frontlines >> letters

}low to Send Letters

We prefer letters relating to JN articles. We reserve the right to edit or reject letters. Letters of 225 words or less are considered first. Longer ones will
be subject to trimming. Letter writers are limited in frequency of publication. Letters must be original and contain the name, address and title of the
writer and a day phone number. Non-electronic copies must be hand signed. Send letters to the JN: 29200 Northwestern Highway, Suite 110, Southfield,
MI 48034; fax (248) 304-8885; e-mail, letters®the jewishnews.com . We prefer email.

Are Jews Disappearing
Or Numbers Expanding?
The contrast is glaring. On Oct.
7 ("Who Is A Jew?" Oct.10, page
12), the Pew Study demonstrated
that Jewish people are disappearing.
Ironically, on this same day, there
was the largest gathering of Jewish
people in probably 3,000 years. The
Pew Study got much attention, but
an unprecedented large, spontane-
ous gathering to pay final respects to
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef was relegated to a
small obituary on page 66.
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef was contro-
versial; however, even those who
disagreed with him acknowledged
his brilliance, piety and integrity
and, therefore, attended his funeral.
If you were to ask them what moti-
vated them to come from all across
the country, I'm sure the answer
would not be because of his political
leadership, but because of his Torah
accomplishments. It is difficult to
fathom that one-sixth of the Jews in
Israel came literally in droves. There
were more people at his funeral, on
four hours' notice, than there were
citizens in the entire country at its
inception in 1948.
Are the Jews disappearing or
expanding? Succeeding or failing? The
answer is simple for those whose eyes
are open and honest. Throughout our
history, we Jews have had a bipolar
experience of both continuity and
assimilation. Let us analyze our his-
tory to see when we fail and when
we defy all odds and survive trium-
phantly.
As a faith that remains steadfast in
its traditions and rituals, we are a sin-
gularly, unique phenomena of world
history.
"Those that refuse to learn from
history are doomed to repeat it." One
thing we learn for certain from his-
tory is that most people refuse to
learn from it. Human nature is to allow
the heart to control the thinking of the
brain. If our hearts want to ignore the
traditions and rituals, then our brains
will rationalize it.
The glaring contrast of the atten-
tion given to the Pew Study versus
that of 850,000 people attending the
funeral of a Torah scholar demon-
strates how blind we are.

Rebecca Friedman
Oak Park

More Criticism Of The Times

I would like to add my voice to support
Berle Falbaum's challenge of the New
York Times' editorial position toward
Israel. ("N.Y. Times Gets It Wrong
Again:' Oct. 24, page 30) and give
some data to support that conclusion.
On March 15, 2013, the New York
Times published an article that "fea-
tured a glowing cover story romanti-
cizing the residents of Nabi Saleh as
sympathetic resistance fighters and
portraying Ahlam Tamimi, a female
terrorist from the town, as a heroine
who merely 'escorted a bomber to a
Sbarro pizzeria which was bombed in
20017 according to the Committee for
Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in
America (CAMERA). Tamimi scouted
out the Sbarro restaurant as the bomb-
ing target and assisted the bomber to
get into Israel disguised as a tourist.
Fifteen people were killed, includ-
ing a pregnant American woman, a
Brazilian, a 10-year-old Israeli girl
and 15-year-old Malki Roth. One hun-
dred and thirty people were injured;
one is now in a permanent vegetative
state. Yet, the March 15 N.Y. Times
article never mentioned the maimed
and murdered victims, the details of
their suffering or the suffering of their
families. The attack was carefully and
deliberately planned by Hamas in the
service of Jihad.
Malki's life and 14 others lives were
stolen, while the NY Times romanti-
cizes the terrorists who perpetrated
this crime. When the NY Times glosses
over the deaths of Israeli Jews, it's real-
ly arrogant and callous and ultimately
anti-Semitic as it reflects the attitude
that Jews don't count.

Ruth Katsnelson
West Bloomfield

Editor's Note: Falbaum, while critical
of the N.Y. Times, never stated that the
Times was anti-Semitic in his column.

An Advocate For Literacy
We were thrilled to see David Broner
profiled as "Mentsh of the Month:' by
Story Development Editor Keri Guten
Cohen ("Just Do It! Volunteer David
Broner Motivates Others to Make a
Difference, Too:' Oct. 17).
The Detroit Jewish Coalition for
Literacy (DJCL), a program of the
Jewish Community Relations Council
of Metropolitan Detroit (JCRC) is so

proud of David, our exemplary volun-
teer who has been a leader, mentor,
and impassioned tutor and advocate
for children in Detroit Public Schools.
After volunteering on his own, David
and his wife, Lily, founded a group of
literacy volunteers from Congregation
Shaarey Zedek to tutor students at
Detroit's Emerson Elementary School.
He then joined forces with DJCL,
where he continues to recruit new vol-
unteers both for DJCL and the Detroit
Reading Corps. David has been a true
cheerleader for literacy tutors, work-
ing to encourage DPS administrators
and teachers to utilize volunteers in
their classrooms. David also regularly
promotes DJCL services and tools to
fellow volunteers, and served as a host
at DJCL's recent fall workshop.
Kudos to the Jewish News for also
highlighting the need for literacy educa-
tion in Detroit and its impact as a factor
in the Detroit mayoral race. We thank
special contributor Daniel Cherrin for
noting DJCL's contributions in the fight
to combat childhood illiteracy in his
story, "Who Will Lead Detroit" (Oct. 17,
page 8). We are so proud of our more
than 500 volunteers who so generously
give their time and talents to help chil-
dren in schools throughout Detroit and
Oakland County.
We hope David Broner will serve
as an inspiration to others who are
willing to donate their time to change
the life of a child. If you are interested
in becoming a DJCL literacy tutor or
helping by coordinating our program
in one of the schools that we serve,
contact Linda Foster, JCRC literacy
coordinator, at foster@jfmd.org or
(248) 642-2656.

DJCL co-chair Ruth Grey, Farmington Hills
DJCL co-chair Sue Birnholtz, Sylvan Lake
JCRC literacy coordinator Linda Foster,
West Bloomfield

Young Adults Show
Israel Commitment
Our community should take tremendous
pride in knowing that 48 of our own
young adults have demonstrated their
love for Eretz Yisrael (Land Of Israel) and
all of her people by serving as Magen
David Adom (MDA) volunteers.
They, with the support of their fami-
lies, have "paid to volunteer; spent six
weeks or longer in Israel, learned emer-
gency medical commands in Hebrew,
rode with the ambulances to their calls

To each

Sponsor,

Volunteer

and Guest...

thank you for

supporting

JARC's 33rd

Annual Fall

Fundraiser,

The Rascals.

You have

helped enrich

lives and erase

barriers for

people with

disabilities

in our

community.

Thank you!

.19

Presenting Sponsors

Quicken Loans

Engineered to Amaze

TITLE &SOURCE'

GILBERT
FILMS

CHARLOTTE AND GARY GILBERT

lIENENSTOCK

NATIONWIDE COURT REPORTING & VIDEO

Letters on page 6

November 14 • 2013

5

