Letters
How Insensitive
What's Federation View?
The State of Michigan has made an
egregious mistake in scheduling 2005-
2006 Michigan Education Assessment
Program tests during the Jewish High
Holy days. This discriminates against
Jewish students, and inconveniences
all students, teachers and school staff
involved with the MEAP.
It is well known in the educational
community that children do best on
standardized testing when they take
the tests with their own classes and
have their own teachers present. No
child should have to be pulled out of a
class to make up such a test, nor
should the schools have to find staff
for make up testing, because the state
has no regard for Jewish students and
teachers.
As a taxpayer, teacher and parent of
a public school child, I must insist
that the state change the dates of the
MEAP so that no religious group is
singled out. In the future, religious
holidays must be considered before
such scheduling is done.
The Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit can no longer be
a silent partner in Jewish Community
Council of Metropolitan Detroit oper-
ations that threaten the interests of our
community and the mission of
Federation itself.
We as a community and contribu-
tors to Federation's Annual Campaign
are entitled to know just where
Federation stands on Council's June 10
participation in a rally organized by an
imam who works to promote causes
that are diametrically opposed to the
welfare of our people and our country
("United Voice," June 16, page 25).
It is mind-boggling that the public
affairs arm of Federation embraces an
imam who, it has been reported, has
hosted anti-Semite Louis Farrakhan,
supported fund-raising on behalf of
Hezbollah and lectured students to
vote to blunt American support for
Israel.
Federation finances Council to act as
the voice of our community. If it does
not set the record straight and publicly
issue a denunciation of Council's par-
ticipation in the rally, Federation's con-
tinued silence may well be interpreted
as condoning Council's actions. Any
public representation of the consensus
of our community must be unequivo-
cally and unambiguously pro-Jewish
and pro-Israel.
Pamela Goldberg
Farmington Hills
Whom To Contact
In response to Pamela Goldberg's letter:
Thank you for bringing your con-
cerns to our attention. We share your
concern that all students must have a
fair opportunity to be assessed. In set-
ting up the. assessment schedule, we
did check the schedule of the major
religious holidays represented in the
state and consulted with constituents
representing these religions.
When we looked at the options, we
selected the best available dates with
the understanding that some flexibility
is necessary to achieve fair assessment
opportunities for all students. Schools
can request flexible assessment dates to
accommodate such student needs.
I would be happy to discuss this fur-
ther with members of the Jewish com-
munity: (517) 241-0206 or
RadkeM@michigan.gov. You may
want to have your school contact us so
that we can address the assessment
dates with them.
Michael W. Radke Ph.D.
Michigan Education
Assessment Program
Department of Education
Lansing
David H. Rabens
West Bloomfield
We Need Role Models
On behalf of some fellow friends and
university students, I commend Robert
Sklar's Editor's Notebook ("In Search
Of Clarity," July 21, page 5) on his
courage to speak out against Jewish
Community Council of Metropolitan
Detroit Executive Director David Gad-
Harf's June 10 decision to share a podi-
um with Imam Hassan Qazwini of the
Islamic Center of America. The imam
favors fund-raising on behalf of the ter-
rorist organization Hezbollah and has a
strong history of anti-Israel/ anti-Jewish
activities.
As college students, we realize the
importance of building bridges in our
community, however reciprocity is neces-
sary and is a two-way street. Our Jewish
community seems to do for others, but
we do not ask nor expect anything in
return. Hopefully, the Council will take
strong stands against news media bias
and scheduling Michigan Education
Assessment Program exams on Jewish
holidays as well as all acts of terror.
On campus, we, as pro-Israel students
work to combat anti-Israel bias and
constantly work to promote pro-Israel
activity and awareness. We hope the
Detroit Jewish community and its
Council will work with us and serve to
be strong role models for college stu-
dents.
Jennifer Gonik
student, University of Michigan
Ann Arbor
Realign Council's role
Robert Sklar asks some very pertinent
questions and makes some construc-
tive suggestions in his Editor's
Notebook as to the future of the
Jewish Community Council of
Metropolitan Detroit ("In Search Of
Clarity," July 21, page 5).
Why, indeed, should the Council be
a separate entity from the Federation
with a budget of $570,000 — 90 per-
cent of which comes out of
Federation funds? This question is
particularly appropriate since most
people believe they are donating to
Federation for social service projects
rather than political entities. And who
could argue the $100,000 savings that
Mr. Sklar estimates would ensue?
Particularly worrisome has been the
fact that the views of the Jewish
Community Council over the last 17
years frequently have not reflected the
views of the Federation or, more
importantly, a large segment of the
Detroit Jewish community. Council
members were handpicked despite the
fact that they were first recommended
by many different local Jewish organi-
zations. The individuals picked, with
rare exception, have reflected the so-
called "liberal" views and basic beliefs
of one man or the self-perpetuating
thinking of those already on board.
Several current members of the
Council have told me as much, to the
point of their great frustration. This
self-perpetuation, of course, is not
unusual in organizations.
Unfortunately, it is a great weakness
if the Council is supposedly represent-
ing the entire community as it cer-
tainly does in addressing the news
media, politicians and the community
at large.
Would it not be preferable to ensure
that Council members are deliberately
selected to represent all points of view
in the community — much as the
board members of Federation itself
should be so selected?
Jerome S. Kaufman
Bloomfield Hills
Advocate Prudently
Robert Sklar was on the mark in rais-
ing important questions in his Editor's
Notebook about the Jewish
Community Council of Metropolitan
Detroit's role and activities in recent
years ("In Search Of Clarity," July 21,
page 5). While it can and does make
significant impact in the area of Israel
advocacy and media relations, and was
especially effective in coordinating the
effort against Jews for Jesus last year,
the Council has overstepped its
bounds when addressing complicated
and controversial issues.
The left-leaning individuals of the
board often seem to forget that they
outnumber more conservative-leaning
members, but that does not give them
the right to decide the opinions of the
entire Jewish community. Because it
claims to represent the entire Jewish
community, the Council simply may
not take a position that is not a con-
sensus of the entire community no
matter what the vote count may be in
the Council board meeting.
For example, the Council took a
strong stand against Proposal 2, the
controversial marriage referendum that
was passed in Michigan last year. In a
letter to Executive Director David
Gad-Harf that he shared with the
Council board, I wondered how the
Council had the right to speak on
behalf of the entire Jewish community
against the proposal when a large seg-
ment of that community was, in fact,
strongly in favor of it. Stacking a
board with like-minded people doesn't
negate the legitimate views of those
who disagree. It only succeeds in alien-
ating large groups of people from the
Council and, by extension, from
Federation as well.
To my mind, the Jewish
Community Council has two choices:
either learn to advocate only when
there really is a consensus or change its
name to the "Liberal Jewish
Community's Council." That way, the
broader community would know that
the JCCouncil certainly don't speak
for all of Detroit Jewry.
Rabbi Reuven Spolter
Young Israel of Oak Park
7/28
2005
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