Editorial
POINT from page 26
unilateral declaration by the U.N.
General Assembly in September
recognizing Palestinian state-
hood within pre-1967 borders,
with Jerusalem as the capital of a
Palestinian state and the "right of
return" for Palestinian refugees.
By giving the Europeans and
the G-8 members an alternative,
the president's approach gives him
leverage to urge them to join in
voting against the U.N. resolution.
Without this initiative, and in
the absence of a concrete Israeli
proposal, the chances of heading
off the U.N. vote or diminishing
its support would have been nil.
Listen Up
We must focus on what President
Obama said and what he did
not say. He emphasized that
peace could not be imposed on
Israel and that Israel should not
be expected to negotiate with
Hamas so long as it is committed
to Israel's destruction. He stated
point blank that "no vote at the
United Nations will ever create an
independent Palestinian state
and that any final agreement must
assure that Israel can "defend
itself — by itself — against any
threat." He said that the withdraw-
al of Israel's military forces from
the West Bank should occur only
when the Palestinians can dem-
onstrate their capacity to keep the
peace, and that a Palestinian state
should be "non-militarized."
Importantly, he stressed that
the status of Jerusalem and
Palestinian refugees should be left
to later — after negotiations on
principles that satisfy each side
that their respective core needs on
borders and security will be met.
Finally, he said that the
Palestinians must accept "Israel as
a Jewish state and homeland for
the Jewish people No American
president has provided these
assurances.
What he did not say was that
Israel should be required to with-
draw to pre-1967 borders; quite
the contrary. President Obama
stated clearly that negotiations
should be based on "the 1967
lines with mutually agreed swaps."
This is essentially the position
that both former Israeli Prime
Minister Ehud Barak at Camp
David in 2000 and former Prime
Minister Ehud Olmert took in
2008 in negotiations with the
Palestinian Authority.
As the president stressed at
AIPAC, this means "by definition"
that the "parties themselves —
Israelis and Palestinians — will
negotiate a border that is different
than the one that existed" before
the Six-Day War in June 1967.
That will allow the "parties them-
selves to account for the changes
that have taken place for the last
44 years:' he said, referring to
Jewish settlements in the West
Bank.
Lost in the fog of an unnecessary
controversy is the fact that contin-
ued expansion of settlements does
not strengthen Israel's security; it
isolates Israel and makes a two-
state solution more difficult.
The Right Solution
Two states for two peoples, with
as much separation as possible,
is essential for Israel's well-being.
When the president said that
only a viable two-state solution
with Israel within internationally
recognized secure borders would
enable Israel to remain a major-
ity Jewish, democratic state, the
president spoke for me.
It's time for the American
Jewish community, and support-
ers of Israel in the United States
and around the world, to recog-
nize that President Obama's broad
principles provide the key to a
safe and secure Jewish state.
Ambassador Stuart E. Eizenstat is a
partner at the Washington law firm
Covington & Burling. Under President
Clinton, he was responsible for the
economic dimensions of the Middle
East peace process and served as the
administration's special representa-
tive on Holocaust-era issues.
COUNTER POINT from page 26
Jerusalem as the undivided capital
of the Jewish state. After all, it has
only been under Jewish authority
that religious freedom, including
access to holy sites, for people of
all faiths — Christian, Jewish and
Muslim — has been protected.
Meanwhile, we must readily see
the president's policies for what
they are: the dangerous accom-
modation of Middle East dictators,
and worse, the accommodation of
terrorist groups like Hamas.
Examine The Policies
President Obama's policies repre-
sent a sharp break from the post-
World War II American political
consensus of providing unwavering
support to the State of Israel.
The decision to adopt a policy of
accommodation, using the political
objectives and code words of those
who wish to drive Israel into the
sea, affirms the administration's
radicalism in its headlong flight
from the legacy of U.S. presidents
— from Truman to Bush — and
is leading Israel and the Western
democracies toward ever-increas-
ing danger.
President Obama's focus on
Israel as the obstacle to peace is
particularly disturbing consider-
ing the existence of a true threat to
the peace of the world: the threat
from Iran. Today, Iran is watching
whether the United States keeps
its promises with its ally Israel and
how we deal with Iran's proxies,
Hamas and Hezbollah. The Iranian
regime also will be watching how
America and our allies treat Israel
at the U.N. General Assembly this
September.
A Better Course
We need to acknowledge that 20
years of trying to negotiate peace
with evil regimes and organiza-
tions dedicated to the destruction
of Israel — and, in many cases,
our own destruction — has been
a failure. The time has come to
clearly and decisively take the
offensive against them. This begins
with a firm and consistent com-
mitment by the United States — in
the Reagan tradition — to speak
plainly and truthfully about the
nature of our enemies.
Next, our policies must reflect
the fact that there is no moral
equivalency between terrorist
regimes and a legitimate self-
governing country that abides by
the rule of law.
We must reverse the Obama
administration's dangerous policies
of incoherence and accommodation
and implement instead a foreign
policy that is clear about the evil
that we face and committed to the
actions necessary to overcome it. II
This opinion piece was adapted
from a speech that Newt Gingrich, a
Republican candidate for president,
delivered to the Republican Jewish
Coalition on June 12. He was speaker
of the U.S. House from 1995 to 1999.
He represented Georgia's Sixth
Congressional District as a Republican
Challenges In Serving
Our Precious Seniors
A
year into new leadership, Jewish Senior
Life of Metropolitan Detroit is excited about
streamlining, improving and expanding its ser-
vices and activities for the 800 JSL apartment dwell-
ers in seven facilities on two campuses as well as those
seniors who live in a private home or apartment.
The time for such heavy hitting is
right. With Baby Boomers boosting
the number of clients now served,
West Bloomfield-based JSL will be
approaching optimal demand in the
next few years.
So the challenges facing JSL, under
CEO Rochelle Upfal, are aplenty, not
Rochelle Upfal the least of which is the agency pack-
aging and presenting its services to
best showcase them and, most importantly, increase their
usage, especially among seniors with a fixed income.
To that end, JSL must publicly speak to the rumblings
from former employees and residents who have raised
questions about JSL procedures and policies. Clearly,
developing more open communication lines with the pub-
lic it serves and correcting any real deficiencies should
be an immediate priority.
JSL, a Federation constituent agency, is seeking to
enlarge its number of self-supporting and profit-making
programs while meeting urgent senior needs unavailable
through personal sources. The result of the 2008 merger
between Jewish Home & Aging Services and Jewish
Apartments & Services, JSL would help its cause and
the community by aggressively publicizing its mission,
services and possibilities.
To be the central address for our seniors, JSL must
become as recognizable as the JCC:
•JSL housing ranges from assisted living to indepen-
dent living and from subsidized units to regular apart-
ments. Services include chaplaincy, counseling, guardian-
ship, Meals on Wheels and Jcare personal care.
•A program for Holocaust survivors strives to engage
them in Jewish life as well as secure their poignant sto-
ries in the community's memory bank.
•The JSL/JVS-run Dorothy and Peter Brown Adult Day
Care Center, including Alzheimer's patient services, is a
community gem, but not as well known as it could be.
•A new centralized telephone number (248-661-
1836) – operated by JSL, Southfield-based JVS and the
Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit –
serves callers seeking information about senior services.
The JSL annual budget is $19 million. The agency
is funded mostly by the U.S. Housing and Urban
Development, Federation, Metro Detroit's Jewish Fund
and Jewish Women's Foundation as well as private gifts.
Some seniors require long-term care facilities. For
those who don't, aging gracefully and with dignity often
requires a community boost to ward off loneliness, a
poor diet and lack of things to do. A higher quality of
life is a proven life extender.
As it pursues a new strategic plan, we urge Jewish
Senior Life to be more driven about telling its story
and more responsive to the voicing of discontent.
Meanwhile, our older adults – who are so precious –
shouldn't hesitate to experience the JSL programming
and support services they may well need to age more
comfortably. I I
member from 1979 to 1999.
August 11 • 2011
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