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Editorial

Summit Potentially Could Solve Syrian Crisis

T

o heighten pressure on the
brutal Assad regime in civil
war-ravaged Syria, a coalition
of like-minded nations that includes
the U.S. should step up to the leader-
ship plate to exact resolution of the
lingering conflict.
Resolution lies in coalition part-
ners advancing a plan that already
involves America training and equip-
ping vetted members of insurgent
forces to oust President Bashar
Assad. He has assaulted his own peo-
ple through use of air strikes, mis-
siles, tanks and chemicals; 100,000
Syrians have died.
Resolution also hinges on the U.S.
and other countries openly opposed to
the Assad regime considering increased
military pressure on Damascus. For
example, limited, targeted strikes at
Assad's terror apparatus could coor-
dinate with ground incursions by the
Free Syrian Army, the lead opposition
in this nation of 20 million people.
So envision two U.S. senators in a
July 9 statement released following
their July trip to Jordan and Turkey,
where they met with government
officials, U.S. diplomatic and military

personnel, and a Syrian opposition
leader. Those countries border Syria
and are two of America's closest
regional allies. The
senators, Carl Levin,
D-Mich., and Angus
King, I-Maine, already
know how dangerous
Assad is to Israel,
America's best friend
in the region.
The senators envi-
Carl Levin
sion a European
summit that yields a
plan to protect U.S.
interests and region-
al stability in the
wake of the Syrian
conflict. Sectarian
undercurrents of the
fight between Syrian
Sunnis on one side
and the Alawite minority and Shiite
allies on the other risk a wider civil
war that engages Iraq and Lebanon.
Both senators took the time to visit
camps where some of the hundreds
of thousands of Syrian refugees have
fled. The camps are straining the
resources of both Turkey and Jordan.

Levin chairs the Senate Armed
Services Committee and is an ex-
officio member of the Intelligence
Committee. King serves on both
committees. Their strategy is worth
embracing as a springboard to re-
engineering how Syria is governed.
The senators envision a political
settlement that moves Syria to new
presidential leadership representing
and serving all elements of Syrian
society. Remember: The Syrian civil
war is, in effect, a proxy war on behalf
of the principal sponsors of the Assad
regime: Iran, the largest state spon-
sor of terror, and Lebanon-based
Hezbollah, a terrorist organization.
As the senators see it, the political
settlement would flow from the U.S.
calling a meeting of political, military
and intelligence leaders of coun-
tries committed to ending the Assad
regime. This summit would allow a
brainstorming of options and a seek-
ing out of commitments from allied
nations so the Assad regime grasps
the magnitude of the opposition to it.
A similar U.S.-led initiative helped the
people of the Balkans in the 1990s
and the people of Libya in 2011.

Ultimately, the senators see a
standoff convincing the regime and
Assad's other major sponsor, Russia,
that the regime's days are numbered
and a move to the bargaining table
inevitable. The desired effect would
be a stable Syria and no threat of a
terrorist group filling the void.
Senators Levin and King aren't
pitching U.S. troop involvement in
another Middle East war, only U.S.
leadership to upgrade the loosely
organized alliance of forces opposed
to the Assad regime.
The senators tie three questions
to all decision making relating to U.S.
support of opposition forces:1. Is U.S.
national security at risk? 2. Is there
a clear objective to the U.S. becom-
ing engaged in a support capacity? 3.
What is the U.S. strategy for resolv-
ing the conflict?
Helping boost opposition forces
and shape a support coalition
certainly would elevate the prospect
for what the senators call "a
negotiated transition to a Syria
with a constitutional, legitimate
government that protects its people
instead of attacking them."

❑

Guest Column

Compromise Needed At Jewish Academy

W

hen my parents first
suggested that I attend the
Frankel Jewish Academy, I
thought they were crazy. Me, a Reform
Jew from Temple Israel? I would never
fit in, I thought. I didn't have the Jewish
background I anticipated so many
students would have.
However, after I shadowed there, I
immediately fell in love with the school
and its warm, welcoming environment.
I met students just like me, coming from
less religious backgrounds, who also
attended public school for most of their
lives.
As I got into my mom's car after my
shadow day at the Academy, I told her this
is where I would be attending high school
in the fall. I soon learned that I was not
the only courageous public school student
making the switch; I was one of quite a
few.
When school began, I was excited to
begin my new journey in a school that
could provide so much more for me than
public school ever would have. I never
once felt that I was not religious enough

or not a good enough Jew to be a student
there.
In fact, as the years went by, I found
myself becoming even more connected to
Judaism, both in my school setting and at
my Temple Israel congregation.
Having the opportunity to learn
from a wide range of educators
opened my eyes to the relevance
of Judaism in my everyday life
and helped me to realize the
importance in maintaining my
Jewish identity.
After my graduation from FJA,
I found myself longing for a way
to continue my Jewish education
at Michigan State University. To
fill the void, I decided to pursue
a specialization in Jewish stud-
ies. As I took my Jewish studies courses at
MSU, I realized that having a part in the
Jewish community is exactly what I want-
ed in a career. After a lot of soul-searching,
I realized I wanted to be a rabbi. I wanted
a career path that would allow me to
change lives and instill the passion for the
Jewish community that FJA and Temple

Israel had both instilled in me.
As I now prepare to apply to Hebrew
Union College in the fall, I find myself
dealing with a moral dilemma that I
shared with my rabbis and now with the
entire Detroit Jewish commu-
nity. I've always known that I
want to return to Detroit after
rabbinical school because it
is the community that shaped
my beliefs and passion for
Judaism.
The school that fueled my
desire to become a rabbi,
however, will not allow me to
teach Judaic Studies classes
once I receive my ordination,
because, as a Reform rabbi, I
will not be shomer Shabbat, a
requirement to teach these courses at FJA.
It breaks my heart that my passion for
Jewish education — no matter how knowl-
edgeable I may be — will not be received
at the school that encouraged me on this
career path. I would love to have the oppor-
tunity to make such an impact on students
who are unsure of their Jewish identity —

like I once was. Unfortunately, at this point,
I will not have the privilege to do so.
I question how a school that was once
so welcoming to less religious, secular
Jews, is now unaccepting of their rabbis,
the people who these students look up to.
It makes me feel as if when I am ordained,
that I will, in a sense, not be "good
enough" to teach there.
I hope that six years from now, when I
come back to this community as a rabbi,
this conflict will have been resolved —
that both parties will have met in the
middle.
I hope one day I will be able to go back
to the Frankel Jewish Academy and teach
at the same school that taught me so much
about Judaism and instilled in me a pas-
sion for the Jewish community.
I encourage both parties to find a com-
promise so that students and parents can
feel comfortable and accepted — no mat-
ter their level of religiousness.

❑

Lauren Blazofsky, 21, of West Bloomfield will
be a senior at Michigan State University in
East Lansing this fall.

July 25 • 2013

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