Letters Now to Send Letters We prefer letters relating to JN articles. We reserve the right to edit or reject letters. Letters of 225 words or less are considered first. Longer ones will be subject to trimming. Letter writers are limited in frequency of publication. Letters must be original and contain the name, address and title of the writer and a day phone number. Non-electronic copies must be hand signed. Send letters to the JN: 29200 Northwestern Highway, Suite 110, Southfield, MI 48034; fax (248) 304-8885; e-mail, letters@the jewishnews.com . We prefer e-mail. Right To Speak Out Everybody born in the United States enjoys the constitutional right of freedom of speech, including those members of the Tea Party Movement and the Patriot Movement. These groups almost entirely consist of retirees, blue-collar and white- collar workers and your neighbors. They are frustrated. They are frus- trated with their government not listen- ing. They want their voices heard. They are not agitators. They are not terrorists. They are you and I. I have been a mem- ber from the start. I feel I have become better informed on all sides of the issues. The Jewish News and the Jews have always valued freedom speech. The Jewish people marched and supported the civil rights movement and its voice of equality. The Jewish News always encour- ages open discussion and doing away with discrimination. I am disappointed it is now part of the collaboration with WDET and trying to censor the voices of a growing population ("Right-Wing Extremism," April 15, page 10). Hate, extremism and terrorism are not part of the Tea Party Movement. It has the right to congregate in order to speak on governmental issues. Our country was founded on such principles. Maybe the Constitution needs to be read again. community of interest. To those who say he is not a friend of Israel, I suggest they reexamine his Cairo speech. It is very easy for any politician to stand in front of an audience of Jews and proclaim one's undying love for the State of Israel. Barack Obama did what no other president had ever done: He spoke to a huge audience of Arabs and he stated that the United States has an unbreakable bond with the State of Israel. That is a profile in political courage. I am pleased that President Obama does not march in lockstep with the Israeli government. I think the pres- ent Israeli government, just like the two before it, makes grievous errors in its handling of the Israeli-Palestinian con- flict. I think the Israeli government's poli- cies not only make Israel less secure, but also take something away from the ideals upon which the country was founded. I think President Obama sincerely wants to achieve a higher level of peace while ensuring the security of Israel. And I think he has a vision of how to get there. So disagree with his vision, but do not attack his commitment. Such attacks are counterproductive. They can alienate a true friend. Barbara Hechtman Memorable Tribute Sunday evening's moving Yom HaZikoron (Israel's Memorial Day) observance at Hillel Day School of Metropolitan Detroit (coverage: page 41) brought me back to my very emotional experience at the Israel Defense Forces Base at Camp Chasa, in Israel, during one of my Volunteers for Israel service tours. We stood side by side with active Israeli soldiers as the memorial lamp was lit and stood guard, individually, by the lamp. We heard the prime minister and military officers speak. We heard the wail of the siren. We sang Hatikvah and cried. Later, we left the base for Tel Aviv to celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut, Israeli Independence Day, with huge crowds, joy and fireworks. Wherever I experience Yom HaZikoron, whether it is here at home or in our home in Israel it is a beautiful, solemn tribute to our heroes. Waterford Profile In Courage I take issue with your unabashed praise for U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor. R-Va. ("Beseeching Our People," April 15, page 5). Merely because he is a zealous advo- cate on behalf of the State of Israel does not mean that he helps the cause. In fact, I believe his tunnel vision, as well as the tunnel vision of many of Israel's strident supporters, is actually harmful. But that debate will never end. My particular concern is the highly partisan attack Rep. Cantor and conser- vative Jews make on President Obama. Some Jews go so far as to say that President Obama is anti-Semitic. I would hope that all American Jews would rec- ognize that he is a great friend of Israel and is totally committed to its peace and security. To this charge of anti-Semitism, we all know that his closest advisers are Jewish. His mentor at Harvard law school was Laurence Tribe, a committed Jewish advocate. In 2008, then candidate Obama did not go to the basement of a hotel in Pennsylvania and join a seder being conducted by his aides in order to score political points: He did it to show his 6 April 22 • 2010 iN Richard Lenter Bloomfield Hills Ed Kohl West Bloomfield Check Out Ir Amim Elie Wiesel's recent newspaper ad in which he shared his feelings about Jerusalem left me sad and disappointed (coverage: page 11). I expected more from this outstanding humanitarian. I felt that his words reflected simplistic nostalgia and sloppy history rather than empathy and understanding of the complex reality of the situation. I encourage everyone who is interested in this subject to visit the Web site of Ir Amim ("City of Nations" or "City of Peoples"), www.ir-amim.org.il/Eng/. Ir Amim describes itself as "an Israeli nonprofit, nonpartisan organization founded in order to actively engage in those issues impacting on Israeli- Palestinian relations in Jerusalem and on the political future of the city. Ir Amim seeks to render Jerusalem a more viable and equitable city, while generating and promoting a more politically sustainable future. "Bearing in mind the symbolic and actual status of Jerusalem as a city of two peoples and three religions, as well as the city's pivotal role in reaching a political agreement, Ir Amim aspires to a stable Jerusalem, equitably shared by the two peoples; a city that ensures the dignity and welfare of all its residents and that safeguards their holy places as well as their historical and cultural heritages. "Ir Amim offers its knowledge and expertise concerning the political, eco- nomic and social conditions in Jerusalem to a range of organizations and indi- viduals, including governmental and municipal authorities who deal with the management of the city ..." Ir Amim has a blog on the Huffington Post Web site and runs community outreach and educational activities in Jerusalem. When I visited my daughter there in 2006, she arranged for us to go on an Ir Amim bus tour of the separation wall as it snaked through various Arab neigh- borhoods in the city. Ir Amim runs these bus tours in English and in Hebrew sev- eral times a week as part of its continu- ing effort to educate Israelis and visitors (religious and secular, Muslim, Christian and Jewish) about the on-the-ground conditions that obtain in the city and how destructive and corrosive the cur- rent situation is for everyone. tion at its best. JFS created this medical access program for the uninsured more than five years ago. We are very proud of our client case management and medical recruitment of 700 doctors, nine hospital systems, four pharmacies and a pharmacy benefits management company, all work- ing together to improve and save lives. It also is gratifying to provide con- sultation and expertise to the Chaldean American Association of Health Professionals (CAAHP) as it models a Chessed-like system. Like the IN, Jewish Family Service believes the community- at-large is improved when we can learn from and help each other. The first Walk for Project Chessed is Sunday, April 25, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Oakland Community College in Farmington Hills. We encourage your readers to register online at www. walkforchessed.org and to walk to raise necessary dollars for Chessed's rising prescription costs, durable medical equipment and administrative costs. Sandy Muskovitz Danto, president Jewish Family Service West Bloomfield Correction • The man in the photograph in "Yom HaShoah" (April 15, page 11) should have been identified as Holocaust survivor from Czechoslovakia Zoltan Rubin of Farmington Hills. Nancy F. Kaplan West Bloomfield Walk For Chessed Jewish Family Service of Metropolitan Detroit applauds your editorial comment "A Network of Caring" (April 1, page 37) and your cover story regarding the IN's collaboration with the Chaldean commu- nity, "A Well-Rooted Friendship" (April 1, page 24). Project Chessed exemplifies collabora- • "Herzl In Hollywood" (April 15, page 42) should have stated that Theodor Herzl was born in 1860 and died in 1904 at age 44. • In "Pizza Bake-Off!" (April 15, page 16) the names of Shayna Levine of Huntington Woods and Jessica Goodwin of Southfield were misspelled in photo captions although they were correctly spelled in the accompanying article.