EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK NOSOPF..N 5 ■ - 10 P1/4`45 1.2 5 Emotional Encounters united and strong." osh Weinberg and his father, Joel, stood in a small We simply need Israel to survive, Josh said. "Without her, store along a lightly traveled sidewalk in Jerusalem, we are but sheep without a shepherd, subject to the wrath of Israel's beleaguered biblical capital whose name our tormentors." translates to "City of Peace." The store was bursting Josh then raised a pointed question. Observing that many with kippot (skullcaps) of different shapes, sizes and colors. friends thought he was nuts to jeopardize his life by going to The store's "dimensions were closer to those of a shoebox Israel, but that he has managed to stay safe and sane two than of an average-sized room," said Josh, 17-year-old months into his pilgrimage, he said, "I often ask myself, grandson of Ruth and Benno Levi of Oak Park. "There was `Who is crazy — me for coming, or they for ignoring their hardly room to breathe." roots and remaining in America?'" "Echad. Shteim. Shalosh. One. Two. Three. A balding man Only by being in the land of our forebears is it possible to in his late 30s began to count kippot with painstaking slow- grasp the hardship gripping "nearly every facet of Israeli life," ness, as if he was departing from all he held he said. dear," Weinberg wrote in the journal he is keeping during his year of study at Yeshivat Doing Our Part HaKotel, a rabbinical college near the his- Josh said he believes the many diaspora Jews who insist they toric Western Wall. will visit Israel "when the situation be c omes better." But he Ten minutes later, the shopkeeper handed fears that is a naive approach. Joel Weinberg, a Pittsburgh resident, two "Anti-Semites will never stop from hating Jews and as long plastic bags brimming with kippot to sell to as they exist," he said, "the state of Israel will never be at American Jews. With the sale complete, the complete peace." ROBERT A. shopkeeper smiled faintly, Those Jews who have trav- SKLAR making a momentary emo- eled from the diaspora to Editor tional connection — as if their ancestral homeland, in those two plastic bags lay despite the threat there, have the key to his salvation from economic ruin, left an indelible imprint on the paltry profit needed to keep his store Israelis and given them a rea- afloat," Josh said. son and the strength to per- "It is a pity that it has come to this — severe. store owners, without documentation, trust- Upon his arrival in Israel, ing relative strangers to sell their items Josh found "half-empty abroad," he added. streets and shop owners who "In a slow but steady trend; Jerusalemites beg all who pass by for any are becoming desperate to survive in this sort of business." current economic stagnation." Many once-thriving stores 111*, "Life is hard in Israel," Josh said, in an Josh Weinberg and his grandfather, Benno Levi. in Jerusalem's retail districts understated but fervent reminder about have closed, victims not only what faces our brethren in the Jewish home- of the plunge in tourism, land. but also the falloff in Israelis willing to risk venturing too far from home. Given our ability through the ages to rebound Israel's Allure from adversity, Josh is confident "the streets of Jerusalem will Benno Levi shared his grandson's journal entry with me again teem with people" and that the reign of terror against because, he said, he was impressed by its "sense of emotion Israel by Palestinians aligned with Palestinian Authority and empathy." And I'm glad he e-mailed it to me. leader Yasser Arafat will be snuffed. I found the candidness and courage of this teenager — And he makes a compelling case. and so many others like him — uplifting. They have decid- The Detroit Jewish community has tried to do its part by ed to study under the embracing canopy of the Jewish state organizing three solidarity missions, which have brought 154 despite the Palestinian uprising. metro Detroiters to the Jewish state during the intifada. Our At a time when the state of American Jewry is stressed by next larger "miracle mission" is planned for April 2004. the triple-edged blow of assimilation, intermarriage and apa- Josh urges Jews in America to help "combat the despair" thy, Josh Weinberg — one of five children of Tova and Joel their brethren are confronting 6,000 miles away by visiting Weinberg — gives us pause to believe in our nation's pool of Eretz Yisrael — "located across an ocean, but hopefully future Jewish leaders. much closer in your hearts." "I love Israel," Josh said, "because it has been promised by If you can't make the sojourn, there's plenty you can do to God to the Jewish people and because it is a safe haven that make the same emotional connection as the Jerusalem shop- shields us from . all our enemies." keeper and the Weinbergs. For example, you can buy Israeli His use of the term "safe haven" is arguable given the products via local stores, events or the Internet; give to an deadliness of the intifada, whose violence and terrorism have Israeli charity; call, e-mail or write Israelis; advocate for claimed more than 640 lives over the past 24 months, Israel's safety and security; lobby congressional leaders to including 14 in Tuesday's bus- bombing near Hadera. But I support Israel's right to defend itself against aggressors; or can't fault his premise that no matter how fierce the enemy, invest in Israeli or U.S. concerns doing business in Israel. we remain a people, which has been our key to surviving. So please, do something for the Israeli cause. As Josh explained, we've been persecuted throughout his- Israel needs the diaspora — but the diaspora needs Israel tory — "by the Pharaohs, the Crusaders, the Spanish, the more. Russians, the Nazis and, of course, the Arabs." Yet "we have Make no mistake about that. ❑ found a country of our own — a state where Jews stand j TENDER 271 WEST MAPLE DOWNTOWN BIRMINGHAM 248.258.0212 Monday-Saturday 10-6 Thursday 10-9 Sunday 12-5 Open a Tender Charge Today 8 1 0 / 2 5 2002 5