Editorials
Mr
e'd like to welcome David
Blewett to Detroit and wish him
well as he takes over as executive
director of the Ecumenical Insti-
tute for J. ewish-Christian Studies.
Blewett, former director of the National
Christian Leadership Conference for Israel, has
got some mighty big shoes to fill here. His pre-
decessor, the Rev. James Lyons, was a much-
beloved figure, the man who got the South-
field-based institute going and made it into a
thoughtful, effective force for helping Jews and
Christians understand each other better.
Unfortunately, a lot of the dialogue Lyons
started has begun to fall off. In part, the
Christian Right's greater militancy and its
desire to enforce a rather closed-minded view
of certain issues — like prayer in school — has
hurt open conversation. SiMilarly, Judaism has
felt its internal stresses, reflected in areas like
debate over who can be accepted as a Jew, that
keep it looking inward and discourage efforts
to learn from people of other beliefs. It's not
always easy to get Reform, Conservative and
Orthodox Jews talking to_ one another, much
less to get them to think that they ought to be
talking to Christians.
The cause of ecumenism has been hurt by a
blurring of its mission. It is no longer clear
that the original intent — to foster under-
standing and thus mutual support on social
issues — is still the goal. The institute has
tried to foster friendship and acceptance, but if
each group fears that the other is simply corn-
peting for converts — witness local synagogues
and churches vying for the attention of our
Russian immigrants — it is not going to get
very far. Instances of reaching out — as Rabbi
Dannel Schwartz of Temple Shir Shalom and
Detroit Auxiliary Bishop John C. Nienstadt
did in their joint trip to the Vatican and their
sharing of pulpits here — are too rare.
Particularly troubling is the chasm between
Jews and African Americans. It is not simply
the hateful conduct of a few men like Black
Muslim leader Louis Farrakhan, outspoken in
condemning the Jewish people, or former
Nation of Islam voice Khalid Muhammad. At
his Million Youth March held in Harlem on
Sept. 5, Muhammad said, among other anti-
Semitic remarks, "Stop asking me about the
Jews being the bloodsuckers of the black
nation. The no-good bastards, they are the
bloodsuckers in the African American commu-
nity." Where's the outrage among mainstream
African American leaders, and the Anti-
Defamation League, over Muhammad's tirade?
In the 1960s, Jews and African Americans
joined hands and hearts to work for civil rights
that meant something to both. As individuals,
Jews and African Americans have continued to
reach out to one another — but both can do
more as groups. Perhaps by paying some new
attention to each other's spirituality, we can
forge some ties that will mean something today.
Rabbi Leo M. Franklin of Temple Beth El
recognized 50 years ago that Christianity and
Judaism would both be stronger if they could
share not just each other's sanctuaries, but each
other's hearts. He and Jim Lyons helped make
our community a model for the rest of the
nation. The task that David Blewett takes on is
a vital one. We greet him warmly as he helps
all of us regain the spirit we once had. El
Remembering, And Changing
T
hree score years ago next week, the
pending physical brutality of the
Nazi reign became an irrefutable
part of the European landscape.
And in recent days, Germany's newest govern-
ment has taken encouraging steps to dramati-
cally change the deep-seated psyche over what ,
it means to be a German.
On Nov. 9-10, Jews throughout the world
will commemorate the 60th anniversary of
Kristallnacht, the night of broken glass. During
its Nazi government-sanctioned chaos, nearly
270 German synagogues were set on fire, more
than 7,000 Jewish-owned businesses and homes
were damaged, and 30,000 Jews were sent to
concentration camps.
There is only one logical response to the
illogical calamity of the Holocaust: the total
reform of German society and the world's con-
sciousness. While we remain leap years from
making "Never Again" a reality — ask the hud-
dled refugees in Kosovo — a new German gov-
IN FOCUS
Photo by Krista 1-1
Reviving Ecumenism
Wings Of Help
An interfaith prayer service offered a response to domestic vio-
lence in "When I Call For Help." The Oct. 25 program, at
Our Lady of Refuge Church in Orchard Lake, featured the
Rev. Benno Kornely, Manresa Jesuit Retreat House, Bloomfield
Hills; Father Kevin Warner, Episcopal Church of the Advent,
Orchard Lake; Deacon Barbara Fry, All Saints Episcopal
Church, Pontiac; and Rabbi Joshua Bennett, Temple Israel,
West Bloomfield. The vision statement read, in part: "Through
this prayer service, we recognize the dignity of every' person
and seek to open doors to help and healing."
LETTERS
able to see my dog Cody and
me on your Web site (detroit-
j ewishnews.com).
Eileen Eckstein
West Bloomfield
.
ernment is about to change an absurd, long-
standing citizenship law. This 1913 statute
declares German ancestry the major compo-
nent for citizenship; others could gain a Ger-
man passport only after 15 years of continuous
residence and giving up their native passport.
Under the new law, all children born in
Germany are citizens if at least one parent was
born iri the country, or arrived before the age
of 14 and now has a residence permit. It's far
from perfect, but a significant step in showing
Germans that theirs is a multi-cultural society
open to the political influence of minorities.
That's no small matter to the nearly 3 million
of Germany's 7.4 million foreign residents who
can now apply for citizenship.
Associating anything with the Holocaust
other than its own magnitude, at first, seems
sacrilegious. But we must encourage every new
legal reform as it truly does change the formi-
dable bureaucratic framework that paved the
way for the Holocaust. El
JFS Programs
Longstanding
Very Pleased
With Cover
Just wanted to let you know
how much I liked the cover of
The Jewish News for Oct. 23.
The neat part is that I have e-
mailed my brother in
Okanawa and he should be
.
It was with great interest and
concern that I read your
article on "The Naftaly
Legacy" (Oct. 9).
My concern, and that of
many colleagues and
friends, is based on [my] 31.5
years as a staff person at Jew-
ish Family Service (JFS),
where we were the chief
resource in the tri-county
Jewish community and, there-
by within the Jewish Federa-
tion, for services, including
homemakers, housing, resi-
JFS PROGRAMS on page 31
11
Detroit Jewish News
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