Letters Fighting Campus Hatred Kudos to the IN for continuing to cover the important issue of campus anti- Semitism, most recently in special writer Don Cohen's April 5 article "An American Problem" (page 14) and in Robert Sklar's April 12 Editor's Letter "Worsening Campus Ferment" (page 5). How should this issue be dealt with? One possibility is for the university to create a seminar program requiring the participation of students engaged in anti- Semitic acts. Participation by them would be mandatory as a requirement for grad- uation. The program would be headed by a professor who is a good teacher. How would it work? The instruc- tor would identify topics for classroom debate, related to the Arab-Israeli con- flict. To satisfy the requirement, the anti- Semitic student would have to take part in a number of classroom debates, adopt- ing a pro-Israeli position. The student's performance would be graded as follows: zero for unsatisfactory; one for satisfac- tory; two for superior. After earning say 10 points, the pro- gram-requirement would be met. Who would be this student's adversary? Ideally, it would be a pro-Israeli student taking a pro-Arab position in a debate. This student's participation would be vol- untary but necessary. By undertaking such a program, Wayne State University in Detroit would be tak- ing a step forward in becoming the kind of university President Irvin D. Reid envi- sions in his April 12 letter ("Freedom, Tolerance, Respect:' page 6) and one which Jewish students would want to apply for admission. Irving Warshawsky West Bloomfield Applause To Pelosi In the JN editorial "Pelosi's Peace" (April 19, page 31), your indication that U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's constitu- tional role is "not to engage in foreign policy" parallels the 1950s mentality that women should stay in the house and "not engage in the outside workplace." Since the Bush administration has abrogated its responsibilities with its failed policies in Iraq, Iran, Latin America, Korea and the Middle East, Congress, under the leadership of the speaker, must engage in oversight. Lack of transpar- ency requires Congress to oversee and examine its policy and repre- Nancy Pelosi sent the American people. To follow this administration, as you would prefer, would be tantamount to directing more ships in the Titanic's wake. I applaud the speaker in her efforts to engage in these public policy discussions. David C. Sloan Huntington Woods Amazing Education I found myself reading Helene Brody's Community View numerous times ("Hillel Day School's Expance," April 5, page 26). The article expressed what we see daily as Hillel parents. Her passion and accurate portrayal of Hillel is truly and wholeheartedly what has led us to transfer our two oldest children from the public school system three years ago. Our children are very happy for vari- ous reasons. They enjoy the small class- room setting, which enables them to get the individual attention each student deserves. They love the dynamics of the open discussions during their classes. This has allowed them to become inde- pendent thinkers in which their opinions are not only heard but also appreci- ated. This style of teaching and learn- ing enables them to aspire to think and develop on a higher level. The Judaic curriculum has been spe- cial to their experience as well. Learning about our people and the history of Judaism is imperative. But just as impor- tant, to ascertain what being a Jew means today and how being part of a com- munity is crucial to our existence. What more could a parent want than a solid foundation for their children academi- cally, culturally and socially? Our only regret is that we had not considered Hillel when our oldest was entering kindergarten. There was a mis- conception that our personal level of religiousness and lifestyle didn't "qualify" our child to become a Hillel student. It was mere ignorance and a sense of intimidation on our part. We should have inquired and taken the small amount of time to investigate our choices for educa- tion. We hope that our children, along with all Hillel students and graduates enter into adulthood with the realization of how fortunate and privileged they were to receive such an amazing education while being part of a wonderful, loving community. Farmington Hills This Month In History: The Holocaust Remembered April 29, 1945: American soldiers liberated the Dachau concentration camp in Bavaria. Dachau was the first of SS-organized concentration camps, created to incarcerate "enemies of the regime," trade unionists and polit- ical opponents. Jews were a distinct minority of the prisoners at Dachau. Advancing on Dachau, American troops interrupted a death march of prisoners led by fleeing Nazis. Upon reaching the camp, they found 30 coal cars filled with bodies, all in an advanced state of decomposition. The Americans tried 40 of the concentra- April 19, 1950: The Ghetto Fighters' House (Belt Lohamei ha-Getta'ot) was established at Kibbutz Lohamei ha-Getta'ot in Israel by a group of former ghetto fighters and partisans. The house serves as a memorial and research and documentation cen- ter on the Holocaust period and on Jewish resistance under Nazi rule in Europe. Taken from Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd Edition, 2007, wymencyclopaediajudiaca.com . 0 2007, Thomson Gale How to Send Letters We prefer letters relating to JN articles. We reserve the right to edit or -Goldfein in3pauuo0lo uewiaqan aor •ues pueluownA to siepues pieweg -dad :Jemsuy April 26 2007 tion camp officials; 36 were sentenced to death. Of the other war criminals, 260 were sentenced to death, and 498 to imprisonment. MN* There are two members of Congress whose party identity is independent. Both are Jewish. Can you name them? 6 Donna and Maddy Wise Amy and Eric Grosinger SLEMET 'cha Don't Know OCopyright 2007, Jewish Renaissance Media Correction An April 19 story, "Book Power" (page 35), incorrectly identified a local school. It was Pine Lake Elementary where Donna and Maddy Wise, pictured below, watched "Uncle Marc" Friedman's presen- tation on building a school in Mali, West Africa. reject letters. Letters of 225 words or less are considered first. Longer ones will be subject to trimming. Letter writers are limited in frequency of publication. Letters must be original and contain the name, address and title of the writer and a day phone number. Non-electronic cop- ies must be hand signed. 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