•
I
xio.M"vin
data
Constructive Actions,
Without A Violence Factor
Jews don't kill, Jews don't hate.
We wish that were the sum total of the truth.
But what has been even more distressing than
the murderous act of Dr. Baruch Goldstein is the
reaction we've seen and heard from other Jews.
For a rabbi, a man of God, to eulogize that one
million Arabs aren't worth the fingernail of a sin-
gle Jew, is stunning in its viciousness. For other
"religious" Jews to call for the revenge of Dr. Gold-
stein's death is a contradiction of the precepts of
Jewish law we hold dear.
Dr. Goldstein, it is claimed, was saddened be-
yond grief by the suffering he had seen as a doc-
tor in the area. Most of that suffering was levied
by the hands of Arabs on innocent Jewish chil-
dren. Not even a pregnant woman was exempt.
There were times when during prayer at the
Tomb of the Patriarchs, Jewish worshipers were
taunted by nearby Arabs. There were, in short,
many reasons for a person to be angry.
There are some who see Dr. Goldstein's act
as a crying out of sorts to attract attention to the
killing of Jews, and to protest the peace process.
Others feel he might have seen the Palestinians
as Amalek, and followed the lead of the Haftorah
Zachor instructing Jews to destroy Amalek's peo-
ple and descendants.
Whatever he was thinking, Dr. Goldstein mur-
dered. There is nothing that can justify his ac-
tions. Protest, phone calls, letters, even screaming
and shouting are justifiable. But murder is not.
How can we point our fingers at anyone and say
we are not like them — we are not killers — if
murder becomes OK?
How can we look at other enemies we have such
as Louis Farrakhan and dispute his hatred if a
rabbi is quoted internationally as devaluing the
worth of Arab life?
If anything, whether we agree as a people about
this peace process or not, we have to single out
the haters who call themselves Jews. We can-
not have a standard for anti-Semites and then
look away if a Jew is racist or kills or hates. There
is nothing Jewish about gunning down Arabs in
prayer. There is nothing Jewish about statements
of hate against Palestinians. Mowing down peo-
ple in cold blood is not self-defense.
Whether we agree or disagree with the Israeli
government's actions in search of peace, we must
act out responsibly. Whether we agree or disagree
with the terrorist acts of Palestinians, we must
still maintain a high level of responsibility.
As Jews we must show ourselves as examples
of unquestionable godliness. If we don't, then the
price we'll pay as a people for any sort of co-exis-
tence or peace in Israel will be too expensive. It
will be paid for in blood.
The outcry by Detroit Jewish leaders has been
heard and appreciated by the local Arab com-
munity leaders. May it be used as an example
and an impetus for the peace process to get back
on track.
Letters
4
Borman Spoof
Wasn't Funny
Orthodox Rabbis
Deplore Violence
I am both confused and sad-
dened by the Purim Spoof arti-
cle (Feb. 25), titled, "Dr.
Kevorkian Named Boring Hall
Head." I struggle to understand
how any member of the Jewish
community, or any caring indi-
vidual, could make light of the
anxiety and uncertainty that
the impending closure of Bor-
man Hall brings to its residents,
families and staff.
Borman Hall has endured
many challenges in its history,
but most especially in the past
several years. This last year of
operation will undoubtedly be
its most difficult. If ever there
were a time for all of us to sup-
port and care for our frail el-
derly at Borman Hall, surely
this must beit!
The residents are dependent
upon the Home and the com-
munity for every aspect of their
well-being.They and their fam-
ilies need to know that the com-
munity is there for them, rather
than being hurt as the target of
a tasteless "spoof." Also, the
staff of Borman Hall, many of
whom have devoted their entire
The Council of Orthodox Rab-
bis is distraught by the tragic
unfolding cycle of violence in the
Middle East. We condemn
those who see any justification
in the wanton slaughter of in-
nocent civilians regardless of
the circumstances involved.
The media, however, should
be fair in its portrayal of the
record of who the real victims
of Middle East terrorism have
been throughout the years of
the existence of the State of Is-
rael.
This tragedy is only corn-
pounded further by hearing
those whose hands are still
dripping with the blood of Jew-
ish children decry the act of the
one individual as a statement
of collective responsibility of the
Jewish community.
working lives to selflessly care
for its residents, deserve better
than this kind of recognition.
It is a privilege for me to be a
part of the work at Borman
Hall during this time of transi-
tion. This is a time when all of
our skills and energies are need-
ed and can truly make a differ-
ence in people's lives. I ask for
your support so that we may
work in harmony to make this
a peaceful transition for all.
Margot Parr
Interim Executive Director,
Jewish Home for Aged
Rabbis Chaskel Grubner,
Shaiall Zachariash,
Meilech Silberberg and
Elimelech Goldberg
Presidium, Council of Orthodox
Rabbis of Greater Detroit
LETTERS page 10
Opinion
Who Is A Jew?
A New 'Spin'
RABBI EFRY SPECTRE SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
urian morning, early last
Friday, my nephew's
wife, Gallia, a medical
student at Hadassah,
stopped by my brother's home
in Jerusalem on her way to the
hospital. My sister-in-law, Bar-
bara, had just heard the report
of the mass killing in Hebron
on Israel Radio. As she told her
daughter-in-law the sickening
news, describing in detail the
profile of the murderer, Dr.
Baruch Goldstein, Gallia reg-
istered total incredulity.
"Ani lo ma'amina!" she cried
out. "I don't believe it. No doc-
tor, educated and dedicated to
preserving and sustaining life,
could do such a thing!"
Barbara, a Jewish educator
and rabbi's wife, felt a pang
hearing those words from the
young Israeli. Why wasn't the
knee-jerk response of this
sabra, "I don't believe it. A Jew
couldn't do such a thing"?
Prime Minister Yitzhak Ra-
bin spoke to that concern on
Monday when he addressed
those Jews who endorse the
gunman's politics and actions:
"You are not part of the com-
munity of Israel. You are not
part of the national democrat-
ic camp ... you are not partners
in the Zionist enterprise ... you
are a shame on Zionism and an
embarrassment to Judaism."
My colleagues, members of
the Michigan Board of Rabbis,
and I applaud and support the
prime minister's expression of
outrage. We join in extending
our sympathy to the grieving
families of those slain and ful-
ly commit ourselves to the heal-
ing process that must begin so
that shalom and an insured fu-
ture for the Jewish people may
come to Israel as well as for the
Arab peoples.
As rabbis, ever sensitive to
our Torah's declaration that hu-
p
,
Efry Spectre is rabbi at Adat
Shalom Synagogue and
President of the Michigan
Board of Rabbis
mankind was created in the im-
age of God, and to the conse-
quences of that statement, we
are appalled by the remark of
Rabbi Yaakov Perrin in eulo-
gizing Dr. Goldstein: "One mil-
lion Arabs are not worth a
Jewish fingernail."
Anyone making such a
statement is not a rabbi; any-
one making such a statement
demonstrates a profound lack
of knowledge of and identity
with our People; anyone mak-
ing such a statement is not a
human being under God's sov-
ereignty.
What the murders at Mach-
pelah, of course, have under-
scored is the need for us to
recognize the potential evil that
exists within us, the same as
within every other individual
and group and to deal with that
recognition.
Our responsibilities, at this
juncture, are awesome. Israelis
are morally and technically ac-
countable for their own safety
and that of the Palestinians
they govern. Worldwide Jewry,
in our advocacy for Israel with
national governments, in our fi-
nancial bolstering of Israel's
cause, must join hands ever
more strongly with Israel while
solutions are being sought, to
impress upon all our commit-
ment to have Israel continue re-
sponsibly to bear arms for its
charges, Jewish and non-Jew-
ish, and to protect them.
Rabin, in his anger, was in-
voking a formula well-known
in the religious Jewish com-
munities of ghetto and shtetl,
the cherem — the excommuni-
cation — of those who endan-
gered Jewish survival. The
kehillah — the community —
distanced itself from the pari-
ah who slandered our religion,
who could no longer be defined
as "Jew."
This process, it must be em-
phasized, can be applied only
with extreme discretion. It is
subject to abuse; however, it is
A JEW page 12