Opinion Editorials are posted and archived on JNonline.us . Dry Bones CLEARING IT UP Editorial Enriching God's Orchard A dat Shalom Synagogue is doing its part to bridge the physical and emotional expanse between diaspora Jews and Israeli Jews by partnering with a small Conservative shul in the north of the Galilee. It's the kind of part- nership that other synagogues, no matter what their affiliation, would do well to consider. Kehillat Hakerem, begun 27 years ago, is in Karmiel, Hebrew for God's orchard. That descrip- tion is apt: It's a hilltop town of about 50,000 people, almost half from the former Soviet Union. Many others are from Latin America. The U.S. and Great Britain also are represented. The partnership is a source of enrichment and opportunity. There's little downside if the commitment remains two-way and strong. The 75-family shul is one of several Conservative congre- gations in or near the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit's Partnership 2000 region in the Central Galilee. Now in its 12th year, P2K is about build- ing better relationships between Metro Detroit Jews and their Israeli brethren. P2K provides educational, cultural, spiritual and economic ties. Rabbi Tsvi Landau presides from a simple little building in Karmiel, but one bursting with Jewish life. Congregants not only pray, but also learn, support each other, chart social activism and experience cultural joys. Adat Shalom has sent financial aid generated from congregant contributions to help Kehillat Hakerem hire a youth worker and two community outreach workers, one versed in Russian and the other Spanish speaking in deference to Karmiel's demo- graphic. Rabbi Rachel Shere of Adat Shalom and Rabbi Landau recently completed a rabbinic exchange to get to know each other's congregation. "With our help, our sister con- gregation can unite Israeli soci- ety, healing divisions between religious and secular, between cultures and ideologies. We can help heal Israel society, perhaps MR BAKER, AREN'T YOUR IRAQ STUDY GROUP SUGGESTIONS SIMPLY A CALL FOR in a little way; but nonetheless, let us do our part," Rabbi Nevins declared in his Yom Kippur ser- mon. That's a tall order to fill through a partnership link- ing congregations 6,000 miles apart. But Rabbi Nevins says he's bound and determined to do so — and we're enthused by his optimism. Regular e-mail cor- respondence among congregants on both sides of the Atlantic is a start. Coming together as Jews united in purpose and resolve though separated by vast dis- tance is a very Jewish thing. New connections among Jews far away from each other help rein- force that we're a people. Rabbi Nevins put it well: "The Jewish people should not be like vapor, floating aimlessly in the air. We should be united like drops of water, giving life to the land and nourishing our souls." May other local synagogues find inspiration in what Adat Shalom is doing as a Zionist- rooted mitzvah punctuated with promise and with hope. This new partnership is but one of many powerful ways that American and Israeli Jews can connect in a very real way with one another, with Torah and, ultimately, with God. to refute a large part of the global warm- ing thesis in a book called The Skeptical Environmentalist, he was pilloried. A committed environ- mentalist, Lomborg was, nevertheless, accused of misusing data for political purposes by the Danish Ministry of Science and made to appear before an investigative panel. He was cleared of the charges and success- fully defended the accuracy of his findings. When Scientific American got a copy of his book, however, the magazine went apoplectic. It rounded up a panel of scientists — all of whom had published material in support of man-made global warming — and turned them loose to chew on Lomborg. In the interest of "fair- ness," he was given one page to reply. Lomborg tried to answer the charges against him by reprinting the stories on his Web site and refuting each one point by point. He was sued by the magazine for copyright infringe- ment. So much for fairness. Global warming has become the foundation of a Green religion. Those who question it or argue that the data are inconclusive and incomplete often do so at their professional peril. The globe is certainly warming, as it has warmed and cooled for millennia. It is the role that human activities play in this warming that remains open to question. Although you wouldn't know it from most media coverage, a large portion of highly qualified scien- tists remain unconvinced. You would also not guess that flooding of coastal cities is an absolute worst-case scenario, a device commonly employed by journalists to pump up a story. There is a lot we don't know and there is a lot open to conjecture. Before passing legislation that would clobber the auto industry, among others, it would be good to know the science is on a higher level than that which led to spuri- ous lawsuits and bans on breast implants. After all, only a decade ago or so we were being told by the media that we were headed for another Ice Age. Now there's an inconve- nient truth. I- NONSENSE! ! THIS CA' ts NOT BE CALLED A SURRENDER FOR ONE SPIRE REASON! ! WE WON'T BE CARRYING WHITE FLAGS. DryBonesBlog.com E-mail letters of no more than 150 words: letters@thejewishnews.com . Reality Check Turn On The Heat L ast winter wasn't very good to Patrick. He is the high school kid who lives in the court across from our house, and on snowy days he has the job of digging us out. We only needed his services three times last year. So Patrick is not thrilled about the possibility of global warming. Neither is Vanity Fair. This publication, which usually places semi-naked movie stars on its cover, put out a "Green Issue' It featured a fully clad Julia Roberts, looking like the goddess of corn flakes in a truly strange green gown and a wreath around her forehead. George Clooney and some politicians were shown, too. "A Threat Graver Than Terrorism': said the big type. "Global Warming. How much of New York, Washington, and other American cities will be under 28 January 4 @ 2007 water?" Vanity Fair then went on to accuse the Bush White House of trying to suppress information about this terrible event. That isn't surprising, since the mag blames Bush for everything from bird flu to the sack of Constantinople. But if this is a cover-up it's got to be the worst of all time. Every organ of the media has carried frightening global warming stories and any American who isn't aware of it has to be living in a trench. In fact, those trying to present the opposing arguments are most likely to be ignored or shouted down. Some commentators have compared them to Holocaust- deniers and argue their opinions are dangerous and should not be published. When Bjorn Lomborg, a Danish social scientist and statistician, gathered hard data that seemed George Cantor's e-mail address is gcantor614@aol.com.