Continuing Bed Sores

Despite the hopes, the hype and the high
prices, the Danto Family Health Care Center
on the Jewish Community Campus in West
Bloomfield has received its - second unaccept-
able grade from state health•inspectors.
The list of infractions has dramatically
dropped between the January inspection and
the latest state visit which ended Oct. 31. But
excellence, not "improvement," should be the
barometer for the facility's residents, the Jewish
community and, hopefully, for Danto's parent
•
_company, Health Care & Retirement .
Corporation.
Reports of improper temperatures for medi-
cines and food, under-staffing and not follow-
_ ing medical treatment plans area unacceptable
in any facility. In a nursing home that requires
$60,000 to $70,000 per year from its private-
pay patients, the state reports should be espe-
cially galling. •
The larger issue is community oversight.
Has the Jewish Federation abdicated its role in
providing long-term nursing care.for the elder-

ly? Large numbers of Federation volunteers
have worked diligently to make-that statement
untrue. But the results, so far, have left a lot to
be desired.
. 'Federation was between a rock and .a hard
place when it decided, after years of million
dollar losses, to privatiZe its commitment to
-
Jewish nursing home patients and to focus
instead on non-institutional care. Federation's
COJES, the. Commission on Jewish Eldercare
Services, has some wonderful programs operat-
ing and in the planning *stages. But in the tran-
sition from care-provider to care-coordinator
or enhancer, the Jewish community is. moving
too slowly. Too •many Jewish elderly are falling
through the cracks as we slowly get a new sys-
-
tem in place.
And we sympathize with the families of
Marvin and Betty Danto and others who sup-
ported construction of the facility. It must be
especially unnerving to donate thousands of
dollars to an institution that has received two
black eyes in its first year of operation. El

Shame Of It All

The case of Larry Lawrence, the late ambas-
sador to SWitzerland whose burial at Arlington
National Cemetery touched off a firestorm of
controversy, is sad because of what it tellS us
about human frailty. But it's also scary because
it reveals an out-of-control political system in
which even the dead become fodder for parti-
san warriors.
This has nothing to do with the fact that
Lawrence was . Jewish, although his exhumation
and posthumous shaming: are
particularly painful from the.
Jewish point of view..
AmeriCan democracy is
increasingly dominated by the
politics of bitterness and
anger, and by politicians who
are eager to exploit those -quail-
ities for their own gain. -
• We hear it on political talk
shows in which there is no
loyal opposition, only traitors
and villains of almost mythical
proportions. We see it in the
number of good, decent peo-
ple who are shunning public service.
And we see it in the pathetic story of Larry
Lawrence, whose burial in America's most hal-
- lowed soil after his death last year was red meat
to the attack dogs in Congress.
Don't get us wrong; it's clear now that
Lawrence lied about serving with the Merchant
Marine during World War II, a deception that
should have barred his service as an American
envoy. It is sad that key diplomaticposts con-
tinue to go to big campaign donors, a shabby_

12/19
1997

30

policy pursued by every president, Democratic
and Republican.
It's also clear that the State Department did
an inadequate background check on Lawrence
when he was nominated. That's a real issue
that demands serious attention.
But congressional Republicans jumped on
the controversy with unseemly glee. The furor.
became so great that Lawrence's widow had the
body exhumed and moved to a cemetery in
California. •
By all accounts, this was a
deeply flawed man who .
nonetheless led a good life. He
was a major philanthropist
who gave much to Jewish and
other causes, and a political
activist who gave mostly to
Democrats — an obvious fac-
tor in the GOP fury.
He was wrong to invent a
heroic past for himself, but it
was a very human kind of fail-
ing.
Jewish law teaches that it is
forbidden to exhume the dead except for the
most compelling reasons — like reburial in
Israel. The Jewish viewpoint mirrors what most
people, regard as a fundamental human value:
respect for the dead.
Larry Lawrence was exhumed not for a
noble reason, but to satisfy the political blood
lust of politicians for whom the joys of the
political hunt far outweigh the values of decen-
cy and respect that they claim to represent.
Shame, shame, shame.

A pilgrim visits the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem as pa
the pre-holiday season.

LETTERS

Qualities -
Not Lacking

The primary qualification for
an ambassadorial post is the
ability to represent one's
country with diplomacy, dig-
nity, integrity and intelligence
— all of the qualities that
David Hermelin- has demon-
strated so extraordinarily well
throughout his distinguished
career of service to our corn-
rhunity, our city, our country
("An Exceptional
Appointment?" Dec. 5).
President Clinton recog-
nized thoe qualities with his
appointment of Mr. Hermelin
to the post of ambassador of
Norway — qualities that the
Senate has acknowledged with
its swift approval of his nomi-
nation. .
As the leader of several
international Jewish organiza-
tions, Mr. Hermelin is well-
acquainted with the nuances
of diplomacy. He brings great
sensitivity to our nation's role
in the world and our contin-
ued warm relationship with a
close ally.
David Hermelin's service as
ambassador to Norway will
do credit to all Americans,
liberal and conservative alike.

Robert H. N
President, Jewish Federati
Metropolitan D

Reform Are
Not Different

Reform Jews are not diffe
Jews! It seems. as though
Detroit Jewish News has t
this,position over the last
eral y6ars and it has now
reached a point where it
offensive.
Over the last several
there have been many
instances of differentiati
Reform Jews from all of
in articles. .
* In an article about t
rebound of and addition
Temple Emanu-El, there
a deliberate comment ab
the "rebuilding of the no
kosher* kitchen."
* In an article about
Joshua Bennett, the cred
said "Josh Bennett is a
Reform rabbi at Tern
Israel." While in the sam
issue there was an article
about Rabbi Steven Weil
going to the White Hou
with no reference to his-
an Orthodox rabbi.

REFORM on page

33