To Our Readers:
The new year, 5754, dawns with the most glori-
ous prospect that, after almost 100 years of sense-
less conflict, there may be peace at last in Israel.
Only last month, prospects for peace between Is-
rael and the Palestinians, Syrians, Jordanians and
Lebanese seemed merely an exercise for hopeful
pipe dreamers. Islamic fundamentalists ambushed
and killed Israeli soldiers and sent rockets into
Northern Israel. The Israel Defense Forces retali-
ated with a massive bombardment of villages in
Lebanon harboring Hezbollah and other militants.
Exactly 20 years ago, Jews entered the High Hol-
iday period in a dramatically different frame of mind.
Israeli troops were perched along the Suez Canal
and the Golan Heights. The headiness of Israel's
dramatic victory in the Six-Day War still fueled an
aura of invincibility. There was no intifada. The
Shah was still running things in Iran. And accord-
ing to Golda Meir, there were no Palestinians.
But on Yom Kippur, the false sense of security
came crashing down as armies from Egypt and Syr-
ia brought Israel to its knees before the regrouped
Israelis effectively counterattacked.
Since then, the pages of The Jewish News have
brought you, our valued readers, the events that
have led to this historic opportunity. From Entebbe
to Camp David, from Lebanon to the intifada, from
the Gulf War to massive waves of Soviet and
Ethiopian immigration, from Madrid and Wash-
ington and now even to Jericho, we've presented a
range of opinions and interpretations, intent on giv-
ing you insight and perspective not available any-
where else.
And not at the expense of news about our own
dynamic community and its special strengths and
needs.
This New Year, we can't help but recall that our
faith inspires us to look toward tomorrow with hope
and confidence. We have within us to be better ver-
sions of ourselves in the year to come. That is our
vow to you.
May it be a year of lasting peace, renewal, recom-
mitment and rejuvenation.
We appreciate your continuing readership and
trust.
L'shana tova,
adaA
Charles A. Buerger
Publisher
Selicha A Time
To Say We're Sorry
So many stories, phone calls, press releases, ad-
vertisements, announcements and other pieces of
information come through our offices each day. Re-
porters are on the phone checking information, writ-
ing stories. Photographs are taken, processed and
printed. Facts are checked, pages are designed. Do
we go with black and white or color? Is there a logo
that fits here? Cold calls for ads are made; contracts
are signed; computers are logged on; printers rat-
tle out ream after ream of copy. Somewhere in there,
a tuna sandwich and a pop are consumed and, hope-
fully, the remainder is thrown away. There are plan-
ning meetings, discussions with the community,
Federation, rabbinic and government authorities.
And somewhere along the way an elderly woman
telephones us because she tells us she needs help
writing a birth announcement for her great-grand-
son, who lives in another state. We tell her we'll get
back to her later. But, do we? We tell her to find
someone else in her family to write something. But,
should we? We take the time to sit there and write
the announcement for her. Do we do this enough?
3
Dry Bones
Saturday night Jews will say Selichot prayers.
These are prayers of forgiveness which carry
through to Rosh Hashanah. It is a time when we
make our final preparations of penance before the
holidays. Soon we'll be asking God for forgiveness.
But Selichot should also remind all of us that there
are people we know, whom we love, whom we have
become aggravated with that need to hear a per-
sonal "I'm sorry." When a person calls another dur-
ing these days and expresses apologies, it's as if
he were enacting a prayer here on earth.
At The Jewish News, we know we're in a position
to do good work. Sometimes, however, we don't pay
proper attention to the wishes of an elderly reader
who doesn't have an earth-shattering story tip and
who isn't buying a full-page ad. It's to that elderly
person, and to those who we have in some way an-
gered or hurt, we say at this time Selicha. Your
news, your business is important to us no matter
what dimensions it takes. Let us all pray togeth-
er for a healthy and prosperous year here in Detroit,
in Israel and all around the world.
Letters
No Land
For Peace
Expel The Arabs
Don't Appease
In view of the clear statements
of Mr. Arafat and the deputy
chief of staff of the Israel Defense
Forces, one must wonder how
the editorial staff of The Jewish
News, which has the enormous
power of the pen, is willing to ac-
cept moral responsibility for en-
couraging something that could,
God forbid, lead to the destruc-
tion of the State of Israel.
During the course of many of
the classes which I teach, the
subject of Israel's current situa-
tion often crops up. I have found
that almost all Jews feel strong-
ly that Jerusalem must remain
undivided and in Jewish hands,
and that a number of the settle-
ments on the West Bank must
be kept by Israel for security rea-
sons.
Logic dictates that terrorism
will not stop until we give in to
the Arab demands to surrender
Jerusalem (the apple of their
eye) and all of the settlements.
Logic also dictates that allowing
the Palestinians to arm them-
selves through their own police
force will cause terrorism to es-
calate.
Furthermore, when Israeli
forces will try to apprehend the
terrorists by entering the au-
tonomous Arab cities, this will
cause much bloodshed...
In determining the security
needs of the Jewish cities, the
Code of Jewish Law, Orach
Chaim, Chapter 329, discusses
the issue of "gambling for the
sake of peace versus Jewish se-
curity. It tells us that when deal-
ing with our enemies we must
fight and never give in to their
demands, even when their de-
mand is simply for "straw and
stubble."
Based on this law, some of the
greatest halachic authorities of
our times have prohibited the
return of land to the Palestini-
ans, purely on the basis of secu-
rity considerations. I know of no
rabbinic authority who permits
granting them autonomy based
on an agreement which gives the
Palestinians their own police
force. Giving the Palestinians
the autonomy discussed in the
accord goes against both logic
and Halachah.
Rabbi Elimelech Silberberg
West Bloomfield
It is true that Judea-Samaria
and Gaza Strip are part of the
Jewish inheritance, like the rest
of Israel which was won from the
Arabs in 1948. yet the govern-
ment of Israel is willing to give
up almost 1/3 of the country with
its Jewish blood, for a signature
of Yassir Arafat, head of the
PLO.
When the ink is dry and Is-
raeli troops are withdrawn, the
Palestinian flag will be raised
over Gaza, and Jericho, Israel,
and the real war begun in
earnest for the remainder of the
land that Israel has left.
Government exists to protect
its people and to expand its ter-
ritory. From 1948, the Israeli
government made errors, but
the war of 1967 was a blessing
that Israel won. But the last step
has yet to be taken — expulsion
of all the Arabs the 20 miles to
Jordan. In 1993, the Israeli gov-
ernment finally failed and the
worst happened. Just 26 years
after 1967, the Arabs are going
to get Gaza and Jericho, Israel,
and more later.
It is not too late to absorb ter-
ritory, bringing Israel to 20 per-
cent of the land the British were
to have given. Eastern Palestine
is 80 percent Arab. But Jews
have to understand that to hate
the Arab is pointless. To love the
Jew to the point of throwing out
the Arab from Judea-Samaria,
Gaza and Golan, and to protect
the Jew from his own "generous"
goodness, is good. That "gener-
ous" instinct, if left undirected,
will give Israel to the Arab and
the Nazi, instead of hardening
the Jew.
Israel must crush the Nazi,
PLO, and the Arab. Israel can
be a "light unto the world" with
Israelis, Russians, East and
West Europeans, Ethiopians,
Americans, etc. But it is not a bi-
national government with Nazis
and Arabs. It is a Jewish democ-
racy. Then Israel will be safe.
Michael Drissman
Committee for the Jewish Idea
Farmington Hills
Populations At Risk
Were Targeted
I was distressed to learn that
TARGETED page 10
.