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A Crucial Moment
In Israel's History

Don Cohen

Special to the Jewish News

N

achman Shai, 59, is a senior
vice-president of United
Jewish Communities and
director general of UJC-Israel, which
manages and spends funds raised for
Israel. He spoke with the JN while
visiting the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit to assist with the
Israel Emergency Campaign:

What is the
war's cost?

"Right now, we assess
the cost at S5 billion,
and that's not the end
of it. We don't know
what will be the accu-
mulated damage. We
have to take on
ourselves to rebuild
the north physically
Nachman Shai
and mentally. We
need to rebuild the
education system. We
need to treat the trauma that hundreds
of thousands will have."

The U.N. is discussing giv-
ing funds to reconstruct
Lebanon but is not talking
about helping Israel.

"I would like to see a Marshall Plan
for Israel. I would like to see the same
plan for Lebanon implemented for
Israel as well. If the world is so gener-
ous and they feel they have to help
those affected by the war, we shouldn't
get any less than the Lebanese people.
But we are used to the hypocrisy; it is
not the first time."

Now that there is a cease-
fire, will a political battle
begin to point fingers and
assign blame?

"I personally would like to wait for a
while and let the dust settle and see
what really happened ... but this is
Israel. We want to win quick wars;
and we want to turn immediately to
politics, which we like very much. I
won't run too quickly to any conclu-
sion about if we've had a victory or
achieved our goals."

What has changed?

"This is a very crucial moment in the

history of Israel, not only because
what has happened now but the
potential that may happen in the
future ... We are dealing with a basic
fundamental hatred of Israel that has
been transformed into suicide bomb-
ers and now to guerilla warfare.
"[Also] soldiers used to fight know-
ing that they were keeping the war
away from their homes. At least they
could say,`I am here because my par-
ents, my friends my girlfriend can
enjoy their life back home. That is not
the case any longer."

How do you react
to international
criticism of Israel?

"We've done our best
that only the people that
deserve it will be hit. We
should be proud of our-
selves. This has been a
truly difficult thing and
other armies and other
nations have not been so
careful. We don't owe it
to anyone else; we owe it to ourselves
that at the end of the war we can say
we did our best to save human life."

How is your family doing?
"They are fine. But families in Israel are
not necessarily just your own siblings.
It goes beyond that. It's a big family
"The list [of fallen soldiers] is the
map of Israel; the geographic map and
the social map of Israel. The victims
are everywhere and everyone, from
big cities, small cities, moshavim, kib-
butzim, one Druze, Arabs, a woman
for the first time and coming from all
over. Some are newcomers and some
are Israeli born. A few of them are 39,
40 and many of them are 19. If you
look at this like a group picture: This is
Israel. So even if you don't know them
personally, you know them."

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Would you like to add?

"I'd like to thank the American Jewish
community, including the Detroit
Federation, for being so generous and
showing so much understanding.
"We should have lots of pride in our
brothers and sisters in this country. We
are standing together in this crisis, and
only if we stand together can we sur-
vive and continue. We depend on you
and you depend on us." L

Orchard Lake Rd. South of Lone Pine Rd.,. West Bloomfield, MI

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August 17

a

2006

19

