Letters

Thanks, Milwaukee!

As a fellow Jewish commu-
nal professional, I was deeply
impressed by the articles con-
cerning Bob Aronson and his
unparalleled Detroit tenure ("A
Message Worth Heeding:' May
11, page 5; "18 years At Full
Speed," May 11, page 18).
Milwaukee has given the
Jewish people three important
people: Israeli Prime Minister
Golda Meir, Jewish Academy of
Metropolitan Detroit Rabbi Lee
Buckman and Jewish Federation
of Metropolitan Detroit CEO Bob
Aronson.

Les Goldstein

West Bloomfield

Wrong Inference
IN Columnist Harry Kirsbaum

went overboard with his sarcasm
in his article "thanking" Osama
bin Laden for bringing attention
to the Darfur crisis ("Thanks,
Osama!" April 27, page 8).
For the sake of those people
with certain sensibilities, could
he please, in the future, refrain
from using "Osama" and "mitz-
vah" in the same sentence?

George Erdstein

Huntington Woods

Scare Tactics

A letter was published that
strongly objected to Columnist
George Cantor's April 27 "Reality
Check" regarding the Michigan
Civil Rights Initiative or MCRI
("Facts on Gender Politics:' May
4). The writer ("Proposal Makes
Sense," May 18, page 6) cited a
number of "facts" that are noth-
ing more than fictitious scare
tactics.
The real fact is that MCRI
would install language in the
Michigan Constitution ending
race and gender preferences used

in public education and college
admissions as well as govern-
ment employment and state
contracting. Equal opportunity
programs required by federal law
would not be affected. The MCRI
has nothing whatsoever to do
with health screenings, outreach
programs, domestic violence
treatment/prevention programs
or after-school programs.
The purpose of the MCRI is
to challenge the notion that the
government's pursuit of "diver-
sity" should triumph over the
principles of individual merit
and "equal treatment under the
law for every person."
Most Americans believe that
discrimination of any kind is
wrong and place a high value
on the concept of fairness. The
MCRI simply asks the govern-
ment and state universities to
conduct themselves according to
these values and treat each of us
impartially and equally.

Daniel Dubin

Farmington Hills

Diaspora Involvement

To say that Israel's policies have
"always been good enough" for
diaspora Jews is untrue. On Nov.
14, 2005, a group of Jews headed
by Seymour Reich, president of
the left-wing Israel Policy Forum,
paid a visit to U.S. Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice and had
the gall to encourage her to pres-
sure Israel on the Gaza crossings
and other security matters. He
reportedly told her that if she got
tough on Israel, "she would gain
the support of Jewish Americans
on both sides of the aisle
Americans for Peace Now
Chairman Franklin M. Fisher
wrote in a letter to President
Bush, "On behalf of Americans
for Peace Now (APN), we are

in academics and all-around
achievement. We are extremely
proud of our girls and congratu-
late and commend our entire
graduating class for all of their
accomplishments.

writing on the eve of your
upcoming meeting with Israeli
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
to encourage you to ... take a
nuanced approach toward fur-
ther unilateral Israeli moves in
the occupied territories ..."
Evidently, this sort of inter-
vention is perfectly OK with the
left-wing media but when those
Americans interested in a strong
Israel able to defend itself against
its mortal enemies, regardless
of leadership, and hold on to
territories vital to both Israel's
defense and its future growth,
the left-leaning news media
charge that Americans are shed-
ding Israeli blood!
As to Olmert, his Kadima
party received one of the small-
est number of votes any party
has ever obtained to lead an
Israeli government. In no way
has he a mandate to make uni-
lateral withdrawals duplicating
the disaster of Gaza turning over
immediately adjacent land to a
Hamas dedicated to Israel's anni-
hilation.

Rabbi Avrohom Fishman

dean, Yeshiva Beth Yehudah

Southfield

Image Rebuilding

Jerome S. Kaufman

Bloomfield Hills

Beth Jacob Honors

Although no Beth Jacob student
submitted her qualifications for
consideration in Cap & Gown
(May 25, page 36), I would like
to take the opportunity to let
you know that out of a class of
25 graduating seniors, 13 have
maintained a 3.50 average or
above. Fourteen of our seniors
received a Michigan Merit Award
based on high MEAP scores and
nine seniors received a Michigan
Competitive Award based on
high ACT scores.
As always, Beth Jacob High
School continues to strive for
the highest levels of excellence

MERV 'cha Don't Know

Which European country's national beauty pageant was recently won by a
Jewish woman?

-Goldfein

run in a Health & Fitness section
in May. On Feb. 20, Marvin Hilf
died. The story refers to him in
present tense. The IN regrets the
error and sends condolences to
his family.

Conservative Judaism needs a
voice of its own ("A Voice Of
Conservatism," May 25, page
5). It cannot continue waffling
between the Reform movement
and Orthodoxy, thereby losing its
own image.
A first step could be aban-
doning the now-meaningless
name "Conservative!' Instead,
the forward-looking, exciting
and Israel-connecting banner
Masorti should be adopted and
promoted.
The movement should move
beyond traditional or radical
teachings, incorporating them
but with a fresh focus of Jewish
thinking and involvement.
Masorti would be the move-
ment more responsive to the
needs and demands of the
younger and more highly edu-
cated generations. With proper
leadership, a charismatic and
fresh transformation could take
place.
Respect those who embrace
Reform or Orthodox Judaism,
but establish Masorti within its
own independent guidelines.

Morton Horwitz

West Bloomfield

Corrections

"Fading Memory" (May 25, page
23), a story about dementia,
was originally written in early
February and had to be held to

Do to printing errors, segments
from "Answering Israel's Critics"
for two weeks in May had gar-
bled or mismatched text.
• In the May 11 IN (page
30), a phrase from the previous
week's column was inadvertently
included in the answer. The cor-
rect text is as follows:
The Charge: Israel should
reveal its nuclear weaponry, sub-
mit to international inspection
and dismantle the threatening
arsenal.
The Answer: If Israel has-
nuclear weapons, they are meant
not as a threat, but to deter hos-
tile enemies such as Iran, which
last week threatened to attack
Israel if the U.S. commits an 'evil
act' against the Persian nation.
• In the May 18 IN (page 17),
the charge involving construc-
tion of the Wiesenthal museum
in Jerusalem was mistakenly
matched with the answer from
the previous week's column. The
correct version was run on May
25 (page 15).

The "Michigan Getaways"
article on May 25 (Summer Fun
page 5) contained two editing
errors:
• Tobi Hitow Karch is executive
director of the Michigan Legacy
Art Park at Crystal Mountain
Resort in Thompsonville.
• The winding miniature pools
pictured on page 5 are part of
the children's garden at Frederik
Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids.

How to Send Letters
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'9002 to apuPJA ssm s! pialuaso8 elpunaly :Justly

e)CopyrIght 2006, Jewish Renaissance Med.

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June 10 2006