Flag's Symbolism
I was surprised and saddened to read
about the growing controversy about dis-
playing the Israeli flag in synagogues and
Hillels and other Jewish institutions across
America ("Flag Debate,' May 24, page 25).
I never dreamed flying Israel's flag would
be a concern.
The flag of Israel is a symbol not only
of the State of Israel, but of Jewish longing
for a return to its homeland after 2 mil-
lennia. The flag represents a sanctuary for
the Jewish people that if it existed 60 years
ago, six million of our mothers, fathers,
brothers and sisters would have not been
exterminated from the face of the earth.
With the documented disconnect of
young Jews to the importance of Israel in
their Judaic lives, reading that Hillel stu-
dents at select universities do not want the
Israeli flag flown was very disheartening.
Without that flag and the country it rep-
resents, Jews around the world would once
again be scattered throughout the world
and at the mercy of those ever increasing
anti-Semitic countries.
Am Yisrael chai!
Michael L. Kahan
Bloomfield Hills
Wayne State's Outreach
Your Editor's Letter about Hillel of Metro
Detroit (HMD) accurately emphasizes
the important role that organization has
played for decades on the campus of
Wayne State University ("Striving To Be
Responsive," May 10, page 5).
HMD has been the backbone of Jewish
campus life not only for those at WSU
today, but also for their parents and
grandparents who were students there
years ago. HMD's highly skilled profes-
sional staff and dedicated lay leadership
are deeply committed to strengthening the
longstanding bonds between the univer-
sity and Detroit's Jewish community.
While there is growing concern in our
community about the departure of our
young people to other parts of the country,
it has long been the case (and remains so
today) that graduates of Wayne State are
much more likely to remain in Michigan
than graduates of other state universities.
To ensure that this situation continues, our
community should fully support HMD in
every way possible. Keeping our children
and grandchildren here is critical to the
future of Metro Detroit's Jewish community.
From time to time, your column has
referred to anti-Jewish sentiment at WSU. I
have been involved with the University for
more than 50 years and have served on its
board of governors for the past four years.
Based upon my firsthand experience,
reports of anti-Jewish or anti-Israel bias
on the campus are greatly overblown. Our
students are sufficiently sophisticated to
disregard the rantings of a tiny group that
has virtually no support on campus or in
the wider community.
WSU President Irvin D. Reid is a good
friend of Detroit's Jewish community and a
strong supporter of the State of Israel. His
vigorous promotion of tolerance and diver-
sity on campus has set precisely the right
tone and reflects the overwhelming senti-
ment of WSU's students, staff and faculty.
President Reid and his administra-
tion will continue to work in partnership
with Hillel of Metro Detroit to ensure the
enhancement of Jewish campus life at
Wayne State University.
Eugene Driker
chair, board of governors
Wayne State University
Detroit
Heartfelt Thanks
Thank you to all involved in the Detroit
Jewish community's 2007 Walk for Israel;
the sponsors, walk committee, volunteers
and participants ("For Love Of Israel: May
10, page 14).
Special thanks to Andre Douville, Art
Fishman and the Temple Shir Shalom
family. Tamir Oppenheim of the Michigan
Friends of the IDF was able to bring Brig.
Gen. Aviv Kohavi to talk. Eva Mames of
the American Red Magen David for Israel
had two ambulances there dedicated to
Ann and Leonard Baruch and Minnie and
Sam Berman. Cathy Slavik brought the
Hadassah Fun Fair. Lisa and Bill Barnett
arranged for Kidz Klez of Michigan to play.
Also, thanks goes to Executive Lt. Carl
Fuhs and the West Bloomfield police and
fire departments and the township board.
Thanks to Congregation Shaarey Zedek
B'nai Israel Center and Temple Kol Ami.
Thanks to State Rep. Marty Knollenberg,
who brought to our attention his efforts
(along with State Rep. David Law) to
introduce legislation to divest the state
public pension plans of publicly owned
foreign companies doing business with
terror-sponsoring states.
Also, thanks to Pastor Glenn Plummer
for his message of solidarity with Israel.
Thanks to the Detroit Jewish News with
coverage and support for the walk.
A special thank you to Rabbi Simcha
Tolwin for developing the Web site, www.
israelwalk.com . Thanks to Don Cohen for
the flyer enhancements and promotion.
Please join us for the 2008 walk on May
4 to celebrate Israel's 60th birthday.
Mark Segel
Southfield
Israel's Loyal Druze
I thoroughly enjoyed reading your inter-
view with Israeli Druze Lt. Colonel Alaa
Abu-Rukun titled "A Dedicated Druze"
(Editor's Letter, May 17, page 5).
Indeed, the Israeli Druze community
has been the minority most loyal to Israel
since the state's inception in 1948 and
unlike Israeli Arabs they serve in the IDF
where a number of them are senior offi-
cers like Abu-Rukun.
My own first encounter with the Druze
community was on our eighth-grade
graduation trip to the Galilee; we visited
the Druze village Daliat el-Carmel, where
we received most warm welcome, which
included a most delectable vegetarian
lunch. They were most sensitive to our
kashrut restrictions.
This visit to the Druze village was a
highlight of our trip and unforgettable. I
remember sharing my experience with my
parents and my older sister, who also vis-
ited a Druze village in her graduation trip
four years before in 1949, when the state
was merely 1 year old.
In a time when a great many Israeli
SLEW 'cha Don't Know
While a standard compass always points to the North Pole, where does an
Israeli-developed compass made especially for synagogue leaders point to?
-Goldfein
uoie
pue slims yeaol — tisapo4
'butikeid uaym weiesniar aael siaddNsiom ley; os —
paleicille3 si ssedwoo Lualesniar aqi :JeMsuy
6upeld Lii pie ue se 'welesnier lupd
3)Copyright 2007, Jewish Renaissance Media
6
May 31 • 2007
Arabs identify themselves as Palestinians
and feel no allegiance to the Jewish state, it's
good to know that there is one non-Jewish
community whose loyalty is unquestion-
able just as Lt. Col. Abu-Rukun's is.
Rachel Kapen
West Bloomfield
Corrections
• The photo of Edgar M. Bronfman on last
week's Other Views page (p. 34) showed
his brother Charles Bronfman in error.
Charles
Bronfman
Edgar M.
Bronfman
• This Cap & Gown item was misprinted
last week:
SETH MEYER
Okemos
Valedictorian, MHSAA Scholar-Athlete
Award, National Honor Society, baseball
Academic All-State, CAAC Senior Athlete
Award, varsity hockey, golf, Children's
Miracle Network volunteer, School Board
representative chair, philharmonic orches-
tra principle violist, Red Wings High
School Journalist Day competition winner,
Okemos Channel 23 personality.
Northwestern University
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