COMMUNITY VIEWS

Awakening To The Iraqi Tragedy

metro Detroiters, I went to Bagh-
dad and Mosul (site of ancient
Nineveh) in December. Others
visited Basra. While there, I con-
by would I, an
firmed what I had heard from
elderly Jewish busi-
other travelers to Iraq in
nessman,
recent years:
choose to
• Five thousand or more
take medicines and
Iraqi children, aged 5
school supplies to Iraq
and younger, die as a
(of all places), in open
direct result of economic
defiance of American
sanctions [imposed by
law, thus leaving myself
the U.S./United
vulnerable to imprison-
Nations] every single
ment and a fine?
month, with well over 1
Before answering that
million Iraqi civilians
question, let's see if we
RUDY SIMONS dead by 1998.
agree that: 1) Saddam
Special to
• Leukemia cases, espe-
Hussein is a malignant
cially among young chil-
the Jewish News
dictator; 2) he used poi-
dren, have risen five-
son gas in the past and
fold, caused by the pres-
sent missiles crashing
ence
of
depleted
uranium in the
into Israel during the 1991 Gulf
War; and 3) Iraq is a nation with a water, air and soil left by U.S.
weaponry used in the Gulf War.
history of anti-Jewish and anti-
These are United Nations figures.
Israel policies and actions. Today,
• Aerial bombardment of Iraq by
the Jewish population in Iraq has
U.S.
and British planes continues
all but disappeared.
at
a
level
that, in one year, exceed-
With these thoughts in mind, it
ed
the
massive
tonnage dropped
remains essential that we under-
by
NATO
during
the entire Koso-
stand the level of the catastrophe
vo
operation.
that has befallen millions of ordi-
But surely, you say, all that is
nary Iraqi people who have no
the fault of Saddam Hussein. Isn't
connection whatsoever to their
he using money from the U.N.'s
own government.
oil-for-food program to build new
Along with a dozen other
palaces for himself?
It is comforting to believe so;
Rudy Simons is a music publicist

RUDY SIMONS
Special to the Jewish News

and human rights activist who lives
in Southfield.

The children's ward of Abnel it Atheer
Pediatric Hospital in Mosul. It was here
that Simons' group heard an air raid
siren — a daily occurrence, one doctor
said. Iraqi press reports later claimd
one woman was killed and two children
were hurt.

An English-speaking teacher at the Al-Znabk Ele-
mentary School in Mosul. She told Simons' group
how a bombing 12 days earlier had traumatized
many of the children and damaged the school
Eight children were hurt, she said. The assumption
was that the bomb was American. "When the chil-
dren were told by their principal that we were
Americans who had come to visit, many were visi-
bly shaken and had to be sent home," Simons said.

There Is A Need To Know

All of the following figures are taken from the United Nations Report on the Current
Humanitarian Situation in Iraq (1999):
• Low infant birth weight affects at least 23 percent of all births
• Chronic malnutrition affects every fourth child younger than 5
• Only 41 percent of the population have regular access to clean water (in Baghdad,
Simons said his group called the drinking of a local glass of water "Iraqi Roulette)
• 83 percent of all schools need substantial repairs
Simons' Michigan delegation was the 30th such trip sponsored (though not finan-
cially, since they paid their own way) by Voices in the Wilderness, based in Chicago.
Readers are invited to write or phone for a free copy of the delegation's printed
report: MDAS, do Peace Action of Michigan, 195 W Nine Mile Road, Ferndale,
MI 48220; (248) 548-3920.

IRAQI TRAGEDY on page 44

LETTERS

Validation
Is Regretful

j

4/7
2000

42

It is with much pain and regret that
the Council of Orthodox Rabbis
finds it necessary to publicly con-
demn the body of Reform rabbis
that has recently officially granted
permission to its members to per-
form a religious ceremony validating
same-sex unions ("Rabbis Affirm
Choice," March 31).
Jews are a very small minority in
America; yet the media reports that
this body of Reform rabbis consti-
tutes the largest religious group
sanctioning such relationships. Can
one imagine a greater desecration of
the name of God? All other major
religious groups throughout the
world recognize the unholiness of

these "unions" — except /for the Jew-
ish Reform rabbinate. It is truly
heartbreaking to see how the leaders
of the Reform movement have total-
ly rejected the view of Torah that
such relationships are an abomina-
tion (Leviticus 187:22).
Judaism and Torah are one and
indivisible; rejection of Torah consti-
tutes a rejection of Judaism. It is our
hope that the masses of Jews who are
affiliated with the Reform movement
will realize that the only way to actual-
ize their spiritual potential as Jews is
through the study and observance of
Torah and mitzvot.
It is our sincere hope as well that
their leadership will come to under-
stand that when one continues to
"reform" Torah, one ultimately creates
a religion that is the antithesis of
Torah and Judaism.

Rabbi Chaskel Grubner
Rabbi Elimelech Goldberg
Rabbi Elimelech Silberberg
Rabbi Shaiall Zachariash
Presidium, Council of Orthodox Rabbis
Southfield

Openness
Called For

I have read with interest the reports
on the Central Conference of Ameri-
can Rabbis' declaration that same-sex
relationships are "worthy of affirma-
tion" through Jewish ritual ("Rabbis
Affirm Choice," March 31).
For the past 37 years, the rabbis
and leaders of the Secular Humanistic
Jewish movement have performed

same-sex commitment ceremonies.
The right to freely choose one's life
partner and to have that choice
affirmed before family, friends and
community is intrinsic to the dignity
and happiness of individuals. We
applaud the recent decision by the
CCAR to sanction same-sex commit-
ment ceremonies.
However, it is imperative that the
Jewish community be open and
responsive to the needs of all of its
members, regardless of their sexual
orientation or choice of partner. To
limit commitment ceremonies to cou-
ples in which both partners are Jewish
is to cast out intercultural couples who
seek to celebrate their love and corn-
mitment within the Jewish communi-
ty.
Humanistic Jews create congrega-
tions, communities and chavurot, affil-