Community Views

Reporter's Notebook

A New Diaspora
As Jews Disseminate

A Valuable Lesson
From Saving A Plane

LAURENCE !MERMAN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

JENNIFER FINER STAFF WRITER

My friend, Jim,
never lacks an
opinion. Trained
as a geographer,
he is paid to offer
his judgment on
where shopping
malls should be
built in Brazil, re-
tail stores located
in France or dealer networks
placed in the suburbs of North
American cities.
My friend views the local Jew-
ish community as highly mobile,
lacking concentrated Jewish
neighborhoods. Jim also speaks
of the influence of intermarriage,
the breakup of the ex-
tended and the nuclear
family, and lessening
affiliation rates. These
factors, he insists, de-
crease the likelihood of
maintaining a coherent
Jewish neighborhood
for more than a brief
period.
Yet, Jewish institu-
tions in the West Bloom-
field area are in the
throes of a construction
boom. The new Shir
Shalom is in existence and plans
are afoot to add classroom space.
Shaarey Zedek-B'nai Israel will
expend at least $1,600,000 for ad-
ditional classrooms. Temple Israel
has enlarged its building and Con-
gregation B'nai Moshe is about to
embark on an expansion of its fa-
cility.
Hillel Day School — just out-
side the area — is expending mil-
lions to dramatically improve its
physical plant. The Lubavitch
movement hopes to construct an
enormous school complex near
the Jewish Community Center.
And this does not include the $5
million to be spent at the JCC or

oments before his
plane was to take off,
David Salama took a
risk.
He called over a flight atten-
dant and asked her to look out
the window. The jet was furi-
ously leaking fluid. The closer
it got to takeoff, the more ner-
vous David became.
David was leaving San Juan
last month with his family
when he noticed the liquid
streaming from the wing. He re-
mained silent, however, until
seconds before takeoff. Surely
someone else would say some-
thing, he thought, or the pilots,
through their sophisticated in-
strumentation, would know
there was a problem.
Because David, a North
Farmington High School senior,
is a nervous flier, he assumed
nothing was really wrong. The
problem had to be his nerves
playing tricks on him and mak-
ing an issue out of nothing.
When it was obvious the liq-
uid continued to flow undetect-
ed, David turned around and
yelled to the flight attendant.
By that time, she already was
seated several rows behind him.
Without getting up, she told
him it was condensation and
not to worry.
But the teen's insistence led
the flight attendant to finally
come look out the window. She
saw immediately that the
plane's fuel was leaking. She
quickly notified the pilot and the
takeoff was aborted.
David took a risk in engaging
the attention of an adult in a sit-
uation in which he was unsure.
After all, if the pilots didn't no-
tice something was wrong,
wouldn't it make sense that one
of the airport personnel servic-
ing the plane would be alert to
a problem?
David easily admitted to his
hope that someone else would
see the leak. The ground work-
ers, the pilots and the other pas-
sengers didn't seem to notice
anything unusual. Even the
flight attendant initially
brushed aside his concern.
We can learn a great deal
from David's courage and ini-
tiative. Whether we speak out
for ourselves or for the safety
and well-being of others in a
critical or offensive situation,
David's story illustrates the im-
portance of vocalizing our
thoughts and opinions. Recent-
ly, I was at a party when a
woman I did not know referred
to her friend's long, polished fin-
gernails as "nigger nails " I was
appalled at the woman's blatant
racism.
Unfortunately, I was equal-
ly appalled with my own reac-
tion. At first, all I could do was

Laurence Imerman is a
Birmingham attorney.

the increased capacity of the
Federation Apartments.
Jim keeps asking the question,
"What happens to th ?se institu-
tions if the Jewish population con-
tinues its movement west and
north and Jews become more dis-
persed within the general com-
munity?"
My friend's response is that the
institutions will experience in-
creasing difficulty obtaining mem-
bers as the density of Jews in the
market area decreases. In the
short run, costs will increase as
more effort is expended in mem-
bership recruitment and reten-
tion. The institutions, in the long

programs and religious experi-
ences to its massive and active
congregation. Hillel Day School's
enrollment is increasing and the
educational institution has be-
gun exploring the possibility of
a high school. And the JCC con-
tinues to be a focal point of cul-
tural activities.
Perhaps the facts show a situ-
ation more akin to the movie Field
of Dreams than the placement of
the latest regional shopping mall.
"If we build it, they will come."
They will come despite the
lack of easy freeway access and
an inadequate road system. Jews
will come, regardless of whether
they live in Metamora,
Milford, Canton, Tren-
ton or Grosse Pointe.
On the other hand,
Jim's evaluation may be
correct in the long run.
Instead of placing all our
communal eggs in one ge-
ographic basket, alterna-
tives must be developed
to serve a dispersed pop-
ulation unwilling to trav-
el increasingly long
distances.
Strategies might in-
run, must move or close their clude utilizing the Internet
to create institutions without
doors.
A trip to Detroit, according to walls. Jewish institutions might
Jim, teaches the consequences of jointly offer classes in areas
population shifts. Whether he or far removed from West Bloom-
she goes to the Dexter-Davison field. Or Jewish cultural events
neighborhood or the Seven Mile could be taken "on the road" to
Road area, a person undertaking various parts of the metropoli-
such an expedition sees syna- tan region.
Institutions thereby shift their
gogues that are now churches or
Jewish communal institutions emphasis from buildings to ser-
that have become public buildings. vices. The aim is for the services
I do not subscribe to Jim's ex- to come to the people rather than
tremely pessimistic assessment, the reverse.
Jim is a very convincing fellow.
for the evidence is against it. At
least in the short term, the mem- His argument is cogent and
bership of West Bloomfield area historically valid. But just as
synagogues and temples is grow- people will travel to great
ing. Temple Israel is poised to universities and cultural institu-
become Michigan's first megasy- tions, Jews might travel to West
nagogue, offering a full range of Bloomfield. But for how long? ❑

Justice Or Money?
An Ethical Question

KENNETH LASSON SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

I

he specter of an American
Jewish lawyer defending
a suspected Hamas ter-
rorist raises not just
the hackles of Israeli Jews and
their co-religionists, but ques-
tions about professional ethics
as well.
There appears to be more be-
hind Stanley Cohen's represen-
tation of Mousa Mohammed
Abu Marzook, the head of
Hamas' political wing who was
arrested two weeks ago in Wash-

ington, than his explanation on
"60 Minutes" recently that "ob-
viously only a Jew could do the
job." The implication is that
there could be no better defense
attorney than the one who would
have to argue passionately
against his own interests.
No, here the lawyer named
Cohen need not have applied in
order to uphold the solemn oath
of his calling. He easily and in
good conscience could have de-
ferred to another colleague.

He may be Mr. Marzook's best
friend, but he will serve him as
an unnecessarily provocative
sideshow, a bizarre distraction
to the case at hand.
Honest lawyering requires
honest motivations. If Mr. Co-
hen's true purpose was not at all
the scrupulous pursuit of justice,
but solely to make a name — or
money — for himself, he's cho-
sen to engage in cynical debase-
ment of the profession — and of
himself. ❑
-

glance, with a disapproving
look, in the woman's direction.
I wanted to say something, and
I took a few moments to think
about what I could possibly tell
her.
Meanwhile, my friend spoke
up. She informed the woman
that her choice of words was in-
appropriate and offensive.
It can be difficult to confront
someone about racist and hate-
ful views because of, if nothing
else, a lack of knowing what to
say. Experience has taught me
that all I can do is tell someone
that his or her language is of-
fensive. This obviously will not
lead anyone to abandon his or
her racist ways. But, chances
are, he or she will hopefully
make a conscious effort not to
speak with malice in my pres-
ence. And, at the least, I have
that person thinking about
what he or she is saying.

Taking a risk by
speaking out.

Speaking out means taking
a risk, especially if the offend-
ing person is in a position of au-
thority. Often, it's easier not to
say anything than to risk being
wrong, or even worse, being
ridiculed.
Just like David, our first in-
stinct is to do nothing. We must,
however, resist the urge to be
apathetic. We cannot stand
back and let a bad situation
grow worse.
It's rare to be in a situation
where speaking out could save
the lives of others. But that's not
to say that vocalizing our
thoughts, when doing so in-
volves taking a risk, doesn't
make a difference.
We can take David's actions
a step further and apply the no-
tion of speaking out to the elec-
toral process. Although voting
won't save lives and make he-
roes out of ordinary people, not
only is it our right as American
citizens, it's also good practice
in expressing our opinions. And,
contrary to popular belief, our
votes can make a difference.
After the plane returned safe-
ly to the gate, the stewardess
recognized David's heroics by
pinning plastic wings on his
shirt. Passengers also ac-
knowledged the teen's action
with a round of applause.
David did more than earn his
wings. He reaffirmed the im-
portance of speaking out in an
uncomfortable situation. His ac-
tion proves that each of us must
overcome our own shortcomings
and insecurities to do what we
know in our heart is right. ❑

