Opinion
Community Views
Culture Should Reflect Return From A Troubled Land
Where We Live
Leaving Behind Many Questions
MIRIAM KREININ SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
RABBI LEONARDO BITRAN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
he other morning I awoke ing out for after-work happy
to the song "Hotel Califor- hours.
nia" playing on Israel's
Regarding men in suits, please
army radio station, and in note: The only time I have ever
my sleepy state I thought I was seen a man walking down the
either dreaming or back in the street here in a suit was a man
States.
on the way to his wedding. Other
Reality hit me as I realized commercials show youngsters
how popular American music is dancing hip-hop and singing rap
in Israel and that I had to be at songs in Hebrew. I've seen bill-
work in an hour and three bus boards on the sides of buses that
rides away. As I headed for the say in Hebrew: "Will Billy choose
Allison or Amanda? Watch 'Mel-
rose Place' Wednesday to find
out."
Most people, including me,
enjoy all the Americana. But
sometimes it's important to re-
shower, the radio started blast- member your true culture and
ing out the American national an- where you live. This was evident
them. This was too much. Back at the recent peace signing be-
in Michigan, the faraway place I tween Israel and Jordan in Is-
come from, you only hear this rael's Arava desert.
song at ball games.
Israel's press said the ceremo-
Once again, as I have many ny resembled a parade at Dis-
times in the three years I've lived neyland. Souvenir hats were
here, I wondered where I was — made and distributed, balloons
Israel or the United States? This were released at the end and
tiny country in the Middle East marching bands played. Of
could be seen as an American course, all the hoopla did have
haven in the midst of the Arab something to do with the fact that
Third World. In fact, Israel often the president of the United States
seems more American than was there.
America.
But looking deeper into the
Staring up at the
hole where a sev-
en-story building
once hummed
with activity, on-
lookers gazed
horrified at hu-
manity's latest
act of violence to-
ward itself.
This time, the habitual ca-
pacity for harm in our fellow hu-
man beings took the lives of 100
people. One among them was
Suzy Kreiman, the wife of Rab-
bi Angel Kreiman; she had no
idea that on this day, going to
work and being Jewish would
cost her life.
The Jewish community of Ar-
gentina has been a thriving ag-
gregate of South American
culture for decades. Strong and
prosperous, Argentinean Jews
have immersed well inside the
surrounding culture, while
maintaining a close link to their
Jewish heritage. But in the year
that marks the 100th anniver-
sary of organized Jewish com-
munal life, terrorism is driving
a wedge between Argentina and
its 250,000 Jews.
On July 18, 300 kilos of ex-
plosives were hidden in the Jew-
ish Community Offices
(A.M.I.A.) of Buenos Aires, Ar-
gentina. The explosion killed ap-
proximately 100 people. One of
them was the wife of Rabbi An-
gel Kreiman, Suzy. On my re-
cent visit to Chile, I had the
opportunity to speak personal-
ly with Rabbi Kreiman about his
loss and the devastation this act
of terrorism has brought to the
Jewish community. Here is the
rabbi's story.
"The last time I spoke to my
wife was the morning before the
bombing," said Rabbi Kreiman.
"We go about our lives never ex-
pecting the unthinkable to hap-
pen: that our loved ones could be
taken from us in an instant.
When my secretary called me
about the bombing, I prayed to
God Suzy was not in the build-
ing. I went to the site without
our daughters, but a friend
brought them anyway. Just in
case Suzy had been inside, I de-
cided this would not be the last
memory they had of their moth-
er. We left to search hospitals.
"When Suzy's purse was
found on Tuesday of that week,
I began searching morgues. The
'recognizable' bodies were spread
out on the floor. There were so
many, they covered the entire
Americana invades
Israel.
The hottest cars here are Pon-
tiacs and Fords. And if you're
looking for a real status symbol,
drive a GMC truck. Children get
out of school, dressed in Levis and
Nike high-tops and head for Mc-
Donald's, Burger King or Domi-
no's Pizza before going home to
feast their eyes on cable TV.
When their parents get home,
they fight over watching CNN or
the latest episode of "Beverly
Hills 90210". Even if you don't
have cable, Israel's new priva-
tized channel has legalized com-
mercials. For a country of
non-drinkers, never have I seen
so many beer commercials tak-
ing place in American-style bars,
showing men dressed in suits go-
) Miriam Kreinin is a free-lance
writer living in Israel.
peace-making countries' situa-
tions, it might have been better
to keep the ceremony more low-
key.
Israel's recent bus bombing in
Tel Aviv had a sobering effect
on the country that made the
public weary of peace at all.
And Jordan's King Hussein,
taking a leap ahead of the other
Arab nations in a very delicate
situation, might have preferred
something quieter. But good old-
fashioned Americana prevailed
at the ceremony, and it does have
a way of touching everyone's
heart.
I do think, however, that the
next time I walk into a mall and
am offered to take the Coke-Pepsi
taste test, I will turn around and
head for the closest falafel
stand. ❑
Rabbi Bitran is lecuiPr of the
Shaarey Zedek B'nai Israel
Center in West Bloomfield. He
recently returned from a trip
to Chile, where he met with
Rabbi Angel Kreiman.
space. Suzy's body was finally
found at the bombing site. I
could only identify her from her
personal articles. The most im-
portant thing for me and my
daughters was knowing Suzy
did not suffer. After the funeral,
my youngest daughter, Marcela,
said, 'Let's go home, Dad, be-
cause Mom is at home with us
forever.'
"The initial aftermath of the
bombing brought the entire
country together," the rabbi con-
tinued. "We mourned as Argen-
tineans. But as threats
continued, the Jews emerged as
the scapegoats for a terrified
country with a history of anti-
Semitism. Discontented voices
made their concerns known.
"They began insidiously; on
radio and television," he said. "I
noticed journalists distinguish-
ing between the Jews who were
killed and the innocent Argen-
tineans. When a prominent tele-
vision broadcaster criticized the
role of the Israeli army in as-
sisting with the cleanup and ter-
rorism investigation, I knew
attitudes had changed. Jews
were no longer victims, they
were a threat and Argentina
was viewed as impotent in han-
dling its own affairs. Our initial
feelings of national solidarity
had dissolved. Replacing it was
fear and isolation.
"Argentineans began speak-
ing of Jewish-only settlements
and wouldn't it be safer if 'they'
were separated from the rest of
society. A polite reference for
`ghettoism.' Although my fami-
ly has received enormous sup-
port from our community, I have
heard others say that having
Jews in close proximity lowers
property values.
`The same day my wife's body
was found, my daughter said,
`Daddy, let's move to Israel.'
During the shiva period, she
changed her mind. Argentinean
Jews have strong ties to Ar-
gentina, the way American Jews
identify with their country. My
family and friends insist this
was not just a Jewish attack, it
was also an attack on Argenti-
na.
"I will stay in Argentina be-
cause of my work, but more im-
portant because I am a
fourth-generation Argentinean.
This is my home. We are truly
accustomed to this country. The
bombing not only took the lives
of many innocent people, it also
destroyed much of our relation-
ship with non-Jewish Argenti-
na.
"Life will never be the same
in this southern part of the
world," Rabbi Kreiman said.
"From now on history will be di-
vided between life before and life
after the bombing. Spiritually
we remain strong. Religious in-
stitutions are filled with people,
but secular Jewish communities
are empty. We are numb and
immobilized by the pain, but we
must respond; we must react;
and we must remember.
"In addition to Suzy's purse,
workers also recovered her lit-
tle Book of Psalms, reminding
me of the way all Jews should
live their lives — with strength
and perseverance in what they
do, without fear, with joy and
carrying with them everywhere
they go a little part ofJud ai sm."
Rabbi Kreiman's words rang
through my head as I flew back
to Argentina from Chile. I could
not help but remember the first
time I crossed the Andes Moun-
tains from Chile into Argentina;
on my way to the Seminario Ra-
binico Latinoamericano, the
Latin American Conservative
Rabbinical School. I was excit-
ed to be part of a Jewish com-
munity many times larger than
my own. Forgetting there is
"Let's go home,
Dad, because Mom
is home with us
forever."
power in numbers and that a
terrorist group might perceive
that power as threatening.
In Chile, terrorism on Jews
was not a problem. Jews were
few in number and therefore less
threatening. In Argentina, a
quarter of a million Jews can
wield enormous influence. This
time as I entered Argentina, my
anticipation was overwhelmed
by suspicion and fear. I had re-
alized that to be Jewish in a
country that hates Jews means
your nationality is stripped
away. Hatred is not interested
in where you came from or
whether your country accepts
you. It is only interested in
whether you are a Jew.
Nothing can justify the
slaughter of innocent people, yet
it is an inveterate occurrence in
our society, and the travesty of
that is so few realize it.
I sat in the airport of Chile,
that narrow and long country,
whose houses are like little bal-
conies hanging from the Andes
Mountains looking at the blue
of the Pacific, thinking how im-
portant it is to share Rabbi
Kreiman's story. Not because it
will affect people, but because it
talks about what our world is ca-
pable of when ignorance clouds
our thinking and only leaves
room for fear and hate. ❑