LETTERS
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Kerry For President
As the national election approaches this
fall, my level of disappointment with a
small group of fellow Jews will contin-
ue.
Just as we elect our president every
four years, like clockwork, we can be
assured that, like clockwork, a small
group of American Jews will once again
put the interests of Israel ahead of the
interests of America when considering
their ballot choice for the highest office
in the land.
Seeing American Jews put forth a
scenario that suggests voting for a can-
didate because he is thought to be "the
best choice for Israel" is an unfortunate
occurrence, and, thankfully, is not con-
doned nor followed by the great.major-
ity of American Jews who recognize
two basic facts: That we are Americans
Jews who support Israel while recogniz-
ing that our security as Jews in our
own land is paramount, and that there
is little difference between any outcome
we could expect to see between a Bush
or Kerry administration as regards
Israeli and Middle East policy.
Despite recent wishful comments
from Republicans nationally and local-
ly, American Jews look to continue
their strong support of the Democratic
ticket in November.
As we move forward toward Nov. 2,
American Jews should be no different
than any other thinking Americans and
must be encouraged to consider all the
issues as they look at the candidates
and not cast such an important ballot
based on one issue.
Marshall S. Solomon
West Bloomfield
Helping Spur Voters
You don't have to be a numerologist to
know that this year's election is a piv-
otal one. But just note the significance
of the number 72.
Washington was elected unopposed
in 1788; and 72 years later, in 1860,
Lincoln was elected. Then, 72 years
later in 1932, it was Roosevelt. Now it
is 72 years later and this pattern calls
for a major election to take place.
I feel it is not enough to vote or even
contribute money to a candidate this
time. To be able to hold your head
high for your progeny, it is necessary to
dialogue with your family, friends and
neighbors.
So at the age of 75, I will be walking
in my neighborhood, talking to people
I know (and don't know) as well as
phoning and e-mailing my family and
friends. This will be the only 72-year
cycle election in which I can vote. I
have told my kids, the last and most
significant election in my lifetime was
the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt
in 1932; I was 3 years old. This time, I
am old enough to participate — and I
will!
Sherwood S. Sandweiss
Oak Park
Kerry Bests Bush
I don't like the direction that President
Bush has taken our country. I don't like
the way he deceived us into a frivolous
war while alienating all of our potential
allies. I don't like the way he gave tax
cuts to the rich and bailed out his cor-
porate friends. And I don't like his
assault on our individual rights.
Now that I've seen more of John
Kerry, I can see that he represents so
much that Bush doesn't. Kerry has wis-
dom and intelligence, integrity and
courage. He has experience and
strength, morality and principle. Kerry
is a strong leader who can steer our
country back on course through these
difficult times.
John Kerry will put our priorities
back where they belong.
Katherine Wagner
Franklin
Wait Out Protestors
The Editor's Notebook "Spurned
Protests" (Aug. 13, page 5) gave the
impression that all Beth Israel
Congregation members in Ann Arbor
are united behind the SPURN group
and its response to picketers. This is
simply untrue.
I can only speak for myself, but a
response of only 80 out of 470 families
makes it clear that many others feel as I
do.
This idea has been floated around for
a while. Rabbi Robert Dobrusin has
stated he is uncomfortable with the
idea of tying a donation to the number
of protesters. He and our board of
directors have long held that the best
response is no response.
When Dr. Barry Gross initiated
SPURN (Synagogue Protest
Unacceptable! Respond Now) on Aug.
2, the rabbi stated that, while he
believes that his initial objections still
hold true, he understands the need to
do something in response — not a
strong endorsement.
I tend to agree with the rabbi. I am
not comfortable with the notion of
tying any type of donation to the pro-
testers. Tzedakah is an obligation of
every Jew, not something that should
be done as a response to something
repugnant. If you want to donate to
Magen David Adorn, then simply do
so. What does tying a donation to the
number of protestors accomplish?
Since they are clearly stubborn peo-
ple, I think that nothing will make
them go away. Even though it is clear
by the response of the community that
they damage their own cause every
week by their actions, they come out
anyway. I think it has gotten to the
point where they don't even know what
will make them quit.
In the absence of a clear sense of
what will make them go away, we
should continue to ignore them. We
need to be more patient than they are.
Sure, they encourage people passing on
Washtenaw Avenue to honk their
horns. It disturbs our service only
because we are temporarily not in our
building as it is being remodeled.
When we return to our building in 2 1/2
weeks, the honking won't be an issue.
Robert and Jennifer Levine
Ann Arbor
Stand Up To Coercion
The Editor's Notebook "Easing A
Friend's Fear" (Aug. 20, page 5) is a
clear wake-up call to all of us that are
complacent and believe that all is well
here in our country — and that the
anti-Semitism being experienced by
our Jewish brothers and sisters in
France, the rest of Europe and the Arab
world can't happen here.
Well, it is happening here. It's only
going to get worse because our ene-
mies' successes will make them bolder
as they become more powerful politi-
cally and their population grows more
rapidly than the Jewish population.
Initially, they picket a courageous
Jim Hiller of Hiller's Markets and then
they coerce a small shop owner to
remove a poster for a Jewish art fair.
What will we do individually and as a
community when, God forbid, a fire-
bomb is thrown into one of our syna-
gogues or one of our Hebrew book-
shops?
The best action is to be proactive
now, as Editor Robert Sklar says, by
attending Israeli events and supporting
shop owners who carry Israeli items.
You also must make sure your politi-
cal representatives understand you are
not going to stand by when anti-
Semitism strikes, and you do not
expect them to either.
Ed Kohl
West Bloomfield
A Dream Fulfilled
In response to the letter "At What
Cost?" (Aug. 20, page 6), I am a
docent and the docent trainer at the
Holocaust Memorial Center. And I am
driven to explain just what the new
56,000-square-foot memorial in
Farmington Hills means to our com-
munity.
For 20 years or so, the Holocaust
Memorial Center occupied a relatively
small space next to the Jewish
Community Center in West
Bloomfield. The 10,000 square feet did
not give us room for revolving exhibits
or large educational meetings. Our
library, the most complete of its kind,
was tiny, so many valuable materials
had to be stored; our librarian assists
students from local high schools and
universities with their research.
We have local survivor speakers who
share their experiences with our visi-
tors. Before, we only could host 40
people in the conference room; now
our groups are as large as 120. We also
host community events like Yom
HaShoah and Tisha b'Av observances.
The Holocaust used to be taught as
a history lesson. Today, the HMC deals
with history and its influence on the
future. We educate people not just
about Judaism and Jewish people, but
also about what the results of hatred
and bigotry bring to the community.
The HMC is not a Jewish
Federation agency and receives no
funds from Federation. It operates as
an independent facility. I doubt any
Jewish charity in this community has
lost patronage because of the presence
of the HMC.
We have an entire section on Jewish
heritage with magnificent artwork by
Anatoly Shapiro. In a short time, there
will be tours of the Museum of Jewish
Heritage for elementary through high
school students as well as others who
want to learn more Jewish history.
There also will be tours related to the
post-war righteous.
The HMC is a jewel in our commu-
nity's crown. It indeed is a tribute to
Rabbi Charles Rosenzveig, who had a
dream and fulfilled it.
Judith Miller
Bloomfield Hills
8/27
2004
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