Zw
a
‘ ,.
PLEASE..,
CRY FOR
ARGENtriri4r
4ROVESMX; m Wit.44 ,
Causeless Hatred, Again
How painful it is to see the worst aspects of the
Jewish past reappearing. Sunday, Tisha B'Av,
we mourned the destruction of our two Temples.
The Talmud tells us the second of these calami-
ties was brought about by causeless hatred, by
Jews bickering among themselves.
Against this historical backdrop, we are wit-
nessing increasingly disturbing scenes. A female
soldier crying as she pulls an Israeli woman off
a West Bank hilltop. A military judge declar-
ing with disgust and rage that he no longer can
serve his government. Prominent rabbis vali-
dating Jewish law's approval of religious soldiers
defying their democratically elected government.
Even Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, a West Bank
leader long praised for his voice of moderation,
is in the forefront of civil protest. He and many
others, based on their reading of the Bible,
adamantly believe that Jews should never re-
linquish the West Bank, known as Judea and
Samaria. He protests peacefully; we fear that
some around him will not always do so.
At issue, of course, is the implementation by
the Rabin government of expanded Palestinian
self-rule. Some say such policies will lead to the
forced evacuation of Jews — by a Jewish gov-
ernment — from the biblical heartland of the
Jewish people.
These protesters do not represent all of the es-
timated 150,000 Jews of the West Bank, which
includes areas now incorporated into united
Jerusalem. Many West Bank residents, origi-
nally coaxed to the region by cheap housing,
await incentives to purchase homes inside the
pre-1967 borders.
Recognizing the tensions, leaders of the West
Bank protesters last week observed a two-day
"cease-fire" with the government and met with
Mr. Rabin. This week, the protests resumed.
At the same time, the government is spend-
ing millions of dollars on safer roads to the West
Bank's Jewish settlements. In addition, securi-
ty for their residents remains a prime factor in
negotiations with the Palestinian Authority.
Nonetheless, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in-
creasingly appears to be brushing off the settlers
as insignificant.
For their part, the protesting settlers are
threatening civil war and promising vigilante re-
taliation if harm comes their way. They should
be demanding that Mr. Rabin keep his bargain
with the overall Israeli electorate — that no ex-
isting settlements will be dismantled and that
security will be ensured. The settlers can, through
legal means, oppose the government. And when
they use illegal means, they must pay the price.
With tempers flaring, neither side seems ca-
pable of prolonged discussion with the other. Both
Mr. Rabin and the settlers would do well to re-
member the lessons of causeless hatred of long
ago. They must each ensure that what some have
come to see as our third Temple, the modem state
of Israel, is not damaged beyond repair.
Letters
No Barr-ing
Jew By Choice
I find it interesting that Mr. Lei-
der (Letters, Aug. 8) found the
Editor's Notebook of July 28
about the Tom Arnold wedding
to be in poor taste and offensive
to various portions of our com-
munity. My reading of that ar-
ticle was, if anything, a rebuke
to the rabbi who failed to take
the opportunity of this wedding
to teach at least one more per-
son about the traditions of our
faith.
I came away from that article
thinking that Mr. Arnold had
made major advances in incor-
porated Jewish observance into
his life, rather than dwelling on
any shortfall. We as a communi-
ty need to focus on progress made
instead of frequently shouting
about whatever we perceive to be
lacking in the observance of oth-
ers.
Persons convert to Judaism for
countless reasons, although a
Jewish spouse eases the process
somewhat. Why should it be a
cause for comment that Mr.
Arnold "...still wants to include
"mode or way of thought" and
most certainly not in regards to
intelligence. The meaning of my
statement was: "The mode or way
of thought of many of the people
in the Walled Lake School Dis-
trict (regarding school millages)
is different than the majority of
the people living in the West
Bloomfield School District." Inci-
dentally neither I nor my com-
pany were in any way involved in
the development of the Timbers
Edge Subdivision as stated in the
article.
I can appreciate the frustration
Karen Minturn Brown of so many people who worked to
Livonia support the last three Walled
Lake millage elections when they
were not supported by the ma-
jority of the voters in that district.
I certainly did not or do not ques-
Use of 'Mentality'
tion the intelligence or motives of
the voters in the Walled Lake
Misunderstood
School District, and I regret us-
Unfortunately, it is all too easy to ing a word that could be so easi-
misinterpret statements in news- ly misunderstood. I certainly do
paper articles. In the phone con- apologize to anyone who might
versation with Julie Edgar about have been offended by any state-
housing in Walled Lake and West ments made.
Bloomfield School districts, I used
Herman Frankel
the term mentality as defined in
West Bloomfield
the Merriam Webster's Collegiate
Dictionary, 10th edition, to mean
Jewish traditions in his life..."?
He is, after all, a Jew. Joining a
people who are hated and perse-
cuted by many others is not a
phase, to be outgrown when the
marriage is over. Those of us who
have made a positive choice and
put forth significant effort in or-
der to become Jewish do not take
this commitment so lightly. It is
a lifetime commitment, made
without consideration of reversal.
I am a Jew, and a Jew I will re-
main, regardless of other cir-
cumstances.
Letters
Gems Of Wisdom
Are Sought
I am gathering the sayings, ex-
pressions and cliches of Jewish
mothers and grandmothers to
preserve them through publica-
tion. Jewish matriarchs use these
gems of wisdom and humor to
guide families through day-to-day
situations as well as life-shaping
occasions of simchah and sorrow.
Here are two of my favorite ex-
amples: "If two people tell you
you're drunk, go to bed, " courtesy
of Dr. Rachel Dulin of Chicago; "If
it was meant to be, it will be," cour-
tesy of Janet Price of Kansas City.
If you'd like to share and pre-
serve the sayings of your family
matriarchs, please send sayings
to me at the address below, along
with the name of the matriarch
and whatever information about
her you are willing to share. Please
also include an address and tele-
phone number where you can be
reached. The families of those
women whose quotes are used will
receive a copy of the work once it
is published. Thank you for shar-
ing. Sandra E. Price, 1401 West
Rovey Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85013.
Sandra Price
Phoenix
Wrong Picture
Of Education
I'm a student at Walled Lake
Western High school. I read the
article "Puddle Jumpers" on the
front page of The Jewish News on
July 28, 1995. What was written
in the article is not totally true.
Just because the bond did not
pass does not mean that your
child will not get a good educa-
tion. My family did not move be-
cause of it. There had to be other
reasons. I am getting as good an
education as the students going
to West Bloomfield schools. There
are still a lot of Jewish students
whom I go to school with. I am
proud to be going to Walled Lake
schools. There is nothing wrong
with going there.
The week of July 21, 1995,
your front page had an article on
Shaarey Zedek expanding its He-
brew school in West Bloomfield.
The week of July 28, 1995, there
was an article about Beth Achim
opening a Hebrew school in
Walled Lake on page 15. Anoth-
er article on page 16 the same
day, "Singer's Gaffe Floors Audi-
ence," reported that a remark by
David Clayton Thomas places a
bad outlook on West Bloomfield.
It is obvious that the paper is
slanted to publish only good
things in West Bloomfield on the
front page. There are many good
things going on in other Jewish
communities that do not get
printed on the front page.
Elissa Riger
Walled Lake
Menorah House
Has A Way To Go
In response to Ruth Littmann's
article titled 'The Night They Rat-
ed Wronski's" (Aug. 4) I would like
to give a firsthand prospective.
My father has been a resident
of Menorah House since March
1994 when it was still Mt. Ver-
non Nursing Home. We moved
him there from Teitel Federation
Apartments when he could no
longer be maintained by Adult
Day Care and afternoon and
evening help.
First, Mt. Vernon had no activ-
ities, no kosher food, help that was
always changing and a depressed
atmosphere. I know this because
my sister and I visit every day.
Second, nursing homes are not
pleasant places. However, my fa-
ther has wonderful caring people
around him at Menorah House.
Everyone knows his name from the
housekeeping staff, to the aides,
nurses, social workers, physical
therapists and activities directors.
Third, Frank Wronski and
staffhad a meeting with resident
families in which he said, "Don't
tell us what is going better, tell
us what else needs to be done."
I am not saying that Menorah
House is perfect. It has no air-con-
ditioning, but it has a director
who knows every patient's name.
It has a nursing home smell, but
it has an outstanding activities
director. It does not have table-
cloths for meals, but it has a car-
ing and compassionate staff.
Until salaries are raised for
nursing-home attendants to a de-
cent working wage, until people
stop feeling nursing homes are a
warehouse for the old, nursing
homes will not improve.
I think that Menorah House has
a way to go, but with family input
or caring strangers, each resident
can have a decent quality of life.
Irma Starr
Director, Space For Changing Families