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Resuscitating Sinai
Took Guts And Action
Four years ago, we were reporting on the possi-
ble demise of Sinai Hospital. At the time, its
board operated out of a sense of emotion and ide-
alism while the reality came in the form of a $10
million annual debt.
Sinai was facing merger, moving, or even clos-
ing its doors. -
Four short years later, Sinai Hospital sold $75
million in bonds in a matter of hours. This corn-
munity must realize that this is a testament to
the professional way the hospital's current board
and CEO Phillip Schaengold have, in a busi-
nesslike way, restored the institution's credibil-
ity. It is clear that the hospital's positive image
transcends the Jewish community.
Now, instead of thinking of closing, 42-year-
old Sinai Hospital will expand its emergency
room and plan other important renovations. Sinai
is relevant again. Perhaps board chairman Mark
Schlussel said it best:
"This could never have happened five years
ago. Five years ago, Sinai was a completely dif-
ferent institution. It had lost both its spirit and
its drive."
But cooperative efforts by lay and medical lead-
ership have helped turn the hospital around.
Part of that leadership came from outside ex-
perts who offered ideas that for many weeks in-
cluded issues of survival. Many in this
community remember when the Hunter Group
came through, making key and sometimes con-
troversial decisions. Some of these decisions, in-
cluding the layoff of employees, hurt.
It is not our intention here to bridge two in-
stitutions of completely different purposes. But
the Jewish Community Center, with its project-
ed losses in the hundreds of thousands of dollars
and its very relevancy at issue, should pay at-
tention to the Sinai Hospital story.
The JCC would do well to bring in a strong ex-
ecutive director, maybe someone from outside
the national JCC realm, someone who would
make difficult business decisions because he or
she cares about the institution's survival. That
person, combined with management advice and
consultation, is what is needed immediately.
With these accountable actions, the JCC could
benefit from Sinai's experience. And that, thank
goodness, has been a success story.
December's Distractions
During the month of December, our eyes glow
with the lights of the menorah and our hearts
with the warmth of its Chanukah candles. It is
a festive time during which the gray winter of
our year is brightened by something as simple
as candles — and the miracle they represent.
The month also offers many distractions, as
Chanukah coincides with our neighbors' cele-
bration of Christmas and our shared revelry for
the secular New Year. Gift shopping in crowded
malls, office parties and New Year's parties can
offer an artificial feeling of togetherness.
While the candles offer light, they cast a shad-
ow as well — a risk of forgetting. For we have a
tendency in December to shelve the year's more
serious issues, knowing they'll be waiting for us
— like deferred billing — in January.
But the healing in Israel and the Diaspora, fol-
[ ISRAEL 'AS
GRANITED
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PoLtAIRD!
lowing the tragic assassination of Israel Prime
Minister Yitzhak Rabin, for instance, cannot take
a holiday. The movement of 20,000 American
troops into Bosnia will not stop as we pop our
bottles of champagne. Domestic issues like
hunger and spousal abuse will not take a vaca-
tion.
It was just weeks ago that we stood in shul,
asked for forgiveness, and prayed for a year of
peace and prosperity.
We must now continue to cast light on the is-
sues facing our people, our country and our fam-
ilies. When the malls are closed, the parties end,
and the last college football games are played,
we still need one another to deal with difficult
problems. We should enjoy this month's festive
feeling, but we should fmd in its Chanukah lights
the issues of glaring importance.
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Letters
Policing
Kids At Shul
I was grateful to see a major ar-
ticle concerning behavior of
young people at b'nai mitzvah.
I have been ushering at Tem-
ple Israel for 41 years. I use the
word "ushering" loosely, as for
the past 10 years or so, a better
word would be "policeman."
The young people are coming
to services to have a good time,
not to pray. It starts when the
parents drop them off and go on
their way. Many have no respect
for a house of worship. Our Rab-
bi Syme is correct when he
states the worse part is when
they talk during the Kaddish. I
find it equally offensive when the
bar/bat mitzvah part of the ser-
vice is completed, and they walk
out in mass when the rabbi is
about to give his sermon.
I do not blame the young peo-
ple; I blame the parents.
My memory of being a very
young boy is walking to the syn-
agogue with my grandfather and
father. What memories will to-
day's young people have?
Leonard H. Trunsky
West Bloomfield
Baseless
Accusations
In the aftermath of the assassi-
nation of Prime Minister Rabin,
which traumatized Israeli soci-
ety and American Jews, voices
of reason have been heard call-
ing for a return to traditional
Jewish values of mutual respect,
civil discourse and tolerance of
legitimate dissent. Sadly, there
is invariably one in the crowd
who strikes a discordant note
aimed at stereotyping and de-
monizing Jews and organiza-
tions.
The note of discord was re-
gretfully sounded by an Israeli,
Avi Zechory, who, in a letter in
the Dec. 1 Jewish News remi-
niscent of the McCarthy era,
sought to smear and vilify Jew-
ish organizations as "enemies of
Israel" worthy of rejection and
condemnation. Thus, he mali-
ciously and falsely libeled the
Zionist Organization of Ameri-
ca as an "extreme right-wing or-
ganization" that "lobbied Wash-
ington against sending U.S.
forces to support (?) the Golan
Heights in case of peace."
Since the question of sending
U.S. troops to the Golan never
came up for consideration in the
U.S. Congress, lobbying for or
against the Golan operation nev-
er took place either by ZOA or
any other organization. What
did take place was a seminar
convened under the auspices of
the Center for Security Policy in
Washington where 11 American
military experts concluded that
"an international force on the
Golan cannot be relied upon to
deter or defeat attacks against
the more vulnerable party — in
this case, Israel."
The military experts further
warned that "if U.S. forces on the
Golan were to suffer casualties,
there would be U.S. public pres-
sure to end the Golan mission,
and Israel's image as a self-re-
liant U.S. ally would be tar-
nished."
So much for Mr. Zechory's
baseless accusations.
Percy Kaplan
Southfield
Not A War
To Win
David Ben-Gurion warned us
that the only war that Israel
could never win is the war be-
tween the Jews.
Woody Sandweiss
Oak Park
Underestimating
Diverse Opinions
Apart from its intolerant name
calling, Avi Zechory's letter (Jew-
ish News, Dec. 1) is in error in
suggesting that, in lobbying "in
Washington against sending
U.S. forces to support the Golan
Heights in case of peace," my or-
ganization, the Zionist Organi-
zation of America, represents a
"deranged support of the most
extreme elements of the right
wing."
Apparently, Mr. Zechory un-
derestimates the diversity of
UNDERESTIMATING page 12