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Editorials

openly cool to the Israeli prime minister's pos-
A long-time subscriber tapped one of our corn-
ture in the peace process.
pany's editors on the shoulder during syna-
But then again, there will be another day,
gogue services last Shabbat and shook his
another struggle. Netanyahu is supposed to
head. "What can happen next to poor Bibi
offer a military pullout of some 12-15 percent
and Israel?" he asked. "It seems like nothing is
of the West Bank. This will undoubtedly bring
going right."
resistance and threats from his own coalition.
Foreign
Minister
before
This was the day
And all of these
David Levy resigned
events come under
from the govern-
2. the umbrella of
ment, leaving
public calls for
Netanyahu with a
new elections.
narrow 61-59
Nu?
majority in the
§
Not
much, real-
Knesset. Israel,
e, ly.
however, is a coun-
As prime minis-
try where shaking
ter, the late
the dust off after a
Yitzhak Rabin and
fall is part of its 50-
his foreign minis-
year history and a
ter,
Shimon Peres,
likely part of its
had
a 61-59
future.
majority
in push-
By Tuesday
ing
through
the
morning, we were
Oslo II accords.
reading that the
If there is a call
slim parliamentary
for
new elections,
majority had passed Jewish settlers dance in front of a mobile home on the
we
urge the
Israel's $57.7 billion West Bank.
Netanyahu
gov-
budget. Levy sat in
ernment
to
listen
the Knesset cafeteria
to the voices of the Israeli people. -Whether we
for the debate. Then he and four other mem-
agree or disagree with Netanyahu, the people-
bers of his Gesher faction voted against the
of Israel alone, through their representatives,
measure. The reason: their contention that
must decide whether to dismantle this govern-
Netanyahu was not allocating enough funds
ment.
for the poor. Levy also was critical of
To our friend in synagogue we can only say,
Netanyahu's handling of negotiations with the
"Wait."
If you don't like or understand what's
Palestinian Authority.
happening, wait a couple of days. Sometimes
This all leaves Netanyahu politically weaker
you won't like the change, but there will be no
while preparing for his upcoming meeting
shortage of it. ❑
with U.S. President Bill Clinton, who has been

No Double Standard

Jews and Muslims alike shun pork. It is this
fairly well-known common aspect of the two
religions that adds a measure of irony to the
sad story of a plot two weeks ago by Jewish
extremists to throw a pig's head on the Temple
Mount in Jerusalem.
S. The extremists would have been utterly hor-
rified had Jews been the targets of such a plot,
and yet they proceeded with cool calmness to
plan this despicable act.
Besides posing indirect danger to Israelis
and Palestinians — this act, if carried out,
could have spurred violence — they came up
with a dumb idea. Even the main suspect,
Avigdor Eskin, has said, "It's a stupid idea and
not worth taking a risk for."
But it brings to mind a bigger issue —
Jewish violence and bigotry.
In paying close attention to what is going
on in the Jewish world, we often focus on

1/9
1998

24

wrongdoing — against our people. We forget
that some Jews are just as fanatically negative
as the non-Jews we loath and fear.
Sometimes, our friends, neighbors and fam-
ilies utter prejudiced comments that, if spoken
against Jews, would make us furious. Yet we
keep quiet or laugh along.
We should apply the same standard to com-
ments and actions directed against other peo-
ple as we to those aimed at us. Only then will
we be able to look ourselves in the mirror and
know that we stand on solid moral ground.
The potential for Jewish violence is now
greater than ever. As Knesset Member Gideon
Ezra noted, hundreds of Jewish extremists in
Israel are prepared to break the law to halt the
peace process. We must do everything we can
to not only stop them, but also to look at
them the same way we would at any other dis-
turbers of the peace. ❑

Photo by AP/

Another Day, A New Struggle

New U.S. Ambassador to Israel Edward S. Walker Jr. signs the
guest book at the presidential residence in Jerusalem after present-
ing his credentials.

LETTERS

Rekindling
And The JCC

Your article in the Dec. 26
issue tided "Rekindling
Shabbat At The JCC" con-
tained some misinformation
on the Center's participation
in the community
"Rekindling Shabbat" pro-
grams and confused this pro-
gram with the use of the
Center on Saturday after-
noons.
You intimated that the
Center is not participating in
the community "Rekindling
Shabbat" project, and this is
incorrect. The Center has
been a full partner with the
Federation, synagogues and
other Jewish agencies in the
planning and implementation
of the "Rekindling Shabbat"
project.
Instead of banners in the

parking lot, it was determined
that a banner in the lobby of
the Maple/Drake building
and the distribution of "how
to" pamphlets would be the
most effective ways to reach
thousands of community
members, many unaffiliated
with a synagogue, who pass
through the lobbies of both
buildings on a weekly basis.
In addition, two major
"Rekindling Shabbat" pro-
grams have been scheduled at
the Center, including the Ron
Wolfson lecture, which was
the first community family
event, and the Debbie
Friedman concert which will
take place on Sunday, Jan. 18.
The Center has also devel-
oped several new programs,
one at the JPM called
Havdalah Happening, in
cooperation with JEFF, and a
series of Shabbat workshops
for children during the annual
JCC Book Fair.
The Center also has uti-
REKINDLING on page 26

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