Letters
Sullied By Whom?
In his Editor's Notebook,
Robert Sklar claims that Pat
Robertson "sullied us" with his
remark that Israeli Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon's stroke
was the result of his dividing
Israel in defiance of the Jewish
prophet Joel's warning ("The .
Danger Of Preaching," Jan. 12,
page 5). I think Mr. Sklar sul-
lied us as much or more by
devaluing the Tanach [Hebrew
Bible], which was correct in
predicting a restoration of
Israel.
Robertson embarrassed not
us but himself by his lack of
humility in being so emphatic
about his interpretation of the
event; and Mr. Sklar is no better
in his conviction that
Robertson is wrong — even a
broken clock is right twice a
day.
I feel sullied by Mr.
Robertson not when he correct-
ly quotes a Jewish prophet, but
when he misrepresents the
Jewish prophets with mis-
quotes, quotations out of con-
texts and doctored translations
to misrepresent Jesus as the
Jewish messiah.
Dennis L. Green
Farmington Hills
Avoiding Crisis
During several summers in the
late 1980s, as a teacher of geog-
raphy and history at Hillel Day
School of Metropolitan Detroit,
I attended seminars on various
aspects of the Middle East at
the University of Michigan
under the sponsorship of the
Department of Middle East and
African Studies. These confer-
ences, dealing with such diverse
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6
January 19 2006
subjects as water use, history,
music and many others, were
given for teachers of the social
studies, to then transmit what
they learned to their students.
Many of the participants came
from parts of the state where
both Judaism and Islam were
probably little known. Each year,
the presenters were more
strongly Islamist. I became the
watcher, the defender of Israel.
Although many presenters
were reasonable, some were very
biased. Once, the head of the
department used a map that had
on it Jordan and Palestine,
instead of Israel. I had to make
vigorous protest until she
choked out that the map should
have Israel on it! I stopped going
to these conferences when I felt
threatened by the tone of the
presentations.
Later, in the early 1990s, I
attended summer seminars for
geography teachers given by the
Macomb County Intermediate
School District. One lecturer,
again, teaching social studies
teachers from all over the state,
was so biased in her presenta-
tion on water use that I had to
protest. I asked her where she
got her information, and she
said that she had studied in
Saudi Arabia. When I asked her
to consider that what the had
learned was biased, she
responded, "If Israel would pay
for me to study in Israel, I
would."
When will we learn to act
early, rather than wait until the
problem is so bad that we must
react to a crisis?
.
Cherna Kowalsky
Southfield
Jews In Poland
I tip my kippah to my amigo
Robert Sklar whose recent •
Notebook item jogged my
teenage memories ("A Sermon
In Church," Jan. 12, page 13).
The article refers to Detroit
attorney Michael Traison
delivering five sermons dur-
ing a mass at a Catholic
church in Pinczow, Poland. I
met Mr. Traison at some social
gatherings in our bailiwick,
and I heard about his endeav-
ors on behalf of Jewish causes
from my brother Bernard, an
Auschwitz survivor who
spends six months every year
in Krakow lecturing on the
Holocaust in public schools in
Polish and English.
From Bernard, I learned that
Mr. Traison is also instrumental
in bringing back the third and
perhaps the fourth generation
of Jewish youths from mixed
marriages to embrace Judaism,
youths who only recently found
out that one of their forebears
hid his or her Jewish faith in
fear of anti-Semitism.
Currently, it seems to be fash-
ionable in Poland to be Jewish.
With a great deal of sorrow, I
recall my maternal grandmoth-
er, Cywia Schiffer-Zwirn, who
was murdered by the Nazis. She
lived in the same apartment
house as my family. In order to
supplement her income, she
rented rooms to men from
small towns like Pinczow. I
recall one "starving musician"
who apparently stemmed from
Pinczow and was singing a
then-popular song about his
shtetl [village], not unlike shtetl
Belz.
Sam Offen
West Bloomfield
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Special Report
An Amazing Trip
I had the most spectacular time
in Israel. We went to a lot of
ancient places. They looked dif-
ferent from what I had really
expected.
I thought that the Western
Wall was going to look like just
one wall. It was actually sur-
rounded by many walls that
were bigger than the actual
Western Wall. I felt kind of sad,
but it was cool to see it.
The most meaningful thing
to me on the trip was when we
were on Masada. We were really
walking where our ancestors
walked long before us. I think it •
was so cool to see what people
have found. It's- very interesting
to actually see the houses and
pottery pieces left behind. I
loved Masada.
I made a lot of friends that
shared joy with me when we
were on the trip. We spent a lot
of time together. We had a ton
of fun and it felt like we had
known each other for so long.
I had a great time there in
Israel. I hope we go on the next
family mission.
Also, thank you so much to
Right On, Eva!
It was wonderful to read
Associate Editor Alan
Hitsky's interview with Eva
Mames of American Red
Magen David for Israel (Doer
Profile, Jan. 5, page 14).
I've known Eva since
ARMDI was established, when I
was 9 years old. Eva is the role
model for all young people who
wish to become involved in
communal work. Eva is selfless,
tireless and inspiring to all
around her. She is the fuel that
runs the engine of the organi-
zation, and that has been con-
stant for 39 years.
She is a dear friend and col-
league to everyone associated
with ARMDI, and it has been
my privilege to work with her
over all of these years. Yasher
koach! [Go forth in strength!].
Rob Starkman
Southfield
Correction
• An incorrect caption ran
with photograph No. 5 in
"Family Fun" (Jan. 12, page
18). The photo is of Gregg
and Ashley Oleshansky of
Franklin and their son,
Evann, 18 months.
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