Opinion

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Editorial

Dry Bones V& sr.g

Just Words

M

uslim and Jewish leaders
far from the violence in the
Middle East exchanged letters
and press releases instead of bombs and
bullets in recent weeks.
Muslim scholars at the Centre for the
Study of Muslim-Jewish Relations at
Cambridge in England sent an open let-
ter to the Jewish world Feb. 25, calling for
peace, dialogue and understanding based
on our religions' shared beliefs and our
history of friendly coexistence in times
and places such medieval Spain.
Predictably, Jewish leaders rushed to
embrace the hand of friendship extended
by Muslims. It's a reflex in our community,
which has made interreligious outreach
and dialogue core tenets. With our history
as the misunderstood "other," we look for
every opportunity to get to know our non-
Jewish neighbors better and to help other
outsiders integrate into the mainstream of
society.
Thus, the heads of the Conservative,
Reconstructionist and Reform movements
issued a joint statement March 3 in which
they praised the Muslim scholars, accept-
ed their offer for dialogue and expressed
their agreement on the "painfully clear"
need to learn from and about each other.
The same day, the International
Jewish Committee on Interreligious
Consultations (IJCIC) — a coalition of

the Reform, Conservative and Orthodox
movements, their rabbinical organiza-
tions, and such groups as the American
Jewish Committee, B'nai B'rith and the
Anti-Defamation League — answered the
Muslim scholars by calling on all voices of
moderation to join in seeking peace and
fighting the "dangerous and widespread
misconception that an innate hostility
exists between Judaism and Islam!'
We have no disagreement with dialogue
between Jews and Muslim. We have much
in common and much to learn from our
differences, and knowledge and under-
standing are always better than ignorance.
But both sides must enter any dialogue
on equal footing, with comparable goals
and motives. We doubt that is the case
here.
The Reform-Conservative-
Reconstructionist letter expresses the goal
of coming together "in explicit and stern
denunciation of terrorism:' and the IJCIC
letter cites "the common repudiation in
Judaism and Islam of murder, violence,
injustice and indignity."
But you won't find a mention of ter-
rorism or murder anywhere in the six-
page Muslim letter. Instead, the scholars
regret the loss of every life in the Israel-
Palestinian conflict and call for a peaceful
resolution that ensures Palestinian self-
determination.

We can't help notic-
ing that the Muslim call
for peace came as Israel
prepared to launch
Operation Hot Winter
in Gaza. We wonder why
such a letter didn't come
any time in the previous
21/2 years as terrorists
fired almost daily rocket
barrages at Israeli civil-
ians after Israel with-
WOW!
drew from Gaza.
WILL
IT
The Muslim scholars
MAGICALLY
want dialogue based on
REAPPEAR
the assumption that the
AGAIN?
Palestinians will and
should have their own
nation and that violent
deaths are a bad thing,
regardless of how they
happen. That's not good
enough.
If they want fruitful
dialogue, they must
start by declaring that
firing rockets at civil-
ians is terrorism and is a crime against
humanity and against Islam. Further, they
should begin with intra-Muslim dialogue;
the ignorance of history and the teaching
of hate and violence are problems almost
entirely on their side.

THE IRANIAN NUKE
THREAT MAGICALLY
DISAPPEARED FROM
THE PRESIDENTIAL
PRIMARIES!

RIGHT IN THE
LAP OF WHOEVER
GETS ELECTED
PRESIDENT.

www.drybonesblog.com

Otherwise, we have little to gain from
this dialogue, aside from making ourselves
feel good about our openness and under-
standing. Patting ourselves on the back in
the United States won't stop anti-Semitism
in Europe or save lives in Israel.

❑

Reality Check

Weekend In Arizona

T

hey sold 300 tickets and could
easily have disposed of 100 more
if the room has been larger.
As it was, according to the Valley of the
Sun Jewish Community Center, the Detroit
reunion attracted more people than the
Chicago, Brooklyn and Bronx reunions
combined.
The walls were decorated with front
pages of the Jewish News and plac-
ards with the names of all the old high
schools — Mumford, Central, Oak Park,
Southfield.
There were Sanders hot fudge sundaes
and Faygo pop to go along with bagels and
cream cheese on this Sunday morning in
Scottsdale. People came from all over the
area to see old friends and bump into oth-
ers who they didn't realize had made the
move.
The guest speaker was me, and while
the crowd was polite, I'm sure that was the
least of their reasons for showing up. They

were there to get a taste of home.
Maybe a third of the crowd were snow-
birds; the rest had moved to Arizona full
time. But, as I spoke with many of them, I
got the idea that home remains where the
heart is, and some portion of their heart
will always be tied to Linwood
or Seven Mile or Livernois.
They love the desert life,
especially at this time of the
year and at this time of their
lives. But the tug back to
Michigan is never really gone.
I told them that 30 years ago
I was sent to Phoenix to do a
story on Michigan people who
were starting to move to the
Southwest in large numbers.
One of them said to me then,
"When I run into someone from home it's
like the stories my bubbie used to tell me
about meeting someone in Detroit from
the shtetr Still is.

We did the usual trivia games. The old
delis and stores. Bob-Lo and the Vernor's
plant. The 12th floor at Hudson's. A whole
litany of things that are gone.
In Scottsdale, there is no nostalgia. It is
new and shining and splendid. There are
even developments going into
downtown Scottsdale, which
was regarded as passe just a
few years ago. But nothing is
old enough to be passe here.
One night, I was taken to
Don and Charlie's, a restaurant
that attracts a lot of former
Detroiters. As we began our
meal, two men slipped into the
next table, and one of them rec-
ognized me.
"Do you know," he said, "I
was married at Temple Israel on the same
day as you and Sherry. We were in the
chapel with Rabbi Loss and you were in
the sanctuary with Rabbi Syme and Rabbi

Fram."
What are the odds? I began to think
they were not as long as you might think if
you live in Phoenix.
I got the biggest laugh in my speech by
taking off the Arizona State sweatshirt I
was wearing and revealing a University of
Michigan T-shirt underneath. Greet cheers
and applause. Most of the crowd was pull-
ing mightily for the Pistons as they played
the Phoenix Suns just a few miles away.
I was also told that at hockey games the
dominant color among fans is the red jer-
sey with the winged wheel.
Bits of loyalties that will forever define
home.
It was a wonderful weekend. But sad,
too, to encounter all of those who chose to
leave and will only return in dreams and
memories. ❑

George Cantor's e-mail address is
gcantor614@aol.com.

March 13 • 2008

A27

