Retain Knollenberg
Change is the buzzword this season, but
in the Ninth Congressional District, we
do not need it ("Hot 9th!" Sept. 11, page
A13). What we need is someone who
has a steady, long and reliable record
of support for our local community
and,Israel. U.S. Rep. Joe Knollenberg, R-
Bloomfield Hills, fits this bill.
Among the numerous bills he has
cosponsored in Congress most recently
is the Iran Sanctions Enabling Act of
2007. The congressional resolution
calls on the United Nations to censure
Iranian Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for his
genocidal declarations.
Knollenberg also cosponsored a
resolution condemning Hamas and its
rocket attacks on Israel. He has been at
the forefront in voting to support finan-
cial support for Israel's defense.
Locally, he has helped with federal
funding for important local Jewish
organizations, including JVS, JARC and
Friendship Circle, just to name a few.
Democrat Gary Peters may have good
intentions, but he does not have a prov-
en track record on the national scene
that compares to Joe Knollenberg's.
There is no reason to change just for
change sake, when we already have a
proven friend and advocate in the Ninth
Congressional District.
Dr. Jeffrey Belkin
Farmington Hills
Backing Peters
I thank you for the responses from U.S.
Rep. Joe Knollenberg, R-Bloomfield Hills
and Democrat Gary Peters of Bloomfield
Hills who are running for the Ninth
Congressional District seat ("Hot 9th!,"
Sept. 11, page A13).
The lengthy response from Rep.
Knollenberg obscures the fact that
he continues to support the Iraq war,
has voted against embryonic stem cell
research, is against a woman's right to
choose and has voted against funding
for health care for previously uninsured
children under the State Children's
Health Insurance Program every time it
has come up for a vote.
Progressive Jews need to know this
before they go in the voting booth. Gary
Peters will be just as strong a supporter
as Knollenberg has been of Israel. We
can't continue voting for one-dimen-
sional, regressive candidates.
Linda Samelson
West Bloomfield
McCain Best Choice
What I like about Sen. John McCain, R-
Ariz., is his commitment to the survival
of Israel. I would bet the farm on it. If
Iran is about to get the bomb, Israel is
left with no choice but to destroy their
nuclear capability. McCain would, with-
out hesitation, support Israel with what-
ever if takes.
McCain has been to hell and back.
As a result, he is not afraid to make the
very hard decisions. When it comes to
survival, I am convinced that he will not
back down. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill.,
on the other hand, is the quintessential
politician.
Obama has flip-flopped on Israel
before, especially over the status of
Jerusalem. I was at the American Israel
Public Affairs Committee conference
this year. I heard him pronounce his
commitment to Israel and its capital,
Jerusalem. The very next day, he backed
down on his pronouncements.
Obama has never been tested. We
cannot bank on him. Israel cannot bank
on him! When it comes to war and
peace, in my view, McCain is a Churchill
and Obama, on the other hand, is a
Chamberlain.
How so many Jews in the U.S. (one of
the few strong allies of Israel) can vote
for Obama verses McCain just flabber-
gasts me.
Ed Kohl
West Bloomfield
Pride In Fellows
Thank you for the great article on
Michigan State University student
Daniel Kuhn and the StandWithUs
Emerson Fellows program ("No
Ordinary Fellow:' Sept. 11, page A5).
As naming donors, we are incred-
ibly proud to sponsor this best-of-
breed campus leadership program and
StandWithUs, which has materials, staff
and leadership enabling not only the fel-
lows, but also a full panoply of ground-
breaking programs, here as well as in
Europe and Israel.
Don Borsand
Steve Emerson
Emerson Investment Group
Southfield
San Francisco
Volunteer In Israel
Regarding Robert Sklar's very informa-
tive Editor's Letter "Biithright's Next
Dimension" (Sept. 18, page A5), I am
pleased to note that the Volunteers for
Israel program has been a success-
ful and frequently used addition to
Birthright for many young people where
they continue on in Israel with an Israel
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A14
Defense Forces or hospital work experi-
ence with VFI/Sar-El.
Volunteers for Israel-USA (VFI-USA)
is associated with Sar-El, a non-profit
Israel organization that administers the
program in Israel.
Volunteers typically spend two or
three weeks living and working along-
side Israelis, at an army base, Israeli
Defense Forces warehouses, hospitals or
service bases. The program offers a way
to contribute to the State of Israel in a
very direct way.
I am the regional officer for the
states of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and
Wisconsin and am available to discuss
the program with individuals and
groups about the VFI/Sar-El program
and how you can contribute.
For information, call or e-mail me at
(248) 420-3729, michigan@vfi-usa.org
or visit the VFI-USA Web site www.vfi-
usa.org.
Confronting Tragedy
A key question not addressed in Story
Development Editor Keri Guten Cohen's
article "Election Central" (Sept. 11, page
A26) is, "Which presidential candi-
date, Sen. Barack Obama or Sen. John
McCain, is better able to prevent a fore-
seeable tragedy?" Should Iran become
a nuclear power, President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad has clearly expressed his
nation's intention to destroy Israel.
In recent history, no politician has
had better intentions to promote peace
through diplomacy than British Prime
Minister Neville Chamberlain. His nego-
tiations with Hitler led to the August
1938 Munich Peace Pact, dismembering
Czechoslovakia. At the time, Winston
Churchill, criticized as a maverick and
warmonger, warned against the pact.
One year after the signing, World War II
began.
Sen. Obama has yet to explain how
diplomacy alone, including sanctions,
can prevent Iran from becoming a
nuclear power and initiating a nuclear
conflict. While it may be true the civi-
lized world can recover from a severe
economic recession, it is not clear it can
recover from a nuclear war.
No country, including Israel, should
have to live under a constant threat of
nuclear annihilation from a nuclear-
armed Iran. Here, Sen. Obama's
response is an enigmatic silence, despite
his considerable oratorical skills.
On the other hand, if Sen. McCain is
elected president, it is possible that the
Iraqi experiment with democracy, which
is beginning to succeed, will do so. If it
does, democracy could then spread to
Iran, neutralizing its nuclear threat.
The basic question is, "Which presiden-
tial candidate is more likely to prevent
a foreseeable tragedy? Is it Sen. Obama,
who tends to see the world through the
eyes of Neville Chamberlain? Or is it
Sen. McCain, who tends to see the world
through the eys of Winston Churchill?"
Irving Warshawsky
West Bloomfield
Correction
"Central High Is Saluting 150 Years"
(Sept. 18, page Al2) should have listed
the contact people for the anniversary
celebration Oct. 10-11: Ronald Massey,
(313) 758-9247, and JoAnn Satovsky
Shatanoff, (248) 682-8555.
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September 25 • 2008
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