+4
70,
NEWS EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK
The Silence Is Dismaying
the vandalism at the
I 'm no longer surprised by the
synagogue
and Sunday's
reticence of some of the organi-
Israel
Fest.
zations we regularly write about.
"I didn't want them
Experience has taught that
to think [the
there is an unspoken taboo
Israel Fest]
against speaking publicly
wasn't
a safe
about controversy, even if the
place
to
be,"
public might benefit from
he
said.
the information.
Cohen
But I was surprised and
explained
that
dismayed when Alan Yost,
his
mission
is
executive director of Adat
to
"give
a
Shalom, told me he didn't
rational
plan to alert congregants to
analysis of
an incident at the synagogue
JULIE E DGAR what is going
June 1 or 2. Somebody had
Editor
News E'
on in the
used black spray paint to
community
write anti-Israel slogans over
and
what
real
threats
a large portion of the Farmington
are
out
there.
It's
not
Hills building. A janitor discovered
my
role
to
take
every
the grafitti, which included anarchist
anti-Israel and anti-
symbols and the phrases "No Zionists"
Semitic incident and
and "Down w/Israel."
instill fear in the com-
Yost said it wasn't a "significant
Grafitti scrawled on a side of Adat Shalom Synagogue.
munity. We monitor
conspiracy" and therefore the syna-
hate groups and stay in
gogue wanted to "low key" the inci-
that absolutely should get their hackles
touch with law enforcement." He
dent. He asked me not to write the
acknowledged that Adat Shalom want- up (and they probably already read
story (despite the fact that it had been
about). The latter — who heads the
ed to downplay the incident.
printed in another newspaper several
state office of the ADL and whom we
I try not to read evil into the
days earlier) because it would only
actions of those who vent their rage by trust to keep us posted about incidents
play into the hands of the attention-
directed at minorities, including us —
defacing Jewish institutions. I try not
seeking perpetrators. We carried the
tells a roomful of Jews not to worry
to see a conspiracy where there is
story, of course.
about an incident that feels, in some
none. My paranoia is grounded in his-
A few days later,. Don Cohen,
quarters, quite threatening.
toric reality, not the novels of Franz
director of Michigan's Anti-Defama-
The Adat Shalom vandalism was
tion League office, spoke to a group of Kafka or the movies of Oliver Stone.
followed
by another similar crime at
But I am troubled, nonetheless, by
volunteers working at Sunday's Israel
Forest
Elementary
School in Farming-
Cohen's and Yost's attitudes.
Fest at the Detroit Zoo. He wanted to
(see page 12).
ton
Hills
10
days
later
The former doesn't want to alarm
head off fears of a connection between
This
time,
the
scribes
were
more
congregants by mentioning something
the Middle East. Imam Karoub could
compassionately and diplomatically
articulate his shared goals for peace to
those of the Jewish faith."
One speaker after another spoke
glowingly of all the couples he had
named, how he was vibrant, busy,
active and involved with families from
all backgrounds — geographic, politi-
cal, religious — and there are many in
the Arab community.
We will miss him.
Arnold Michlin
Farmington Hills
Discovering
Sprtuality
ii
I was intrigued by the recent inter-
views on spirituality at the Jewish
Community Center of Metropolitan
of mine was confirmed by your inter-
Detroit a few weeks ago.
Even though significant numbers of views. While like-minded Humanist
Adam Chalom described God as an
Jews define themselves as cultural, sec-
idea people created, none of the others
ular or Humanistic, as a Secular
interviewed defined their views of
Humanist I am frequently confronted
God to include the personality, char-
with people who feel that a belief in
acteristics and power of the God of
God is a requirement to be Jewish. I
the Jews as
realize that this is
described in the
inconsistent with
Torah.
the Orthodox,
Definitions includ-
who look at the
ing God being
ethnicity of the
"goodness," "beau-
mother rather
ty," "love" and
than the beliefs of
"binding" were all
the individual. But
mentioned. None,
for people who
however, spoke of
require the belief
the demanding,
test, the irony is
ruling, just and
apparently any
powerful figure
God or definition
Stacy and Stephanie Indianer enjoy the who manages the
of God will do.
world in tradition-
Zoo playground.
This suspicion
vividly anti-Semitic.
Cohen and the Farmington Hills
police chief consider it serious, but say
there's no link between the two inci-
dents. Police are investigating both.
I'm glad the authorities are pursu-
ing the perpetrators. But why do
members of our own community want
to hush up the crimes? This strikes me
as much more of a shande than open-
ing one's mouth — and perhaps
allowing people to make up their own
minds about the significance of this
menace.
❑
al liturgy. For all I know, they could
have been describing Bad, Zeus,
Mazda, Buddha or perhaps even Allah.
For those who feel God defines
Judaism, and with so many concepts
passing for "God," it's no wonder
there is such religious tension among
Jews. Additionally, it seems dishonest
to claim that these modern concepts
of God are the same as those of
ancient rabbis or the authors of the
Bible and thus define Judaism today.
For example, you can't read the tradi-
tional prayers without seeing that God
judges people. But since some people
think being judgmental nowadays is
not "kosher," that aspect is rarely
mentioned — as if it were an unessen-
tial attribute.
We must be ready to admit that
today, our concepts of truth, divinity,
human power and morality DO dif-
6/19
1998
29