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.