Yet Another Handshake
When Jordan's King Hussein and Israel's
Yitzhak Rabin shook hands at the White House
on Monday, it was not a brave beginning of a
bold new era. It was the next step in a relation-
ship that has encapsulated all that is odd with
the Middle East. Regardless, this week's events
will be remembered as a milestone in the march
to comprehensive Middle East peace.
Israel and Jordan have had a de facto peace
since the early-1970s. In the years following Jor-
dan's crushing defeat by Israel in 1967, the king
declared war on the Palestinian Liberation Or-
ganization and threw them out of his country —
which is at least 60 percent Palestinian. He also
moved to prevent terrorist attacks against Israel
from Jordan and declined to enter the 1973 Yom
Kippur War. Periodically, rumors would circulate
that he had met Israeli leaders in secret.
This week, as part of the renunciation of bel-
ligerence, King Hussein vowed that Jordan
would seek to end economic boycotts of Israel.
This direct reference to the Arab boycotts against
Israel was long-awaited. Until now, two miss-
ing ingredients in the peace talks have been the
revocation of language calling for the destruc-
tion of Israel in the PLO covenant, which has
not yet been done, and the end of the Arab boy-
cotts, which have cost Israel billions of dollars.
We still await the altering of the PLO document.
In addition to stemming potential carnage
of war, King Hussein had 700 million reasons to
publicly shake Prime Minister Rabin's hand.
That number is the amount of dollars that he
Your Choice
Primary election ballots are a pain. You don't
know where you vote, there's a laundry list of
obscure races with even a longer list of more ob-
scure candidates. Why bother?
Why not ask some of the young adults fea-
tured in this week's Next Generation (Page 115)
who are active on behalf of the candidate of their
choice.
Rachel Rubenfaer believes "most people look
at politics as an evil machine. They see it as
something they have no control over. I see it as
a way to help people."
owes the U.S. government which, with expect-
ed congressional approval, will now be forgiven.
Such is but one price tag associated with peace,
one that we are pleased that the United States
is willing to pay.
Some believe that this week's Israel-Jordan
accord pushes Hafez al-Assad, president of Syr-
itself and the entire Jewish com-
ia, closer toward his own signing with Israel.
munity.
They are wrong. He is as calculated as he is vi-
A sound, successful merger ne-
cious. He will wait, and continue to wait. For
cessitates the sacrifice of ego and
now, Mr. Assad is where he wants to be. He is a the ability to recognize and deal
nemesis that cannot be ignored, one who can with nostalgia. A merging con-
trigger the next war with sleight of hand. He gregation is not asked to forget
continues to sponsor terrorist groups, including its history but rather to build
Palestinian ones within the PLO that remain upon it. Its greatest asset is its
firmly opposed to peace with Israel. At the last membership, and past accom-
moment, on the verge of receiving 99 percent plishments combined with strong
of what he wants, perhaps years from now, he leadership can perpetuate the
will seriously consider signing a peace treaty pride and identity of a congre-
gation and allow it to continue
with Israel.
on.
That aside, the news was good this week. An
We must prioritize our chari-
Israeli poet, embellishing the words of the table contributions. There is only
prophets Micah and Isaiah, once wrote, "May so much money available in our
we beat our swords into plowshares and our community for Jewish needs. Im-
spears into pruning hooks. For then, if we wish migration to Israel cannot wait.
Care for the elderly and the poor
to make war again, we must pause to beat our
plowshares and spears back into swords and • must be immediate. Jewish edu-
cation and the survival of our
spears."
This road to peace is far from perfect. We now Jewish identity is essential.
All of us with Jewish con-
have a choice between placing obstacles in the
sciousness have the same objec-
path of those who could reach for weapons or tives. Each congregation must
taking a formal step away from such moves. Our explore all possibilities before
selection is clear.
vast sums of money are spent on
buildings that cannot be main-
tained or will never be fully uti-
lized.
Letters
Alden M. Leib
Bloomfield Hills
When we don't take the time to learn about
the candidates, to make an informed choice in
the voting booth, then we are creating — allow-
ing — the evil. We have a responsibility to our-
selves, our children, our society to make the
world a better place. A good time to start is Tues-
day, Aug. 2.
Take the time to read the Politics '94 stories
in today's Jewish News. Look through other pub-
lications. Ask your neighbors who they like and
why they like them.
And vote on Tuesday. We need you.
T HE DET RO I T J EW IS H N EWS
Letters
4
New Edifices
Vs. Priorities
these Jewish groups is important
to our entire Jewish community
and, similarly, the entire com-
munity must be concerned with
Over the past few years, the syn- the success or failure of any syn-
agogues and temples in our area agogue or temple.
have been overwhelmed by ru-
As we are all aware, the cost
mors regarding mergers, acqui- of constructing a synagogue is
sitions, schisms, relocations and substantial; however, its contin-
plans for new buildings.
ued maintenance, programming
Each existing congregation de- and staffing involves an ongoing
velops its unique history, identi- expense that soon far surpasses
fication and personality, as well the cost of construction.
as its own position in the wide
All the money that goes into
spectrum between Orthodoxy the building and operating of a
and Reform Judaism. Each of synagogue or temple comes from
a fixed amount of financial con-
tributions within the communi-
ty. Duplication of facilities and
programs and/or under-utiliza-
tion is a waste of money that
could have gone to better use.
It is incumbent upon each con-
gregation to assess itself objec-
tively and to determine if it is in
its best interest to continue on its
own or to seek out other groups
with whom to merge. A merger
may often dilute the identities of
all involved but the new entity
has the ability to achieve more,
represent more and do more for
Wayne State's
Religious Policy
Jewish students at Wayne State
University may absent them-
selves from classes to observe
Rosh Hashanah Sept. 6 and 7
without fear of any kind of acad-
emic penalty.
Some misunderstandings
about WSU's policies regarding
religious observances have ap-
peared in print recently. Our poli-
cies regarding the observance of
religious holidays by students of
all faiths are long standing and
well known on campus.
The university does not close
to observe the religious holidays
of any faith. It does, however, cir-
culate widely instructions to fac-
ulty and notices to students that
no students are penalized for ab-
sences to observe religious holi-
days. Instructors are advised not
to give examinations on religious
holidays and, further, to help stu-
dents obtain instructions, syllabi
or other materials pertinent to
any classes missed to observe a
religious holiday.
The policies on religious ob-
servance are printed frequently
in the Schedule of Classes, which
is a document studied carefully
by all students each semester as
they prepare to attend classes.
All faculty, in addition, are no-
tified prior to the start of classes
in the fall about the university's
religious holiday policies indi-
vidually by memorandum from
the university's chief academic
officer.
I trust these assurances will
help clear up any misunder-
standings about religious obser-
vances by Wayne State
University students.
Robert E. Wariner
Director, Media Relations,
Wayne State University
Collective Guilt,
Hebron Massacre
During the dark and dismal days
of the German occupation of
France in World War II, the
Nazis lined up and shot at ran-
dom ten, twenty or a hundred
French men, women and chil-
dren whenever a German officer
was killed by the Resistance. The
same type of action took place in
other European countries under
the occupation. Sometimes whole
villages were wiped out.
This concept of collective guilt
was, of course, nothing new. The
Catholic Church proclaimed the
collective guilt of Jews as Christ
killers when that suited the
Church for political and economic
reasons during the early Middle
Ages, causing great harm to
Jews. This concept remained in
force until voided by Vatican II
without apology or other gesture.
Collective guilt is imposed by
a power in control of a political
scene, imposed on a helpless and
defamed minority. Such imposed
concept need not and should not
be accepted and is usually con-
demned by all civilized groups
and nations.
The massacre in Hebron, Is-
rael, was a shocking transgres-
sion and was so judged by all
Israelis, the Israel government
and world Jewry. The Arabs who
proclaimed collective guilt for all
Israelis and other Jews and are
calling for the murder of as many
as possible are just as wrong as
were the Nazis and the Church.
We Jews are not individually
and collectively guilty.
Kurt Singer
Southfield