Opinion

Dry Bones

A MIX OF IDEAS

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Editorial

Federation's Daunting Challenge

T

he hope was to spark open, honest
dialog about how to capture the
attention of, and ultimately inspire
and engage, 20- and 30-somethings en
route to re-energizing Jewish communities
in North America.
By most accounts, the Jewish Federation
of Metropolitan Detroit-hosted think tank
ignited that spark, born from the pledge of
participants to work more innovatively and
collaboratively with one another. The thrust
now must be to keep the flame of produc-
tive and measurable follow-up burning.
The Dec. 12-13 think tank, cosponsored
by the umbrella Jewish Federations of North
America, was the idea of Detroit Federation
CEO Scott Kaufman. He floated the idea at
the JFN/Vs fall General Assembly. Registration
fees primarily covered think tank costs so
Federation didn't diminish funding from
urgent communal needs. Kaufman envisions
the JFNA funding inter-city follow-up.
The think tank's 44 attendees repre-
sented Jewish federations, foundations
and organizations from the Midwest as
well as Montreal and Israel. The gathering
puts our Federation and Jewish commu-
nity in the forefront of creating expansive
initiatives designed to attract and retain
young adults — a robust desire in the rep-
resented Jewish communities.
Let's be candid: Jewish demographics in
Detroit, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh,
St. Louis and Kansas City are different than
those in urban megatropolises such as New

York, Chicago, Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles
and Washington. In these larger metro areas,
federations focus on engagement — how to
make Jewish living, Jewish community and
Jewish federations relevant, and how to use
the phenomenon of social media to reach
and appeal to young adults. In Detroit and
similarly situated metro areas, the issue is
attracting and retaining young adults before
even trying to engage them.
Time will tell, but the think tank poten-
tially will open the door for Detroit and
similarly situated metro areas to work
supportively and creatively as a subgroup
within the federation system. This sub-
group can strive to assure attraction and
retention efforts land a larger share of
allocated brainpower and resources.
Metro Detroit faces a distinct challenge.
Research shows that in addition to job
opportunities and a vibrant nightlife, young
adults are drawn to urban experiences. So
our Jewish community must first mean-
ingfully re-engage with the central city if
it intends to strengthen its young adult
cohort. But we must be patient: Return on
investment is not likely to be quick or easy
to gauge. Nice as they are as downtown-ori-
ented suburbs, Royal Oak and Birmingham
cannot provide what Detroit potentially can
as an urban experience.
A key underpinning of the think tank:
While federations can put in place digital
platforms to potentially maximize inter-
actions and communications with young

re ag

SOUTH AMERICA
HAS CHANGED ITS
IMAGE FROM
BEING .. .

adults, the core ques-
tions remain. Those
questions: "How do
young adults define
`community' and
`Jewish community'"?
and "Can federations
like Detroit — which
are structured based
TO BECOMING PRO
on the models of their
IRANIAN, PRO
parents, grandparents
PALESTINIAN,
AND
and great-grandpar-
ANTI
ISRAELI
ents — still retain
their relevancy as the
central address for
fundraising, planning
and identity building
for young Jews?"
The Jewish
Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit
www. R ry : ones : og.com
deserves plaudits for
acting on a hunch.
and in shaping a model for the national
This is no time to be timid.
system to be the go-to facilitator of discus-
But can it deliver on Scott Kaufman's
sion and action tied to specific and press-
dream to have the think tank become a
ing regional matters.
periodic strategy and knowledge forum
Meanwhile, the challenge for Jewish
where federations share and learn from
Detroit pulsates: Can our leadership,
each other's day-to-day practices and
buoyed by the think tank's afterglow,
engagement models? There certainly are
articulate a big, bold vision for our overall
good programs that can easily be duplicat- Jewish future in a way that shows how the
ed without having to go through the cost
young adult piece fits with the rest of our
and time of a steep learning curve.
community's jigsaw puzzle? ❑
Jewish Detroit stands at the ready to be
a thought leader in federation sharing —
Related story: page 14.

Fire Illuminates Challenges

New York

0

ne of the reactions of Israelis to the
fact that their government called
on the international community
for assistance to combat the Carmel Forest
fire is a sense of shame. After all, Israel is a
leader in the high-tech world and an inno-
vator in dealing with crisis situations. Now
Israel had to admit that it wasn't capable of
dealing with the December blaze alone.
More than that, for some in Israel, there
is a reluctance to admit that Israel is not
isolated — that not everyone is against
them. The willingness of others to rush to
Israel's side, including the Turks and the
Palestinians, challenged this assumption.
I remember when Yitzhak Rabin took
over as Israeli prime minister in 1992; his
inaugural address to the Knesset took a
different tack than the norm. He spoke to
the idea that Israelis need to get beyond the
way of thinking that assumed that everyone
was against them. He argued that this was
neither accurate nor productive as it led to
distorted policies. Rabin in some quarters

30

December 30 • 2010

was hailed for his comments;
without any repercussions. And states throughout the globe, including some
in others, he was condemned.
the U.N. Human Rights Council that routinely vote against it at the United
Which brings us to our own
in Geneva focuses most of its
Nations. Moreover, even in the Arab world,
times: Where do things stand
attention and resolutions on
things aren't simple.
and how does the response to
condemning alleged Israeli vio-
It is true that what we all want, an accep-
the fire illuminate matters? I
lations of human rights.
tance by Arab leaders of the legitimacy of
would argue that there are two
In other words, there are
the Jewish state in the Middle East, has not
parallel tracks; both need to be
grounds for concluding that
been achieved. Having said that, on practi-
understood, taken seriously and
the world has turned against
cal grounds there has been progress over
factored into policymaking.
Israel in ways that even suggest
the years in the acceptance of the reality
Abraham H.
On the one hand is the dan-
a heavy dose of anti-Semitism
that Israel is here to stay.
Foxman
gerous process of delegitimiza-
within it. It is no longer the
Indeed, that notion is so strong in the
tion campaigns against Israel.
Special
individual Jew who is the target Arab world that Ahmadinejad feels it nec-
Commentary
These campaigns are picking
of anti-Semitism, some argue,
essary to harp on the idea that Israel will
up momentum around the
but the collective Jew through
disappear in an effort to get the Arabs to
world. Boycotts of Israel by trade unions,
the assault on the Jewish state. And it is
turn back the dock to a time when they not
universities and entertainers seem to pop
argued, with some reason, that it is not par-
only rejected Israel's legitimacy, but also
up almost on a daily basis. Israeli officials
ticular Israeli policies, but Israel's very exis-
envisioned ways to achieve Israel's demise.
refrain from visiting certain countries lest
tence that is the problem for many critics.
Arab acceptance of the reality of Israel
they be arrested on war criminal charges.
The picture, however, is more compli-
is not insignificant because it then forces
The U.N.'s Goldstone Report questions
cated; and the response of many nations
an answer to the question of how one deals
Israel's right to self-defense.
to Israel's plea for help during the forest
with an entity that's here to stay. Egyptian
Israel is compared to the South African
fire is the tip of the iceberg. It is obvious
President Anwar Sadat's answer after the
apartheid regime or to the Nazi Germany.
that not only does Israel have a special
Yom Kippur war was to make peace.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
relationship with the United States; but it
We see these changes as well in the
can openly call for Israel's disappearance
also has excellent bilateral relations with
WikiLeaks documents: Arab leaders such

Challenges on page 31