"We must ask God for peace, and we must learn
to live together in peace," he said.
Imam Abdullah El Amin of the Muslim Center of
Detroit said that, "although Islam is the fastest-growing
religion in the world, it is the most misunderstood."
The imam, a black Muslim and native-born
American, gave a brief history of Islam and its core
beliefs. The terrorist attack on the World Trade
Center was political, not religious, he said, because
Islam forbids suicide and killing innocent people.
"The Koran says the exact opposite of what they
did," he said.

Mayor Gillham concluded the speeches with a
plea for tolerance and acceptance of others.
Audience members then stood, holding lit candles
aloft, and joined the Burton Elementary School
choir singing, Let There Be Peace On Earth.
Laurie Lisi of Huntington Woods was happy she
came to the vigil, saying it fulfilled her "need to do
something public" after the Sept. 11 tragedy.
Rabbi Spolter concurred: "People needed an outlet
to express their feelings of loss, their American
pride, their sense of purpose. This really brought
people together."

❑

Fallout

Israel's leaders weigh the
results of IDF tanks in the
West Bank.

DAVID LANDAU
Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Jerusalem
srael this week is weighing the interim
results of the largest military operation it
has mounted during the past 13 months
of violence.
The balance is complex, informed observers
say, with both pros and cons on the balance
sheet.
Israel Defense Forces troops and tanks pulled
back from Bethlehem and neighboring Beit
Jalla, just south of Jerusalem, overnight Sunday,
after a day in which Palestinians desisted from
shooting at the nearby Jerusalem neighborhood
of Gilo.
IDF generals reached a detailed agreement
with the commander of the Palestinian
Authority's preventive security service, Jibril
Rajoub, that his men would take over the
policing of the "front line" and ensure that it
remained quiet. By midweek, that local accord
appeared to be holding.
The three members of the inner security cab-
inet — Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Foreign
Minister Shimon Peres and Defense Minister
Binyamin Ben-Eliezer — presumably hoped
that withdrawing from the Christian holy city
of Bethlehem would alleviate some of the criti-

I

Clockwise from top left:

Erin Archanbault, 11, her mother Laura,
and her sister Allie, 5, of Huntington
Woods attend the vigil.

Leonard DeNard ofWashington Township.
and Bryan Sleeman of Detroit fold up the
flag after the U.S. Naval Sea Cadets color
guard completes their part of the event.

Julie Montgomery of Huntington Woods with
daughters Hannah, 9, and Madeline, 6.

FALLOUT on page 16

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