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Letters

Rabin's Impact

Safeguard Teaching

It was Shabbat afternoon, the
fourth of November, the week fol-
lowing the wedding of our son
Udi, when he, an avid country
music fan, and his wife were vaca-
tioning in Nashville. My sister
Shula and brother-in-law Avrom,
who came from Israel to the wed-
ding, just left for Mexico City to
visit their longtime friends who
made their home there. As I came
down the stairs, my husband
informed me of the unfathomable
news of Israeli Prime Minister
Yitzhak Rabin's assassination and
not, as I first assumed, by an Arab,
but rather by a young Israeli Jew
opposed to his political way
(Remembering Rabin," Nov. 3,
page 35).
It felt as though there was a
death in the family, a feeling multi-
plied by all the hundred of thou-
sands of Israelis, including young
ones, who mourned the prime
minister who was brutally assassi-
nated by a fellow Israeli as he left a
peace rally and was coaxed to join
in the singing of "Shir Lashalom"
("A Song for Peace") with all the
thousands of Israelis of all ages
who gathered on that Motzi
Shabbat [end of Shabbat] to sup-
port him and his quest for peace.
Would things be different had
Yitzhak Rabin were alive today? I
guess we'll never know. But one
thing is certain: His tragic death by
a fellow Israeli who truly believed
that what he was doing was fulfill-
ing a divine mitzvah sanctioned by
some rabbis, made Israelis realize
that words alone can also hurt, in
fact, they can kill, and if it hap-
pened once, it can happen again.

As a mother of children who
attend public school, a Jew and a
taxpaying citizen, I was very inter-
ested in your article "Tainted
Teachings" (Oct. 27, page 42). It is
clear to me that more is being
taught in our schools than reading,
writing and arithmetic, and it is
very important for all of us to be
aware of what our children are
learning and where these mes-
sages originate.
As an active volunteer and
member of Hadassah, I have
recently become involved in a pro-
gram called Curriculum Watch.
Curriculum Watch was designed
by Hadassah more than 14 years
ago to monitor and critique
American K-12 textbooks and
teaching materials so that they do
not present slanted, biased and/or
inaccurate information on
Judaism, the Holocaust and Israel
from biblical days to the present.
The focus of Curriculum Watch
now has broadened to include how
Islam is presented in our text-
books, teaching materials and
eventually in the classroom itself
If you have an interest in sup-
porting this effort to safeguard the
accuracy of what our children are
learning about Islam and Judaism,
Jewish history and Israel, I urge
you to contact Hadassah [(248)
683-5030] and get involved.

Rachel Kapen

West Bloomfield

Jewish.com

Sharon Fishman

executive secretary
Hadassah Greater Detroit Chapter
West Bloomfield

al "Sustaining Our Guard" (Oct. 27,
page 47).
We cannot "facilitate an end to
the Arab-Israeli conflict" because it
does not exist. The conflict is not
about race or nationality. The con-
flict in the Middle East is a purely
religious war inspired by the
Koran, which says: "And slay them
wherever ye find them, and drive
them out of the places whence
they drove you out, for persecution
is worse than slaughter." (2:191)
The essence of Islam can be
found in the Koran: "Fight those
who do not believe in Allah, nor in
the latter day, nor do they prohibit
what Allah and His Apostle have
prohibited, nor follow the religion
of truth, out of those who have
been given the Book, until they
pay the tax in acknowledgment of
superiority and they are in a state
of subjection" (9:29).
Few Christian Arabs oppose
Israel. Not all Muslims are Arabs,
but very few Muslims are friends
of Israel. Islam cannot co-exist
with infidels. Islam cannot set
aside the Koran any more than
Judaism can set aside the Torah.
Benevolent Muslims are invari-
ably agnostic. Traditional Islam is
a plague of hate dangerously simi-
lar to Nazism; like a virus, it can
only be defeated by quarantine
and disinfection (with truth).
Israel has at least recognized the
need for quarantine, but the edito-
rial is correct in that we are failing
to put forth the truth.

Dennis L. Green

Farmington Hills

In Search Of Truth

Benny's Wit

You cannot solve a conflict if you
do not recognize who is your
enemy. The JN makes a common
and significant error in the editori-

We were delighted to see our
friend Ben Gurvitz's picture on
Oct. 27 ("95th Birthday:' page 15),
flanked by two rabbis, in honor of

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his birthday. Benny is a source of
inspiration. To know Benny is to
have your spirits lifted by a
remarkable fellow
We met Benny about eight years
ago — our lockers were next to
each other at the Jewish
Community Center Health Club.
Benny says he is so old that
when he was a child the Dead Sea
wasn't even sick. He grew up in
such a poor neighborhood, he
claims, that the rainbows were in
black and white.
Benny is a retired pharmacist
with the best sense of humor of
anyone we.have ever met. Benny
says it is a good day when you can
get up in the morning, stretch out
your arms and don't hit wood. We
tend to agree.
We hope Benny graces us with
his wit and charm for many years.
He once quipped that he knew he
was going to live to be 100 —
"because when I turned 50, I felt
half dead"
Benny is one resilient human
being who treasures each day,
never complains and helps every-
one who knows him stay opti-
mistic about the species.

Michael R. Ceresnie

Steven J. Ceresnie

West Bloomfield

Getting Together

I would like to see the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit
("Beyond the Study' Oct. 27, page
5) organize group discussions on
all religions, differences and simi-
larities, and how they interact with
one another. These could be held
at a community center; a syna-
gogue or what have you.

Expressing Thanks

My family and I arrived in
Michigan Sept. 12, 2005, after
evacuating from our home in
Jefferson Parish, La., outside of
New Orleans. We came to
Michigan physically and emotion-
ally drained and with few material
possessions. The one thing we did
bring was the hope for a new
beginning.
It has been approximately six
weeks since our arrival, and our
lives have been transformed for
the better in so many ways. We
owe a debt of gratitude to the fol-
lowing people and institutions in
helping us to feel at home in the
West Bloomfield area: Temple
Israel, its school, staff members
Kari Provizer and Elaine Bersch,
and also Yolanda and David
Tisdale; Beznos Family of Beztak
Management Co.; Baby & Me,
Mufflers and More in Walled Lake;
Ken Lipson, Jaimee Finch and the
staff of Paragon Insurance; and the
law firm of Maddin, Hauser,
Wartell, Roth & Heller.
Most importantly, we would like
to thank my family here in
Michigan, the Minkins, the
Schapiras and the Broners, all of
whom have been an invaluable
source of strength to us.
We sincerely apologize if we
inadvertently failed to mention
others who have also helped us
during this time and we extend
our gratitude to you as well.
We look forward to starting our
lives anew in this wonderful com-
munity and look forward to meet-
ing you.

Reed, Shelly and Olivia Minkin

West Bloomfield

Leon Schoichit

Farmington Hills

How To Send Letters

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reject letters. Letters of 225 words or less are considered first. Longer
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November 10 . 2005

j'air