oints of view
Obama And Israel from page 31
their own people, but also give strength
to Iranian proxies Hezbollah and Hamas.
Tough talk aside, Obama made it clear
that diplomacy, buoyed by increasingly
harsh international sanctions, is his top
choice for the moment against President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the cler-
ics who control the Persian nation of 74
million people. To little applause, Obama
said the U.S. and Israel are vigilant in
monitoring Iran's nuclear edge.
"Few thought that sanctions could
have an immediate bite on the Iranian
regime,' Obama said. "They have, slow-
ing the Iranian nuclear program and
virtually grinding the Iranian economy
to a halt in 2011.
"Many questioned whether we could
hold our coalition together as we moved
against Iran's Central Bank and oil
exports. But our friends in Europe and
Asia and elsewhere are joining us. And in
2012, the Iranian government faces the
prospect of even more crippling sanc-
tions:'
Today, Iran is isolated, divided and
under pressure. "And the Arab Spring
has only increased these trends as
the hypocrisy of the Iranian regime is
exposed and its ally, the Assad regime, is
crumbling',' Obama said.
Yes, Syrian President Bashar Assad is
killing Syrians in a last-ditch effort to
hold power, but I'm skeptical of just how
transformative the so-called revolution
known as the Arab Spring ultimately will
be in terms of providing a foothold for
democracy over totalitarianism.
"Quiet War Cries"
Obama did acknowledge a solid policy
on paper isn't enough: Iran's capabil-
ity to go nuclear must be erased. This
year's ramped-up sanctions, including
a European ban on Iranian oil imports,
will either compel Iranian leaders "to
choose a path that brings them back into
the community of nations, or they can
continue down a dead-end;' Obama said.
He spoke pensively about the toll of
war for both America and Israel, vowed
to use force if necessary to defend the
U.S. and its interests, but also proclaimed
"there is too much loose talk of war:"
"Over the last few weeks," he said,
"such talk has only benefited the Iranian
government by driving up the price of
oil, which they depend upon to fund
their nuclear program. For the sake of
Israel's security, America's security, and
the peace and security of the world, now
is not the time for bluster; now is the
time to let our increased pressure sink
in and to sustain the broad international
coalition that we have built."
Unsaid by Obama was that Israel
no doubt will do whatever is required,
including an airstrike on Iran's chief
nuclear plants, if the Israeli government
32
March 8 • 2012
Commentary
deems the danger from Tehran at high
alert this year — any impact on the U.S.
presidential race notwithstanding.
Detroit delegate
Hannan Lis of
Farmington Hills,
a Haifa native, said
he thought Obama
clearly assured
that Israel has a
legitimate right to
defend itself against Us
a regime threaten-
ing its destruction
and that he, as president, would use any
option to stop Iran from developing a
nuclear capability.
Lis further said the Obama admin-
istration's specific actions on Iran have
elevated "the military, strategic and over-
all security cooperation between U.S.
and Israel to unprecedented levels."
The Way Forward
In closing, Obama talked about his per-
sonal ties to Jews — "from the stories
of a great-uncle who helped liberate
Buchenwald, to my memories of return-
ing there with Elie Wiesel, from sharing
books with Shimon Peres, to sharing
seders with my young staff in a tradition
that started on the campaign trail and
continues in the White House; from the
countless friends I know in this room, to
the concept of tikkun olam (repair of the
world) that has enriched my life."
Obama then invoked a long-ago pre-
decessor who validated the fledgling
Jewish state and gave it needed credibil-
ity in 1948, following the Holocaust.
"As Harry Truman understood, Israel's
story is one of hope. We may not agree
on every single issue; no two nations do
and our democracies contain a vibrant
diversity of views. But we agree on the
big things, the things that matter.
"And together we are working to build
a better world — one where our people
can live free from fear, one where peace
is founded upon justice, one where our
children can know a future that is more
hopeful than the present."
Midway through his 30-minute
speech, the president boarded historical
perspective and floated the idea that the
only way to truly solve the lingering, dire
Iranian problem "is for the Iranian gov-
ernment to make a decision to forsake
nuclear weapons."
I'm fearful no amount of international
pressure will bring Tehran to its politi-
cal knees. So if Israel — and America
— are left with no option but taking
out Iran's highest-grade uranium enrich-
ment facilities, the question is whether
this Obarna pledge will ring hollow or
echo loudly: "So there should not be
a shred of doubt by now — when the
chips are down, I have Israel's back." ❑
A Necessary Resource
In the modern world, there's still
room for Hebrew Free Loan.
F
or as long as I can remember,
Hebrew Free Loan has satisfied
a need in our community for
financing life's moments. Banks don't
always see our crises or milestones the
way we do. I, myself, took advantage of
an interest-free loan during my school-
ing because it filled a need and made
financial sense.
It wasn't that long ago that Jews
weren't "bankable" members of soci-
ety. In the Hebrew Free Loan (HFL)
office hangs a framed certificate from
the state of Michigan recognizing the
establishment of the Grmilut Chasadim
(acts of lovingkindness) Society, now
called Hebrew Free Loan. The certificate
is dated Dec.11, 1895, but we will never
know the exact date that a
group of Jewish merchants
came together in a Detroit
storeroom because their com-
munity needed financial assis-
tance that the banks wouldn't
provide. They created a way
to help their own people
through private financing, and
it worked. We are the benefi-
ciaries of their resolve.
Hebrew Free Loan, at 117,
is the Detroit area's oldest
community agency, but why
is it still here? Things have
changed since the agency's founding:
Jews moved up the economic ladder,
banks invested in us, our children were
educated, our businesses were thriving
and things were good. How can a busi-
ness model sketched out in a storeroom
more than a century ago remain viable
in 2012?
Indeed, Hebrew Free Loan still oper-
ates in much the same way it did in
1895. Donors trust us to make a dif-
ference using the money they give.
Board members meet with borrowers
to lend money without interest. Loans
repaid are recycled back into new loans.
Seems kind of old-fashioned, right?
Well, Hebrew Free Loan may have faded
in importance with the increase in our
security, but that security didn't touch
everyone, and in the recent downturn,
we watched much of our security erode.
Banks respond to numbers, to regula-
tors and to investors, but HFL is still
here because it is built on responsibil-
ity. This agency, as agile and fluid as
the times, responds to us. Through it,
we care for our own. We know, in doing
so, we also may be helping our grand-
children and great-grandchidren. Our
The late Marvin
Danto, whose family
recently established
the Marvin I. Danto
Small Business
Loan Program at
Hebrew Free Loan
archives are full of the names of local
families who have been touched by HFL,
some who might not even be here with-
out help.
The late Marvin Danto instilled in
his family what a Hebrew Free Loan
meant to him when he said that loan
helped "save his family" during the
Great Depression. Earlier this year, the
Danto family repaid the kindness shown
them a million times over
by establishing the Marvin I.
Danto Small Business Loan
Program, in honor of a man
who survived that early tur-
moil to become a force in
local business. It is the most
recent example of community
generosity that will change
the fortunes of Jewish fami-
lies for generations to come.
Money donated to HFL
helps cover a full spectrum
of needs, including some we
probably haven't thought of
yet. We see all applicants as people
first, hearing their stories on a case-by-
case basis.
In the current fiscal year ending May
31, Hebrew Free Loan is on target to
lend more than $1.1 million. This funding
comes from local residents and is given
directly to friends and family mem-
bers throughout our neighborhoods.
Where the banks are absent, HFL is rel-
evant, particularly to people who have
nowhere else to turn.
After four months as HFL's execu-
tive director, I am only beginning to
understand the remarkable generosity
of our donors and the immeasurable
impact our loans make in sustaining our
families, our businesses and one of our
nation's great Jewish communities.
Join us: Visit our website (hfldetroit.
org ) and give whatever you can. It may
be old-fashioned, but if we all do our
part, as those merchants convinced
their friends and neighbors to do in that
long-ago storeroom, our community will
still be vibrant 100 years from now.
David Contorer is executive director of Hebrew
Free Loan in Bloomfield Township.