Editor's Letter H e's not Jewish. But he's Israeli. And he cherishes the state that the Jewish people have built. He's so patri- otic that he became a career soldier in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). He's now assigned to strategic planning. Lt. Col. Alaa Abu-Rukun, 35, is part of the Druze religious community and fiercely committed to Israel. His home is in Ostea, a Druze village of 10,000 residents that is three miles from the University of Haifa. He and his wife have two kids; a third child is on the way. "Our religion tells us to be part of our country, to be loyal to our coun- try," says Abu-Rukun."We don't have any dreams of our own separate ter- ritory. We just want to live in peace in the country that we live. For us, there's great pride in being Israeli." Druze are Arabic speaking. Abu- Rukun also speaks Hebrew and English. About 20 percent of Israel's population of 7.15 million is Arab or Druze. Despite a full-time military career, Abu-Rukun, 35, also is a student. He's in his second year of study toward a doctorate in Middle East studies at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan, near Tel Aviv. He'll take up to seven years, but isn't complain- ing. "I'm working very hard," he said. "I'm used to it. I have obligations, but I love my studies and I love my job. I manage somehow" Over a kosher lunch during an April 25 visit to the Detroit Jewish News offices in Southfield, Abu-Rukun told me that Bar-Ilan has enabled him to unite his love of study with his love of service. Otherwise, he might never earn the doctorate since he is signed with the IDF for another 10 years. Detroit was the middle leg of a 10-day North American trip that began in Toronto and ended in Miami. Les Goldstein and Dena Raminick of the Detroit Friends of Bar-Ilan University's Midwest office in Bloomfield Township hosted Abu-Rukun. cares about Israeli interests. That's the only thing important for me?' Being Druze has no bearing on his allegiance. "It is very obvious to me that prosperity and success for Israel means prosperity and success for my family, my people and my vil- lage," Abu-Rukun said. Abu-Rukun relies heavily on his wife, a high school coun- selor in Ostea. He makes it home on weekends. Combining school and service is a balancing act. Bar-Ilan has given him the capacity to pursue this dual dream. "It's a big university with 32,000 students, but Bar-Ilan makes you feel like family;' Abu-Rukun said. "You get very personal treatment from your lecturers and the system." So personal that instructors often invite him to their homes at 6:30 in the morning so he can keep up his studies. He plans to parlay his studies into his IDF strategic planning work. Eventually, he hopes to teach or do research at Bar-Ilan. Motivating Influence Abu-Rukun is doing his doctoral thesis on the centuries-old clash between the Shia and the Sunnis within Islam. While unable to talk openly about Israel's sworn Islamic enemies, Abu-Rukun offered keen insight that no Jew should dismiss. He underscored the coming together of Sunni-led Hamas and Shia-led Hezbollah, both seasoned terrorist groups, against Israel and the West. This joining at the fundamentalist hip should send off alarms throughout the civilized world. "These organizations have almost nothing in common," Abu-Rukun said. "But for the first time in history, they are Losing our optimism is the first plunge into losing our esteem and ultimately losing our spirit as the Jewish people. Worthy Ambassador Abu-Rukun is a fine spokesman for Bar-Ilan and for Israel. He spoke candidly about his concerns, but with optimistic resolve. "Bar-flan is a university of values, not just an academic degree factory','Abu-Rukun said. "This is the thing I am most proud of' Bar-Ilan core values include Judaism, pluralism and democ- racy. It cultivates a campus of Jewish literacy and learning while engaging a diverse student population that includes Jews of all religious backgrounds as well as non-Jews. Bar-Ilan, which counts Detroiters like Phillip Stollman and Abe Nusbaum among its founders, celebrated its 50th year in 2005. Its Jewish studies and research program is perhaps the world's largest. The university is unique not only in strength- ening Israel, Judaism and Jewish life, but also bringing Torah and a religiously observant lifestyle into harmony with mod- ern science and scholarships. I pressed Abu-Rukun for his take on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which is well into its sixth year. He can't comment directly because he's an active soldier, but he did say: "I look at it as an Israeli who cares about Israel's future and who supporting each other in order to fight us. This causes us a lot of trouble. We are very much worried about it." So am I. Abu-Rukun's optimism is inspiring. The Palestinians who hate Israel and the Jews want nothing more than to break our collective will. Losing our edge is the first plunge into losing our esteem and ultimately our spirit as the Jewish people. Listening to Alaa Abu-Rukun talk about his love of Israel contrasts sharply with Al Aqsa TV, the official Hamas satellite television station. Its weekly show Tomorrow's Pioneers fea- turing Farfur, a knockoff of Disney's Mickey Mouse — teach- es kids Islamic supremacy as well as to support "resistance" against Jews (the Palestinian euphemism for terror) and to aspire to Islam's "inevitable"world domination. The show is a lesson in incitement. It seeks to control via a provocative message that Islamic rule will "benefit" Christians and Jews through "justice, goodness and world love," accord- ing to the Jerusalem-based Palestinian Media Watch. Alaa Abu-Rukun is not Jewish, but is willing to die to pre- serve the Jewish state — his home. His story makes me proud to be a Jew whose ancestral homeland welcomes others even though Jews living in other lands have confronted disdain since biblical times. G A VRNIISTA WA LL! — FOR TENDER 271 WEST MAPLE DOWNTOWN BIRMINGHAM 248.258.0212 SUNDAY 12-5 MONDAY-SATURDAY 10-6 THURSDAY 9 'b.14980 iN May 17 2007 5