we can help each other and that we,
in turn, can help others who were hit
much worse than ourselves:'
Repairing and starting fresh after
the flood has its bright spots. Rabbi
Robert Gamer said that his sons are
enjoying the new, waterproof epoxy
floor that was recently installed in
the basement of his family home in
Huntington Woods.
"They think it is really cool
because it glows in the dark:' Gamer
said. "They are just glad to have
a functional play space again, even
though the walls are not back up:'
In the weeks after the flood, Gamer
spent time not only tending to his
own home but providing hospitality
and rallying the community together
for barbecues and Shabbat dinners.
Gamer's congregation, Beth Shalom
in Oak Park, served as a host home
for the eight IsraAID volunteers who
worked tirelessly for almost three
weeks cleaning out neighborhood
basements. The Gamer family showed
their gratitude to the Israeli volunteers
by having them all over at their home
for a Shabbat dinner.
"We had some fantastic conversa-
tions about Jewish faith and philoso-
phy, and what it is like to be a Jew liv-
ing in the United States versus being
Israeli:' Gamer said. "Plus, one of the

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volunteers is a professional soccer play-
er and he loved kicking a ball around
with my kids after dinner"
Now that winter is setting in, Gamer
is thankful to be able to clear out his
garage of all his shuffled basement
belongings so both family cars can fit
inside. He is thankful for the surpris-
ing speed at which FEMA handled
his own personal flood claim. Most of
all, all the things his family lost were
"just material possessions:' as he sadly
recalled the death of a congregant
caused by the storm.
"In spite of how bad it was, more
lives could have been lost. When you
look back at the pictures of 14-foot
swells of water under highway over-
passes, you realize how thankful we
should be that there wasn't even more
loss of life:'

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BDS Bait & Switch

Professor schools audiences on real
goal of Boycott, Divestment and
Sanctions movement.

Don Cohen
I Contributing Writer

B

oycott, Divestment and
Sanctions (BDS) is the anti-
Israel approach of choice on
college campuses across the nation
these days. Framed as a pro-peace,
pro-justice struggle, its proponents
say it will level the playing field so
Palestinians and Israelis can live togeth-
er in peace.
But, according to Cary Nelson, Jubilee
Professor of Liberal Arts and Sciences
at the University of Illinois, BDS is not
about peace and reconciliation between
Israelis and Palestinians, nor about
improving Palestinian life, but rather
about delegitimization of Israel that
whitewashes Israel's enemies, contests
Israeli national rights and promotes
anti-Semitism.

Nelson termed BDS a "bait and
switch" before an audience of 100
community members and students at
Eastern Michigan University on Nov.
19. He also spoke at Michigan State
University and University of Michigan.
Activism is nothing new for Nelson,
former president of the American
Association of University Professors
(AAUP). Coming from decades as
a leading proponent of academic
freedom, he sees BDS as a threat to
academia as much as he sees it as a
misguided and misinformed effort
that discourages peace. Not one to shy
away from controversy, he explained,
"My virtue and my fault is I say what I
believe:'
Nelson began with a plea to eliminate
emotionalism.
"Powerful emotions get in the way of

Bait & Switch on page 12

Birmingham

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Detroit

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Royal Oak ♦ Rochester

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28 Years Serving the Great Lakes Region

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December 4 • 2014 11

