It Should Not Take A Missile To Garner Response In national Jewish circles, it's sometimes joked that perhaps the worst thing that can happen to a fund-raising campaign is peace. Jews have al- ways responded with an uncommon sense of ur- gency when it comes to giving, especially during a crisis. Nationally, Detroit is looked upon as one of the leaders. In recent memory, Detroit raised millions and millions of dollars to help in the international ef- fort to resettle both Soviet and Ethiopian Jews. SCUD missile attacks on Tel Aviv rallied thou- sands of Detroiters together on a Sunday after- noon at Shaarey Zedek. Now, however, Israel is talking peace, be it out- right with the Palestinians, or vaguely with Jor- dan and Syria. But, still, there aren't any missiles flying; and Israel is working on facilitating the lo- gistics, practicalities and possibilities of this word, "peace." But that brings around to another issue. A "war" that's going on, if you will. There are no national TV cameras honed in on any casualties. It's not all that dramatic. There is a crisis going on right here in Detroit. We've written about it before, and we still urge your response. There are Jews in this metro area whom you know, who are eating a lot of macaroni and cheese, night after night for dinner. There are men who lie in bed and stare at the ceiling that night wondering how they are going to pay the rent or mortgage that's already two months in ar- rears. Many of these same men wonder who that "monster" was inside of their bodies who caused them to hit their spouse, their children. Some of us need job training. Some of us need a loan for a car so that we can make it back and forth to work. A broken down car, without the re- sources to repair or replace it, can result in un- employment. Some of us are entering the job market for the very first time, after raising the children, driving the car pool, and watching a mar- riage break up. Day schools need more money, or they'll be in a position to exclude families who are asking for a Jewish education, but can't afford it. This is the war; this is the crisis. We're often afraid to ask for help because we don't want any- one to know that we're hungry or that we're hurt- ing. If we could capture what's happening around us on television with the guarantee that no dig- nity would be lost through recognition, it would create that sense of urgency. We are not an agency of the Detroit Jewish Fed- eration. We've had our share of disagreements this past year over the handling of Borman Hall, funding for education and other issues. However, Federation provides services on the day-to-day that are critical to the lives of thousands of De- troit Jews. This Sunday is Super Sunday, the day when volunteers will call us and ask for our support. These volunteers aren't exclusively the rich, the elite. They are from every walk of life and age group in this community. They are your neigh- bors. They don't call with a SCUD missile story as motivation. They call, though, because there's a crisis going on in this community. If individuals living lives of quiet desperation are too embar- rassed to ask, we'll ask you for them. Please re- spond generously on Sunday. As one West Bloomfield man told The Jewish News, "For years I gave money to the Federation. Now, I'm getting help from them." Issues of how much money stays here versus the amount that goes to Israel are secondary now. A disagreement over that ratio should not be a reason not to give. The "war" continues at home. And it's one that individual Jews, not a Jewish state or a territory, but a community member, a neighbor, could very well lose. A Green Holiday LU cr) UJ - 3 CD CC F- LJJ Ul 4 A relatively minor Jewish holiday, Tu B'She- vat, the "New Year for Trees," begins at sun- down next Wednesday, the 15th of the Jewish month of Shevat. As minor as it may be, the "New Year for Trees" has great importance to- day. Its import stems not from the original pur- pose of the festival (the demarcation date for the tithing levied in ancient Israel on the pro- duce of fruit trees), but because of the ecologi- cal crisis that the world — and especially the United States — faces today. Americans are blessed with a large country with extraordinary natural resources. We also are blessed to be living in a time when com- merce and transportation make it possible for us to eat hamburgers from cattle raised in South America, where giant rain forests were cleared so the cows can graze. Or to use vehicles whose powerful engines let us race to distant places in a fraction of the time that it took our grand- parents. Yet as blessed as we are, the environment is not blessed by our attitude toward it. Not only do we take it for granted, but we also have one of the worst environmental records on the plan- et: * On a per capita basis, Americans release into the atmosphere the largest amount of air pollutants of any people. Yet, the United States spends less on air pollution control as a per- centage of public research and development funds than Canada, Germany, the United Kmg- dom and other countries. * The U.S. leads the 19 major industrial na- tions in the percentage of wooded areas lost dur- ing the last two decades. * The U.S. leads industrial countries in per capita paper consumption, garbage output per person and junk mail — 252 pieces per person. * We also top the world in per capita gasoline consumption — and in major oil spills affecting our shores and coastline. ❑ Letters Communal Leaders And Jewish Education Congratulations on your fine editorial regarding Jewish ed- ucation and the interview with Dr. Smiley (Dec. 24). It is clear that today th eis- sue of Jewish survival (I won't use "continuity" because it does not have the ring of the crisis we face) is the realm of suicide rather than murder. All the available statistics demonstrate clearly that children who have a day school education for at least eight years show re- mark- ably different behavior than those who do not. They regard Israel more highly. They are much less like- ly to intermarry. They know more about observance and are much more liley to hold on to being Jewish. And it is clear that a day education is not cho- sen by many purely because of financial constraints. Your editorial was a call to action, but it was not the first such call to action. Those of us who have been active in the day school movement have long is- sued such calls. I have listened and waited for the last couple of weeks to see whether the in- dividuals who are prominent in the community would respond loudly, forcefully, and affirma- tively to your public and dis- passionate call. I am still waiting. We live today in a sociologi- cal desert. Our people is dying, day by day. But we know that day schools can, and do, provide the focus and guidance which can break us out of our crisis. Unfortunately, the people may not be able to bring more than enough on their own to build and maintain these schools. Will our leadership be first in line, or will they stand back and show their importance by com- ing in at the end? Leonard I. Wanetik West Bloomfield Hebrew Needs More Emphasis It was refreshing to read the ar- ticle "Learning the language of our fathers and daughters" by Shirlee Iden (Dec. 31). These parents followed their daughter's footsteps to study the He- brew lan- guage. Ms. Shulamit Katznels on, the founder of Ulpan Akiva, should be commend- ed for a place where the ingathering of the exiles can learn Hebrew. But, the real Hebrew culture is deterio- rating in Israel. The Torah, Tal- mud, Mishna, Jewish history, Israeli and Diaspora history, somehow are neglected in the schools. Let's hope that Jewish schools in our area will teach more and better Hebrew and other religious studies. As we have one Torah, one nation, one land, Hebrew should be the only official language of Israel. Shlomo Micznik Southfield Letters Policy • Letters must be typewrit- ten, double-space& and in elude the name, home address, daytime phone number and signature of the writer. Brief letters (less than a page), arriving by noon Tuesday, will be given pref- erence.