Editor's Letter 26TH ANNUAL FALL FUNDRAISER ()arc presents An electrifying The Limits Of Dialogue I is hypocritical to stand with non-Jews in the name of interfaith relations if they won't denounce terrorism because they fear alienating their more-militant peers. It's useless to approach even moderate Muslims if they balk at risking personal and political capital to publicly confront the evils of radical Islam. There are only so many times the Jewish people should have to justify their self-defense against Hamas, Hezbollah and other Arab terrorists. I'm developing more of a separat- ist attitude though I realize that some dialogue, however lame, is better than none with Muslim mosques and organizations. You never know when meaningful discussion might take root and strike a chord responsive enough to spur a change of heart. American Jews must stand as sen- tries in this ideological war to conquer and subjugate the West. If we extend a pass to Muslim ideo- logues that legitimize and mainstream extremists, we fuel the anti-Zionism sweeping the Middle East and Europe. My pent-up concern about local Muslim leadership for largely standing pat as Israeli civilians have been murdered by Islamic terrorists since the Palestinian reign of terror began in September 2000 really resounded as I read the Yom Kippur sermon of Rabbi Joseph Klein of Temple Emanu-El in Oak Park. "I am suggesting, even advocating, that we remove ourselves, as a congregation and as a Jewish community, from Muslim-Christian- Jewish dialogue, activities and programs," Rabbi Klein declared on Oct. 2. Stand only with Christians who also stand with Israel, he said. His message is potent. He pro- claimed that the "time has come when we must pointedly and purposefully oppose the political correctness of pretending that this terrorist threat is not from radi- cal, militant Islamists driven by a dangerous, fundamental theology emanating from the Arab Middle Rabbi Klein East in general and [Persian] Iran specifically" He said this religious extremism is a danger to the West — and he's right. If local mosques truly were partners for peace, they would have roundly condemned Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last year when he imagined a Middle East without Israel and they would have distanced themselves from the pro-Hezbollah rallies held in Dearborn this summer. The same general silence followed the Muslim firebombings of Palestinian churches in September after Pope Benedict XVI cited obscure anti-Islam medieval teachings. the benefit of the doubt. In contrast, the Jewish world stood together against Baruch Goldstein, an American-Israeli settler who-perpetrated the Caves of the Patriarchs massacre of Muslims in Hebron in 1994. Rabbi Klein also acknowledged Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion's swift denouncing of the Lechi and Irgun gangs in pre-state Israel. "In the year past:' Rabbi Klein said, "the line separating our American Jewish community and the American Muslim com- munity has been more clearly and definitively drawn than ever before." Lest we hide the obvious: Dearborn rhetoric has esca- lated in the past year amid chants of "Death to the Zionists:' "Occupied Palestine" and "Hezbollah's Freedom Fighters." American Muslims who are less strident reject Hezbollah's cries for Israel's destruction. But when so few of their leaders have the resolve to repel such cries, the Muslim community as a whole comes under suspicion. Qazwini Connection of music and dance! NOVEMBER 1st & 2nd 7:30 pm FISHER THEATRE TICKETS FROM $60 UAY wtt '0010 Its, E AIR? 1v4ILA mov ii RUN ViSIG4 What provoked Rabbi Klein was the turnoff he experienced from Imam Hassan Qazwini of the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn. Last fall, the rabbi served on an interfaith panel with the imam, who said terrorism was evil. Their congrega- There are rules for dialogue, and one clear rule is that one side should not be advocat- ing the destruction of the other. Prickly Questions Does such Muslim destruction validate a link between Islam and violence? Does the noticeable silence among most local Muslim leaders reflect what Rabbi Klein calls "tacit approval of this mob brutality?" I hope not, but I no longer will allow joyride tions also visited each other's house of worship. A few weeks later, the Iranian president declared war against the "World of Arrogance" and envisioned a world without America and Zionism. To foster religious bridge building, Rabbi Klein tried in vain to ask Imam Qazwini to condemn President Ahmadinejad's rant. In that disconnect crumbled the rabbi's hope for a moderate Islam emerging in Dearborn. I respect Rabbi Klein and his convictions, but he was too trusting of Qazwini. The imam has condemned Zionists and Zionism. And his mosque has advocated an Iranian theocracy and has supported Hezbollah. Case closed. Rabbi Klein is ready to walk away from any cross-cultural initiative involving Muslims as long as there is no desire among their leaders to get along with Jews. "I cannot forgive these clerics for tacitly condoning what they ought to be . con- demning," he said. Rabbi Klein's courage should radiate enough of an energy field to cause local Muslims, and Jews, to take notice. There are rules for dialogue, and one clear rule is that one side should not be advocating the destruction of the other. Dialogue should not be war by other means, but a path to coexistence marked by integrity and good will. I don't share Rabbi Klein's call to totally separate from the local Muslim community. Muslims and Jews no longer can "together affirm values of truth and righteousness and jus- tice," he said. Where there's a glimmer of hope for stirring the soul of moderate Muslims, however, I'll remain a player. I will say that Detroit Jewry is harming itself and living a fantasy if it embraces interfaith dialogue without a mutually beneficial commitment from each party. FLU Y TICKETS ONLINE! www.jarc.org CHAIRS Lori and Robert Nusbaum ASSOCIATE CHAIRS Lindsay and Ryan Dembs Sherri and Jimmy Ketai Nancy and Howard Luckoff Barbara and Irving Nusbaum Marla Tapper and Brian Young CORPORATE GIFTS CHAIRS David Carroll I Jeff Eisenshtadt Helping people with disabilities be fully included in their community — all through their lives. 248.538.6610 x418 3 jarc October 12 2006 5