EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK

Be In The Know

prominent Jewish group that counters my belief. I question
f we as a community don't reinforce our commitment
its prominence.
to Jewish learning and values, to what it means to be a
Neturei Karta, Aramaic for "Guardians of the City," bills
Jew and how to live as a Jew, we're fooling ourselves.
itself as "Jews United Against Zionism." The Jerusalem-
And we're threatening the orbit of Jewish life for our kids,
based leaders are anti-Zionist Orthodox Jews who believe a
our grandkids and generations to come.
sovereign Jewish state is contrary to Jewish law.
With the shofar blast welcoming the new
What grinds me most about Neturei Karta is its statement,
year of 5765 five days away, I can't help but
"Jews are not allowed to dominate, kill, harm or demean
ponder the state of the Detroit Jewish com-
another people and are not allowed to have anything to do
munity. The bureaucracy must be reduced
with the Zionist enterprise, their political meddling and
and we need to be more open, honest and
their wars."
daring in confronting needs, but I -see a
What about if "another people" has engaged in terror
strong organizational base. Yet we're more
attacks
to murder nearly 1,000 people in Israel in hopes of
vulnerable than ever to the effects of accul-
driving out the Jews?
turation, apathy and conversion.
Neturei Karta claims a few thousand followers.
Jews for Jesus isn't targeting us through
ROBERT A.
Rabbi Avraham Jacobovitz, whose Machon L'Torah/The
Sept.
21
on
a
whim.
We
fulfill
its
core
tar-
SKLAR
Jewish Learning Network of Michigan, is a Torah Zionist
get:
a
Jewish
community
of
at
Editor
organization, said the group is defiant of the
least 25,000. But we're also
Orthodox majority view. "I believe and always tell
rich with at-risk Jews: high
my students that by definition, every Jew is a
school and college students, Russian immi-
Zionist," he told me on Tuesday.
grants and unaffiliated young professionals.
He explained that while most great Torah scholars
We've also felt the anti-Zionist efforts of
oppose
the concept of a secular Zionist state, which
Jewish Witnesses for Peace, an Ann Arbor-
is
divorced
from Judaism and Torah, they still rec-
based group urging a boycott of Hiller's
ognize
and
support
Israel as the Jewish homeland.
Markets because it sells Israeli products. The
"While disagreeing with much of the philosophy
group opposes the "unjust" Israeli military
of modern Zionism, they accept the reality that
occupation of Palestinian-controlled lands.
once the state was established, then we all live under
Other anti-Zionist or anti-Semitic acts have
the roof of Israel," Rabbi J said. "We must protect
come with increasing regularity, says the Anti-
it. We must stand united against our enemies.
Defamation League Michigan Region.
Rabbi Jacobov itz
"We must do whatever is possible to stick
A few days after I wrote about an Orchard
together and protect our people."
Lake Road businessman being threatened with
a boycott if he didn't remove a poster
Don't Be Duped
announcing that Temple Israel in West Bloomfield would
donate art fair proceeds to Israel, I received an e-mail letter
A popular though specious belief is that the suicide bomb-
from Adam de Angeli of Ann Arbor. He said he's "Jewish by
ings would stop if Israel would only free the Palestinians by
descent" and a member of Jewish Witnesses for Peace. He
calling off the tanks and giving some land back. Israel could
also opposes the Iraq war.
spur lasting peace, but instead represses and retaliates.
What struck me about his reply to my Aug. 27 column
De Angeli makes the point that the Palestinian Authority
"Easing A Friend's Fear" was his claim that I sidestepped the
is not a viable government and barely has a central organiza-
real issue: "whether or not the Jewish people should support
tion, so lacks the law enforcement to stop suicide bombers.
Israel at all." He cited "Israeli-imposed oppression of the
That almost would be believable if the Jerusalem-based
Palestinian people for the last half century." He stressed that
Palestinian Media Watch hadn't found Palestinian TV again
"there cannot be peace without justice."
showing a clip of a child writing a farewell letter to his par-
There are Jews who believe Israel should end the occupa-
ents, glorifying his desire to die. He then goes into a combat
tion and make concessions to re-start peace talks. And there
zone where he is shot and achieves heroic Shahid.a — Death
are Jews who despise Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's policies
for Allah.
in the wake of 47 months of Palestinian terror against Israel.
Palestinian and Israeli leaders together are accountable for
But this is the first time that I've heard anyone ask, "By
what de Angeli calls "this eternal conflict." But where we dis-
what authority does Israel represent the Jewish people?"
agree is my belief that Israeli violence in defensive sweeps is
I can only answer that the authority is God. It is God who not terror.
made a covenant with the Jewish people. God said to Moses:
Jews need to know what drives "peace seeking" groups like
"This is the land that I swore unto Abraham, unto Isaac and Jewish Witnesses for Peace. We need to know what's behind
unto Jacob, saying, 'I will give it unto thy offspring."'
Jews for Jesus believers who claim that you can be 100 per-
(Deuteronomy 34:4). Israel is our ancestral home.
cent Jewish and 100 percent Christian at the same time.
Knowledge is strength. Wisdom is emboldening. And con-
fidence is empowering. Too often, we recoil when challenged
Aware And Wary
about our history, our heritage or even our soul. We become
What is more, in 1946, the U.N.-sanctioned British admin-
easy prey.
istrator created not only an independent Arab Palestinian
This Rosh Hashanah, let us seek God's blessing to change
state, the Kingdom of Jordan, on 78 percent of Palestine,
for the better. May it be God's will that every Jew becomes
but also the Jewish Palestinian state on the rest of the biblical more learned — not only about the gifts of Torah, but also
land.
the calculated ways that groups with Jewish support have
De Angell. describes Netueri Karta International as a
chosen to confuse who we are and who we ought to be. ❑

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