Opinion

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E STRINGS
Dry B ones M O F PEACE!

A PALESTINIAN
YOUTH ORCHESTRA
FROM SENIN JUST
PERFORMED FOR

Editorial

AN AUDIENCE
OF HOLOCAUST
SIRVIVORS IN
ISRAEL,

Holocaust Justice

T

he people of Prague turned out
by the tens of thousands this
month to give a warm greeting
to President Barack Obama on his first
European visit.
Let us hope the reception will be just as
friendly in June when a far more disputa-
tious agenda will be on the table in the
capital of the Czech Republic.
There are still an extraordinarily large
number of Holocaust restitution claims
throughout Eastern Europe, brought by
the heirs of those whose property was sto-
len by the Third Reich.
The claims against Germany and
Austria are much more familiar, even
though Austria has been masterly in its
obfuscations. For a time, it refused to
return property confiscated before the
1938 Anschluss with Hitler, claiming that
was a different set of circumstances.
In more recent years, it protested that
returning great works of art may remove
them from public viewing and it has tried
to convince claimants to leave them with
museums in Austria. Little by little, how-

ever, restitution has been sorted out.
The same cannot be said of the former
Russian satellites. Jewish claimants have
faced three hurdles there. The property
was first seized because the owners were
Jewish. It was not returned under com-
munist rule because the state always had
first claim.
But now, where any laws covering the
situation exist, they often come with strict
eligibility requirements for claimants.
According to the Jerusalem Post, "These
countries argue that their own citizens
should benefit from the properties within
their borders. They overlook the prewar
owners, sometimes arguing that it would
be unjust to favor Jews over non-Jews:'
That's a very nice-sounding, non-dis-
criminatory position. Unfortunately, it
papers over the basic fact that Jews were
specifically targeted for confiscations as
soon as the Nazis took over these coun-
tries.
Or the owners were forced to sell for
pennies what was worth millions. Or they
were simply murdered to avoid any later

claims.
The Eastern
European coun-
tries also erect
several barriers to
THE PALESTINIAN
WHO KNOWS WHAT
citizenship, mak-
AUTHORITIES
CLOSED
ONE
SMALL
ACT
OF
ing it especially
THEIR
REHEARSAL
KINDNESS LIKE THAT
difficult for any
STUDIO, SEIZED THEIR
Jewish claimant
CAN LEAD TO?!
INSTRUMENTS, AND
to be heard under
their legal system.
BROKE UP THEIR
These nations
ORC ESTRA.
suffered terribly
under the rule
of Berlin and
Moscow. They
should know
what it's like to
www.drybonesblog.com
lose what is right-
fully theirs and
watch it being
citizenship requirements should be used
sold to benefit the thieves.
as an excuse to withhold stolen property
Prague is a lovely city with some of the
in Eastern Europe.
strongest Jewish historical associations in
Let us hope that justice finally prevails
all of Europe. The U.S. State Department
in June. L
will argue in June that no residency or

Reality Check

Chasing A Comeback

I

n a rare display of editorial una-
nimity, both Detroit dailies in the
same edition called for the censure
or removal of Monica Conyers.
Fat chance.
And even if some unheard of flash of
common sense strikes the city council
and such an event did occur, it would
only be treating a symptom. There's
plenty more similar sentiment where
she came from.
Even on that same distinguished
legislative body, my bet is that Barbara-
Rose Collins on a dry track and the
wind behind her could give Conyers a
run for her money.
Many would like to believe that the
behavior of the council president reveals
an aberrant personality. That would be
reassuring. But I think that she accu-
rately represents a fairly large portion of
Detroit residents.
Angry. Suspicious of any initia-
tive that comes from outside the city.
Detached from reality about Detroit's

future and its ability to influ-
ence policy.
The group Call 'Em Out,
which flies into a rage over
any intimation that the Detroit
school board is incapable of
handling the education of
the city's children without
outside supervision, is a good
example.
They refuse to see what
can no longer be hidden from
view.
For most of my career in
journalism, I have been writ-
ing about Detroit's "comeback." When
I started at the Free Press in 1963, I
moved into a downtown apartment.
Because that's where I wanted to be
— at the heart of things in a city that
offered a sense of possibilities.
That's what we've been trying to get
back for more than 40 years. I now real-
ize to my regret that it will not come in
my lifetime.

Much has been written in
recent months about Detroit's
resiliency. As a lifelong
resident of this area, I wish I
could agree. But I have never
noticed any unique attribute
that makes this city tougher
or grittier than anywhere else.
I'm sure that the newspa-
pers in Cleveland and Buffalo,
Pittsburgh and Milwaukee,
St. Louis and Baltimore
— in fact, any aging indus-
trial town where the natives
outnumber the newcomers
— are writing the same thing.
What does distinguish Detroit,
unfortunately, is the abject failure of its
political leadership. In this most desper-
ate time, it is saddled with a group of
incompetent, foul-mouthed and over-
whelmingly clueless individuals who
couldn't locate their own kneecaps if
they were given the road map.
Detroit is now half the size of the city

in which I grew up. Take a drive out
Grand River or Gratiot, West Fort or Van
Dyke, and then tell me that this is a city
with possibilities.
Once these were middle-class neigh-
borhoods even after the city had
changed to a predominantly African-
American place. But look at them now.
When an event such as the Final Four
comes downtown, the news media turn
boosters. Positive coverage saturates the
newspapers and TV anchors can barely
contain their enthusiasm. I don't have a
problem with that. If we're not positive
about ourselves then, who will be?
But if it takes a Final Four to create
that glow, something is wrong. It is in
the everyday wonders that a city defines
its sense of self.
I wonder what became of all that
wonder?

George Cantor's e-mail address is

gcantor614@aol.com .

April 16 2009

A17