LETTERS
LETTERS from page 6
religion with marketing, that compa-
nies should not market in such a way
that they appear partial to one religion
or culture. I disagree. Religion and
culture always have been a facet of
public life in America, and should
continue to be so, since they help to
form and strengthen communities.
Should companies stop wishing their
Jewish customers and employees a
happy Chanukah because it shows
favor to one religion? Businesses can-
not afford to ignore the desires of their
customers.
Evangelical Christians are big sup-
porters of Israel, and we cannot afford
to discount this. The American
Muslim population, which is currently
about equal in size to the Jewish pop-
ulation, is growing more rapidly.
Without support from Christians, we
would soon be out-voted, just as is
happening in France.
We should choose our battles care-
fully. Companies such as GM pour
millions of dollars of philanthropy
into our community, and with too
much shrill criticism, there is a danger
that our community will be seen as
petty and ungrateful.
Moses Fridman
Birmingham
Nimoy's Premise
Is Questioned
Although I was by no means a
"trekkie," I do recall a particular
episode [of television's Star Trek series]
that was called "Spock's Brain."
In the program, "Captain Kirk" asks
"Dr. McCoy": "Is he dead?" referring
to the fact that "Mr. Spock" [the char-
acter played by Leonard Nimby] is on
life support.
"Bones" [Dr. McCoy's nickname]
answers, "It's worse than that, Jim; his
brain is gone." After reading the cov-
erage in JN (Nov. 1, pages 24, 25 and
37) on Leonard Nimoy's photographic
book Shekhina, I began to wonder if
he ever got it back!
Certainly, it can be said that Nimoy
has boldly gone where no artist has
ever trekked before him: nude women
donning tallit and tefillin has got to
be a first.
As quoted in JN, Nimoy describes
the motivation behind his photo-
graphic endeavor as follows: "Because
men are uncomfortable about the idea
of a woman as God, I focus on the
unclothed female form to evoke the
divine spirit that lives in all of us."
Let me see if I got this right.
11/15
2002
10
Nimoy's premise is that looking at his
nude women will evoke in men an
awareness of divinity, and that they
will consequently be more comfortable
with the idea of a woman as God.
This gives a whole new meaning to
the notion of "spiritual arousal."
What's next — Pentheaven? Is this
what [Seattle's Temple Beth Ahm]
Rabbi [Jonathan] Singer meant when
he talked about "stirring up the pot of
Jewish creativity"? One can only imag-
ine what is going to be cooked up
next.
Taking this absurdity to its extreme,
God also manifests himself in a manly
image. Perhaps next year's Book Fair
will bring a similar debate, only this
time the controversy will center on the
"unclothed male form."
Sadly, the ultimate consequence of
Nimoy's work is antithetical to his
goal of enlightening viewers to the
mysterious concept of shechinah [the
presence of God in the world]. This is
evident by the verse, "He shall not see
any eroticism in your midst, for then
He will turn away from you"
(Deuteronomy 23:15).
A halachic commentary on the
above explains that immodesty actual-
ly causes the shechinah to depart from
the people of Israel.
Ironically, in the episode "Spock's
Brain" referred to above, it was a mys-
terious female who had taken his
mind. It looks like it's happened again.
Avraham D. Leaf
Oak Park
An Anti-Pollard
Government Mindset
After reading (retired) Colonel
Sheppard Werner's article ("The
Deeds of Jonathan Pollard," Nov. 1,
page 39), my question is: Why was it
published? It provides no new infor-
mation or new insight on the Pollard
case.
The only value this article has, it
seems to me, is that it represents a
mindset of government officials who
believe Jonathan Pollard should not
leave prison alive. (For example,
George Tenet, CIA director, threat-
ened to resign if Pollard were set free
as part of the disastrous Wye Accords.)
Such a mindset has existed in the
Defense Department since the days of
Caspar Weinberger, helping to explain
why humanitarian efforts to free
Pollard have failed.
Col. Werner is thoughtful enough
to share with the reader his under-
standing of what can contribute to
anti-Semitism, no doubt based on a
special expertise he has. And he goes
on to inform the reader on Pollard's
motivation for spying, namely money.
There is another possibility, howev-
er, that Col. Werner is unlikely to
consider. Suppose that the animus
which Col. Werner displays is similar
to that which the young Pollard
observed being directed at Israel while
employed as an intelligence analyst for
the U.S. Navy. This animus toward
Israel plus his concern over its vulner-
ability, in turn, led him unwisely to
illegally supply intelligence informa-
tion to Israel.
Sadly, as it turns out, some of Israel's
enemies have become enemies of the
United States today, as has become
clearer since Sept. 11, 2001.
Irving Warshawsky
West Bloomfield
U.S.S. George Washington from
Genoa, Italy, just days before Italy's
Benito Mussolini declared war. When
I married, here in Detroit, I learned
that my husband had also sailed from
Germany, in 1946, on the same ship,
which had been converted to a troop
ship.
I was very disappointed that your
newspaper did not mention the
events of 11-9, Kristallnacht. It is a
date that in the words of President
Franklin Roosevelt, "is a day of
infamy."
It is a date that should always be
remembered. It is a date and event
that should be the subject of rabbini-
cal sermons expressed in each syna-
gogue. I doubt that any such sermons
were made. We did not remember
11-9, Kristallnacht.
Elsie Simkovitz
Oak Park
We Must Remember Tamarack's Finkelberg
Fateful Kristallnacht Will Be Missed
As a 10-year-old girl, I looked out of
my bedroom window at the massive
flames engulfing my Nuremberg syna-
gogue. The German fire department
stood by and watched the flames.
They were there to see that the fire
did not spread to German buildings.
It was November 1938. I shall
always remember that date, 11-9, just
as we Americans will always remem-
ber 9-11. Nov. 9 was later called
Kristallnacht; it was the beginning of
the Holocaust.
Hours later, the Nazis broke into
our apartment. They were looking for
my father. If he had been there, they
would have taken him away to a con-
centration camp. We might never
have seen him again.
Disappointed that my father was
not there, the Nazis began to destroy
our furniture. They slashed an oil
painting that was on the wall.
Fortunately, my father had left for
the United States five weeks before
Kristallnacht. Without visas, my
mother, brother and I were left in
Nuremberg, the capital of Nazism.
The U.S. State Department's con-
sulate office played the quota waiting
game; the lines of Jews seeking refuge
grew longer.
It was not until 1940, after the
start of World War II, that my moth-
er received visas for us. Wisely, she
chose to leave Germany and head for
Italy.
By sheer chance, we sailed on the
Tamarack Camps is our home. As
supervisors, we have all devoted
countless hours, wholehearted energy
and emotional adrenaline to assure
that every camper leaves Tamarack
feeling as passionate about this place
as we do.
This passion is no better emulated
than in the words and actions of [ex-
executive director] Harvey Finkelberg
("Farewell To Ortonville," Nov. 8,
page 16).
Harvey gives his supervisors the
confidence to lead, his counselors and
specialists the ability to make a differ-
ence and his campers the chance to
have magical and memorable sum-
mers.
It is such an incredible talent to be
able to affect so many people on so
many different levels. Harvey has sus-
tained this ability for the past 10
summers, and it is shown in the face
of every child and adult who returns
to camp year after year.
We all have the utmost respect for
Harvey Finkelberg. It is unfortunate
that the executive board of Fresh Air
Society could not share the opinion of
the people who truly care about camp
— the campers and staff. Our home is
now left with a void. Harvey's spirit
and enthusiasm, leadership and dedi-
cation, goals and vision will be sadly
and noticeably missed.
Samantha Klein and
16 other 2002 supervisors
Farmington Hills