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AL
HARRIS
NO. 1 AGAIN
IN BUICK SALES!
5/15
1998
36
TaMaROFF
28585 Telegraph Rd.
353-1300
OPINION
Two Sides Of The Coin,
Jewish Continuity, Security
American Jews, that the very reason
l ewish education and Jewish
the community is facing the intermar-
continuity are appropriately
riage problem is because we are so
issues at the top of the Jewish
comfortable
in America there are few
community's agenda. Here
inhibitions
on
anything, including
and in Israel there have been confer-
intermarriage.
Anti-Semitism,
it is
ences, discussions, projects and financ-
said, is not an issue in today's Ameri-
ing in an effort to combat the assim-
ca.
ilative trends that are so destructive.
A recent American Jewish Commit-
Unfortunately, at times one hears
tee survey of Jewish opinion
remarks by some individuals
indicates, however, that the
that in order to properly
community
believes other-
address these matters, the
wise.
When
asked whether
community ought to dimin-
anti-Semitism
is a problem
ish or even abandon its tradi-
today, 95 percent of those
tional commitment to com-
polled said yes — either a
bat anti-Semitism and to
very serious one (33 per-
safeguard Jewish security.
cent) or somewhat of one
We have never believed
(62 percent); only 5 percent
that there need be an
said
it was not a problem.
either/or proposition con-
When
asked whether they
AB
RAHAIVI
H.
cerning Jewish continuity
anticipated
a decrease in the
FO
XMAN
and Jewish security If the
future,
only
9 percent
Spec
ial
to
community will be successful
The Jew ish News expected a decrease. Fifty-
in reinvigorating Jewish life
seven percent said anti-
with a consequent decline in
Semitism is a greater threat
intermarriage and a heightened Jewish
to
Jewish
life
than intermarriage, while
identity, the need to protect and
38
percent
said
intermarriage is.
defend Jewish institutions and individ-
Some
might
say
that those figures
uals will remain. It is unnecessary and
reflect
a
gap
between
perception and
shortsighted to make it appear that
reality, but not only is this conde-
American Jews have to choose
scending to the Jewish public (we
between these matters when, in fact,
experts know better), but it also con-
they are two sides of the same coin.
tradicts the notion that assimilation is
Both are intrinsic elements of main-
a product of the decline of anti-Semi-
taining a strong Jewish life in America.
tism in the minds of American Jews.
Some will say that, in fact, anti-
In fact, this survey leads to three
Semitism is no longer a threat to
conclusions. First, perceptions about
Abraham Foxman is national director
anti-Semitism do matter. As long as
of the Anti-Defamation League.
American Jews believe that anti-Semi-
il
tism is a threat, they will expect lead-
ers and organizations to continue to
take all the steps they have historically
to address it. Leadership would be
doing itself and the community a dis-
service if they conducted themselves as
if the public is not interested in this
age-old struggle. Well-meaning indi-
viduals who call for giving up on the
security agenda are out of touch with
the people.
Secondly, there is no reason to con-
clude that a reality gap exists. Ameri-
can Jews are not saying there is an
imminent threat, but they reject the
idea that the virus of anti-Semitism
has been eliminated. Reality backs this
up. Even as Jews attain leadership
positions in every walk of life, signs of
the vitality of anti-Semitism abound.
Militia groups and other right-wing
extremists, engaged in conspiracy
thinking and capable of violence,
invariably see Jews as an enemy. Black
extremists, particularly Louis Far-
rakhan and the Nation of Islam, con-
trive to disseminate messages of anti-
Semitism; yet that does not stop them
from attracting large crowds and gain- 40
ing increasing legitimacy.
The continuing effort to Christian-
ize America, while not directly anti-
Semitism, is a potential threat to Jew-
ish security, which has been bolstered
over the years by the high wall of
church-state separation. Now that
high wall is under siege. The increas-
ing efforts by Southern Baptists to tar-
get Jews for proselytizing and the
despicable duplicity of the so-called
LETTERS
The Public
Must Know
Sen. Carl Levin proposes that the Clin-
ton administration should pursue Mid-
dle East peace negotiations privately,
without public disclosure of the U.S.
proposals ("Advice From The Hill"
April 24.) No, that is very wrong.
The question is, Can the administra-
tion be trusted to be concerned about
Jewish rights and Israel's security, which
means survival? Consider that President
Clinton refuses to recognize Jerusalem
as the capital of Israel, even though
Republicans and Democrats in both
houses voted almost unanimously for
such recognition. Clinton's U.S. Agency
for International Development has pro-
vided the equipment and operating
expenses for the PLO's Palestine Broad-
casting Corporation TV station and
,
their Voice of Palestine radio station,
which broadcasts hatred and incites vio-
lence against Jews and Israel to the Arab
world.
Sen. Levin praises the Clinton
administration for support of the
"peace process." We strongly dis-
agree. Forgiving a despotic hate
group dedicated to Israel's destruc-
tion for its torture and murder of
thousands of innocent Arabs and
Jews — and rewarding it with Jewish
•land to form a nation that never ever
existed in Palestine — invites a hor-
rible disaster to Israel and its people.
Hymie Cutler
Director, Michigan Committee for a
• Safe Israel
A Spotlight
On Realism
There will be no peace in the Middle -
East during our lifetime. The reason is
the implacable hatred of Islamic Arabs
toward Israel. This hatred has its roots
in the fairly recent history of the region.
Any statesman, politician or journalist
could easily trace these events if they are
willing to do their homework.
In the late 1920s, the Mufti of
Jerusalem wanted to establish him-
self as a leader of the Arabs in Pales-
tine. To that end, he invented a tale
of Jews killing Arabs and their fami-
lies which triggered a massacre of
Jewish families in the town of
Hebron in 1929. When the British
authorities were on the verge of
arresting and prosecuting the Mufti
for his activities, he fled to his
friends and allies, the Nazis of Ger-
many. These events were, of course,
not the only cause but were major
factors to let the genie of hatred out
of the bottle.