LETTERS

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Memories Of Heroes

I thank you as a World War II veteran
for the excellent presentation of "Citizen
Soldiers" (Cover Story May 28, page
52). Its impact on old and young is
immeasurable.
Certainly, one effect is a greater sense
of patriotism it engenders in all who
review the history of WWII as reflected
in the profiles of those who survived the
era.
Newsman Tom Brokaw called us the
"Greatest Generation." Possibly. But if
true, it is because history gave us the
mission to vanquish two barbaric enti-
ties: Nazis and Japanese militarists.
I solemnly echo combat infantryman
Roy Albert's words when he states: "The
guys whom we buried are the heroes,
not we who are still living." But he is too
modest; anyone who saw combat is a
true hero in my eyes.
Albert Rosen
Farmington Hills

Sparks Of Good Will

In my capacity as the American Jewish
Committee Michigan Area director, I
was recently invited to participate in an
interfaith program in Hamtramck. The
[Polish-American] Piast Institute leader-
ship gathered a group to celebrate the
rededication of the statue of the Pope in
the park and the commitment of
Hamtramck's interfaith and civic leader-
ship to come together to listen and to
learn about each other.
Those Polish-Catholic-American and
Muslim-American residents who came
together deserve accolades and recogni-
tion of their courage. It was very inspir-
ing to see the genuine good will
expressed by all who attended.
AJC board member Michael Traison
also accompanied me for the daylong
activities. We both felt very welcomed as
members of the Jewish community We
left the program very impressed with
Hamtramck's leadership and how it has
embraced the values of pluralism and
mutual respect. We were even more
impressed by the religious leaders of the
Islamic community present who were
committed to these ideals as well.
It should be noted that Muslims came
to the Piast Institute and the park, par-
ticipated in the ceremony commemorat-
ing the repairing of the papal statue --
despite religious sensitivities involving
statues and images — intermingled with
folks of all faiths and later joined the
larger group for a late lunch. In between
these activities, they still had time to pray

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MICHIGAN HERITAGE

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in a mosque.
Finally, I am hopeful that Hamtramck
citizens of all faiths will look back at this
special day as a model of what all days in
Hamtramck could look like. The call to
prayer conflict should and could become
a call to prayer dialogue.
Sharona Shapiro
Michigan Area director,
American Jewish Committee
Bloomfield Township

Palestinians Reject Peace

A recent letter to the editor asserted that
"statistics say the majority of
`Palestinians' want peace" ("Most
Palestinians Do Want Peace," Feb. 13,
page 6). No specific statistics were cited.
Perhaps some actual opinion polls
should be considered:
• According to the Web site of the
Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey
Research (PSR) in Ramallah, the PSR
conducted a poll in the West Bank and
the G72 Strip during the period Oct. 7 -
14, 2003, in which 1,318 adults were
interviewed face to face in 120 locations,
with 3 percent margin of error. The
study found that "75 percent support
the suicide attack at Maxim Restaurant
in Haifa leading to the death of 20
Israelis." (See www.pcpstorg).
• A poll among 1,000 Palestinian chil-
dren by Palestinian child psychiatrist
Fadel Abu Heen found that 70 percent
wished to die as martyrs. Similarly, a poll
done by Israeli security agencies among
996 Palestinian children found that 73
percent wanted to be suicide bombers.
(Reuters article, Oct. 4, 2002, "Most
Israelis Believe Fighting for Survival")
• A May 2001 poll among Palestinian
adults living in the territories by Dr.
Nabil Kukali and the Palestinian Center
for Public Opinion found that 76.1 per-
cent supported suicide attacks like the
one conducted in Netanya in that
month, compared to 12.5 percent who
opposed and 11.4 percent who expressed
no opinion. (See wwwisraelinsider.com
June 4, 2001).
Although reasonable people could cer-
tainly differ in interpreting these results,
I think it is beyond question that Israel
should base its decisions on the actual
situation on the ground and not merely
rely on a vague notion that all people
truly want peace, save for a narrow
group of noisy extremists.
I hope the letter writer's assertion is
correct, but I have a real hard time believ-
ing it is true in light of these poll results.
Michael Hauser
Oak Park

