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Use Money Wiser
I am impressed by and praise David
Arm's letter ("A Different
Perspective," July 16, page 6).
I am a survivor of seven extermi-
nation camps. I also lecture about
the Holocaust at schools where the
children are of all faiths and found
that their knowledge of the
Holocaust is almost nonexistent.
Many of these children have also
visited Holocaust museums.
The hundreds of millions of dol-
lars spent on the Holocaust muse-
urns in the United States should be
put to a better use that would
strengthen the fiber of the Jewish
communities.
Every Jewish child is entitled to
have the best Jewish education avail-
able, affordable to all families. As a
result, our children will become
even greater assets in the Jewish
community.
I applaud Mr. David Arm for hav-
ing the courage and wisdom to tell
the truth about the waste of money
and resources that should be put to
better use.
Henry Friedman
West Bloomfield
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Regarding letter writer David Arm's
comments about the Holocaust
Memorial Center ("A Different
Perspective," July 16, page 6), thank
God there are people willing to
write checks in support of the HMC
and thank God here are thousands
of volunteer docents and survivors
that are fit, willing and able to artic-
ulate the historical facts of the
Shoah of World War II and other
periods of Jewish history.
No one is saying that any
Holocaust museum will prevent
anti-Semitism. But people visiting
them often come in with an uncar-
ing attitude and go away in awe,
taking with them what they have
learned. They did not realize how
mankind could stoop so low as to
destroy 6,258,484 Jews between
1933 and 1945. They did not realize
that an educated, cultured people
could have it in their hearts such
hatred, discrimination, bigotry and
evil.
What does the HMC have to offer
for its $18 million investment?
Thousands of school children in
this state and elsewhere, and hun-
dreds of people from around the
world, visit and are educated exactly
about what anti-Semitism and intol-
erance mean. There are only a few
paid and necessary employees; the
rest are volunteers.
Problems with the lack of libraries
or kosher restaurants and other edu-
cational institutions have nothing to
do with well-spent monies memori-
alizing and teaching historical facts.
I have no axe to grind. I'm just
one of many volunteers that believe
in helping our people cope with
associated problems of the
Holocaust. Through the HMC, I
can hear the ghostly voices of our
Jewish brethren — our poor dead,
murdered relatives. I can hear their
souls screaming out of the blood-
soaked soil of Europe, their ashes
screaming our, "Don't forget us. Tell
our story. Let it not happen again."
Martin Sharp
Farmington
The Memorial's Value
In response to the letter "A Different
Perspective" (July 16, page 6): As a
Holocaust survivor, I kept silent
about my experiences for more than
30 years, until I decided to speak
out and write a book, Defying the
Fates, about my experiences.
One of the main reasons for my
change of mind was the appearance
of Holocaust deniers, undoubtedly
some of the most pernicious anti-
Semites on earth.
The Holocaust Memorial Center
graphically combats that kind of
anti-Semitism and the education of
the young (and older) of all races by
the hundreds of thousands cannot'
be discounted. The Holocaust did
not make Judaism die, but rein-
forced it to a much stronger degree,
such as in the creation of the State
of Israel.
The Holocaust Memorial Center
library is being un-mothballed at the
new location. As for day schools,
every synagogue has classes for chil-
dren; mainstreaming kids in a non-
sectarian preschool is not such a bad
idea. A kosher restaurant in Detroit
would be no substitute for the
world-class educational system pre-
sented by the Holocaust Memorial
Center.
Henry H. Gleisner
Oxford
Meyers Library Returns
In response to the letter from David
Arm referring, in part, to the lack of
a library at the Jewish Community
Center CA Different Perspective,"
July 16, page 6), I am proud to
announce that the Henry and Delia
Meyers Library in West Bloomfield
has been redesigned, reconstructed
and will officially open at a public
dedication ceremony Sept 12.
Under the auspices of the JCC
and the Alliance for Jewish
Education, the Meyers library is
professionally staffed, technological-
ly advanced and will provide services
to children, adults and the visually
impaired.
The library will enhance and sup-
port programs offered in the build-
ing, on the campus and in the com-
munity. It will be a quiet browsing
place and an active inquiry site. It
will feature informational and recre-
ational Judaic materials from books
to periodicals to videos to Internet,
all accessible through automated cat-
alog and circulation systems.
The Meyers Library is both a chal-
lenge and an achievement.
Doris Blechman
vice president, JCC chair,
library committee
West Bloomfield
Standing Behind Hiller's
While I most certainly sympathize
with critics of Israeli policy towards
the Palestinians, the Hiller's Markets
contributions to Israeli schools and
hospitals have no relevance to the
matter (Shop For Israel," July 16,
page 17).
According to the Jewish News arti-
cle, only proceeds from Israeli prod-
ucts are contributed to charity.
Those wishing to boycott Israel need
only not purchase Israeli products.
That's fair. This boycott is not about
punishing Israel; it is only aimed at
hurting the Hillers.
Unfortunately, this boycott is
symptomatic of a hunger for contro-
versy that plagues political discourse
in Ann Arbor. It is one-sided. Where
is the boycott of Arabian petroleum
that fuels the terrorism Israel spins
into impunity for its actions?
Perhaps the SUV lifestyle of over-
consumption outweighs a fair
approach to bringing peace to the
Middle East.
My gratitude goes to Jeff Levin
and the Jewish Federation of
LETTERS on page 8