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A Serious Concern For The Future

Regardless of who won Tuesday's elections, we all
ought to breathe a deep sigh of relief. The closing
of the polls at 8 p.m. Tuesday drew the curtain
on one of the nastiest, meanest campaigns in re-
cent history, one marked by unrepentant men-
dacity, unrelenting vindictiveness, unrelieved
manipulation of the electorate.
Some of this can be laid at the feet of political
consultants, those professionals whose ranks grow
with every election and whose scruples often seem
to be at the same level as the gutter. But much of
it also stems from the mood of "the people" — and
the candidates' (and their supporters') very cal-
culated assessment about how much they can get
away with.
The most scurrilous instance of pandering to
base instincts surfaced late last week in areas of
the country where voters found fliers in their mail-
boxes from committees with names such as "Know
Your Candidate." The fliers listed the party, pro-
fession, residence, age and the religious affiliation
of candidates. Such tactics are a hallmark of the

Christian Right, which has made religiosity — the
"right" kind of religiosity — a litmus test for po-
litical office.
Reassuringly, clergy from many denominations
denounced the tactics. While the Detroit Jewish
Community Council isn't aware of "Know Your
Candidate" actions locally, there is still concern
that the more people are alienated from the main-
stream, the more they will seek extremist move-
ments that are ultimately threatening to Jews and
other minorities.
Indeed, some 30 million pieces of literature were
distributed in churches around the country the
Sunday prior to election day. There is still an agen-
da, and it is one that calls us to be concerned, to be
aware.
That there is an agenda in conjunction with this
year's venom and vile may be a signal for the fu-
ture. It should give us cause to worry about the
temperament of subsequent campaigns — and the
fidelity of a new generation of politicians and cer-
tain supporters to fundamental American values.

A Lesson Learned:
Familiarity Cannot Be Shallow

The American system of politics has got to be one
of the more peculiar systems in all the world. While
we're not suggesting that we trade it in at this point,
we are asking for a lesson to be learned.
In the past three months we were bombarded
by promises, advertisements, and statements from
politicians until our heads were spinning. The ques-
tion is, why do we wait for the 90 days before an
election to familiarize ourselves with people who
directly influence our lives, our incomes, the qual-
ity of our children's education and what sort of
health plan will protect us? If we did a better job
of taking time to follow our representatives' voting
records, then the period before the election wouldn't
be such a mad rush.
What happens after the election? All the activ-
ity stops. People are elected, and we seem to forget

about them until it's time to shake their hand again.
It cannot be this way. We need to watch politicians,
people who are paid by tax dollars — your dollars,
our dollars — from the time they are elected.
With a Religious Right swelling like a storm
cloud, with health dollars and funds for education
being pulled at like a tug of war, picking a repre-
sentative is no longer a casual matter.
In less than two years, we'll be embroiled in this
process again. Let's not wait until then to decide
what we stand for and who best represents our
stand. Too many of us found ourselves in that po-
sition this year. With the vote taking on a sense of
urgency not felt in recent memory, that position of
unfamiliarity is something we collectively can ill
afford.

$5 Million Donation Forces
Community Self-Examination

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While it's all very preliminary, the challenge fac-
ing Hillel Day School and its possible acceptance
of $5 million leaves us intrigued.
The very idea that Federation could expand its
campus at Maple/Drake to include other Jewish fa-
cilities such as day schools is something that will
be discussed further in this community. One-stop
shopping where a Jewish family could pick the chil-
dren up at school in the morning, visit with an el-
derly relative for dinner and cap it all off with a
swim at the JCC is not only practical but speaks to
the concept of a physical continuity of Jewish life.
Hillel needs to address many issues, one of them
being the travel of its Huntington Woods, Oak Park
and Southfield-based families to a new campus. A
West Bloomfield move means at least another 15
minutes each way of commute time for carpools.
Hillel's own demographic studies have shown that
the school is ideally situated at its current site. But
that is for now and the next 10 years. With the pop-
ulation continuing to shift, the "ideal" location for

Hillel might not be along Middlebelt Road.
This is a crossroads decision for the Hillel fam-
ily. A move from the Detroit area's most heavily
concentrated Jewish neighborhood might seem out
of touch now. But 20 years down the road, it might
be seen as a stroke of demographic genius.
There are other issues to be weighed in future
weeks as well. Instead of having a knee-jerk re-
action to any one of the issues written here, it is
important for the Jewish community to carefully
weigh its future. We've written those words in the
past and not much happens, other than Federa-
tion's strategic plan. Now Hillel and to some ex-
tent Federation has to dissect itself and plan where
it wants to be five years from now and beyond. Now
there is an urgency, $5 million worth of it. But it's
so much more than the money.
And good for Mr. Kogan, if he's priming the pump
of this community's thoughts to the future. Hillel
has some work to do now. Watch it carefully. It
could be a game plan that will affect us all.

Letters

Learning To Fight
Sexual Prejudice

I would like to take this oppor-
tunity to share an incredible ex-
perience I had. On Saturday, Oct.
15, I attended the Human Rights
Campaign Fund Dinner at the
Renaissance Center. For those of
you who do not know what the
Human Rights Organization is,
it is an organization that assures
gay and lesbian people legal
backing in Congress to fight the
prejudice that people have be-
cause of sexual orientation.
I am a single, straight Jewish
mother. I was a bit reluctant at
first to go to the dinner because
I did not know what to expect.
What I did know is that I accept
all people as they are, and I had
hoped others did as well.
Through the years, I have
learned that this isn't so. Unfor-
tunately, people's prejudice and
ignorance often interferes with
true friendships.
Throughout the evening I
learned that the fight for equal-
ity that gays and lesbians have
is no different than what we as
Jews have fought throughout
time. What I observed as an out-
sider at this function was cama-
raderie of about 2,000 strong.
I know that it is not easy, but
if we close our eyes and love with
our hearts no matter what, this
would be a much better place.
Debi Farber
Oak Park

Seeking Funding
For Darchei Torah

On Sunday, Oct. 23, my wife and
I received a call from a dedicated
"Super Sunday" volunteer. To our
great disappointment we once
again felt compelled to explain
that for the second year straight
we would not be able to help Fed-
eration funding. The reason was
not (thank G-d) because we could
not afford to, nor due to a lack of
community involvement on our
part. The reason is very simple.
How could anyone with any sense
of right vs. wrong, fair vs. unfair,
support a federation that is so
hypocritical as to constantly re-
port study after study that begs
us all to put Jewish education at

the top of our priority list, yet de-
nies funding of any kind to Yeshiv-
as Darchei Torah?
Many of my friends and I were
recipients of Federation funding
when we attended the United
Hebrew Schools afternoon He-
brew program from 1970-75. This
program consisted of six hours
per week of instruction in prayer,
reading and Bible. After five
years I could read Hebrew flu-
ently and could recite two Psalms
by memory. I was also given a
knowledge of numerous "Bible
stories" and some of the geogra-
phy of Eretz Yisrael. Today a ma-
jority of my friends from those
classes have intermarried (with
none having any Jewish affilia-
tion whatsoever), and the rest are
marginally affiliated at best.
When I became observant 10
years ago, I vowed that I would
give my children the most warm,
comprehensive Jewish education
available, and that I would move
if necessary to obtain it. The
fact that over 80 sets of parents
choose Darchei Torah for their 250
children is a loud and clear state-
ment that Federation has no right
to ignore. The unique character of
this institution will ensure that
our children will not become
yet another sad statistic of as-
similation. This reason alone
should be sufficient to warrant
funding.
Federation helped my parents
pay for the brand of Jewish edu-
cation that I received, but refus-
es completely to help me pay for
my children's day school. How
ironic.
Jeffrey S. Bell
Oak Park

Correct E-Mail
For Adult Singles

Several weeks ago, your publi-
cation printed an article with in-
formation about a group known
as Parents of Adult Jewish Sin-
gles. Included in that article was
an address, phone number and
e-mail account number where in-
terested persons could acquire
additional information. The e-
mail number you published was
incorrect. The correct e-mail ad-
dress is: drm@netcom.com .
Judith A. Holtz
West Bloomfield

