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Opinion

Editorials are posted and archived on JNonline.us .

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AFTER ALI 1411
THE TALK ABOUT
ISLAMIC TERRORISTS
USING CANADA AS
A PLATFORM

.

Editorial

A Disconcerting Quiet

W

hen any pope speaks
of the Holocaust,
his remarks always
receive the closest scrutiny from
Jewish organizations. But the
background of Pope Benedict
XVI makes it that much more
intense, with every word
weighed for meaning and every
omission examined for cause.
He was, after all, the same
Joseph Ratzinger Nvilo was a
member, albeit briefly and
unwillingly, of the Hitler
Youth and who came of age in
Germany under the Nazi tyr-
anny.
So the papal visit to Auschwitz
in May has aroused some
concern. Pope Benedict spoke
movingly of the Nazi attempt to
"crush the entire Jewish people,
to cancel it from the register
of the peoples of the earth." He
called the Nazis "vicious crimi-
nals" and also asked the ques-
tion that has tormented so many
souls in so many ages: "Why,
Lord, did you remain silent?"
What he did not do, however,
was ask forgiveness on behalf

of the German people. He spoke
only of the Nazis. To some this
was disturbing. Rabbi David
Rosen of the American Jewish
Committee's interfaith office
said he was disappointed. "He
speaks like (the Nazis) just
dropped in out of nowhere.
That's just a little bit facile."
While it is true that most
Germans were cowed by the
sheer brutality of Hitler's
regime, a good many were will-
ing participants in the persecu-
tion and murder of Jews and
benefited materially from the
confiscation of their property.
The concern is heightened
by changes that have come over
Germany since its reunification.
Those who grew up in the East,
under Communist rule, were
never taught of the culpability
of the German people or the full
extent of the terror.
It is in these areas especially
that increased instances of rac-
ism, directed mostly towards
people of African descent, are
raising red flags. There have
been racist chants and attacks

at soccer games, so many that
spectators at this month's World
Cup matches are being warned
explicitly that such actions will
not be tolerated. A few coun-
tries have gone so far as to list
parts of Germany as "no go"
zones for their citizens.
Even in the former West
Germany, however, discrimina-
tion against Turkish residents
remains widespread. Upon
hearing the crude jokes, one
Jewish woman remarked, "Now
I understand what it must have
been like here in 1933."
The racist impulse is cer-
tainly not limited to Germany
in contemporary Europe. From
Britain to Russia, it is increas-
ing.
But nations cannot escape
history, and the German past
will always assure that such
events will be magnified when
they happen there. As they
should be.
Pope Benedict missed- an
opportunity to address these
concerns about his homeland
during his remarks at Auschwitz.

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'NE TERRORISTS 14
SURPRISED US
AND DECIDEO TO
USE CANADA AS A

TO MAKE
ATTACKS INSIDE

CANADA
ITSELF!?

PLATFORM

He spoke well and those who
heard him did not doubt his sin-
cerity when he cried out against
the monstrous crimes commit-
ted there.
Still, there was something left
unsaid. We hope the words will
be spoken at another time soon.

Because they need to be heard,
and especially from the mouth
of this pope. Ili

E-mail letters of no more than 150

words to: letters@thejewishnews.

corn

Reality Check

Flat Liners On Paper

T

homas Friedman's
book, The World Is Flat,
has led the list of non-
fiction best sellers for several
months. It is one of the more
influential works of the last few
years.
Friedman argues convincingly
that we are all so tightly inter-
connected in a global economy,
with instant communication to
all ends of the Earth, that there
is no such thing as "local" any-
more.
What happens in India or
China has a direct bearing on
our lives in Michigan.
I find it hard to disagree with
that. Which makes it all the
more interesting that in these
changing times daily newspa-
pers have talked themselves into
the idea that what readers want
is more and more local news.
There's one very good argu-

ment in favor of that philosophy.
It's cheap to cover.
If you give me some time
maybe I'll come up with another
one.
As a formula for growth, it
doesn't seem to be working very
well. Newspaper circulation is
stagnant, at best, and declining
in most areas. The exceptions
are those publications that treat
the world as a greater stage that
impacts their readership.
You know, the usual suspects:
New York Times, Washington
Post, Wall Street Journal.
To tell you the truth, I really
don't care much about the latest
meeting of the West Bloomfield
Board of Trustees, and less than
that about my neighboring sub-
urbs. Same thing with the school
systems. Unless, of course, they
are major stories with implica-
tions that reach beyond my

immediate community.
centrate on stories
If I did care deeply
from those places.
about these things,
Reporters found
there is a free paper
that good play in
I get in the mail, the
the paper was given
Beacon, that fills me
to stories that fit
in. Or I would buy the
this template rather
Oakland Press, which
than those with
is specifically geared
greater news merit.
rge Cantor
to cover these institu-
That's not -
olumnist
tions — and has a fine
journalism, folks.
sports page, besides.
There is a word to
I want more from the Detroit
describe what it is but I can't use
dailies. I'm looking for a wider
it here.
perspective, a sense of intel-
Consequently, I did something
lectual curiosity, an attempt to
recently I never thought I'd do.
deal with trends of over-arch-
I dropped the Detroit papers
ing importance in the suburbs.
and took a subscription to the
I don't want or need a bulletin
New York Times. Eventually, I
board of local doings.
changed my mind and came
I know for a fact that my for-
back. You know why? I missed
mer employer targeted certain
the death notices — an increas-
suburbs as having potential
ingly important feature when
for circulation growth and
you get to my age. And I missed
instructed its reporters to con-
the sports coverage:It's bad

enough to be on the same planet
as the New York Yankees without
having to read about them daily.
The Detroit papers never
•
made any claim to being the
Times. But they once were so
much better than they are now
... and they can be again, with
more news and less celebrity
drivel and front-page sports
columns.
The world is flat and so is
their circulation. I don't think
that's a coincidence. Ei

George Cantor's e-mail address is

gcantor614@aol.com .

June 15 . 2006

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