Opinion

Dry Bones

A MIX OF IDEAS

Editorials are posted and archived on JNonline.us .
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Editorial

Michigan's Growing Militias

A

mid economic and social upheaval
and the debate and discussion
about what kind of America we
want — the role government plays in it is at
the heart of our democratic process.
And there is plenty to debate, discuss and
inflame passions, from the economic melt-
down with its accompanying job losses and
bank bailouts, to health care reform and the
battle against global terrorism.
Our Constitution and political system
are structured to provide wide latitude to
express diverse points of view and to hold
elected officials accountable at the ballot box.
But we are a country of laws. And there
is a line between vigorous and spirited dis-
course and threats and acts of intimidation,
induding physical violence. That line must
not be crossed. When it is, those who cross
it and stoke it, be they on the extreme right,
extreme left or in the news media, must be
called out and held accountable.
Sadly, the election of a man of color to the
presidency, the contentiousness of the health
care debate and the staggering slump in the
economy have served as some of the ingredi-
ents for the rise and revival of hate and para-
military groups nationally — and especially
in Michigan. What's more, there are people

Special Report: page 10

who want no government and want to con-
trol their lives with the right to bear arms.
In the last year, the Anti-Defamation
League has seen a significant increase in
the activity of these militia groups in the
Midwest, where 55 are active.
The Montgomery, Ala.-based Southern
Poverty Law Center (SPLC), one of the lead-
ing organizations tracking hate groups, has
noted that Michigan, already the epicenter
of America's militia movement with a stag-
gering 80 percent of the U.S. total last year,
is in the midst of a resurgence of right-wing
extremism. Additionally, within 50 miles of
where we live as a Detroit Jewish commu-
nity, the SPLC has identified several groups
arrayed against Jews and others who don't
fit their picture of America. Their names
speak for themselves: American Nazi Party
(Westland), United Northern and Southern
Knights of the KKK (Fraser), National
Socialist Movement (Detroit) and Vox
Nationale (Warren).
Others nestled in the state, according to
the ADL, include the Northern Michigan
Backyard, the Delta Five and the West
Michigan Volunteer Militia. The Hutarees are

Christian apocalyp-
tics who believe we
are entering the end
of days.
Thanks to the
Internet, these
( AND WHEN
groups have a no-
SERIOUS TALKS
frills way to stay
WITH MEXICO
in contact with
ARE
UNDERWAY
each other. Some
of the groups have
as many as 20
members. These are
not massive num-
bers, but they are
growing. The groups
meet regularly and
train with weapons
and hone survival
skills.
As a Jewish people and a Detroit Jewish
community, we have felt the sting of bias,
discrimination, Jew-baiting and the violence
that can accompany these actions if left
unchecked and unanswered.
The Jewish News, with WDET-FM and the
area's leading ethnic media outlets, including
the Michigan Chronicle, the Arab-American
News and Latino, are uniting to speak out

THE RESPONSE

WHEN THERE IS
NO NEW BUILDING
CONSTRUCTION
ALLOWED

THEY WILL THEN
LISTEN TO YOUR
ADVICE FOR THE
JEWISH STATE.

DryBonesBlog.com

on the rising tide of extremism, incitement
and hateful speech in our country and in
Michigan. While there are issues where the
Jewish News strongly disagrees with some
of its media partners, on this issue we speak
with one voice — extremists and their
media cheerleaders, with their hurtful and
often violent rhetoric, are not welcome any-
where in America, especially in our home
state of Michigan.

❑

Yom HaShoah's Lessons

Pessie Busel Novick
Community View

"I shall not die —
rather, I shall live"

— Psalms: 118

N

owhere is the Holocaust more
poignantly commemorated than
in Israel, the Jewish state that rose
from its ashes. On that day, tourists flock to
Yad Vashem and local residents attend the
memorial services held in their respective
communities. Traffic stops and two minutes
of solemn silence are observed throughout
the country to allow the Sridei HaShoah, the
survivors of the Holocaust, a term that can
be extended to include every Jewish person
alive today, to reflect — to mourn those
who have passed and to resolve that the
Hitlers of the world shall never know the
taste of victory.
There is, however, a Yom HaShoah tradi-
tion in Israel that is unfamiliar to most
Jewish people living in the diaspora. Each

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April 8 • 2010

iN

year, just after Passover, a group corn-
prised of seventy young men and women
from all over the world convenes in the
Holy Land. They are a diverse group, rep-
resenting a broad spectrum of nationali-
ties, religious observance and languages.
They are, however, united by a common
passion and a common tongue: Tanach,
the Bible. More than a book, more than
a pursuit, the Tanach is lingua franca for
these students who have come to Israel to
compete in the annual Hidon HaTanach,
the Worldwide Bible Contest held in
Jerusalem on Yom HaAtzmaut, Israel's
Independence Day.
Having plowed the Bible's breadth and
depth, their fluency bonds them; their "give
and take" is marked by references, allusions
and "inside jokes" that go over the heads of
those who merely dabble in biblical study
and put the young scholars in a league of
their own. And every year, after partici-
pating in a number of public ceremonies
commemorating Yom HaShoah, these 70
students sit for a rigorous set of exams test-
ing their fluency in the Bible; no detail is
too small, no name too obscure for them
to bring forth from the vast storehouse of
knowledge that each has accumulated. It is

no coincidence that these tests are admin-
istered on the day that is known as Yom
HaShoah v'HaGvura-The Day of Holocaust
and Heroism.
Heroism is a broad concept that takes
on a great many definitions. The fighters
of the Warsaw Ghetto come to mind at
once; after all, Yom HaShoah marks the
anniversary of the end of their struggle
against the obscenity of Nazi violence. But
there were other heroes, many others. For
some, heroism was expressed by engag-
ing in physical combat; for some it was
expressed by the refusal to surrender their
dignity and/or their faith. The Holocaust
cost the Jewish people some 6 million
heroes; and their blood cries out to us
for justice. This justice takes on a great
many definitions as well. How best to seek
justice? What is more important, perhaps,
how best to pay tribute?
Some have sought justice by hunting
down Nazis and bringing them to trial.
Some have devoted their lives to causes
that promote tolerance throughout the
world. Books have been written, monu-
ments dedicated and museums built. For
some survivors, the greatest justice and
most meaningful tribute lay in building a

Moledet, a homeland for the Jewish people
— a place where, as Robert Frost put it,
"When you have to go there, they have to
let you in:" These brave men and women
rolled up their sleeves, exposing the num-
bers on their arms, and did what needed
to be done — whether this meant build-
ing settlements or defending them.
There is, however, another form of
tribute to the memories of the Holocaust
and its heroes, at once tribute and revenge
against those who would rid the world of
the Jews and their heritage, who would
burn their sacred texts and defile Torah
scrolls. And that is the embracing of those
very texts, studying them, reveling in
them, instilling their lessons in the depths
of the hearts and minds of our youth. This
is the tribute paid by the contestants in
Israel's annual Bible contest; this is the
ultimate response to those who, "in each
and every generation, stand against us to
destroy us:'
The Torah, like the Land of Israel, is
compared to milk and honey. Revenge is
indeed sweet. Am Yisrael Chai-The Nation
of Israel Lives. El

Pessie Buse/ Novick is an Oak Park resident.