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Israel And U.N.
Since the historic vote of Nov. 29,
1947, on the United Nations partition
of Palestine into a Jewish state and
an Arab state, the Jewish state hasn't
derived much nachas from this world
organization.
Due to the U.N.'s makeup — the large
number of Arab and Muslim states and,
in previous years, the big Communist
bloc as well as the African states, which
were influenced by Arabs to sever rela-
tions with Israel — Israel would have
had no chance if not for its best friend
and ally, the United States, and its veto
power.
Israel's founder and first prime min-
ister, David Ben-Gurion, articulated
Israel's attitude with threse famous
words: oom shmoom ("oom" is the
Hebrew acronym for the U.N.)
I remember the U.N. resolution of
Nov. 10, 1975 — of Zionism being a
form of racism and racial discrimina-
tion — and the symbolic reaction of
then-Israeli U.N. Ambassador Chaim
Herzog, who, while reminding the U.N.
General Assembly that it was the anni-
versary of the German Kristallnacht,
tore the resolution to shreds.
Most recently, there was the outra-
geous verdict of the U.N. Commission
on Human Rights — that Israel perpe-
trated war crimes in Gaza when it went
after the Hamas terror organization.
The verdict practically equated terror-
ists who terrorized for years the citi-
zens of the south of Israel with Israel
defending its citizens.
Sometimes, I wonder about the mir-
acle of the vote of Nov. 29, 1947. Then
I remind myself that this wasn't only a
vote to grant the Jewish yishuv a state; it
was a vote for the partition of Palestine
into a Jewish state and an Arab state
with which the yishuv rejoiced — and
the Arabs rejected, instead declaring a
war of annihilation against Israel.
The rest is the history, in a nutshell,
of the Israeli-United Nations relation-
ship.
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April Reopening
Since we met regarding the informa-
tion for the reopening of Hechtman
II Jewish Apartments in West
Bloomfield, things have changed
("Coming Home," Oct. 1, page 16).
We have had extensive construction
delays and we will not be opening until
potentially April now!
CARPET
CERAMIC
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AREA RUGS
COMMERCIAL
Marsha Goldsmith Kamin, executive director
RESIDENTIAL
Jewish Senior Life of Metropolitan Detroit
Oak Park
1530680
6
October 8 • 2009
Strong Response
Thank you very much for your out-
standing article on the Jewish Gay
Network of Michigan's (JGN) memorial
service for the young adults killed at
the Gay & Lesbian Teen Center in Tel
Aviv ("Remembering Victims," Aug. 20,
page 36). We want to let you know what
an extraordinary difference your article
has already made in the lives of many
Metro Detroiters.
After the story appeared, we began
receiving daily calls and questions from a
wide cross secton of parents, children
and friends — Orthodox to secular. A
father called to find available resourc-
es for his lesbian daughter. A young
man approached one of our members
and asked for information; his brother
just told him he is gay. A middle-aged
mother of four called to ask for advice on
telling her children that she is a lesbian.
There are many more who need us.
While it's true that society has
become more accepting in recent
years, gays and lesbians still face
extreme prejudice and tremendous
struggles in our world. This can be
especially true when one isn't simply
is facing challenges of being homosex-
ual, but also is in the middle of his or
her teen years. How a family responds
to such a situation can literally mean
the difference between life and death.
Then add to this the distinction of
being Jewish. Community has never
been more important.
This month, the JGN is launching a
new initiative: A Community Without
Closets. Our goal is to provide edu-
cation and support for gay, lesbian,
bisexual and transgender Jews, as well
as their families and friends, all in the
strictest confidence. We are creating a
speakers bureau; an educational cur-
riculum; workshops to address topics
such as stereotypes and discrimina-
tion; and family programs, including
movie night and potlucks.
We also have a new pamphlet that
anyone can access at our Web site:
www.jgnmi.org . Our organization is
open to anyone, but we work in com-
plete confidence. If we can help you, or
for more information, please contact us.
Judith W. Lewis, executive director
Jewish Gay Network of Michigan
West Bloomfield
Corrections
• Regarding "Brown Program
Celebrates 10 Years" (Oct. 1, page 54),
for information on the program, call
Fran Cook, Family Life coordinator,
at (248) 592-5032, in West Bloomfield.
•The cover photo "Community
Builder" (Oct. 1) was by Brett Mountain.