LETTERS

LETTERS

from page 9

Keep The Elephants

What is a zoo without an elephant?
The first thing a child thinks of
when you say we are going to the
zoo is seeing elephants.
Now, Ron Kagan wants to give
away our elephants ("Realty Check"
July 9, page 11). The excuse is to
give the elephants to a natural habi-
tat. That excuse would just as well
apply to the bear, the camel, the
gorilla and most of the animals at
the zoo.
The truth is our Detroit Zoo is
being denied the money it needs to
function properly, thus making what
was once one of the best zoos in the
country into a second-rate zoo.
Iry Handelman
Oak Park

Israel Is Top Issue

gIN

9/10
2004

10

I was rather saddened by the letter by
Marshall Solomon regarding the
upcoming presidential elections
("Kerry For President," Aug. 27, page
9).
I was liberated by the American
Army from a German concentration
camp, and I am eternally grateful to
the United States. I cannot think of
anyone who loves this country more
than I do.
On the other hand, I am obsessed
with Israel's survival, and I have and
always will support the candidate for
president who is the most supportive
of Israel. Israel's survival is extremely
important to most American Jews. If
Israel had existed during the
Holocaust, perhaps millions of Jews
could have been saved. The Germans
just wanted the Jews out in the begin-
ning.
I would not be terribly upset if Sen.
John Kerry won the elections. He has
an excellent record supporting Israel,
but he wants to consult the United
Nations and Europe, both enemies of
Israel. That greatly disturbs me and
many American Jews.
American Jews who deeply care
about Israel's survival should vote for
President George W. Bush this time
around. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
of Israel declared that Bush is the best
friend of Israel of any president in his-
tory. Iran has declared that it is willing
to destroy Israel with atomic bombs. I
think Bush will bomb their atomic
facilities eventually; I do not believe
that Kerry would ever do that. Israel is
fighting for its survival and if, God

forbid, Israel does not survive,
Judaism will not survive any place,
including the United States.
Mr. Solomon says that Jews should
be no different than any other
Americans, but other Americans did
not have 6 million of their brothers
and sisters murdered in the gas cham-
bers in the concentration camps. We
have to be better then other
Americans when it comes to Israel.
David Kahan
Troy

Bush: A Proven Leader

In his letter "Kerry For President"
(Aug. 27, page 9), Marshall S.
Solomon suggests that a small group
of American Jews are one-issue vot-
ers, their sole concern being
whether the party or the candidate
is good for Israel, thus making
American interests secondary to
those of Israel. And who are these
one-issue voters? Jewish
Republicans.
But how does a Jewish Republican
vote put the interests of Israel ahead
of the interests of America as Mr.
Solomon claims, when he simulta-
neously asserts that there would be
little difference between a Bush and
a Kerry administration as regards its
policy toward Israel and the Middle
East?
If there is such little difference,
then Jewish votes for President Bush
must be interpreted as having little
to do with his administration's poli-
cies toward Israel and more to do
with other issues. Take one issue
alone: character.
Even to the most committed
Democrat, it must be clear that
President, Bush is an honest man,
not given to braggadocio, and a
proven leader, who has taken the
war to the enemy and, so far, kept it
from our shores by his policies. We
are in a global war with a deter-
mined and elusive enemy, an anti-
Semitic and anti-Israel enemy. As a
result, American and Israeli interests
do coincide.
Would any thinking person want
to replace President Bush with
Kerry, an indecisive man whose
undistinguished 19 years in the
Senate (he did not sponsor even one
bill) have been a blur of changed
positions as have been his many
campaign speeches and statements; a
presidential candidate who has made
his four months service in Vietnam
and several questionable medals his

sole qualification for office; a presi-
dential candidate who portrays him-
self as a brave man, but who whines
and complains when his boasts
about his Vietnam service are chal-
lenged; a presidential candidate
who, in 1971, accused his once
comrades-in-arms of war crimes
(crimes in which he admitted partic-
ipating) while the war in Vietnam
was still raging and American ser-
vicemen were still in harm's way in
Vietnam's jungles and swamps.
Sol Stein
West Bloomfield

Bush's Influence

I was gratified at the well-reasoned
article by Other Views writer Emery
Klein ("Kerry Best For Israel," Aug.
20, page 31) regarding the Jewish
vote in the upcoming presidential
election.
However, Mr. Klein omitted one
key fact, which has received mini-
mal media coverage. That is, almost
immediately following its ascension
to power, President George W.
Bush's puppet government in Iraq
issued a proclamation clarifying its
official position on Israel: that it
refuses to acknowledge the legitima-
cy of the Jewish state or its right to
exist.
Exactly what is it about Bush that
makes him a friend to Israel, other
than his ability to deliver emotional
satisfaction to xenophobes?
Laurel Stuart-Fink
West Bloomfield

Bush Best For Israel

I read with interest and surprise
Other Views writer Emery Klein's
piece in "Kerry Best For Israel,"
Aug. 20, page 31).
In the same issue of the Detroit
Jewish News ("Israelis Favor Bush,"
page 29), a U.S. presidential prefer-
ence poll conducted among Israelis
just the previous week by Tel Aviv
University showed a more than 2.5
to 1 voter preference margin in
favor of President Bush.
This poll confirms an earlier sur-
vey by Teleseker, which shows simi-
lar results, consistent for members
of Labor and Likud alike, which
leads me to ask, "Who really knows
best?"
Dr. Michael L. Dean
Sedona, Ariz.

Rabbi Silberberg greets President Bush
at an Aug. 30 rally in Taylor.

Clarifying About Bush

Regarding my conversation with
President Bush, which was reported
last week ("Hello, Mr. Bush," Sept.
3, page 11), I would like to mention
an important comment made by the
president, which was not included
in the article.
President Bush told me that when
someone called Israeli Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon a terrorist, he
told her that Sharon is not a terror-
ist; he is defending his land.
Also, I would like to clarify my
statement that "the only issue to be
concerned with [in the presidential
election] is the security of Israel." In
truth, the candidates must address
our concerns in many areas of
domestic and international policy.
However, considering that Israel is
surrounded by many millions of
mortal enemies who seek her
destruction, I do feel that the secu-
rity of Israel should be the primary
— though not necessarily the only
— issue in the mind of the Jewish
voter.
Rabbi Elimelech Silberberg
West Bloomfield

