Letters
Dem For Knollenberg
I am a Democratic woman and member
of the Michigan Education Association.
But, I will cross party lines to vote for U.S.
Rep. Joe Knollenberg R-Bloomfield Hills
("Hot Ninth!;' Sept. 11, page A13).
Our community would not have the
West Bloomfield-based Friendship
Circle, which helps autistic children, had
Congressman Knollenberg not secured
initial federal funding for the program.
He supports the Detroit-based Karmanos
Cancer Center's research to find a cure for
this terrible disease.
As a mother, I know that Joe has
worked with local schools and hospitals
to improve our public education and
health systems.
He has secured over $1 billion for
Israeli refugee resettlement, which has
resulted in over 1 million Jews escaping
oppressed situations to make a new life
in Israel. Israel is safe, secure and Jewish
because of Congressman Knollenberg's
leadership.
There are times when political par-
ties are less important than the per-
son. This is one of those times. I am
a proud"Democrat for Congressman
Knollenberg.
Jacquelyn Bell
Birmingham
Yes, Obama
Like Israeli military and political leader
Moshe Dayan, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-
Ill., believes, "If you want to make peace,
you don't talk to your friends, you talk to
your enemies!'
Unlike eight years of failed Bush-
McCain foreign and economic policies,
Obama, the Democratic presidential
candidate, has the clear head, keen intel-
ligence and fierce determination to be the
friend and ally Israel will need over the
next tumultuous eight years.
On Aug. 13, at the Holocaust Memorial
Center in Farmington Hills, U.S. Sen. Joe
Lieberman, I-Conn., said, "Barack Obama
has a stellar voting record on Israel!' So
while Jewish Americans can rest easy that
Israel will be in Barack Obama's safest
and most secure of presidential hands, so
will the needs of our Jewish communities
across America that face growing hard-
ship in an economic crisis of proportions
not seen in 100 years.
Only one candidate, Barack Obama,
pledges to fund the issues critical to Jews
in the United States, including equal pay
for women, health care for uninsured
children, pro-choice, mental health parity,
embryonic stem-cell research and tax cuts
for 95 percent of Americans.
U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the
Republican candidate, is a "no" vote on
these issues, and his running mate, Sarah
Palin, is even more conservative and has
no foreign policy experience.
There is one choice on Nov. 4 and that is
Barack Obama, with the additional secu-
rity of knowing Joe Biden, his vice-presi-
dential candidate, is the heartbeat away.
Marcie Lipsitt
Franklin
Excise Racism
We have recently been hearing, directly
and indirectly, that many in our Jewish
community will not vote for Democratic
presidential nominee Barak Obama
because he is African-American. Our
thoughts here are not related to partisan
politics, but rather what this says about
us, as Jews.
How many of us have personally expe-
rienced, or learned of our parents' experi-
ences of discrimination simply because
we were Jews — nothing more. Given our
history, for us to judge a political candi-
date, or make any such important deci-
sion on anything other than merit and
character, is shameful.
Our country is in trouble. Please, let
us not make it worse by voting against a
person for the wrong reasons. Vote on the
basis of political, social, economic ideas
— not on such an ugly basis as race.
We are enjoined by scripture to pur-
sue justice, to not stand idly by. With the
holidays approaching it is again a time to
look inside ourselves — to examine our
choices, and to turn away from using the
same hateful reasons that have haunted
our people through the ages.
Robert Cohen, executive director
Beverly Hills
Jewish Community Relations Council
It ► `at"46.1iiIiiii
by Senior Staff Writer Shelli Liebman
Dorfman (Sept. 25, page B6). You captured
the essence of what I do and why per-
fectly! You were very professional and it
showed through in the article.
Richard Mukamai
Farmington Hills
Candidate Endorsements
The IN will consider letters that endorse
candidates for president, U.S. senator, U.S.
representative and state representative, but
they should focus on the candidate you
prefer, not dwell on the candidate you are
not supporting. Letters of 150 words or
less will be considered first. Submission
of a letter does not guarantee that it will
be published. No candidate-related letters
raising new issues will be published after
Oct. 16.
Correction
The Opinion piece "A Language To
Transcend Differences (Sept. 25, page
A76) by Rabbi Hayim Herring mistakenly
included a photo of Rabbi Jason Miller.
Here are the proper identifications:
Rabbi Herring
Rabbi Miller
nLEMET 'cha Don't
Know
What is the second most
visited Jewish holy site in
Israel, after the Western Wall
in Jerusalem?
- Goldfein
of Metropolitan Detroit
Dem Games?
I applaud Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's
desire to attend last week's "Stop Iran"
rally in New York City to protest the U.N.
visit of Iranian President Mahmoud
September 25 * 2008
it
JCPA Web Address
Thank you for your extensive coverage of
the Jewish Community Relations Council-
organized protest of Iranian leader
Ahmadinejad's U.N. visit ("Denouncing
Destruction:' Sept. 25, page A30). Thanks
also go out to Hillel Day School, the
Frankel Academy and Yeshivat Akiva for
their students' attendance and participa-
tion in the local event. The Jewish com-
munity will not be silent in the face of a
U.N. member's blatant anti-Semitism and
threats against Israel and the United
States.
There was, however, one small error
in the coverage. The Web address of
the Jewish Council for Public Affairs,
the umbrella for Jewish community
relations councils nationwide and the
national coordinator of divest-from-
Iran/divest from terror initiatives and
of the Iran Monitor publication, is: www.
jewishpublicaffairs.org .
Martin Kotch
How to Send Letters
4. 4 44:*
Kerry Greenhut
West Bloomfield
Paula Weinberg
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A8
Ahmadinejad. Clearly, Iran, actively
developing nuclear weapons, is a threat
to Israel, the entire Middle East, and the
world at large.
But Gov. Palin, the Republican vice-
presidential candidate, did not appear at
the rally. Why not? Apparently, Democrat
leaders decided it did not want U.S. Sen.
Hillary Clinton sharing the stage with her.
It forced rally organizers to rescind the
governor's invitation.
Don't Democrats see the danger repre-
sented by Iran, or are they playing parti-
san political games with our (and Israel's)
security? Are they are more opposed to
the Republican Party than they are to
an Islamic Republic of Iran armed with
nuclear weapons?
In any case, it is a sad sign of the
demise of a formerly great party. Does it
also indicate how they plan to govern if
elected this November?
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Bloomfield Township
Captured Essence
I just wanted to thank you for such a
beautifully written article "Shofar Artisan"
jelpoA Jeg uowNs !qqe8 leleqqe1
palled Apnls ipoRsAw aqi lo Japunol
aquo BANE( ame9 Jaddn aqi :Jamsuv
ALEFBET'cha runs every other week.
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