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Publisher's Notebook
Editorial
JN Primes For A
Year Of Advocacy
R
osh Hashanah, like Shabbat, is a
offering annual "happy new year" and "thank
time to hit the pause button on our
you" messages to the community. They are
lives, freezing for precious moments
also developing new and innovative ways
the intersection of past, present and future.
to package all of the assets and capabilities
In our technology-drenched world, where
of the Jewish News and its parent company,
faster is always better than deeper, slowing
Renaissance Media, to further satisfy client
down our lives long enough to appreciate our
needs.
blessings, express gratitude for those things
In an era of media fragmentation, the
we take for granted, and resolve to strengthen Jewish News remains the primary way to
our relationships with our Creator and those
reach and engage a broad swath of Detroit's
around us is not a luxury, but a necessity.
Jewish community. Advertisers continue to
When the path of the almost-completed
register a meaningful return on their dol-
year is littered with the pain of war, heinous
lars invested in the Jewish News. This lack
acts of brutality by blood-lusting
of dependence on charitable dol-
jihadists, disasters unleashed
lars to subsidize operations has
by nature and unwittingly engi-
enabled the Jewish News to retain
neered by man, and further
its independence and integrity. All
obstructed by the continued
but a handful of Jewish community
suffering of those merely seek-
media outlets across the country
ing the basics of food, clothing,
require charitable dollars to stay
shelter and a sense of dignity,
in business, mostly from their
we need a navigational tool — a
Federations.
compass that guides us to true
And then, there are the behind-
Arthur M.
north — to retain clarity, pur-
the-scenes Jewish News heroes.
Horwitz
pose and resoluteness in our
Our close production partners at
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large volume of pages comprising
Rosh Hashanah is that naviga-
the Rosh Hashanah issue are cor-
tional tool, offering an annual opportunity to
rectly formatted, placed and transmitted to
refresh and renew for the opportunities and
our printer, Ann Arbor Offset. There, the
challenges ahead.
full-color offset presses we share with the
New York Times rumble into action, deliver-
Gearing Up
ing "signatures" of pages that are folded,
At the Jewish News, the weeks leading up
stitched, trimmed, addressed and transported
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Editors and designers assemble words and
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images that comprise the backbone of what is
assure that the Rosh Hashanah edition — and
typically the largest edition of the year. They
virtually all locally distributed editions —
are cognizant that the melding of traditional
of the Jewish News are in your mailbox on
printing and digital technology enables
Thursdays. Believe me, we hear from you if
Jewish News content to be scrutinized by
your Jewish News is delayed!
more pairs of eyeballs than at any time in its
Concurrently, dedicated Jewish News staff
72-year history.
is compiling billing information, updating
They walk a tightrope in attempting to
subscriber records, filing reports with the
present a package of information that is true
post office and U.S. copyright office, for-
to the independent, broad-community mis-
warding the digital edition to those who opt
sion of the Jewish News. They strive to blend
to receive a paperless version, and posting
local and national, global and Israel, news
content to Facebook and other social media
and opinion while appealing to the differ-
platforms.
ent interests — and media platforms — of
This collective effort, coupled with your
Baby Boomers, Next-Gens and the Greatest
valued readership and advertiser support,
Generation. And once presented, the digitized enables the Jewish News to celebrate our
form of this package is incorporated into the
Detroit Jewish community and occasionally
independent, nonprofit Detroit Jewish News
challenge it.
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Action Oriented
and all to retrieve and scrutinize, for free and
from anywhere in the world, in perpetuity.
In the coming year, along with sustained sup-
port for Israel, the Jewish state, the Jewish
Thankfully, our advertising account execu-
tives are also immersed in activity. In addi-
News will:
. Focus on the continuing shrinkage of our
tion to expanded interaction with their regu-
lar clients, the account executives are secur-
Detroit Jewish community. While efforts by
ing "seasonal" business from organizational
Federation and others to attract and retain
fundraising dinners, synagogue membership
young adults have been meaningful and
inspiring, on their own they will not reverse
solicitations, and companies and families
Notebook on page 97
96
September 18 • 2014
jpi
Arabs Are Accepted
As Israeli Citizens
T
hey face prejudice, but Israel's 1.7 million Arabs live in the safest
place for an Arab in the Middle East. That's clear given the roiling
political dynamics in the Arab world.
In Israel, Arabs, who make up 20 percent of the population, largely
have the same protections and rights as Jews. They benefit from Israel's
technological, medical and learning advances. They don't have to serve in
the military, but some have risen to officers. Others serve in the National
Service, a nonmilitary form of public service. Their schools outshine
those in neighboring Arab lands. Joblessness and discrimination are
probably their biggest hurdles.
Despite efforts by some far-right Israeli Jews to diminish their liber-
ties, Israeli Arabs are the envy of the Arab world in terms of basic qual-
ity of life. Michigan Jewry's partnership region in the Central Galilee is
reflective of Israeli areas that boast relatively easy relations between
Jews and Arabs. Visiting a Druze or Bedouin village is typically part of
Michigan-based Israeli missions.
Politically Aware
Israeli Arabs are more apt to criticize Hamas, the terrorist group ruling
the Gaza Strip. Blasting the political inertia gripping the Gaza Strip and
Palestinian-controlled areas of the West Bank is evident even in Umm el-
Fahm, a large Arab city in Israel's north and a stronghold of Raed Salah's
Islamic Movement, the Muslim Brotherhood's Israeli branch, reports
Steve Emerson's Washington-based Investigative Project on Terrorism.
Still, it is sad how many Israeli Arabs side with terrorist expressions
of disgust toward the Israeli government and don't support Israeli social
initiatives. It's difficult to understand how any Israeli Arab could sympa-
thize with Hamas; Hamas rockets target them as much as Israeli Jews.
You wonder if Israeli Arabs truly think life experiences would be better
elsewhere.
Thanks to the inept United Nations Relief and Works Agency for
Palestine refugees in the Near East, descendants of 1948 Arab refugees
live in sustained squalor in UNRWA camps outside of Israel. Why haven't
Jordan, Lebanon and Syria stepped up to absorb these forgotten, home-
less Arabs?
Israeli Arabs haven't rushed to answer Hamas' call for Arabs in the
West Bank and Israel to rise up against Israel. Masked Israeli Arabs have
engaged in Hamas-inspired acts of aggression against Jews. But lack of
a groundswell is indicative of Hamas' limited influence inside Israel and
among its mix of Arabs: Druze, Bedouin, Muslim and Christian.
Obstacles Aplenty
Complicating Jewish-Arab relations has been Arab
youth vandalism against Jews, forcing Jews to avoid
some Arab shops and restaurants. Also problematic are
those Arab Knesset members who have joined in blind
solidarity with the Palestinians.
Outside forces are trying hard to dismantle the frag-
ile good will among Israel's ethnic groups and diverse
communities. Jewish vandalism and even violence
Anat Berko
pitched toward Israeli Arabs has been the work of
extremists, not the Jewish majority. Some right-wing
Jews in the Knesset tried to demote Arabic as an official language of
Israel, but got nowhere.
Writes Anat Berko, an Israel Defense Forces officer, in a Sept. 3 post
shared by the Investigative Project on Terrorism: "Israel's Jews and Arabs
have weathered crises before because they have mutual economic and
social interests. Daily life is stronger than radical Islamic fundamentalism,
which is trying to make political capital in Israel. Various Israeli Knesset
members contribute nothing to the lives of their constituents, destroying
their trust, which has been noted by many Israeli Arabs."
Israel is a Jewish state, yet a pluralistic democracy. Yes, Israel can do
more for its Arab minority. But Israel remains a model for Jewish-Arab
coexistence.
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