Letters

A Different Take

Staying Abreast

Special Writer Don Cohen's article
about the incorrect Middle
Eastern maps in Migun stores,
"Women Spur Action" (Nov. 3,
page 29), contains statements
regarding the Anti-Defamation
League's involvement that require
some clarification.
The article states that the Anti-
Defamation League contacted the
Migun stores "without any con-
crete results." In fact, the ADL fol-
lowed up with Migun and heard
back that the maps without Israel
were in the process of being
reprinted and revised. We also
received an e-mail from Migun
with a revised map without the
reference to Palestine. We prompt-
ly alerted local resident Beverly
Apel of this welcome news.
The article appears to cast
doubt on ADL's version of events
by quoting a Migun official who
says that he has "no record of any
communication with ADL." In
fact, ADL spoke with two Migun
executives, including the direct
supervisor of the official whom
the column quotes.
We at ADL have spent over 90
years fighting anti-Semitism,
racism and bigotry, and take pride
in our ability to rapidly respond to
community complaints. We are
not in the practice of writing let-
ters to the editor to claim credit
for our actions. Local residents
Beverly Apel and Andrea Gonik
deserve praise for their tireless
efforts in this situation.

Your article ("Women Spur
Action',' Nov. 3, page 29) regarding
Migun was on target.
Local resident Andrea Gonik's
approach was the force that got
the action. I believe that the more
times misleading and incorrect
information is disseminated, pub-
lic opinion is formed and public
opinion shapes government poli-
cy.
Therefore, I feel it is our respon-
sibility, as Jewish people, to keep
the facts straight in textbooks,
newspapers, television news and
other forms of public communica-
tion, including maps on business
walls and in business handout
information.
The information from the Anti-
Defamation League civil rights
attorney in Chicago stated that
Migun, a private corporation, has
the prerogative as to what it puts
in its publications. This might be
legal, but in cases of misinforma-
tion it is very troublesome.
According to Migun, a commu-
nication was sent to affiliates on
Oct.11 to remove the mislabeled
maps and literature with the word
Palestine in the location of Israel.
Migun says it is sending out new
maps with only dots, no country
names, showing locations world-
wide.

Sharone R. Senk
Assistant director
Anti-Defamation League-
Michigan Region

Bloomfield Townshi

6

The Barbara Ann Karmanos
Cancer Institutes Gynecologic
Oncology Group, in collaboration
with the Cancer Genetic
Counseling Service, has an ovarian
cancer prevention study underway
that includes Ashkenazi Jewish
women who are considered high
risk for developing ovarian cancer.
The study will follow women for
five years to help develop early
detection and prevention prac-
tices. Two study options will be
available to participants. Women
should call [1 (800) 527-6266] if
they meet any of the following cri-
teria:
• She or a close blood relative
has been identified as having a
BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene muta- .
tion
• At least two ovarian and/or
breast cancers present in the
participant and/or close blood
relatives
• She is an Ashkenazi Jew with
one close blood relative with
breast and/or ovarian cancer
• She is an Ashkenazi Jew who
has a personal history of pre-
menopausal breast cancer
At the Institute, we're searching
for a cure, testing innovative thera-
pies and saving lives.

Talk Backfires." (Nov. 3, page 8)
Here, one needs to ask what
such trash talk reveals about Iran's
intentions once it becomes a
nuclear power. To some, the
answer is clear, given the actions
of its proxies, Islamic Jihad and
Hezbollah.
Thus far, the best hope to pre-
vent a horrific outcome depends
on the United States winning the
war on terrorism in Iraq and
ensuring that democracy takes
root in Iraq. The hope then is that
both efforts succeed concurrently,
enabling democracy to spread to
Iran, making it possible for a
peaceful and prosperous Middle
East to begin to emerge.
For President Bush's strategy to
succeed, as his critics seek to
undermine it, the United States
must win the war on terrorism in
Iraq so that democracy can be
exported to Iran before it can
become a nuclear power.

Irving Warshawsky

West Bloomfield

Julie Grant Meyer

New Orleans

Don't Forget Us

Dr. Bernard Lublin's article dis-
cussing the BRCA gene mutations
that can occur in Ashkenazi Jews,
increasing their chances for both
breast and ovarian cancer ("Jewish
Genetics:' Oct. 27, page 21), shows
how important it is for people who
are at risk to be informed of criti-
cal health information.

During the 1930s, the outrageous,
hate-filled rhetoric of Hitler was
not taken seriously until it was too
late to prevent a horrific outcome.
Today, the newly elected president
of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,
borrowing from Hitler's elimina-
tionist rhetoric, informs the world
that "Israel must be wiped off the
map:' Its significance is thought-
fully discussed by Harry
Kirsbaum in his article "Trash

I walked through the doors of
Congregation Chaye Olam in
Bloomfield Township as a tem-
porarily homeless, traumatized
stranger; tired, frightened, shaken.
They opened their hearts to me
and gave me a home away from
home. They had no warning, and
yet were ready to act, welcoming
me into their family for the one-
and-a-half months that I was in
Michigan.
We are back in New Orleans.
Four hundred Reform Jews gath-
ered at Gates of Prayer, a syna-
gogue in Metairie, La., for Yom
Kippur day. They looked tired and
shell-shocked. Many had lost their

Last Week's Results

How To Send Letters

Patricia Milner Sachs
director, community partnerships
Karmanos Cancer Institute
Detroit

Beverly W. Apel

West Bloomfield

Cancer Studies

Long-Term Effect

Jewish.com

dotCOM SURVEY

Counting American Jews
Research offers a glimpse behind
the numbers.

If you could vote in Israel's Labor
Party elections, would you vote
for Shimon Peres?

Statistics say more Jews partici-
pate in elections than other eth-
nic groups. Did you vote Nov. 8?

Read about it on Jewish.com.

To vote, click on
JNOnline.com.

63% said yes
37% said no

homes and for some, their busi-
nesses, too. The synagogue had
flooded; and the carpet, the pews,
and 3-4 feet of the drywall had
been cut away. We sat on folding
chairs. Worship began many min-
utes late, because many old
friends were hugging each other,
crying, seeing each other for the
first time since the storm.
Across the street stands the
Metairie Community Jewish
Campus. The offices of the Jewish
Federation, the Jewish Children's
Regional Service, the Jewish
Community Center and the New
Orleans Jewish Day School are all
housed there. Because the day
school has young children, it is
housed on the ground floor and it
was washed away.
For us who live here, survival is
on our minds everyday. Things
improve hour by hour, but with
complete destruction, it isn't fast
enough. We need you to remem-
ber us, and give us strength.

.

What Yiddishkeit!

On Oct. 30, the Workmen's Circle-
Arbiter Ring presented the most
remarkable Yiddish class and con-
cert that this Jewish community
has ever had the privilege to par-
ticipate in.
I simply felt like shouting from
the rooftop with joy and enthusi-
asm over the two fabulous presen-
ters, Nikolai Borodulin and Susan
Leviton, and over the wonderful
day of Yiddishkeit that the
Workmen's Circle endowed upon
this city at the Jewish Community
Center of Metropolitan Detroit.

Ann Barnett

Southfield

We prefer letters relating to JN articles. We reserve the right to edit or
reject letters. Letters of 225 words or less are considered first. Longer
ones will be subject to trimming. Letter writers are limited in fre-
quency of publication. Letters must be received by 9 a.m. Monday for
consideration that week. Letters must be original and contain the
name, address and title of the writer and a day phone number. Non-
electronic copies must be hand signed. Send letters to the JN:
29200 Northwestern Highway, Suite 110, Southfield, MI 48034; fax
(248) 304-8885; e-mail, letters@thejewishnews.com . We prefer e-mail.

November 17 , 2005

*IX