There's still time to reserve your place for the
OPE111116 RIGHT
PliTR011 RECEPT1011
of the
Rabbi Alexander Schindler, the for-
mer president of the Reform move-
ment's Union of American Hebrew
Congregations, described himself as
"heartbroken and dismayed" by the
violence.
"Wherever you turn, people are dis-
heartened and dispirited and hoping
against hope that the leaders of the
Arab world will look over the precipice
and draw back," he said. "It's quite
clear that Arafat was waiting for an
excuse" to begin the Arab rioting that
has engulfed the region. He compared
it to Kristallnacht in 1938 when
"Hitler really wanted to firebomb all
the synagogues and was just waiting
for the right moment to do it."
Damaged Vision
Rabbi Harold Schulweis of Valley
Beth Shalom, a large Conservative .
synagogue in suburban Los Angeles,
said his reaction — and that of his
congregants — to the violence was
very, very profound." The rabbi said
one of his greatest fears is that "the
vision of [former Israeli Prime
Minister Yitzhak] Rabin and [current
Prime Minister Ehud] Barak has been
damaged."
Although not surprised by the
"simmering hatred" on the Arab side,
Schulweis "thought there'd be a
greater amount of self-control." ❑
"
tor, said he feels that the crisis in
Israel and the Palesdnian areas is
straining local relationships.
Over the past several years, he said
a crisis usually leads to phone calls.
"I have been in touch with coun-
terparts in the Arab community, but
it will take an extended period of time
to return to the point where we we
at prior to the violence," he said
After seeing his counterparts saying
things that are harshly critical of Israel
to the media, "I just think there will
be some fence mending to do locally."
Waterford's Arnold Michlin, a
founder of the local .American Arab
and Jewish Friends formed in 1981,
took a more positive approach. "We
are so solid with our friendships
here," he said and what's happening
in Israel won't affect the relationships
already built.
do believe that our
friendships are not elusive or evasive, I
think they are real. I don't expect it to
interfere with our projects or anything
were doing."
Ahmad. Ezzedine, curren , co-chair
of the 400-member American Arab
Groups Mobilize To
Show Solidarity
A
s displeasure with the Jewish
state's response to Palestinian
rioters mounted across the
orld, the organized North
American Jewish community sprang
into action with opinion page columns
and advertisements in newspapers and
community-organized rallies.
Local Jewish communities — includ-
ing federations and community relations
councils — were sponsoring pro-Israel
rallies late in the week. The largest of the
rallies was expected to be held Thursday
outside the Israeli Consulate in New
York, but communities across the
United States and Canada — from Boca
Raton, Fla., to Calgary — were plan-
ning to hold similar demonstrations.
In one ad, the Conference of
Presidents of Major American Jewish
Organizations deplored "dangerous and
exploitative use of violence by the
Palestinian Authority to achieve political
gains." A similar view was expressed by
Hadassah and the American Jewish
Committee in their ads.
The AJCommittee attacked the
Palestinian leadership for having "delib-
erately overblown" Likud Party leader
Ariel Sharon's Sept. 28 visit to the
Temple Mount. ❑
Jewish Friends group, agreed: "I think
it won't interfere with what we have,
we're both smarter than that to let
that affect us."
Jewish Federation President Penny
Blumenstein summed up the feeling,s
of all Jews:
"This is a time for us to join hands
with Israel's people to let them know
they're not alone. We share their con
cerns for the loss of
life and their disap-
pointment with the
international COM-
affinity in its one-
sided response to
the conflict. At the
same time, we con-
tinue to hope that
this blow to the
peace process will
not sustain itself
Penny
and that our dreams Blume nslein
for peace will bear
fruit.'
Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit
t
Saturday, nouember 4, 2000 • 7:30 p.m.
Jewish Community Center
D. Dan and Belly Kahn Building
Eugene and Marcia Applebaum
Jewish Community Campus
6600 W. Maple Rd., West Bloomfield
Patrons will receive reserved seating and an auto-
graphed copy of opening night speaker Bob Greene's
book, Duty,
Opening night co-sponsored by
DeRoy Testamentary Foundation
Selective Enterprises, Inc.
Weight Watchers
DoubleTree Guest Suites
MEL FARR
0
MONT
BLANC
LINCOLN
Mercury ©
o
THE ART OF WRITING
and
please join us for
PREUIEW RIGHT
Wednesday, Ilouember 1, 2000 • 7 p.m.
Jewish Community Center • Kahn Building
Hear about the latest children's books, cookbooks,
fiction, non-fiction and Jewish books.
For Opening Night Patron Reception
reservations or Book Fair information, call
Elaine Schonberger, (248) 661-7649.
10/13
2000
„
44,414.