Jewish Women's Foundation

of Metropolitan Detroit

cordially invites you to an educational forum on

with a viable alternative.
Though the peace crowd were
wrong about many things, in this they
were right.
The opponents of concessions had
no comprehensive plan that could
compare with the appeal of land for
peace. But if there were no reasonable
compromises to be reached with the
Palestinians, the left asked, what
remained to us except more conflict?
And how could we bear to live with
such an answer?
Yet, now that the failure of Oslo is
confirmed, we have no choice but to
live with that reality. Having failed to
bring on the messianic age through
our own efforts, we must fall back
inevitably on faith.
But this should not be a blind faith
of the sort that would have us think
that those who seek our deaths will
miraculously turn into humanitarians,
as those who propagated the "New
Middle East" thesis tried to convince
us.
Acknowledging the truth that exists
in the concept of "in every generation
" gives us the understanding that
Jews will survive despite the ongoing
efforts of our enemies to bring us
down, even though the text provides
no pat answers for our questions as to
why "they" will rise against us again
and again.
Our frustration about this paucity
of answers should not overwhelm
our ability to accept the promise the
Haggadah also offers — that none
of our oppressors will ultimately
succeed.
But our atavistic identification with
our ancestors who were led out of
Egypt to freedom should lend us the
strength to cope with the harsh reality
that the struggle is not over. In the
face of hatred and violence, it is our
duty to endure.
Israelis now have no choice but to
stand firm in the face of terror. And
American Jews are correspondingly
obligated to speak up in their defense
and do our best to prevent the ene-
mies of Israel from prevailing.
We don't have all the answers and
never will. What we do know is that
our survival as a people and a faith,
along with our affirmation of all the
How Do We Go On?
joyful, positive aspects of being Jew-
So how do we go on living under such
ish, cannot be held hostage to the
a shadow? Throughout the debate over
hatred of others.
the fallacy of "land for peace" that
If we can take that message away
came to be accepted as the only solu-
from Passover 5761, we will have
tion to the standoff between Israelis
done our part to make certain that
and Arabs, the peace camp within
future generations will be prepared to
both Israel and American Jewry chal-
face similar challenges.
lenged their opponents to come up

conflict.
Rather than looking upon the
peace process as a manifestation of the
"Next Year in Jerusalem!" refrain that
closes the seder, we are now left stuck
on a much earlier passage in the Hag-
gadah:
"For not only one enemy has risen
against us to destroy us, but in every
generation they rise against us to
destroy us ... "
Though the Haggadah follows this
sentence with the promise that God
will "rescue us from their hand" as he
did in Egypt, the certainty of a future
in which there will be no shortage of
enemies is a tough pill to swallow.
And it is one many of us have tried,
at all costs, to avoid.
But in the aftermath of the latest
incidents in Palestinian Authc,rity
leader Yasser Arafat's war against
Israel, there is n3 getting around the
fact that all of the goodwill in the
world will not bring about peace.
Arafat rejected former Prime Minis-
ter Ehud Barak's ridiculously generous
offer of a Palestinian state in more
than 90 percent of Judea and Samaria
— with half of Jerusalem and the
Temple Mount thrown in! Today, only
those bent on self-deception can pre-
tend that Arafat's goal is peace.
We didn't need to see the pictures
of a 10-month-old Jewish baby shot
in cold blood by a Palestinian sniper
to confirm that remorseless violence
against Jews has become part of the
culture of Palestinian Arabs. But
now that we have lived to see such a
thing, who can pretend that the bat-
tle between Jews and Arabs over that
tiny strip of land is merely about
borders?
We also didn't need to watch
videos of the la t est attacks by suicide
bombers in Israel — whose deeds
are lauded by Arab crowds and lead-
ers, then rationalized by Arab writers
on the opinion pages of some daily
newspapers. But now that we have
seen them, how can we refuse to
admit that the future will be a long,
hard fight for survival, with no mes-
sianic photo-op in sight to conclude
it.

❑

Speakers:

73zetz)a

7Zoserzbebi

This fashion legend uses her spiritual transformation for the
benefit of others. Facilitator for Temple Beth El Synagogue 2000
and recipient of the Ohr Somayach Tree of Life Award, Brenda
runs a weekly prayer group at Lillian & Samuel Hechtman
Jewish Apartments II. A designer and professional photogra-
pher, she was the first woman Senior Vice President of Fashion
for both Hudson's and Federated Department Stores. As a
recovering perfectionist and lifestyle coach, Brenda will speak
about putting perfect into perspective — a personal journey.

Providence Hospital's medical director of inpatient psychiatric
services and assistant medical coordinator for behavioral med-
icine will offer a historical perspective of the changes in medi-
cine from the tribal to the present, culminating in a new med-
ical paradigm that treats the whole woman. Debra is a gradu-
ate of the Wayne State University School of Medicine.

rzobetta (—
lie ph..

A psychotherapist in private practice, Roberta has a special expert-
ise in the area of eating disorders. She earned her Ph.D. in psy-
chology at the Union Institute in Ohio.She also holds degrees from
the universities of Michigan and Pennsylvania. Formerly affiliated
with the Eastwood/St. John's Clinic, Roberta will discuss the cul-
tural and psychological aspects of perfectionism — the super-
woman syndrome.

QQ Same,

10h.

A specialist in the healing of family relationships, Jill will offer a
path for healing that leads us past perfectionism and into the
mind-body-spirit connection. She earned her B.A. from Antioch
University and her master's and Ph.D. at the California School
of Professional Psychology. Jill leads a weekly bereavement
group at Temple Beth El. She is knowledgeable about spiritual
healing, alternative medicine and the benefits of taking a holis-
tic approach to life's challenges and crises.

Crivas?aq, ,c4ptit2 26, 2001

8:45 a.m. — Registration and Continental Breakfast

9 a.m.- noon — Program

No charge — No solicitation

Temple Beth El
7400 Telegraph Road
Bloomfield Hills

Registration is required by April 19

For reservations and information, call (248) 642-4260, ext. 206

-Spa/vote) 6q (lzmp&

Them 6) _Sista/woo

JEW H
WOMEN'S

FOUNDATION

