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JNEditorials

Editorials and Letters to the Editor are posted and archived on JN Online:
www.detroitjewishnews.com

An Honorable Process

A

mericans, with their optimistic belief
that all problems have a quick solu-
tion, are disappointed that the two-
week-long Camp David summit
ended without an agreement that would frame a
permanent peace between Israel and the Pales-
tinians. But the hard fact is that neither side can
give up its claim to Jerusalem now, and only
time can tell whether this meeting will lead to a
resumption of violence or a continuation of
diplomacy.
The summit did lead to some plusses. Israeli
Prime Minister Ehud Barak emerged as a solid,
credible negotiator — and as a brave man. The
hawks of the right screamed that he was giving
away far too much in his willingness to surren-
der large parts of the West Bank. But, in fact, he
was showing he could be fair and flexible on
tough points, like the settlements, without bend-
ing on the crucial question of an undivided
Jerusalem. President Clinton was correct at the
end in his praise for Barak's "particular courage,
vision and an understanding of the historical
importance of this moment." That should serve
him well if, as seems likely, he has to call new
elections.
Clinton himself won respect for his commit-
ment to driving the peace process forward. He
was clear-eyed from the beginning when he
warned that the talks might not reach a final
pact, and he was relentless in his willingness to
shuttle from one Camp David cabin to another
to keep the conversations going. Should the talks

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IN FOCUS

resume before he leaves office, he will still be
seen by both sides as an honest broker.
The Palestinians will hail Yasser Arafat as a
tough man who didn't let Israel get the best of
him. We may always judge him as a terrorist and
a tyrant, and as a man who has refused to edu-
cate his people to the reality that Israel — and its
legal and moral authority over Jerusalem — is
here to stay. But he further burnished his tough-
guy image among his people, which could mean
he will be more free in the future to seek the cre-
ative compromises without which no pact is pos-
sible. He will likely get the statehood he has so
long sought for his people, though maybe not
on the most favorable terms he could have won.
All sides will have to digest what they
learned at Camp David and decide whether
and when they want to move forward. The
surest sign that the Palestinians are serious will
be if Arafat succeeds in forestalling the
renewed Intifizda that the terrorist group
Hamas would start. For Barak, the challenge
will be to build a consensus behind the trade-
offs he was willing to make particularly
because the settlers, now alerted to what he
was proposing, will mount a massive cam-
paign against any withdrawal.
The real accomplishment of the summit was
to make it plain that as long as Arafat and the
Palestinians insist on absolute sovereignty over
east Jerusalem and their flag waving on the
Temple Mount, no deal is possible now As
they digest that fact and decide whether to
renew the fighting or the talking, we will see
who are the true partners in peace. ❑

In Concert

Fiddler Leonid Sonts, above, of St. Peters-
burg, Russia, was one of the klezmer musi-
cians who Workmen's Circle Michigan Dis-
trict brought to Rothstein Park in Oak Park
on July 10 for its 22nd annual Yiddish
Concert in the Park. Theatrical performer
Adrienne Cooper sang in Yiddish for the
large crowd, which included many senior
residents of the nearby Teitel and Prentis
Jewish Apartments. At left, Margot Leverett
of New York plays clarinet. Workmen's Circle is a 100-year-old
organization promoting social and economic justice and Yiddish
culture. Local offices, including a Sunday school, are in Oak
Park.

On The Environment Path

ews are experts at adapting. Over the cen-
turies, we have learned how to survive —
and often flourish — as a minority within
another culture or nation. It has made us
into careful students of what is best, and worst, in
that other society, and we have learned how to take
the good ideas and apply them to make our own
lives and Jewish identity stronger.
That is what is going on now for many American
Jews who are finding that the environmental move-
ment opens doors for them to reconnect themselves
with their Jewish heritage. As this week's cover story,
"Being Green and Jewish" reports, innovative pro-
grams such as the New York-based Coalition on the
Environment and Jewish Life, are touching people
who are otherwise disenchanted with the main-
stream activities of community life.
These people, many of them young adults, who
could easily turn from their Jewish roots entirely, say

IT

Related stories begin on page 6

the opportunity to serve the larger purpose of tikkun
olam, excites them by demonstrating how relevant
Judaic principles are to their modern lives.
A number of thoughtful people wonder, however,
whether the environmental commitment really leads
to a deeper and more meaningful Judaism. To some,
it seems a facile substitute for a truly Jewish cause,
such as building the Zionist homeland in the '50s
and '60s, helping Soviet Jewry in the '70s and '80s,
or, currently, working to develop creative vehicles
for compelling Jewish education. In seizing upon
causes such as the environment or poverty or gay
rights, they say, these people are simply putting a
Jewish veneer on universal causes.
But that analysis ignores the fact that in America
today, most of us are in a real way, Jews by choice.
Unless you are among those who believe that both
the oral and written law are God's direct, unques-
tionable dictates, Jews are free in ways we have never
been before to choose what makes Judaism most
meaningful for us. That doesn't mean we are not
guided by Torah principles or that the history of our

people has no meaning. But it does mean that we
are free not to be Jews, that the larger society has
not locked us into a box or shtetl — that as Ameri-
cans, we enjoy an unparalleled level of freedom to
live, work and worship as we see fit.
One consequence is that a distressingly large
number of people are drifting away, losing their ties
to their Jewish religion, Culture and community.
Combating that will take all of our best efforts and
a willingness to experiment with new ideas.
It is clear that the environmental activism is
deeply meaningful to the new Jewish Greens and
that they sincerely feel a reconnection to their roots
through these innovative programs — and that is
very much to the good. It is an exciting example of
our ability to adopt the good ideas of the larger soci-
ety. The organized Jewish community should learn
from the example and energy of the green Jews.
A vibrant Judaism will always keep the doors
open. It doesn't matter much what path we take as
long as we understand that lots of paths can inspire
Jews to choose Jewish. ❑

7/28
2000

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