victim of
Mr. Weinberger's hypocrisy as well as his own
shortsighted actions.

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U. S. Policies
And Prudence

In his column of May 28, Gary
Rosenblatt described with ap-
proval the reluctance of Jew-
ish organizations to openly
oppose the nomination of the
"Quota Queen" Lani Guinier to
a high position in the Justice
Department. He characterized
this course of action as "polit-
ically prudent."
The column cited a number
of other instances of similar
cautious approaches to matters
affecting the Jewish commu-
nity. He could have added to
the list the reluctance to urge
the President to commute
Jonathan Pollard's sentence
and the lack of any meaning-
ful reaction to the pogrom in
Crown Heights and the mur-
der of Yankiel Rosenbaum.
To a large extent, this ultra-
cautious attitude can be traced
to a "don't make waves" Galut
mentality. It is, therefore, sur-
prising that the same organi-
zations came out boldly in
favor of armed intervention in
Bosnia, ignoring the risks of
another Lebanon or Vietnam.
Moreover, non-Jews could
validly ask how many Jewish
boys would be in such expedi-
tionary forces.
Looking at the contrast be-
tween the two approaches, one
has to conclude that the word
"prudent" is misused in the for-
mer. Another, less-compli-
mentary adjective comes
readily to mind.

Henry Starkman

Bloomfield Hills

Christian/Jewish
Dialogue Problems

In his letter about Christian
and Jewish dialogue (May 28),
Mr. Arnold Michlin, president
of the Ecumenical Institute,
seems to be implying that all
that's needed in order to bring
better understanding between
Christians and Jews is more
dialogue. This will earn us
more respect and more accep-
tance, and more recognition for
the contributions that Jews
have made to world civiliza-
tion.

Oh, if only it were that sim-
ple, there would have been
peace and harmony between
Jews and Christians centuries
ago!
In order to understand the
problem of Christian anti-
Semitism, one must examine
the roots of Christianity. This
religion did not develop in a
vacuum. It is not totally origi-
nal. There are three parts to
Christianity. The ethics and
morals of the Christian faith
are largely taken from Ju-
daism.
The theology and the philo-
sophical outlook of Christiani-
ty are entirely drawn from
Hinduism. Only one part of
Christianity is unique to that
faith: its hatred of Judaism
which evolved into world anti-
Semitism. Animosity against
.Jews lies at the top of the
Christian agenda...
All seem to agree on one
point: Judaism must cease to
exist, and Christianity will not
rest until Jews vanish from the
face of the earth. Even as late
as 1963 (fifteen years after the
founding of the State of Israel),
the St. Joseph edition of the
Catholic Bible, in its general
introduction to the Old Testa-
ment, said, "The history of Is-
rael came to its sad, tragic end
in A.D. 70, when the Jewish
nation, reduced to one tribe
and representing the last of Ja-
cob's 12 sons came to an end,
with the destruction of
Jerusalem, its temple and
priesthood."
The mindset of the Church
has always been that a good
Christian, by definition, is an
anti-Semite of strong convic-
tion. Centuries of dialogue will
never overcome this...
Anti-Semitism was not
brought into being by anything
the Jews did — the Jews did
not kill Jesus — but by some-
thing the Christian Church
did. Not many are willing to
admit this. The Rev. James
Lyons is one of a very small
number.
He has a monumental task
ahead of him. More power to
him and the few Davids who
are willing to follow him in this
battle with Goliath.

Rabbi Jack Goldman

West Bloomfield

LETTERS page 12

