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A Fire Brought
Action To Social Action
In community work across the city of Detroit and
its suburbs, Jews who find themselves in cross-
cultural company often are told how the Jew-
ish community is admired from the outside. The
concept of Federation, the discussion of Jewish
neighborhoods, even the feeling that Jews "take
care of their own" all come into play here.
Last week, we learned even more what com-
munity is all about. A fire at Northgate Apart-
ments could have burned the American dream
out from under the many Soviet emigres living
there.
Imagine coming to this country, arriving in De-
troit with a couple of suitcases and a goal of eco-
nomic and religious opportunity to carry you
through to the future, only to have it all detoured
by a fire. Everyone, fortunately, escaped with his
life. What followed demonstrates, perhaps, why
other communities wonder about this one. Fed-
eration agencies such as Resettlement Service
and Jewish Family Service, as well as other Jew-
ish organizations stepped forward to offer what-
ever possible to get the tenants back on their feet.
Even individuals came through for the people,
some showing up at the scene to see if they could
offer on-the-spot help.
It's significant that last Sunday, after the fire,
the Jewish Community Council, in conjunction
with this newspaper, sponsored a social action
day at the Maple-Drake Jewish Community Cen-
ter. This was an opportunity for more than 30 or-
ganizations, offering volunteer potential, to
interface with the public. It was a wonderful day
with more than 300 people showing up.
How interesting and significant it was that the
community had an organized social action pro-
gram on Sunday. It's commendable that the com-
munity was socially aware for a scheduled event.
But what was even better was how this commu-
nity responded a couple of days prior when it
showed that individuals and agencies could and
did respond quickly to immediate needs.
That's social action. And that was the highest
degree of mitzvah and tzedakah.
Publishing Garbage
The staff at Brandeis University's student news-
paper, The Justice, needs a course in Constitu-
tional Perspectives 101, as well as in Journalism
101. A few weeks ago, the paper's editors accept-
ed an ad that called the Holocaust a hoax. The ad
also attacked Washington's Holocaust museum
for allegedly failing to prove that "even one indi-
vidual was gassed" at any Nazi concentration
camp.
A similar ad appeared in both the University
of Michigan's Michigan Daily and the Michigan
State University State News.
After a four-hour meeting, the editors' decided
to run the ad (next to, as it turned out, an ad for
Schindler's List, Steven Spielberg's masterpiece
on the Holocaust). A few editors voted to reject
the ad as false and offensive. The majority that
voted to run it defended their decision as an at-
tempt to hold "Holocaust denial" up to scrutiny
and ridicule. They also said the First Amendment
obligated them to print the ad.
What the paper's 14-member board of student
editors did not realize is that there is an enormous
chasm between "right" and "obligation." The First
Amendment guarantees freedom of expression
and of the press; it does not demand that anyone
publish anything with which they disagree or
which they consider morally reprehensible. The
New York Times can — and has — refused ads,
sometimes on grounds of taste; Brandeis Uni-
versity's Justice can do the same. It is the right
of any American citizen — indeed, of a citizen of
any country — to submit an ad or article or let-
ter to any publication in the United States. It is
the duty of any editor or publisher to read the
same to determine whether it belongs in their
publication. It is not their constitutional duty to
print it.
In her recent book, Denying the Holocaust, his-
torian Deborah Lipstadt makes this point well:
"Deniers... have the absolute right to stand on any
street corner and spread their calumnies. They
have the right to publish their articles and books
and hold their gatherings. But free speech does
not guarantee them the right to be treated as the
`other' side of a legitimate debate. Nor does it guar-
antee them space on op-ed pages or time on tele-
vision and radio shows. Most important, it does
not call for people such as [MIT linguistics pro-
fessor Noam] Chomsky to stand by them and
thereby commend their- views to the public."
Holocaust denial is an affront to reality, to
morality, to the facts of life. It is anti-Semitism
masquerading as history; fascism posing as ob-
jectivity. The issue is what to do with what they
say. The answer is that the deniers' journals be-
long on trash heaps, their seminars should be held
in asylums, their ads should be rejected by every
self-respecting publication. That includes a stu-
dent newspaper at a university founded by Jews,
largely supported by Jews and created to model
and uphold Jewish values and teachings.
Letters
The American
Jewish Dilemma
In an editorial on Dec. 24, The
Jewish News recommended to
the Jewish Federation that it
guarantee to every child whose
parents want it a day school ed-
ucation, paid for by reducing
the funds to Israel.
I do not believe that we
American Jews, living here in
safety and luxury, want to
cause Israelis additional sac-
rifice on our behalf. Israelis
work six days a week, earn a
fraction of our incomes, and face
higher prices in the stores. They
live in cold houses in the win-
ter and hot houses in the sum-
mer. Their sons are constantly
at risk in
Israel's de-
fense. And
they con-
tinuously
absorb
new immi-
grants.
Seventy-
five thou-
sand are
from the
United
States and Canada.
The cause of Jewish educa-
tion for which you plead is im-
portant to me. I was the
co-chairman of the committee
that proposed and won board
approval for a grades 1-12 pro-
gram in the Shaarey Zedek Re-
ligious School, and I was one of
the group who worked hard to
bring Hillel Day School into ex-
istence. I find your warning —
either day school or intermar-
riage — mistaken. Let me ex-
plain. -
When I was a child in the
1930s, Jewish education main-
ly consisted of a curriculum of
Hebrew phonics, siddur,
Bereshit (Genesis), and bar
mitzvah preparation. Many had
less education. A small minor-
ity of fortunate children at-
tended the United Hebrew
Schools or Yeshivah Beth Yehu-
da. Nevertheless, intermarriage
w almost unknown. Why?
First, there was the tradi-
tional respect for parents. Chil-
dren looked into the hearts of
their parents and saw the love
and willingness to sacrifice for
them. If Jewish loyalty was not
enough deterrent, young Jews
would not intermarry because
it would hurt their parents.
Second, the Jewish commu-
nity was compact, with streets
of two-family, four-family flats
and apartments on the corners.
All around lived grandparents,
uncles and aunts, cousins,
friends and fellow Jews. Every
few blocks there was a syna-
gogue.
The business streets,
Twelfth, Dexter, etc., had a
"haimish" charm. The feeling
that the Jewish people exists
for a great cause permeated the
atmosphere. Young people
knew that if they intermarried
they would be excluded from
the Jewish community.
We live now in a different
American
society.
Here the
command-
ment has
been
turned
around to
"Honor
your son
and your
daughter."
The litera-
ture on how to talk to children,
how to act toward them, how to
provide a happy childhood for
them could fill a mountain. And
the responsibility doesn't end
when children reach adulthood.
Parents are held responsible
for their children's mental and
emotional well-being through
life. Adult children know they
are in "the driver's seat." When
intermarriage occurs, it is their
feelings that must not be hurt.
We live in a different Jewish
community. In the suburbs,
aside from Oak Park, the Jew-
ish population is spread out
(more than 20 zip codes). It is,
of necessity, a driving popula-
tion. An area instead of a
neighborhood, driving instead
of walking, have a negative ef-
fect on neighborliness and close
family ties.
When both husband and wife
are employed, they are too tired
at night to attend Jewish meet-
ings. Many young families do
not live in the community of
their upbringing. The response
by some religious institutions
to intermarriage is outreach
LETTERS page 10