Fluid Change
Elyakin takes over leadership of Ann Arbor federation (seamlessly."
KAREN SCHWARTZ
Special to the Jewish News
Ann Arbor
A
s Joan Lowenstein's two-year term as president
of the Jewish Federation of Washtenaw County
came to a close, she passed the title to Neal
Elyakin, a longtime active community member, at
Federation's June 3 annual meeting.
Lowenstein, an Ann Arbor City Council member,
said she will miss working on a daily basis with issues
central to the Jewish community, but knows she'll be
plenty busy with an upcoming election. "I still will be
very involved with the Jewish community," she said.
"I think maybe one of the things I didn't realize
when I became Federation president is that it's practi-
cally a daily job. In a way, I was on call for things that
happen in the Jewish community and not only with
the Federation," she added. "It's a job that even if I did-
n't do something every day, I thought about it every
day. ,,
Jeff Levin, Jewish Federation of Washtenaw County
executive. director, praised Lowenstein's leadership,
describing how she made Ann Arbor's relationship with
Israel and its people a priority and commending her
work with programs designed to bring the whole com-
munity together.
"I said at our annual meeting that the test of a
Federation leader is one simple question:
Does he or she leave the community
stronger than when he or she found it?
With Joan, the answer is a resounding
`absolutely,'" Levin said.
"Joan has been an incredibly articulate
and compelling voice for the Jewish
Federation. She has a keen understanding
of the art of the possible, a commitment
to action over talk and an insatiable drive
to create a stronger Jewish people and a -
stronger Jewish community."
Elyakin, long involved with Federation
and Beth Israel Congregation, said he
hopes to continue helping the communi
ty be as strong as it can be, building on
current initiatives and working with agen-
cies and organizations. He said
Federation's role is "to help the communi-
ty go from strength to strength."
"I think the emphasis of the Jewish
Federation and the emphasis of the board
is to continue the good work of Joan
Lowenstein and her predecessor, Hillary
Lowenstein
Murt. What they put together not only
created a very good and effective commu-
nity dialogue, but also increased and improved how the
Jewish community helps itself" Elyakin said.
Ivory Tower
Facul hold the key to improving Israel's image on campus.
RACHEL POMERANCE
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Neth York
he belief that students are the main instiga-
tors of anti-Israel activity on college cam-
puses is wrong — it's actually the faculty. At
least, that's the premise of a soon-to-be released
report by the Israel on Campus Coalition, a group
of 27 Jewish organizations that aid pro-Israel
activists at U.S. colleges, and the American-Israeli
Cooperative Enterprise, a group that aims to bolster
the U.S.-Israel relationship.
A few high-profile anti-Israel or anti-Semitic acts
on some campuses have created the misconception
that anti-Israel activity is widespread and directed by
students, said AICE's executive director, Mitchell
Bard, who prepared the report. But such flashpoints
are rare, Bard says.
"The real problem is more insidious because it's
not as visible, and that is the absence of scholars
who can teach about Israel in a way that is factual
and even remotely sympathetic to Israel," said Bard.
Befuddled by the implacability of Arab govern-
T
7/ 2
2004
20
ments, Middle East scholars sought to blame the
conflict on Israel, said Martin Kramer, whose Ivory
Towers on Sand: The Failure of Middle Eastern Studies
in America is quoted in Bard's report. That alleged
bias has been compounded by Arab funding of
many Middle Eastern studies departments, and the
landmark publication in 1978 of Columbia
University professor Edward Said's Orientalism,
which argued that Westerners who studied
Palestinians viewed them through a racist or imperi-
alist lens. That hugely influential book spurred a
trend of academic inquiry that largely was anti-
Western and sympathetic to the Arabs.
Bard's report, which was to be released last week-
end at Hillel's International Lay Leadership
Conference in Washington, comes as the question of
anti-Israel bias among faculty has gained promi-
nence.
The Columbia University administration recently
created a faculty committee to examine the extent of
permissible free speech by academics. Heated debate
on the U.S.-led war in Iraq, prompted the creation
of the committee, said university provost Alan
Brinkley.
He referred to the growth of the Jewish
Community Foundation of Washtenaw
County, which has nearly $3 million in assets
since 1996, and organizations, such as the
now-independent Jewish Family Services of
Washtenaw County.
Elyakin, an educational administrator with
the Washtenaw Intermediate School District,
looks forward to working with the Jewish
community and to helping present continued
opportunities for learning and growth.
"I feel that this is my responsibility, to help
develop and maintain a strong Jewish com-
munity, with support for Jews worldwide,
and in our own community to continue our
strong relationship with Israel and with our
Partnership 2000 region [Central Galilee],"
he said.
Levin said that he anticipates a "seamless
transition" from the community standpoint
and considers himself fortunate to work with
such devoted leadership.
"Neal is a highly respected member of the
community who understands intuitively
every aspect of Federation's mission," Levin
said. "He comes to the position with years of
experience and years of devotion to building the com-
munity and with a lot of great ideas." ❑
But the committee found no evidence of "system-
atic bias in teaching on the campus," Brinkley said.
Many Jews, however, maintain that there is a sys-
tematic bias against Israel throughout academia —
and no quick fix.
"Students come and go," but "faculty can be there
for generations," said Rachel Fish, New York region-
al director of the David Project, which teaches about
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in high schools, col-
leges and communities. "How the administration
deals with that needs .-to become an item on the
agenda. -
"Jewish faculty are absolutely reluctant to speak
up" for Israel, she said. "If they don't have tenure,
they fear that if they speak up it's committing career
suicide. Those who do have tenure don't speak up
because they feel they won't be viewed as legitimate
scholars anymore."
Faculty behavior will change only if the impetus
comes from within the university, Fish and others
said.
Bard offers a range of recommendations for
reclaiming Middle East scholarship." Bard stressed
the purpose is not to oust critics Israel, but to foster
more accurate scholarship on Israel.
For example, his group will give matching funds
to universities that hire U.S. and Israeli academics as
visiting professors and offer scholarships to students
who want to become scholars on Israel. 17
"
.