Building Bridges from page 27

civil rights struggle — "to me it was
the most obvious response of a Jewish
girl who was born of Holocaust survi-
vors" — and her later appreciation of
evangelical Christians she saw visiting
Israel during tough times.
"During the [Palestinian] intifada,
when things were blowing up, I real-
ized ... that the righteous gentiles
were alive and well and living among
evangelical Christians," she said.
Relating Jewish slavery in ancient
Egypt to slavery of blacks in America,
she insisted, "Our legacy isn't how
they suffered, though we have that in
common; it is how we survived, how
we became a people and-what we have
become:'

Standing Together
The visit to the Charles H. Wright
Museum of African American History
in Detroit the next day was not with-
out controversy. But the controversy
was not among the group, but between
group members and their museum
docent.
Blacks and Jews joined in protest
when the docent compared the deaths
of black slaves to the Holocaust, say-
ing,"Maybe tens of thousands or
hundreds of thousands of Jews died."
Another participant told the docent
that he perceived anger at white peo-
ple, saying, "I went to the Holocaust
museum yesterday and there were
pictures of piles of bodies, and not
one person condemned the German
people."
When the docent compared white-
led destruction of Africa to Israeli
destruction of Lebanon, some couldn't
believe what they were hearing. The
tour stopped for five minutes while
participants told the docent what they
thought of his information and only
moved on when he explained himself
and apologized for any misunder-
standing.
Later, Rev. Plummer promised the
group that FIBA would follow-up with
the museum staff. "We take what we
are doing very seriously:' he told them.
"It is not just about sensitivity. We
need to be truthful; we must be fac-
tual." He would like to see the museum
add a section on black-Jewish coop-
eration during the civil rights move-
ment.
Plummer is traveling to Kiev this
weekend to attend the second annual
World Holocaust Forum, which will be
held at Babi Yar Sept. 26-27.

WEST®

Following the tour, Nonie Darwish
of Arabs for Israel told her personal
story and how she decided to speak
out against Muslim intolerance of
Jews, Israel and the West after 9-11.
She said that growing up "peace was
never an option. It was seen as a sign
of weakness and defeat.
"If we Muslims respect tolerance
and understanding from others, we
must do the same for other cultures
and religions:' she said. Referring
to Arab refusal to live in peace with
Israel, she said,"Arabs don't have a
shortage of land. They have a shortage
of tolerance and freedom:'
"I have never felt like this in
my entire life said Bill Braun of
Farmington Hills, who attended on
behalf of B'nai B'rith."I just spent 12
hours that enlightened my spirit. I was
very moved by it. It brought people of
different races together as if we were
one, with one goal in mind: harmony
— the way it should be. I was proud to
be part of it and we must continue."
Robert Cohen, executive director
of the Jewish Community Council of
Metropolitan Detroit, attended the
conference, has high hopes for FIBA
and looks forward to working together.
"They have an ambitious agenda
ahead of them:' he said, referring to
FIBNs Web site that says the group
aspires not only to be an advocacy
organization, but also to have its own
facility where it can deliver programs.
"I found it very moving and inspir-
ing to hear so many African American
clergy and leaders taking such a
positive posture toward Israel and the
Jewish community. They are clearly
and sincerely looking for a way to con-
nect. It is important that we respond
and reach out to them, too.
"Our positions will not always be
uniform, but together we should be
able to do a lot for our communities
and for Israel." ❑

Local Jewish sponsors of
the FIBA conference included
Temple Israel, Congregations -
Shaarey Zedek and Beth
Shalom, Temple Shir Shalom, the
Jewish Community Council, the
Jewish Federation, StandWithUs,
B'nai B'rith, the Jewish
Community Center, Temple
Beth El, and Young Israel of
Southfield.
For more information on FIBA,
go to www.projectfiba.org .

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