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TITLE &SOURCE'

GILBERT
FILMS

IENENSTOCK

NATION-NI. COURT REPORTING & VIDEO

GARY AND
CHARLOTTE GILBERT

Rain or Shine

Rabbi Buckman's Role
Missing From FJA Story
I am a head of a Jewish school in
Los Angeles called New Community
Jewish High School. Years ago, I
was the lead PEJE (Partnership for
Excellence in Jewish Education)
consultant on what was then called
the Jewish Academy of Metropolitan
Detroit, helping it to become estab-
lished.
I read with great interest your beau-
tiful article on the school's 13th year
("Mitzvah Celebration," April 25, page
10). However, there was one impor-
tant omission. The founding head,
Rabbi Lee Buckman, who developed
the entire educational program and
culture over many years and who did
the heavy lifting to recruit the first
classes, was never mentioned.
What a shame to lose that part of
the school's sacred history. Perhaps a
follow-up story about Rabbi Buckman
might help to correct this omission.

Dr. Bruce Powell

Los Angeles

A Proposed Dialogue
For FJA Controversy
The question of whether teachers
of Jewish youth should be person-
ally observant is a long-standing
one. To state that the "best quali-
fied Jewish educator" should be
hired begs the question. (Letter: "No
Jewish Pluralism At Frankel Jewish
Academy," May 9, page 5)
Teaching Judaism to high school
youth is not like teaching math-
ematics or engineering. It has a
non-quantifiable moral component
to it. For instance, should a biblical
scholar with a distinct anti-Semitic
bent be deemed "qualified"? Should
a Talmudic scholar who is distinctly
anti-Zionist be deemed "qualified"?
Should an atheist rabbi be deemed
qualified?
Speaking for myself, I am sympa-
thetic to the pleas of those who ask
for diversity in the Jewish community.
I propose a litmus test that includes
an objective examination of biblical
and Talmudic knowledge along with
a subjective component assessing
commitment to Jewish life and obser-
vance. Might this be a starting point
for dialogue between the parties?

David Arm
West Bloomfield

Yachad Detroit's Efforts
Prove "Everybody Belongs'
Yasher koach (go in strength) to Jeff,
Bayla, Ethan and all of the dedicated
volunteers who have brought the
Yachad Detroit chapter back to life
("Because Everyone Belongs," May 2,
page 1).
Appropriately titled, the article
describes the motivation behind Yachad
Detroit's efforts. "Because Everyone
Belongs" reflects the most accurate
description of what defines this group.
This group has made it possible for
the differently abled members of our
community to fulfill the mitzvah of
talmud Torah (learning Torah) outside
of the home; a want (and need) that has
gone unmet for far too long.
Thursday night's "Parshah and Pizza"
provides much more than just food and
fun. These gatherings engage young
adults socially with experiential educa-
tional opportunities.
Yachad Detroit Shabbaton weekends
are inclusive, and provide the differently
abled youth and young adults in our
community with the chance to enjoy an
overnight, weekend away from home
with peers and friends. Experiences like
these were once not available to "every-
one
Further, the boundless energy and
enthusiasm that Jeff, Bayla and Ethan
share is contagious. The dedication
these individuals share to ensure the
success and future of Yachad Detroit is
surpassed only by the commitment they
share to create a supportive community
"because everyone belongs."

May 23, 1960, when then-prime minis-
ter David Ben-Gurion announced this
incredible news in the Knesset. This is
something I will never forget.
My husband, Shelly, and I lived in the
doctors' residences of the Assaf HaRofeh
hospital where he, following his medical
school graduation in the U.S., decided to
do his internship. Like all Israelis at the
time, we tuned in hourly to the news on
the radio (television did not exist as yet
in Israel), and the entire country was in
shock and disbelief to hear Isser Harel,
head of the Shin Bet, informing our
prime minister that "the monster is in
shackles."
Argentina cried foul, at first, for
Israel's act of forcibly removing one of
its law-abiding citizens; however, when
it became clear he was not coming back,
its protest eventually died down.
The State of Israel, then only 12 years
of age, was established to provide a
home for every Jew in the world who is
in need of one. It, therefore, saw itself
responsible for seeking justice in the
name of world Jewry. Bringing that Nazi
arch war criminal to justice by the State
of Israel was only the natural thing to
do.
The trial started on April 11, 1962,
and Eichmann was found guilty of
crimes again the Jewish people and was
sentenced to death, the first and only
execution in the history of the state.
Israel doesn't have the death penalty
except for Nazis and their collaborators.
On May 31, 1962, he was hanged and
then cremated and his ashes scattered
outside Israel's territorial waters.

Nina Rosenblum
Southfield

Rachel Kapen
West Bloomfield

The Day Israel
Hanged Eichmann
On May 11, 1960, infamous Adolf
Eichmann, one of Nazi Germany's
high officials responsible for the "Final
Solution" and the mass murder of
Hungarian Jewry, was abducted in
Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he and
his family found haven after the war.
He lived under an assumed name
when, after years of intensive efforts by
the Israeli government to find him and
bring him to justice, he was found by
members of Israel's Shin Bet, a special
branch of the Mossad, and brought
to Israel to stand trial for his crimes
against the Jewish people. However, we,
the Israeli public, didn't know it until

Benefitting Children with
Disabilities and Their Families

May 22, 2013 I 6-9 pm

ALL-INCLUSIVE
family event at
the Detroit Zoo!

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Carousel Rides

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Barrier Breaking
Golf for All

Picnic Dinner

(Dietary Laws Observed)

Clue Hunt
with PRIZES

Music and Dancing

Crafts

Great Door Prizes

Wildlife Exhibits

Corrections

• In "Hillel To
Host Annual
Dinner, Dedicate
Torah" (May
9, page 30), an
incorrect photo
was printed. The
correct photo is
of Karen and Jim
Berger, who will
be honored.

•

Polar Bear Feeding

Tauber Family Railroad

SPECIAL PHOTO OP
with "PAWS",
The Detroit Tigers Mascot!

Karen and Jim
Berger

• In "Salute to
Moms" (May 9, page 10), the last name
of Maya Wolock and that of her mom,
Miriam, was misspelled.

Ticke,+!

REAT FAMILY EVENT
FREE PARKING

Children Under 2 FREE

BUY TICKETS ONLINE

www.jarc.org/jarc-events

248.538.6611

JN

May 16 • 2013

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