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A New Voice In
Interfaith Dialogue
In my exposure to local interfaith
dialogue events, I noticed a flaw —
the assumption that all participants
embrace the concept of secular
government (the formal separation
of religion from government) as
described in the First Amendment
of the U.S. Constitution, and the
supremacy of the Constitution,
as stated in Article VI: "This
Constitution ... shall be the
supreme law of the land ..."
Why is it important to establish
this parameter prior to engaging
in genuine interfaith dialogue? It
is because theocracy/political-reli-
gious dominance has been a major
factor in all three Abrahamic reli-
gions from greater to lesser degrees
from time immemorial. For the
most part, this issue of theocracy
has been resolved within Judaism
and for much of Christianity, but is
currently a source of argument and
conflict in Islam.
Courageous people like Dr. Zuhdi
Jasser and Irshad Manji maintain
their Muslim faith while denounc-
ing Islamic theocracy. In the mean-
time, ISIS is teaching the world the
definition of a universal, world-
wide caliphate. And more subtle
attempts to establish Islamist goals
are occurring much closer to home.
Only when theocratic political
aspirations are at least acknowl-
edged, can genuine interfaith-
political dialogue begin. Then, if
all parties genuinely embrace the
principles of the U.S. Constitution's
separation of religion from govern-
ment, there is hope for the "shared
future."
However, if we engage in inter-
faith dialogue that doesn't clarify
this issue, then we are, at best,
wasting our time and, at worst,
possibly promoting the seeds of our
own government's destruction.
There is a model for effective
interfaith dialogue: the Dialogue
Institute. It is the creation of
Dr. Leonard Swidler of Temple
University in Philadelphia, whose
work was born out of the ecumeni-
cal spirit of the Roman Catholic
Church's Second Vatican Council.
In 2008, the Global Dialogue
Institute emerged as the collective
embodiment of these pioneering
efforts in interreligious dialogue"
(institute.jesdialogue.org ).

The Global Dialogue Institute
sessions start with the basic princi-
ples of religious freedom and sepa-
ration of religion from government
and then branch off into interfaith
conversations. It is my hope that
the institute's format becomes the
template for future interfaith dia-
logues in the Detroit community.

Ask Attorney
Ken Gross
about...

Your Legal
Issues

Yiddish Limerick

Ruth Katsnelson
West Bloomfield

U.S. Needs New Elections
Like The Israeli System
In his opinion piece, David
Horovitz of the Times of Israel com-
plains about the dissolution of the
Israeli government, which neces-
sitated new elections (Dec. 11, page
33).
One of the strengths of the
Israeli government and many
other democracies in the world is
that the laws require that parlia-
mentary procedure be followed.
Parliamentary procedure has an
extraordinary plus — if the people
don't appreciate what is going on
in government, they can call for re-
election.
Unfortunately, the United States
does not have that option. With
the turmoil that is going on in our
government, a call for re-election
because of a lack of confidence in
the elected figures would be ideal.
Our only recourse is the messy and
inefficient recall system.
Obviously, Israel and many other
democracies have a large number
of political parties, which makes a
mess of re-elections. With our basi-
cally two-party system, it would be
less messy.
I find the current state of our
government abhorrent. Both
Democrats and Republicans are at
fault due to polarization. What we
have now is not in the best interest
of the American people because
the politicians appear to only care
about re-election, not actually
doing something for the American
people.
Having the cost of the campaign
to be re-elected more often than
each four or six years may be a
stimulus for them to do right by
their constituencies.

Kenneth M. Bertin
West Bloomfield

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

What is the plan
for 2015?

A Happy New Year

It is not Rosh HaShanah; already was here.
Men zogt nisht* a gut yok**but "Happy
New Year."
Men gayt nisht*** to pray
On that blessed day.
So a happy New Year far dir un far
mir.****

* Men zogt nisht — we don't say
** a gut yohr — a good year
*** Men gayt nisht — we don't go
**** far dir un far mir — for you and for
me

- Rachel Kapen

Reaching Out To
Help Cuban Jews

Thank you for publishing Mark Jacobs'
incredible story about life for Cuban Jews
just prior to the opening that President
Obama has provided ("Hope is Alive
Dec. 25, page 28).
It is a wonderful insight of the
struggles and cohesiveness of the 1,300
members of the Havana Jewish com-
munity. As Jews, we have helped other
Jews in Europe, Israel and Ethiopia for 70
years. Up to now, only Jews (of all of the
ethnic groups in America) made serious
attempts to help our brothers and sisters
in other parts of the world.
Due to the horrific situation for Iraqi
Christians, the world's largest Chaldean
community (Metro Detroit) has for
several years helped Chaldeans in Iraq
immigrate to America and is sending
educational materials as well.
I am so proud of both the Jewish com-
munity and the Chaldean community.

Harvey Bronstein
Southfield

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The Answer is 10%. Next Question - If
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L

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January 1 • 2015

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