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Middle East Primer

AIPAC speaker gives texture

-mberg, David H
Corrine L
--
Estelle Ens, all Of Bloom

Stacy anc1ichaèLC1ane of
Hills with Viorman Beitner
Bloomfield

to Jewish political history.

S

tudents line up around the
block at Union College in
Schenectady, N.Y., to get into
Dr. Stephen Berk's history classes
and lectures. So it's no surprise more
than 300 supporters of the American
Israel Public Affairs Committee
(AIPAC) flocked to Knollwood
Country Club in West
Bloomfield to hear Dr. Berk
speak about the history of
Jewish political empower-
ment.
A renowned expert on the
Holocaust, Russia and the
Middle East, Dr. Berk deliv-
ered the keynote address at
AIPAC's annual community
event on May 17.
"Hamas is a genocidal
organization. It wants to
destroy the state of Israel
and it's prepared to murder millions
of Jews in order to achieve it:' Dr. Berk
told the crowd."This is an organiza-
tion that should be repudiated, not
merely on the basis of its rhetoric, but
on the basis of its actions."
Dr. Berk spoke about the cur-
rent political climate in Israel now
that Hamas has taken control of the
Palestinian government.
"Give Hamas credit. It tells you
where it stands," he said. "What we
can get from the Arabs we do not need
— what we need from the Arabs we
cannot get."
He also addressed the threat posed
by Iran.
"Probably the greatest existential
threat Israel confronts is the possibil-
ity that Iran will acquire a nuclear

weapon," Dr. Berk said. "It's imperative
for the American Jewish community
to make sure our compatriots and the
American government are sensitive to
the threats confronting Israel."
Dr. Berk encouraged AIPAC sup-
porters to get more people involved
in the organization. AIPAC currently
has about 100,000 members
in all 50 states who help
educate lawmakers and
encourage them to support
pro-Israel legislation.
Danny Victor of Sylvan
Lake said,"AIPAC really gets
to what drives policy and
that is intellect and philoso-
phy. Without thinking and
examining our past, present
and future, we really can't
come to terms with what's
necessary to be successful."
Co-chairs for AIPAC's annual
community event were: Caron and
Mike Goldfine and Alana and
Greg Aronin of Farmington Hills;
Wendi and Andre Douville of
Waterford; Moe Freedman of Oak
Park; Francine Wunder of West
Bloomfield; and Margo and Karl
Zakalik of Bloomfield Hills.
Also spotted in the crowd were:
Jason Zimmerman and Andy
Zack, both of Huntington Woods;
Jane and Herb Kaufer of Ann
Arbor; Judy and Lewis Tann of
Bingham Farms; Lori and Marc
Barron of Birmingham; Lilly
Epstein of Southfield; Geri and
Murray Spilman of Orchard Lake
and Lisa and Danny Kurzmann of
West Bloomfield. E

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and Ed Levyaf Birmingha
Jacobs of Huntington Woods

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Glenn-Gayer, Moe Freedma
and Elisheva Stoll,all of4tY

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