PUBLISHER'S NOTEBOOK

only about convenience. It's about
EWS: Detroit's Jewish com-
building friendships with fellow
munity raises an estimated
Detroiters and Israelis. It's about
$2-$3 million annually for
incredible attention to detail to assure
universities in Israel.
a
first-rate experience.
VIEWS: Bar-Ilan University, Tech-
Though a frequent visitor to Israel,
nion, Weizmann Institute, the Hebrew
many
of my fondest memories were
University and others benefit from
formed as a participant on
Detroit's long-standing gen-
Michigan Miracle Mission I
erosity with endowed chairs,
in 1993. The "mega" events:
dormitories, schools of busi-
Yom
Hazikaron at the
ness, equipment funds, etc.
Latrun
fortress along the Tel
Israel Prime Minister Ben-
Aviv-Jerusalem
road; Yom
jamin Netanyahu recently
Ha'atzmaut
with
the resi-
told North American Jews to
dents
of
Yavne,
Detroit's
focus more on their own sur-
Project Renewal sister city;
vival in the Diaspora and
welcoming
Shabbat with
Israel should help in more
Teddy, Kollek in Jerusalem;
substantive ways.
ARTH UR M.
planting trees in a new JNF
With Jewish education as
HO R WITZ
forest with Shimon Peres; a
an antidote to assimilation,
Pub lisher
festive farewell dinner in an
Israel's universities must find
El Al hangar with Yitzhak
more ways to train our teach-
Rabin.
ers, improve our curricula and upgrade
While Mission III accepts reserva-
our technology Rather than endow
tions
on a first-come, first-served basis,
another chair for esoteric studies in Tel
Federation
should still find ways to
Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa or Rehovot,
give
preference
to first-time visitors to
local fundraisers for Israeli universities
Israel.
There
is
no
better way to experi-
should heed Netanyahu's words and
ence
the
country
for
the first time —
identify more ways to raise money that
or
anytime
—
than
on
a Michigan
come back to directly benefit our com-
Miracle
Mission.
munity's educational needs.
NEWS: The Rev. James Lyons,
NEWS: Michigan Miracle Mission
founder
of the Ecumenical Institute
III begins recruiting for 1999 Israel
For Jewish-Christian Studies, dies at
visit.
age 60.
VIEWS: It doesn't get any easier or
VIEWS: Though the effects of a
better than this. Check your bags in
long
battle with diabetes made it diffi-
Detroit, board an El Al jet at Detroit
cult
for
him to see, to hold a pen or to
Metro Airport and arrive at Ben-Guri-
peck
at
a
key on a word processor, Jim
on Airport. This mission, however, isn't
Lyons used his booming voice and

Photo by Richard Sheinwald

Miracle Mission, Losing A Friend,
And Morocco: News And Views

N

that alleviates pain during circumci-
sion. Use of anesthesia was shown to
decrease cry, heart rate - and behavior
changes seen in the immediate post-
circumcision period.
During the first two post-operative
days, the anesthetized infants are more
attentive, have better motor responses,
are less irritable and are more capable
of quieting themselves when dis-
turbed. These behavioral changes
imply that neonatal pain is more than
just "momentary discomfort."
Modern society will continue to
debate the fate of the foreskin, howev-
er the brit milah will probably not
fade from Jewish tradition. Modern
science offers us a safe alternative to
ease the discomfort of our newborns.
Why not consider its use?

Dr. Jeffrey G. Obron

Bloomfield Hills

Intermarriage
And Survival

To those of us who worry about the
prevalence of intermarriage and its
effect on Jewish survival, the writer of
"Intermarriage: Reality And Anxiety"
(March 13) brings good tidings. Do
not fret, he seems to say, since in the
process the existing gene pool "is
being replaced by a more open and
amorphous foundation."
Here you have it. He apparently
believes that a people who produced
far in excess of their proportionate
share of Nobel Prize winners are in
need of a genetic re-engineering. The
scientific benefit will, somehow, corn-
pensate for the potential disappearance
of a people who created the seminal
values on which much of Western civ-
ilization is based.

they had 10 of him.
command of the English language to
NEWS: Morocco denies visas to
speak against Christian anti-Semitism.
Israelis.
Jewish communal leaders wished they
VIEWS: Israel's cross country team
had 10 of him ... now they have none.
was unable to compete in the world
While anti-Semitism and the Holo-
championships in Morocco
caust were the focus of Jim's
work, his broader message was A Miracle Mis- last week because the "moder-
against religious intolerance of sion bus stops to ate" host country denied visas
allow Michiga- to the athletes. The head of
any kind. In that context, he
nians to pray as the International Athletic
wished the Jewish community
they enter
Federation called the decision
would be more open-minded
Jerusalem. - disappointing, according to
in learning about other reli-
the New York Times.
gions.
Is that it? Where is the outrage?
The Ecumenical Institute needs a
Please, United Jewish Appeal and other
dynamic leader and a base of support
Jewish organizations, no more beauti-
that extends beyond the Jewish com-
ful travel brochures about visiting
munity. The ultimate compliment to
Morocco. If Israeli athletes aren't wel-
Rev. Jim Lyons would be Christian
come, we aren't either.
communal leaders saying they wished

❑

But this does not bother the writer.
He is not about to wax sentimental
about "memories of Yiddish and shtetl
culture," and sneeringly refers to the
community's efforts to counter the
intermarriage trend as "Jewish survival
propaganda."
One wonders if he would exhibit a
similar equanimity if faced with the
destruction of the California redwoods
or disappearance of grizzly bears. The
only concern expressed in the article is
the survival of the Jewish message, not
otherwise defined.
Here is the rub. Among the writer's
recommendations, one calls for "pay-
ing more attention to the message of
Judaism than the issue of Jewish sur-
vival." Carried to its logical conclu-
sion, it implies that the message of
Judaism can endure even if Jews as
such will not. Shades of Lewis Carroll,

the Cheshire Cat disappears, but its
smile lingers on.
The Germans have a saying, "Das
Papier is Geduldig," paper is patient
regardless of what is written on it.
However, this article's pernicious mes-
sage must surely have tried its
patience.

Henry Starkman

Bloomfield Hills

Spoof Was
Not Humorous

I like a spoof as much as the next per-
son. But your attempt at humor in
your Purim edition (March 13) on the
crisis at Hillel Day School was, to put
it mildly, distasteful, disrespectful and
degrading.
Again, I enjoy good humor, even

3/27
1998

35