LETTERS We prefer letters that relate to articles in the Jewish News. We reserve the right to edit or reject letters. Brevity is encouraged. Letters must contain the name, address and title of the writer, and a daytime telephone number. Original copies must be hand signed. Mail to the Jewish News at 30301 Northwestern Highway, Suite 200, Farmington Hills, MI 48334; fax to (248) 539-3075; or e-mail to: rsklar@thejewishnews.com Treason Definition Doesn t Fit Spy ' Your advice to American Jewish organ- izations that they stay out of the legal fracas involving Jonathan Pollard's challenge to the sentencing process that led to his potential life sentence is on the mark and should be heeded (The Spy In The Shadows," Aug. 16, page 14). However, when you say "without a doubt [he] committed treason," you err. Treason is defined in the Constitution (the only crime it defines), Article III, Sec. 3, as "levying war against [the United States], or, in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid or Comfort." We certainly were not at war with Israel in the 1980s, nor was Israel an enemy. The difficulty that Jews have in properly assessing Pollard's crimes, and the way the justice system dealt with them, is the excessiveness of the rhetoric that surrounds the discussion. Your exaggeration doesn't help. Avern Cohn Detroit Israel Is Safer Than You Think 444 8/30 2002 6 I read the editorial describing the fear and trembling that the Israeli teenagers experience when they walk out of their houses ("Summer To Remember," Aug. 16, page 35). As I walk out of my house in Nazareth Illit, I think of my daughter in Hadera, who takes a bus to come visit with my 2-year-old grandson. I think of my oldest daughter, who is here and who is returning to Beit Shemesh with her husband and her two girls. And I think of my son, who just came in from Ofakin, a town outside of Beersheva in the south. They come to us without fear and trembling. And I don't rush to the synagogue and bentsh Gomel [a prayer said after danger passes]. What gives here? Just because somebody across an imaginary Green Line wants to remove us from our houses because they think we "stole" their homeland, does that mean I feel insecure? Compared to the hot spots in Europe, Israel is incredibly safe, much safer than some places in the United States, where you don't drive on the surface [roads] for fear of carjackers. The teenagers who come here know that, too. They take buses, they hitch rides to school and they do all sorts of things that would make your hair stand on end because they feel secure in their own land, their own country. Security is a feeling that you live among your loved ones, where you feel at home. That is the reason many American Jews remain in the States or in Argentina or as they once felt secure" in Eastern Europe. It would do you well,•all of you, to come to Israel and feel the security we feel, as part of a nation who lives in its own land. Zev Davis Nazareth Illit, Israel " Buy Israeli Goods To Aid Survival I was thrilled to go to the Jewish Community Center in Oak Park and spend about $500 on Israeli products ("Everyone Wins," Aug. 16, page 20). I was twice in Israel this year. As it has been published in the Jewish News many times, the Israeli economy is devastated because of lack of tourism. While Israel is fighting for its sur- vival, we must do everything possible to help in these difficult times. Many anti-Semitic European countries are boycotting Israeli products; so we must step in and make up for it. The shopping expo was only three days, but if every Jewish family in the Detroit area would buy $5 or $10 worth of Israeli products a week, and if this could happen nationwide, it would be a tremendous help. The Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, with the help of the Jewish News and other Jewish organizations, should provide to our community details of where Israeli products can be bought. Some depart- ment stores have Israeli merchandise, but most people do not know any- thing about it. One-Stop Kosher on Greenfield and 10 Mile Road in Southfield has Israeli food products, as does Hiller's Market in West Bloomfield. I checked Kroger at the Pine Lake Mall on Orchard Lake Road in West Bloomfield and they only had two Israeli products — soups and falafel. How can we get them to stock more Israeli products? Hundreds of families bought Israeli products in three days (at the expo). We must make this a continuing effort. David Kahan Bloomfield Hills Rep. Knollenberg Deserves Our Vote Apropos the 9th Congressional District race, Democratic challenger David Fink presumably is correct that he and Republican incumbent Rep. Joe Knollenberg "both ... are pro- Israel" ("Special Interest," Aug. 16, page 22). But it does not follow that the race will be, or should be, decided based on a domestic agenda. Rep. Knollenberg has strongly sup- ported Israel during a difficult time. Given traditionally low levels of Jewish support for Republican candidates, it appears that he and his conservative colleagues have done so because they believe this is the right thing to do. How refreshing. Even in politics, friends and allies need not agree on everything. As the saying goes, "A friend in need is a friend in deed." Israel can ill afford to lose its friends in Congress by our application of a domestic litmus test. Quite apart from the benefits accru- ing from his seniority, by his princi- pled stand, Rep. Knollenberg deserves our gratitude and, just possibly, our votes. For some of us, our concern for Israel trumps domestic issues this November. Roger H. Leemis Bloomfield Hills was extremely accommodating and this, too, is greatly appreciated. I would like to thank Dr. Zumsteg; Dr. Nancy Campbell, assistant super- intendent; and Jim Basel, Berkley High School principal, for their efforts in making sure that all the students have an equal opportunity to share in this wonderful life cycle experience. Sharon Levine Oak Park Israeli Camper Enjoys Camp Maas Editor's note: This is a letter sent to counselor Laurie Stocker of Farmington Hills from one of her teen-aged Israeli campers during the second session at Fresh Air Society-Tamarack Camps' Camp Maas in Ortonville. I miss you so much, guys. When we got up to the plane, I cried almost two hours! When I met my parents, I start- ed to cry again because it [camp] is finished. But I must come back next year to the same camp. I had so much fun with you. I had the best time in my life in this camp. I don't have any news to write you right now, only that I really want you to keep in touch. Noa Rumpler Kibbutz Moshav Balfitriya Israel Berkley Schools Show Sensitivity Fond N emories Of Old Windsor I would like to take a moment to acknowledge and thank the Berkley School District for its concern and prompt action with regard to Berkley High School's June 2003 graduation. In the programming for the upcoming year, the graduation was mistakenly scheduled at Meadow Brook Theatre in Rochester Hills on erev Shavuot. As I was putting together my calen- dar for this school year, I noticed this discrepancy and immediately contact- ed Dr. Tresa Zumstag, superintendent of Berkley schools. Within 24 hours, the matter was settled and graduation was rescheduled for Monday, June 9. These efforts did not require any drastic measures. I did not have to turn to my rabbi or the community for assistance. I was informed that if even one child was not going to be able to attend his or her commence- ment because of the holiday, this was cause enough to make the change. I understand that Meadow Brook I enjoyed your article and accompany- ing pictures about the exhibit at the Windsor Community Museum ("Community Pride," Aug. 2, page 74). The class picture of the boys was taken around 1940 in front of the Bagley School, located on Assumption Street, not the J.E. Benson School [as indicated in the story]. The principal, Mr. Fuller, is at the top row, left. I am in the third row from the bottom, sec- ond from the right. Shaarey Zedek Synagogue was locat- ed on Mercer Street and it was there I attended services with my father, Aaron Cooper. Tifereth Synagogue was located in East Windsor, just off the main street, Drouillard Road, in the shadow of the towering Ford factory. It was here, on the bimah in the pic- ture shown, in the year 1942, that I read the haftorah for my bar mitzvah. Sam Cooper Huntington Woods