Operation Cast Lead
Pslarns For Soldiers
Families gather to
pray and connect
with Israel.
She'll Liebman Dorfman
Senior Writer
T
he younger members of our com-
munity were able to show their
support for Israel's soldiers and
gain a better understanding of the current
situation in Israel at a program at Young
Israel of Oak Park (YIOP) created with kids
in mind.
Facilitated by Aliza Sosne, the synagogue's
Jewish family educator, the Jan. 7 program
included a short recitation of psalms and
a Mi Shebeirach (prayer for healing) on
behalf of Israeli soldiers. It was highlighted
by a story about life in Israel, told by Rabbi
Lior Halevi, an educator at Yesluvat Akiva in
Southfield.
"Rabbi Halevi told the kids about the
"Color Red" which in Israel means that you
have 15 second to get to your bomb shelter;'
said Gil Stebbins of Southfield, who attended
with his 7-year-old son, Jordan. "This means
that kids in southern Israel don't have time to
be outside playing ball as 15 seconds is not
enough time to get to the shelter:'
Families who attended the program were
invited to participate in Operation Teftllah,
Torah and Troops, which YIOP Rabbi Michael
Cohen said, "pairs individuals and families
with Israel Defense Forces soldiers who
have requested to be induded in the pro-
gram, which was initiated by Rabbi Simcha
HaKohen Kook, chief rabbi of Rechovot and
the Bostoner Rebbi who lives in Jerusalem'
Participants of Tefillah, Torah and Troops,
which is an international effort of the
National Council of Young Israel, say prayers,
learn Torah and do acts of kindness on
behalf of the soldier they are matched with.
Stebbins was paired with an Israeli sol-
dier. "And the spooky part was his name is
the same as mine (in Hebrew): Gilad ben
Miriam',' said Stebbins, who is president of
YIOP. "I plan to mention him in my prayers,
and my learning will be his honor. I'm try-
ing to get his e-mail address so I can keep in
touch with him personally as well as spiritu-
alY'
Among the 50 participants of Young Israel
program were children ages 6-13 and their
parentslordan enjoyed the program:' his
dad said. "And it was good to express the
issues to the kids in a way they can under-
stand"
Pinny
Bodenstein,
8, and Yaakov
Cohen, 9, both of
Oak Park, recite
psalms.
Rabbi Michael
Cohen locates a
page of psalms
for Jordy Weil,
10, and his
brothers Jake,
11,and Justy (far
right), 7, all of
Oak Park.
❑
Hamasr Shifting Strategy
Robert Sklar
Editor
W
by so many fewer Israelis have
died than Palestinians in the
Israel-Hamas conflict points
up the vast difference in military strategy
and cultural ideology of the two govern-
ments.
Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, places
terrorist fighters within civilian areas, thus
exposing them to Israel's counteroffensive.
Gazans have become human shields, sacri-
ficial pawns, in Hamas' pursuit of its hatred
of Zionism.
Designated a terrorist organization
by the U.S. Department of State, Hamas
invests time and money in digging tunnels
to smuggle weapons from Egypt, burying
bombs to kill and maim Israeli soldiers,
making suicide vests for male and female
recruits of all ages and further reinforcing a
terrorist infrastructure.
"In contrast:" said State of Israel spokes-
man Gershon Kedar during a visit to Metro
Detroit last week, "the Israeli government is
doing everything it can to keep its citizens
safe: building bomb shelters, developing
safe rooms, closing schools:'
A16
January 15 • 2009
Ai
Kedar is the Chicago-based deputy
consul general to the Consulate General of
Israel to the Midwest. He was named to the
post in July. The career diplomat has served
in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for 18
years. He visited the Detroit Jewish News
offices in Southfield on Jan. 8, the day he
keynoted the Detroit Jewish community's
solidarity rally for Israel. The Manchester,
England, native, 45, made aliyah in 1982.
In its current struggle with Israel, which
it has vowed to destroy, Hamas terrorists
have resorted to firing from school yards
and storing rockets in mosques and hos-
pitals in hopes of befuddling the Israel
Defense Forces — even grabbing civil-
ians walking down the street if they sense
IDF soldiers nearby. That's not by whim,
Kedar said in an interview arranged by the
Jewish Community Relations Council of
Metropolitan Detroit. It's a change in strat-
egy "It used to be that Israel wouldn't target
Palestinian mosques:' Kedar said. "But now
everything has broken down!'
Kedar studied international relations at
the London School of Economics before
joining the Israeli diplomatic service in
1990. The spur for Hamas ramping up vio-
lence against Israelis has been the Jewish
"Every time there is an
unwritten understand-
ing about things ...
Hamas breaks them."
- Deputy Counsul General Gershon Kedar
state's heightened level of security. As Israel
has improved protections for its people,
Hamas has further exploited its people. For
example, Palestinian women have become
suicide bombers and Palestinian ambu-
lances have become moving time bombs.
Not long ago, Kedar said, a Palestinian
woman who had a permit to come into
Israel for burn injuries was recruited by
Islamic Jihad, a Hamas ally, to become a
suicide bomber and blow herself up inside
an Israeli hospitarShe was caught at Erez
Passage with explosives on her;' Kedar said.
He added, "Every time there is an
unwritten understanding about things
they wouldn't do, Hamas breaks them. In
every case, the break has been a war crime
— pure and simple'
❑
Gershon Kedar addresses Detroit Jewry
at Congregation Shaarey Zedek in
Southfield during the Solidarity Rally for
Israel on Jan. 8.