EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK

n

Israel And The Jewish Soul

op new friendships, it becOmes more and more obvious the
is words are riveting, reaffirming the resolve of
wonderful
miracle God has done for us to allow us the
American Jews who make beleaguered Israel an
privilege
of
being here."
intimate part of their lives.
"When we made the decision to make
Doing More
aliyah nearly four years ago and build our home here,"
Loewenthal wisely realizes a tough hide alone isn't enough
Detroit native Larry Loewenthal wrote to family and
to defeat the elusive enemy, which, in many ways, is win-
friends via e-mail last week, "we were well aware that the
ning the war.
situation here could — and probably would — deteriorate,
The Palestinians not only are compromising Prime
but we decided that Israel is where we
Minister Ariel Sharon's popularity, but also forcing the
belong."
Bush administration to be more involved in the region,
He and his wife, Shirley, live half of the
which Arafat sees as essential to achieving statehood.
year in a home they built in Ra'anana
They also are preying on J e wish apathy and indifference
(north of Tel Aviv). The Young Israel of
outside the region.
Southfield couple call Southfield home the
Jews everywhere must do more, Loewenthal said.
rest of the year. They have three children
And we must.
and three grandchildren. Their son
As Loewenthal put it: "We must, all of us, do every-
Avraham is an artist in the holy mountain
ROBERT A.
thing we can to see that Israel survives, that the Arabs do
city of Safed.
SKLAR
not win, and that our people have a safe homeland."
Loewenthal, 58, is well aware of the
Editor
Which means American Jewry no longer can harbor
relentless sniper attacks, suicide bombings
the illusion that Arafat, who claims Israel uprooted the
and Israeli reprisals — and the mounting
Palestinians from their land, wants peace. We know he
death toll on both sides lio—fia the Palestinian intifada
thrives on tension.
(uprising) unleashed 17 months ago.
Beyond that, we must look beyond political differences to
The spasms of violence could have broken his spirit.
support Israel — with our money and through our visits.
Instead, he's more dedicated than ever to Israel, the tiny
Visitors not only stimulate the economy while growing
Jewish homeland the Palestinians who follow terrorist
closer to the ancient land, Loewenthal said
Yasser Arafat would so love to annihilate.
in his e-letter to family and friends, but also
"Everyday in our prayers," Loewenthal said, "we
send a message "to the Israelis, who take
turn our hearts and our souls to Israel."
great strength and comfort in your support,
He added, "It becomes more apparent to us each
and to the Arabs, who see that we will not
day that, in spite of the situation, we made the
go away."
right decision to live here."
Loewenthal backs Sharon's raids on terror
They're active in the community; too.
compounds on the West Bank and along
She's studying Hebrew and teaching water aero-
the Gaza Strip. He's hopeful the prime min-
bics to her new Israeli friends.
ister turns the tide of the war, despite lack
A Wayne State University Medical School gradu-
of unity in his government.
ate and an ophthalmologist since 1974, he's a vol-
"I do not profess to be an expert in how
unteer teacher for Israeli eye doctors, especially in
to resolve our present war," Loewenthal
the field of cataract surgery. He and partner Jay
said, "but I do believe that it can only be
Novetsky of Southfield have mentored and
won from a position of strength."
acquired donations for eye doctors across the
Dr. Lawrence
Such a position means first acknowledg-
countryside. One donation, through the Ben N.
Lo ewenthal
ing the Palestinian Authority's true motiva-
Teitel Charitable Trust, managed by Gerald Cook
tion. Hymie Cutler, director of the Detroit-
of Farmington Hills, brought a diagnostic laser to
based Michigan Committee for a Safe Israel,
Kupat Cholim Klalit's Lin Clinic in Haifa.
tells it like it is in his newsletter: "The Arab-Israel con-
flict is not a border dispute. What disturbs Arab leaders
Deeply Committed
about the Jewish state is its very existence. Their claim of
The strategy of Arafat's Fatah movement includes trying
a 'Palestinian people,' separate and distinct from an Arab
to dissolve the Israeli will to go on. But Loewenthal dis-
people, is their subterfuge to claim all of Israel belongs
misses that tack. "It is amazing that the longer one is
to them and Jews have no right to be there!"
here," he said, "the more attached one becomes to the
In addressing the Detroit Jewish community at Temple
land and its people, and closer to God."
Shir Shalom in West Bloomfield last week, former U.S.
That's not to say Israel is an easy place to live.
Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk, who helped broker
"Unemployment is high, wages are low, the war is con-
the Israel-Jordan peace treaty, admired the Israelis' spunk
stantly going on, the political system is a joke and the
amid the carnage wrought by the intifada. But he won .-
division within our own people is major," he said in a suc-
dered how much longer they could hold on. "We must
cinct analysis of the 53-year-old country's internal strife.
stand by them," he said. "We must help them find a way
Yet, he quickly added, "this is truly the place to be."
through the crisis."
He went on to relate how sad it is to visit Jerusalem,
Indyk was right when he suggested, "Left to their own
once brimming with tourists. "Tourism is nil," he said.
devices, neither the Palestinians nor the Israelis are going
"Stores and hotels are empty. One never knows what our
to be able to break out of this dance of death."
Arab cousins have planned next."
Indeed, we, American Jewry, must stand now with
Still, the Detroit Friends of Bar-Ilan University board
Israel, 6,000 miles away physically, but spiritually
member proudly calls Israel his half-year home. "Every day
imbedded in the neshamah, the soul, of each of us. ❑
I walk this land, breathe the air, view its beauty and devel-

EMILIO PUCCI

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