ditorials
Editorials and Letters to the Editor are posted and archived on JN Online:
www.detroitjewishnews.com
ro
A Central Decision
IN FOCUS
Related story: page 6
lacing learning above fitness is not
an easy decision, especially since
being fit helps you learn.
ages converge to learn together, teach together
But we support the Jewish
and mingle, not as Orthodox, Reform, Conser-
community Center of Metropolitan
vative, Reconstructionist or Secular Humanis-
betroit's decision to enrich Jewish study
tic, but simply Jews.
opportunities before updating the health
It's where a yearning to grow Jewishly is
club, where new fitness facilities are sorely
admired, not shunned.
.
Not unlike many organizations, the JCC
needed.
These and other improvements are part of has had its share of troubles over the years —
a $30 million upgrade
including budget
deficits; maze-like corri-
for the two-campus
dors, disinterested staff,
JCC. The intent is to
make members and
distant parking and
programming disputes.
guests feel welcome and
at home at the JCC —
But the communal
Detroit Jewry's central
team that's driving the
address — while lifting
JCC fund-raising as
total annual visits to 1.5
part of the Millennium
million, a boost of
Campaign for Detroit's
500,000.
Jewish Future is a trib-
The JCC's primary
ute to our amazingly
obligation as the heart-
cohesive community.
beat for Jewish Detroit An artist's rendering of the new gym in the There's an invigorating
is to strengthen Jewish Kahn Building.
spirit and partnership
identity. Opportunities
that's, in a word, hum-
for Jewish study abound locally, but the
bling.
depth of the JCC's educational, cultural
Current JCC membership is 10,000, only
and recreational offerings is hard to match.
10 percent of Detroit's Jewish population.
And that's significant in the wake of
Members not only pay dues but also inspire
increasing acculturation, intermarriage,
loyalty, which has promotional value. So
apathy and ignorance about what sustains
amid the anticipation of a "new" JCC, lead-
us a people.
ers should be laying a foundation for mem-
Metro synagogues and communal groups
ber recruitment once the construction dust
do excellent jobs, generally, in teaching us
settles.
Jewishly. But the JCC is the great equalizer, a
This confluence of a major commitment to
common denominator. It puts learning on
Judaic enrichment and the prospect of a revital-
neutral turf, without fear of reprisal for being
ized health club, both keys to the $30 million
Jewishly ignorant or unaffiliated:
upgrade, should help grow that all-important
The JCC is where Jews of all streams and all
membership base. ❑
.
Reason For Thanks
I
Family Journey
Above, Amy Kay of Farmington
Hills and her daughter Mered-
ith, 2, take part in the Greater
Detroit Chapter of Hadassah's
Training Wheels/Al Galgalim
2000 Group, a Jewish educa-
tional program for families with
kids ages 2 to 5. For nine ses-
sions, the families meet with
Wendy Kohlenberg, a trained
facilitator from West Bloom-
field, to learn about and enjoy
the celebration of Jewish holi-
days, including Shabbat. Arts
and crafts, songs, stories and
- holiday treats are among the
draws. At right is Kohlenberg's
daughter, Liza, 3.
.
n this week's unanimous decision to withdraw
Israeli troops from southern Lebanon by July,
the Jewish state's cabinet seeks the best of all
worlds — heightening the security -of its
troops, removing a Syrian trump card and gaining
welcome applause from the U.S. and other nations.
But Israel is leaving southern Lebanon because so
many of its soldiers have died there and because it has
long been understood that its military might cannot
defeat the hit-and-run tactics of the highly motivated
Hezbollah (Islamic fundamentalist) militia.
Of course, in the bizarre reality of the Middle
East, Israel's "security belt" in Lebanon is no
longer about a quarrel with her northern neigh-
bor. Rather, it now centers on the struggle with
Syria over the Golan Heights, which Israel cap-
tured in the 1967 Six-Day War.
Related story: page 29
With 35,000 troops of its own in the rest of
Lebanon, Syria enables Hezbollah to act without
restraint against Israel. Syria uses this tactic to irritate
the Israeli public, which it hopes will, in turn, pressure
Israel's government to leave Lebanon. That, everyone
agrees, is best done in a comprehensive deal that
includes the return of the Golan Heights to Syria. Such
a pact would formally recognize Syria's obligation to
control Hezbollah — sadly, a tacit recognition of
Damascus' virtual annexation of Lebanon.
But with Syria unilaterally pulling itself out of
peace talks with Israel and publishing antisemitic
editorials in state-controlled newspapers, Israeli
Prime Minister Ehud Barak decided to move on his
own. In doing so, he's fulfilling an election promise
to bring the troops home. He knows that if Hezbol-
lah is not controlled, he can send experienced troops
back into Lebanon.
Barak is betting that the Lebanese government will
work with Syria to control Hezbollah. Recent bomb-
ings of Beirut power stations in response to Hezbollah's
killing of Israeli troops have convinced the Lebanese
government that Israel's threats are no bluff.
Complex? Welcome to the Middle East.
Rather than wade through the twisting relation-
ships, we express a sense of relief that Israel's expo-
sure in Lebanon is winding down, at least for now
Today, the Middle East is one step closer to putting
more mental and physical territory between the
combatants. All people — Jews, Muslims and Chris-
tians — should be thankful. El
3/10
2000
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