Commemorating Tamarack's
Importance To Our Community
It's so difficult to pin down what Camp Tama-
rack means to our Jewish community. It's in its
95th year, and getting ready for a summer of
commemorative events. Those who have been
touched by Tamarack — as a camper or as a staff
member — can look back at their experiences
and remove their memories like some valuable
from a safety deposit box.
It's often noted about Jewish Detroit that
young people are in a hurry to leave home after
college to check out places where the "grass is
greener." Often, they return to this area, espe-
cially when it comes time to settle down, marry
and raise a family. One of the attractions is their
DETROIT J E WIS H NE W S
32
• • •
THE CONTINUING STORY OF JEWISH LIFE IN THE DIASPORA
by Jordan B. Gorfinkel
I
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AN ENVOLOPE- Sral1/N6 PARTY
WAS A GREAT IDEA.
ceived weakness of the Jewish fighter. The stun-
ning victory, achieved at lightning speed, cata-
pulted Israel into the role of regional
superpower, with a military that to this day
commands international respect.
Most important, the war convinced the Arab
world, once and for all, that Israel was not going
to be erased from the face of the Earth.
But despite the pride and enthusiasm for Is-
rael and Jewish peoplehood spawned by the vic-
tory, the war's place in the annals of history is
that of a mixed blessing for both Israelis and Di-
aspora Jewry.
The war never produced the advent of Middle
East peace and prosperity promised by the opti-
mists of those times. Further, the still viable ar-
gument for Israel's underdog status fails to ring
true for most of the world, particularly in the bi-
ased halls of the United Nations, when the lives
of 1.5 million Palestinians in the territories re-
main in Israeli hands. And human rights viola-
tions continue to tarnish Israel's image in the
world, thus preventing the Jewish state from be-
coming, in the words of the Bible, "a light unto
the nations."
We can only pray that the sacrifices of the war
— namely the deaths of 679 Israelis and count-
less Arabs — will benefit the establishment of a
Middle East for which strife and conflict are no
longer options.
OK, so we're not usually betting people. And we're not usually this
cocky. But the Wings are up 2-0 as of press time, so ... here's the deal.
(If) When the Red Wings take the Cup, the staff of the Philadel-
phia Jewish Exponent will pay up with the Philadelphia All Star
Gourmet Nashers Delight Package. This includes a case of Tasty-
cakes, a case of peanut chews, pretzels and chips, and a sheet cake
in the shape of the Liberty Bell.
If (never in a million years) the #*%@&" ToS Flyers somehow
"win," then we'll ante up with a case of Vernor's and case of Sander's
Hot Fudge.
We'll donate our winnings to Yad Ezra and the Oakland Coun-
ty Food Bank.
Take that, Legion of Doom.
M
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connection to the community.
If there's anything most symbolic of that tie,
it's the summers these Detroiters and their
friends have spent out in Ortonville, out West or
in any number of places Tamarack Camps has
taken them. Like the many university systems
here in the state, Tamarack enjoys an alumni
support system almost unparalleled by camps
across the country.
Our Close Up this week marks some of these
personal camp stories, many of which transcend
dirty laundry or funky food. Camp Tamarack
is so much to so many. We think you know what
we mean.
Six Days 30 Years Later
Like Mount Rushmore, their faces are for-
ever etched into our collective Jewish heart
and consciousness. Young men with their
arms flung around each other, fatigued by the
rigors of defending their homeland from
invading forces, reach the holiest spot in
Judaism, teary-eyed in their disbelief that they
were the ones after nearly two millennia to re-
store Jerusalem as the capital of the Jewish peo-
ple.
Thirty years later, David Rubinger's famous
photograph of Israeli paratroopers at the West-
ern Wall remains a testament to the Six-Day
War's capacity to tug at patriotic heartstrings.
It reminds even the most entrenched cynic of the
monumental victory achieved by Israel Defense
Forces this week in 1967.
Israel's enemies, in the words of Egyptian
President Gamal Abdel Nasser, were deter-
mined to "drive the Jews into the sea" — not an
unlikely scenario considering the military vul-
nerability of the 19-year-old Jewish state
against a mighty alliance of Arab nations.
Hailed by some on the religious right (both Jew-
ish and non-Jewish) as a miracle fueled by Di-
vine will, Israel's success at fighting back the
enemy and capturing the Sinai, the Golan
Heights, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and
most important, Jerusalem, forever dispelled
pre- and post-Holocaust notions about the per-
THE PROMISED LAND
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Letters
Remembering
Father Bill
It was in 1975 that I, along with
10 other teen-agers from Michi-
gan State Temple Youth, served
in the inner city as Mitzvah
Corps volunteers.
On one special afternoon, we
met with Father William Cun-
ningham, director of Focus:
HOPE, who oriented us to the
realities of life which were far
different from the suburban ex-
periences we knew.
We learned about and toured
the Focus: HOPE food distribu-
tion center, which provided
food staples to the poor and
the hungry. Father Cunning- Father Bill Cunningham
ham knew he had an opportu- job and youth-group involve-
nity to impact the lives of kids ment.
with open hearts and the desire
I connected volunteer drivers
to help others, and he did just with needy food recipients who
that.
had no transportation of their
For the next four years, while own to the food distribution cen-
finishing high school and ter. This was one of the most re-
throughout most of my college warding experiences of my life:
years, I volunteered with Focus: helping those I did not know to
HOPE as an area coordinator for feed their children.
the food distribution program,
squeezing in whatever time I
FATHER BILL page 35
could between school, a waitress