Opinion
Editorials are posted and archived on JN Online:
www.detroitjewishnews.corn
Dry Bones
The Price Of Unity
A
s a nation, America often suffers from an
anguishing inability to deal with com-
plexity. American Jews are not exempt, as
the current about-face on what used to be
called "the peace process" demonstrates.
Only last year, the finest minds of the
leading pro-Israel lobby, the American
Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC),
were cheering the efforts of then-Israeli Prime Min-
ister Ehud Barak to negotiate a comprehensive peace
deal with the Palestinians. The voice of dissent —
notably the Zionist Organization of America's inde-
fatigable Morton Klein — was pointedly ignored in
favor of a knee-jerk plea for unity.
Now, the politically correct wisdom is that the
Palestinians never really wanted peace and can't be
trusted. The new rallying cry is "interim agree-
ments," when and if the violence of the new intifada
stops.
Happily for Israel's new prime minister, Ariel
Sharon, that is precisely the argument he makes as
he urges American support for the proposition that
long-term peace grows out of security and stability.
No matter that Barak was cheered for arguing the
exact reverse of that theory, i.e., that a peace deal
was the necessary precursor to security and stability.
The cry for "unity" drowns out all questions, howev-
er sensible and needed.
The issue here isn't whether Sharon's approach
will be more successful than Barak's, but whether
American Jewish leaders have to be so conveniently
willing to forget their immediate past. What hap-
pened to the convictions so earnestly voiced at
AIPAC's meeting in 2000? And what do we risk by
now insisting, as one top AIPAC official did
earlier this week, that "today it looks pretty
black and white."
It isn't as if American support for Israel
were at risk. The Bush
administration can be counted on
to woo Arab countries with oil
reserves, but it cheerfully rattles its
fighter-bombers at the most
threatening Israeli foes, like Iraq's Saddam
Hussein. And a recent survey found that —
despite the dire warnings that emerge every
time CNN (Cable News Network) airs one
of its silly pro-Palestinian reports — Ameri-
cans are three times as likely to view Israel
favorably as they are to approve of Palestin-
ian leader Yasser Arafat's state in the making.
The history of the Middle East achieves
the platonic ideal of the word "compleX."
Its subtle intrigues are the reality that makes
a great spy novel look simple. To approach
the region now as some exercise for a multi-
ple-choice standardized test with one right
answer is to close our eyes as firmly as the
ostrich burying her head in the sand.
Jews are, after all, the masters of the
commentary and of the commentary on the
commentary. We rejoice in our disputatious
nature because we understand that the
process of debate both trains the mind and
leads to a better result. That the subject in
this case is the future of Israel itself should
automatically command wide-ranging discussion,
not a reflexive absolutism.
In the age of instant information and endless
experts, we may have fallen into the romantic
American habit of believing that "truth" is simple
THE BUNCH:
_
EDITO RIAL
Related coverage: page 22
O
9
T HE Fou)2
SONS
and knowable. It is neither, a fact we need to
remember as we come to our individual and orga-
nizational conclusions about what we as American
Jews should be doing for Israel. Unity is good, but
it is nowhere near as vital as an honest respect for
differing views. D
Extending Lifelines To Jews In Need
A
few years ago, I visited Kuba in Azer-
baijan, a republic in the former Soviet
Union. Kuba is a small community of
about 5,000 Jews, living in a very
remote area that is really only accessible by heli-
copter.
When we showed up one day, the entire town
came to meet us, all dressed up. The kids were "beg-
ging" us for something with a "k" sound. Candy?
Cookies? Keys? No, it was kippot (skullcaps). These
youngsters wanted our kippot!
It was surprising. We had come all the way from
America, and this was all they wanted from us.
This is the face of Judaism today in the former
Nancy Grand co-chairs Federation's 2001 Annual
Campaign with Paul Zlotoff Both live in Bloomfield
Hills.
Soviet Union. Because of the
money we raise through the
Jewish Federation of Metropoli-
tan Detroit's Annual Campaign,
we are helping to provide a Jew-
ish lifeline to these people.
Since the fall of the Soviet
Union 11 years ago, we have
been helping them reconnect
with their heritage — our her-
NANCY
itage. They are becoming part
GRAND
of a Jewish community again,
Community
enjoying the richness of Jewish
Views
traditions and the dignity of a
Jewish life — all of which was
denied to them for three generations under Com-
munist rule.
Our Campaign dollars are revitalizing Jewish
life in communities like Azerbaijan, that were
almost, but not completely, destroyed by Nazism
and Communism. We are supporting day schools,
Hillels, Jewish studies and even adult education at
Jewish Community Centers in the former Soviet
Union.
Because of the money we raise through the Cam-
paign, we are able to put our Jewish values into
action. We are making the traditions that have made
us strong and kept us together work all over the
world. They are concepts like advocacy, education,
taking responsibility for one another and tzedakah
(righteous acts).
We are doing this in Detroit, in Israel and in 60
other countries. And we do it in so many ways.
Hopeful Encounters
All over the world, we are providing support to the
LIFELINES on page 32
3/23
2001
31