OTHER VIEWS

Strengthen Our Own Roots

After a week of brainstorming with
Israelis, I realized that I'd rarely met
such a reservoir of creative talent. That
Israelis have the equanimity to sit for -
hours planning scintillating education-
upbeat.
al programs for us moves
Israelis were arguing poli-
me to tears.
tics over espresso in open-air
But that's exactly what I
cafes, children were gliding
found wherever I went.
down Jerusalem's King David
While coping with the
Street on scooters, and stores
heartbreaking daily tragedy
were featuring a wide array of
of violence, Israelis aren't
the dried fruit that is tradi-
frozen and they aren't just
tional fare for Tu b'Shevat,
treading water. Quite the
the Jewish New Year of the
contrary. While planning
Trees. The almond trees are
the part of convention
supposed to bloom on Tu
based in our medical center,
ANNETTE
b'Shevat, and the first blos-
we didn't hear only about
MESKIN
soms were already showing
the extra pressure on our
Community
on the branches, bringing
emergency services, but also
Views
their promise of fruit. I felt
about promising research
energized.
for a vaccine for the most
As one of the chairs of the Hadas-
virulent type of AIDS.
sah National Convention to be held in
At Hadassah College, instead of
Jerusalem in August, I had come to
dwelling on the difficulties some stu-
Israel to work. Dealing with technical-
dents have to get to class because of
ities and the program for a convention
disturbances, we visited the computer
for hundreds of women brought me
laboratories for applied medical pro-
into constant contact with Israeli tour
fessions. Our Young Judaea teenagers,
guides and hotel managers, teachers
in Israel for the year, didn't complain
and rabbis, graphic designers, bus dri-
about restrictions on their travel. They
vers, T-shirt manufacturers, doctors,
told us•about new programs to volun-
nurses and patients. These are the men
teer with immigrants and the elderly.
and women you don't hear about in
We diaspora Jews, in partnership
headlines. Their message is: We're here
with the people of Israel, paved the
to stay.

T

he television reports sound-
ed so grim that on a recent
trip to Israel, I was relieved
to find the Israelis I met so

way for our nation's rebirth by trans-
forming ideals into action and dreams
into realities. We, indeed, moved
mountains. As members of the Jewish
community, we can continue creating

Let us strengthen
our roots to Israel
on Tu b'Shevat.

miracles. Our efforts and enthusiasm
cannot be diminished now when Israel
needs us.
It's no secret that the tourist indus-
try has been hard hid by the fears of
Americans to travel to Israel. And yes,
the hotel managers and shopkeepers
we met were thankful that Hadassah
women by the hundreds would be
here this summer. I'm embarrassed by
gratitude. I feel thankful to Israelis for
going on with their lives in such a
positive fashion.
At the Hartman Institute, one of
the settings our convention partici-
pants will visit for inspirational study,
Rabbi Doniel Hartman put it this
way: "A million Jews should visit Israel
this year. True, Americans are a 'little

afraid' to come. But being 'a little
afraid' isn't a good enough excuse. We
need to bond with our Jewish
brethren."
The violence of the last five months
has cost billions, in lost tourism,
investment, damaged infrastructure
and medical expenses. To offset these
losses, we as individuals and organiza-
tions must continue to support Israel's
economy by increasing our financial
support for Israel projects, especially
hospitals, schools and social welfare
institutions.
Our 'convention theme is
"Dwelling Together in Unity." In each
of us lies the power to change and heal
the world, one action at a time. But
by bonding together, we have helped
restore the Israeli nation and now we
must continue to support it. This is
practical Zionism in action.
Said the Prophet Isaiah, "The days
of a tree shall be the days of My peo-
ple." As we celebrate Tu b'Shevat on
Feb. 8, let it be a day to strengthen
our roots by committing ourselves to
Israel. Let's order our plane tickets
now.

❑

Annette Meskin is a West Bloomfield

resident and active in the Greater
Detroit Chapter of Hadassah (the
women's Zionist organization).

Throwing Away History

without the supervision of
Philadel hia
archeologists from Israel's
he Temple
Antiquities
Authority. Dig-
Mount, or Har
ging
has
gone
on there on
Habayit, in
the
surface
of
some
parts of
Jerusalem has
the
Mount,
as
well
as
in
been the focus of a bitter
underground areas.
controversy in the peace
According to Israeli news-
talks, as Israel's leaders
papers,
some 1,500 tons of
debate whether or not Israel
earth
have
been removed
should retain the holy site
JONAT I-IAN S. from the Temple Mount in
or allow it to be under the
TOB IN
the last year and dumped in
control of the Palestinian
Spec ial
undisclosed sites. It is impos-
Authority.
Comm entary
sible to know just how many
However, a different, yet
ancient Jewish objects have
related, story about the
been trashed in this manner.
Temple Mount is also caus-
This
is
a violation of Israeli law
ing concern in Israel. For over a year,
(which
protects
the integrity of arche-
observers of the archeological scene in
ological
sites),
as
well as a threat to the
Israel have been expressing concern
safety
of
the
artifacts
that lie under-
about possible illegal excavations on
neath
the
site
of
Israel's
holy Temple.
!Ilse site.
Palestinian Muslim religious
The Muslim Wakf, which adminis-
authorities, as well as the Palestinian
ters the mosques on the Temple
Authority itself (which controls the
Mount, has been doing construction
Wald and appoints the Mufti of
work on the foundation of the area

Jerusalem), have been at pains in
recent months to denigrate and deny
the obvious historical and religious
connections between the Jewish peo-
ple and the Temple Mount. In partic-
ular, the Mufti of Jerusalem, the titu-
lar head of the Muslim faithful in the
city has been a constant source of ser-
mons and other statements issued to
the press which heap scorn on Jewish
rights in Jerusalem.
Yet, the Wakf's excavations show
that they want to. do more than
rewrite history. In treating all that lies
beneath their mosques as garbage,
they are demonstrating a determina-
tion to physically erase the evidence of
Jewish history, too.
The left-wing Israeli daily Hdaretz
has also reported that Israel's security
services have informed Israeli Prime
Minister Ehud Barak that the Wakf
intends to build more mosques on the
Temple Mount, a violation of the sta-
tus quo by which Israel has allowed

the group to administer the area since
Israeli forces reunited the city of
Jerusalem in June 1967.
Previously, Barak chose to down-
play the situation so as not to inflame
Muslim feelings and complicate the
peace process. But this week, he
ordered Israel's police to stop the
Wakf's construction work before any
further destruction is carried out. This
is apparently a late attempt to bolster
his image as a defender of the integrity
of the state with elections less than a
week away.
While - some have termed the dis-
pute about sovereignty over the Temple
Mount an argument over real estate, the
Wakf's vandalism shows that the Pales-
tinians understand the significance of
the site all too well. For Palestinians, the
mere presence of a Jewish politician —
Likud leader Ariel Sharon — on the
Temple Mount last September was sup-

THROWING AWAY

on page 34

,14f

2/2
2001

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