Editorials
Planting Trees Helps
Keep Israel Vibrant
Trees provide a ready reminder of the role
It's one of Israel's best friends. For 97 years, the
environmentalism plays within Jewish teach-
Jewish National Fund has helped make our
ings. Trees guard against global warming. They
ancient homeland habitable by looking to one
provide food, shade and windbreaks. They
of nature's wonders: the ilan (tree).
beautify the land and produce oxygen. They
The JNF was founded at the Fifth Zionist
provide homes for song birds and small ani-
Congress in Basel, Switzerland, in 1901. Since
mals. They prevent soil erosion, fertilize soil
then, it has planted 205 million trees, devel-
and prevent flooding.
oped 300,000 acres of woodlands, created 440
In swamplands, trees soak up excess water,
major parks and picnic areas, and reclaimed
creating bountiful
875,000 acres of dif-
farmlands and fields.
ficult terrain —
Trees planted in the
from the rocky
desert raise the under-
expanses of the
ground water table
Galilee to the desert
and restore humidity
stretches of the
to the air.
Negev.
Trees also play a
During this week
key defense role in
of Tu B'Shevat, the
Israel, where national
Jewish New Year of
security is at constant
Trees, it's fitting to
risk. They not only
spotlight the JNF as
suppress dust at air
it reorganizes
force bases but also
nationally and local-
furnish camouflage
ly to become more
Israeli children plant a sapling on Tu B'Shevat.
for border towns.
accountable and
Generations of
productive in antici-
American
kids
have
raided
their
piggybanks to
2001.
pation of its centennial year in
plant saplings overseas in memory of a relative
The JNF is a shared and perpetual trust of
or in honor of a friend. In turn, these kids
all K'lal Yisrael (the Jewish people). It works to
have struck up an indelible bond with Eretz
make the countryside compatible for all who
Yisrael and, in so doing, have discovered a liv-
live in, support and visit Israel. To partner with
ing return on loving the land.
the JNF is to become a stakeholder in Eretz
JNF's message transcends theology. It tran-
Yisrael (the Land of Israel).
scends political issues of the moment. A tree is
The JNF owns 23 percent of the land in
not Orthodox, Conservative, Reform or
Israel outright. With the Israel Lands Authori-
Reconstructionist. It belongs to everyone. ❑
ty, it co-administers 85 percent of the land as
well as natural resources like reservoirs and
infrastructure like roads.
Responding To Meet
Readership Needs
A significant part of our shleekhoot (mission) as
a Jewish community newspaper in metro
Detroit is to adapt and change to meet ever-
shifting readership needs. To that end, we've
been busy introducing several new features to
your Jewish News.
These include:
• Phraseology, a dash of Yiddish to help
keep the Jewish language alive (Page 5).
• What Do You Think?, a periodic teaser on
major news stories that especially lend them-
selves to generating letters to the editor.
• This & That, a fast-paced, snappy compi-
lation of news tidbits from around the com-
munity (Page 29).
• Remember When, a nostalgic look back at
Jewish News headlines from over the years
(Page 29).
• A bigger Opinion section to expand
opportunities for guest columns, staff columns
and letters (Pages 33-39).
• Mazel Tov, a special page spotlighting
your simchah — be it an engagement, a wed-
ding, a bar/bat mitzvah, a brit, a baby naming,
a milestone anniversary or a 100th (or older)
birthday (Page 53).
Enjoy!
And let us know what you think. Write:
Editor, Detroit Jewish News, 27676 Franklin
Road, Southfield, MI 48034. Fax: (248) 354-
6069. E-mail: thedjn@aol.com CI
••
A Jew From Iraq
Assesses Saddam
Eli Rashty, a residential builder in West Bloomfield, stands
near a photograph of his family in Iraq before they moved to
Israel in 1951. Although he no longer knows anyone in Iraq,
Rashty has heard that Saddam Hussein "doesn't bother the Jew-
ish people anymore."
"Since the Gulf War, he was telling Jewish people who want-
ed to leave Iraq that they could leave. Some people said his
mother was close to the Jews before and that's why he's better
to the Jewish people, but I don't know," Rashty said.
Rashty believes that if Saddam targets Israel for attack, as he
did during the Persian Gulf War in 1991, Israel won't "sit quiet
this time."
LETTERS
Besser View
Is One-Sided
Your Washington correspon-
dent James D. Besser put a
titillating one-sided spin on
reporting Mr. Netanyahu's
recent visit to the U.S. to
meet with President Clinton
("Bibi's Risky Strategy" Jan.
23).
In November 1998, when
the Israeli leader was in the
United States awaiting a call
from the White House to
meet with the president, he
was comtemptuously
rebuffed, presumably to make
him feel the weight of the
president's "displeasure" with
his "dilatory tactics" in the
peace process.
At the same time, Ameri-
can Jewish leaders assembled
at the annual conference of
the Council of Jewish Federa-
tions in Indianapolis and
demonstrated their own cal-
culated frigidity towards the
Israeli prime minister by giv-
ing his address to the assem-
bly a "chilly reception."
The Conference of Presi-
dents of Major American Jew-
ish Organizations, on the
other hand, in a letter to the
president, published in the
New York Times, expressed full
yet somewhat reserved sup-
port for the prime minister
and his determination to
move the peace process for-
ward.
From Israel, the prime min-
ister issued a brief statement
characterizing the president's
snub as "unbecoming." When
the invitation to meet with the
president was announced in
January, Mr. Netanyahu want-
ed to make sure that this time
around his reception in the
2/13
1998
33