DONE? rist STILL • DONE r. ickl Stopping The Madness This has been a difficult week to read the news or watch it on television. It's sometimes hard to con- centrate on the Festival of Lights when we hear about people spraying commuter trains with bullets, or rock and roll bands with names like "Dead German Tourists." We seem to have become a society where issues such as "-Will casino gambling save Detroit?" and "the Lions' losing streak" are taking a higher pri- ority than the internal makeup of our families and friends. Sadness and insensitivity are being felt by us all, and it's broken through the checks and balances of parents, flowing directly to our children. But if these tragedies we witness nationally and locally have a purpose at all, maybe it is to sound a wakeup call. We can only sit in front of the television news, reality programming and docu- dramas so long before we realize the events we see happening to someone else are also happen- ing to us. That is why we urge parents to turn off the out- side. Too many times children and parents speak for barely minutes a day. Sometimes that talk is relegated to the basic, 'What did you do in school today?" followed by the typical, "Nothing," as a response. When parents base their own conver- sation around the commercials of a television evening or the bleeps of a computer program, then our expectation level for our children cannot be much more. We're talking less to one another. Instead, we're waking up, rushing the kids through breakfast and to the school bus, and we're off to our jobs. Parents are coming home with stress, and they are finding it more and more difficult to leave it behind them. It's not like hanging a coat up on a closet hanger. Instead, it's worn through the evening, and getting the children to bed is often a burden rather than something to look forward to. Is it any wonder then that people are hurting? Is it any wonder that we learn their message more and more on the evening news? Is it any wonder that we and our children are finding more room in our sensitivities to identify with some of the vic- tims whose tragedies gain the most publicity? If there is good news, it's encouraging to learn that institutions such as Windows, the Jewish Family Service's domestic violence program, is getting involved in the lives of local Jewish fami- lies. It's a positive step that more and more of our neighbors are reaching out for help. Groups such as Yad Ezra, our community food bank, have seen their client lists grow. Many Jews are overcoming the stigmas that kept them down in the past. We know these stig- mas intimately. They tell us and the gentile world that "Jews don't need money" or "Jews don't hit their spouses" or "Jews don't need help." The point is, though, that we have to change. Outpourings of support are wonderful, but they are a reaction. We've become a society that's rush- ing around instead of taking time to touch and hear. Yes, there's violence increasing in Gaza again. Yes, a man walked into a California home, ab- ducted a girl and killed her. Yes, Dr. Jack Kevorkian is attracting publicity with a self- proclaimed hunger strike while in jail. And maybe pop star Michael Jackson is in trouble for alleged pedophilia. But what about our own children? Do we put as much energy into them as we do in Dr. Kevorkian? What about our spouses? Who cares about Michael Jackson? Do we know who is sitting next to us on the family room sofa? What about ourselves? Let's encourage each other. Let's be proud of our children. Let's cut back on the distractions. Turn off the television set. We can miss the big game. Read with your children. Cut back on the telephone calls. Take your friend out for dinner. Light candles on Friday night; stay home with the family if you are so inclined. Talk, listen and hear. It's not up to anyone else. It's up to us to stop this madness. THE DETROIT J EWIS H NEWS Another December Dilemma 4 Much is being made of Dec. 13 — the scheduled date for Israel to begin its pullback from Gaza and Jericho. Arab opponents of the Israeli-PLO accord maintain a delay would unmask Israel's intention not to abide by its word; Israeli opponents say the PLO cannot yet be trusted to maintain order and that increased bloodshed among Jews and Arabs is sure to follow any Israeli pullback. At press time, it appeared that nothing sub- stantial will, in fact, occur on Monday, although some symbolic event may still be arranged for public consumption. That is as it should be; neither the Palestinians or the Israelis are ready for what lies ahead and Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's suggestion of a two or three week delay makes sense. By nearly all objective accounts, the Palestine Liberation Organization is in disarray, over- whelmed by the task of changing from a terrorist organization to a governmental entity. Chairman Yassir Arafat — unwilling to share power — is apparently as much the cause of these organiza- tional problems as is anything or anyone else. From Israel's perspective, however, perhaps the greater problem is the PLO leader's unwillingness or inability to stop Arab attacks against Jews — despite his tepid statement, issued under pres- sure from Washington, urging Palestinians to put aside the gun. Since the Sept. 13 White House signing ceremony, terrorists have murdered at least 18 Israelis. These deaths have fueled retaliatory attacks by Jewish settlers in the territories, further threat- ening the phased plan to bring peace to Israel and the Palestinians. Some settlers undoubtedly want the accord to fail as dearly as do Arab rejection- ists. Still, the settlers cannot simply be abandoned; they deserve Israel's full protection while a final agreement is still being negotiated. Publicly, Chairman Arafat has said Israel must begin its pullback on Monday — but that is just more grandstanding. His lieutenants have let it be known they are not unhappy about a delay, and Mr. Rabin has said a "tacit understanding" concerning a delay has been reached between the parties. Let the critics say what they will. It is better to delay the next step in the struggle to achieve peace than to risk everything for the sake of adhering to an unrealistic schedule. Prudence is indeed the better part of valor — particularly when so many lives are at stake. • • , ARAFAT • • c - • 117: = 0S.11 \ - — Letters Jonathan Pollard And World Politics As if to confirm an observa- tion it has made in the past, that the Pollard case will not go away, The Jewish News reported Nov. 26 that Prime Minister Rabin has made a public appeal to President Clinton to com- mute Jonathan Pollard's life sentence to that of time served. It may be speculated that after receiving the Justice De- partment review of the Pol- lard case, the president will make his decision known, possibly around Christmas. It may be further specu- lated that two factors could weigh heavily on his decision: one, being Caspar Weinberg- er's role in the case, and the other being the impact the president's decision can have on the Arab-Israeli fragile peace process, given Pollard's popularity with the Israelis. As many continue to be- lieve, Caspar Weinberger's last-minute intervention in the sentencing process, in effect, sealed Pollard's fate. While Weinberger's credibil- ity may not have been a fac- tor with Judge Robinson, it should be with President Clinton, given that Wein- berger's credibility is suspect on a number of other matters. The question is, did Mr. Weinberger mislead Judge Robinson as he did on occa- sion mislead Congress when it suited his purpose? If the Justice Department review is thorough enough, perhaps an answer will be provided. Or better still, perhaps it will recommend declassification of the secret memo provided Judge Robinson prior to sentencing, to buttress its recommendations to the pres- ident. President Clinton may want to consider whether it is in the best interests of U.S. foreign policy to further sup- port Prime Minister Rabin's peace process initiative with the PLO. If he believes it is, he will have to consider Prime Minister Rabin's di- lemma: How does the prime minister ex- plain to a skep- tical Israeli public that while hun- dreds, if not thousands, of PLO prisoners are being re- leased under a peace agree- ment with the PLO, Pollard continues to languish in an American prison? After eight-plus years of imprisonment, Jonathan Pol- lard has paid dearly for his crime of espionage. If Presi- dent Clinton concludes that that is sufficient, then many will agree that justice has been served. Irving Warshawsky West Bloomfield Observations On Christmas Amy Bigman is morally cor- rect to chide Jews who participate in Christmas ob- servances ("Dealing with the `It Would Have Been Easier' Season," Dec. 3). She is factually incorrect, however, when she states that "Christmas is the most important, holiest of days for Christians." That distinction belongs to Easter. Moreover, she is partially correct when she states that "Christmas celebrates the birth of the Christian mes- siah." Christianity teaches that Jesus is not only savior, but God in human form. Aside from the social rea- sons cited by Ms. Bigman, there is a sound religious basis why Jews ought to shun any celebration of Christmas. The holiday and i ymbols LETTERS page 8 41,