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T H E
PROMISED LAND
Few leaders seem to make as much common
sense when they speak as Israel Prime Minis-
ter Binyamin Netanyahu. He uses simple log-
ic, concrete facts and crisp English to express
opinions with which most Israelis — and mil-
lions of Americans of all faiths — agree.
"We are being told to pay for the privilege of
not being killed," Mr. Netanyahu said Monday
in a speech before meeting with President Bill
Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Al-
bright. "We are not going to do that."
Mr. Netanyahu was speaking against the no-
tion of those who said that if Israel stopped
building a Jewish neighborhood on a barren
hilltop in east Jerusalem, the Palestinian Au-
thority would prevent terrorist attacks and push
forward the peace process.
Who can argue with the prime minister's log-
ic? We can debate how Israel went about the
husing project, but we can never condone Pales-
tinian terrorism as a response. If Yassir Arafat
has a problem with Mr. Netanyahu's actions,
refusing to meet the Israeli leader will not solve
it.
The Palestinians should know that when Mr.
Netanyahu vows to keep Jerusalem united un-
der full Israeli sovereignty, when he asks the
media to look into Mr. Arafat's repeated and
documented violation of the Oslo Accords, and
when he calls for Jewish unity in the face of
mounting international pressure, he speaks to
most of us.
If so, why do Mr. Netanyahu's words seem to
fall on deaf ears at home and abroad? Maybe
because in today's complicated reality, when in-
formation is cheap, words have been so deflat-
ed that they mean, virtually nothing. In the
diplomatic marketplace, only action carries
weight.
And when it comes to action, Mr. Netanyahu
has been confusing. He painfully pulls out of
Hebron, one of Judaism's four holy cities, and
then, against the advice of security forces, push-
es ahead with the housing project.
He accuses Mr. Arafat of releasing Hamas
terrorists and thus giving a green light for ter-
rorism, then withdraws his extradition request
for Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook, the
Hamas leader jailed in the United States.
And he returns from his crucial Washington
visit this week with nothing to revive what
everyone knows is a dying peace process that
could give way to war.
In doing all of this, Mr. Netanyahu is react-
ing to the realpolitik of the moment. He has al-
ways excelled in speaking on behalf of the Israeli
government. But now that he is Israel's demo-
cratically elected leader, he must reveal his com-
prehensive, long-term plan for Israel's security
and growth so that we can understand what he
is doing.
WISH NEWS
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Open The Passover Door
Egad! There are only nine shopping days left un-
til Passover. (Make it 10 if you plan to scramble
down the aisles of a grocery store in the rapidly
diminishing hours before the seder.) So once again
we are cleaning, buying and inviting as we pre-
pare for the annual ritual, which starts at sun-
down on April 21.
As such, next week's Detroit Jewish News will
feature our annual package of Passover stories.
Our special edition will be crammed with stories
on everything about Passover — from the reli-
gious basis of not eating chametz to the mitzvah
of feeding the poor, from dealing with the gas-
trointestinal effects of the bread of affliction to our
Kosher Bites ratings of Pesach cereals, from a spe-
cial piece of Passover fiction to the best Passover
videos available to entertain your family during
the holiday.
As this year's holiday of freedom approaches,
we should note the time and place in which we
live. In the past few years, hundreds of Jews, many
by Jordan B. Gorfinkel
7 EMAIL US AT > TPL@J EWISHCARTOON.COM<
Action, Not Words
THE CONTINUING STORY OF JEWISH LIFE IN THE DIASPORA
of them New Americans, have moved to our corn-
munity. Others have moved away. Some longtime
Detroiters are perhaps new "empty-nesters" whose
children will not return home for the holiday.
Many of us also recall the comfort of being in-
vited to share the holiday at the tables of others.
So let's redouble our efforts to make sure every-
one has a family to celebrate with at our seders.
Doing this is an inherent part of Passover's mes-
sage. The Haggadah implores us to "let all who
are hungry come and eat." In addition to the ob-
vious physical cravings, this could also describe
the emotional hunger to be at a warm, friendly
seder.
Finally, at one point in the evening, we open
the door for the prophet Elijah. He could be, ac-
cording to Jewish tradition, coming to announce
the Messiah's arrival. Throughout the year, and
particularly on Passover, we must always open
our doors for our community's newest, and oldest,
members. ❑
In his new book, The Vanishing American Jew, Alan Dershowitzvvrites that
assimilation, coupled with intermarriage and low birth rates among non-Or-
thodox Jews, is threatening the very existence of the American Jewish com-
munity. By the year 2076, he asserts, being Jewish will be a matter of
historical curiosity. Do you agree?
To respond: "So, What Do You Think?"
27676 Franklin Road, Southfield, MI 48034
Letters
Our Children
Deserve The Best
Regarding the recent lament
about the [high] cost of child care
at the JCC ("A Heavy Price" April
4): There is a price to be paid for
the subcontracting of parental re-
sponsibility.
When did we begin to devalue
our children? The first three years
of a child's life are critical — the
brain's activity shapes a lifetime
of experience. How can a parent
hand over a child expecting safe-
keeping, nurturing, feeding,
changing, stimulation — and not
demand a ration of one caregiver
to three children?
The brain's greatest growth
spurt draws to a close around the
age of 10: How can a parent not
provide a wealth of cultural, emo-
tional and intellectual experience?
In the early 1900s, people who
couldn't afford to take care of their
children turned them over to or-
phanages. What's the difference
between an orphanage for desti-
tute children and an "affordable"
day-care center staffed by illiter-
ate, minimum-wage "workers,"
furnished with row upon row of
cots and cribs, outfitted with gar-
ish plastic swings and slides on a
treeless, carbon-monoxided, street-
corner playground?
At least at the orphanage, a
parent could hope that her child
would receive better care than at
home.
As a working woman who
made the career sacrifice and had
the luxury of staying at home with
her preschool children, I sympa-
thize with the single working
women who have no choice other
than day care. The advantages the
JCC provides — a healthy Jewish
environment, trained staff, kosher
food — are the next best thing to
home.
Yes, it's expensive. But if you
are entrusting your children for
anywhere from two to eight hours
a day during their most formative
years, don't you want the best?
Dorie Schwedel
Franklin
Children take time out at the JCC.