Metro
NTERFA TH
Why Israel Matters
To Me Now
Ann Arbor
I
DALE SPARAGE
PHOTOGRAPHY
CONTEMPORARY PORTRAITURE FOR ALL AGES. SPECIALIZING IN MEDIUM FORMAT
PHOTOGRAPHY AND CUSTOM, FINE ART PRINTS. FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE
VISIT WWW.DALESPARAGE.COM , OR CALL 248 417 9005. ;A:;. DALE SPARAGE 2006.
1203030
FUR CLEARANCE
EVENT
STARTING THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, at Great Lakes Crossing,
we're taking 50% TO 70% OFF original Neiman Marcus prices on
over 400 of our most fabulous furs. You'll find an outstanding assortment
including sable, mink, beaver, shearling, chinchilla, sheared mink,
petites, plus sizes, and men's, as well as selections from top designers.
Register at NeimanMarcus.com/LastCall to receive
advance notice of sales and special offers.
Sale ends Sunday, January 28. Fur sales are excluded from all additional discount
offers. Furs subject to prior sale and labeled to show country of origin. Interim
markdowns may have been taken. No adjustments for prior sales. All sales final.
GREAT LAKES CROSSING
4030 Baldwin Road, Auburn Hills 248.745.6868
1206660
20
January 25 • 2007
iN
never used to think much about
Israel. I don't mean that I didn't
give it any respect, but that it never
really crossed my mind. I was just
another Protestant kid growing up in
America. Israel was this country some-
where in the Middle East
that made the news now
and then for fighting.
I was in high school
when I finally realized
that Israel was the Jewish
state. Even then I didn't
really know the ramifica-
tions of what that meant
— not until met my
wife, Bonnie, who is
Jewish.
I met Bonnie my fresh-
man year in college.
During those first few years, I started
to learn the intricacies and issues of
interfaith dating — the religious and
cultural differences. One such lesson
involved the State of Israel. I was fasci-
nated by how Bonnie felt a very strong
attachment to this Middle Eastern
nation. She had grown up giving to
plant trees in Israel, buying Israel
Bonds and singing the Israeli national
anthem.
"But you're American:' I remember
saying. "Why would you care so much
about another country?"
"I care because it is a homeland for
my people,' she replied. "Jews have been
kicked out of just about every country
on the planet. Historically, they have
been the scapegoats for the world's
troubles. A state of our own means we
have more control over our destiny"
I soon found out what she meant.
While Bonnie and I were engaged, I
accompanied my brother's hockey team
to the Soviet Union. Somewhere in the
course of a conversation with our tour
guide, I mentioned that my fiance was
Jewish. Our guide was shocked that an
American could marry a Jew. When I
tried to explain that Jewish Americans
are just as American as I, she wouldn't
believe it.
"In the Soviet Union, they are not
citizens',' she said.
"Why not?"
"Because they have a different smell
about them."
For a painful moment, I couldn't tell
if the guide was serious or not. Sadly,
she meant it.
Today, I am helping my wife raise
our Jewish children. I know that they
will want to go to Israel someday. I now
know that I want to go, too. Despite
the recent violence, many people are
continuing to visit Israel. The
Jewish state needs us now
more than ever.
While I have yet to go
there, I do what I can at
home to support Israel. We
give to Federation; we shop
at Hiller's for Israeli grocer-
ies; we buy Naot sandals
— made in Israel; and I
make sure that my saltwater
fish tank is maintained with
Red Sea aquarium products
— made in Israel.
While my contributions aren't grand
by any means, I hope that they are
part of a larger movement of people's
attempts to support Israel. Since the
War on Terror started, I think most
Americans have begun to notice and
appreciate Israel and her struggle
against terror. Israel's is a battle that
has been going on a lot longer than
America's.
Israel doesn't always do everything
right. Neither does the United States.
But we try. Our two nations share so
much in common. Israel has been a
beacon of freedom, democracy and
individual rights in a region embar-
rassingly devoid of any of these values.
Ideally, we'd both live in a peaceful
world where we wouldn't have to fight
for them. But this is not an ideal world.
The best we can do is strive to make
it one. While I may not be Jewish, my
family is. While Israelis may hold dif-
ferent passports than Americans, their
principles are the same. That is why
Israel matters to me. 1-1
Jim Keen is author of the book "Inside
Intermarriage: A Christian Partner's
Perspective on Raising a Jewish Family"
(URJ Press) and a contributor to the
book "The Guide to the Jewish Interfaith
Family Life: an Inter faithFamily.com
Handbook" (Jewish Lights publishing).
He is a columnist for InterfaithFamily.
corn. His e-mail address is
jckeen@umich.edu.