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Anti-Semitism In Europe
Is At A Threatening Level
In response to Rene Lichtman's criti-
cism of me in his letter to the editor
("Current Threats To Jews Are Nothing
Like The Nazi Era:' Feb. 26, page 5)
in which he alleged that I strongly
overstated the case of European anti-
Semitism in my op-ed, I must state
unequivocally that he is sadly wrong.
Like the letter writer, I, too, have
traveled through Europe and met with
members of the Jewish communities
there. On a recent visit to Kiev, Ukraine,
my group of rabbis was told we should
remove our yarmulkes for our own
safety as we walked through town.
On a recent visit to Berlin, a man
casually rode his bicycle by me
and yelled, "Jew!" and then, "Free
Palestine!" in German.
If you look at the many recent anti-
Semitic incidents around the world,
you'll see that the atmosphere is not
much different than it was in the early
1930s. If it had been so much worse,
there would have been a larger exodus
at the time. You are correct that the
difference is that today we have a State
of Israel and Israel has its own nuclear
weapons. So does Iran, by the way.
Unfortunately, Israel's nuclear arse-
nal has not been able to keep Jews
from being murdered in a museum in
Brussels or a kosher market in Paris or
from being stabbed in the subway in
New York City.
I, too, once dismissed this rise in
anti-Semitic incidents as part of the ebb
and flow nature of anti-Jewish hatred
around the world, but this is differ-
ent. Wake up; the Jewish world of your
grandchildren depends on it.

Rabbi Jason Miller
West Bloomfield

Netanyahu Should Have
Nixed Congress Speech
I agree that our president is hopelessly
naive. Iran will have a nuclear weapon
in the foreseeable future; it has spent
several billions of dollars and has
invested too much national prestige to
expect a different result.
What greatly disturbs me is the
fact that Iran is actively developing a
long-range ballistic missile program
and is continuing to spread its cancer
throughout the Middle East isn't even
part of the negotiation and that our
secretary of state considers a one-year
delay in Iran's nuclear breakout to be
sufficient. "Naive" is a generous word
given all of the above.
Given this, Israel and Prime Minister
Netanyahu have chosen a counter mea-

sure that will give vent to (well-placed)
anger but will do nothing to solve an
existential problem. Yes, all of the above
must be most seriously discussed, but
privately and behind closed doors.
Does anyone believe that a public
lecture from the prime minister will
persuade the president to change his
views or to listen more carefully to the
prime minister's statements, especially
when there are political undertones to
Congress's invitation?
Is there anyone in Congress or the
White House who doesn't know what
the prime minister will say? Will Israel
benefit from the address' boycott that
many faithful congressional friends
have promised?
Can anyone be surprised by the anger
that this address will create among
Israel's best friends, the very people
that it will need in order to avoid a pos-
sible nuclear attack?
I had hoped that the prime minister
would have found a face-saving way
to permanently put off this visit as
the greatly preferred way of avoiding
a potential disaster and to maintain
Israel's most important friends when
they will be most needed.

Les Goldstein
West Bloomfield

Netanyahu's Address
Is A Pivotal Moment
Bibi's March 3 congressional address is
a pivotal moment in U.S.-Israeli rela-
tions.
According to the likes of President
George H.W. Bush's Secretary of
State James Baker and many liberal
Democrats, Netanyahu is doing a bad
job managing the U.S.-Israel relation-
ship. International relations are an
experiment in power and influence.
Too often, Israel sacrifices its national
security to American domestic politics.
Thus, Democrats and Republicans
alike like to push Israel around espe-
cially at the end of their respective
presidencies to achieve one last foreign
policy achievement at Israel's expense.
Usually Israel does not have suf-
ficient belief in the moral virtue of its
cause to stand up to the U.S. and say,
"No, we will not stop building homes
for our citizens or we will not withdraw
from more historically and strategically
important territory because each time
we do it puts more of our citizens in
harm's way:'
Israel's dysfunctional political system,
which relies on unaccountable party
lists instead of geographical representa-
tion and direct elections, is not condu-
cive to allowing prime ministers like

National Council of Jewish Women

Greater Detroit Section

Celebrating
124 years

Yiddish Limerick

4

,
4i)Ae

FOR CHANGING

Did you know that
NOW members...

Purim

On Purim di gantze megillah* we'll
read
Of King Ahashverosh and Mordechai
der Yid.**
Of Haman haRasha*** who paid
with his life,
His 10 hapless sons and Zeresh,
his wife.
Un shayninke**** Esther, our hero
indeed.

* di gantze megillah — the whole
megillah
** der Yid — the Jew
*** Haman haRasha — Haman the
Wicked
**** Un shayninke — And beauti
ful

— Rachel Kapen

Serve adults in the
community through the
following programs:

Meals on Wheels

in conjunction with Jewish Family
Service and Jewish Senior Life
provides Kosher meals five days a
week to those unable
to provide for themselves or have
no one to assist them with
meal preparation.

Project Friendship

Twice-monthly Sunday brunch
program for Kadima clients with
chronic mental illness providing social
interaction for all.

SPACE Support Groups

Bereavement, adult loss of parent and
divorce support groups are facilitated.

Adult Guardianship

Netanyahu to stand up to international
pressure because Israeli politicians do
not feel accountable to the voters. This
is the problem with parliamentary sys-
tems.
Maybe Netanyahu's defiance of
Obama will signal the dawn of a new
era where Israelis feel equal to the U.S.
instead of as a recipient of charity who
is compelled to do the charity-givers
bidding lest the financial aid stop. This
is a sign that the "galut (exile) mental-
ity" is alive and well in Israel.
Maybe in light of this, Israel should
consider weaning itself off U.S. aid in
order that it become more independent
and psychologically less dependent on
international opinion.
Israel is the hegemon in the Middle
East, and it needs to start acting like
one instead of encouraging the myth
that it is an occupier every time it
withdraws from territory. Territorial
withdrawals also feed into the Islamic
dream of re-creating the caliphate
which Israel is also encouraging.

Marc Baker
Birmingham

NCJW members are liaisons to
Oakland County Family Court
system to review assigned
adult guardianship cases.

Jewish News On Tape

Detroit Jewish News articles are
taped for the visually impaired.

Become involved,
volunteer.

We invite YOU to be a part
of NOW/Greater Detroit.
Visit our website or
give us a call.

MISSION:
The National Council of Jewish Women
(NCJW) is a grassroots organization
of volunteers and advocates who turn
progressive ideals into action. Inspired
by Jewish values, NCJW strives for
social justice by improving the quality
of life for women, children and families
and by safeguarding individual rights
and freedoms.

26400 Lahser Road, Suite 306

Southfield MI 48033

248-355-3300

www.ncjwgds.org

IN

March 5 • 2015

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