Letters

Representative Council

I was very interested and annoyed
after reading
Sldar's Editor's
Notebook ("Hear The People," Sept.
15, page 5) concerning the request
from President Wendy Wagenheim to
have guests leave the Jewish
Community Council of Metropolitan
Detroit board meeting when dis-
cussing the public display of the 10
Commandments.
• It is the president's privilege and
right to ask anyone who is not a board
member to leave the room when dis-
cussing issues on the agenda.
• The Council's 48 board members
and six officers make up a diverse rep-
resentation of the Jewish community.
The Council prides itself on the
respect and fairness we have for one
another. Sometimes, guests don't
exhibit these qualities.
• Council is a working body that
strives to fairly and in a respectful way
come to decisions that will be for the
good of the general Jewish communi-
ty. It is difficult to reach some of those
decisions in a timely manner when
guests would be having input. The
evening meetings are very important,
and many board members come to
them after a long day.
• Currently, President Wagenheim
has established a committee to develop
a guest policy for the future.
• Finally, as a Council board mem-
ber who attended the Sept. 7 meeting,
the ruckus and noise coming from
guests waiting in the hall was very dis-
turbing. These guests had to be asked
at least twice to be quiet while the
meeting was in session. Can you imag-
ine if they were asked to speak!

Pearlena Bodzin
Southfield

Ensuring Frank Debate

As a board member of the Jewish
Community Council as well as a
member of several other boards, I feel
it is important to ensure that there is
open and frank discussion regarding
issues that come before any board

Jewish.com

Weathered, But Unbowed
Scattered in different cities, leaders
of New Orleans' Jewish community
push on.
Read about it on
Jewish.com

9/22

2005

6

("Hear The People," Sept. 15, page
5).
Other than a public or governmen-
tal agency, I am not aware of other
boards that allow their deliberations
to be open to non-board members.
Having served on the Council board
for 14 years, I am aware of many
instances during which guests have
been invited to make presentations
and then leave the meetings when the
board begins deliberations on various
action items. I have observed the same
process on the other nonprofit boards
on which I have served.
The Jewish Community Council is
a broad-based body representing vari-
ous segments of the Metro Detroit
Jewish community. Persons and
organizations from all spectrums of
political, social and religious views are
invited to serve as members.
It is important that those who have
committed to serve as board members
have the opportunity to share their
views honestly among each other and
that staff and the officers are then
responsible for making the results of
deliberations known to the public.

Robert I. Brown
West Bloomfield

Actions Disturbing

Your courage and forthrightness in
your Editor's Notebook ("Hear the
People," Sept. 15, page 5) have been
greatly appreciated, at least by JN
readers who are able to think outside
the groupthink mentality box of our
local Jewish organizations. My wife,
Judy, and I were among the guests
able to squeeze into the Jewish
Community Council meeting room
last week.
Here are some of my most disturb-
Mg observations:
• "... dissenters will be heard and
respected." In actuality, our verbal
participation was implicitly not
allowed. Even dissent from other
board members was problematic for
those in control of the meeting. We
did not notice any "rich diversity of
opinion."
• A Council staff member talked
about a recent conference he attended

dotCOM SURVEY

Do you think John Roberts should be
confirmed as chief justice of the U.S.
Supreme Court?
To vote, click on
JNOnline.com

that was sponsored by Council of
American Islamic Relations. He
thought that it appeared that CAIR
had moderated its views. But the well-
known truth is that this anti-Jewish,
anti-Israel organization will never
change its objective of an Islamic
America.
• After listening to the first four
agenda items, we were asked to leave
the room. I don't know what was so
sacrosanct about the remainder of the
agenda.
Hopefully, your column is just the
beginning of the constructive criticism
that will be necessary to help create a
more open, unified and participatory
Jewish community.

Alan Granader
Bloomfield Hills

Council Is Democratic

Every other week, Editor Robert Sklar
is taking issue with the Jewish
Community Council ("Hear The
People," Sept. 15, page 5). The
Council is the most representative and
democratic organization in our Jewish
community.
The 48 board members and six offi-
cers are elected from a nominating
process that crosses age, gender and
political lines. Members are from all
practices of Judaism.
A small number on the board are
perpetual dissenters who seem
unaware of, or choose to ignore, the
mission of the Jewish Community
Council.
The Council "establishes relation-
ships and builds coalitions with eth-
nic, racial, religious, education and
civic organizations and the media.
Council unifies, mobilizes, represents
and is responsible." This is done by a
vote following discussions and the
decision is made by the majority.
I serve on several boards within the
Jewish community and elsewhere. To
my knowledge, board meetings are
open by specific invitation. The deci-
sions of the Council are public, the
process is democratic, but any debate
should be within the structure of the
meeting.

Last Week's Results

Now that Israel has pulled out of
Gaza, will Hamas or the Palestinian
Authority rule in the Strip?
81% said Hamas
19% said P.A.

I am proud to be a member, an offi-
cer (secretary) and supporter of the
Jewish Community Council. The
effects of bridge building take time
and help bring about positive attitudes
about Jewish values and strengthen
support for Israel.

Micki Grossman
Farmington Hills

A Respectful Council

I have been following the travails of
the Jewish Community Council with
deep disappointment ("Hear The
People," Sept. 15, page 5). As a mem-
ber of the board for over a decade, I
often found myself a voice of one,
continually advocating a minority
position. Yet, never during my term
did I feel that I was silenced nor did I
feel that my opinions were not
respected.
I joined the board at the request of
Council President Jeannie Wiener
early in the Engler administration
when I chaired the Oakland County
Republican Party. At the time of my
election to the board, I believe I was
the only "openly" Republican member.
During my tenure, I worked with such
diverse personalities as Kathleen
Straus, a statewide elected Democrat,
David Hecker, president of the
Michigan Federation of Teachers and
Wendy Wagenheim, current Council
president and paid staff member of the
ACLU.
Obviously, our political beliefs and
proposed solutions to problems dif-
fered greatly. But what made service
on the Council so rewarding was the
issue that united us — a belief in the
importance of maintaining a face and
providing a voice for our Jewish corn-
munity. Our shared goal of providing
tikkun olam [repair of the world] over-
rode our partisan differences. Our
debates were spirited but never per-
sonal.
I was term-limited off the board. I
left feeling that I had made a differ-
ence. I am sorry that it now appears
board discussions have become per-
sonal and some board members appear
to have lost sight of the overriding
goal. Our community has never been
homogenous and the role of the
Council is most difficult as it tries to
meld one position from several com-
peting ones. It has done this success-
fully in the past, and I have every
hope it will do it again in the future.

James Alexander
Pontiac

LETTERS on page 8

