Publisher's Notebook Tempest In A Tea Party? T he involvement by the Jewish News last month in an alliance with Wayne State University's WDET- FM, the Michigan Chronicle, the Arab-American News, Latino and the Atlanta-based Southern Poverty Law Center to expose the rise of right-wing extremist groups, especially in Michigan, generated an array of responses from readers and non-readers. Responses tended to fall into four categories: • "Thank you" for informing the Jewish community, especially in the aftermath of the FBI bust of the nearby Hutaree militia, about these groups; • How dare you suggest the Tea Party harbors or enables people with extremist views; • How dare you do anything in partnership with the Arab-American News; • Angry voicemail messages generated in part by Frank Beckmann through his WJR-AM morning talk show audi- ence. For the record, the Jewish News editorialized in its April 8 edition that while there is plenty to debate about what kind of America we want, and while the Constitution provides wide latitude to express diverse viewpoints and a mecha- nism to effect change at the ballot box, we are a country of laws. And there is a line between vigorous and spirited discourse and threats and acts of intimidation, including 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. Regarding the Tea Party, there is no doubt it has a gen- eral point of view about smaller, less intrusive govern- ment and lower taxes that animates its adherents and is consistent with similar movements that dot our country's history. However, for the Tea Party to expand its footprint, its leaders and those who actively seek its support — like Michigan gubernatorial candidates Mike Bouchard and Mike Cox — must be willing to unequivocally condemn those who are extremists. A case in point? We in the Jewish community need to look no farther than James Traficant, the disgraced former Ohio congressman who recently spent time in prison pin- stripes and has cultivated Tea Party support for an improb- able run for the presidency in 2012. He was the keynote speaker at several recent Ohio Tea Party rallies. Here is what he told Fox News' Greta Van Susteren, who asked why he targets or has a grudge against Israelis: "The grudge is not necessarily a grudge. It's an objec- tive assessment that no one will have the courage to speak about. They're controlling much of our foreign policy. They're influencing much of our domestic policy. [Paul] Wolfowitz as undersecretary of defense manipulated President Bush No. 2 back into Iraq. They've pushed, defi- nitely, definitely to try to get Bush before he left to move into Iran. "We're conducting the expansionist policy of Israel and everybody's afraid to say it. They control much of the media, they control much of the commerce of the country and they control powerfully both sides of the Congress. They own the Congress ... Am I an anti-Semite? No, I'm not. And that's exactly what they're going to say." By the way, you can find the full Van Susteren-Traficant interview where I did, on the website of former Knights of the Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke. For the Tea Party movement to percolate, it needs to purge itself of Traficant and those who promote and embrace extremist views, including blatant anti-Semitism. Sheriff Bouchard and Attorney General Cox: Care to offer any condemnations? What If We Threw A Dinner And Nobody Showed Up? Not long after arriving in Detroit in 1986, I attended my first of several annual B'nai B'rith Great American Traditions dinners at the Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit. With 1,000 people in the ballroom and a multi-level dais containing several dozen captains of Detroit industry and politics, it was an impressive site. Big-name entertain- ers, from Marvin Hamlisch to Kenny G, serenaded honorees while Max Fisher or other mega-leaders from the Jewish community presided. Fast-forward to last month's B'nai B'rith Great American Traditions dinner at the Book-Cadillac Hotel in Detroit honoring esteemed community leaders Allan Gilmour and David Baker Lewis. There was no dais. Aside from award presenter Alan E. Schwartz and his wife, Marianne, there were painfully few leaders from the Jewish community. There were fewer than 200 people in attendance. While there should be a "sunset" rule that requires some Jewish organizations to "retire" their dinners and find other means of financial support, as long as they are still hap- pening, our entire Jewish community leadership must take responsibility for attending these events when leaders from the general community are being recognized. Gilmour spoke eloquently about the outsized impact our Jewish community has had on the cultural, educational, health and philanthropic landscape of Detroit and the region. And Lewis was gracious in his comments toward Schwartz, one of his most valued mentors. Perhaps Federation can enlist its underutilized Board of Governors plus the Young Adult Division (YAD) roster to attend, on a rotating basis, these types of Jewish-sponsored events that honor leaders in the general community. Think of it as being a Jewish community "ambassador:' The hon- orees would notice, value and appreciate it. And our Jewish leaders would hear what Gilmour, Lewis and others have to say about our community's role in enhancing our city and region. Next on the local dinner circuit are Detroit Mayor Dave Bing and Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, who are being honored May 13 by the Jewish National Fund... an excellent opportunity to recruit a table of "ambassadors." El 0: 1— • to I— CI Z Z — 1 0 Sixteen-year-old Bracha Greenes attends Yeshiva Darchei Torah through JARC's School Inclusion Program. With the help of the program's staff - including the program coordinator, a classroom assistant, and behavior, teacher and speech consultants - Bracha graduated the eighth grade with the rest of her class. Her mother beams with pride, "It was the culmination of many years of hard work and effort. Bracha fits right in with her peers and is a part of the whole community." May 27, 2010 - PM Detroit Zoo :;pringFlation is the major source of four:fit -4i for IARC's services for children kAiith any disability. TICKETS $25 each Purchase at: www.jarc.org 248.538.6611 Are Jews aware of the Tea Party's undercurrents? How can groups bring in funds 0 a„ ' outside of dinners? 15arri6v- c. iN May 6 2010 5