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If You Are A Survivor,
Collect What Is Owed You
On Sunday, what could turn out to be arguably
the most important conference held anywhere in
Michigan is slated for Congregation Shaarey Zedek
at 1 p.m.
Holocaust survivors from around the region will
be given an opportunity to hear presentations from
compensation expert William R. Marks and
Claims Conference official Greg Schneider.
The event, planned and coordinated by Fran
Victor, will give survivors an opportunity to learn.
This is not about disputing anyone's claims to
any sort of compensation. It almost boggles the
mind that the pain and suffering that the sur-
vivors experienced could ever be compensated ad-
equately. No, this conference will discuss the "how."
As Mr. Marks will clearly explain, this is all about
legal issues and bureaucracy and how to best nav-
igate those legal avenues to obtain what is right-
fully owed.
- Ms. Victor has asked The Jewish News to make
it clear to those who plan on coming not to bring
documentation and not to plan to tell their stories
to the speakers. This is one of those town meet-
ings where it would best serve the Holocaust sur-
vivors to ask straightforward questions that will
help compensate them.
Hundreds are expected in what could be the
largest meeting of its kind held in the United
States. We suggest you get there in a timely fash-
ion. There is free transportation available from
both campuses of the Jewish Community Center.
Bring pens and notebooks and your questions.
This is going to be an important day.
T H E
PROMISED LAND
THE CONTINUING STORY OF JEWISH LIFE IN THE DIASPORA
by Jordan B. Gorfinkel
ISRAEL 15 BEING UNREALISTIC
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DETR OIT J E WIS H NEW S
License To Offend
We can't imagine what could be more inten- honorable than what they claim.)
tionally offensive than the license plates some
The state answered this challenge by revok-
low-life in Virginia chose to buy from the state. ing the plates; the case is still in court.
Until Monday, Ryan Maziarka's vehicle plate
In that case, it was African-Americans; in the
read ZYKLON B, in tribute to the poisonous gas Virginia case, it's the Jews' ox that's being gored.
used in the extermination of Jews and others in Can we retain our devotion to the ideal of free
Nazi death camps during World War II. The tags speech when the price is the pain and degrada-
were issued in 1995, the year Mr. Maziarka was tion of our own people?
convicted of scrawling racial and religious slurs
One easy answer for Virginia, Maryland and
on a predominantly black church.
any other state facing a prickly license plate prob-
On Monday, the Virginia Department of Mo- lem is simply to ban vanity plates entirely, and
tor Vehicles revoked the plates on the grounds for that matter to ban all personal expression in
it violated a policy that prohibits tags deemed by any government-sponsored arena. As long as the
a review committee as "socially and ethnically censorship isn't based on content, the Consti-
insensitive or damaging."
tution allows it.
We're sure someone will come down the pike
What it forbids is selective censorship based
and outdo this ugly exploitation of the First on the ideas behind the speech — short of ob-
Amendment's free speech guarantee. And, just scenity. Smarter judicial scholars than us would
as it was in this case, the Anti-Defamation have to decide whether a "ZYKLON B" license
League will argue that hate speech is unaccept- plate is de facto obscene.
able.
The harder question is
After the initial wave of revul-
whether such expression should
Society that
sion and outrage passes — and
be allowed, even when it causes
for some it may never pass — the devalues free speech anger and pain. Isn't it easier to
license plate issue suggests two
just let people say what they
silences the
important questions: Should the
want on their own time and dol-
government selectively ban
lar, and not involve the govern-
minority.
patently offensive expressions of
ment? What is the cost of
speech in government-sanctioned
trimming the outermost edges
settings, such as automobile license plates? And of free speech, the territories occupied only by lu-
if so, who gets to decide what is patently offen- natics, neo-Nazis, militia-types and other pro-
sive, beyond the famous "seven dirty words"? fessional haters?
Even the Supreme Court couldn't define ob-
The cost is a less vital society, certainly one
scenity — it just knows it when it sees it.
which devalues free speech. We're seeing it again
Maryland faced a similar situation last year in the renewed campaign for an anti-flag burn-
when someone discovered that the Sons of Con- ing amendment to the Constitution. Can my
federate Veterans — a group that claims only to words be so painful to you that I should be pro-
honor the sacrifice and historical significance of hibited from saying them?
Confederate soldiers and not the racist cause
Free expression is a safety valve for more dan-
they fought to defend — were riding around with gerous impulses. Let's not confuse the words with
vanity plates that included a small Confederate the actions. And never forget that a society that
flag. (We'll leave it to the disputants in that case devalues free speech always starts by silencing
to judge whether the SCV's motives are any less the minority. _
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COMMENTS? SUGGESTIONS? KVETCHES? EMAIL US AT >TPL@JEWISHCARTOON. COM<
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•
Letters
Day Schools
Worth Supporting
In the May 9 issue, The Jewish
News published Laurence Imer-
man's community view titled
`The Education Question: Is Day
School The Answer?"
Mr. Imerman extensively dis-
cusses the day school views of
his friend "Marv," who has re-
cently moved to Australia. Mary
tells us the Sydney Morning Her-
ald reports that more than 50
percent of the Jewish school-
aged community attends the five
local day schools. Mary laments
the significant investment in day
school as the reason that atten-
dance has increased. Mary is dis-
couraged that the Detroit Jewish
community is headed down the
same path.
Mary neglected to state an-
other important factor in the se-
lection of these schools — the
Jewish day schools of Australia
are ranked as the best educa-
tional institutions in the coun-
try, according to the country's
own survey of its schools.
As the leader of Detroit's Hil-
lel Day School, I note we have al-
most doubled the size of the
school in the past decade. In the
coming year, we project an en-
rollment of over 700 students.
Fortunately, I believe the rea-
sons parents send their students
to Detroit's Hillel are some of the
same as in Australia.
We have found that by pro-
viding an excellent quality gen-
eral studies education and a
serious course of Judaic studies
in a bi-lingual environment we
have been able to attract a grow-
ing group of families committed
to a day-school education.
In the annual Jewish News
highlight of the best high school
graduates, we always note our
alumni are represented in dis-
proportionately high numbers.
Our graduates go to the best col-
leges, become professionals,
business leaders, educators, pro-
fessors, researchers and, yes,
even a rabbi or two.
We pride ourselves on being
open, inclusive and respectful of
all denominations of Judaism.
We provide an environment
open to those parents who may
not know Hebrew and who are
SUPPORTING page 28