JITOpinion

Editorials are posted and archived on JN Online:

www.detroitjewishnews.com

Dry Bones

A Humble Giver

E

dward Meer embodies all that is good
about giving to worthy causes.
The West Bloomfield-based Meer
Jewish Apartments for seniors and the
Yeshiva Beth Yehudah's early childhood develop-
ment center in Southfield are just two of the "bricks
and mortar" contributions to Detroit Jewry that
bear the Bloomfield Hills philanthropist's name and
that of his late wife of 50'years, Norma Jean.
Edward Meer's, imprint is also on the Kollel
Institute of Greater Detroit, the Friendship Circle,
Yeshivas Darchei Torah in Southfield and Yad Ezra,
the kosher food bank in Berkley.
With his wife of two years, Gloria, Meer was hon-
ored last week by Yeshiva Beth Yehudah's
Beth Jacob for Girls in Oak Park and
Yeshivat Akiva in Southfield for his dona-
tion of new school gymnasiums at the two
Orthodox day schools.
Meer doesn't seek the limelight, but he attracts it
nonetheless. He's a devoted man who excelled in
business and found great joy in sharing the fruits of
that success with others.
The Detroit Central High graduate believes
deeply in the value of a Jewish day school educa-
tion. On May 5, Edward and Gloria Meer received
the Torah Builder Award at Akiva's 38th anniversary
banquet. In introducing them, Akiva graduate Dr.
Joseph Greenbaum aptly captured Edward Meer's
passion for putting kids first:
"It has always been Ed's greatest pleasure to
extend that generosity to the youth of our commu-

pity. For he has used that same keen
vision and foresight that has made
him successful in business to recog-
nize that it is our children who guar-
antee the future and the perpetuity of
our people."
This is a man who had never been
to Akiva's Southfield facility, but
became a supporter after hearing the
school honors choir sing. "I was in
tears in about three minutes," he said.
He offered funding to build a much-
needed gym, but noted, "I could have
built a whole building for Akiva I was
so taken by the choir."
The key to our success
as a community, and to
our survival as a people,
is the caliber of our Jewish learning
opportunities. Edward Meer knows
that. His reason for the gifts of new
gyms says it all: "I do believe in
education thoroughly, and also
some exercise along with it. You
have to feel good to be able to study
well."
Selfless at heart, Meer realizes that
by lending his name to "family"
institutions like a senior citizen
complex, day schools and a commu-
nal pantry to fight hunger, he might
inspire others to also give. With loving support
from Norma Jean and now Gloria, Edward Meer
has parlayed his material wealth into a wealth of

devotion to the purest form of tzedakah — to
giving because it is right, not out of hope for per-
sonal plaudits or reward. ❑

would give them an excuse to dodge that pressure.
A second drawback is that defining a buffer
zone inherently draws a line that will be used
against Israel when and if the Palestinian
Authority reforms itself enough to be worth nego-
tiating with again. Since the buffer zone cannot
reasonably include the most distant, isolated West
Bank settlements, Israel will appear to be writing
them off before the fact of a comprehen-
sive long-term peace agreement.
Obviously, no buffer zone will guarantee
an end to terrorist attacks. If Hamas and
Islamic Jihad cannot sneak their homicide
bombers through the security zone, they will con-
centrate on shooting mortars and missiles over it.
Israel has had exactly that experience in its border
with Lebanon, where mortars and missiles still fly
into Israeli communities since the Jewish state's with-
drawal from the buffer zone it occupied for 20 years.
In these conditions, it seems more. likely that
Israel would want to concentrate on beefing up
the security presence at the most likely targets —
the markets, social clubs, bus queues, etc.
Just as the U.S. is strengthening airport security
by federalizing the guards at the departure gates,

so Israel might lend assistance to its private
guards, the first line of defense in thousands of
locations. Many of the guards are part-time work-
ers who have not been adequately trained in what
they-should be looking for and how best to pro-
ceed with different kinds of threats.
Israel can't put a guard at every bus stop, but it
can increase the number of guards who ride on
the busiest routes. Perhaps it can do more to-
develop technology that will sniff out the explo-
sives that the killers strap on their backs.
A buffer zone might buy Israel some time if
Arab armies massed to try to roll Israel back into
the sea, a goal that many Arabs cherish. More
likely, however, a buffer will just isolate Israelis
more from the pressing need to help Palestinians
rebuild an effective government to succeed the
failed P.A.
It's folly to pretend that what happens "over
there," behind the buffer zone, does not affect the
future of the state of Israel. Instead, Israel needs to
seek secure re-engagement — renewal of the most
promising avenues of cooperation with the true
moderates. Sharon's buffer is more likely to hide
the problem than solve it. ❑

EDIT ORIAL

Related stories: pages 39 and 41

The Wrong Solution

I

sraeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon needs to
back away from his mistaken plan for creat-
ing a "buffer zone" between Israel and the
Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.
The enhanced security he seeks can be achieved in
more effective ways, at lower cost and without the
needless provocation of Palestinians who already
are inflamed by what they see as a humiliating
Israeli seizure of territory beyond the
1967 boundaries.
Sharon has been careful so far not to
specify exactly how his buffer zone would
be defined and patrolled — just as his predecessor,
Ehud Barak, was careful not to spell out the places
where he wanted to build a wall against the
Palestinians. But geography and common sense
suggest it will require a continuing troop presence
to cut down on infiltration by terrorists. The
checkpoints that already massively disrupt
Palestinian life would be more numerous and, in
all likelihood, even more of a target for sneak
attacks. The Bush administration is pressuring
Arab states to crack down on Palestinian leader
Yasser Arafat; unilaterally creating a buffer zone

EDIT ORIAL

.

5/17
2002

33