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A Kind Gesture

We very much appreciated reading
about David Techner's involvement
in helping children understand and
cope with death ("Saying Goodbye,
June 18, page 25). We think he was
modest, however, about just how
willing he is to make his services
available to the community.
We have a 6-year-old son who was
having an extremely hard time deal-
ing with the concept of death. Every
night, the questions and crying
would prevent him from sleeping
although our family had not experi-
enced a loss. We called David to see
if he could offer advice on how to
help our son and maybe suggest
some books that would be appropri-
ate.
To our surprise, and complete
gratitude, he came to our home (on
Memorial Day!) and sat down face-
to-face with our son, sharing statis-
tics, facts and answering any ques-
tions he had. He also gave him s-o-n--
beautiful picture books so we could
continue to discuss things at home.
After he left, we asked my son,
"Do you feel better?" My son
answered, "I feel a lot better." We
have not had a crying spell or sleep-
less night since. We cannot empha-
size enough how David Techner
made himself available, as a kind ges-
ture, to a member of the community.
We think David's willingness to
donate his time and offer this kind
of outreach should be recognized
because it certainly made a difference
in our son's life.
Debbie and Eric Miller

"

West Bloomfield

Pondering Gore's Defeat

We are now nearing the 2004 presi-
dential election and the Democratic
Party needs to look at the past elec-
tion and its results.
The loss of that election by Vice
President Al Gore, through a series
of events — the slipshod election in
the state of Florida, the rush to judg-
ment by the U.S. Supreme Court to
not allow a recount of ballots that
was then in progress in Florida — all
added to the outcome.
I personally feel anti-Semitism
played a major role in this election
also since Gore's vice presidential .
candidate, Sen. Joe. Lieberman, D-
Conn., is Jewish. Imagine if you can,
a Jew just one heart beat away from
the presidency. I cannot believe this

6/25

2004

6

could possibly play well in the deep
South.
The fact that Gore did not carry
his own state of Tennessee or
Arkansas speaks volumes about the
existence of anti-Semitism that still
pervades the South. Regardless of
this climate, Gore still was able to
win the popular vote by 500,000
votes.
Unfortunately, because of the anti-
quated system of the Electoral
College that seems to defeat the
principal of democracy, Gore did not
win.
Every citizen's vote in a presiden-
tial election should be counted,
regardless of in which state the vote
is cast.
Robert Leaf

Farmington Hills

Shocking Moment Recalled

The review in the June 11 edition
about the new film Heir to an

Executio'h: A Granddaughter's Story,
("Ordinary People," page 43)
recalled my shocking personal expe-
rience during a 1950s visit to the
FBI Building in Washington, D.C.
Through the years, we went to
Washington many times because our
children lived there, and, naturally,
we went to all of the museums and
historic buildings. It must have been
about 1954 — the time of the
Rosenberg execution. The FBI had a
lot of publicity about the remarkable
things they accomplished.
However, the very first huge exhib-
it in the FBI Building lobby was
about the little Jewish couple: Ethel
and Julius Rosenberg. Actually, there
was always doubt about Ethers guilt.
So, despite the many crimes and
convictions that the FBI was famous
for, this exhibit did come as a shock-
ing experience to see.
I hope that this movie by their
granddaughter clarifies a very unfor-
tunate time and event in our history.
Ann Barnett
Southfield

Helping The Uninsured

Earlier this month, we joined hun-
dreds of Detroiters from all walks of
life in Cover the Uninsured Week.
Religious community leaders,
despite their differences on matters
of theology and religious practice,
were united in the belief that the

plight of the uninsured in Michigan
is reaching epidemic proportions.
This is an issue that is galvanizing
the interfaith community like none
other since 9-11. One hundred faith
leaders attended a coalition-building
meeting earlier this spring under the
auspices of Cover the Uninsured
Week to begin to take concrete
action as a faith community on this
issue.
As we continue to seek solutions
to the growing problem of the unin-
sured during this election year, we
call on candidates for office — from
the White House to the state legisla-
ture — to address the issue of the
uninsured. We call on citizens to
urge their legislators to focus their
energy and resources toward ensur-
ing that all of us have the health care
coverage that we need in order to
live our lives to the fullest.
It is time to work together to give
hope to those living in danger and
fear.
It is time to cover the uninsured.
David Gad-Harf

executive director, Jewish Community
Council of Metropolitan Detroit
Rev. Joseph Jordan
president, Council of Baptist Pastors
of Detroit and Vicinity

JAMD Stands Up

In response to thearticle "Not On
Shabbat" (June 11, page 16), I
would just like to say "hats off" to
the Jewish Academy of Metropolitan
Detroit for standing by one of
Judaism's most fundamental and
sacred institutions.
Not only have they set a supreme
example for their students that we
need to be committed to protecting
our faith, but, hopefully, they also
have made a statement to all Jews
who carry a sad apathy toward the
tenets and traditions of Judaism.
Ahuva Wrotslaysky

Southfield

Cheers To Cap & Gown

I'm a retired kindergarten teacher
from the Berkley School District and
am currently living in Florida.
I. look forward to your annual Cap
& Gown edition (May 21) where
you profile deserving graduates. I am
always happy to see many of my for-
mer students. It makes me proud to
see how far they have come.
Congratulations to all of the grad-

uating seniors. I am sure they have
made some kindergarten teacher
happy, too.
Maggie Feldman

Lake Worth, Fla.

Unwavering Israel Support

As I read the June 4 JN Special
Report "My Israel" (page 26) on
how the attitudes of U.S. Jews are
being influenced by the continued
war, my heart began to sink.
The article mentioned how many
left-wing Jews are becoming disillu-
sioned and apathetic about Israel.
Then, as I finished, a dagger was put
through my heart when the article
stated that some left-wing Jews were
becoming Pro-Palestinian. I am still
sick to my stomach.
How can the world we live in be
so turned upside down — good is
evil, positive is negative and the
enemy comforted so easily. I know
why we Jews are liberal — simply
because we care. We care about the
poor; we care about the sick; we care
about the welfare of minorities. All
this caring is because we had no one
for millennia to care about us.
Maybe these left-wingers believe
Israel has a place among the nations,
but that is not the case by a long
shot. The entire world is against
Israel — the United Nations, the
European Union, and again, unbe-
lievably, our own people.
If Israel disappeared, the world
would give a sigh of relief. The only
friend Israel has is the United States
and the support of American Jews,
who must unequivocally support
Israel any way they can either
through charity or grassroots poli-
tics, namely the American Israel
Public Affairs Committee.
How does the entire world,
including these left-wing Jews, forget
whose sole responsibility for the
Palestinian pain is from: the
Palestinians. How quickly the world
forgets about 2000 when the
Palestinians were given an opportu-
nity for their own country (not to
mention the half dozen other times).
Without the State of Israel, our
ancestral homeland, which is cur-
rently under attack militarily and
politically, Jews around the world
will suffer. Israel must be supported
unwaveringly by the diaspora forever.
Michael L. Kahan

Bloomfield Hills