Welcome Mat Is There
For Newcomers And Natives

Our Close-Up this week addresses a very im-
portant issue: the welcoming of new neighbors
to our community. Whether we like it or not, De-
troit does have a negative national reputation,
thanks largely to the attention it gets on Devil's
Night. Yet, when Jews move into the metro De-
troit area, they typically find that the commu-
nity resources, the cost of living, the quality of
life is better than from whence they came. A
great deal of that initial impression is afforded
by organizations such as Shalom Detroit.
Still, we shouldn't rely only on organizations, as
Ruth Littmann's article indicates. A simple hel-
lo, a plate of cookies go a long way in welcoming
a person or a family to our community. Think
about how difficult it is to move from one Detroit
area neighborhood to another, even if everything
goes as scheduled. Now compound that with per-
sonal knowledge of almost nobody.
After the welcoming or "honeymoon" period is
over, we as community members need to con-
tinue with followup and follow-through with our
new residents. A plate of cookies should lead to

an invitation to lunch, maybe a get-together with
other families.
Introduction to programs at Federation or the
JCC or other Jewish agencies also gives a Jew-
ish family new to town the warm feeling of fa-
miliarity they had in their previous home.
Just as important, we cannot stop offering a hel-
lo, and the figurative plate of cookies, to those
who have been our neighbors and community
members for years. The Jewish communal wel-
come mat should always be out. We never know
when a longtime Detroiter will open the door to
the Jewish community and become one of its
leaders. People shouldn't become invisible be-
cause they've lived here for years. That welcome
mat should also be there for today's intermar-
ried families and blended households, those that
would normally be considered on the "margin"
of Jewish life. They count, and should be in-
cluded.
You don't have to be from somewhere else to have
the need to feel welcome. You can be from here
as well.

In his Community Views article of
Dec. 23, 'The Nov. 8 Vote: Anarchy
and Taxes," Rabbi Daniel Polish
appears profoundly disturbed by
the shift in power from the De-
mocrats to the Republican Party,
with all its implications. He states:
"The election raises serious issues
for us (Jews)."
Indeed, the results may pose
real concern for Rabbi Polish and
Jews of similar political and reli-
gious views, but for the majority of
"us" Torah observant and politi-
cally conservative Jews, the shift
in power may just be a heaven-sent
blessing. As long as we Jews and
all other minorities have complete
freedom to practice our religious
beliefs without any compromise,
I see no reason to be alarmed or feel
threatened by the Christian right,
as Rabbi Polish indicates. After all,
if the majority of Americans are
Christian, can we not define Amer-
ica as a Christian nation?
Furthermore, the assumption
that this overwhelming shift in
proposed Middle East development bank, help votes may be attributed to the vot-
control terrorist groups targeting Israel and the ers' rejection of "government, any
United States, and seek to advance arms re- government" and preference for
duction and other treaties.
"anarchy" is a far-fetched conclu-
New elections in Algeria will result in some- sion. On the contrary, the people
thing between two extremes. One model is the most likely voted against a gov-
Islamic fundamentalist Iran. Its export of radi- ernment, and a party, which
calism helps feed suicide attacks on Israeli troops seemed to be leading the country
in southern Lebanon and are thought linked into a state of "anarchy" and away
a value system the majority
to the devastating bombings in Buenos Aires from
wants and believes in.
this summer.
Although Torah Judaism and
Opposite Iran is Turkey. Since the early quar- the Christian right subscribe to an
ter of this century, that country has maintained entirely different theological and
a secular, albeit Islamic society. Strong tensions religious agenda, nevertheless they
pull each. Algeria, hopefully, will become more stand united on a great number of
ideological issues. Both sides favor
like Turkey than Iran.
Needed now is international focus on Algeria's the restoration of prayer (or silent
plight. A peace-keeping force or other multi-na- prayer) in public schools and op-
tional military presence is not called for. How- pose the hotly debated issues of
ever, skilled, independent negotiators who abortion on demand, sex education
in schools, the distribution of con-
understand the importance of creative diplomacy doms, the current state of the wel-
are welcome. After more than two years of ne- fare system, among many other
gotiations with Israel, that's something with issues.
which many in the Arab world are more famil-
In the eyes of Rabbi Polish and
iar than ever.
many liberal thinkers, the newly
Israel's government, with growing contacts elected officials may seem insensi-
throughout the Arab world, and American Jew- tive and even cruel to the plight
ish groups, developing their own cadre of friends, of the poor and underprivileged in
should press moderate Arab leaders to step into our society. On closer scrutiny,
however, one realizes that creat-
the Algerian dilemma. This crisis is best resolved ing more government-funded pro-
within the Arab world. But that world is part of grams and entitlement that keep
an international community that can lend a the poor on welfare rolls, genera-
hand.
tion after generation, is a form of

On The Horizon:
Islamic Compromise?

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When French commandoes stormed a plane hi-
jacked by Algerian fundamentalists last month,
the world was forced to note Algeria's civil war.
Last week, that country's government announced
that it sought compromise with all parties, in-
cluding those responsible for the failed hijack-
ing.
Jews in Israel and the Diaspora should take
note. They can privately play a positive role in
shaping the outcome of those talks. The proposed
dialogue hopes to usher in a new round of na-
tional elections. On Monday, the most radical
party, the Armed Islamic Group, said it would
consider participating. The conditions it placed
before such involvement were absurd. Howev-
er, the group is showing a desire to be part of the
process, something on which a talented nego-
tiator can build.
The stakes for all Algerians are high. In Jan-
uary 1992, the country's government canceled
democratic elections in which its ruling party,
the Front for National Liberation, was defeated
by the Islamic Salvation Front. The group
launched a series of terrorist attacks on gov-
ernment institutions and much of the country's
urban population. An estimated 30,000 people
have been killed in those campaigns; interna-
tional investors avoid Algiers, as does the lu-
crative tourism market.
At issue is the nature of Algeria's next gov-
ernment, which could play a pivotal role in a po-
litically and socially changing Middle East. An
Algeria that is pro-Western will help with the

Misplaced
Generosity

misplaced compassion, whose re-
sults are just as cruel.
Judaism is known for its many
laws dealing with tzedakah and
how to show compassion to the
poor, the widow, the orphan, etc.
The Torah, however, does not ad-
vocate redistribution of wealth. Ac-
cording to the Rambam, the
greatest form of tzedakah is that
which enables one to become self-
sufficient. Only then can human
dignity be achieved.
Around seven years ago, I re-
turned to school for a master's in
social work at Wayne State Uni-
versity. My first placement was at
Oakland County Children's Vil-
lage. It was a very traumatic ex-
perience to witness the tragedies
endured by the abused, neglected
and abandoned children, most of
whom were on the welfare rolls and
came from broken homes. The pat-
tern was a generational issue. One
14-year-old girl captured the situ-
ation in her own words. "I never
want to have children; I know I'll
always live on welfare and I will
not spend the money on my chil-
dren; I will spend it on myself"
Yet, a few months later, disap-
pointed by the negative results of
a pregnancy test, she remarked to
me, " It would have been a neat ex-
perience." This was a child robbed
of her childhood, dealing with adult
issues difficult even for an adult to
handle. From my experiences at
Children's Village, I came to un-
derstand why the building of the
mikvah (ritual bath) precedes the
building of the synagogue when es-
tablishing a Jewish community.
Most of the time, it is not poverty
that brings such destruction to peo-
ples' lives, but the value system
they live by. To create a stable so-
ciety with respect for one another,
we have to teach our children that
human beings are created in the
image of God and they have the
choice of choosing the path they
take in life.
Misplaced generosity funded by
continuous tax increases will not
solve the problem of poverty as long
as the poor continue to make the
wrong choices. Blindly supporting
teen-age mothers and others who
are ill-equipped to be parents per-
petuates the cycle of poverty and
misery. Hopefully, the new gov-
ernment's agenda will bring about
the much needed changes the peo-
ple voted for.
Bracha Stein
Oak Path

